hondo in seattle

Although I agree that the chances of EJ becoming a "franchise QB" aren't great, let's remember the glass is half full. Sadly, the history of the Buffalo Bills hasn't been blessed with good QBs - in contrast to our good luck with RBs. EJ is far from the worst QB to ever line up under center in a Bills uni. We went 2-2 with EJ this past season. If the Pats had tried to win the last game, we would have gone 6-6 with Orton. While Orton had flashes, in the end the two QBs were comparably mediocre. My point is that Roman, a run oriented OC anyway, just might be able to cobble together an offense with an EJ who's only slightly improved over the 2014 version. Of course, we all hope we draft the next Russell Wilson. But even if EJ starts next year, I won't go apoplectic with despair and frustration. I'm fully in wait-and-see mode.

I'm with you guys on this. I never felt Ruben was elite. Maybe my memory is off but I think I remember him collecting quite a number of yellow flags.

I think the best thing for Hackett right now would be to get a couple years seasoning as a QB (or other position) coach working under a top-flight OC. I'm not sure that his two years working with DM in the Bills organization really prepare him to be successful in the NFL. But Nate is smart and enthusiastic and could be a good OC some day.

You don't think pairing arguably the best coach with arguably the best QB has anything to do with their dynasty? Not to mention a good FO. The Pats are schmucks for cheating but I doubt if cheating has garnered them very many wins.

If there's any doubt what his duties will be there, here's what Bradley said about hiring Marrone, "He purely is, in talking to him, about wanting to help the offensive line get better." I guess when Marrone quit, the world looked like a big blooming orchard with all sorts of delicious fruit for him to pick from. In the end though, there was only one choice actually available to him: sour grapes. What's sad is that supposedly he was trying to be loyal to his coaches by asking for extensions. Now many of them are unemployed. His decision adversely effected a number of people, not just himself. The decisions we make when ego runs away from reason!

I agree. She didn't come across as very informed. Sounds like a very nice lady, though. I expect the football knowledge will develop with time. (I wonder how much any of the owners actually know when they first buy teams?).

As I've listened to the players and coaches over the past couple years, there are a couple themes in the commentary about EJ: 1. He doesn't have an accuracy problem so much as he has a timing problem. The poor timing makes his accuracy look bad. 2. He also has a problem with confidence. It's not a given that Lee can fix either of these. But Lee's been working with QBs since 1975 so I'm guessing he's had to deal with both issues many times before. Let's hope his treasury of experience can lead to improvements in EJ's game.

I'll concede the point - you guys are making convincing arguments. But, as a Bills fan, I'm still glad were in a position - thanks to revenue sharing and the salary cap - to spend as much as the big market teams. I never expected, though, that either would provide perfect parity. And I'm not sure I'd want perfect parity. I don't want to feel random luck determines the Super Bowl winner - and the distribution of SB wins. I like thinking this is a merit based system.

I've watched maybe two PBs in the past 10 years. The wrong players often go, and the players who do go don't put out optimal effort. I agree with May Day - they might as well play flag football.

Does this speak to Doug's desperation? Apparently his agent has been starting up all sorts of rumors, leaking untruths to members of the media, trying to generate some interesting in Marrone, all to no avail. So Marrone takes a OL coach - with a somewhat more exalted title - just to land a job and stay in the NFL. But the position he takes is probably just a temp job because the coaching staff is probably going to get fired at the end of the season.

La Canfora has a lot of sources - some of which are unreliable, like for example, Doug's agent.

You and most everyone else from what I've heard. But he is indeed smart about football. Someone reported he was very disappointed not to be considered for our HC opening when we hired Marrone.

Some of us predicted his next gig would be as an OL Coach. His resume as an OC is pretty weak. He was OC in name only at NO and neither developed the scheme nor called the plays. His offense in Buffalo sucked. That experience doesn't recommend him as an OC. His resume to be a HC is actually stronger than his resume to be an OC. He did achieve a winning record his 2nd season. Then again, he more or less quit on the team and apparently didn't get along with the FO. So what FO would want him as a HC? So here he is as an OL coach. Too funny, but not unexpected.

Jax hires Marrone as Asst. HC/OL Coach. Too funny.

I think it was this more than anything. And Lynch is so reticent I doubt if he said much to reassure them. But hindsight is 20-20 as they say the trade looks just awful now.

Ryan worked for Billick for something like 9 years (and performed very well for him). This makes me think a few things... 1. Billick knows Rex very well and is qualified to evaluate him. 2. Billick probably likes Rex and therefore may not be entirely objective. 3. Billick's evaluation of Rex is skewed by his knowledge of Rex as a successful DC and less influenced by his more limited knowledge of Rex as a HC. With all that in mind, Billick makes some good points though none were earth-shaking novel insights.

There may be some truth in this. But I think many losing teams would love to have the 4th ranked defense - a defense good enough to produce 9 wins when paired with an impotent offense. As far as the Bills not being an attacking defense, didn't we lead the NFL in sacks? Weren't we also good at take-aways? I know what you're saying about the style of defense we played, but Schwartz produced the stats an attacking defense is supposed to produce. Depending how much of our success you want to attribute to Schwartz, you would think there's a lot of accomplishments on his resume to make him an attractive candidate.

The salary cap equalizes - to an extent - the one thing that could be equalized: spending on player salaries. This helps prevent big market teams from dominating the NFL the way they do in baseball. It does not equalize the distribution of good owners, good scouts, good coaches, or even good players. To do all that would be goofy: * We could allow, for example, the 6 worst teams to pick a HC from another team. * We could allow the 3 worst teams each year to hire a current GM of another team as well as scouts from other teams. * We could allow the very worst team to sign any QB in the NFL regardless of their current contract. * The fans of the worst 4 teams each year could be allowed to choose a new owner from the existing pool of owners. I think absolute parity would be boring. The drama of football includes the rise and fall of dynasties and heroes. Instead of parity we have a meritocracy that isn't driven entirely by money. Each team will achieve what it has the will & talent to achieve. This gives hope to all 32 cities. Hope, btw, drive attendance, TV viewership, souvenir sales and so on. I think the salary cap works exactly as intended.

Another Lee thread?

What a disappointing article. I have eaten Kobe - and other types of Wagyu - several times. Or at least I thought I had. I've had "American Kobe" and "American Wagyu" as well. Now I wonder if I've actually ever had real Kobe.

Of course! If he was any good, he could take a 5'1", 270 lb WR with no hand-eye coordination and coach him into the Pro Bowl. The talent of the WRs he had to work with in New Jersey is no excuse for his lack of success. Rex is an idiot for hiring this guy. The fans on this board should approve all position coaches to avoid these kinds of gross lapses in judgement.

Generally, I do. Lee is a little different because we have prior experience with him. Plus, Rex tends to be loyal to a fault. But I'm not unhappy with this hire. Just curious about what others may be able to add to the story.

I also agree with this. Great offensive line produce rushing yards, almost no matter who's toting the ball, and make their QBs better.

I'm sure there are guys who coach on the defensive side of the ball who understand defensive techniques and assignments but don't have a sophisticated understanding of offensive football. But to be a top-notch DC, you have to know the intricacies of offensive game planning. If you want to take away the things that work for your opponent, you need to understand what they are and why they work. Since we're making military references here, let me add this: "If you know yourself and know your enemy, you will win every battle. If you know yourself, but not your enemy, you will win one then lose one. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will be imperiled in every battle." Sun Tzu

Pettine got the Bills defense up to #23 in the rankings and that accomplishment won him a HC job. Schwartz takes over, loses his Pro Bowl safety to free agency and his rookie phenom to injury, and moves the D up to #4 in the rankings. But he gets barely a sniff for a DC job. Something doesn't seem right.