Confidence in Whaley

[Bad Things]

If you're questioning Whaley's ability as GM, you have a very short memory.

[Kelly the Dog]

While fullwhaley is ultimately responsible for the draft and roster he does work in concert with the coach and schemes. So while the buck stops here on his signings and picks, he chose huge road graters like Chris Williams, Kujo and Richardson because that's what Marrone said he wanted. Same reason we signed Incignito and Miller, because Rex Roman wanted nasty guys who could move.

[stevestojan]

I hate being a bills fan. Win or lose, I don't enjoy a minute of the actual game because when losing, I hate. Of course. When winning, I spend the entire time trying to figure out how they'll surprise me with a new !@#$ up. I'm as pessimistic as they come.

 

Whaley, and every move he's made so far, has made me have faith in this organization again. He wants to win, and not be a fan favorite. That's exactly what we need. If 3 years, we'll be a SB contender. I NEVER saw that in the last two decades.

Gotta like a rogue GM who makes moves with conviction.

THIS.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

No way, even if they end up at six wins, the Bills would be crazy to not resign him. People who knock Whaley for not doing more at QB make it sound like QB's grow on trees and every team in the league has a franchise QB except us.

 

In the AFC the only teams that I could as solid at QB are NE, Pitt, Balt, Indy, San Diego;

 

NFC; Giants, Dallas, Green Bay, Det, Carolina, NO, Atl, Seattle,

 

You can then throw in teams like Denver, Philly, Az who took gambles that may work out or may not due to age or injury prone.

 

Then there are teams like Cinn and Miami who have guys that each year do well enough to think you're set at QB, but bad enough to question if you should cut the guy, but they keep him because they too are smart enough to know it's very difficult to find someone better.

 

Then there's the rest of the league including Buffalo who have someone who may turn out to finally be the guy, or in two more years the team will be looking again for their next franchise QB. Look at Tampa, three years ago Freeman was in the pro Bowl, now he's gone through three teams since and Tampa had the #1 overall pick.

 

so to fault Whaley for not getting that great QB is a joke, if it were that easy, every team would have one.

 

 

The ceiling on this team with no proven QB is 10 wins the floor is 6 wins. That comes down to about 4 plays. That will tell the whole story on whether Whaley is a genius or out the door.

[Rico]

More confident than unconfident, but I'm not fully sold yet. Mostly from his association with Ralph's stooges, primarily Brandon.

[jahnyc]

I am still having trouble figuring out whether we should be giving Whaley credit or criticism for the period before he became GM. If you look at the current roster, many of the top players were drafted or signed as free agents by Nix, but Nix also made some bad mistakes (TJ Graham). I think that Nix made the call on EJ, not Whaley, although Whaley seemed to strongly support the pick. Nix seems to get no love here, but his draft picks and signings form the core of the team. If we focus on Whaley's two years as GM, he has made some bad trades, including the trades for Williams, Brown, and Cassel. Does he get credit for trading for Hughes? Who knows, but it did not happen during his tenure as GM. I also believe that he overpaid significantly for Watkins and his drafting has been very hit or miss. Seems like big misses on CK, Richardson and Cockrell, and some very good picks with P. Brown and Henderson. Free agency has been a mixed bag for Whaley. He failed to adequately address the guard situation last year, which hurt, but he also signed Cory Graham, who played very well last season.

 

Overall, I think it is way too early to assess Whaley. Some good things and some not so good things. I personally think many here are overrating what he has done, but we will see in the coming years.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I voted yes absolutely. The Talent has been growing stronger. Does he make the right or perfect move every time? NO. But tell me who does? Nobody!

Edited September 6, 2015 by The Thurmanator

[Nihilarian]

I am still having trouble figuring out whether we should be giving Whaley credit or criticism for the period before he became GM.

 

If you look at the current roster, many of the top players were drafted or signed as free agents by Nix, but Nix also made some bad mistakes (TJ Graham). I think that Nix made the call on EJ, not Whaley, although Whaley seemed to strongly support the pick. Nix seems to get no love here, but his draft picks and signings form the core of the team.

 

If we focus on Whaley's two years as GM, he has made some bad trades, including the trades for Williams, Brown, and Cassel. Does he get credit for trading for Hughes? Who knows, but it did not happen during his tenure as GM. I also believe that he overpaid significantly for Watkins and his drafting has been very hit or miss.

 

Seems like big misses on CK, Richardson and Cockrell, and some very good picks with P. Brown and Henderson. Free agency has been a mixed bag for Whaley. He failed to adequately address the guard situation last year, which hurt, but he also signed Cory Graham, who played very well last season.

 

Overall, I think it is way too early to assess Whaley. Some good things and some not so good things. I personally think many here are overrating what he has done, but we will see in the coming years.

This. Still lots of mistakes, and questions.

 

No known franchise QB after three off seasons. Tyrod Taylor is unknown!

 

The team gives up two first round picks, and a 4th pick to draft a WR when they didn't have a known franchise QB.

 

OG Colin Brown as a starter after the Bills let Levitre leave, and then Doug Legursky as his backup with a first round pick at QB starting was nuts. Signing OG Chris Williams who signed for something like 5 million, geez what a bum.

 

That offensive line was one of the worst blocking units in the league last year. Erik Pears at RG... holy crap! The 2nd round pick at RT in Kujo was so bad he couldn't get on the field for one of the worst offensive lines in the league. So the 7th rounder starts.

 

We still don't know if that 3rd round pick at RG in Miller or LG Incognito will be good enough this year, and if either gets injured the team is screwed with no solid depth. They both looked brilliant in pre season, and hopefully they continue to as good once the season starts. Unknown tho.

 

Will any of the three backup RB's be anywhere near as good as Freddy has been?

[negativo]

He's hit on the defensive side, but offensively Whaley still has a lot to prove in my book. I realize this is somewhat of a Whaley/FO advocacy forum, but I'm hard pressed to put faith in a guy who too often swings big, misses, and then hangs on stubbornly to his misses.

 

For me, the jury is still out.

[34-78-83]

The ceiling on this team with no proven QB is 10 wins the floor is 6 wins. That comes down to about 4 plays. That will tell the whole story on whether Whaley is a genius or out the door.

Totally disagree on the floor \ ceiling. 8 is floor and 12 is ceiling. The qb'ing is gonna be better than Orton and the team overall got better at like 5 positions minimum.

[Freddie's Dead]

No, until I see a healthy baby. I'm from Missouri when it comes to FullWhaley.

[billsfan1959]

This. Still lots of mistakes, and questions.

 

No known franchise QB after three off seasons. Tyrod Taylor is unknown!

 

The team gives up two first round picks, and a 4th pick to draft a WR when they didn't have a known franchise QB.

 

OG Colin Brown as a starter after the Bills let Levitre leave, and then Doug Legursky as his backup with a first round pick at QB starting was nuts. Signing OG Chris Williams who signed for something like 5 million, geez what a bum.

 

That offensive line was one of the worst blocking units in the league last year. Erik Pears at RG... holy crap! The 2nd round pick at RT in Kujo was so bad he couldn't get on the field for one of the worst offensive lines in the league. So the 7th rounder starts.

 

We still don't know if that 3rd round pick at RG in Miller or LG Incognito will be good enough this year, and if either gets injured the team is screwed with no solid depth. They both looked brilliant in pre season, and hopefully they continue to as good once the season starts. Unknown tho.

 

Will any of the three backup RB's be anywhere near as good as Freddy has been?

Please tell us which franchise QB is out there that, in his position of GM, he was in a position to draft/sign/trade for?

[Freddie's Dead]

He's hit on the defensive side, but offensively Whaley still has a lot to prove in my book. I realize this is somewhat of a Whaley/FO advocacy forum, but I'm hard pressed to put faith in a guy who too often swings big, misses, and then hangs on stubbornly to his misses.

 

For me, the jury is still out.

Agreed. BTW, thanks for posting the Hitler video. That helped a lot.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

The ceiling on this team with no proven QB is 10 wins the floor is 6 wins. That comes down to about 4 plays. That will tell the whole story on whether Whaley is a genius or out the door.

An unproven qb doesn't necessarily create a ceiling. What if he does that annoying thing and goes ahead and proves himself.

[Steve Billieve]

An unproven qb doesn't necessarily create a ceiling. What if he does that annoying thing and goes ahead and proves himself.

 

Yeah I think we got a good look at the ceiling of our QB play in the 3rd preseason game . . .

Looks like 19 is our ceiling with either QB.

[The Jokeman]

In the very least I'd say Whaley has shown he knows how to build a roster. Yet a lot of the picks this off season seem to also have Rex Ryan finger prints all over them, see Tyrod, some of the former Jets and even the recently added Center being a former Oklahoma player. In the very least it feels like Whaley doesn't want to cause friction with his new HC or our new HC has more say in personnel matters than our last one did.

[billsfan1959]

In the very least I'd say Whaley has shown he knows how to build a roster. Yet a lot of the picks this off season seem to also have Rex Ryan finger prints all over them, see Tyrod, some of the former Jets and even the recently added Center being a former Oklahoma player. In the very least it feels like Whaley doesn't want to cause friction with his new HC or our new HC has more say in personnel matters than our last one did.

The mark of a good GM, one that understands the philosophy of his head coach and attempts to acquire players that fit that philosophy.

[purple haze]

Lets not forget the moves that were NOT made that turned out to be correct.

 

Like Byrd?

And Levitre.

[QB Bills]

Not confident in Whaley. The homers on this board are out of control. The talent on this roster is thanks to Buddy Nix and Pegula's deep pockets. Whaley came into power as GM at the perfect time, with a solid core already built and tonnes of cap space and a new owner willing to spend.

 

Didn't like the McCoy trade, especially since it's been reported that Philly would have taken picks instead. I definitely didn't like the contract extension they gave him right after either. They overpaid for Clay and Harvin also. The Watkins trade also seems foolish without a QB to get him the ball.

 

I just really don't get the love for this guy here.

[Kelly the Dog]

Not confident in Whaley. The homers on this board are out of control. The talent on this roster is thanks to Buddy Nix and Pegula's deep pockets. Whaley came into power as GM at the perfect time, with a solid core already built and tonnes of cap space and a new owner willing to spend.

 

Didn't like the McCoy trade, especially since it's been reported that Philly would have taken picks instead. I definitely didn't like the contract extension they gave him right after either. They overpaid for Clay and Harvin also. The Watkins trade also seems foolish without a QB to get him the ball.

 

I just really don't get the love for this guy here.

Other than everyone of those things listed made the team substantially better I would agree.