JohnC

When you put up $1.4 B of your own money you can do whatever you want to do. If Pegula fired Brandon I would consider it an unwise move and also accept that it is his prerogative. So I wouldn't have any negative feelings toward him It just seems to me that regardless the criticisms anyone has with some of the decisions made by the Whaley/Marrone/Brandon regime no one who is fair-minded can't deny that under this regime there is some order,rationality and direction toward football issues. You don't have to agree with everything being done but there are few football decisions that fall under the category as being perplexing or odd. That in itself is a pleasant change. Brandon is polarizing to a faction of fans because they believe that he is intimately involved with the football operation. That is not the case, although some people continue to believe it. In my view the Littman stranglehold on the football operation (business model) is a thing of the past. When Pegula took over the Sabres there was a learning curve for him. He got caught up in the spending spree approach to make a quick impact. It didn't take him long to learn his leason. He subsequently brought in some outside adivisors such as LaFontaine and listened to what they had to say. Then he took their advice and hired a new hockey staff and allowed them to do their jobs without his interference. The source of the LaFontaine conflict was to a certain extent inevitable. Once LaFontaine used his influence to hire Murray as a GM and Nolan as a HC he basically worked himself out of a job (influence). LaFontaine lost his influence to the GM he recommended who was then making the decisions. That was a difficult adjustment for LaFontaine. In the end LaFontaine did a lot to get the franchise redirected and then moved on with some hurt feelings.

From a business and even an organizational standpoint he put the organization in a very stable situation. He extended the market east and north. From a football standpoint the Toronto series was a boondogle but from a business standpoint it was a savvy move. Not only did it give the owner $78 M cash upfront but it also got the Canadian group to participate in the auction. Thus bumping up the value of the team by (possibly) $400 M more. Brandon doesn't get the credit that he deserves in steering the football side of the organization into the modern era. The Ralph football model, especially on the staffing side, was out of step with the rest of the league. Brandon was instrumental in bringing in Whaley and eventually allowing him to restructure the football operation and hire better quality people. I thought Brandon did an excellent job in respectfully easing Nix out the door and making sure that Whaley was in a good position to take over an operation that had a legitimate chance to compete with everyone else. Brandon had stated that Nix was very kind to him. He gave up a lot of his precious time to tutor Brandon on football and scouting. So when it was the right time for a change at the GM position it was done with a lot of dignity and class. I believe that for the near future Pegula is going to keep Brandon in his current job. But that doesn't mean he won't have some of his own people give him a fresh set of eyes to evaluate the operation from top to bottom.

You left off Joe D'Alessandris, the OL coach. He did an excellent job with the Bills and he is doing a very good job with the Chargers. When the Chargers played the Bills Reich called a great game. He was very aware of game situations and made some great calls most notably on third down. It sure helps when you have a qb who is playing as well as any qb in the league.

I'm very confident that Spiller will be retained with a fair/reasonable contract. Whaley has stated that he covets big play players like Spiller and that he wants to keep him. If this team wants to get more output from him it has to run more plays suitable to his skill set. It would also help if the line play, especially the guard play, was vastly improved. The same predictable chorus of critics who loudly come out when he is not a major factor in a game become gushing supporters when he makes his typical explosive plays that contribute to wins. Since CJ has been on the roster no one on the offense has come close to making the number of impactful plays as he has. Yet the lamenting continues to get shriller and shriller. Instead of focusing on what he isn't good at--- pay more attention to what he is exceptional at.

Dam you! You are going to jinx Orton. Change your name right now! Your insignia is a kiss of death. Russell Wilson is a terrific young qb who won a SB with a very well rounded team. Andrew Luck is a very good qb now who will eventually be a special qb. Your unbridled enthusiam after one Orton quarterbacked game is out of control. For your sake you need to tone it down. In my mind the Bills are still a fringe wildcard team. As you noted the guard play is simply atrocious. Why the organization let a reasonably priced Rhinehart go befuddles me?

Isn't it remarkable how "solid" qb play affects the perception of the team and its outlook for the rest of the season? What impressed me the most about Orton is how someone who hasn't played in a long time steadily adjusted to the speed of the game as it went on. In the fourth qb he was in a good passing rhythm. Most NFL analysts would categorize Orton as at best a pedestrian qb who is in the fading stage of his career. Yet, by having a qb who knows how to play and is reasonably accurate he has invigorated a team that was on the verge of spiraling downwards.

You can reasonably argue both sides of the issue. I consider Watkins a special talent. However, if the Bills didn't have a qb who could consistently get him the ball then his talents would be squandered and his productivity on the field would be severely diminished. That would be a good argument for those who feelt too much was given up in the trade up. When the qb is more than moderately accurate, like Orton, then Watkins not only produces but he is a factor in creating more room for the other receivers. Woods is going to be a benefactor with the coverage tilted towards Watkins. The defense was the biggest reason why the Bills beat the Lions. But without Watkins making some difficult clutch catches the Bills lose that game. In other words the team is getting a good return and an early return on its investment.

The people sitting in his vicinity should have turned him in. If they didn't want to confront him (understandable) they could have reported him to security and allow them to do their job.

Eball, I had the same sensation that you had after reading some of the contrarian comments. It leaves you wondering if you watched the same game. It's not so much about disagreeing over some aspects of the game. That is normal. But sometimes the outlier opinions that are not grounded in the actual game can be very confounding. Sorry to hear about your father. Hope he is doing better. I'm sure the dramatic victory perked him up.

Mario Williams is a difference maker. Because of the way he plays the offense has to give him more attention allowing the other defenders more single battles. The Bills ' victories are mostly due to the defense. Without a doubt he has been an instrumental player on that unit. Whatever rich salary Mario is getting he is earning it in spades The bottom line is that it isn't about the contract as it is about the performance. He has been a sterling performer.

Excellent post Bill, as usual. Dareus was a force in this game. Suh was the best defender on the field and Dareus was right behind him. He is really having a tremendous year. Our defense, especially the DL, has been stellar. Gilmore is a good DB who is going to get better. I don't understand the negativity directed toward him. NFL football is deliberately designed for offense, especially advantaging the passing game. Under those distorted conditions Gilmore and McKelvin are playing well. Spiller up the gut is ugly and ineffective. Jackson up the gut is a lesson on how to run. Don't get flustered with Spiller's lack of running discipline. He will make up for his lack of running discipline with big impactful plays. That screen pass to him in space in which he made a critical first down at the end of the game was important. Trust me on this issue. Please be patient with him and you will be rewarded. Our OL was simply overwhelmed by Detroit's DL. Our guard play is grotesque. I don't know what not what the remedy is but it helps when a qb knows how to quickly get rid of the ball and where to go with it. Watkins is a special talent. He is worth the added xpenditure. He has great hands! One of the biggest plays of the game was the long pass to Goodwin. I wish we would take more shots down the field. As the game advanced you can see Orton's rust erode. At the end of the game he was in rhythm and it was refreshing to watch. He isn'tgreat but he knows what he is doing and he is relatively accurate. He should be gettimg more accurate as he gets more playubg time. You can see that the receivers were rejuvenated with his presence. NFL games are getting to be almost unwatchable with the excess of penalty calls. The lack of continuity and flow due to the penalties is getting me very aggravated.

I respectively disagree with your position that the importance of the qb position is leveling out. Having a high quality franchise qbis the most prominent reason why teams succeed. Your point that it is not wise to over-draft a qb should apply not only to that particular position but all positions. Most draft analysts believed that EJ was over-drafted in a bad qb draft year. This very misguided organization compounded their mistake by prematurely playing a developmental type qb before he was ready to play. That is a sure recipe for trouble. Your Ponder example of reaching for a pick because of a desperate positional need is an excellent point. He has developed into exactly what he was as a prospect, a reasonable backup. The Vikings tried him and some other qbs who didn't work out. So they kept up their pursuit for a higher quality prospect in Bridgewater. That's the approach to take. Be persistent until you get that critical position properly addressed. Instead of reaching for a qb in a bad draft class Nix should have had a backup plan of finding the best veteran qb available to buy time and allow his team a fair chance of competing until a high quality qb was available. That's what Arizona has done with the acquisition of Palmer and Stanton. Let's not forget that Nix and the organiznstation had opportunities to select good prospects below the first round. Instead they idecided to pass for players such as TJ Graham. Marrone did the right thing by benching EJ. Not only is it right for the team but it is in Manuel's best interest. Will he develop into a franchise qb? I'm skeptical. But his best chance at succeeding is having him on the bench better preparing himself so when he gets his opportunity to play he will have a better chance to succeed.

It really doesn't matter what the intention was regarding the acquisition of Kolb or the inexplicable departure of Jackson. (The handling of Jackson was simply odd. What was the point of even bringing him when the coaching staff consigned him to be an invisible presence.) If Manuel was a poor selection as a qb of the future the end result is the same. Can EJ be salvageable? Maybe, up to a low ceiling point. From what I have seen he will never be a good starting qb who can lead his team to a contending status. Without a doubt he can elevate his game yet still be an inadequate starting qb. Buddy Nix had a number of golden opportunities to find a franchise qb during his tenure. What is most upsetting is that he could have procured a number of quality qb prospects outside of the first round (Kaepernick, Wilson etc) and left this franchise in a good position to move forward. His indecisiveness prior to his last year on the job caused him to make a panic qb selection in a bad qb draft year. That type of small thinking happens when you have a checkers player play when the game is chess.

I think you are understating the situation. The EJ issue is a simple one. At this point he is not capable at playing at a level that allows the team to compete, let alone win. Marone's decision to replace him at this early stage of the season is not only a non-controversial decision, but it was an obvious must decision. Whaley's willingness to pay a relatively high salary for a backup is an indication that the organization had major concerns about EJ as a starter before the season started, especially after they saw how he erractic he was in the OTAs and training camp. Although much of the focus has been EJ's dismal performance what has also been most troubling is the performance of the OL, especially the guard play. Without a doubt EJ's inability to make plays in the passing game and his inability to quickly get rid of the ball impacted the OL in pass protection and in run blocking. I'm hoping that Orton can provide a credible downfield passing game that will give the running game more space to run in. Despite the problems with the qb play the OL has in general been overmatched. That is most troubling. I very much agree with you that this offseason there is a strong probability that the organization will thoroughly search the market for a bridge qb who can allow this franchise to be a factor in the league. KC got Smith for a reasonable price from San Francisco. He has dramatically changed the dynamic of that franchise. The Cardinals acquired Stanton in the offseason who replaced Carson Palmer when he got hurt. That credible backup qb has allowed that team to maintain its competitiveness. I like Whaley very much. The mistake of the selection of EJ and throwing him into the fire before he was ready (or ever be ready???) has had a significant repercussion on a team that was finally getting out of the cellar dweller status. But that doesn't mean that they were in position of being a playoff team irrespective of the dire qb situation. My basic point is that many people, including the front office, were over-estimating where this team ranked before the season started. The Bills in my opinion have a good enough front office (compared to the embarrassing past regimes) to take corrective actions to get back into being respectable and watchable. But as I see it we are barely a fringe playoff team, if that. I felt that this was an 8-8 team entering the season and I still feel that way.

I don't understand the fixation on Da'Rick. Those who are arguing that based on his physical abilities he should have made the roster over a less physical player who demonstrably outperformed him in practice makes little sense. Da'Rick was an undrafted free agent prospect. Prior to the draft he was interviewed by almost all the teams interested in him. Not one team was willing to use a pick on him. What does that say about their collective wisdom over a player that got cut by a coaching staff that had a close up opportunity to evaluate him? It confirms their assessment of the player. I distinctly remember when Paul Hamilton on WGR was asked about him. He stated that he simply couldn't grasp the offense and had an inability to play within the confines of an offense. DR is the type of player who could go long and once in a while make the big catch. The problem with him as a receiver is that he couldn't run routes with any discipline or be where the qb expected him to be. As others have previously stated under Whaley this organization is not afraid to take risks with problem prospects. Henderson is a good example of that. He was given an opportunity to produce and he did. Does anyone really believe that a new coaching staff is willing to pass on a player that can in any way help a mediocre team? DR may have some physical tools but he didn't have the maturity and mental wherewithal to play for the Bills. This staff on a daily basis saw what he had to offer in camp and preseason. They let him go. It was the right move regardless who they kept in his spot.

Your observations about Whaley and the coaching staff recognizing prior to the season that he needed a better backup plan at qb was confirmed by Joe B on WGR yesterday. When asked by the host what his thoughts were on the EJ demotion he said that it was obvious during the practices that his accuracy at best was scatter-shot. The does "EJ have what it takes" issue was a major concern not only a critical issue entering the season but it was an issue at how this organization approached the draft. There was no doubt that Watkins was a special talent. Whaley was willing to mortgage the future because he believed that Whatkins would elevate the performance of his questionable qb. He got it terribly wrong. It not only didn't elevate his qb's performance but it hindered exploiting the special talents of Watkins and to a lesser degree Woods and the rest of the receiving corps. What's next? This offseason that can't do what they did in the EJ draft year. If they are not in a position ot draft a franchise qb they are willing to invest the future then they shouldn't. They can go the free agent route if they don't feel Orton is good enough in order to allow this team to compete in the short term. KC payed a reasonable price to get Smith who then proceeded to uplift a floundering franchise. So there are options that might not be apparent now but will come up when the season ends. The bottom line is that this team still needs a long-term answer at qb. What has hurt this franchise is the multiple mistakes of the past. Buddy was in position during his tenure to acquire his franchise qb. He didn't act. It seems to me that Whaley is much more aggressive in his willingness to act to address a need than Nix was. Sometimes it works in your favor and sometimes not. But you can't lament about your plight and stop trying.

Whaley was on the staff when Kaepernick, Wilson and I think Dalton were available. The bypassing of Wilson and then slightly moving up to draft Graham made little sense to me. Is he any better a prospect than Nassib or Glennon who were available at a lower round? We can continue to go on in circles on this issue. But the bottom line is that this staff selected a qb who is an erratic passer. Can he develop into an effective passer? That is very questionable. I hope so, but I have to trust my eyes more than my heart. The staff was invested in EJ so they weren't going to draft a qb last year. The critical mistake that was made that has haunted the Nix/Whaley regime is not to make it a priority to select some good qb prospects that were on the board (not in the first round) when they had the opportunity to do so. As I said before Dalton (not sure if he was on the board during the Nix tenure???), Wilson and Kaepernick were reasonable options for a qb starved team. As it currently stands if EJ becomes a total bust then this franchise is set back. The interminable cycle of going back to the drawing board for their procurement of a franchise qb. Even if EJ ups his game to a higher level odds are he will be at best a below average starting qb. A type of qb who will get you nowhere.

You don't draft a qb at a high draft spot if the qb isn't ranked near where he is drafted. Having a desperate need for a franchise qb shouldn't force you to reach for a project qb with your first round pick. The purpose of trading away next year's first round to move up a few spots to take Watkins was to increase EJ's chances for success. The end result is that a sterling receiver's talents were squandered because a prospect who had accuracy issues coming into the draft displayed what probably isn't a correctable flaw i.e. accuracy. Don't get carried away with Orton's potential for turning around the offense. He is an acknowledged retread (mediocre) qb at the end of his career who is replacing a young qb who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.. Even with his limitations the veteran replacement qb gives this team a better chance to compete. A good GM is someone who not only better positions his team for the present but he also is expected place the team in a good situation for the long haul. As it stands this franchise is still on its generational quest to acquire a legitimate franchise qb.

The trade down was a smart move. Getting Kiko because of the trade down doesn't necessarily mean that you have to take a developmental qb in the first round. Who gives a hoot whether Whaley or Nix would have gotten roasted with any particular pick! You make decisions based on what is best for the franchise not because of the expected ressponse from the fickle peanut gallery.

I don't think he is going to be fired and I don't want him to be. The selection of EJ in the first round as it presently stands is a mistake. You are suggesting that he was a better selection than Geno or Glennon. That isn't the issue. If there weren't any strong qb candidates in that draft then why invest a first round pick who many analysts felt was a developmental prospect? Just because you have a qb need doesn't mean that in that particular year when there is a dearth of good candidates you should reach for one out of desperation. Without a doubt this franchise has been sent back by more than a year. Orton is simply a retread qb who is a stop gap option replacing a qb who at this point simply can't do the job. This organization still has to come up with a long term qb solution. We don't have a first round pick next year so that limits the candidates.

On a team with few authentic impact players he is an impactful player. Having an interior lineman who can push the pile and create inside pressure is a luxury that most teams don't have. He has been a pleasant surprise after a tumultuous offseason.

I like Whaley very much and I don't think he should be fired. But make no mistake that he set this franchise back a few years with the the EJ selection and then giving up a first round pick in order to buttress the prospect of his qb. I think Watkins is going to be an exceptional player. But his talents, along with Woods, are being squandered because of the investment in EJ. Most draft analysts concluded that EJ was a raw prospect who was going to take some time to develop. It was a reach to believe that he could quickly take over the reigns as the franchise qb. Our organization felt otherwise. The accuracy issue was always an issue with him as a draft prospect. That doesn't mean that he shouldn't have been drafted but taking him in the first round was a reach. I was listening to WGR and Joe B this morning. Joe B stated that even during practice prior to the season it was apparent that his accuracy level was very troublesome. Is there still a chance that Manuel can eventually improve his accuracy to an acceptable level? I hate to say it but I doubt it.

There certainly was more to his benching: A player revotl! Most obvious the receivers were blatantly (unprofessionally) showing their frustration with his erratic passes. Everyone in the organization is well aware that Orton is a pedestrian qb, a backup at best. And everyone knows that at this point he gives the team a better chance to win than the confused young qb he is replacing.

With respect to EJ being replaced tt doesn't matter who selected EJ? The issue isn't who was on board when he was selected as it is who gives you a chance to win or at least compete. Haven't you watched the games and the atrocious play of the qb? It's not conclusive that EJ can be or not be a starter in this league but it is blatantly obvious, to his suporters and his critics, that as it stands he can't handle the job. Criticizing the coaches for not adequately coaching him up is an unfair accusation. No level of coaching can compensate for a qb that can't throw accurately. It doesn't matter what play you call if the qb can't complete a pass to a receiver when he is open. Even when he completes his passes the ball placement is usually horrendous. The HC and staff not only did the right thing for the team with his benching but they did the right thing for the overwhelmed qb. He needs to step back and work on his game on the practice field. He is currently a befuddled player who needs to regather himself.

What is there new to say? The GM was all in on last year's first round qb. They not only invested in him with a first round draft pick but they gave up next year's first round draft pick to move up a few spots to select a dynamic receiver who would help to enhance EJ's prospects. Whaley selected a qb who many believed was far from being ready to play in this league. I'm not suggesting that EJ isn't capable of being a franchise qb (although that is very debatable) but the organization put itself in a vulnerable position for someone who was not close to being enough of a finished product to quickly succeed. What really bothered me in the Houston game is that you can see the frustration level boiling over with the receivers. It's unprofessional to publicly demonstrate your frustration and irritation with your qb. I understand the frustration but it doesn't help the situation. Where does the team go on from here? As this point Orton might be the better short term answer but it must be recognized that he is nothing more than a pedestrian qb, in other words a reasonable backup. The bottom line is that this front office put their chips on a young player with no backup plan. Giving up next year's first round pick for Watkins made a lot of sense (at least to me) if the qb throwing to him was a more accomplished player. I'm not giving up on EJ. But that doesn't mean that he should continue to start and play at a wretched level. You have to give the team a chance to compete and get some wins under its belt. What I find most disturbing is not that EJ doesn't work out but who is next in line to take the snaps next year. Did this staff mortgage the short term future for a long shot? The Bills have not made the playoffs for 15 consecutive years; at this rate of progress we are looking at another half decade added to the ignominious count that is still ongoing.