BackInDaDay

so, Whaley bringing up EJ in interviews is somehow news.. do you think the candidates are also being told how happy everyone is at how our defense has progressed over the last two seasons - if only to lead to a discussion of where the candidate plans to take them as HC, and his feelings on working with Schwartz, etc. etc.

i honestly believe Marrone got the job because he convinced Buddy and Russ he could get the same results in the pros, as he did with the Cuse.. probably exaggerated his service as an NFL OC to bolster his claims. he may have believed it, at first. edit - but to your point - if we're interviewing anyone who isn't aware of our situation - they shouldn't be in the room

you ladies need to get out more.. of course Whaley is communicating to candidates that the Bills really like EJ, and want the next HC to include him in his plans. this probably leads directly into questions regarding the candidate's familiarity with Manuel, and his thoughts on maximizing what talent he's observed. this may lead to a discussion on an offensive system that's scalable enough to benefit both a developing QB, and a potential veteran signing. if the candidate rebukes the concept of compromising his offensive vision in order to accommodate Manuel, he'd better be prepared to offer an alternative solution to our QB issue. i'm guessing any candidate that can offer hope, and a fallback position would have both the owner and GM nodding their approval as Mrs Pegula sighs in adoration.

Ralph screwed me for 48 years and i never got to interview a coaching candidate

does anyone doubt our 2013 1st round pick in not going to get a chance to compete for the starting job? Hackett will be released by the new HC. if he's not, our new HC better be able to do a better job developing the OC, than Marrone was. i've read an opinion that if Schwartz is hired, Hackett would remain (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/three-point-stance/2015/01/05/buffalo-bills-coaching-search/21298515/) , but i think a Schwartz hire demands an experienced OC be brought in to keep next years offense from failing as badly as Hackett's offense did this year. on the other hand, the best chance Hackett has is if Mike Shanahan is hired, and is willing to mentor Hackett. i think Hackett's worst quality as a coach was an inability to prepare himself and his players for how his offense would be defended as the game wore on. i believe he was adept at finding an opposing defense's weaknesses during the week, and creating an initial gameplan that took advantage of what he found. but as adjustments were made to handle his attack, he didn't respond well. some of you stat hounds may look up how our O performed by quarter. if we were most successful early - but the reality may not bear out my perception. either way, i don't want to spend another season developing an OC. in the midst of our playoff race, i mentioned how i thought Marrone had a double standard - taking a hard line regarding developing players in games, while doing exactly that with Hackett. like many criticisms of Marrone, at the time, this hypocracy was ignored by most. that's ok.. we live and we learn - but i repeat that here for those of you who're entertaining the thought of providing Hackett a 2nd internship.

forget it, Jake... it's Chinatown

Can you legally enter Canada?

interesting post.. it certainly seems that Marrone was capable of impressing those who impressed him. i don't think Whaley, Russ, or the Pegula impressed him. he is, after all, a genius. all he needed was an All-pro QB and some All-pro linemen, and he would have proved it. sainthood, unfortunately, is beyond his reach.. the football gods reserve that honor for those who lead modest talent to the promised land.

Nate may be getting the shorter end of the stick, but as a team, he and Marrone designed the Syracuse offense that started clicking in their 4th year.. and as a team, he and Marrone failed to find a way to get the Bills offense moving without a top flight QB.. not with great field position.. not with diverse talent at RB.. not with a capable TE.. not with an O line that the HC personally mentored.. and not with some very good WRs.. i've been preaching accountability with these two since last season.. the buck stops with both Yogi and Boo Boo.

unless you have leaders in the locker room that set the bar high no coach wants to teach men how to behave - positive peer pressure frees them from that perfect example was Coughlin.. Giants needed discipline, and he thought it was his responsibility to provide that.. whole thing blew up on him.. but when he let his leaders lead - new ballgame

you want better players? get better scouts.

i hadn't seen this.. thanks, hondo. it appears the repairs are being made.

+1

the HC will hire his OC - so they should be on the same page.. unless the new HC is inexperienced, and makes a bad call.. the HC must bring an offensive schem that can maximize EJ's skills - and also lends itself to any veteran QBs invited to compete as the #1. this takes care of what takes the field, and it give Pegula an opportunity to review the various departments put in place to support the GM.. this is the dirty work that has only now been exposed to Pegula as an immediate task.

first thing i ever did when buying a used car, was start it up - let it run long enough to see if there are any leaks, and that it doesn't overheat. once i was satisfied the engine was ok, i'd work my around the rest of the systems.. but if there was any signs of engine problems, i had to know that first. the Bills have an engine problem. it's leaking, over-heating, and not firing on all cylinders. before he rushes to buy cool wheels and hang his fuzzy dice from the rearview mirror, Terry's got to find a mechanic to identify the problems for him. maybe it's a minor repair, but if the previous owner never addressed what was wrong, he may have to tear it down and rebuild it.

OJ put the Bills on the post-merger AFL/NFL map... in a pro game that ran before it passed, Simpson was everything he was touted to be - which was possibly the most exciting player in the league for several seasons. the thing is.. the number of fans who are conflicted by their memory of the player and the reality of the man, dwindle each year.. and eventually, any fondness his name elicits will be buried with us. so I vote to keep it up until then..

said it better than i could.. ..

first off - great comeback! as far as why a Shanahan hire excites me.. he only wants to coach a team that he thinks can win the Super Bowl. the fact that he's considering the Bills as such a team, tells me he's been thinking about our roster, our current staff, our available cap space - and thinks he can work with all of the above to achieve a ring. he wants, what i want. nothing less. he's not coming back to 'see' if he can win in the NFL - he's done it. the fact he's tried and failed elsewhere doesn't dissuade me from my belief that he's more qualified then those who've never tried.

the Bills are ready to win now.. i'll take Schwartz/Johnson/??? or Shanahan/Schwartz/??? over any rookie HC. also, i think you have to look at the openings to decide why a defensive minded coach like Schwartz isn't being interviewed.. where are teams looking for help?

just curious.. if you don't want a future HOF coach, who would only come here to win the Super Bowl, what eactly are you 'hopeful' for?

i liked Jake - alot, one of my kids favorite players at the time (him being an 11 year-old Bronco fan listening to his dad talking up Plummer from Arizona) .. but he wasn't gonna beat out Cutler. as great a playmaker as he could be, like Tomy Romo, he had those 'oh shoot' moments that killed ya. in retrospect - the upgrade didn't work out, but that's the NFL

you think they could get better production from our O than Marrone/Orton?

not for nothin, but Cutler is Shanahan's 'damaged goods'.. good recent article on MS.. gotta like his comments about only considering coming back to coach a team with a chance to win a Super Bowl.. that raises the bar from 9-7 and no playoff game, don't it oops - link - http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/redskins/2014/07/25/mike-shanahan-wants-to-coach-super-bowl-contender-denver-broncos-owner-pat-bowlen-washington-redskins-robert-griffin/13145331/

you're 1000% correct about what Shanahan and Gibbs accomplished, and the good news is - there are enough Gibbs disciples running around, that they alone, could crush ISIS! but i don't get you're concern about the chemistry between the two coaches.. is there some bad history there? no.. it's really not. it's a run - all the way. maybe you're thinking of the play option pass, that's become an effective pass option off the r/o.. but that's not your father's p/a either.

agree with everything except number 3. once he's got that outside zone cookin, it's tought to stop - check the number of backs, other than TD, that had carreer years cutting back through the Denver outside zone.. the thing is, he's gonna bring in a new elephant herder to thin out our O line - both literally, and figuratively - and he'll need a commitment from the GM that this is doable to a degree this season. another concern is his WCO roots in the timed passing game.. but if his offensive mind can't integrate better vertical schemes to mask EJ's innacuracy on timing routes - i don't know who can. .. and if anyone thinks the Bills are going to hire a HC that doesn't have a plan to salvage their first round pick - better think again. remember - barring any unforseen events (the Buffalo kiss of death, if there ever was one ) with our D, we don't have to lead the league in scoring.. we just have to get average NFL production from our O to make the post-season.