Was Manuel Whaley's choice or Nix's??

[3rdand12]

EJ is the background/wallpaper on buffalobills.com so that alone should tell you their thoughts on him and answer the question as to whether Whaley might be secretly considering a QB in round 1.

So are they ? secretly ? Because that is how a good secret is done : )

[K-9]

I am now going a bit off-topic here, but I am not sure how a 3rd or 4th round rookie can help fill the backup QB role. I would think that Thad Lewis is comparatively better suited for that role. If the FO is thinking of replacing the backup, they need to bring in an experienced hand (after the June or post-draft cuts). If they draft a 3rd or 4th rounder (I wouldn't mind it frankly), it means two out of Lewis, Dixon and Tuel are gone.

 

It doesn't necessarily have to be a vet backup. Teams have drafted rookie backups before. I mentioned Reich. Most recently the Redskins did the same with Cousins to back up Griffin. I just have a feeling they like a couple of QBs better than their current crop. Guys that are already better than Lewis physically and who won't have a problem learning the offense. Hell, Lewis came in just in time for the last pre-season game and learned it well enough last year.

 

Bottom line is they need to develop better depth than they currently have and there should be better QBs available in the 3rd or 4th round to accomplish that.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[4BillsintheBurgh]

It doesn't necessarily have to be a vet backup. Teams have drafted rookie backups before. I mentioned Reich. Most recently the Redskins did the same with Cousins to back up Griffin. I just have a feeling they like a couple of QBs better than their current crop. Guys that are already better than Lewis physically and who won't have a problem learning the offense. Hell, Lewis came in just in time for the last pre-season game and learned it well enough last year.

 

Bottom line is they need to develop better depth than they currently have and there should be better QBs available in the 3rd or 4th round to accomplish that.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

I hear what you're saying here, but "well enough" helped contribute to a 6-10 record. I was hoping we'd get measurably better at backup instead of moving laterally. My fault.

[dave mcbride]

It was whaley. He was the guy who scouted him in the rain storm at Tallahassee (subsequent to the combine) and came away raving.

[Lurker]

I don't know, and neither does anyone else around here...

That statement should be the official TBD motto.

 

SDS could incorporate it into the header, right under Ralph's picture...

[Fan in San Diego]

The people who need to know...know.

 

There are people here who will tell you, but, they don't know.

 

Let me try this again...WTF does it matter to you?

 

You don't control hiring and firing at OBD. You don't know and will never know unless Nix and Whaley sit together and tell you.

 

And still...WTF does it matter? What are YOU going to do with this knowledge?

 

You can use that logic on almost everything in life. Still people like to know about many things beyond their control. So I don't think this is valid logic to put on someone.

[Beerball]

You are seriously No fun sometimes BB .

 

OK, I will answer the question posed by the OP. "Was Manuel Whaley's choice or Nix's?"

 

YES

[bigK14094]

Nix is now (as was last draft) functioning as advisor and counselor to Whaley. It is good business practice to keep the old guys around to mine their knowledge, but not be held to their judgements. (Nix is the GM coach now) Later, he is a consultant....not delivering the goods anymore, just coaching up Whaley, if Whaley wants to listen.

[ChanOverChin]

Beerball, why do YOU have to be the be all end all of this topic?? YOU don't know anymore about the Bills' inner circle than anyone else on this board.

 

I would certainly HOPE that Whaley was on board with the decision to draft Manuel in R1 last year (as the first QB taken), but we may never really know that answer. He's certainly not going to come out publicly at this point and say that Manuel wasn't his first choice. That would be ludicrous.

 

The bottom line is that Whaley knows that he only has about a three year window to prove himself as the Bills' GM or he will be replaced (and that it's possible that he may never be given an NFL GM opportunity again). In essence, his CAREER is tied to Manuel's level of success at this point. That's how BIG all of this is. I hope you get that.

 

Knowing that, do you think he's been around long enough to at least hedge his bet??

[GA BILLS FAN]

While we don't know, all forms of logic and reason would suggest that Whaley acted in the capacity of a GM during the draft, i.e. making the final call on all picks. As others have pointed out, selecting a round 1 QB was definitely the most collaborative decision of any pick, as it should be given the person becomes the "face of the franchise".

[1B4IDie]

We've been through this multiple multiple times.

1.) Whaley has been very straightforward. There will be no first round QB in 2014. Doesn't matter how many times you ask, the answer is still no. Grow up.

2.) Whaley is in a great spot as a GM because if

A.) EJ sucks he can say it was Nix' QB and Whaley gets to take a crack at drafting a franchise QB in 2015 or beyond.

B.) EJ develops into a franchise QB that wins championships Whaley can say that he really picked EJ.

 

Whaley doesn't have to commit one way or the other until OBD determines that they need to draft a QB in the first.

 

Don't ask again because the answer will be the same.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Why So Serious?

[Ronin]

Remember now that Nix was the Bills' GM and the guy who had the last say regarding whether to select Manuel last season in R1.

 

That's an enormous assumption.

 

If you ask me, the writing was all over the wall that Nix was just being kept on so as to prevent him from going to another team prior to the Draft last year and knowing what we want to do, that and the team saving as much face as possible for not having ditched him immediately after the season.

 

Who knows what was going on in the dysfunctional workings of OBD, but I got completely the opposite impression, that Nix was just being kept on for reasons of convenience, to assist in the transfer of full authority to Whaley, and so that he wouldn't talk prior to the Draft knowing what he knew.

 

Whaley's supposed to be the personnel genius. Either way, there are posters here that truly believe that every negative player acquisition since Whaley's been here since 2010 as the Asst. GM had absolutely nothing to do with him, while every positive player acquisition that's occurred is due all but entirely to him.

 

Also, to what extent does this team rely on its scouts, which is largely rhetorical. Some teams have much more competent GMs or others high up that ultimately make those decisions, others rely far more on their scouts, who get paid to do this work.

 

Honestly, with the advent and development of the internet, the role of scouts has almost been neutralized.

 

A.) EJ sucks he can say it was Nix' QB and Whaley gets to take a crack at drafting a franchise QB in 2015 or beyond.

B.) EJ develops into a franchise QB that wins championships Whaley can say that he really picked EJ.

 

Whaley doesn't have to commit one way or the other until OBD determines that they need to draft a QB in the first.

 

Exactly right, which IMO is why Nix was kept on, to deflect future criticism.

 

While we don't know, all forms of logic and reason would suggest that Whaley acted in the capacity of a GM during the draft, i.e. making the final call on all picks. As others have pointed out, selecting a round 1 QB was definitely the most collaborative decision of any pick, as it should be given the person becomes the "face of the franchise".

 

I don't know any good reason why a team would allow a GM that they've already told will be out the door after the draft, for the most part, to have final say on anything but cleaning the restrooms at the Ralph.

 

Let's not forget, it was public knowledge prior to the draft last year that Nix was out as GM some time imminently after the draft.

 

Beerball, why do YOU have to be the be all end all of this topic??

 

LOL

 

It was whaley. He was the guy who scouted him in the rain storm at Tallahassee (subsequent to the combine) and came away raving.

 

Have you got a link for that?

 

I don't think Whaley lied when he said about 30 different times over the past 2 years that the decisions are a joint effort. I believe they really do get together on it and value each other's opinions. I don't understand why it's hard to believe. It's the best way for an organization to function at the top and I'm glad they subscribe to it.

 

Yeah, it's worked so well for us lo these past 15 years.

 

I wish someone were in charge that knew what they were doing and "wouldn't value the others' opinions" quite as much.

 

The people who need to know...know.

 

There are people here who will tell you, but, they don't know.

 

Let me try this again...WTF does it matter to you?

 

You don't control hiring and firing at OBD. You don't know and will never know unless Nix and Whaley sit together and tell you.

 

And still...WTF does it matter? What are YOU going to do with this knowledge?

 

This is how a mod writes?

[ChanOverChin]

Nix made the claim publicly that it was HIS intention to draft a QB of the future as the team's GM before he retired. Did he not make that claim or am I simply making that up??

 

MOST of the NFL experts and commentators at the 2013 draft thought that Manuel was a fairly large reach in R1, did they not??

 

Many of you are telling me that you think that Whaley was really making all of the decisions for last year's draft and that Nix was simply his puppet. That seems a little far-fetched to me.

 

As I watched the Bills' war room as the 2013 draft progressed, it was Nix who was standing up in front of everybody in that room and directing the entire show. Whaley was somewhere in the background, probably taking notes.

[dave mcbride]

I suggest watching this -

- and reading this - http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/22260855/new-bills-gm-doug-whaley-an-integral-part-of-drafting-ej-manuel .

[Ronin]

I think its all Doug now , of course . And better for it

 

You may think, but this will be Whaley's first draft, so we'll see.

 

Again, he's been here for four prior offseasons and was brought on as a player/personnel expert. Unless he's been sitting idle with absolutely no one listening to him, he shares in the miserable drafts over that time period and the selections of Spiller in the 1st, Manuel as a major reach in the 1st, and of Aaron Williams and Torell Troup both early in the 2nd, not to mention the all but complete washouts of our 3rds thru 7ths during that same time period.

 

Let's see how this season turns out and how this and last year's drafts develop. So far Manuel, their big splash from last year, has been a bust, with only Alonso and Woods turning into anything.

 

Nix made the claim publicly that it was HIS intention to draft a QB of the future as the team's GM before he retired. Did he not make that claim or am I simply making that up??

 

MOST of the NFL experts and commentators at the 2013 draft thought that Manuel was a fairly large reach in R1, did they not??

 

Many of you are telling me that you think that Whaley was really making all of the decisions for last year's draft and that Nix was simply his puppet. That seems a little far-fetched to me.

 

As I watched the Bills' war room as the 2013 draft progressed, it was Nix who was standing up in front of everybody in that room and directing the entire show. Whaley was somewhere in the background, probably taking notes.

 

So you think that a guy that they had already told, and make publicly known, was going to leave the team in his role as GM following the draft last year, had full authority over that draft?

 

Really?

 

Please say that you don't believe that.

Edited May 6, 2014 by TaskersGhost

[Storm Front]

If Manuel turns out great, folks will give credit to Whaley. If he turns out to be a bust, folks will say Nix must have been behind the pick.

[GA BILLS FAN]

Nix made the claim publicly that it was HIS intention to draft a QB of the future as the team's GM before he retired. Did he not make that claim or am I simply making that up??

 

MOST of the NFL experts and commentators at the 2013 draft thought that Manuel was a fairly large reach in R1, did they not??

 

Many of you are telling me that you think that Whaley was really making all of the decisions for last year's draft and that Nix was simply his puppet. That seems a little far-fetched to me.

 

As I watched the Bills' war room as the 2013 draft progressed, it was Nix who was standing up in front of everybody in that room and directing the entire show. Whaley was somewhere in the background, probably taking notes.

Whaley was in the background making the picks !

[Hplarrm]

Victors write the history. If EJ turns out well, Whaley would likely remain the Bills GM and can write the story (or it remains to the advantage of his minions and the media to write a positive story for him) that it was Whaley's choice (primarily).

 

If EJ turns out poorly then Waley wants to share the blame with others and even better Nix is retired which makes it to the advantage of most still around to blame him for this choice which did not work.

 

We'll see.

[K-9]

...Honestly, with the advent and development of the internet, the role of scouts has almost been neutralized. ...

 

Ludicrous in every sense of the word. Suggests an utter lack of understanding of the scouting process and all that it entails.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[ChanOverChin]

I believe that Nix had more say in the drafting process in 2013 than many on this board believe that he had. Was Whaley involved in the decision-making, absolutely he was. But for whatever reason you want to attach to it (be it that Whaley was too green or not knowledgeable enough or just not ready), the Bills were not ready to give Whaley full authority as GM when they first brought him into the fold several years ago as their "GM in training". Nix was the man during those years.

 

Nix turned out to be a lousy GM IMHO.

 

Does he know football?? Yes.

 

Was he successful in competing with his NFL counterparts while he was Buffalo's GM?? Not very well.

 

it takes a certain amount of savvy and expertise to be a successful NFL GM and Nix just didn't have it. Good scout. Not cut out to be a good GM.

 

I do have high hopes for Whaley though because of the training that he received with a very successful organization like the Steelers. The connections and contacts/friends that he made with the Steelers will be of great benefit to him as well.

 

I do think that it's a reach to say that Whaley was running the 2013 draft while Nix was the Bills' GM. There's certainly no proof of that. if you saw the cuts to the Bills war room it was Nix who was consulting with the group, directing conversations, and making final decisions. Whaley was in the background with all of the others.