BillsVet

Louis Vasquez was a solid signing for Denver in 2013 and he didn't break the bank. 4 yrs 23.5M w/13M guaranteed.

Facts hate the Bills and are the reason they couldn't make the playoffs.

Not everyone can be Ryan Grigson and walk into a job with the top pick and have Andrew Luck fall into your lap. I get that the pickings have been slim at QB since 2013, but the Bills have approached the QB position as if they were waiting for their collective ship to come in. Well, I say swim out to it. You keep trying to get the QB until you know you've got one. The Bills have done anything but, going with a guy, seeing that he's not good enough, then trying someone new, and wasting years in the process. A lot of people here say you can't evaluate Marrone until he gets a QB. Well, who's responsible for obtaining that guy? It's Whaley and Marrone, but for the better part of 2 off-seasons and a regular season they felt comfortable with Manuel. He's proven to not be up to the task. That's on the GM and HC. I know surface fans don't like to talk strategic vision for building a team, but Buddy Nix refusing to draft a young guy in 2011-12 is what has given us the situation Buffalo's in now. You can't say there haven't been options since 2013 without recognizing that past mistakes can affect future seasons. This isn't all Whaley's fault, but the approach since 2013 has been very passive and not consistent with how winning teams address the position. Dick Jauron took below average to average talent and made it a below average to average team. Now, Doug Marrone is taking above average talent and making them average to below average. Some will say that because he doesn't have a good QB that somehow he's exempt from criticism and needs another year. Bruce Arians is winning with Drew Stanton QBing the Cardinals. Is Doug Marrone going to magically become a better HC in year 3? Is he trending up or stagnated? I tend to think the latter, as evidenced by the decisions I've seen him make this year. He's not innovative, not someone who knows his own talent, and hasn't improved the offense. I guess we can cue someone to say it's not his fault, but I don't need another season to see that. Marrone isn't responsible for 15 years of failure. The point is, you can't continue being mediocre, which is what the Bills are. Next year their best players under contract for 2015 will be a year older and the window closes, unless you somehow begin replacing talent that departs or declines.

Does Marrone make the team better? Does he do more with above average talent? Or is the get out of jail free card that he doesn't have a QB instantly give him more time? Because he's the HC and in concert with the GM, helps to make decisions on personnel. Both Whaley and Marrone are tied together and therefore both have failed should they fail to reach the playoffs. A lot of people said Nix improved the talent, that Whaley continued it, etc. Well, we're still looking for Buddy's baby and it hasn't come. How much time do you need in the modern NFL to put a team on the field to make the playoffs? Because it's a lot harder to go from 8 to 10-11 wins than it is to go from 6 to 8. And they're not ready to take that leap unless there's a big improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Settling for mediocre to average football isn't what I'd highlight for a franchise that's been riding that train for the better part of 15 years. Because right now, they're not worthy of making the playoffs and there's no indication the current management and staff in place are up for that challenge. The goal in 2014 was to make the playoffs, given the trade for Sammy, signing of Orton, improvement on defense in 2013-14, et al. But they've fallen back to average when people expecting playoffs. I remember people talking progress in 2006-07 when DJ had them on the heroic march to 7-9. When they did the same thing in 2008 (starting 5-1 and then going 2-8 to finish 7-9) people weren't enthused.

I can't give Whaley much credit for his drafts when they have what looks like a 1st round bust from their 2013 first rounder and the 2nd rounder in 2014 can't even dress for a bad OL. Or giving up so much for a WR when the draft class was so strong at that position. Strategically, he's made huge blunders, most notably thinking they could go with a rookie QB in 2014 without a competent veteran backup. And for those who claim Kolb was going to be that guy in 2013, well, his injury history should have made them look for other options. Unless he was signed to be the backup, which I believe was the plan. They trade for guys like Mike Williams and then don't play him. Or, The HC is bombing right now, the OC clearly is in over his head. And they're 7-6 after years of rebuilding, which didn't start when Whaley officially became GM. It began with the 2010 season. So after all these 5 years they're only able to get to 7/8 wins? That's inexcusable in a league where teams are making huge strides in 1 year.

Not every NFL city has a pro football team that's missed the playoffs going on 15 seasons in a row. Just like the Bills will get respect when they start winning, the columnists (who are paid to write their opinion) will begin to give them some credit when it happens. Because Russ and the Doug's have delivered jack in 2 seasons while they were in charge. The Bills also haven't earned much trust from the media in recent years, talking a mean game and then delivering practically nothing. If a Bills fan doesn't believe management, it's not that fan's fault. It's the team's. Meanwhile, Indianapolis is headed to their third straight post-season. So Kravitz probably can't be as pointed as Sullivan is.

Nearly every time the Bills needed to make a statement this season they fell flat. Losses Week 3 versus SD, Week 6 versus NE, Week 10 versus KC, Week 11 at MIA, Week 14 at DEN. One might include the Detroit and Cleveland games, but that's a pretty poor showing to win only 2 of 7 big games.

I feel like at anytime in this thread Todd O'Connor from the Superfans will interject and make a prediction that the Packers will score negative 3 points because "Marrone will find a way."

Would it be only appropriate then to judge GM's who can't get decent starting QBs or offensive linemen?

I said that Brandon gets more face-time than the GM (of Football). The front office is screwed up regardless of how much press time the GM is made available for. No one's been more wrong on this board in recent memory than you. And no one keeps defending this team more fervently than you do. Who did hire Marrone? Was it Nix? The guy being eased into retirement in early 2013? Or was it the Assistant GM, ostensibly being groomed for the position at that time? Or was it the recently "empowered" Russ Brandon who took to the microphone at Marrone's intro PC to tell the world what the team had decided on. If you read between the lines, it's clear Brandon was the biggest vote in the aforementioned triumvirate of 3. People believe whatever Russ Brandon tells them to. Where he gets credibility is beyond me, given his penchant for promising so much and delivering so little.

When did 2 years of Whaley (and 3 with Nix) become overnight? I suppose if they play to earn a paycheck, make the fans feel all warm and fuzzy, and lose close games they've appealed quite well to some. I tend to believe it's somewhat important to win as quickly as possible. The Cardinals have stunk, got better (under Kurt Warner) stunk, and now are the top seed in the NFC. Yet it's acceptable for the Bills to bumble along to another non-playoff season.

The GM admitted it was a win-now season. Why does that change now? I could understand if the Bills had an elite or very good QB who was injured early on and replaced with a backup. Look at the Cardinals. Playing in a tough division with the defending champs, they've lost their QB and still managed to beat KC at home yesterday. At 10-3, they're probably in the playoffs barring something absurd happening. How did they do it? 15 years of no playoffs. The longest streak since the playoff format was changed in 1990. If the GM says they have to make the playoffs and don't, how that's acceptable to fans is beyond me. BTW, Buffalo's wins have come against teams with a combined 38-53 record. Nothing says mediocre like beating up bad to average teams and then getting spaked on the road and at home by the better clubs, whose combined record is 49-29.

Not looking to pick a fight here, but I'm not sure Whaley is as highly regarded around the league as you note. The trade for Watkins, the selection of Manuel (despite what some suits say) and clumsily handling the QB position make me think his talent evaluation is mediocre. He's been a part of this team for going on 5 years and in that time the Bills are 28-49. Certainly not all of that is his fault, as Nix's disastrous decisions impact this team, but there's still major personnel decisions he's gotten wrong.

The problems are larger than the coaching staff. It's the people hiring the coaches and the GM's who need to be escorted out and then replaced by competent types. I recognize that's hard for much of the fan base to understand, as personnel executives are infrequently seen or address the media. I can't remember the last time I've seen Doug Whaley speak in public, although Brandon's always find himself in front of the camera. That said, it's time for things to be re-structured at the top. The coaches are a symptom of the dysfunction, not the disease itself.

Quick question: Who in their respective roles is more successful? WR Mike Williams formerly of TB who entered 2014 with 215 receptions, 2947 yards and 25 TD's? Or Doug Marrone, 13-15 as a NFL HC? It was the Bills GM who made that trade, ostensibly without Marrone's input or direct conflict with the move. What does it say about a personnel department who acquires players the HC doesn't like?

Prediction's for the game: Todd O'Connor: 73-0 Bills. Orton throws 9 TD's. Bill Swerski: But, Todd 7 touchdown passes was the record. Todd O'Connor: Was the record.

Both times the defense has lined up against a premier QB, Rivers and Brady, they've lost. SD took their foot off the gas late in their game and NE scored 24 points in the second half. For this defense to be considered "elite" they need to start stopping top offenses. That said, having an offense keep those QBs off the field is necessary to help the defense. Not being able to run the ball makes that hard.

One would think the Bills would know after all these years that having a top QB should trump drafting RB's, DB's, WR's, LB's, and C/G's. Yet, from 2006-2012 Buffalo spent 12 of 16 picks in Rounds 1 and 2 on those positions. The exceptions were 2 DT's (Troup, Dareus) 1 DE (Maybin) and 1 OT (Glenn).

Makes you wonder what the priorities of the franchise were until new ownership came on board. Guess the Pegula's told Russ the days of squeezing more profit by selling games were over. And of course Brandon adhered to that guidance.

So Russ' gets to announce the idea he and OBD implemented to score more cash is now dead? Is Russ the winner or loser here?

I remember going to the home game vs. GB in 2006. The Packers were the league's worst against the pass and JPL managed to throw for only 102 yards that day. Now, I know Jauron and Fairchild weren't offensive masterminds, but a QB who can't do better than that probably isn't going to succeed in the NFL. QB's take time to develop, but watching EJ play he's not even remotely close to being able to adapt on-field. He came from a system (like most college QB's do) which didn't require much more than reading half the field and making a throw to his primary receiver. Now that he's moved on to the NFL that's not going to work and I've seen nothing from year 1 to year 2 in improvement. If there's little to no gain in that time frame, the chance a QB will become successful is minimal IMO.

If you think the decision to "retire" Nix was made the day of the announcement or after the 2013 draft you're fooling yourself. And why would the Bills, as backward as they can be, allow the outgoing GM to make the QB pick for the future GM? Because I'm sure they were planning ahead after that 2012 season ended and figured that was the time to make Whaley GM. And that they needed a QB because Fitz wasn't good enough People act like finding a QB is mostly luck, i.e. draft positioning or finding someone off the street or perhaps in UFA. It's not. If you identify a guy (which Nix couldn't or wouldn't do) that you like, it may take some maneuvering to move up and get him. Which Nix patently refused to do, preferring to let the draft come to him. It's time the Bills stop waiting for their ship to come in re: QB's and start making their own luck. Their handling of the QB position across multiple GM's and HC's has been atrocious.

Was Duke a Nix or Whaley pick? Because Manuel wasn't a Whaley pick, but I'm thinking if Duke turns out OK then he's a Whaley pick. Better ask Russ. LOL at this thread. They're 7-5, play 3 of the best NFL teams in the next 4 weeks (2 on the road), all in a season where the AFC has 11 teams with 7 or more wins. How do people climb the mountain every year only to be dropped off? Everything would be a lot different had they won games they should have.

One game in a QB's rookie season predicts a career? On the road playing a decent defense that had stopped Peyton Manning 2 weeks before? Sure dude. Point is, at QB the Bills either A) don't invest in good options or B) don't invest at all. This is a hallmark of the organization going back years. The only time in recent memory before Orton they sought a decent backup veteran option was Fitzpatrick, who they stated from the get-go was only a backup and not a threat to Trenative. We know how that went. Buddy Nix set this organization, i.e. Whaley, up for failure when he stubbornly refused to draft someone in 2011 or 2012 (not much was available in 2010). And so Whaley was left to pick from a bad lot in 2013, which gets us to Orton after Manuel failed.

Were they headed in the right direction when they lost to probable playoff teams like SD (at home) NE (at home) KC (at home) and then in a must-win game, couldn't score double digits against Miami? Beating up on NYJ and CLE is nice. Losing would be embarrassing. Yet, they come up small when it matters most despite, as many claim, having more talent than they've had in years.