All_Pro_Bills
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Assuming the Cowboys have any real interest in Manziel I think a better questions is if Manziel is on the board at #9 would you trade out of the 9th spot with Dallas for their 1st at 16 and maybe a 2 and a 4 picks this year? As for Romo I would pass on that. We've already had our share of late game meltdowns and we don't need to add any more to the list.
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The Bills are in a position to take a BPA approach with their pick at #9 and I expect they've 'gamed' the draft process and developed multiple scenarios based on many posisble ways it might play out. Just who's available at the 9 spot is going to be dependent on how many QB's get taken in the first 8 picks. 2, or 3, a stretch to think 4 but anything seems possible this year. So we will get immediate starter and impact player regardless of the position but I don't see Martin as the selection in any scenario. Trading back is always a possibility but you need the board to fall in the right way for someone to want to jump up along with having your contingencies in place if that happens. Finally, the draft is next week! Moving it back 3 weeks does nothing except make it unnecessarily later in the year and takes 3 weeks away from teams in offseason prep with rookies.
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The lease can be voided early in 2020 at which point the team can move to a new stadium in WNY or elsewhere. This is what has been speculated on and reported pretty regularly.
What do you mean "According to you"? It's what the agreement says, not speculation on my part.
From a legal standpoint any agreement or contract can be amended or modified with the consent of all the parties involved. So if moving to a new facility either in Buffalo or the Falls presented itself earlier the current agreement could be changed to allow the move.
That aside, I think the legal hurdles this agreement presents would be enough to discourage any party intent on moving the team from bidding. So from us Bills fans I say, goodbye LA, goodbye Toronto.
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What Parker is doing is representing the interests of his client in a way consistent with Byrd's objectives and instructions. Parker isn't out to screw the Bills for some personal satisfaction. As I always believed, Byrd's main goal, for whatever reason, appears to be to get out of Buffalo. That's what Parker is setting up here. From what I hear of the money offer from the Bills it sounded more than reasonalbe and subject to a little negotiation back and forth on duration, guaranteed money, and total dollars. You'd think two motivated parties could get a dealfrom there that would make both sides happy. But you can't negotiate with somebody that is not interested in negotiating.
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I'm not sure that Marrone was unhappy or had any desire to replace Pettine at the end of the season. But once it became clear he was going to be hired by Cleveland and the opportunity of bringing in Schwartz presented itself he acted quickly. It could have been a plan or maybe he just stumbled onto a potential upgrade through a series of unexpected events.
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The best way to help EJ and the defense given their penchant for running on first and second down early and often is to scrap the no-huddle approach as a full time weapon. The no-huddle in my opinion is best suited as a dynamic within the game. It offers little strategic advantage when the opposing team can bet the house that you will run the hurry-up the entire game regardless of the score, quarter, and down and distance. The Bills lost the T.O.P. battle by heavy margins early in games throughout the season. They would be better suited functioning in a more dynamic, clock-related offense that changes the pace of their attack on the natural flow of the game. Predictability is the achilles heel of any scheme in the NFL. If they want to run the football so much, which I completely agree with, then why not come out using the full play clock and smash em in the face without helping the opponent put immediate pressure on the defense so early? When you catch them in some mismatches then bang, start to pick up the pace. The hurry-up can be used in a much more dynamic and effective fashion than the Bills version. The Patriots are very effective at changing the pace of the offense throughout a game. Another concept is that you can't always run to setup the pass. Sometimes you have to pass to set up the run. Again, it all comes down to them running what amounts to Steve Fairchild's offense but faster. Faster at getting off the field. It didn't work then and it won't work now regardless of the fast pace. EJ also seems to have Trent Edwards disease. Against man coverage he can make a few plays. Against simple zone coverages, he hesitates and checks it down, or takes a sack.
Good points and to summarize your detailed analysis, the advantages of running a no huddle/hurry up are negated if you don't score points or sustain a significant number of high play count drives. And the Bills did not score enough points and had too many 3 and outs which rendered that approach a tactical disadvantage. Hopefully, learning curve of the coaching staff isn't too steep here and they make some adjustments.
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Reading this thread reminds me that Buffalo oh so rarely has its assistant coaches get promoted to HC gigs.
Having people leave for promotions can be an indicator of a well run,high performance organization. At least it is in the business world and I don't see much different between that and the coaching profession. Sports is after all, an entertainment business. I'm not saying the Bills are in this category yet but losing people isn't always a bad thing. It means competitors value your people so there is some recongnition that you're doing something right.
Organizations like this, tend to attract good people. People interested in doing a superior job and moving up in their respective industry. The fact the Bills landed Shwartz, apparently their first choice for the DC job, is in my view an encouraging sign that the culture here is changing for the better. The next step is to get some results on the field next season.
As for Pettine and his coaches, no hard feelings and good luck to them in Cleveland except when they play the Bills.
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Maybe Life Alert can do a commerical deal with the woman he left to die in the street?
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oh by the way Pettine will probably steal Jim O'Neil too
maybe the Browns can sign Jairus while they are it and really twist the knife
Coaches leave teams all the time. It happens every year. Its not so much the coaches that are important but rather the philosophy and system being employed by the team. What you need is a DC that understands that and can execute that system. In this case, Marrone wanted to run a pressure type defense vs. something like read and react and found Pettine (who had the experience and knowledge to run and design the details) to execute that system. Lets see who they bring in prior to hitting the panic button.
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If the Browns do hire Pettine then good luck to him in Cleveland. But the way the entire process is being played out the past week tells me they like Mike but they seem to be holding out for someone they like better that might pan out. If it doesn't they have their backup plan in place. Either way there are only 32 of these jobs out there for the coaching profession.
I'm probably in the minority here but I think the Bills will be okay here. Pettine brought a more dynamic scheme to the Bills defense but it is in no way unique or groundbreaking. Many other teams run similar systems. So while identifying and hiring a replacement DC is a major task its no reason to panic. Other than a philosophical difference in approach to bring more pressure on the QB which lead to more sacks and turnovers the Bills defense still gave up way too many yards on the ground and way too many big plays over 20+ yards. They surrendered about a FG less per game 2013 vs. 2012. I'm not attempting to downplay the contributions Mike made to the team, rather pointing out that everybody is replaceable.
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I would be shocked if Cleveland offered the job to Pettine given the circumstances of the Browns current situation. The most likely scenario is an NFL team wouldn't hire a DC with just 1 season of experience away from his mentor. The wildcard here is that we're talking about an owner and front office that appears dysfunctional so maybe they buck the odds..
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Now we know what happens to old players' jerseys when the Bills store can't seem to sell any more of them. There must be a lot of ex-Bills quarterbacks over there.
Along with all those Super Bowl Champions hats and shirts for the losing team that get produced before the big game!
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The Lynch trade comes up every time Seattle makes some noise. But the Lynch trade might not be the worst all-time for the Bills, not even close. For old-timers (sorry for that label guys) who lived through the AFL days trading Daryle Lamonica to the Raiders might be remembered as the worst trade ever. Lamonica finished his career with a 90% winning percentage, highest in the history of pro football.
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Didn't see this discussed anywhere today. SI's latest mock draft version 4.0 has Bills taking TE Ebron with their pick at 9. Good choice but If it falls this way I would prefer either Watkins or Mosley.
http://nfl.si.com/2014/01/08/2014-nfl-mock-draft-johnny-manziel-2/
Thoughts on the three?
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Don't think the Bills should pull the plug on EJ after season one but they need to have a viable "Plan B" for the 2014 beyond Tuel and Lewis. That plan might not be selecting another QB at #9 in round 1 but it should include taking a look at free agent veterans and determining which can be a clear upgrade in proven performance (not potential) over the current #2 and #3 QB's on the roster now.
They can't go into the 2014 season banking on improvement from Manuel and if it doesn't materialize be faced with the prospect of accepting another 6-10 season. The defense should improve with a season of the new system under their belt and the likelihood of plugging in 1 or 2 upgrades to the starting lineup has the potential to be top 5 against run and pass. And on the other side of the ball addressing needs at WR, G, and TE (maybe OT) could solidfy this unit. And even if EJ improves to the point of just average it should be enough to post 3 or 4 more wins. But if he doesn't you better have somebody on the roster that can take over.
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Several QBs are going to be selected before we select and a few great players will slide-possible Sammy Watkins, Johnny Football. hell maybe even Barr. What I am hoping is that a player much coveted by another team is available, and we can trade down to the 20s. Ideally if we had 3-4 late first, second round picks, we could upgrade 3-4 positions right off the bat. Oline is deep and will be available there. Cyril Richardson would be a solid addition to our oline. TE should be available there too. WR is deep as well. We are in a good spot and on the cusp of greatness!
The draft class looks to be very deep this year so trading back to collect a few more picks might be a good strategy. But that might work against finding somebody willing to trade back unless its a team that's in love with a particular player. Maybe Dallas would jump at the chance to pick Manziel for example, because Jerry likes to make a splash and draw the spotlight (and maybe truly has lost confidence in Romo depite public statements?).
The decision to accept a trade-back offer might boil down to the difference between selecting one 'game changer' vs. two 'good' players. Given the Bills have a few holes, but not as many as year past, is this the right approach? I am not sure. Lets say Mack is still on the board, which seem unlikely to me right now at #9. If you can get one guy to potentially set up your defense to be dominant top 5, run and pass, does it make sense to trade back and pick up a guard and tight end on the other side of the ball?
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Kudos to the OP for the lengthy analysis of the options presented. Whether I agree or not I am impressed by the amount of thought and effort that went into it.
In my view it will be a major mistake for the Bills to go into the 2014 assuming that EJ Manuel, or Lewis, or Tuel, can be a consistent and competent starting NFL caliber QB in 2014. EJ's grade to this point is incomplete given his the amount of practice and playing time he missed in pre-season and the regular season. His performance was uneven and in my opinion even declined as the season progressed. The team needs to consider a veteran free agent option. I wouldn't go so far as to suggest they should pursue a guy like Cutler but there will be some options out there that should be considered in the event EJ does not progress. Unless they believe Lewis or Tuel will be adaquate in place of EJ you can't take that risk. The bottom line is that given what we've seen to this point I can't see how anyone can conclude with any certainty that EJ is up to the task of playing the NFL QB position at a high performance level. High enough to get this team into the playoffs and make the one or two big time plays needed to win those close games that will get the team to the 10 or 11 win level.
The Marrone plan was for year one to be the time for on the job training for EJ. The fact that circumstances prevented it from producing the desired result doesn't mean it shifts to year two. With the foundations of a solid defense and the expectation that a few weak spots on both sides of the ball are going to get addressed this team can't afford to 'nurse' a 2nd year QB while all other areas of the team are 'playoff ready'. They owe it to the fans and veteran players not to 'waste' another year on developing a QB that may or may not develop. Spend the money to bring in somebody that has already demonstrated the abiltiy to do the job.
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I think your best bet is to overpay a bit in FA and bring in that veteran respected leader. The question is, who is out there and can we realistically get them....
The Bills need to assess the available free agent veteran QB's available bring one of them in to be that leader and potential starter should EJ not improve enough to earn the starting job. They can't devote season-two of the Marrone era to another year of on-the-job rookie QB training experiment. That is what this season was supposed to be about but injuries and the missed playing time didn't let that happen. Year one was about putting in the foundation, year two is about seeing some success and pushing for the playoffs not repeating the failed mission of training a QB while another season of every other players careers are wasted.
Year two is about results and not promise, period. Nothing less.
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I can only assume that anyone who says Thad is better than EJ is simply a troll who loves to drum up responses to their posts (and the view count of this thread certainly supports that it works!). Thad was quite simply awful yesterday against NE. Probably less than 10% of his throws are on target, with them often being horribly behind the receiver or too high/low even though he is staring down the receiver. I don't think he has made a throw into a tight window on the year, and yet people celebrate his deep throws to wide open receivers like it is the best thing of all time (here's a hint, any high school qb can make that throw too). I would be interested to see what people view as Thad's good game; last week against Miami with an average yards per attempt of 7.7 and yards per rush of 1.6 to go along with a pick and no TDs and going 1 for 4 in red zone opportunites?
Thad is a fine backup QB, but this talk that he is better than EJ right now or ever in is life is ludacris. I can tell you that this offseason, the BIlls will be cutting Tuel and bringing in an older backup to serve in the mentor roll to EJ (or they will just keep Kolb around who they thought was going to fullfill that role this yr). So the depth chart next yr will be EJ/Kolb or another Vet/Thad.
I'm not clear how you can say TL was 'awful' yesterday. His stat line was a respectable 16 for 29 for 247 yards and 1 TD with 4 sacks. While he missed on a few passes he was also victim of a couple drops, notably Grahams 4th down drop that hit him in the numbers. The typical kind of bonehead play or two the Bills throw in that blows any chance to win games against good teams.
And given the conditions Brady was less than exceptional yesterday too. The Bills did not lose the game as a result of Thad Lewis' performance. Regardless, I do tend to agree with Bill in NYC's assessment that if you had to pick EJ or TL to play a game right now all things equal you'd have to pick Lewis. Its a matter of observed performance over potential.
A big part of this season was about finding out if Manuel was going to be 'the guy'. Given time missed that is inconclusive. The Bills simply cannot afford to go into next season assuming Manuel is going to be the uncontested starter. Frankly I didn't see enough good things out of him to determine if he has the 'it' factor to be a franchise type QB and if he can't shake the injury bug durability issues are going to creep into the conversation.
What concerns me most with EJ is that he was advertised as having a strong arm but I did not see much throwing into tight coverage, zipping the ball, putting some hard, tight, fast throws on the target. He seemed tentative, to be aiming the ball, and floating the ball. Minimally, the Bills need to bring in another veteran to do more than mentor EJ. They need somebody that can push him and if needed be a competent starter to point a lot more points on the board next season. We can't waste what is expected to be an improved and possiblly elite defense with a few additions stacked with veteran players and another year of Fred Jackson and Spiller with on-the-job training of an unproven QB. The Bills need to win in 2014, nothing less is going to be considered success.
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Being an FSU fan, I would love to see them get Kelvin Benjamin in the later rounds, he is big, fast, and has good hands. He also has chemistry with EJ. He can be a hybrid TE/WR....a LB to play next to Kiko, a guard, and a right tackle. It's not even January yet! and we are already playing the draft game.....again.
Like Benjamin too but I think he's going to be a 2nd round selection pending the BCS title game and Draft Combine to give teams more info. Mack LB or Lewan OT in round one and Benjamin in the round two would fill 2 of 3 critical needs and the Bills have signifcant cap money to sign Byrd and pursue free agents..
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The longer Cowher is out of coaching the less likely it is for him to return. He's got a pretty good in-studio gig right now with CBS. Not a lot of travel, much less stress, and a lot less demanding of his time than an NFL head coaching position. I'm not clear why a guy in his position, considering he's already achieved the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl, would be interested in any NFL head coaching job right now considering the demands of the job.
As for Marrone, I think its a way too early after just one season to conclude the guy doesn't have what it takes to be a successful head coach. The problem we as Bills fans have, me included, is that after 14 seasons of not sniffing the playoffs we've become understandably impatient. We've been patient for the entire 21st century and have gotten nothing to show for that, we want to see some results ASAP. And if we start to get that Groundhog Day sense that we've seen this before then all the alarms start going off.
I understand the OP's point of view but I believe the team and staff has a different 'feel' at the end of this season and I expect Marrone is going to assess the season, learn from what worked and what didn't, then make some changes, and deliver.
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2012: The Patriots defeated the Jets on November 22, 2012 by a score of 49–19. The Patriots forced five turnovers, the most bizarre of which became known as the "butt fumble", in which Mark Sanchez was flattened after running into the backside of lineman Brandon Moore and fumbling the ball to Steve Gregory, who ran back a 32-yard touchdown. This was during a sequence when the Patriots scored three touchdowns in just 52 seconds.[29] The Patriots tied the NFL record for most points in a single quarter (35) and the win was Bill Belichick's 200th career NFL win as a head coach. The win nearly clinched the AFC East for the Patriots (they would clinch the title the next weekend at Miami).--- 2 of the NE TDs were defensive scores. Brady threw for 323 and Pats* rushed for 152. No INTs for Brady.
2011: On November 13 the Jets hosted the Patriots at MetLife Stadium and in the second quarter took a 9-6 lead after Brady was flagged for intentional grounding in his own endzone; the Jets drove down field and Mark Sanchez ran in a two-yard touchdown. The Patriots roared down the field after this and scored before the end of the half, then in the second half outscored the Jets, 24–7; they sacked Sanchez five times and Rob Ninkovich intercepted Sanchez and ran in a twelve-yard touchdown, finishing off a 37–16 New England win. Following the game the New York Post caused a stir when it published a short story claiming Belichick stated to his son Stephen that the Jets could "suck my (expletive)."[27]
2010: When the two teams met at Gillette Stadium on Monday Night Football on December 6 their 9–2 records gave the game the sense of a playoff game; the Jets, however, never got untracked, as Nick Folk missed a 53-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, this following a Rex Ryan challenge of a ball-spot that was denied. Brady found Branch and Brandon Tate for touchdowns and BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran in a one-yard score, leaving the Patriots up 24–3 at the half; from there on the Jets tried vainly to run the ball (five Jets backs combined for 152 rushing yards) while Sanchez was intercepted three times. Brady touchdowns to Welker and Aaron Hernandez and a second Green-Ellis score finished up a 45–3 rout of the Jets, the biggest for the Patriots against the Jets since 2002's 44–7 win
2009: The Patriots hosted the Jets on November 22 following a stunning last-minute loss in Indianapolis and the Jets were defeated, 31–14; Mark Sanchez threw four interceptions, three of them to Leigh Bodden. Randy Moss caught a four-yard touchdown in the face of Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who'd been talkative about matching up with Moss; Revis, nonetheless, held Moss to 34 yards over two games with the interception in the September matchup. Wes Welker, inactive for Week Two, had 15 catches (one short of Troy Brown's 2002 record against Kansas City) for 197 yards.
Over these 4 games the Jets turned the ball over 18 times vs. the Pats 2. That pretty much says it all..
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My expectations are that we get blown out. We tend to **** the bed on the road, especially against the Pats.
I'll be satisfied if the Bills defense shows no fear or awe and gives Brady and NE's offense the same inhospitable and physical treatment they just applied to the Dolphins. There's nothing to lose here. Play aggressive, physical man-to-man at the line of scrimmage and knock the receivers off their timing and cross patterns. Bust up those set pick plays, the crossing patterns over the middle and to the sidelines. Cover the 15+ dump-offs to the the RB circling out of the backfield that always go for decent yardage. Be ready for those triple set quick screens to the left and right. Bring pressure on Brady up the middle, get your arms up in the passing lanes, get in his face, put him on his back side a dozen times. On offense protect the football, no cheap turnover points. And if they happen to win I'd consider it a little something extra to toast on New Years Eve!
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Is the dominant win yesterday what this team needs to turn the corner? Part of me says yes but lets see what happens next weekend in foxboro. I didnt see anything out of the Pats that was overly spectacular yesterday. What i watched was a Ravens team that just isnt that good anymore. If we can string 3 in a row to cap the season and do it on the road then I am going to drink the Kool Aid....AGAIN.
Yesterday's win was a great effort against a Miami team fighting for a playoff spot but also to me a hollow victory. It left me asking where this effort was coming off the bye week when it would have mattered against the Falcons, Steelers, and Buc's? Win 2 of those 3 and we'd have a great shot at the final playoff spot and next Sunday's game would mean something. Now, while a Bills win might make us feel better going in to the off-season for all practical purposes all it does is drop them out of a top 10 spot in the draft.
I don't see the Bills beating NE next week with the Colts and Bengals right behind them for the #2 spot and a bye week at stake. If NE loses and Cincinnati and Indianapolis both win they'd all finish at 10-5. I'm not clear on all the tie breakers but the Bengals beat them in week 5. I hate but in some ways respect that team and I suspect they'll come in and take care of business with the 2 seed on the line.
On the positive side I see a Bills defense (that gave up too many big plays all season - 20+ yards) that has evolved over the course of the season and has the potential to become a top 5 with an upgrade at OLB to go along with a year of experience with Pettine's system. The offense needs upgrades at WR and O-line (and TE?) along with EJ staying healthy and demonstrating some signiciant improvement in playing the pro game. A veteran back up without a concusion history too. Keeping Byrd would be a plus. Also need a new punter because it looks like Moorman is done.
My issue with trading up
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted · Edited by All_Pro_Bills
If you think adding an 'impact' player on either side of the ball is going to put your team over the top to become a contender for the championship then you should definitely considering moving up to take him. Giving up some assets in the current or future draft seems like a reasonable trade off for a championship shot.
But I don't see the Bills as being that one guy away. They have fewer holes than in past years but still have several needs. I think somebody said it earlier if you're trying to land a QB then it might make sense because they are so hard to find and acquire. Also, while I don't have any data to back up my view I suspect that you won't find most of the consistent winning franchises trading up too often but more times trading back to get more picks and more chances to find impact guys to fill out the roster and improve several areas in one draft rahter than just adding one guy.