TXBILLSFAN

The QB situation on this team is depressing. One of the reasons this upcoming season is failing to bring out my usual pre-season optimism. There is no easy solution to fix which is why the Bills simply "punted" on trying to do anything of substance this off-season, and chose, instead to focus on rest of the roster and hope the QB situation improves on it's own. While hope is not a strategy (although it does seem to work in presidential politics and with most Bills fans), it is all we got. Let's "hope" EJ takes the proverbial next step. Let's "hope" Cassel somehow finds his 2008 magic. Let's "hope" Tyrod is that once in a generation QB that finds his game after looking so pedestrian for 5 years. The blame for the situation has many fathers including several current members of the Bills front office. But what to do going forward is the question ? The NFL is a league that has proven over the past decade that you CAN'T WIN a SUPERBOWL without a legitimate top 16 QB. So, if the goal is the SuperBowl, the Bills should do everything to get one. What does that mean ? In my mind, that means every asset is on the table. EVERY ASSET. That means you draft guys like Bryce Petty, even though he is a project. That means you take a Carr or Bridgewater the year after you draft EJ. That means you offer your 1st and one of your defensive studs to go after Bradford or Foles. If you can't win a Super Bowl without a Top 16 QB, you make it the singular biggest priority in your organization, bar none. Building "the rest of the roster" becomes easy after that.

Football is controlled aggression and discipline, not fighting. As for why it matters, from a pure football perspective, the NFL has a huge domestic violence issue they are wrestling with. If any of these players (or others that are on their way), cross the domestic violence line, the penalties are now quite severe. I'm not saying anything that happened the other night at Encore will create a football issue (suspensions), but it's a warning sign that these players, this coach and our FO should take very seriously.

Imagine that scene if Richie Incognito was involved or Karlos Williams and Ronald Darby, good to see Rex recruiting La'El Collins, that would be the final piece to the puzzle. Rex wants a bully Be careful what you ask for

I've said every OTHER year. If teams effectively develop, two years is enough time to know whether the guy projects as a franchise QB or not. That's not inconsistent with drafting every other year. For instance, if I were developing EJ, I would have definitely played him those last 2 games to see where he was in his development with real game action. According to many on this board, Bills receivers were wide open often last year as well.

The key for a prospect like him and Hundley, Grayson and the others as well as Manuel is patience -- unfortunately, most NFL teams don't have that and I think in the end it limits the ability of these QB's from reaching their true ceiling. I'm not saying they all would be Aaron Rodgers, but I think a lot more would succeed if they are brought along slowly. Petty is a more accurate thrower than EJ. The knock on EJ coming out of college was his ability to see entire field, multiple reads (slow eyes), accuracy and lack of instincts. Neither guy (out of college) had 1st round talent, we could debate forever whether EJ was or wasn't better prospect, the bottom line, he hasn't shown he can overcome the weaknesses that existed while he was in college.

Besides being in NY (which is a big negative for any QB), Petty has a decent situation. He can learn from Fitz and Gailey and sit. Not sure he has the right mental makeup to flourish in NYC, takes a unique person (like Eli, and even he takes shots despite winning 2 SB's). Hundley and Grayson are in the best situations to develop.

I didn't mean to imply that. I meant to imply that they are happy with RG3 as their starter, have McCoy and Cousins as backups, so they must believe they are set at that position.

Like I said, he's NOT NFL ready. He didn't play in an NFL style offense, EVER. So, you have to project and make some guesses. So, in the 3rd, I thought teams would take a shot. They didn't, why, I guess it's because they thought the risk/reward wasn't good enough. I believe teams, like the Bills that do not have a franchise QB, should be taking one every other year. Legit prospects, not Tuel or Levi Brown. Guys they can develop for a couple of seasons and assess. The Bills did that two years ago with EJ and should have done it again this draft. The Texans and Browns just drafted QB's last year, so, they need to give it another year. As for Skins, I think they aren't ready to give up on RG3.

I think you are trying to confuse the argument. I wouldn't even know how to tell if a QB "fell" in a draft this year or in any year, how do you measure that when opinions on players vary so widely ? I think he was a solid pick in 3rd round and a very good pick in the 4th. He has flaws, but, in the 4th, it was worth the risk. I'm not trying to argue that Petty is the next great QB, I'm trying to argue that he has a reasonable probability of being a very good NFL QB. He certainly has more talent than the 3 guys on our roster. I'm also trying to correct misinformation about his injuries and beg the Bills to stop ignoring the QB position in draft after draft. Petty needs time to develop. He needs to learn pro style offenses and how to operate under center. His measurables are solid and he is definitely worth the risk of a 4th round pick.

LOL, Bufftex, you are showing your ignorance because you don't even know what your talking about Petty's only concussion was mild. He was practicing after clearing every concussion protocol within 2 days, never lost consciousness and was symptom free immediately after game. As for his back injury, it's 100% healed and is not a lingering issue, essentially a cracked bone. He actually played with the crack in the game he got it and could have played the following week but did the week after that. As for the knee, it was a mild sprain. Man, the misinformation of this board is comical. I had Petty as a late 2nd, early 3rd because he played QB. In 4th he was a steal. As for Manuel, he shouldn't have been drafted until round 3. I'd say they were / are comparable prospects coming out of college. I like Petty better because he is the more accurate passer.

Petty has EVERY quality EJ has and is more accurate. He is a great kid, tough, mobile, arm strength, great work ethic. Within the offenses he played in during high school and at Baylor, he didn't have to read defenses, take snaps under center and/or deal with many throws while under pressure. So, the knock, is whether he can handle the pro game from two perspectives -- reading defenses and operating under center. To me, that's worth a 4th round pick. It's not as if he has played and failed in a pro-style offense. He'll need time, one, maybe two years, but for a 4th ?

The QB position is by far the most important position in team sports. Couple that with the fact that there are only 16ish at any given time that can play it at an elite level, makes finding one difficult but essential. I don't think it's too much to ask for the Bills to have a concerted strategy to acquire one. What I've seen in the past decade+ is anything but a prioritization and nothing that resembles an effective strategy.

You both make rational arguments, but, too often, as fans we tend to rationalize our team's actions. The QB position is too important to ignore the draft as a source for the next franchise guy. As for EJ, yeah he should be developed and given a chance, then why didn't he play the last 2 games last year when the Bills were eliminated from the playoffs ? I wanted the Bills to trade back into the 4th round and take Petty or Hundley.

Believe me, it's DIRE. That's the excuse many Bills fans use EVERY YEAR the Bills don't select a QB, "oh, but we signed XXX" or "there wasn't a QB worthy of a 1st round or 2nd round or 3rd round pick" How about this statistic, in the last 8 drafts, the Bills have selected 2 QB's in the entire draft, a 1st round pick on EJ and a 7th round pick on Levi Brown. 8 years, 2 QB's. In that same timeframe, the Bills passed on the following QB's in the draft (Ru Wilson, Bridgewater, Da Carr, Foles, Dalton, Kaepernick, Flacco) Not to mention NOT trading UP to take some of the other QB's that weren't available at their selection. But, they did trade up for a WR!!

I heard what he said on draft day. The point he was making was that the Bills are weak at the QB position and haven't addressed it in the offseason. The point I'm making, is why would you expect anything but weakness at a position that has essentially been ignored over the past 11 years.

Read the title of thread "Polian critical of Bills not drafting a QB" As for Cleveland, eventually it does work, just ask Seattle, San Francisco and maybe Minnesota and Oakland. You will never get a franchise QB if you don't try.

Over the past 11 drafts, the Bills have only used ONE 1st or 2nd round pick on a QB. Let that sink in. Only once in the past 11 years, have the Bills used one of their 1st or 2nd round picks to "take a shot" on a QB !! Any of you who want to defend that fact with the backdrop of the crap we've had playing QB over that same time period, have at it.

I was okay not drafting a QB in 2014 because we had just drafted one in 2013, and I think we needed to see more of EJ before casting him aside (another reason I hated the signing of a proven mediocre QB in Orton). I didn't want to trade the 2015 1st because it essentially limits our ability to go after a QB this year because we lack the ammunition to make a trade up. Make no mistake, I'm a huge proponent of drafting a QB EVERY OTHER YEAR until we find one with our 1st or 2nd round pick --- not ONCE EVERY DECADE !!

This thread is about revisiting the trade, so, while I agree that we all need to move on, this thread isn't the place for that. As for Whaley being aggressive, I like it, I just wish he would be that aggressive with the QB position. I would have loved for him to go after Bradford, Foles or Cutler. I know all 3 are flawed, but all 3 are better than anything we have.

If Cassell plays like a Top 16 QB, we will make playoffs and be competitive once we are in them. Bradford is much better QB than Cassell, it's not even close.

I hate the trade because I don't think there was a huge gap between Sammy and other highly rated WR's (Evans, Beckham Jr, Benjamin etc.) and because, without a proven QB we are wasting his talents, i.e. putting the cart before the horse. I'd rather have invested in defense (Mosley) or even OL (one of the OT's). I think the Bills (including Whaley), haven't spent enough time finding a true proven NFL QB. To me, that's the first, second, third and fourth priorities. This off-season, they've essentially said, we don't have a QB, we won't be able to get a QB, so we are going to build up everything besides QB (i.e. Hughes, McCoy, Harvin, Clay etc.) -- that to me is Plan B. Plan A would have been to sacrifice everything we could to get Bradford or even Foles. I believe you can't win a SuperBowl without a decent (Top 16) QB. I think the Bills are a marginal playoff team (right now), but have no shot at a SuperBowl.

And I'm sure Cleveland thought this year's pick was going to be higher, too. I didn't have much perspective last year on this year's draft, I think it does make the trade more palatable knowing that this year's 1st round looks mediocre and the #19 pick doesn't look like it'll be a game changer.

If that wasn't your point then what did you mean that "#1 and #2 conflict with each other ?" I'll concede that Sammy was the clear #1 WR heading into the draft, however, I won't conceded the "head and shoulders" margin as it pertains to NFL analysts/pundits, I will agree that the Bills FO believed that, which is why they made trade.

At the time of last year's draft, YES. My reaction at the time of last year's draft was "oh $hit, we have no proven QB, and won't have a shot at a good one in next year's draft if EJ fails". I get that the two picks probably have equal value (according to trade value chart), especially since this year's pick is #19. So, my reaction is somewhat illogical.

I think what you meant to say is that problem #2 remains even if problem #1 goes away. Which is true. However, if EJ turned out to be a very good QB and got Sammy the ball and Sammy had great season, I would argue that even though it was a DEEP WR class, most of us who were against the trade would admit the trade worked, even if it meant giving up an extra #1.