BillsVet

IIRC, one of the top UFA targets Rex made with NYJ in 2009 was Bart Scott. They definitely overpaid, but on this defense having someone who knows it and can perhaps teach it is worth more. Now the question becomes is it worth it to make all these moves to have the defense Rex wants to run. RR isn't deviating from his scheme, so the only options are to get the players or get a new HC. Good post Dave.

Polian offering his services publicly seems strange, but it'd be hard for Pegula from a PR perspective to decline. I know a lot of fans love Doug Whaley, but there's clearly a major conflict between the GM and HC as evidenced by some personnel decisions during and just after camp. What's needed is an honest assessment of the team and personalities involved building the roster and Polian is someone Pegula clearly trust. Regardless, something needs to change at OBD because there's so much negative energy right now.

Rex needs to be asked what's happened and why this team has become a rudderless ship. Now, if those reporters asked penetrating questions of Doug Whaley it's a different story. Because according to some Doug Whaley is not at fault. And that's mostly because what he does is out of the purview of fans and therefore hard to understand. Rex OTOH is there 16 games a year making decisions more easily debated.

The media doesn't approach a professional sports team the way its fans do. That may be the greatest misconception on TBD in the time I've been here. When this bumbling franchise starts making the playoffs perhaps the "negative" articles construed by some fans will be less frequent. And I'm sure the media knows a lot more than they're putting out there, primarily not to totally sever their ability to cover the team. We know how the Bills have controlled the flow of information over the years. Listen to Bills lead journalist Chris Brown on the WGR extra point show from Monday 12/14 at approximately the 22 minute mark. He says what the poster wrote. http://media.wgr550.com/a/111757062/12-14-extra-point-show-with-sal-capaccio-hr-2.htm?q=Chris+Brown Tyrod does indeed need throwing lanes to see the field.

McCoy's contract, particularly this coming off-season, needs to be a part of the discussion regardless of how much Pegula spends. What the Bills did giving him an extension to placate his trade inhibits their ability to staff other positions, namely defensive ones. And that will undoubtedly be a requirement real soon. I think certain fans like (and vocally support) McCoy more for his name than his output on the field. He's in the news a lot and for a team with (some) fans starving for any shred of attention, he provides that. What he doesn't provide is value based on his contract.

Two irrelevant franchises playing a week 16 match-up. Not exactly a programmer's dream if you're NBC, even if it is the Cowboys.

The irony is that last year, as the article noted, Buffalo's starters apparently lost only 13 games to injury. No one then talked about how their success was due to a lack of injuries. Besides, if injuries are to blame for the 2015 season like we're told by the homers, that reflects poorly on the roster depth built by the personnel staff. I can understand blaming injuries if your starting QB is a top player and he's lost for the season in week 2 or most of your offensive line goes down. But those things didn't happen in Buffalo this year. Regardless, some people conveniently people cite injuries when they don't want to admit the team was constructed poorly.

It's about time bad NFL teams were able to draft GMs from other teams. Buffalo, with the likes of Marv, Brandon, Nix, and now Whaley, clearly needs an upgrade at the position but continues to have people unqualified or just bad at the job.

"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.