BillsVet

"Almost every big name on this roster was either acquired for way too much or cast aside by the rest of the NFL. When the Bills hired Rex Ryan, he almost satisfied both criteria. The Bills already had a good defense. They needed offense — the one thing the rest of the league agreed was beyond Rex’s purview. Then we found out they were coming into camp with a quarterback battle between EJ Manuel and Taylor? And McCoy was supposed to change everything? It was a disaster in the making." http://grantland.com/the-triangle/tell-your-grandkids-about-the-2015-buffalo-bills/ Posted this link in another thread, thought it more appropriate here.

How not to build a franchise in the 2015 NFL landscape: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/tell-your-grandkids-about-the-2015-buffalo-bills/ The McCoy trade was audacious, but not aligned with their philosophy, cost too much in cap dollars, and provided a diva to a team that needs blue collar types.

You believe what you want to believe because it fits your narrative. If the team makes changes this off-season (and there's a chance they will) I expect your daily activity to dwindle.

Always amazing to see the same people defending coaches, management, et al. and predictably citing injuries as the issue. Happens every year. All after the QB has been healthy to start 11 games with Whaley's boy starting the other 2. Besides what teams aren't banged up by this point in the year? Then there are teams like NE who lose much of their OL, receivers, linebackers throughout the year and still beat quality teams. Buffalo gets to play the two weakest divisions in the NFL and people cite injuries.

Pot meet kettle.

I'll try to use another analogy. If you hire an artist to paint your picture and you don't like it, do you demand they change their brush or colors? Or do you get rid of the painter? Because that's what we're talking about here. It's not a coincidence that the finished product every year never ends up right. And it goes deeper than play-calling or the defensive scheme. I like debating the nuances of decisions made above the field of play. And you're position remains that those things are cloudy, so we can't criticize them as much. Inevitably, you place the criticism on players and coaching because those are more obvious entities. It fits with the narrative of surface fans who don't get into the nuts and bolts of team-building because it's not as easily understood.

I know your schtick is to defend OBD at all costs. Never blame the management, only the moving parts they decide on. But you conveniently missed my point in the thread about coordinating the RB in a run first offense with the OL. You know well that they've prioritized featuring a bigger OL with tackles like Glenn and Henderson, then filling in with Incognito. Wood is a bigger center. And in theory that fits with a power-run scheme because they're run blockers first. Except they then went and traded for McCoy, who is a shifty type back that tries to make guys miss. He fits a zone-blocking scheme with more agile OL, which they don't have. Ironically, the guy more suited to that scheme and personnel is a 1 cut type like Karlos Williams, who unfortunately can't stay on the field. He cost them a 5th. McCoy cost them a former 2nd rounder and 26M guaranteed. This more than illustrates how everything needs to be aligned. But it's not. You don't go 6 years of rebuilding with a guy intimately involved in personnel and expect him to get it right all of a sudden.

Taylor doesn't see the middle of the field well according to Bills lead cheerleader Chris Brown on the WGR Monday morning extra point show. Besides, what kind of NFL OC doesn't call routes that go over the middle of the field at some point in a game? Because I'm pretty sure they're not all within 5 yards or along the sidelines. Play-calling may again be suspect, but it's not all on the OC. The QB needs to make the intermediate throws when they're available.

Someone needs to babysit the HC and make sure his plan fits with the GM's personnel acquisitions. Right now there's a clear disconnect, as evidenced by the QB debate. As much as I want to think Rex knows what he wants to do, I see issues matching personnel to scheme. Whaley (and Nix before him) wanted a big OL, yet they made Spiller their first round pick in 2010, who was not a between the tackles runner. Same can be said for McCoy, who is a slasher and never will be a one cut type back more suited to what the OL is. I'm not one for bureaucracy, but having an experienced football guy supervising the two (if they don't report to each other) is essential. If you're house is on fire, would you prioritize getting the garbage to the curb? Getting another guard, linebacker, or running back isn't making this team better. You make sure the team has the right people in charge who can create an identity and find players to fit it. Frankly at this point it's pointless to talk players if the people acquiring the players aren't sure what they want to be and whether that plan is suitable to winning in the modern NFL.

If there are no changes in management, there won't be a change in W-L record next season. Some fans see that. Others see what they want because to them criticism of the team is not what "real" fans do. That is, unless it becomes blatantly obvious said team is bad.

Taylor's got to use the middle of the field or he becomes a one-trick pony similar to Losman. Perhaps it's Rex/Roman not featuring those plays to make up for Taylor's shortcomings as a younger QB, but you become predictable offensively if every pass is short or down the sideline. Gailey tried that with Fitz and it was quickly figured out. You still draft a QB high in 2016 regardless. That goes against Buffalo's previous mantra which preached one guy at a time and hope they develop, but that plan hasn't worked in more than a decade.

Didn't he go rogue?

But this isn't the 1980s anymore. Teams now have free agency and the passing game is easier (with a decent QB) which, among other things, allows teams to rebuild quickly.

I meant Darrell, he of the 40 home run season in 1987 with the Detroit Tigers.

They're using Watkins in a way similar to how Evans was used. I recognize they're two different types of receivers, but what good is it to use Watkins on sideline throws so much? The passing game is predictable and defenses know it. If Taylor can't get Watkins or others the ball over the middle, then the offense struggles. Case in point was KC's stopping Sammy in the second half 2 weeks ago. Or, after the TD catch this past week, Sammy being held to 4 catches and 44 yards.

Cursed? Yes, by bad general managers and head coaches. And before the Pegula's ownership, by financial people who dominated personnel decision making. Put those two things together and you're going to have a NFL franchise that will never be better than mediocre, i.e. 16 non-playoff seasons.

Watkins is fast becoming a 9 route specific WR like Lee Evans was. For Watkins to get the plaudits OBJ does, he needs to be making catches over the middle and getting yards after the catch. Still, I'm not sure he's got the QB who'll be able to do that, which makes me wonder what SW becomes when defenses realize TT's limitations.

This thread reminds me of the following conversation from Dumb and Dumber: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109686/quotes?item=qt0383410

Your crusade to blame fans regardless of the team's W-L record really knows no bounds. Do you still think the team leaves if a few thousand season ticket fans don't renew? Because I'm pretty sure TPegs and KPegs aren't going to let that happen.

The longest playoff drought since 1990 when the league went to 6 team conference playoff format was owned by the Cincinnati Bengals from 1991-2004. Buffalo has them beat now by 2 seasons. And keep in mind, those Cincinnati years featured the owner acting as GM, so there was no firing the front office leader.

It just seems weird posting 80+ times a day and doing all this.

At the press conference in January announcing Rex as HC a question was asked about differences of opinion between the HC and GM. At the time it was sort of laughed off and there was no real answer besides them saying Whaley had the 53 man roster and Rex/staff had the game day one Well, we saw how that arrangement undermines an organization when the GM is trying to overrule the HC in personnel matters. The Pegulas brought this on themselves by trying to manage a GM who was intent on saving his job (and without a contract extension) by getting his guys PT and a HC who didn't agree. Maybe now they'll find someone who can do what apparently they thought they could this year supervising Rex and Whaley.

26CB are you paid to start these threads? And if not, why post them?

I know it's another season, but some homers are attempting to soften the blow of the playoff drought going from 15 to 16 seasons. They'll be back around draft time buying into the hype and telling the other skeptical types that we're only a right tackle or linebacker away. How quickly they forget the season itself when the issues ran much deeper and higher into OBD. If there's one thing with ticket sales it's that they don't matter much to a team's bottom line. Sure, you want to pack a stadium, but sharing of the television contracts is what keeps a lot of teams financially viable. And people will always go to the games because it's a great big party with some football thrown in. They'll probably lose some ST sales because they can't make the big name moves in 2016 like they this did in the past off-season. Then again, what's wrong with this team is in management and it remains to be seen whether they're willing to shake things up there.

It's already been a long 15+ seasons. 1 week is nothing.