BobChalmers

I was seeing that too - like he looks so much smaller on the field than his listed size too - same with Poz. Poz is a good pro, but he wasn't worth a 1st/2nd rounder, and this level of player doesn't belong in the top half of the first for sure. The missed tackles were particularly brutal since it's much harder to blame that on the competition.

Seriolusly - is he a 1st-rounder after this anymore? He looks awful - beyond just the overall Alabama blowout.

NONE - trading up this season is silly. You are spot-on. Or are we moving up to get Te'O?

Dear heaven, does noone here READ anything before they respond to it???? A 3-4 ACTUALLY NEEDS FEWER PURE LB's THAN A 4-3!!! Well that is so true - every time we heard Wanny brag about how simple his scheme was we should have been worried. Simple schemes are not how you get Brady making mistakes.

I'll add this about Pettine's involvement vs. Rex Ryan with the Raven's defense, etc. Rex wasn't the Ravens DC original either - Marvin Lewis was - Rex inherited that Baltimore defense from him and brought it to the Jets. Since then, one DC after another has been able to continue the tradtion and effectiveness of the scheme - due in no small part to guys like Ray Lewis, of course, but the point is, I don't assume it's all about Rex - even if he tries to tell everyone it is.

Damn - beat me to it!!

SO TRUE. The screwy thing about the "big switch to the 4-3" last season, is that the addition of Mario and Anderson actually sets the Bills up better for the 3-4. In a 3-4 system, both of those guys are OLB's - in other words, a 3-4 is essentially a 5-2, and the Bills have extra DL talent right now and are dying for 4-3 LB's they don't have. Paradoxically a switch to a "3-4" would actually leave them with only 2 ILB spots to fill, presumably with some combination of Bradham and or Sheppard being able to take one spot. It would also mean more time for Carrington, who along with Dareus and KW make a fine front 3. They would still need a stud ILB something awful, but at least they wouldn't need OLB(s) too.

Funny thing is, depsite the "big switch to a 4-3" this season, adding Mario and Anderson arguably has the Bills set up better for a 3-4 than a 4-3. Both guys are OLB's in a 3-4, which means they are only 1 ILB away instead of needing an OLB and an MLB to stay with the 4-3. Put another way, a 3-4 is in many ways really a 5-2, and the Bills have a lot more talent at DL than they do at LB, obviously.

This. If Kelly - a guy with a 4-year resume - really thinks he should have total control including personnel, he's an arrogant idiot. Gregg Williams v. 2.0

I started another thread about this - but HERM EDWARDS was Marrone's boss with the Jets... just sayin'

Herm Edwards on ESPN this morning with the early news on Marrone's hiring: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8817982 Paraphrasing here, but Edwards said: - He hired Doug Marrone with the Jets - did a great job transitioning a DT to OG who went on to pro-bowls. - Said Marrone is a good leader - BUT Said he needs to find a good D/C I'm saying the odds are better than 50/50 Marrone hires his old boss to run his defense. And yes, that's what Gailey just did with Wanny.

+100

I'm an FSU fan and alum - EJ Manuel has some nice tools, but he has no business being drafted before the 2nd round.

Gilbride used to do this too. I swear if I am ever an NFL owner, I will walk out of my skybox, straight down to the field and fire my head coach right in front of a national TV audience in the middle of a game if he ever EVER goes empty backfield on 3rd and 1.

Huh - I wonder who died in Gailey's family?

I'd argue Gailey had a lot of success with the spread. Offense was much better than under Jauron, but you can only do so much with a QB as inaccurate (and weak-armed) as Fitz. This is a big part of why I am not high on Kelly (AT ALL). Tell me what's so different about his offense than Gailey's? If they had Russell Wilson on the team, they could look a lot like Oregon. Who is going to be that run-threat QB in Buffalo for Kelly like he relies on in Oregon??

2nd Dallas game Bills were winning (20-10?) at the half before they got cute with the shovel passes to Thurman - both turnovers that reversed the momentum of the game. They don't score all those points w/o the Bills offense's help. 1st loss (SB25) was ALL about the foolishness of the play-calling in the second half. Thurman was averaging 10 a carry, but Jimbo wanted to win through the air. Played right nito Parcell's hands.

To be clear - you are talking about the reality of the Bills' problems - I am specifically talking about the league's perception of the problems.

Yeah - it means the Bills' opening is an attractive one. They really are not that many players away anymore. 1 QB, 2 LB's, maybe another WR and CB - at that point you'd be hard-pressed to come up with things to really improve. Their record is skewed by how important the LB and QB positions are - but they are still just a few roster spots to fill, and coaches know it. I'd also combine that with the fact that there has been ZERO interest in Gailey or his staff. That tells me the rest of the league perceives that the problem in Buffalo was more about the coaching than the players.

Yeah - and did you see that 66-yard bomb Fitz threw to Spiller last week? What an arm he has!!! Aren't stats awesome? Smith really struggled for a long time with bad offensive situations, so his career rating isn't just better than Fitz, it's climbing - Fitz is showing no improvement at all, fair enough? No Smith isn't great - he's just significantly better than Fitz. And yeah - I'd take Romo in a flash over either of them.

To be fair, there are college coaches who have some NFL experience. Kelly's resume is glaring for the complete lack of it, even as a player - and damned little major college experience either. But your overall point is spot-on. The media and most of the fans will make fun of whoever the Bills get. We should just be ready for that and move on.

Chan Gailey was fired after he made two straight playoff appearances in his last stint as an NFL HC before the Bills hired him. He was fired as O/C in KC - not HC. I really think Whisenhunt might be the next Bellicheck. He's probably a good coach who struggled with a REALLY bad roster on offense this year. Similarly, Lovie Smith had talent at QB, RB, and WR, but the Bears OL is a horror show. I think his front office was being urealistic thinking they should be a playoff team.

How did bringing back Joe Gibbs work out in DC? The guy was arguably one of the most impressive coaches ever - winning three Super Bowls - two of them with two different bad QB's. He couldn't change a thing on his comeback.

Spurrier was an NFL QB. Albeit for the 0-14 Buc's - we can discuss whether or not that was really like being in the NFL! This makes me want him to be my O/C, maybe - but how does he do any better than Chan if he's got nothing better at QB? His success is totally predicated on having a QB we don't have and may not find in the draft. Show me how he ran a successful power-I or something when he was an assistant at Johns Hopkins or New Hampshire and I'd be more impressed.

Harbaugh was an NFL player - I have to believe that helps with the players. Has Chip Kelly played at all - at any level?