BillsVet

The scary thing is they go 3-1 in their next 4 against weak opponents and continue to try the same approach against good teams. Jim McNally couldn't coach poor OL back in 07-08. I don't think it's a coaching issue as much as it is a talent one. They're playing a guy in Kouandjio who isn't good enough, Urbik who clearly is a liability, and Wood, who's injuries have made him a shell of what he used to be.

Looking at the off-season moves you've got to wonder how many of them were Rex's ideas that Whaley just went along with. He may be GM, but the moves suggest he performed a supporting role given the HC's rep. Yet, Whaley's biggest decisions aren't panning out and naturally he's in damage control mode. Manuel is forgotten as a starting option. Watkins is constantly dinged up. The quarter billion dollar DL isn't effective. The OL is a mess. And, I'd say the QB position is not settled after 3 off-seasons. Whaley's team's are a combined 17-19. He's right to be looking over his shoulder because no one's talking contract extension with him.

Last year some knowledgeable posters made this point. He's clearly not the player he was in 2009 before the injury and it shows. Together with the immobile Urbik and poor OT play it's hard to run the ball, which is what the offensive seems predicated on. As the season continues I expect to see opponents attacking the interior OL, which will continue making it hard to run the way NYG did. Roman had a tremendous line in SF, but his OL in Buffalo is mediocre. I'm sure someone will say the Bills had injuries, but that's a poor excuse. I think the offense needs to go back to the drawing board.

The statement Roman made regarding Cassel's trade was very ambiguous. It's strange that after David Lee praised Cassel's presence in meetings, the team traded their backup QB (and only experienced veteran) for future a 2017 draft pick. It didn't seem like the coaching staff and front office were in lock step on that one. As for Marrone, reports indicated he (perhaps abruptly) departed the draft room when Buffalo decided to move up in the 2014 draft to take Watkins. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12118625/doug-marrone-did-not-approve-sammy-watkins-draft-day-trade-buffalo-bills Marrone wasn't a good coach and notably didn't hire good offensive assistants. But his GM also didn't identify a QB who was ready to play, and only found an acceptable option late in the 2014 training camp. And I doubt the Bills sign Taylor in free agency if Rex isn't HC because, as we learned in the off-season, Whaley was selling Manuel to prospective HC candidates.

New Orleans just wanted to revamp their offense with the dadgum fastest and most exciting guy they could get. Spiller just probably needed a 2 game "blow."

This. And Belicheck used to be a defensive guy. I think he startred adapting to the new NFL during the '07 offseason after losing to Indy in the AFC Championship.

In other news Belichick is really a Martian with extra sensory perception who built Tom Brady out of lunar rocks and stardust. That's how the Patriots won last week: Belichick isn't human. And the league needs to hire the Men in Black to expose him ASAP!

Now trades are reviewed and judged after 2 games, or one-eighth of the NFL season? These things take at least one if not two seasons.

Is criticism and skepticism warranted when a GM has produced 2 teams which combined to go 15-17? Because if you want to debate, I will. OTOH, using hypothetical arguments I don't much care for. I remember in 2008 then-GM Russ Brandon was adamant about keeping Losman after Edwards had become the starter. Brandon's contention then was that retaining a backup was necessary because QB injuries occur: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d807cc3d5/printable/despite-trade-request-bills-anticipate-keeping-losman Why then is that same sentiment not applicable? Do the Bills have a veteran backup the coaching staff believes can play in a short stretch? And why would a team in win-now mode trade a backup QB for future assets which don't help in 2015.

Clearly you've never observed management that knows their jobs are frequently on the line if decisions they've made are not good enough.

Trade makes perfect sense. Rex has control over the game-day roster and didn't feel EJ was worthy of dressing. OTOH, Whaley's rep hangs in the balance (he hasn't been re-signed) and much of that is related to the Manuel selection. Of course "Trader Doug" has no qualms trading the veteran QB to essentially a super-rookie starter. And so now Manuel gets to dress. Which means if Taylor struggles, Manuel's the only option left.

That tends to happen when your arch rival comes to your house and beats you. Unless wins are now optional.

Great observation and thread. I know a lot of Bills fans chalk up NE's success to cheating, but they've been ahead of the curve for awhile now. Back in the early days, Belichick was a defense first coach but has morphed into a more offensive minded guy and makes it a point to talk with college coaches to understand other styles of play. At one time the Bills were at the forefront of offensive innovation. They may not have invented the no-huddle, but they certainly perfected it. And, they had a GM who found the players to fit that scheme. The Patriots have done that with their offensive strategy and it's definitely hard to beat.

Moral victories went out of style here around 2008. Or did they?

How many DC's who have a highly ranked defense then take a year away from coaching in the middle of their career?

Schwartz (EDIT: was) in such high demand that he's now working for the league assisting officials this season.

With all the money spent this season, one has to wonder if the Bills have been built to compete in the modern NFL. Millions on DT's, RB's, trading up for WR's, and signing UFA TE's. It didn't work today against a team they've got to beat...at home no less.

Is that in coordination with a local sleep clinic?

Haters gonna hate.

I love the reasoning sometimes on TBD: either you're fan or a hater/basher. No middle ground, no criticism permitted. For those high on Whaley, why haven't the Bills signed him to a long term contract extension yet? I suspect his last deal signed just before ascending to the GM role was probably a 3 year contract...which puts him through the 2015 season. And if he's the personnel genius some have made him out to be, it stands to reason ownership would be getting him locked up ASAP.

All GM's make mistakes.

I can confirm he was a deputy sheriff with a WNY county.

With Cassel's new deal, the Bills spend about 3.6% of their cap on QB's. The starting DL before a Dareus extension is about 28%. One would hope the deal gets done soon, but their lack of cap space (now about 7M) is the byproduct of their spending spree this off-season. I'm not saying they shouldn't have signed/re-signed Hughes, McCoy, Clay, and Harvin, but there are decisions to be made and they affect other players. The one common denominator here is the Bills chose to reward outside people, save perhaps Hughes, before Dareus. Again, hopefully they come to terms this week.

I heard it was Schmitt's...the same beer Adam Sandler and Chris Farley did an advertisement for on SNL back in the early 90s.

It's amazing what happens when business/marketing/PR and their people aren't as dominant in the decision making process. Now with football people making personnel decisions, the product is improved and the increase in business follows that.