JohnC

His most glaring problems are not associated with his physical attributes compared to his lack of maturity, as you noted. He simply did not take his job seriously and put in the time and effort to be prepared. The qb on a team has to put in the most work, especially film study. He didn't, and it was very evident to the organization and his teammates. He had a marvelous opportunity to rather quickly become the franchise qb for a team that had an earnest but pedestrian starter in Hoyer. He did not seize the opportunity because he wasn't serious about his job. The only person who can stabilize the situation for him is himself. It isn't done by taling about what you intend on doing for now on, it is done by doing what you are supposed to day in and day out. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12216266/cleveland-browns-quarterback-johnny-manziel-struggled-commitment-preparation-sources-said

Sorry about the misinterpretation of your response. Most often it is difficult to determine the tenor of a response when it is written.

What more do you want him to say? He said he has no knowledge of and involvement with the balls possibly being tampered with. There is nothing more that he can add that will clarify the situation. The league office is going to do an exhaustive investigation that will go past the SB. It has every incentive to get it right. In reality this isn't a very complicated case. The investigators know who handled the balls and they know the timeline. Most people are assuming the worst motive from the Pats. I'm not. My position is let the process run its course and let the chips fall where they may.

You are right that Foles is not the type of talent that is going to get you 11-13 wins. So what? If he is an upgrade and allows your offense to function at a higher level then you go with the better option at qb. If you review last season it is not unreasonable to condlude that with simply competent qb play (average)this team would have had at least one or two more wins. That would have put us in the playoffs. It would also allow the offense to make better use of its most talented player, Watkins. Finding a better option at qb this offseason doesn't stop the front office from continuing its quest of finding a more upscale and long-term qb answer down the road. What this organization can't do is put itself in a position where if their favored young qb prospect, EJ, doesn't materialize into a legitimate franchise qb it sabotages the efforts of a premier defense and adds another year to its long playoff drought. Most often there isn't a perfect solution to a problem. But that doesn't mean that you can't find a better option to addressing an obvious problem.

Do you want to know what Bills' fans are most afraid of? That nothing can be proven that the Pats did anything improper. As some experts have noted there isn't a precise method to measure the balls because a lot of variables have to be taken into account. The temperature, atmosphere etc can influence the PSI. There is no secret that Brady prefers a less inflated ball. And there is no secret that Rodgers prefers a higher inflated ball. Does anyone doubt that there is a variation on their respective balls? If you measure the PSI prior to game that doesn't mean that the ball will remain at the same PSI level after the game due to it being banged around and affected by the elements and atmosphere. The reason why there is such an frenzied attention to this issue is because the Patriots and Belichick are involved. There is no doubt that Belichick has a history of going to the edge with rules. But that doesn't mean that he did anything or ordered anything nefarious with respect to the ball issue. The Pats have won eleven division titles in twelve years. They have beaten the Bills 21 out of 22 times (I think??). Instead of trying to make excuses why we regularly lose and make excuses why other teams regularly win the hometown fans should be more concerned with building their own winning legacy. If there is a stretching of the rules in this case it has to be considered that stretching the rules is part of the game in this sport and other sports. Some teams pipe up the music and some teams adjust the field of play to make it a quicker or slower field depending on what would give the hometeam the most advantage. Too many people are reacting as if there has been a major moral trangression with respect to this football issue. Its not--and it is absurd to act as if it is. What is obvious is whether there was an infringement on a rule it had no bearing on the outcome of the game. The response to this topic is not only way out of proportion to the incident it is also very embarrassing to witness. In this SB game I am rooting for the AFC team. They should be the model for us on how to run a successful franchise.

Whether he plays guard or tackle the issue for him is how mobile is he? If he has slow feet and lacks adequate athleticism to react to the defense no amount of high quality coaching is going to compensate for his physical limitations. There is nothing unusual about a rookie being inconsistent in their first year. They very often falter because they haven't adjusted to the speed of the game. With Kujo this is a very different situation. Right from the beginning he was overwhelmed and overmatched. Many sports people who were covering training camp believed that he would have been cut early in camp if he weren't such a high draft pick. I'm very troubled by this pick and also the Richardson pick. Having a large size doesn't trump the inability to move. If you look at the makeup of our interior line last year (Richardson, Urbik, Pears)what starkly stands out is the lack of athleticism. A lot of people blame Marrone for the poor performance of the OL. They shouldn't. It was a unit devoid of talent that played down to its level. It is understandable why many people are critical of Marrone and his coaching abilities. (I don't fall in that category.) Marrone's specialty is the offensive line. It was apparent to him almost immediately that Kujo was a very flawed player who had the killer attribute of not being mobile and quick enough to play in this league.

Kyle Orton was a mediocre backup who got a reasonable salary for his very much faded abilities. He being a starter is not due to the fact that he was a starter caliber qb so much as it was a reflection of the level of talent at that position. Yes, Kyle Orton was the qb on a winning team but the reality was that he was not a meaningful contributor to the team's record. It's like giving credit to Cujo and Richardson and our OL in general for the team's first winning record in a long time. The reality is that the defense carried the team and the team won despite the play of the qb and the OL. In my view three of the best value players on the team were Stefan Charles, Jarius Wynn and Robey.

I find it very telling and extraordinary that the State Attorney would go on camera for a documentary to state that he believed something bad happened. It's understandable that no charges were filed because the case was so horribly botched. Right from the beginning and all along the way the investigative process was contaminated. This was more than a case of incompetence; it was a glaring example of corruption.

Joe Delamielleure, the Bills' HOF lineman, was asked on WGR about Kujo's prospects. At the time Kujo was not activated. He basically said that he wouldn't have selected Kujo because he had slow feet and was not athletic enough for him. He said when he evaluates prospects the most important attributes for him are mobility and athleticism. He felt the emphasis shouldn't be on a lineman's raw strength so much as it should be on one's ability to use leverage. He noted that wrestling was a good preparation for linemen because it taught you how to use leverage.

I'm not bothered by the fact that Odell had a better rookie season than Watkins. I'm not bothered that that Whaley traded a first round pick to move up a few spots. If Odell turns out to be a regular all-star then more power to him and the Giants. It's apparent our front office had a conviction that Watkins is a special talent and he is going to be a dynamic player for us. Anyone who watched the Bills last year saw a receiver who periodically flashed special game breaking abilities. If Whaley upgrades the OL and upgrades the caliber of qbing where Watkins is more involved in the offense then the trade up makes sense for us. If Whaley doesn't take steps to upgrade the level of qbing and improve the passing game then the trade up was a wasted effort to add a dynamic player whose talents are under-utilized. Is EJ the type of passer who can maximize the abilities of Watkins? (I have my doubts.) Or is another qb going to be brought in who is capable of improving the passing game and get the most out of our dynamic receiver? That's Whaley's challenge. If Whaley can't put this high octane receiver in a better position to succeed then Whaley made a bad decision with the trade up.

It is a testimony to the disfunction of the organization that pro scout John Guy and chief college scout Tom Modrak could survive so long with a losing franchise. Didn't the owner ask who was responsible for evaluating the players and prospects for a franchise that has struggled for a generation? I'm not a Nix fan. In my opinion he was unfit for the job and set this franchise back. But to his credit he was most responsible for starting the clean out of unproductive staff.

I'm not declaring any young player a bust at this point. What I am saying is that Richardson, Kujo and Henderson weren't ready to play last year. Although Kujo was a second round pick he was simply not ready to play. Marrone did the right thing not to play him. It didn't take him too long to come to a similar conclusion with Richardson. It was known very quickly from the start that Kujo couldn't make it as a tackle or even as a guard. He simply was overwhelmed and dominated by the defensive linemen when he tried to block them in practice. Not playing him was the right thing to do for the team and for the unready player.

Whaley drafted Kujo in the second round with the intention that he would play at the right tackle position. In today's NFL movement skills are just as important at the guard and tackle positions. If you can't move you can't play. Pears is an illustration of that point. The problem wasn't that Marrone wasn't willing to play Kujo at the guard position, the problem was that Kujo wasn't capable of playing adequately enough at any position on the line. Marrone did properly evaluate Kujo last season. He made the judgment that he wasn't ready to be trusted anywhere in the lineup. That was a very easy call for him to make.

You have a competition and see who earns the right to take the snaps. Pre-determining who should be the starter is a foolish way to approach the qb issue. Make no mistake about the current situation. The front office is going to bring in another qb candidate not because EJ has been impressive but because he has been less than impressive.

- Marrone was working with a cast of players on the OL that was clearly either incapable or not ready to play. Richardson was so atrocious that most analytics indicated that he was the worst starting guard in the league. His failures had nothing to do with coaching. He simply was a developmental type player who should not have have been on the field. Kujo was so overwhelmed and over-matched that on a serious team with high aspirations he would have been cut. Henderson was a physical talent who was too raw to start or get a lot of playing time. He struggled all season long. I'm not suggesting that these three rookie players won't develop. What I am saying is that these players were simply not ready to play. Pears and Urbik are both immobile players who are on the downside of their lackluster careers. Neither of these players should be starters at this stage of their careers, or for that matter any stage of their careers. My point is simply that our OL collectively was arguably the worst OL in the league. It had little to dowith the caliber of coaching. If there is a marked improvement on our OL, especially the interior, it will be mostly due to a change in personnel and not from an upgrade in coaching. The complaints that Marrone had with the players Whaley provided him on the OL and at qb were very warranted. The failure of the offense was mostly related to a lack of talent than it was to coaching. You can't have elite players at every position. But when you have so many grossly incapable players on a unit the lack of production will be very evident.

The interfering owner has no credibility in assessing players. He was the one who forced the drafting of Manziel. There is no doubt that Manziel had a very troubled year on and off the field. But making a conclusive judgment on him based on his rocky rookie play and off the field juvenile behavior would be foolish. Some rookies very much struggle with their transition to the pro ranks from college. Others make the transition very quickly. Kujo and Richardson were both overwhelmed in their rookie years. I'm certainly not going to give up on them so quickly. I'm far from being a Manziel fan. However, I thought he would be an intriguing prospect who should have been taken in the second round. My point is that it is way to early to make a determination after one year.

At this point it can't be determined whether it is an underwhelming or overwhelming assessment of EJ. Especialy with Whaley under new ownership and being the main authority in the football operation he wants to win now. The mounting years of not being in the playoffs is now ticking under his watch. I'm confident that EJ is not going to be his favored qb if another qb outshines him in camp and in preseason. If you want to get a better sense on how the organization views Manuel's prospects watch who they bring in to compete with him. If they bring in an Orton type of "fading" veteran qb rather than a younger qb, such as Foles, Bradford or Sanchez, then you will get a better feel for their real stance on EJ. We don't know for sure whether Nix or Whaley was most involved with the EJ selection. Because of Manuel's protypical size it fits the Nix profile on making draft selections. On the other hand I also get the sense that Whaley sees a version of Rothlesberger in the big qb from Fla. St. For me last year was a wasted year with respect to finding out whether EJ was the long-term qb answer. While many people have a harsh view of Marrone and many of his decisions I have no problem with his decision on benching EJ for the mediocre Orton because he felt that he gave the team the better chance to win. The shame of the situation is that we are again asking the same question this year which should have been answered last year whether we have a franchise qb on the roster.

Regardless of the quality of coaching Richardson, Kujo and Henderson were not ready to play. That is not to say that they can't be developed into productive players. Henderson from a physical and athletic standpoint has the most potential. Even with his impressive physical attributes he was too inexperienced to play on a full time basis. Much too often he was overwhelmed. In my view he should have gradually been given playing time to allow him to accelerate his learning process. Playing him as a regular starter where he struggled hurt his development and the team. The best OL coach this team has had was D'lessandro (sic). His departure from Buffalo to San Diego was a major loss.

The Canisius High grad was drafted in the fifth round, the same round the Bills drafted Richardson. Richardson was simply not ready to play. He was overwhelmed and became a major vulnerability for us on offense. At the end of the season with Urschel as a starter and in the playoffs he played as an accomplishedveteran player. The Ravens are a consistent playoff team and regular SB contenders. That is a tribute to their exceptional talent evaluator in Ozzie Newsome. The Bills have struggled for a generation because their talent evaluators aren't as good at doing their jobs. For the most part I like what Whaley has done. But he flubbed last year's draft when he selected Kujo in the second round and took the less mobile Richardson over the Penn State player who demonstrated that he was a superior prospect and ultimately a much better player. This was a case of where the size profile carried more weight than the actual ability to play. In this case it's clear that Ozzie Newsome knew better.

Hogan is staying in school. Great info Bandit, Because the Bills don't have a first and fourth round pick I don't see them drafting a qb this year.

That's my point. Jackson's tank is empty. I made no reference to Lynch in my comment regarding Jackson.

I'm uncomfortable in saying it because Fred Jackson embodies everything that is right with the game but it was obvious to me that he is a fading player. He knows where to run but he has little burst left in his game to break off some large gains.

You want to know something else that is funny? The owner was such a brilliant talent evaluator that it was reflected in the team's historical record.

Lynch is a terrific player who is a compelling player to watch. However, as good as he is he is not a HOF player, in my estimation. There is a also good chance that he won't be with the Seahawks when his next contract is due because of cap considerations and because of the short positional life span.

It's an appropriately timed topic. It comes up when you watch your former players play stunningly well in the playoffs while your team watches the playoffs from the comfort of their couches for the fifteenth consecutive year.