PolishDave Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 I think Buddy, like most Bills fans, was done with Fitz as a starter, but more important than that, it was leverage in the negotiations to say things like that if they wanted him to take a massive pay cut and have to fight for his job. My theory, after learning quite some time ago that Marrone was a Nix guy and not a Whaley choice was that Nix was always going to hand the reigns over to Whaley. Everyone said it and agreed it just was a matter of when. Nix also said he would never retire unless he felt like the Bills had a franchise guy in place or a guy who could/would become the franchise guy. I think what likely happened was, as soon as they hired Marrone, and perhaps internally agreed that EJ would be their #1 pick over Geno or Nassib or Barkley, that Nix all but stepped down right before the draft or even somewhat during the draft. As long as he got the guy he wanted, which we know was EJ because there wasn't another QB taken, then he would let Whaley take over. Because the next couple high picks were Whaley kind of picks and not Nix, who loved those big southern boys. Woods and Kiko especially were not really Nix kind of players. This also went along with the idea that Nix had his coach in place and his QB in place and he could ride off into the sunset. The Bills could then promote this new era of young President, young HC, and young GM, with a first round QB as the future and start all afresh. And Nix was completely okay with that idea. I agree with that. Whaley is not blameless on the Kolb decision. I'm interested in what you think of the theory I postulated just above. It's just my conjecture as to the series of events from what I know and what I think. Your theory is plausible. That may have been how it happened. In my mind, Whaley was more involved in the decisions than a lot of other Bills fans probably think. I envision it as more like Whaley put his stamp of approval on every major decision Nix made as soon as the Bills made it public that Nix was going to be handing the reigns to Whaley. That doesn't mean that every decision was 50/50. It is probably more like certain decisions were Nix's strong suggestions that Whaley rubber stamped okay and certain decisions came from Whaley's strong suggestion that Nix rubber stamped okay. Certainly in each decision there was probably one person in the office who wanted that move to happen more than the other people involved in the decision process. We will never know for sure. I am sure Whaley must have had enough authority to put a stop to any move that he thought would be very detrimental to the team though. After all, he was about to assume command and certainly would not have wanted the previous captain to punch holes in the hull of the ship before he took the helm.
reddogblitz Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 There wasn't a lot out there. We had Fitz AND Tarvaris Jackson on the team and under contract. We wisely cut them both in order to sign Kevin "Body Bag" Kolb. Not one of our smarter moments.
Kelly the Dog Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 We had Fitz AND Tarvaris Jackson on the team and under contract. We wisely cut them both in order to sign Kevin "Body Bag" Kolb. Not one of our smarter moments.Nope. I personally would have kept Fitz over Kolb.
Hapless Bills Fan Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 Nope. I personally would have kept Fitz over Kolb. Yep. In theory and on paper, Kolb had some chance of continuing to develop to a higher ceiling. Unfortunately, football games are played on grass on Sunday. TJax and Fitz are both tough as nails. Kolb is the German word for "Made of Glass".
ScrewyLouie Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 The Bills have to keep Manuel anyway. If the starter gets injured you can't have just one quarterback without a back up. They have to have 3 quarterbacks just in case. He may not be active on game day but they still need a 3rd guy who knows the plays.
ALF Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) Letting Fitz leave for not reducing his contract looks like a big mistake now. He could have gave EJ time to learn unlike the Kolb disaster. “Without a doubt,” Jackson said on CBS Sports Radio’s "Tiki and Tierney" show. “Fitz was one of my favorite quarterbacks to play with. I would much rather have faced Geno than face Fitz. I’m a little biased on that just because he’s a great friend of mine, but I know what he brings to the table. He’s probably the smartest, if not one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/53251/geno-smith-or-ryan-fitzpatrick-a-no-brainer-according-to-bills-rb-fred-jackson Plus Fitz had psychic ability to know where SJ13 would be Edited August 20, 2015 by ALF
Big Gun Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) The Bills have to keep Manuel anyway. If the starter gets injured you can't have just one quarterback without a back up. They have to have 3 quarterbacks just in case. He may not be active on game day but they still need a 3rd guy who knows the plays. MC, TT and Simms on practice squad. They are going to need that extra roster spot since there have been so many injuries in camp. Edited August 20, 2015 by old school
Coach Tuesday Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 The stupidity of signing Fitz to that massive extension mid-season. They thought he was going to continue to ascend, and they'd end up with a discount... And then the stupidity of demanding that Fitz take a pay cut. They thought he was too expensive to be a backup. Between Kolb, Orton, and Cassel, they've probably paid about the same, if not more, than if they had just kept Fitz... and with far less stability and continuity. It's those kinds of things that make an organization crappy. I'm really hoping that era is over...
VABills Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 The stupidity of signing Fitz to that massive extension mid-season. They thought he was going to continue to ascend, and they'd end up with a discount... And then the stupidity of demanding that Fitz take a pay cut. They thought he was too expensive to be a backup. Between Kolb, Orton, and Cassel, they've probably paid about the same, if not more, than if they had just kept Fitz... and with far less stability and continuity. It's those kinds of things that make an organization crappy. I'm really hoping that era is over... Once EJ is cut, it should be.
papazoid Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 EJ's contract is FULLY guaranteed for this year & next. there is no advantage to cutting him, unless you think he isn't even a good 3rd string qb. then you need to pay his replacement.
thebandit27 Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 Once EJ is cut, it should be. So the end of the "stupidity era" is signified by taking an extra $2.5M cap hit to cut one of the only 2 guys on the roster with starting experience? That...doesn't make sense. Keep him or trade him...doing anything else would be patently absurd.
papazoid Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 even for a positive thinking player like EJ, it's only normal that brief moments of self doubt enter your mind when you are listed as 3rd string on the depth chart and the team brings in 3 new qb's to compete for the job. a comment like i can play in this league either here or for another team is a bit of a self defense mechanism which is really saying he still firmly believes in himself.
26CornerBlitz Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 So the end of the "stupidity era" is signified by taking an extra $2.5M cap hit to cut one of the only 2 guys on the roster with starting experience? That...doesn't make sense. Keep him or trade him...doing anything else would be patently absurd. People who are so gung ho on the Bills cutting EJ, must not be familiar with the dearth of quality quaterbacking around the league. It gets even worse when backup QBs are forced to play. IMO, it doesn't make sense to cut EJ from either a financial or a player personnel perspective.
Gugny Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 People who are so gung ho on the Bills cutting EJ, must not be familiar with the dearth of quality quaterbacking around the league. It gets even worse when backup QBs are forced to play. IMO, it doesn't make sense to cut EJ from either a financial or a player personnel perspective. Exactly. And I've got a feeling that after today's game, people will see that EJ is not the worst QB on the roster ... but many won't admit it.
Hapless Bills Fan Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) Once EJ is cut, it should be. Um...so we're going to fix the stupidity of cutting a servicable veteran QB who wouldn't take a major pay cut and no bonus/guaranteed money to go through a camp battle, only to bring in 3 QB who are arguably no better and maybe worse and pay "market rate" (eg overpay, plus guaranteed $$) for them......by cutting a QB with starting experience who looked no better and arguably no worse than a handful of rookies around the league, whose salary is guaranteed for the next 2 years, leaving us with a veteran who was out for the season after 3 games last year and a running QB who hasn't yet played a full game let alone a season - suggesting we may be scrambling for QB help if those guys sustain injury? We may cut EJ, we may not cut EJ .... but it won't be a sign that the Era of Stupidity is over if we do. Edited August 20, 2015 by Hopeful
ALF Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 No way I would cut EJ. Hope he can develop into a decent back up at least. The Jets just signed Matt Flynn, slim pickens out there for QB
BillsVet Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) It's staggering how the numbers fall when you discuss Buffalo's QB situation since 2010: 17 have been on the preseason or regular season roster since 2010 11 have been on the preseason or regular season roster since 2013 7 have started a regular season game with another likely added to that list on opening day. 6 were on the preseason or regular season roster in 2013 alone (EDIT: Kolb, Manuel, Tuel, Leinart, T. Lewis, Flynn) 4 were signed in UFA (Thigpen, Kolb, Orton,Taylor) 3 were traded for (T. Jackson, T. Lewis, Cassel) 2 were drafted in 6 total drafts And this is with one guy (Fitzpatrick) starting 45 of 48 games from 2010-2012. This doesn't appear like a team that knows what they're doing at the game's most important position. That's QB purgatory. Edited August 20, 2015 by BillsVet
Coach Tuesday Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 It's staggering how the numbers fall when you discuss Buffalo's QB situation since 2010: 17 have been on the preseason or regular season roster since 2010 11 have been on the preseason or regular season roster since 2013 7 have started a regular season game with another likely added to that list on opening day. 6 were on the preseason or regular season roster in 2013 alone (EDIT: Kolb, Manuel, Tuel, Leinart, T. Lewis, Flynn) 4 were signed in UFA (Thigpen, Kolb, Orton,Taylor) 3 were traded for (T. Jackson, T. Lewis, Cassel) 2 were drafted in 6 total drafts And this is with one guy (Fitzpatrick) starting 45 of 48 games from 2010-2012. This doesn't appear like a team that knows what they're doing at the game's most important position. That's QB purgatory. Well, true, but it also cuts the other way - it suggests they're at least trying...
DC Tom Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 Well, true, but it also cuts the other way - it suggests they're at least trying... A drowning man, flailing around helplessly, isn't trying to swim. He's drowning.
Dorkington Posted August 20, 2015 Posted August 20, 2015 It really is quite impressive how badly Nix/Whaley have gotten it wrong on the position. Whaley has done a pretty good job for the rest of the team, but man, we have screwed the pooch at QB.
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