Gerry

The Bills had trouble with the Vikes D line; they will have a lot more with the Jets line.

The team is much more plagued by inferior coaching than by QB play.

For two years I have been saying that they need to use him on pitchouts and screens. He is low mileage as a result of his underutilization; I can see another team signing him (Pats perhaps?) and using him like he should be used. He is a weapon, what a shame that this coaching staff doesn't know how to use him. Take a look at how Chip Kelly uses Sproles (look at the stats).

Use him for screen passes and pitch it out to him. Use Fred and Dixon for the inside stuff.

Could Reich be the next HC of the Bills? Personally, I do not believe Marrone will succeed in taking the Bills to the playoffs, but he will probably get to finish out his contract. By then, Reich will be ready for a HC gig..

These guys (Marrone, Brandon & Co.) are on the cutting edge with analytics; I hope the energy generated from brainstorming this offseason at One Bills Drive doesn't blow up the bubble.....

One thing that is rarely discussed is the coaching that rookie QB's get; this can make or break their development. Carroll has a ton of experience as a HC at the major college and pro level, and Harbaugh was a pro QB with major college HC experience. All QB coaching is not equal, and I have concerns about whether Marrone and Hackett will be able to develop and maximize EJ's talent.

I'd take Kap too wlith his size, but game managers don't keep drives alive with their running and ability to turn busted plays into gains, and don't usually have QB ratings above 100.0.

Can't argue with you on that; the Pats did go 11-5 in '08 with Brady out.

Did just that in 2008; Pats beat Bills twice with Cassel at QB.

No, because he wouldn't have had a coach who recognized his skills and knew how to use them, and the Bills are not as good as the Seahawks. Nevertheless, Wilson has been outstanding in his first two years. Everyone thought Carroll was crazy when he announced Wilson as the starter at the start of the 2012 season, but he know what he was doing. In 2012, Wilson was one of only 4 QB's to have a rating of 100 or better (Rodgers, P. Manning and RG III) and one of 7 to have a rating of 100 or better this year. His winning % last year was .69. EJ's ratng this year was 77.7, winning % .40. I don't see the similarity.

Sure, he is overrated; only 24-8 in his first two seasons. Who would want a QB who wins 75% of games in his first two years and is durable? Not the Bills, they played it smart and took Graham ahead of Wilson in the third round.

Like the Titans, why would you want to hire a guy who has NFL HC experience and has taken his team to the super bowl? This counts for nothing; they should play it smart like the Bills and hire a guy from a mediocre college program who can learn on the job.

Yeah, they should be pissed; why hire a guy who has NFL head coaching experience and took his team to the super bowl? What are they thinking? Much better to hire a guy like Marrone out of a mediocre college program, who can learn on the job.

Shows that Marrone is a no nonsense guy; I think that all of us were just waiting for Dreisbach to be fired and he did it.

Totally agree with your comment on Jackson, which I have made many times. This was a major screw up by the Bills braintrust, who simply thought that Kolb was better, even though he is injury prone. One has to wonder what the W/L record would have been if Jackson had been the backup.

Are you kidding me? 7-9 or 8-8 will be considered progress; the only thing that might (and I mean might) get Marrone fired is if the Bills collapse and go 3-13 or 2-14. Speaking of year 2, the travel schedule is far worse than this year (4 games out of the time zone vs. 1 this year) and the Bills are a horrible road team (I think 1-4 on the road this year with EJ starting).

This is about a surprising as a lake effect snowstorm in Buffalo in winter. I really think Hilliard was a scapegoat here; he may have deserved to be let go, but not more than Crossman. It was Marrone's way of saying, "I will fire an assistant," but he retains his long time buddy. Not a good sign for the future.

Seems like Hilliard was sacrificed so that Marrone could show that he does fire assistant coaches. Don't hold you breath waiting for him to fire his buddy Crossman.

Totally agree with your thoughts.

You should be aware that there people who post comments like they have been assigned by the website to determine the appropriateness of threads that are started. They are self-designated "experts."

I'm speaking of his locker room comment about a crucial dropped pass in the first half of one of the recent games, something like "it really didn't matter, it was early in the game." I seem to recall that he did a few dumb things early in the season as well. Is this what you expect out of a veteran receiver who is supposed to be setting an example for the younger guys? Obviously, he had to miss time because of his mother's passing, but two games? Even if he took 10 days off, he still had time to get back and suit up for NE.

Now that the season is over and there is a basis for an informed opinion, how much faith (not just hope) do you have that Marrone and Manuel will get the Bills over .500 and into the playoffs in the next two years? Here are my thoughts: like Gailey and Fitz, they are joined at the hip and will either rise or fall together. Manuel-a question mark regarding both ability and durability. Even though he only played 10 games, I expected more flashes of brilliance to convince me that he is the guy moving forward. He was a mixed bag-looked good in some games and lost in others. Regardless of what you think of Thad, it is troubling to me that an undrafted, UFA with little experience and no camp/preseason can come in during the year and play at the level of EJ (better QB rating, same W/L%), a first round pick and the first QB taken. EJ needs to have a great camp and preseason, then step it up in the first half of the season next year and demonstrate with his play that he is the guy. Stop talking about his upside, let's see it on the field. Marrone-color me skeptical; I am not sold on this guy. Too much talk from the initial press conference to the last one and not enough to back it up. Particularly troubling was that the team did not seem to be buying off on his approach in the second half of the season-he did not have the Bills ready to play a poor TB team and talked a lot about the importance of winning the last game, only to be outcoached by BB and the team whipped again by the Pats. In my view, having EJ for that game would not have made a bit of difference. Antics by Stevie and Dareus demonstrated that he was not getting through to all players as the season wore on. Needs to make better use of offensive personnel and get guys like Goodwin into the game plans. Must find a way to get defense to show up every game, especially on the road where next year there are 4 games outside of EST zone. Needs to solve special team issues-does he have the guts to get rid of Crossman? I think not, he dumped Hilliard just to show that he can get rid of an assistant. Summary-based on this year's performance, I have little faith that M & M will get the Bills above .500 and into the playoffs during the next two years. The honeymoon is over, the talk needs to be backed up by the walk starting next year, with no excuses.

Agree-that's his real niche.

This year Thad, an undrafted, UFA with no camp or preaseason and little experience played at EJ's level; better QB rating and same W/L %. So what is your basis for stating that "The likelihood that a QB taken in rounds 2 through 4 would look better than EJ with a year under his belt is low"? My point is that the Bills could wind up with a long term answer like Foles or Wilson in the third round like the Seahawks and Eagles did. Even if they sign a vet, he is going to take snaps away from EJ in camp and preseason. EJ right now is a question mark; if he is that good, he shouldn't be concerned about any competition to win the job, vet or rookie.