OldTimer1960

I just think the league figured Foles out and he'll be a bottom third of the league starter. Remember when Derek Anderson looked like a good QB briefly? I suspect Foles may be similar. I've no real problem signing a stop-gap veteran and even drafting a QB this year to see if we can get lucky, but Manuel (IMHO) has more upside than any stop-gap vet or rookie that will be available in the 2nd or later this year. Again,maybe they'll get lucky and find a gem like Russell Wilson in the 2nd or 3rd.

I completely agree with you. I think it is way too soon to declare that EJ Manuel will never become a good starting QB

I stand corrected from my earlier post. This structure is much more common than I thought. Still, seems like it would create more tension between head coach and GM if they are both on the same level. It will be very important to have cooperative personalities in both roles. Whaley strikes me as cooperative, in spite of what Marrone has implied. FWIW, I never had any problem with the Pegula's taking part in the interviews. I wouldn't expect them to make the final decision, but they are entitled to meet the candidates, give any input that they seem fit and have final approval (mostly as a rubber stamp)

If any team is willing to trade their starting QB, then the buyer should beware. The only recent example of this that made sense for both parties was SF trading Alex Smith because they had Colin Kaepernick whom they wanted to make way for. I can't think of many other situations where it a) happened and b) worked out well for the new team. It did work out for KC in the short-term when they traded for an aging Joe Montana, but again, SF was making room for Steve Young to play. If Philly is willing to trade Foles without a clear replacement in place, then you probably shouldn't want Foles.

I am generally one to see the Bills' moves in a positive light as compared to some here, but on this I agree completely. If they aren't sure that they want to keep Whaley, they need to replace him now rather than let him lead the selection process for a coach that won't report to him. For the record, I think that Whaley has done a good job, but this is a fiasco - if what has been reported is true.

Morrison played for the Bills.

knew this topic would show up here this PM. Dope and Bulldog were talking about this stupid topic today. Babbling about scouring the country for the right guy, not just one of the hot candidates. Hmm, then if the Bills are last team to get their coach, they'll be b*tching that they waited so long. IMHO, they don't need to be first to hire their coach, but should not be last, either. Being late to the game usually means slim-pickings for assistants as the other new Head Coaches have already snapped up the available ones. In the Bills case, they can (and hopefully will) keep their defensive staff in place, so the new HC will "only" need to find offensive assistants.

I am still missing something. If the goal is to be championship competitive, how does trading a young WR who could be great for the 15-20th best starting QB in the league help? This team is not championship caliber with Foles or Alex Smith or Andy Dalton, etc and no Watkins.

I don't know what happened, but this whole thing is unravelling quickly. I can feel it all imploding and ending up with a whole new front office and new coaches. This really IS a mess right now.

But the QBs that you mentioned aren't any good. Look at Foles' stats this year - nothing at all like his miracle year in 2013. Now the question is, which year was the aberration? I don't want to trade Watkins away to find out. Heck, by your own argument Philly would overvalue Foles (they already have him) and wouldn't be willing to trade him for Watkins - unless they realize that Foles really is the middling QB he looked like before injury this year. If Philly was willing to trade their starting QB for a WR, then you can be sure that Philly doesn't think Foles is the answer at QB.

So, if you were in charge, who would you trade Watkins to and what QB would you draft?

I also think that NT Jeff Wright and DE Bruce Smith were pass rushers first and run stoppers 2nd. Wright, in particular, had a hard time holding the middle of the defense together against the monsterous NFC OLs.

I disagree. I think the defense was flawed against powerful dominant run games - as were in vogue in the NFC at the time. The Giants won time of possession and the game because the Bills's D couldn't get off the field. The Bills' D was built to play with a lead and they did that well with a tremendous smothering pass rush, but when going against bigger NFC OLs and runners without the lead, they struggled. In retrospect, that D would have been perfect for today's pass oriented NFL.

But now that Cousin's has actually played again and worked his way down to #3 on the depth chart, I'd be concerned about trading anything of much value for him.

I hope not. I think that Doug Whaley has done a good job of bringing in talent. Chris Polian never did a good job in Indy and was reported to be an as*hole on top of that.

Obviously....

How about Curly Lambeau? Seriously, Dick Lebeau is 77 years old. Do you really want to hire him as head coach?

Awesome!

What did Williams tweet?

How? Rivers is not a FA nor is he Reich's property. Do you think the Chargers would say "heck, Frank got a HC job, let's congratulate him by giving him one of the few good QBs in the NFL"?

Why? Cowher and Dungy are now TV fat cats who likely won't want to put in the long hours and endure the stress that being an NFL coach brings after being coddled on TV for years.

Well, bringing Rivers with him can't happen...

Oh stop it. That isn't going to be a deciding factor for any serious HC candidate. This team has more talent than any other team looking for a coach - even SF, IMHO. I am really bummed to see Marrone go - I thought that he did an exceptional job, but if forced to pick between Marrone and Whaley, I'd have chosen Whaley. Still, this is a huge mess now. They *can* hold the assistants hostage (especially Schwartz), but any new HC is going to want his own assistants. So, expect to blow the whole thing up and star YET AGAIN. FWIW, I think Schwartz did a great job as DC and hope that he will stay in that capacity, but I'll be very concerned if he becomes the HC after the disastrous job he did in Detroit with similar or better talent.

Woah there cowboy. Nobody gave a single example to impune analytics. What are you talking about? If you read my posts in this thread, you will see that I agree that analytics can complement solid football knowledge and scouting. I am only arguing that analytics, in the absence of solid football knowledge and scouting is blind - just as it is in any other application. Analytics without any application-specific knowledge is just a bunch of numbers without context. Yes, if you crunch enough numbers (with application-specific knowledge), you may identify something unique. But, I will argue, that you can crunch data for eternity and learn nothing if 1) the data is unfounded because it is not perfectly objective (football scouting nd coaching isn't ) and 2) you don't know the context of what you are analyzing is. As for yorur grudging acceptance that maybe you ought to consider specific situations over general analytics trends, well yeah. If you have a great defense and a sh*tty offense, does it not make sense to rely on your defense over your offense? I AM NOT saying that if you have a competent offense that can gain 2 yards no matter down and distance that it would be a bad idea to risk going for it on 4th and 1, but to make that broad-based assertion as a fact regardless of your team's strengths and weaknesses is silly - regardless of how many economists disagree. Just my $.02 worth, but then I am sure the economists don't think that is relevant.

Polian's track record is outstanding, BUT he did inherit a Hall Of Fame QB in Jim Kelly in Buffalo and "won" the right to have Peyton Manning as his QB for his full term in Indy. I think the most impressive job that he did was in Carolina where he got very new team to the NFC Championship early on with an OK QB in Kerry Collins.