hondo in seattle

It's clear Whaley is trying to both building the offensive line and acquire some play-makers for the offense. He did the best he could, realistically, for the QB position. I wish we had landed Iupati (or Beluga) but no team gets every player they want. Shady is a huge deal. When you don't have an elite QB, it's imperative you have an elite RB. Somebody's got to get you some yards. You don't get a player like Shady for nothing and the price we paid was reasonable. Let's hope we do well in the draft and that the offensive linemen we drafted last year step up this year. We'll be in the playoff hunt this year.

I'm generally happy with the off-season. But the Harvin signing puzzles me. Why do we rent an oft-injured, oft-clueless WR when we don't have a franchise QB who can get him the ball? For a reported $6 million for 1 year? They say past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. If true, Harvin won't even crack the starting lineup. Either he'll be benched by the coaches for something dumb, or he'll get hurt, or he'll bench himself. Under the circumstances, wouldn't it have been wiser to pay Chandler his $2 mil than give Harvin his $6 mil? Now we're loaded at wideout but extremely thin at TE having also lost Lee Smith. The hiring of Rex and Roman, and the signing of Shady, all say we're building a ground-and-pound offense. Where does flaky Harvin fit in? Aren't TEs more important in ground-and-pound offense than WRs who don't like to block?

I think Yolo was saying something like this... Lookie, Lookie, here comes Cookie! Mercy, Mercy, there goes Percy!

Of course better players win more games. The shiny toys are going to help. Whaley didn't find a QB because there are no great QBs available. He did the best he could and signed a serviceable journeyman and a younger guy with some upside. As for the OL, it did get better when we hired Greg Roman who knows how to design running plays far better than Marrone/Hackett. Last year's linemen complained about contradictory instructions. The veteran coaches we have now will get better work from the line. Then there's Incognito who was a Pro Bowler his last full season, even with his head planted firmly up his ass. We also added a better RB and a better FB to lead block. Our run game will be better - though another OG would help. I'm with you if your point is games are won in the trenches. And, btw, we did need a superstar RB. When you don't have an elite QB, you better have an elite RB is you expect to win many games. Since the former was unavailable, Whaley got us the latter.

Whaley didn't ignore a QB. There were simply no franchise QBs available. So he did what he could to build up the rest of the team. He resigned Hughes. Since we don't have an elite QB, he traded for an elite RB - we gotta get yards somehow! Then we signed a blocking FB to help create holes for Shady. Whaley hired Rex who should bring our defense to an even higher level. Rex hired Greg Roman who's supposed to be a genius at the run game (which we need) but also salvaged Alex Smith. Whaley signed Incognito, despite his history, because it's imperative we improve our OL. And then there's Percy Harvin who behaved well-enough last year and was signed to a one year trial contract. And now we're going hard after Clay. I'm not sure what else you could have asked Whaley to do. I guess you can blame him for failing to sign Iupati or Beluga but you can't win 'em all. I doubt if Whaley has the scientific expertise to clone Jim Kelly. Other than that, I think he's doing on nice job building the roster this off-season. Maybe our next GM should be a microbiologist.

Most of Whaley's moves make sense. We can clearly see the logic even when we disagree. But releasing Chandler without Clay on the roster is a head-scratcher.

I'm sure that's the hope. But my guess is that we enter the regular season with this depth chart: 1. Cassel 2. EJ 3. Taylor I think Cassel will prove to be serviceable and the Bills will win a wild card spot.

My friend's dad complained about that for decades.

I think Freddy is better than 2 of the 3 backs you named. And while not better than Shady, I think Fred still runs with more authority between the tackles than Shady. The other thing is that Freddy's commitment and motor make the players around him train & play harder. That leads to wins.

S.A.S. has a habit of saying dumb things. But I wonder if his statements now cause Eagle players to wonder. Will the allegations of racism lead to ongoing dissension and morale issues in the Eagles locker room? If I was an Eagle fan right now, I'd be worried about this.

Exactly!

Signing - or not signing - the petition isn't going to change the decisions made at OBD. But signing does tell Freddy and the other players that we love the Bills and are loyal to those who are loyal to us. That's a good message. I signed.

From what I saw of Freddy and the other backs last year, he's the 2nd best RB on the team when on the field. And then there's what he contributes off the field. I'm glad he's staying. I do wonder, though, what Pegula's role was. GMs are happiest and most productive when owners don't meddle. Btw, I remember when we signed LB Phil Villipiano in 1980 when many said he was over the hill - but we signed him more for what he'd contribute in the locker room than what he'd contribute on the field. And Phil did indeed help the Bills get better. I think Freddy has an important role to play on this team. Freddy motivates his fellow players to commit themselves a little more. And that, friends, adds to more wins.

Especially given we don't have a franchise QB and we're going to be a running team, why would Watkins/Woods/Hogan be considered by anyone an inadequate WR corps?

Getting a guy fired from his job is pretty harsh. Personally, when I see an article was penned by Rodak, I now usually skip it. He's normally just rehashing info that has already been published elsewhere and, as mentioned, often with a negative slant. He adds nothing to my Bills I.Q.

Does Whaley cut anyone to free up some shopping money?

Sorry Cletus. No offense meant. It would certainly be exciting if the fake twitter account was actually accurate.

I buy this.

One of the worst threads ever. Hope the OP isn't the one who started the fake twitter account. Cletus, you wouldn't do that, would you???

I think the CBS take is sober: "But we've seen him [Cassell] succeed in a similar situation and given the incredibly weak options out there, this was the best possible realistic move the Bills could make to set themselves up to win now without compromising the future."

For those who say Shady's in decline, here's SI's take on his reduced production: In 2013 he led the NFL in carries (314) and rushing yards (1,607), following that up with a 312-carry, 1,319-yard season in 2014 despite a series of injuries that left Philadelphia's offensive line in shambles. http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/03/03/eagles-trade-lesean-mccoy-bills-kiko-alonso-chip-kelly-rex-ryan Also, Philly had QB issues which allowed defenses to focus more on McCoy in 2014.

Where's the MAYBE button??? It will be interesting to see what EJ has learned this past season. I heard he worked a lot on his timing. He also studied Orton's preparation and leadership. And this year he'll have the opportunity to work with David Lee who has a talent with young QBs. And Rex Roman who transformed Alex Smith into a viable NFL starter. A better running game will help too. Maybe this is the year EJ emerges as a franchise QB.

Yeah, I agree. I like CJ and was hoping to see what he could do with a run game guru for an OC. But given his production, 4.5 mil seems like a strong offer. CJ and his agent overplayed their hand. It makes me feel better to know we offered him a fair contract and only pursued Shady when we were spurned. I'm no expert in NFL finance but I don't think CJ will get much more than 4.5 on the open market. There are too many backs in free agency, too many good ones in the draft, and too many people like Chip Kelly who think 'backs are a dime a dozen' in this pass-happy league.

You made some valid points but to call DW idiotic is hubris, brother. DW is far, far smarter about football than you or I will ever be. Every GM makes both good and bad moves - the good ones makes somewhat fewer bad calls. It seems to me that Whaley - with some of the ground work being laid by Buddy Nix - has built this team into a playoff contender. We'll see. I'll eat my words if we finish 6-10. But I think 10-6 is far more likely. With EJ or Cassel under center, we're not going to field a dynamic passing attack. So DW is doing everything he can to guarantee a good running attack. Dealing a player where we have depth for an elite RB makes loads of sense. Bryce Brown is not LeSean McCoy.

With the signing of Cassel, we're losing cap space quickly. Then again, other than Revis (an expensive and exciting luxury but not a necessity) and maybe Iupati, what other FAs do we want?