Eric Moulds was on Sirius radio today.

[JohnC]

John as usual makes excellent points and the discussion of talent is not really so black and white as it is grey.

 

That said I have to side with you on this one.

 

There is perceived talent and then there is unperceived talent.

 

There is established talent and unestablished talent.

 

There are players who live off their reputations and players who don't yet have reputations.

 

The line between winning and losing is usually very thin in the NFL where almost every year a team goes from worst to first. There are talented teams who don't win and less-talented teams that do win.

 

IMO most of the teams have very similar talent across the board and the biggest differences among teams is the coaching staff and the quarterback play. For instance the 2-14 Kansas City Chiefs had 6 Pro Bowlers but their coach was Romeo Crennel and their quarterback was Matt Cassel.

 

How good a team is Green Bay without Aaron Rodgers? Are there any good teams with bad quarterbacks?

 

I know this runs counter to those who believe that talent wins football games but I've never believed that so much as I believe what experience has shown us over and over: that the best teams have the best coaches and the best quarterbacks.

 

A good organization can in three years dramatically change a losing team into a winning team that is a serious playoff and SB contender. The Seahawks and the Redskins had GMs who took over at the same time as Nix did. While the Bills continued to muddle along (16-32) these franchise successfully rebuilt themselves into relevant teams.

 

One of the most essential ingredients, as you noted, for team success is having a high ceiling franchise qb. In Nix's three year tenure he demonstrated no urgency to acquire that type of qb. Another essential ingredient, as you also noted, is hiring good coaches. Nix made a very unimaginative retread hire who then proceeded to hire a lackluster staff. In this offseason the Bills used a first round pick with tools and they hired a more progressive coaching staff. That is a major qualitative change for the good.

 

My point in my post to eball is that it is going to take time for this new staff to install their system on both sides of the ball.It is also going to take time for Manuel to develop, assuming he is going to develop. The roster assembled under the prior regimes is being significantly changed. Much has already been done and more will be done before the season starts.

 

Manuel is not as pro ready a qb as Wilson, Luck or RGIII were when they went into the pro ranks. It is more probable that he is going to struggle more than them. I'm hoping that Manuel is like Kaepernick in that he is a raw prospect who has tools and with a reasonable development period will make an impact. My preference is to play him sooner rather than later, even if it means more losses. I would prefer that he played and learned with a 6-10 record rather than Kolb played and the Bills had an 8-8 record.

 

Where I respectfully disagree with you and eball is that I don't believe that the Bills have as much talent as the both of you believe. Over the past 6 years the Bills record against winning teams is dismal. Without going back and doing the research it is my guess that it is in the 25-30% range. The Pats have beaten the Bills in 18 out of 20 games. Regardless of the coaching differential it clearly demonstrates talent differential.

 

I am not a pessimist. Far from it. The incompetent owner is no longer involved in the football operation.That is a good thing. The old guard and backward approach to football represented by Jauron/Levy/Nix is gone. That also is a good thing. The new organization with Brandon as the president and Whaley as the GM is a tremendous organizational advance. From an organizational standpoint we have left the stone age and have entered the modern world.

 

Where I disagree with you and others is that I believe it is going to take more time to be a serious team. At this point I'm happy to be moving forward instead of muddling along the same dispiriting path of mediocrity.

Edited June 26, 2013 by JohnC