BillsVet

Buffalo Bills 2017: Because Quarterback purgatory isn't over yet.

I don't know what's wrong with CK, but the possibility exists he's dealing with a mental health issue. We don't know for sure, but if that's the case I hope he gets the help he needs. A report earlier this off-season indicated he fell down in his home which necessitated hip surgery. Perhaps the two events are connected, perhaps not. He's 23 years old and certain illnesses reveal themselves early in adulthood. I wish him the best.

I think the homer crowd has gone full "To Doug Whaley" at this point. As if it's a stroke of genius he allowed MG to be tendered at a 5th round level and then the Patriots fell for his smokescreen.

Yep. So many fans don't expect their GM to anticipate problems and then act surprised when a player can't get it done anymore. Yet these are the same people calling for a CEO's head whose business doesn't improve and they're paid too much. A NFL GM should be expected to assess his roster and who is improving or regressing. And naturally, to plan accordingly. Is it that hard for a guy in the NFL 20+ years to anticipate a 29 year old back with balky hamstrings might need (EDIT: a quality) backup at a position which probably has the greatest probability of injury? A position where they're hit on just about every carry? Is that too much for this GM? Especially considering they're set up to be a run first team? GM's need to operate in the here and now while keeping an eye on the future. I don't sense Whaley does much of the later because he's too concerned about keeping his job to make bold decisions like moving on from a player before it's too late. More fans defining conflation. Karlos and Gillislee had similar stats. Ergo, the same. Right.

So Billsy. The NFL can give the worst teams the best draft picks. They can create a salary cap. But they can't even out the intelligence in NFL front offices. The slow moving teams circle the drain because their decision makers aren't good.

It's never been more conducive for a rookie QB to play right away in the NFL. It's still not easy, just more forgiving given the rule changes and more PI, roughing the QB, etc.. And teams have responded with their offensive philosophy and prioritized QB play. This idea it's so hard to get a QB and a team is better off addressing other positions is so defeatist. It's as bad as DJ saying "it's hard to win in the NFL." Of course it is. That doesn't mean you don't try. There's risk to everything. No one just hands you a playoff appearance or a franchise QB.

Isn't it amazing how many short sighted fans tend to blame only what they see: players and coaches. Trying to debate the nuance of personnel strategy for some is a bridge too far.

How many times have I read here that Whaley is so adept at pro personnel, especially after his tenure with Pittsburgh. Yet, neither he nor his pro personnel guys can assign appropriate value to RFA's. It's as if Whaley is merely a 20 year NFL intern who hasn't been given responsibility for much beyond doing scouting reports. And not surprisingly I see the usual homer sophistry and conflation to defend the GM for his continued lack of vision. But hey, he traded for Jerry Hughes and signed a few bargain bin defensive UFA's! He's just so brilliant.

Did Murph excoriate him on air as a result? Whaley still "okay?"

Likewise I'm shocked to see you defending Whaley again. But you well know the TT acquisition was pushed by Rex while Whaley that off-season talked up EJM. Besides touchdown to interception ratio is still not wins and losses. Still, you push the narrative the GM wanted real competition for his 1st round pick. Would Doug Whaley still have his job in 31 other front offices after 4 years of no playoffs? Because according to my research only one current general manager has gone that long without making the playoffs. And that is Dave Caldwell in Jacksonville, who now reports to Tom Coughlin. The apologist tour...still running on funes...continues on!

Good old "Whales." The teflon GM. It's not his fault the fans are skeptical after all these years, 4 of which with him as GM. Or that he couldn't hire the last 3 HC's. Or that his drafts were pedestrian and included ill-advised trades up. Or that Overdorf signed those bad contracts. Or that they were limited in cap dollars because of the big spending in '15. Or that his QB didn't work out. Or that there were injuries to Watkins, Lawson, et al. But look over there...we signed Lorenzo Alexander and Zack Brown! He isn't totally at fault. But he shares in a large part of the blame, because he's the GM. The Whaley apology tour has lost a lot of its luster, particularly after that end of season PC.

I've always thought Russ was the "Mr. Smithers" to Ralph Wilson's C. Montgomery Burns.

I'm sure there are some more China AFL players who are out there. Signing upwards of 30 street free agents, UDFA's, and low cost FA's shouldn't be the method to build this roster after the past 4 (some might claim 7) off-seasons of rebuilding. We shall see how many of the low end signings make the roster, and if they do, are significant contributors.

Who are you to tell another poster what's right and wrong? Millennial, right?

Watching that makes what Don Hutson did all the more remarkable.

Corrected. I just don't see them going WR or TE with their first pick. Not with a defensive minded HC inheriting what he has on that side of the ball.

I doubt McDermott goes (EDIT: offense) given the secondary issues. In the age of fantasy football WR's and TE's are nice, but a HC from the defensive side of the ball isn't going (EDIT: offense) with his first draft. This is especially the case with Buffalo's defense was so poor last year because McD knows it wasn't just the scheme.

Actually, criticism is forthcoming when you don't get into the playoffs. That lack of results tends to be frowned upon.

Brandon isn't gone. He got a promotion. EJ was not re-signed because he couldn't play. Rex was fired after a tumultuous season in which the front office blamed him through the media for the season going poorly. It was partially his fault, but the roster assembled wasn't good either. Career minded coaches like McDermott do not take a HC job where there isn't a chance to succeed. If McD can get T/K Pegs to jettison Whaley, who is only 1 of 2 HC's in the NFL (Dave Caldwell) to be a GM 4 full seasons and not deliver a playoff appearance, it would be a long overdue move.

It's not a plan to hope someone who's never been a #2 and been in the league a few seasons to all of a sudden develop. In 2015 and 2016 (32 games), Andre Holmes was targeted all of 58 times, catching 25 passes. During this time Derek Carr threw 1,100+ passes, which makes Holmes the intended receiver about 5% of the time. The notion Holmes is suddenly a #2 caliber receiver is absurd given the production. This will not be a passing team and besides, the new HC comes from the defensive side of the ball. The chances they take a WR in the first round are slim and it wouldn't surprise me if they take the best DB on the board. WR isn't that important and the quantity of retreads they've signed indicates this isn't a priority. They'll hope someone performs, and if not, it's not the personnel department's fault anyway.

Because he reads TBD. He knows this is the home of rational, logic driven thought for how to make this team a winner - now.

I didn't realize there were so many Baghdad Bob's on this board.

Your picks in rounds 1-3 are where you should find starters. And I chose 2009-13 because those players would now be on their second contract, and therefore re-signed. Darby is not a replacement for Gilmore. He was chosen because they needed another CB in 2015 and met RR's priority on the position. Seymour is almost a complete unknown and it seems the off-season revisionist history now pronounces him a starter. He hasn't proven after 1 season he's starting material. Listenbee is a complete unknown who's never run a full route tree and is coming off multiple injuries. If you bank on essentially a redshirt freshman basically being a reliable pass catcher, it's delusional. The Bills needed to sign so many players this off-season because the roster is without much depth. If Doug Whaley was this great architect of a roster, why would this be the case after 4 seasons he was in charge of personnel?

No one in the first wave of free agency deserves what they get. The market bears it out though if you want to sign a quality UFA you're going to pay. I realize discussion of roster and cap management here is an exercise in futility, but whatever. Good teams don't perennially use the draft to fill gaping roster needs. Usually, a team that drafts well has a player ready to step in and play. That doesn't happen in Buffalo, and their depth is typically lousy which requires them to spend in UFA when that those players should be on lower rookie contracts. And this narrative of not being able to re-sign everyone should be dead. From 2009-2013 Buffalo had a total of 17 draft picks in the first 3 rounds. 4 (Maybin, Troup, Graham, EJM) were busts. 7 were not re-signed and hit UFA (Byrd, Levitre, Spiller, Carrington, Gilmore, Woods, and Goodwin). 2 were traded (Sheppard, Alonso). And a grand total of 4 players were re-signed (Wood, Dareus, A. Williams, and Glenn). They're not signing so many of their own it precludes them from keeping other players. They're just not getting value from the draft, especially after the 2nd round and trying to balance that in free agency. They've been fast and loose with resources and now find themselves backed into a corner. I'm not a big Tim Graham fan, but his article at the end of last season hit the nail on the head. The root cause for their inept roster is poor drafting. And the same guy who's been affiliated with the team since 2010 is still there. For the past 4 years he's been behind on the draft and result it relying heavily on free agents. It's only papering over the real issue.

Great post. The common denominator is rarely do the Bills have a player on the roster to fill in when they let a guy go via UFA. They're not prepared given the terrible drafting (particularly after round 2) for someone to step in who's semi-proven when a UFA leaves. The other interesting thing is how every new HC in their first draft has used the top pick on the side of the ball they originate from: 1998 - Wade - Winfield 2001 - Greggo - Clements 2004 - Mularkey - Evans / Losman 2006 - Jauron - Whitner / McCargo 2010 - Gailey - Spiller 2013 - Marrone - Manuel 2015 - Ryan - Darby (2nd) I doubt this team goes offense in round 1. McDermott knows the defense was their weak point last year and even though the offense is on the downslide, their secondary is extremely weak. More using the draft to backfill for departed UFA's and/or guys the new HC didn't prefer. And, if anything is clear now, Whaley defers to HC's because he's a weak leader and gives in to show he's a "team player." McDermott wants to win now and isn't about to address the side of the ball that on paper is stronger.