BillsVet

John, whatever happened to "show me the baby?" You gotta make the playoffs to earn cred. Talking about making it, no matter how new the person is, ain't cutting it. Unless you're content with .500 or below, which is a possibility with the results optional/team first/no accountability crowd.

I have a hard time praising Doug Whaley right now for anything, especially decisions made at QB almost a year ago. The same Whaley who drafted a guy in the 2016 1st round with a significant shoulder injury, who said football isn't a game humans should play, and despite being one of the highest spending teams, still has issues in the defensive front 7. And let's not forget we're not sure they even have a QB after 4 off-season he's been the top personnel guy. OK, he gets credit for trading Matt Cassel. But whatever gain there is more than overcome by the whiffs elsewhere. And that includes Manuel.

I've never understood why Buffalo has invested so little in the TE position as other teams used athletic types to exploit defenses. Now, they've signed (and since re-negotiated) Charles Clay to be that player for them. There aren't a lot of great cover LB's, but there are plenty of TE's who can run the seam and make difficult catches. Buffalo will be forced to throw the ball this year and Clay had better factor into that. I'm not convinced opposing DC's are concerned with any WR beyond Watkins. Roman had better think of creative ways to get the ball downfield because the run isn't always going to be easy.

And there are some who continue to believe it's just bad luck when the Bills cannot reach the playoffs.

Wait, now we love the media? Last month was all about hating the media because they dared question OBD. How does OBD feel now 26?

I prefer the "Baghdad" Bob comparison. Most of the youngsters don't know who Goebbels was, but they may remember the dude who said American troops weren't any threat to Iraq's capital in 2003.

The Bills need a remedial Cap Management 101 course to help them. I can see it now if there are further negotiation problems with Gilmore. Some fans will say he's expendable with Darby on the roster. Or that they can find another good CB in the draft. Or Gilmore's asking price was too high. All of this ignores the root of the problem with the front office: They make bad decisions at an alarmingly high rate. Those McCoy and Clay contracts are going to hurt, and represent money given to non-homegrown players.

The same Russ Brandon who chose not to go to the NHL Draft Lottery to make phone calls to UDFAs after the draft ended? Sure, it's not a big thing, but Smithers is involved and every time his name pops up I think of this: Russ' personality isn't one to take a back seat and he's not changing.

Rex has 5 straight non-playoff seasons as a NFL HC, which puts him in rare company. Ownership has given their HC and GM every resource to get this team into the post-season, so it'll be interesting if in fact they don't make it. They very well could and this is a moot point. Just because the Pegula's are loyal doesn't mean they'll go William Clay Ford and allow incompetent types to remain in place. They have to want to win and ought to know when their football management isn't getting it done.

Did I say anything that isn't factual? Because facts don't care about fan-hood. There should be a safe zone, i.e. non-critical zone, created here on TBD. I beginning to think it's necessary for too many fans.

Say with it me JfH..."I...cannot...criticize...the...team...I...cannot...criticize...the...team." The Dodd and Lawson situations are not splitting hairs. It's a case of someone having a pre-existing condition (Lawson) versus a player (Dodd) who learned of the injury while in mini-camp (if reports are to be believed). Dodd also stands to be back for training camp, while various reports indicate Lawson will miss perhaps 5 or more. Tennessee has a few guys in his position who'll play while Buffalo will rely on Manny Lawson and some UDFAs/SFA's to fill in while Lawson recovers. It's amazing the extent you homers go to not criticize this team. No franchise has had a worse month than the Bills, who successfully found every pothole to fall into recently. For some reason it doesn't elicit the slightest hint of reality, although I guess this makes me a negative nabob.

The question isn't whether they've got experience or know which scheme they're running. It's still whether their scheme is going to work in a rapidly evolving NFL. All these looks and complexities are nice, but are you able to get the right package on the field playing New England? Are the players able to digest it and run it well from the get-go? Apparently they think football is still about being the biggest and baddest dudes around. That's nice for copy but it still ain't winning football games. Time to put up or shut up.

The 11 receivers beyond Watkins and Woods are a who's who of undrafted and street free agents. Little, Hankerson, Boykin, and Salas have all played or been a roster member for at least 4 teams, so expecting them to magically transform into a competent third option is wishful thinking. The remaining 7 receivers have done almost nothing in the NFL. Buffalo needs to work Clay into the passing game because after Woods there's very little.

Tell that to ownership who are trying to market a brand which depends on the on-field product actually being a winner. And tell that to career-minded individuals at OBD who know that in the NFL if you're not trying to win now you're getting closer to being fired.

I cannot believe how poor he is thinking on his feet. Public speaking isn't optional for people with a public position.

The media is restricted by the team from revealing too much about practices closed to the public. Perhaps the team should restrict the GM from speaking to the media in public. I imagine Berchtold's day got a bit longer after that interview.

Who happens to be the GM of a NFL franchise. Really quite stunning, isn't it?

Maybe there's more to this recent Carrucci quote: "General Manager Doug Whaley -- who chooses every word he speaks to the media as if it's a potential boomerang that will return to knock him in the back of the head..." I honestly cannot believe a NFL franchise has a GM who says this. You don't need to be a PR expert to know that making this statement when the league is involved in litigation over concussions is not beneficial.

No. Most of them would have been traded just like Peters was for draft picks. That's why Dick Jauron wasn't absolutely horrible because he managed to be mediocre with far less spending. Now, the Bills are mediocre despite being among the league's big spenders.

The Pegulas purchased the team because they wanted to and wanted to win. He spent more in guaranteed money last off-season than any other team and has discussed with Polian the concept of a czar overseeing football ops. I think we can agree that these moves illustrate that while he's not as concerned with the bottom line like the first owner, he does have some issues with management. I suspect there's going to be movement in the front office after 2016 if they're not in the playoffs.

They've made history. No franchise since 1991 (when playoff rules were changed) has missed the playoffs for more seasons consecutively. Only Cincinnati and Detroit have longer streaks without winning a playoff game. I know...negative nabob. TPegs didn't spend the money he has for them to be in anything but win-now mode.

I think this is the first time I saw a thread go from essentially mass division to almost a kumbaya moment. And I think that's good.

Trust me, you need a safe zone from anyone critical of this organization. It's a message board and whether you realize it or not, not everyone's going to agree with you. Deal with it.

TSW is becoming a lot like these college campuses where students demand safe zones because they feel "threatened." Rather than students it's a select group of posters who shout down anyone that dares express an opinion contrary to pro-team view. And if that doesn't work, to ridicule despite never having debated the merits of the opinion they disagree with. The objective seems only to suppress those opinions that in any way call into question the team, one that has shown no success recently. What's hilarious is that there are actual Bills fans who can't imagine why the team would get criticism. Kinda like those students who expected to be able to throw temper tantrums and get everything they demanded.

Define contribute. Is that starting games? And if so, how many? As for TT, well, I'm not optimistic he'll become a more refined passer, but he's about all they've got right now. He may go the route Kaepernick did in another Roman offense, but it's too early to tell. I never inferred ownership rage. I did say they're most likely not thrilled the first round draft pick had to undergo surgery this soon. Because if they're involved as Doug Whaley says, then their top football people told them it wasn't a major issue. Do you think ownership likes being misled or fed information not accurate after spending dearly on scouts, personnel executives, and doctors to review prospective draft picks? I'm sure the Pegula's are reasonable, but it doesn't excuse that this is a business and a player for their business did not survive a non-contact drill. We all know this. But you think anyone's fine with paying out money to damaged goods. He doesn't mind spending, but he's not reckless with his dollars either.