finn

Richardson, Kujo, Tuel, Rivers, Chris Williams. Yes, I would give Richardson and Kujo till the end of training camp, but the others are deadwood. Unfortunately, Whaley's ego will keep them all on board way too long at the expense of the team.

Like one of the other posters said, optimism is in my DNA as a Bills fan, but so is a sort of masochistic skepticism. They balance each other. At some point we should have a thread to discuss what keeps Bills fans loyal despite so many years of disappointments. For me, it's like the Bills are MY team, for better or worse, and I'll continue following them no matter what. I'm from Buffalo (Williamsville, actually), and I'm proud that we have a major league team. I like thinking about their strong suits--the linebackers, D-line, etc.--and speculating what can be done with the weak parts. But reading about yet another--another!!--coach who reportedly wants to change an already excellent defense, who sticks stubbornly to mediocrities, doesn't adjust and so on... Yes, my optimism dwindles. Doesn't yours?

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed, well-supported post. It's hard to be optimistic about the Bills' chances after reading it, in part because the weaknesses you describe---cronyism, no adjustments at halftime, stubbornly sticking with players despite poor play--are all too familiar to Bills fans, as are the boasts of a new HC inheriting a top-five defense vowing to make it still better. I have higher hopes for Roman (the new OC), but from what you say the offensive position coaches may undermine him. Let's just hope Whaley and the Pelugas did their due diligence and didn't hire Rex because of his personality. I remember the Bills GM at the time (forgot who) saying he hired Gregg Williams because he was blown away by his multi-colored notebook. So many pretty, pretty tabs!

Three pages of wise cracks, not a single comment worth reading after the first two or three. Pro personnel pickups were one of the few bright spots of the Bills administration--Carpenter, Hogan, Gray, Thigpen, Dixon, Graham, Rambo, and of course Orton...they all contributed a lot. For all we know even Williams (the WR) might have been a great pickup ignored by our idiot head coach. So this looks like a truly dumb move on its face. One of the most depressing features of the Bills is their tendency to replace what is working fine. I hope this isn't a case of the same.

Posts like these are why I come to this board. Informed, concise, smart, courteous.

You may be right about Tim Graham. Look at this passage from his article today: "A source close to the situation told The News that executives from previous owner Ralph Wilson’s regime – eager to maintain their power – badmouthed Polian in Marrone’s presence during the season." Is Graham claiming these executives are eager to maintain power, or is he saying that is what his sources say? And do these sources have a stake in spinning what might be an innocent conversation this way? This is sneaky, biased journalism.

So Pegula asks Polian to come in, Marrone hears bad things about Polian and leaves, prompting Polian to change his mind because things are falling apart fast. Today we hear that at least two people in the front office badmouthed Polian to Marrone, who passed on the tidbit to Pegula, who announces that the new HC will not be reporting to Whaley, leaving his role up in the air. And any of this might be inaccurate. Confusion, greed, betrayal, backstabbing, power plays... We just need a little sex to top it off. The Bills organization is on the verge of becoming a laughing stock, if it isn't already. What do the Pegulas have to do now to turn this debacle into something positive?

Maybe that's just why Pegula let it be known that the head coach would report directly to him. Still seems pretty unstable, though.

Pegula has got to be wondering who agreed to that idiotic clause. Let's see, $4 million for leaving if another job opens up. And for what? To be sure to land this outstanding coach? Incredible performance with.... Syracuse? For one year?

Never liked him. What was to like? Hiring Hackett, an overeager amateur, as offensive coordinator, his baffling benching of Urbick, keeping Hairston on the bench when Henderson was struggling, stubbornly sticking with Colin Brown at guard when he was one of the worst guards in NFL history, his idiotic press conferences (it's hard to be that inarticulate), his game management, fourth-down cowardice... I hear what you're all saying about what was commendable about him, but I'm not persuaded at all. At best, it's been a matter of giving him the benefit of the doubt all along. Pettine then Schwartz have carried this team, making use of Whaley's personnel work (to be fair). Marrone has just been along for the ride, making obvious moves (like benching EJ) but just as often getting in the way or messing up, like cutting Tarvaris Jackson or playing footsie with Urbick. In fact, one could argue the Bills won nine games DESPITE Marrone. His classless departure is a fitting coda to a mediocre tenure.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Touche.

None of this makes the report less likely, unfortunately. I can believe the report, even if I don't want to because it suggests Pegula is not as tuned in as the average TBD poster.

But that's just it: by trading away this year's pick, Whaley threw away a chance to move up--or down for that matter. There will be all sorts of possibilities in play, and we'll be sitting on the sidelines. I'm not saying that trading up or down will always produce or good player, or that we could get definitely land a good QB at 19, but at least we would have had a chance to do so. Because Whaley fell in love with Watkins, we have only free agency to find a difference maker. Yes, Julio Jones is terrific, yes, we could have blown the 19th pick, and yes, Watkins is special. But we weren't one pick away from the playoffs, and Watkins was and is not a first-round pick better than the Beckham. Put it this way: I'd rather have Beckham and a chance at a Beluga or Bitonio or Beckham and a chance at a Tannehill or Kapernick than Watkins and a big nothing. That's not hindsight, either: the draft was widely recognized as the deepest for WR's in decades. Prudence is hard when you're a new, young GM eager to prove yourself. Whaley wanted to make a splash and persuaded himself it was best for the team. He didn't utterly blow it, but he could easily have had two studs instead of one.

My view of the decision to start and stick with Orton in that game doesn't change in hindsight, but I did (and do) think it was a selfish decision. You could say that winning is the bottom line, and I think there's something to that, but there's also the long-term future of the team to consider, and the decision makers could have used more information on E.J. My perception is that both Marrone and Whaley have been looking out for themselves first all along. Mostly that priority has lined up with the team's interest, but the Watkins trade and playing Orton in the last game was an exception. A thought experiment: Imagine a front office and coach who were looking out for the long term. You think foundations, not quick hits and bandaids. You think keeping your best players, not signing for marketing value. You trade picks one year for higher picks the following year so you can land that elusive QB. In short, your name is not Whaley or Marrone. If I'm Polian/Pegula, I extend Whaley's contract so he isn't so jumpy and scared, and I find a low-risk coach so he (or she) isn't looking over his shoulder, either. (By the way, I favor promoting Schwartz.)

Urbick was benched for Richardson, an inferior player. Hairston, a decent tackle, was kept on the bench while Henderson struggled badly. Last year the coaches delayed replacing what may have been the worst guard in the league for half the season. Spiller, an extraordinary player under Chan, was mediocre under Hackett and Marrone, who also arguably did not use Watkins effectively, either (especially when I see how the Giants use Odell). My point is that there's good reason to suppose these coaches do not know how to work with players, so maybe Cujo--and EJ for that matter--might be better than is generally supposed.

Me, too. God help us.

The first thing I thought of was how badly it worked out bringing back Levy as GM, although to be fair his glory was as a coach. But I wonder if this is a way to give the Pegulas for changes they want to make (e.g., Brandon and Hackett). You can be a bit more surgical this way as opposed to cleaning house. Or mixing metaphors.

Here's a tough question: If you had known that it would be 15 years (and maybe much, much more, alas) with no joy in January, would you have stuck with the Bills?

I don't follow the Sabres (I have only so much resiliency). Can you tell me what you mean about Ruff and Darcy? I know that Ruff was their coach for a long time (I remember watching him play, too, along with Luce). Is Darcy the idiot GM my brother raved about who traded away two terrific players then got a contract extension or something?

Gas was $1.22 a gallon. The Matrix was a big hit. Bill Clinton was president. On the Bills roster: Kamil Loud, Jerry Ostroksi, John Fina, Gabe Northern, Thurman Thomas... That was a long time ago, folks.

Gives you a sense of how long it's been since we've been in the playoffs. I was in grad school, fifteen pounds lighter and with all of my hair. My three year old is 18 now. I never got him interested in the Bills, mostly because they have been awful all his life.

Here's an appalling thought: Maybe Whaley made the Watkins move in order to show he is independent of the Pittsburgh system, sorta like George W. Bush invading Iraq to prove his masculinity. He's protected for now because it's hard to accurately judge a draft so soon. But as early as next April, the sheer recklessness of his gamble may dawn on most fans. It won't be the abstract "next year's first-round pick" that he gave up; it'll be a dream guard, an exciting QB prospect or a fantastic right tackle. And we'll say to each other, "Ok, we gave up this guy AND this other pick who dropped to the fourth round for Watkins, when Odell--Odell!--was there for the taking?"

Our own Preston Brown surprised me. He's playing like a first rounder.

But this is exactly why at least one and maybe both of them blew it. They brought in a scheme without regard to who was playing QB. A no-huddle offense with Manuel and this OL? It was absurd, as the results showed. To be fair, they adjusted, but at best they are doing a mediocre job, not a good one. In other words, they are not actively contributing to losses (not consistently anyway), but neither are they contributing much to success. They're just doing a more or less competent job at this point. Which I suppose is saying something, given Jauron and the other nightmares we've had. Let's not kid ourselves: we're doomed until we bring back Wade Phillips and beg his forgiveness.