The Trent situation was not handled well

[DC Tom]

Football isn't an exact science. I would have preferred the FO made the decision to get rid of Trent before the season started. But given all the variables here, I can understand why they might have decided to give him another shot at the starting role. Sometimes bad decisions are made for good reasons and/or with bad intentions. While I didn't like the decision to start Trent, I gave the staff a pass on that one.

 

As for making the quick decision to correct that mistake, I say "Bravo!" Too many people live with bad decisions because they are afraid of how the admission and correction of that bad decision will reflect on them. I tip my hat to Buddy and/or Chan to dispense with that image garbage and simply do what is best going forward. With a team as screwed-up as the Bills, I expect there may be a few more "odd decisions" and think they should be judged on their merits, and not on the process or whether other teams/HCs/GMs have done similar things in the past.

 

I happen to think that the decision-making process is actually more important than the actual decisions, as the process itself both derives from and drives long-term strategic goals. In the larger scheme, cutting Edwards in week 3 is largely a non-issue, compared to "We're having an open competition...he's the starter...no, wait, he's not...****, let's just cut him." I doubt it was as haphazard as that...but when a key member of an organization goes from "starter" to "fired" in two weeks, there's bigger organizational issues at work.

 

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this...which is, of course, no more than my polite way of saying "You're wrong, so shut the !@#$ up already, !@#$."

[GG]

I happen to think that the decision-making process is actually more important than the actual decisions, as the process itself both derives from and drives long-term strategic goals. In the larger scheme, cutting Edwards in week 3 is largely a non-issue, compared to "We're having an open competition...he's the starter...no, wait, he's not...****, let's just cut him." I doubt it was as haphazard as that...but when a key member of an organization goes from "starter" to "fired" in two weeks, there's bigger organizational issues at work.

 

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this...which is, of course, no more than my polite way of saying "You're wrong, so shut the !@#$ up already, !@#$."

 

That's an astute observation. You didn't happen to write legal briefs for Lawrence Tribe?

[34-78-83]

Yea, the same guy who signed RT Cornell Green for 3 mil per to upgrade the O line... I'm holding my breath for his next acquisition

 

That's Pro Player Personnel , the job the infamous John Guy used to do.

Sure Buddy is ultimately responsible for it, but his area of expertise is in scouting college players, and the history I refer to is in his scouting years with the Bills and assistant GM years with the Chargers.

But whatever...

[DC Tom]

That's an astute observation. You didn't happen to write legal briefs for Lawrence Tribe?

 

Thirty years studying military history, the past twelve of which have been focused almost exclusively on leadership and doctrinal issues. You end up learning something.

 

Hell, you've learned as much in your industry. How often is a corporate decision arrived at by decision making and risk management processes that indicates a lack of corporate health, even if the decision is "right"? Anyone who thinks that's rare has to look no further than the mortgage industry in the past seven years.

[GG]

Thirty years studying military history, the past twelve of which have been focused almost exclusively on leadership and doctrinal issues. You end up learning something.

 

Hell, you've learned as much in your industry. How often is a corporate decision arrived at by decision making and risk management processes that indicates a lack of corporate health, even if the decision is "right"? Anyone who thinks that's rare has to look no further than the mortgage industry in the past seven years.

 

Oh for Pete's sake, take the Dexter hat off and take a joke once in a while

 

But yes, what transpired in the last two days is a classic SNAFU, that any student of strategy would spot in a second.

 

But don't worry Buddy & Chan are in control. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

[DC Tom]

Oh for Pete's sake, take the Dexter hat off and take a joke once in a while

 

But yes, what transpired in the last two days is a classic SNAFU, that any student of strategy would spot in a second.

 

But don't worry Buddy & Chan are in control. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

 

Not in a joking mood today, sorry. More of a "want to bite the head off a squirrel" mood...

[Decade Of Fail]

cutting edwards now was a brilliant move by chan gailey.

 

it eliminates any talk of a QB controversy should fitzpatrick get hurt or have a bad game or two. because you know that talk would bubble up in the media and on messageboards in no time. i'm also certain, that in spite of his on the field actions, trent has friends in that locker room that could spread some dissension if fitzpatrick's play tapers off. it's obvious that gailey isn't about to take the bullsh*t that jauron did (remember him pulling the tv's from the weight room and actually making the players work out?).

 

gailey has seen all he needs to see of edwards, realized it's not gonna happen, and is moving on. excellent timing and execution.

 

you could say that there shouldn't be any QB controversy because edwards sucks. true. but that didn't stop people from having a battle royale over losman/holcomb.

[Sweet Lou]

Thanks for the insight Pete. I guess I better rephrase that.

 

I don't hate the man, I just moderately dis-like the man.

 

And only because he played with no heart and no passion for a game he was supposed to love.

 

And if you don't love the game, why play?

 

Does the love of money affect the love of the game that much? If so, WOW!

[firedawg]

10 Years of SUCK, then we get a HC/GM tandem that are actually doing the job they were hired for and people are ready to jump under the nearest moving object. The timing is not great. It should have been done in the off season. Chan obviously wanted to see if he could straighten Trent out. No harm in that. He was given the ultimate vote of confidence by Chan when he was named the starter. He had the good practice showings, the good pre-season which earned him the starter spot. Come opening day he choked (for whatever reason) He was then given another chance and not only did he choke but flat out let his coaches, teammates, the Bills organization and fans down with his play in the 2nd game. He had the perfect opportunity to step up and show everyone why he should be the undisputed leader of the team. He left the field with his tail between his legs.

 

The Trent that was released yesterday is not the same Trent that was endorsed by Bill Walsh. He had no fire, no spark, no fight left in him for the regular season. I think those involved saw there was no help for him at this point in his career with the Bills and did the only thing they could.

[TheBows]

Gailey had to get him out of there. The guy was the captain and lost his job for the second time, it's sad. There's no point of allowing him to mope around the locker room causing turmoil among the TE loyalists. Now there is no room for dissension (until the upcoming Brohm/Fitz QB controversy). The players will be upset, but in time they will gel with the new leader and forget about their old pal Trent...especially if they start winning. People always get uneasy when a new boss comes in to the workplace and tries to make his or her imprint. It's never a painless process.

 

I think this also sends the message that Chan is here to win, not worry about the feelings of the 53 grown men on his team who make a minimum salary that is ten times my own. No one is safe. The team is above one player.

 

Now, let's get started on a trade for Marshawn and see what we get for Lee Evans while we're at it!

[kasper13]

They should have cut him after last season. They refused to base this season on last season. Mistake. They had an "open" competition in training camp. No they didn't. Edwards was going to be the starter all along. MISTAKE. After two REAL games, they finally saw what everyone else already knew so they benched TE. Then they cut him so they wouldn't have to pay him $1.6 million to hold a clipboard and pass out gatorade. Fair enough. What did we learn from all of this? That the Bills have been making mistakes for a decade now. Once they realize they in fact have made a mistake they try and correct it long after everyone knows it was a mistake and look totally foolish. Gailey is obviously not a "QB fixer" as was proclaimed many times by many "experts". TE sucked and everyone except those running the team knew it back in 2009. All they had to do was watch game films from last year and I would hope they could have seen how bad TE was. But no, they gave him another shot and didn't bother to find another QB. I don't know why. All I know is we are 0-3 and still have garbage at the QB position.

[Mark Long Beach]

The whining is the continuing reinforcement that this franchise is run on an amateur level. I don't think that many would disagree that TE has run out of his chances with the team. But the knee jerk response is not to cut him, especially when you do not have a back up plan. That is not how a professional organization is set up and run.

 

 

We have TWO backup plans. Fitzpatrick and Brohm. Some teams go with JUST two QB's from the get-go. ...not how a professional org is run? ridiculous. Well run equals winning. If you aren't winning, the players all suck and the organization is making mistakes. Just listen to the fans and media in any NFL city: Dallas, Pittsburgh last year (but this year they're geniuses), heck even in winning cities such as Philadelphia, the coaching staff etc are always morons.

 

So not having a development QB to take an optional 3rd QB role on Monday, the day after a game makes us inept?? lunacy.

 

Look, I hope that we do spend some time to look around and pick the best development QB out there. I don't care if we cycle through them at one every other week. Just find a good one. Besides, IIRC Fred Jackson has been our emergency QB in the past he can be it in the future.

[GG]

We have TWO backup plans. Fitzpatrick and Brohm. Some teams go with JUST two QB's from the get-go. ...not how a professional org is run? ridiculous. Well run equals winning. If you aren't winning, the players all suck and the organization is making mistakes. Just listen to the fans and media in any NFL city: Dallas, Pittsburgh last year (but this year they're geniuses), heck even in winning cities such as Philadelphia, the coaching staff etc are always morons.

 

So not having a development QB to take an optional 3rd QB role on Monday, the day after a game makes us inept?? lunacy.

 

Look, I hope that we do spend some time to look around and pick the best development QB out there. I don't care if we cycle through them at one every other week. Just find a good one. Besides, IIRC Fred Jackson has been our emergency QB in the past he can be it in the future.

 

I like how you qualify that well run equals winning, and you use it in the context of the Buffalo Bills.

 

It's always amazed me how far people go to mask the obvious in front of their eyes. Please point me to key examples that Bills have been well run in the franchise history, save for the very few blind squirrel moments that were quickly erased because the owner couldn't handle a strong and competent front office man?

[Mark Long Beach]

I like how you qualify that well run equals winning, and you use it in the context of the Buffalo Bills.

 

It's always amazed me how far people go to mask the obvious in front of their eyes. Please point me to key examples that Bills have been well run in the franchise history, save for the very few blind squirrel moments that were quickly erased because the owner couldn't handle a strong and competent front office man?

 

Lately, we've been precious short on star players, especially at the QB position. Some poor GM's and some poor coaches have contributed to our decade of suck.

 

We've got a new GM, a new Assistant GM, new head coach, and almost complete new cast of assistant coaches. Why do you insist on blaming this crew what for what others have done? They didn't like last years crop of QB's and thought that they could reclaim good performance out of what we had. Trent proved to them and all who watched him that he cannot be a good NFL QB. So he got released. Sounds like exactly what should be done. Maybe not the most artful way possible, but the bottom line is he couldn't cut it, so the team moved on. Amen.

 

As for well run? The Saints just won the Superbowl. The Saints. S.A.I.N.T.S. They of massive, historical suckitudeness for essentially all of my lifetime. Tampa-freaking-Bay won a superbowl. Do you remember those awful white and orange uniforms?

 

I'm sad we haven't done better so far this year. None the less, I like our GM and I have high hopes for his successor Whaley (asst GM). The coaching staff shows promise and a willingness to adapt. This is in strong contrast to Jauron who repeatedly banged his head (and ours) into a wall and wouldn't change.

 

 

Repeating my earlier comment:

 

releasing a player who proved he cannot play the position does not make us inept.

not immediately replacing an optional 3rd QB one day after a game does not make us inept.

 

Both of those are in fact the right moves.

[Don]

does Trent Edwards take one long flight down there from Buffalo or lots of short safe ones?

[Fan in Chicago]

does Trent Edwards take one long flight down there from Buffalo or lots of short safe ones?

He won't take a plane, cos it has to touchdown

[Lori]

I happen to think that the decision-making process is actually more important than the actual decisions, as the process itself both derives from and drives long-term strategic goals. In the larger scheme, cutting Edwards in week 3 is largely a non-issue, compared to "We're having an open competition...he's the starter...no, wait, he's not...****, let's just cut him." I doubt it was as haphazard as that...but when a key member of an organization goes from "starter" to "fired" in two weeks, there's bigger organizational issues at work.

 

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this...which is, of course, no more than my polite way of saying "You're wrong, so shut the !@#$ up already, !@#$."

 

That's an astute observation. You didn't happen to write legal briefs for Lawrence Tribe?

 

Thirty years studying military history, the past twelve of which have been focused almost exclusively on leadership and doctrinal issues. You end up learning something.

 

Hell, you've learned as much in your industry. How often is a corporate decision arrived at by decision making and risk management processes that indicates a lack of corporate health, even if the decision is "right"? Anyone who thinks that's rare has to look no further than the mortgage industry in the past seven years.

 

Oh for Pete's sake, take the Dexter hat off and take a joke once in a while

 

But yes, what transpired in the last two days is a classic SNAFU, that any student of strategy would spot in a second.

 

But don't worry Buddy & Chan are in control. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Careful, guys. A friend of mine is getting roasted in another thread for suggesting essentially the same thing ...

[GG]

Careful, guys. A friend of mine is getting roasted in another thread for suggesting essentially the same thing ...

 

What, me worry?

 

There's a resaon many here are afraid to venture to PPP. Too many dainty feathers.

 

I'm still amazed at the wash rinse repeat cycle of fandom laying everything at the feet of the coach & GM, when that's never been the locus of decision making in this franchise, save for the lucky hirings and moronic firings of Saban, Knox & Polian.

[bobobonators]

Players get cut in the NFL all the time. The new Bills regime gave him a shot, it was clear as day TE wasnt going to produce and he was not part of their future, and the organization quickly cut bait with him. No muss, no screwing around. He had no future in Buffalo....so he was quickly cut, as is the team's right.

 

Im not sure what your beef is. if anything, IMO it shows decisiveness and quick moving on the part of the front office.

 

I'm sorry for getting in late to this conversation, but I had to comment on your "decisiveness" comment. Really? Gailey had since the moment he was signed, through training camp and preseason to evaluate the talent on this roster. This is not even mentioning all of the film that already existed on Trent; it's not as if he was a rookie. To name Trent the starting QB and then bench him after week 2 is one thing. But to then go and flat out RELEASE the guy you named your starting QB after 3 weeks into the season (of which he only started 2), is not only indecisive, but also clearly indicates that this new regime doesn't have much of a clear plan in place for this franchise. What exactly did Gailey see in these two weeks that wasn't already in film from the past few years? Nothing. Decisiveness would have been releasing Trent before training camp or the start of the season. Decisiveness would've been drafting Clausen, and not another RB when we already have two legit starting RB's. Decisiveness would've been realizing that you don't have **** at the QB position on this team, and addressing it in the off season - Bulger could've been had for a minimum and is light years ahead of anything we have here. Decisiveness is naming a starting QB and then actually starting him for more than 2 games, whoever that QB may be. Decisiveness is drafting Spiller and then actually starting him as our RB, and not switching back to Lynch. What franchise drafts a RB in the top 10, and later doesn't even give him half of a team's carries? Gailey has been anything but decisive

Edited September 28, 2010 by bobobonators

[LABills08]

What are the chances that Edwards plays the Bill Oct. 10th and absolutely lights us up?