thewildrabbit

This is about the best news I've heard since Terry Pegula bought the Buffalo Bills. The sole reason I say this is because now the Bills will have someone to advise the new owners with some actual NFL front office experience in the football operations side of things. I doubt Hill has much power over anyone at this point, and was just brought in to advise on the offensive acquisitions. So, now when the team goes after a free agent offensive lineman they won't offer the worst player in the NFL a contract, and instead the Bills might just find some decent talent for the line. The Bills need a power RB who can carry 250 times a season. A top pass catching TE that can actually block as well. The biggest concern of the team right now is finding that franchise QB. Hill should really help this team. Lets face facts that Whaley fell on his face with the offensive acquisitions the last two years, and he needed some help. Want more info on the guy.... http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Ron-Hill/935503

If the trade hadn't happened the Bills would have drafted Eric Ebron #1, and Cyrus Kouandjio #2 What does that tell you about the Bills ability to judge offensive talent. I can recall reading that the Bills scouts were very high on Odell Beckham Jr a few weeks before the draft, and am not sure why they moved away from him. I don't think this team is going to make a strong transition out of the cellar on offense this year. No QB, NO RB, Bad O line, and bad scouting.= not good. Anyway... http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/11/30/7311043/mike-evans-block-terrance-newman-video-buccaneers-bengals

About the only people on the planet that think this was a good trade are Buffalo Bills fans. ESPN didn't even name SW as one of the top three rookies this year. My take is if Bill Polian would have been hired as team president he would have replaced Whaley for making this trade. Bill made a blockbuster trade for Biscuit, and he could get away with that because he had the franchise QB in Jim Kelly. The Falcons traded 5 draft picks for Julio Jones, and the GM got away with it because he already had his franchise QB in Matt Ryan. Needless to say both moves cost their respective teams precious draft picks that could have bolstered other areas of the team. Save the picks, and acquire FA WR Vincent Jackson....ever think of that? Seems like a stupid move now doesn't it when you consider they gave up the 2011 1st, 2nd, 4th, and the 2012 1st, 4th. That's right, 5 players. It didn't get them to a SB, and in fact crippled the team by not allowing them to draft 4 players that could have made an impact on the both sides of the ball. The Buffalo Bills gave up RB Greg Bell, their #1 pick in 88, and #1 in 89, #2 in 89. One could argue that those three picks, 4 players in all, would have been better spent on bolstering both sides of the lines. I gotta admit tho I loved the trade at the time, as i loved watching him play at Bama. Then hated that Bennett was drafted by the Colts. Bottom line is the Bills aren't 100% sure EJ is the franchise, and shoot, whats more they don't even have a RB for the ground and pound they want to run this year. Much less 3 of the 5 O linemen still stink badly. http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12179331/how-many-players-away-super-bowl-was-team

Its not about how much an owner is worth! Its about how smart the owner is in who he hires to run his franchise for him. I really disliked the late Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay with a passion as he was so rich, and such a skinflint in every aspect. Mostly he was always finding new ways to screw his own players out of money that was owed them. His son Jim is a different animal as he is keenly aware of hiring top talent in the front office, and hired Bill Polian as soon as he could. Once things went bad with Polian as president, and his son as GM Irsay then found other top FO people / coaches. He is a "hands off" owner as he lets his FO make all the player decisions. Jim Irsay was a GM at one point, and yet smart enough to let his FO people make all the football side decisions. Although he is still very involved in day to day activities. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is another owner who is very involved and lets his FO make all the player, football decisions. New Bills owner Terry Pegula is taking over right where Ralph Wilson left off in having the GM, HC report to him. Then if any serious "football" decisions need to be made is a consensuses of Pegula, Brandon, Whaley, and all of which have a grand total of 2 years experience of running the football side of things between them. Terry Pegula= 0 experience. Russ Brandon finance / marketing= 0 actual football experience. Doug Whaley 2 years experience. The entire point I'm attempting to make is that nobody but scrub coaches wanted to be micromanaged by the last Bills owner! Buddy Nix had inexperienced assistants turning down interviews. Wilson was a notoriously cantankerous meddling owner who would be on the phone to his HC daily for hours during the season, and from a different city. If Pegula is going to put himself in that same position then I highly doubt any top head coach or assistant will want to be hired by the Buffalo Bills no matter how much money you throw at them. Great coaches want to win the ring, and not to be questioned about every move they make. Or would want to be involved with an org with little to no real football intelligence in the FO.

I realize its throw Marrone under the bus for everything wrong with the team in 2014, and give Schwartz the credit for everything right and a 9-7 finish. After reading that Marrone didn't even know Jerry Hughes was benched for a time during a game I think most fans came to the understanding that St Doug wasn't involved in any aspect of the defensive side of the ball. I know in my own thinking that after watching Marrone out on the practice field in pre season "hands on" with the O line players doesn't mean he coached them at all past that. In any event it wasn't Marrone coaching the O line, and it was Pat Morris. The two best players on that line from 2013 really, really regressed over the course of the season in Eric Wood, and Cordy Glenn. The entire offensive coaching staff was bad last year in my view.

While I can see why Whaley made the trade because in his view + Bills scouts that Watkins was a once in a generation talent like Andrew Luck. There is no question that Watkins is talented. The bigger question is just how talented is he, and what kind of numbers will he put up to justify being equal to three players? To me this is like thinking that Sammy at #4 overall is equal to LBer Anthony Barr selected #9 by Minnesota, OT Ja'Wuan James selected at #19 by Miami, and WR Martivas Bryant chosen by the Steelers at #118. NY Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr missed four complete games, and still almost broke Randy Moss's rookie receiving record with 1305 yards with 12 TD's, and he was 10th of all NFL WR's in yards. Tampa WR Mike Evans was 19th in yards 12 TD's. Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin was 21st in yards with 1008. Sammy was 24th in yards. What really bothers me about this trade is this teams offensive scouting evaluations have been mostly bad the last few years. From using that first round pick on EJ to overlooking other talent at QB in the likes of SB winning QB Russell Wilson. Nobody in the Bills FO noticed that EJ might not be the franchise guy, and allowed him to be benched after four games. QB Blake Bortles was drafted #3 overall by Jacksonville, and yet QB Derek Carr drafted by the Raiders in the 2nd round is the better player....also overlooked by this Bills scouting dept. The 2014 draft might just be the best, and most WR talent laden draft in NFL history. Yet the Bills scouts / Whaley didn't see the talent in all those other receivers, or thought none were as good as Watkins. Then, nothing has changed in the college scouting dept, and that is where they have failed the most the last two years on the offensive side. Then, just who is supposed to throw to Sammy this year to get him all those yards?

This could be a similar situation to the Dallas offense with both a run game coordinator and a pass game coordinator. I'm not overly thrilled with the QB coach David Lee considering how badly Geno played last season. So perhaps this hire was to ensure EJ gets better development. Didn't the Bills hire a new O line coach? I see Pat Morris still listed on the Bills website.

So, the Bills fired the man who helped bring in guys like K Dan Carpenter in 2013, and other NFL free agent signings. Yet, the Bills still retain the same college scouting staff. "Tom Gibbons was fired by the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday. He had served as Buffalo's Director of Pro Personnel since 2011. Gibbons played a part in signing MarQueis Gray, Bacarri Rambo and Marcus Thigpen late in the season." http://buf.scout.com/story/1504601-buffalo-bills-fire-tom-gibbons Not sure why everyone seems so happy about this move. Perhaps he is getting thrown under the bus for WR Mike Williams, RB Bryce Brown moves?

In all probability the entire reason for the speculation that should Bill Polian have been hired in Buffalo then Doug Whaley's days would have been numbered, and Brandon would have been fully moved to the financial side. Since the Polian hire didn't happen then nothing has really changed. The entire story of the problem with the failure on the offensive side of the ball doesn't start with Whaley, and goes all the way back to the 2000's with all the bad acquisitions for the last 15 years. We can look at the 2010 off season with the Buddy Nix acquisition of free agent RT Cornell Green at 2 mill per, and he was so bad he lasted only 6 games before being benched and released. The is the exact same thing that happened in 2013 with the replacement for Levitre in Colin Brown, who was also so bad he was benched and released after 6 games. Buddy Nix probably thought he removed the problem when he rid the team of chief scout Tom Modrak. He may have thought the trouble was now over after the success he had after drafting LT Cordy Glenn. But Its something that is still prevalent, and occurring because of the most recent offensive failures. Like I stated probably why the team just fired the pro personnel director Tom Gibbons. Although this only helps with finding free agents, and doesn't address the problem with the offensive scouts. While as a Bills fan you have to admire Whaley's courage of his conviction to try and build a great team in Buffalo, and this is a big reason why I think the Pegula's would be wise to retain him. Still, the offensive side of the ball clearly needs assistance in obtaining high quality talent, and most particularly a franchise QB. http://mmqb.si.com/2014/05/09/bills-draft-sammy-watkins-gutsy-trade/ Then, just one mans opinion, and yet shared by so many others that are not Bill Fans. http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/ The main reason I want to see a new team president hired (like Ted Thompson with his vision on QB talent) is to properly identify a top quality QB like an Aaron Rodgers for the Buffalo Bills. A true franchise QB is something this team has lacked since the early 90's. So, if it came down to keeping Whaley, or hiring Ted Thompson and allowing him to build the franchise properly, it would be 1000% Thompson. Rex Ryan has had a top ten defense the last four years, and yet didn't even field a winning team. This team won't ever see the super bowl again until they see a true franchise QB on the roster.

Here is hoping an upgrade at the O line coach is going to help *coach up some of those young players. Even then I hope Whaley has a plan to upgrade the OG position besides whats currently on the roster.

Jeez, its been his show for two years now! How many years will it take to understand that he and the scouting department already have shown great difficulty in evaluating top offensive talent. The man has already sunk, and Bills fans just don't care to acknowledge that fact. The entire point of that sentence wasn't that if he doesn't get it right this year to fire him. The idea of letting him sink or swim is rather lame when he clearly needs help, and he won't get help at all from Russ Brandon or a new owner. Probably the most difficult position to scout is the QB position because not only do they need to make sure the player has all the physical abilities to play the position. They need to evaluate the man along with his heart and desire to be a great player. His leadership, and poise. His accuracy, vision, arm strength, pocket presence. Can he throw his receivers open, and does he have the proper mechanics in throwing motion, and follow through. Its why finding that elite "franchise' QB is so difficult. People like Bill Polian, AJ Smith, Ted Thompson have that ability to see a future NFL HoF QB in a college player, and I can see why Terry Pegula reached out to Polian. On another note, In one of the recent posts above "GunnerBill" doesn't give much credence to the thought of the Bills acquiring Derek Carr at QB, and yet from what I've read that if the 2014 draft had a do-over Carr would have been the first overall pick to Houston. Or If he made it past Houston then he would have gone to Jacksonville instead of Bortles, as Carr was clearly the best rookie QB this past season. http://www.si.com/nfl/video/2015/01/20/redrafting-2014-nfl-draft Bill fans probably have amnesia thinking about that loss to the lowly Raiders that knocked the Bills out of playoff contention. Against that elite Buffalo defense Carr went 17 of 34 for 214 yards and 2 TD's. Superstar Packer QB Aaron Rodgers played the Bills the week earlier and went 17 of 42 for 185, and 2 INT"s In an impossible spot against a motivated Broncos team with an elite defense, Carr had no shot. But he was the NFL's best rookie quarterback for stretches this season, showing an ability to read defenses and make throws even with zero talent around him. He started all 16 games, completing 58.0 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Carr may not be handed the 2015 starting job by a new Raiders regime, but he'll likely win it. http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/9349/derek-carr

How can you look at the offensive acquisitions the last two years, and not see total incompetence? The Line, the trades, and losing this years first round pick, and the QB position all add up to some really bad judgement calls. Probably why the team just fired the pro personnel director. Understand while I think the job Whaley has done with the defensive side is near brilliant (near = Justin Rodgers et al) in his two years, and conversely the offensive side has been in the top ten worst in the league for more reasons then just coaching. I have never advocated firing Whaley, not ever! You do realize that if the trade for Sammy hadn't taken place the player that Whaley stated he would have taken at #9 was Eric Ebron Now think of Ebron, and Kouandjio as the first two picks for the offense last season. There was something definitely rotten in the Buffalo Bills scouting department, and we don't really know If Whaley with his vast knowledge of two years experience in this job as GM has enough acumen to figure out who needs to go and who doesn't. Even with the scouting dept changed the GM should have had enough of his own skill in evaluating talent to know a decent starting NFL player from an absolute disaster in someone like Colin Brown. Doug Whaley clearly needs some help in doing his job, and the team needs more then a brand new owner along with Russ Brandon to give him that help.

He would have been a big upgrade last season after Williams went on IR, and now its just a lame idea. The man has way to many mental issues to deal with, and there are some decent free agent OG's, and the draft is approaching.

This has to be from all the miss fires on the offensive side is my guess, and if right then, this is a great move.

I love the Greg Roman hire as he controls the entire offense and knows how to build an effective running game that can actually move the chains and control the clock. Unlike Hackett who just knew how to call up the middle plays with Spiller, and really all he did was gain a bunch of yards in losing efforts. The hire i really, really dislike was the David Lee as QB coach who I feel screwed up Fitz, and did a really horrible job last year with Geno Smith. Anyone recall how bad Geno looked in his two games against Buffalo, and even Michael Vick didn't look much better. Dunno why Rex hired this man. I kinda support hiring an OC and then let him pick his assistants. The rest of the hires I don't know much about except that new O line coach in Kromer was the Bears OC last season, and wasn't he the one who blabbed to the media about the team strife inside the locker room? Seems like players will need to be watching what they say around him. The entire problems with the offense are going to be how effective the GM is in finding better talent for the O line, RB if they don't retain Spiller, and most importantly at QB. If Whaley fails then the offense fails.

This is great. Now all that needs to happen is the Jags to hire Hackett as their OC. To the Bills fans still wanting to hate. The man did do an excellent job as the Jets O line coach, and so much so that his past players, and HoF RB Curtis Martin have nothing but praise for the guy. This job could elevate him back into consideration for another head coaching job if he does it well. I disliked Marrone mostly because of his hiring a complete NFL newbie OC in Nathaniel Hackett. He did get the DC's right tho.

All I stated was that Polian mentioned he would bring in AJ Smith in some capacity to probably help identify offensive talent. It occurs to me that those two build a very solid O line in Buffalo back in the 90's, as Smith was a scout. Plus, wasn't it AJ Smith who drafted Phillip Rivers? Anyway, perhaps it was for the best that Polian backed out. That doesn't mean it isn't a good idea to hire a team president like the Packers GM Ted Thompson and promote him to team president. Thompson who has been pretty darn good in finding offensive talent. Thompson was the one who drafted Aaron Rodgers, and had enough foresight to know the team would be better off without Brett Favre. He fired HC Mike Sherman, and hired Mike McCarthy. I'd say the teams under him since 2005 have been near great. Seven out of ten years in the playoffs, and a SB win. If it was Butler, then it was also AJ Smith as he left Buffalo with Butler to join the Chargers staff. You guys get me complaining about what AJ Smith accomplished in San Diego. Granted that even the lord of no rings regrets firing Schottenheimer because he wanted to hire his sons to run the offense and defense. The man did preside over the most successful ten year stretch in the entire teams history, and there is no debating that fact.

and I'll say again that with a 2015 first round pick the Bills could have a shot at trading up this year for a QB. Or, again if they hadn't traded up for Sammy they could have had multiple options in the 2014 draft. Manziel, Bridgewater, Carr, Garoppolo. Derek Carr with a #2 pick, and wasn't he the rookie the beat the Buffalo Bills to knock them out of the playoffs? Carr finished with more yards, and TD's then Orton did last year. Doesn't it bother anyone else but me that this teams scouting ability stinks on the offensive side. That they need to come to camp to see EJ, Tuel, Lewis hasn't developed enough to start, keep on the active roster or keep on the team

no because he be a lying dog. He has stated he wants to play until he is 40 years old (3 more years), and in Belichick's system he just might, as he hardly gets sacked. The Patriots were 5th in the NFL in sacks allowed with only 26. I dislike the Seahawks because of the Lynch trade, and now i must root for them to win. Oh, and to those that think Belichick won't win without Brady are forgetting that Brady missed an entire season after getting knocked out in the opener in 2008. Patriots backup QB Matt Cassel hadn't started a single college game, and hadn't started on since high school. The Patriots went 10-5 with a scrub at QB.

John Elway didn't think he was to good for the Colts. He just hated the way the Colts owner treated his favorite NFL player in Colts QB Bert Jones. When Jones signed with the team they gave him a house to live in, and when they released him they took it back. (He didn't read the fine print) Colts owner Robert Irsay was one of the biggest ever. Dan Reeves rode on John Elway's back until he broke it. The problem was that John actually wanted to win one of those super bowls. I don't blame Elway for wanting to win a SB again. Some coaches can only take a team so far, and after 2x 13-3 seasons, and a 12-4 season with no SB wins is still on Fox's resume.

Exactly I don't trust Whaley as he hasn't gotten the offensive side right at all. I don't trust Brandon with any football decisions, and I surely don't trust a new owner who has no experience in how the football operations side works. How has Doug Whaley done in his two years of finding that franchise guy? Not EJ, and not Kevin Kolb, Jeff Tuel, Thaddeus Lewis, Matt Flynn, Matt Leinart, Kyle Orton. 0 for 7? So, how has Doug Whaley done in acquiring O lineman the last two years since he let Andy Levitre, Chad Rinehart leave? Colin Brown, Sam Young, Doug legursky, Chris Williams, Seantrel Henderson, Cyrus Kounandjio, Cyril Richardson. One for 7, and that one was barely good enough to start, and only started because the team didn't have better. The team could have had a winning record two years ago, and perhaps made the playoffs this year with some linemen that could actually throw a decent block. How did those trades workout with RB Bryce Brown, WR Mike Williams, and not even utilized much at all last year. The Bills trade away a player for a 4th and he becomes a HoFer. WR Sammy Watkins talent is undeniable. But did the team really need to give up an extra #1 & #4 pick in 2015 when Odell Beckham Jr, Kelvin Benjamin would have been there at the #9 pick. Bill Polian stated he would have needed to bring in ex Charger GM AJ Smith, and change some scouts, and I believe him. Probably wanted some help in identifying a quality QB, and O line talent. At this point I know I don't have much faith in a 2nd year GM making offensive player acquisitions. I have no idea why there is no football president in the works.

In regards to the team you mentioned, and more. Exactly how many teams have a head coach with enough NFL experience, football acumen to have total autonomy over the entire side of football operations. ONLY ONE, Bill Belichick. However, since Belichick has had total control how many SB's have they won? The Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome has full power, and used to be vice president of football operations. won 2x super bowls with this structure. Seattle Seahawks HC Pete Carroll has player control over the roster but not over every player decision as his GM handles that. GM John Schneider was the one who hand picked Russell Wilson, and Carroll gives him credit for it. One SB http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/27/pete-carroll-praises-john-schneider-for-drafting-russell-wilson/ The Dallas Cowboys owner is the team president and GM, totally unique. The HC has to report to the owner because there really is nobody else. Have not won a SB in how long? The Eagles have a GM who is more a finance guy, and now this year HC Chip Kelly will take over total player control of the roster. Kelly still doesn't report directly to the owner. Ex Eagles HC Andy Reid was also the Exe VP of player personnel so he controlled the roster, and he didn't report directly to Jeffery Laurie either. Vice president of football operations Howie Rosman is still the man man at the top of the football chain and here is an article calling the situation toxic. "The root of the problem is the flow of information from Roseman to Lurie, which is spun exactly the way Roseman wants it." Have not ever won a SB! http://www.csnphilly.com/football-philadelphia-eagles/jeffrey-luries-power-structure-created-toxic-environment-eagles-front-office. The Kansas City Chiefs, "For years, the coach had reported to the GM, and the GM reported to the chairman. Amid a disastrous 2-14 campaign, Hunt restructured that, making it so both the coach and GM would report to him -- a move that likely opened the door to land a leader of Andy Reid's stature. The Chiefs didn't even make the playoffs in 2014. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000213432/article/whos-ireallyi-in-charge-afc-west-has-undergone-great-change The Pittsburgh Steelers have a standard hierarchy in that the HC reports to the GM, who reports to the owners, and the owners have a major say in everything because the family has been involved in the NFL since 1933. 2x SB, one win The Green Bay packers. The HC reports to GM Ted Thompson who reports to president / CEO Mark Murphy, and Thompson has about as much say over the teams football operations as anyone in the league. One SB win, and in the playoffs every year. NY Giants, The HC has say over the roster & GM Jerry Reese has control over team player acquisitions. Both men report to the owner who is in his 9th year as CEO. 2x SB wins. The current power structure in Buffalo may eventually work properly once the new owners gain enough knowledge and understanding of how to run the football side of operations. Although, one could easily say that the last Bills owner had 50 years experience and still didn't know how to build a winning team.

The NO Saints said they wanted to give Buffalo a 3rd round pick, and Nix wouldn't even answer the phone or talk with them. Yea, a first for a 4th is lame, and whats lamer is that the Bills coaching staffs couldn't figure out how to get the best out of him.

I disagree with the bolded. In the article you linked it starts out stating, So the buck stops with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.. which is similar to what the Bills are now doing. "The Miami Dolphins seem to be setting up for a power structure in which Head Coach Joe Philbin, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Dawn Aponte, and whomever the team hires as General Manager all have an equal voice with owner Stephen Ross. The NY Jets, "Both Mike Maccagnan and the coach, whether it's Todd Bowles or Dan Quinn (or somebody else), will report directly to owner Woody Johnson. Previously, the Jets used the traditional setup, with the coach reporting to the GM, who reports to Johnson. " http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/48555/jets-will-have-new-power-structure-with-gm-and-coach Atlanta Falcons HC Mike Smith is gone, and whomever the new HC is will report directly to owner Arthur Blank. "The bigger news, however, is that Blank has apparently decided that his new coach will report directly to him, instead of the much more traditional path of flow through the general manager." http://atlallday.com/2015/01/07/atlanta-falcons-front-office-restructuring/ My entire point was I see the majority of the teams that are always in the playoffs don't have the HC reporting directly to the owner, and its usually the GM or vice president of football operations who make all the appropriate football decisions. There is a structured hierarchy of HC to GM, to president of football operations to owner, and sometimes skipping the VP / pres. John Elway in Denver, Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore for example. In any event I don't think anything has changed at all with the Buffalo Bills structure. If Ryan, Whaley or Brandon go to Terry Pegula with a problem pertaining to a football decision who do you guys think he will defer to... yea exactly. Buffalo Bills fans above all other NFL fans should know what happens when the team owner is involved in player acquisitions, the draft process, and overall meddling. What happens when the head coach needs to be communicating on a daily basis with the owner. Just look what has become of the team the last 15 years. When the Bills had the proper hierarchy with GM Bill Polian running the football side they won, and won AFC Championships. The very last thing I want to see in Buffalo is another meddling owner involved in football decisions, and particularly someone who's vast NFL experience consists of watching some games on TV. Hire someone that is actually qualified to run the entire team, and let him make the important decisions on the football operations side. JMO

Hey man, preaching to the choir here on this one. Since 2009 I've been advocating the Bills follow the lead of the 2009 Jets & Ravens in building a strong running attack that can play keep the ball away from Brady. That can control the line of scrimmage, and can control the clock. In that 2009 wildcard game Ravens QB Joe Flacco went 4 for 10 for 34 yards, and one INT , and Baltimore crushed the Patriots 33-14 with the run game 52 rushes for 234 yards, and 4 TD's. I really, really like the hire of Greg Roman as new Bills OC, and am slightly less then thrilled about the O line coach who was the the Bears OC in 2014. Although he has a solid past history as line coach. OTOH, I think David Lee as the new QB coach might have been a bad hire considering what the Jets QB's looked like last year. Then he didn't help Fitz at all from from I saw in his year with Gailey.