BillsVet

What difference does their draft status make now? It's a lot of symbolism over substance at this point, particularly for those who are on their second or third team like Rivers, Lawson, and C. Williams.

Why then didn't they bolster him with these individuals last season? It stands to reason that someone with NFL experience above the quality control level would understand a rookie OC couldn't possibly handle OC duties along with being QB coach for a raw rookie. You can avoid reading into the hiring Hostler and a new QB coach in year 2 of the Marrone era. I choose to chalk it up to a latent admission they didn't resource the offensive side of the ball in terms of coaching experience.

Hiring Hostler to be "Senior Offensive Assistant" and the QB coach from Detroit should say everything about what Marrone thinks about his OC's abilities. He couldn't outright fire him after 1 season, but then again the HC made a decision to go with a guy who'd never coached a position in the NFL as his OC. I frankly don't care they knew each other from SU, the NFL is obviously a whole new ballgame and not only was Hackett the OC last season, he was charged with coaching a rookie QB. Seems like a awful lot for someone who last worked in the NFL as an offensive quality control coach. Most fans understand new HC's bring in guys they're familiar with. Marrone's taken that to another level with the college to pro hires, but it could end up costing him his job.

The real question is how simplified the offense will be for the QB. Because last year the rookie QB said he had it down in mini-camp and by the end of the year they were scaling back the playbook for him. Sometimes simple is good, but the more game film opposing DC's have of Buffalo, the harder it is to be simple.

That 2011 draft just keeps getting better and better. First round pick surrounded by all pros and buffalo's pick has more arrests that pro bowl selections.

I still cannot see a new owner or group putting down 1B and having to contribute to a new stadium while taking in "only" 35-40M per. That's a poor ROI on perhaps spending more than a billion dollars to purchase the team and put toward the new place they'll play.

44k ST sold is still a 21% drop from the high in 2009. It's hard to see this as success with the NFL riding such a popularity wave this century.

Aside from the whole "brand in tarnished" issue, he's done an outstanding job over the years. For comparison's sake, the team in 2008 and 2009 had about 55-56k ST's sold.

I don't understand the hate for departed players and incessant following of those deemed not to "earn" their contract. I could care less what Byrd, Levitre, or Jason Peters does now. They're gone.

Is there anything between a tape measure HR and a bunt? Because I'd take a ground rule double out of this team rather than banking on the cleanup hitter popping one into the bleachers in the bottom of the 9th. It's like going to the craps table with $50 left and throwing it down hoping to make enough to pay the mortgage. There are calculated risks and then there are bad ones.

With the first pick in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select...

Well, Andre Johnson will be catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick in all probability this season. They've got a solid defense on paper with a top OL and RB. I wonder why Johnson is so disappointed?

Trading for Bledsoe and signing Dockery to the then largest UFA contract to that point wouldn't be what I'd call plugging holes. They were serious attempts at getting the team over the hump. I'm miffed how anyone who expresses some skepticism about the Bills given their track record is somehow negative. You're also not investing upwards of 1B in the team.

To guarantee they remain, Whaley and Marrone need a playoff season and most likely a win there to keep their jobs. Anything less and a new ownership group that just invested perhaps 1B or more hires their hand-picked people. The same can be said for senior management, including Brandon and Overdorf, but they'll probably get a nice severance package from the sale. I've seen nothing concrete the NFL is going to add another playoff team in 2014, only 2015 at this point.

If only they had known that Colin Brown and Doug Legursky were so bad. If they had, the line would have been much better. Chris Williams was a first round pick who's on his 3rd team in 7 seasons. Urbik was on the practice squad in Pittsburgh when Buffalo scooped him up. It wouldn't surprise me if Cyril Richardson beats out Urbik as the latter's contract isn't tiny for a RG.

First, you haven't rebutted my point but have chosen to lay in the tall grass after I present my argument. Decisions made before Whaley and Marrone were hired to their current jobs significantly influenced the moves of 2013 and 2014. The team building strategy in 2010-2012 made the last two off-seasons what they were. Every team that begins to rebuild attempts to get a QB as quickly as possible given the short window to overhaul a roster. The fastest way to rebuilding is to get a very good to outstanding QB. When Buddy NIx eschewed the position in 2011 and 2012 when some good ones were on the board, it set up 2013 and 2014. No one knew the 2013 QB class would be weak, but you have to strike while the iron was hot and Nix chose other positions. In fact, IIRC, Nix talked about building the team and then getting the QB. Problem is, no one does that anymore because teams don't have enough time to rebuild for 3-4 years as Nix said it would take to finish the job. And no, I don't consider Boldin or Crabtree #1 receivers. Very good, but not on par with Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, AJ Green, and perhaps Andre Johnson.

If you consider Brandon, 5 seasons with no more than 6 wins. I can't believe people are comparing the Julio Jones trade to Buffalo's deal for Watkins. At the same time, the elite receivers in the NFL are great assets to have. But last year, Atlanta (Jones), Detroit (C. Johnson), Dallas (Bryant), Houston (A. Johnson), Chicago (Marshall/Jeffrey), Cincinnati (A. Green) and Cleveland (Gordon) won a combined 0 playoff games. One could make the case D. Thomas in Denver is a #1, but I think some of that is due to Peyton Manning. Only Cincinnati made the post-season, losing to SD in the wild card round. Yet, the premier teams seem to get by without a true #1: New England, Seattle, San Francisco, Green Bay, Baltimore, and New Orleans. I think that says a great deal about team building strategy and the trends around the league.

Pegula is using the exception to prove the rule. Most new owners want their guys running the team and even Pegula hired Ted Black upon taking over and Larry Quinn left. Whaley is an improvement over Nix, who wasn't developing a plan to building a team. There's no doubt about that. I simply put a lot of stock into track record and right now he doesn't have a

I don't believe Marrone was interested in keeping Stevie. Didn't like the antics or his professionalism and it probably was a thought in the draft room that taking a high WR meant Stevie became expendable. As for the offense and defensive improvements, well, I'll believe it when I see it. Not saying it can't happen, but the defense is a new scheme and it'll take time for them to acclimate. Most of the offense is on EJ's shoulders and I'm not especially high on him. A new ownership group that forks over 1B for this team isn't doing so with the mindset of retaining the previous regime's management. It will take at a minimum a playoff team, preferably one that wins a game there for Whaley and Marrone to keep their jobs considering the financial investment and urgency in the NFL to win now. It's also hard to judge Whaley when all they've got to show for 1 season is a 6-10 record and the bottom line is all that matters, on-field and profit margin.

Rice struggled a little in '85 even with Joe Montana quarterbacking San Francisco. Much different era of offensive football, but WR's don't normally produce big time. Then again, some do. But look at that '86 draft San Francisco had: Charles Haley, Steve Wallace, Tom Rathman, Tim McKyer, John Talyor, and Don Griffin. Walsh was a mastermind and one of the few in the league who could have a draft like that.

I wasn't directing this at you and if it came off that way it wasn't my intent. It just seems that anyone who has a opinion not that of a full-fledged fan becomes a target of scorn and ridicule. Frankly, it seems that debate has suffered over the years and made for a lesser board. If everyone thinks the same then no one's thinking. I just happen to like Polian and respect his opinion, even though I disagree with him from time to time.

First, there is no tarnish to Polian's career. He's out of the league because the man's 70 now and it's very much a young man's game or you happen to be hired by the Bills in 2006 or 2010. No one collected more talent both before and after the cap came into effect. No one. He's a HOF GM. Gronkowski's injury history is one thing...as we've seen players are viewed differently by each team. See Kouandjio. Henderson has gotten into trouble with the law and is thus a completely separate case. This is an apples and oranges comparison. 1987 was 27 years ago and the NFL was a completely different game. Comparing personnel decisions made before the cap and after is not appropriate for the discussion. I get that people here want to run down anyone who doesn't high five the Bills draft, but Polian's legacy is settled and he'll be in Canton one day. Back then, the Bills didn't have any other method (and I believe it was before even Plan B FA) to acquire players. Besides, as others have noted, BP knew he had a QB, a premier DE and a lot of other outstanding players in an era which wasn't as pass happy.

Trading SJ means the Bills are among the league leaders in dead cap money with the extra 10.2M this deal created. You can't fairly analyze the deal without that aspect. That will also limit them next season during free agency and they're already down their first round pick. Yeah, I'd say they have to win. If they don't, the new personnel group starts off having to climb out of a deep hole.

You've conflated the argument. Teams still have areas to improve, but Buffalo has almost nothing at one of their 40 front DE positions. Hughes and Lawson are not every-down types and I wonder if the latter even fits into the new defensive scheme. Wynn is depth, which makes one wonder who'll line up there in week 1.

As far as I can see. He's a decent cover LB and lining him up at DE because of the scheme makes me wonder if he's really in their plans with Schwartz re-designing the D.