Punch

Shying away from Matt Flynn because his early resume superficially resembles Rob Johnson is as logical as rushing out to trade for Thaddeus Lewis from the Browns (following 1single but awful start) because his resume superficially resembled Brett Favre in Atlanta. There are logical reasons to be cautious in evaluating Flynn's potential. But it's lazy to compare Rob Johnson to Matt Flynn, because it's a surface comparison at best.

+1 The verdict is still out on Flynn. Whatever happened this past summer with Seattle is not an indictment of his potential as a starter.

I can certainly imagine some elements of a west coast style offense being used, but I haven't read/heard anything along these lines. Is it possible that a writer or two confused Nathaniel Hackett with his father Paul, who is pretty strongly associated with the WCO?

Your post is an excellent assessment of the situation, and I don't think there's anything I could add to it aside from agreeing with this last sentiment. The Seahwks decided to "swing and hope" repeatedly for a QB until they connected with Russell Wilson: Tarvaris Jackson, Charlie Whitehurst, Matt Flynn, et al will only be remembered in Seattle as the answer to a trivia question if they're remembered at all. Even if none of the 2013 Draft QB prospects are "the guy", the Bills need to keep swinging until they hit the sweet spot.

That's not right. It is a reference to Overdorf's Bald Directive, a very effective cost saving measure which serves to limit men's hair products at One Bills Drive. The savings from this single initiative was instrumental in acquiring Lee Smith off of New England's practice squad.

It's a good list and an interesting read, but one thing to take into consideration before making declarations about which QBs were "good" or "bad" is the situation in which they were drafted. Tim Couch very possibly could have been a perennial All-Pro if drafted by a more stable franchise with talent in place around him. Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees as a Buffalo Bill could have likely gone the way of JP Losman and/or Trent Edwards. The question is, how do you feel about the Bills current situation in regards to coaching, talent evaluation and roster? If the Bills rated well, then drafting a QB like Nassib/Glennon/Dysert/Whomever late in the 1st or in the 2nd might work out better than it did to take Losman in the 1st in 2004.

Cecil Lammey ‏@cecillammey scout talk "Ryan Nassib = Ryan Fitzpatrick, worst kept secret in the #NFLDraft the #bills want him" some think he WILL NOT make it to 2nd rd Retweeted by Buffalo Bills Draft Cecil Lammey ‏@cecillammey If Nassib is on the #bills wish list then they'll have to trade back into the late 1st to snare him, too high to take at 8 IMHO #NFLDraft Retweeted by Buffalo Bills Draft Buffalo Bills Draft ‏@BillsDraft Those are tweets from @cecillammey who is at the Shrine Game and is very well connected. Not good news if you’re a #Bills fan imo.

I see-- I didn't make it all the way through the slideshow.

Honestly, I don't know. I can only say I've never heard a comment like this before on a cleanout day, and it was considered out of the ordinary enough that a Seahawks beat reporter mentioned it as such. Perhaps it isn't that strange, though.

Sam Monson ‏@PFF_Sam Legend RT @willbrinson: RT @johnpboyle: QB Russell Wilson wasn't in the locker room for cleanout b/c he was watching film. Seriously.

It appears the list includes coaches with at least 50 games in their NFL resume, which would explain why several have been left off that many of us would deem "worthy". Having said that, I think a HC that coached less than a full season could still be considered the "worst coach" in NFL history.

Danny Crossman comments on joining Bills Have you maintained a relationship with Doug Marrone through the years? You both played together in the World League and coached together in college. “Doug and I have known each other for the last 25 years or so. After playing together, we had the opportunity to coach together twice before in college football and compete against each other in the NFL. We have maintained a very close relationship over the years.” Doug Marrone comments on Crossman What attributes and qualities will Crossman bring to the position? “The thing I am excited about for what Danny will bring to our special teams is a system that plays to our players’ strengths-something that we have obviously talked about. For our players, we are going to be able to evaluate what their strengths are and be able to put them in the best position possible for us to win.”

He's coached ST in the NFL for the past 11 years and his record looks ok, on paper--- but I wonder if any ST coach's record would balance out over that time span? Despite the ST tire fire in Detroit for some of this past year, we could do better, we could do worse. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Bills-tab-Danny-Crossman-special-teams-coordinator/45a6ef4b-20c6-4a30-869b-670a5b59a1f8 During Crossman’s tenure with Detroit from 2010-12, S John Wendling tied for the NFL-lead with 51 special teams tackles. In his first year with the Lions in 2010, the kick return unit was the third-most improved in the League with an average 3.5 more yards per return than in 2009. Returner Stefan Logan posted the fifth-best punt return average in the NFL (12.1). Detroit also had the NFL’s 10th-most significant improvement in punt return average in 2010 – a jump from an 8.8 punt return average in 2009 to 12.1 yards per punt return in 2010. ... The Panthers ranked third in the NFL in 2008 with an opponent average drive start after kickoffs (24.7) and were one of three teams that did not allow an opponent to start a drive following a kickoff past the 50-yard line. Carolina posted a league-best 30 touchbacks, 33.7 touchback percentage and ninth with an opponent kickoff return average (21.9). In his first year as a special teams coordinator in 2005, Crossman’s unit ranked among the best in the NFL. The Panthers finished ninth in the Dallas Morning News special teams ratings which were highlighted with a second place finish in punt coverage and seventh in kickoff coverage.

Those 3 aren't even the worst 3 in the history of the Bills franchise--- they're just the most recent failed HCs. Articles like these tend that purport to estimate an "all-time" list of anything tend to have no sense of history. History being anything more than 10 years ago.

HAW!!! This post is a tremendous example of preparation meeting opportunity.

I think the main argument for this is: what team is going to outright starting job to Alex Smith? One possibility in all this (though highly doubtful) is that Baltimore decides they can't afford Flacco and then make a play for Smith.

http://www.buffaloru...chuck-driesbach "Per two separate reports, the rest of the coaching staff hires could be announced as soon as today. The website FootballScoop.com - which was the first to report on the Bills' interest in Pettine last week - and Brent Axe of Syracuse.com both said on Sunday evening that hirings could be announced Monday; both also threw the names of new coaches into the mix."

If he was a Colts fan 25 years ago, he might have something on us in regards to anguish.

That's been the Bills motto for nearly 20 years.

They "probably won't" but only because it is an exceedingly rare occurrence in the NFL, not because long dismissed GMs did so 11-15 years ago and it didn't go as planned, "Dude".

IIRC, market size generally only takes US figures into consideration. If the US-Canada border were only a state border, then the Bills would be close to top 5 in market size.

The coach should also be factored into any evaluation of the GM.

I see this question asked whenever apples are compared to other kinds of apples on this board as a way of dismissing the idea. What would John Butler in 1998 and Tom Donahoe in 2002 have anything to do with Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley in 2013? If anything, there's reason to believe the front office may be much more aggressive than before and even recent past offseason activity will not be a good indicator of what to expect.

I definitely didn't participate in the Wilson discussions on TSW at the time or generally read very much about him, predraft. It seems like it didn't take a great deal of digging to kick conventional wisdom right in the nuts. Hopefully the Bills brain trust continues to stay ahead of the curve, as they have thus far this offseason.

That's true. I had hoped his footwork was holding him back in regards to both arm strength and accuracy, but it is either too late or David Lee couldn't get it done in a single season (he had suggested it take approximately 6 weeks, IIRC). That ship has sailed.