BillsVet

I'm not enthused about his play. For a team that puts pressure on QB's (at least earlier this season) I don't see Williams making many significant plays. And in the last two weeks he's been poor in run support. He's definitely not close to the worst, but the Bills talked him up so much last off-season and it's not there for me.

A HC interview is as much for a team to interview the candidate as it is the candidate interviewing the team. No one wants to go to a team that doesn't have a solid plan, particularly at QB. Buffalo is short there going into 2015. In hindsight and after reading Polian's book, I'm skeptical that Russ Brandon being involved and the leader to interview HC candidates in 2013 could work without a huge dose of luck. Nix and Whaley were better, but I don't think they had as much input on the decision to hire Marrone. The big difference today is that everyone knows the franchise is in better hands. We'll see if there are further changes with new ownership, but I wouldn't discount the Bills under the Pegula's from getting better HC options if it comes to that.

No team is ever perfect in personnel evaluation, and the Bills haven't shelled out big dollars on their own guys or UFA's, but the bigger money signings haven't been impressive. Wood has been talked about here. Aaron Williams seems to get beat in coverage and takes bad angles to the ball. The good has been trading for Jerry Hughes, re-signing Dan Carpenter, and to a lesser extent, UFA Corey Graham. Mike Williams was released and Bryce Brown hasn't seen much of the field. The other lower-cost signings/re-signings like Alan Branch, Lawson, Chandler, McKelvin, Chris Williams, Rivers, Spikes, and Dixon have been so-so.

He had some great soundbites though.

He also has answers to questions they don't ask. Like the time he told GR that the HC he hired had "changed the culture."

As crazy as Doug Whaley predicting playoffs after trading up for Watkins without having a QB on the roster with more than 10 starts in the NFL.

It makes you wonder why Russ feels obligated to discuss parts of the team he has no responsibility for. And it's also strange because the people who should be most concerned (above the coach-player level) with winning are the GM and Owners who have remained silent since the sale was approved in October. Excellent post.

Reminds me of Dick Jauron more now than ever. The plan isn't flawed, the players didn't execute. I expect a HC and coordinators to have a healthy ego. But not so much that they're unwilling to adapt to an opponent, even a 2-11 team playing for nothing but pride.

Every Bills fan has to ask, after these past two years is whether or not this team is ascending, treading water, or descending. It'd be hard to say they're on the up or down at this point, but they do very well treading water coming in comparison to the previous GM/HC. A probable +2 in wins from 2013 to 2014 is nice, but not answering the QB question, seeing a regression of the OL, and not winning games like home versus NE, KC, and at OAK isn't enough. New owners are in the building and God rest Mr. Wilson, but the team had stagnated. I hope and believe their expectation is to be better than average, which is what the 2014 Bills are. We'll see in the next few weeks.

Are you from Oneonta perhaps?

Maybe Whaley can trade a first round pick for Lynch now that he's not happy in Seattle. Oh wait...scratch that.

Need better football people at all levels of management in order to identify the right players. Somehow Whaley is escaping criticism, but it's his responsibility to build a better OL and not be in July/August looking for a veteran backup QB. If they haven't figured out how to win by now...then there aren't any excuses left.

That's all you have? Lol I guess when you can't debate the natural reaction is to attack people. Nice try Hondo.

The team president and his personal PR campaign has become a joke. Do you believe his claim that Marrone has changed the culture? That is the point here and it should not be surprising given that Marrone was hired by Brandon and Nix. This narrative that Brandon is an innocent bystander to this non-playoff season is so hilarious.

The culture sure changed back quickly. Maybe Russ can address the MMQB club tomorrow and make another baseless claim.

Chris Simms was a better QB than he is an announcer. And he wasn't a good QB.

If Russ Brandon is out of the football side of the house, why is he actively campaigning for Whaley and Marrone? Russ' job is apparently safe, yet he's been very vocal both on radio, television, and in print defending these guys and saying they need more time. And that was before his "change the culture" narrative was put out there. And it doesn't appear he's seeking other opportunities, so it stands to reason his marketing campaign for the HC and GM is designed to improve his standing, which no longer includes football.

The org chart was altered according to reports: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24749471/pegulas-expected-to-bring-outside-consultants-to-help-with-bills-transition "Under the new structure Kim Pegula will serve as the team's CEO, sources said, with Brandon serving as team president but with general manager Doug Whaley expected to be no longer reporting to Brandon but instead directly to the Pegulas, thus drawing more delineation between football operations and the business operation."

The point remains that improved P&L statements are not a gauge of success for someone who manages both finance and football ops. Russ did that from 2008-about 2 months ago.

Did the Bills banking 78M+ from the Toronto series make the on-field result any better? Because in those seasons, the Bills went a combined 35-61, or won about 36% of their games. We all know there are no trophies for profit, regardless of market size. And you don't receive NFL executive of the year for increasing revenue on a declining on-field product.

The Patriots have experienced a lot more challenges than Buffalo on the OL this season. They traded Mankins right before the season, played without starting RG Dan Connolly, and rookie C Bryan Stork at times. Heck, during the Bills game in week 6 they were down 2 OL and still only gave up 2 sacks. And yet they're right there statistically with Buffalo as you cite. Not that raw data always explains something so nuanced. Still, both teams aren't good at running the ball right now. The point is, NE adapted more easily when they lost starters. I don't think the Bills can handle that kind of challenge because their depth and coaching isn't as good. Week 17 will be interesting to watch for yet another reason.

Brady's been sacked 16 times all season, 3 times in the last 7 games against the likes of Chicago, Denver, Indy, Detroit, GB, SD, and Miami. That's outstanding considering the injuries they've had, level of competition, and compared to the 13 sacks they yielded in the first 7 games of the season. Well coached, savvy OL combined with a QB who knows when to get rid of it help. NE's guys have demonstrated improvement, while Buffalo's haven't. More importantly, when injuries struck, the Bills weren't well prepared to adapt. http://espn.go.com/b...-offensive-line

I still don't understand, beside contractual obligations, why WGR has a weekly radio spot with Brandon. Fans want to hear about players, not marketing strategies and Brandon offers little if anything to the average listener. Of course, he doesn't miss the opportunity to establish new narratives like "changing the culture" and "the overall team talent is improved." The later of which was the message in early 2013 when Nix was under fire for 3 bad seasons. Russ always has an answer but rarely has anything worthwhile to say. For someone who says most team presidents aren't known, he sure makes himself available quite a bit.

When your best record from 2005-2013 was winning 7 games, I'd eventually expect to exceed that level of mediocrity. It's been a 15 year process to get it right at OBD. That kind of stench doesn't occur without serious issues in management.

New England did not make the playoffs in 2008 with Matt Cassel substituting for the injured Brady for essentially the entire season. That year the Pats went 11-5 (not 10-6) and did not win the division. It's the last time they missed the playoffs and I don't recall anyone making excuses for them. Quibbling over what the standard is doesn't change the 2014 season's goal of reaching the playoffs. That may seem harsh in the PC world, but I really don't care. We were told all off-season how the talent had improved (not easily quantifiable) in 2013. Now this year it's Marrone has changed the culture, another unquantifiable concept that some are taking hook line and sinker. Your record is what you are.