jahnyc Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 I think a lot of this will depend on how much influence Brandon retains with the Bills organization post- sale to Pegula. I expect that Brandon will strongly back Whaley and Marrone, but I am not sure whether this will matter, particularly if they bring in a consultant to review the football side of the team. I do think it would be a mistake to bring this group back for another year. We need some fresh perspectives and energy, and I am not convinced that Marrone and Whaley are above average in their respective positions (not even sure they are average). No good reason to wait.
GG Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 We can ride this roller coaster all year (and I'm sure we all will). The Bills will finish with a pretty good record (schedule is really easy) and have a good deal of talent. Whaley and Russ will be back and Marrone most likely. This doesn't mean that the team will max out their potential but enough will be done to keep the group together. Seems likely. But that was Wilson's measuring stick. I imagine Pegulas will have a different measuring stick. Isn't the consultant going to tell Pegulas the above? So why should the current guys feel safe if they don't maximize the team's potential? The NFL is hard enough on its own that you can't keep guys who don't get the best out of their teams.
Kirby Jackson Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) Seems likely. But that was Wilson's measuring stick. I imagine Pegulas will have a different measuring stick. Isn't the consultant going to tell Pegulas the above? So why should the current guys feel safe if they don't maximize the team's potential? The NFL is hard enough on its own that you can't keep guys who don't get the best out of their teams. I guess the best answer that I can give is that it takes time. The Bills are in a much better place than a few years ago (despite still not having a franchise QB). It seems likely to me that they will get a chance to continue down the path assuming the season finishes as I expect it to. If they go 5-11 or 6-10 then all bets are off but their remaining schedule is just too easy for that I think. Edited October 16, 2014 by Kirby Jackson
John from Riverside Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 We can ride this roller coaster all year (and I'm sure we all will). The Bills will finish with a pretty good record (schedule is really easy) and have a good deal of talent. Whaley and Russ will be back and Marrone most likely. This doesn't mean that the team will max out their potential but enough will be done to keep the group together. I dont have a problem with any of them being back except Hacket
BrooklynBills Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 The Bills are now owned by the 4th wealthiest owner in the NFL. That doesn't mean we are going to become the new Cowboys or Dolphins and start buying up FAs but it does mean we are not scraping the bottom of the barrel in the front office anymore. Look at the owner Pegula most often cites as a big influence, Bob Kraft. He went out and got Bill Belichek to run his football department. Stole him away from the Jets actually. Was there risk with him at the time? Sure. But he was clearly the best defensive mind of his time, had experience running a team, and had a plan. The rest is history with them. Look at Paul Allen with the Seahawks. He takes over and sinks tons of money into free agents but soon realized that it didn't matter because he had Dennis Erickson as his HC and bad personnel people. So he hires Holmgren to run everything football and he builds them into a Super Bowl team. Then when Holmgren loses it and his handpicked successor Mora Jr doesn't impress, he blows it up again and hands the reigns to Pete Carroll and now you have the Seahawks, who are the class of the NFL. I would expect Pegula to want to do the same here.
Corp000085 Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 The Bills are now owned by the 4th wealthiest owner in the NFL. That doesn't mean we are going to become the new Cowboys or Dolphins and start buying up FAs but it does mean we are not scraping the bottom of the barrel in the front office anymore. Look at the owner Pegula most often cites as a big influence, Bob Kraft. He went out and got Bill Belichek to run his football department. Stole him away from the Jets actually. Was there risk with him at the time? Sure. But he was clearly the best defensive mind of his time, had experience running a team, and had a plan. The rest is history with them. Look at Paul Allen with the Seahawks. He takes over and sinks tons of money into free agents but soon realized that it didn't matter because he had Dennis Erickson as his HC and bad personnel people. So he hires Holmgren to run everything football and he builds them into a Super Bowl team. Then when Holmgren loses it and his handpicked successor Mora Jr doesn't impress, he blows it up again and hands the reigns to Pete Carroll and now you have the Seahawks, who are the class of the NFL. I would expect Pegula to want to do the same here. This... The margin of talent in the NFL is so razor thin... Players, while important pieces, are really interchangeable (if you don't count the dominant/franchise/HOF type players). The big money is in the front office, which is not mandated by the salary cap. Yeah, the Bills always had the same players as every other team, but the front office has been a second rate operation compared to other teams for quite some time. Yeah, yeah, the team was marketed well; however, football operations have clearly been the common thread between 1999 and now. All this changes with a new owner... There will be clear upgrade in front office talent, there will be a clear plan, and current "players" from the old regime will be phased out. Is Whaley really good? For now, sure, why not. Is Marrone really good? Jury's out on that one... Are the scouts, training staff, medical staff, salary cap people, etc. good enough? Well, 15 years without playoffs mean no! We will all begin to see a major upgrade. Unfortunately, like the Sabres, it will take some time. I'm willing to give time if there's clear direction though. Change is tough, change requires difficult decisions and time. It took Kraft like 7 years to buy the team out of bankruptcy and win a Super Bowl. Now, they're worth AT LEAST 1.4 billion. Allen, same thing. Bought the team, took about 7-8 years before getting to a Super Bowl. Can it be done here? Heck yes.
ChasBB Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 I read this a I'm thinking this must be some kind of dream. That part on how to best separate the business side from the football side? Pure genius. Then I kept going and saw how he did the same with the Sabres. And that was basically an epic fail. Unless he brings in someone like Holmgren or Parcells, people shouldn't think this article means anything more than Pegula is trying to pick his best cronies to install at One Bills Drive. He did it with the Sabres, he'll do it with the Bills. I think bringing in Tim Murray will pay big dividends down the road for the Sabres. The only mistake Pegula made was letting Darcy Regier hang around too long, but he figured it out eventually that he needed to bring in some real GM talent and he did so. Sure, the Sabres are off to a rough start this season, but it will take time to infuse the team with talent, but Murray looks like the perfect GM to correct that. I trust that Pegula will make a well-considered decision on the future of football operations with the Bills - even if it means staying with Whaley as GM. At least the Bills roster isn't as bare as the Sabres roster was, so things could turn around more quickly for the Bills than the Sabres.
RuntheDamnBall Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 I want to see Hackett gone and a more experienced OC in the position if at all possible. I could live with Marrone staying if that happened.
FireChan Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 I guess the best answer that I can give is that it takes time. The Bills are in a much better place than a few years ago (despite still not having a franchise QB). It seems likely to me that they will get a chance to continue down the path assuming the season finishes as I expect it to. If they go 5-11 or 6-10 then all bets are off but their remaining schedule is just too easy for that I think. Not to piss in your Cheerios, but last years schedule was pretty easy too, down the stretch. Jags, the eventual 2-14 Falcons, the brutal Bucs, Jets, Phins, Pats. I and I'm sure many others, thought we could go at least 4-2 in that stretch, if not 5-1.
thewildrabbit Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) Guys, I think you can take anything Terry Pegula did with the Sabres, and throw it right out the window, as Kim will be the new CEO! If you read the link I provided it states that the Pegula's will hire a man with a great football knowledge background to help with the football decisions. No more ex baseball marketing guy guessing / helping with football decisions I can recall the impact that Chuck Knox had on the entire team, scouting dept. He made great decisions despite the ineptitude at the GM position. I'm feeling confidant that any future decisions will be proper intelligent choices. No more switching between the 3-4 & 4-3 defensive schemes constantly of the Gailey regime, and trying to obtain different players every year to fit the changing schemes. Or the bass ackwards hiring people that were fired at their last job as OC, then promoting them to HC. No more constantly drafting DB's & RBs with the #1 pick. Top 15 draft choices will play like should have been top 15 players. No more hiring mediocre college coaches who favor their cronies, and also hire inexperienced assistants . Lets throw 39 times in the next game while I deactivate a top WR so my buddy the special team coach can use that players spot on a scrub TE. No more asking retired chief scouts to do a job they are not qualified for, and become the teams general manager. Even now that goober is still a consultant with the team, and we wonder with the O line is so much worse now then it has been in the last 14 years. Yea, lets take an OT and throw him into the OG position, its always worked. You can always draft OG's in the later rounds...weakest position on the team by far!! Hopefully this new brain trust won't continually try and bring in other teams garbage for the OG position, and will find the team a top tight end. Then find a coaching staff that will help the young QB utilize him. I think any knowledgeable football person is going to look at this last off season and ask some serious questions. Like why spend two first round picks on a WR when you are not certain you already have a franchise QB? Then why let the coaching staff use the best offensive weapon on the team as a decoy? The team lost two 2015 players in that trade. Why bring in such a piece of trash like Chris Williams in the first place? Why not just draft an OG & TE with the first two picks in any order. Trade away the teams best WR for a 4th, and then trade that 4th for for a 4th string RB that is constantly inactive. While this FO has made some really good moves for the defensive side. I think they have made some seriously stupid mistakes on the offensive side, as a lot of 2013 off season mistakes continued right into 2014.. The OG position, Pears...really? Marrone keeping Nate Hackett after a failed year is like Chan Gailey keeping George Edwards more then one year. Whats is store for 2015? Another inept OC like Wannstedt was for the defense. They come out pass happy against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, and the only bright spot on that defense is their pass rush. So the Bills OC managed to jump head first into the opponents best ability. Is Hackett taking bribes to throw games or could he possibly be that stupid? This year the Bills have forgone the run game in favor of throwing it 40 times the last four games, and they lost 3 of 4, and could have easily lost all four if the Detroit kicker doesn't have a meltdown. Everyone else seems so positive the Bills will go into the bye week 5-3. I don't think any game is a given the way they have been game planning. Last year the Bills were also supposed to beat* the hapless Steelers, Buc's, Falcons, and Browns, and didn't. Rant over Edited October 16, 2014 by FeartheLosing
jester43 Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 Brandon was not involved with the football side of the operation prior to the purchase. There is no doubt that Whaley informs him on what he wanted to do but he is not now making those football type of decisions. you're naive if you believe that.
Kirby Jackson Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 Not to piss in your Cheerios, but last years schedule was pretty easy too, down the stretch. Jags, the eventual 2-14 Falcons, the brutal Bucs, Jets, Phins, Pats. I and I'm sure many others, thought we could go at least 4-2 in that stretch, if not 5-1. Statistically, the Bills had (as of last week) the easiest remaining schedule in the entire NFL. It is a fact based on wins and losses not a feeling of me analyzing the teams left. That doesn't mean that they will win them all but compared to every other team in the league their road is the easiest.
May Day 10 Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 All the more reason that failure is not an option that encourages anyone to support "continuity"
BrooklynBills Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 you're naive if you believe that. So not involved that he interviewed Sammy Watkins before the draft and flat out told him that he was going to get him. So not involved that he was behind hiring Marrone.
jester43 Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 So not involved that he interviewed Sammy Watkins before the draft and flat out told him that he was going to get him. So not involved that he was behind hiring Marrone. yes, it is still amateur hour over at OBD. add to that the coach and GM, who are clearly at odds with each other, were both picked by the same guy....who is "not involved in football decisions."
Canadian Bills Fan Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) Ron Wolf PLEASE!!!! If I am Pegula I say "Hey John Gruden, how much are they paying you? I'll double it" I would go with the more dramatic approach of sliding a check across the table with nothing on it but my signature CBF Edited October 16, 2014 by Canadian Bills Fan
nucci Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 Ron Wolf PLEASE!!!! I would go with the more dramatic approach of sliding a check across the table with nothing on it but my signature CBF another overrated retired coach? No thanks
26CornerBlitz Posted October 16, 2014 Author Posted October 16, 2014 another overrated retired coach? No thanks Wolf has a great resume as a SB winning GM and highly successful front office executive.
Malazan Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 Wolf has a great resume as a SB winning GM and highly successful front office executive. He's talking about Gruden
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