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How so? You think we should hire a new HC but have no problem letting Brandon (a guy who's been running or heavily involved in the last 4 HC searches) stick around to hire him. Also, you want AJ McCarron? What? He would be our QB3 if he were on our team right now. Get out of here with this crap.

I don't think there's a lot of Whaley blame for his ability to scout and get talent. It's just that there are other aspects to a GM's role that include winning consistently that he is having the most trouble with.

He got 4 starts into his second year at a 2-2 record and was prematurely pulled by a megalomaniac head coach. It certainly was a shot, I'll give you that, but it wasn't nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. And we do know that EJ > Cardale, come on buddy don't be ridiculous.

This is incredibly sensible. I think the only argument might be once you start toying with you first point, it becomes a bit meddling for ownership to dictate who starts and who doesn't. I'd rather not force EJ to start but to see what Rex does come Monday. If he incorrectly sticks with Tyrod, he gets the axe. In Rex's press conference he didn't say for sure Tyrod would start. Also, as of today, EJ is better than Cardale across the board. I really want to see Cardale succeed with us, but I definitely don't want to throw him to the wolves. He's not ready and it could be very bad for his confidence to get action before he's ready. Exactly.

100% agree. I'm not sure Whaley's top HC choice would have been Rex. For that I fault him for his lack of backbone, but only a little. If he supports Rex (who apparently gets to draft players...?), he has to go too.

The next head coach search will be Russ Brandon's 5th.

I don't get it, man. You're basically saying, "we'll see what happens" as if it hasn't been 17 years of the exact same. You're expecting different results for some reason. You're also giving them a pass on the lack of QB like it's some mythical creature. Rare as it may be, it's not once every 30 seasons rare.

Agreed. I think it's somewhere along these lines: 0.1% he's fired before season's end 0% if we finish 10-6 0% if we finish 9-7 1.5% if we finish 8-8 3% if we finish 7-9 15% if we finish 6-10. might be a little higher depending on how the Browns game goes.

Yeah, so why blame the receivers? When your QB is too timid to step up in the pocket and let her rip how do you expect to any receiver to have a good year statistically?

We've been on a downward trend since the loss to New England: http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NFL/AFC/AFCEast/Buffalo_ChanceWillMakePlayoffs.html

That was most certainly a joke... he's bad at press conferences, thought it was funny to put it in the "Cons" column.

I'm assuming you mean offense only... Scheme - No. I'm not sure how you change the scheme but keep the coach. He has a run first mentality and would only hire an OC that would run that style. Players - No. Watkins and Woods are a suitable WR1 + WR2 tandem (assuming we re-sign Woods). Our O-line is solid (address RT in off-season or Kujo steals it in camp). Our HB's are great. Our TE is more than capable. Coach - Maybe. If Rex is willing to depart from the ground and pound, and hypothetically A. Lynn got a job elsewhere, replacing him with a new OC would be a quick way to fix that (and also change my answer to "scheme"). If you meant HC it's off the table. They are bringing Rex back for another season - not even worth discussing. Quarterback - Yes. I think keeping our team the same, but replacing it with a QB that can confidently make the throws in the second half when the going gets tough and you're trailing or tied late would do wonders(see: Derek Carr last week). AT THE VERY LEAST the Ravens, Dolphins and Raiders game would be wins. You need to move the ball with confidence and in big chunks late in games, and we have not had that as an option in the last 25 games. Players - No.

Who is going to trade for Marcel's contract? I'm under the impression that his next drug offense nets him 10 games at best, or a full year suspension at worst. Also, are there examples of teams tagging a CB to move them for a 1st round pick? We once got incredibly lucky doing that with Peerless Price, but it seems like a horrible game plan, no?

Wait...what?

My quick hits on Whaley, who I think is mostly alright as GM, but not without his faults: PROS Late Round Draft Talent Not Afraid to Trade (Kiko for Shady was a monster trade, but bum LSU MLB for Hughes was a steal) Willing to Let Bullsh*t Walk (see: Byrd, Jarius) Free Agent Acquisitions (Has a knack for getting guys ready to perform [this year: Z. Brown, L. Alexander]) CONS Public Speaking No Backbone (pretty sure he didn't want Rex Ryan as his hire, should have spoken up about this or put his job on the line with a different hire) Rex Ryan (even if he may not have wanted Rex Ryan, he's got him - no need to let him influence the draft as much as he has) QB Assessment (I don't hate the EJ pick at all, it happens. He has missed a lot of talent and hasn't taken many chances here) Overvalues HB (Keeps drafting HB's, but street HB's perform just as well [see: Gillislee], I love McCoy but he is a luxury) Lack of Foresight (Injuries are going to happen, but went into the season shockingly thin at WR) Percy Harvin, Reggie Bush (Deserve their own spot. Terrible moves. Could have had Boldin)

I applaud your very well written message, but I fear it will fall mostly on deaf ears. A lot of people think that we are crazy for simply wanting accountability and removing Russ Brandon from the organization. They assume that we're somehow blaming all of our years of futility on one guy. They think we're pinpointing him as a sacrificial lamb and a scapegoat for an organization that has had such turmoil it couldn't possibly be as simple as one guy's fault. The problem here is that I agree with these Brandon supporters on this. It's not all Brandon's fault, but at times he's been solely responsible for the team, and it's been largely inadequate during those times. Other times he simply hired the people who were responsible for the team on the field, and again we've been meddling at best. There have been several key players involved to help create our team's lack of success. Some of these people are past head coaches and GM's (many of which are Brandon hires). Others play a smaller role (Scott Berchtold is a great example as you pointed out). A lot of the hold overs from the Wilson era are not renowned league-wide. These are not top-dogs, just dogs. A lot of hype surrounding our team is often manufactured. Some of it's obvious (your T.O. point fits here), but there are other examples as well. For one, Doug Marrone was very likely touted most by his agent (many reports say that his agent made up a lot of Marrone's league-wide hype which leaked all over the media), and the Bills were reciting his agent's lies when presenting him as a hot head coaching candidate. I don't even know if it's gross incompetence at that point, or if they truly believed a middling Syracuse University coach was actually being considered by many teams as a guy to hire. There is a lot of misinformation about this, but I don't doubt for a second that Brandon was played by Marrone's agent - you have to remember that following a 9-7 campaign (I believe our first winning season in 10 years), he could only find himself as the Offensive Coordinator of the Jaguars. I hear that Brandon is tremendous at his job. Most of the examples of this are debatable (Did you hear that K9 - it's not written in stone, you can actually debate the degree to which Brandon is responsible for the team's unshared revenue during a league-wide spike in interest), but even if some are true, I see no reason to believe an ivy league business school grad could not do the same. Our ad campaigns are simple and unimpressive. Our Rochester training camp is simple and obvious regional marketing. We have little to no reach in the middle of the state. The Canadian expansion did not earn us many (if any) new fans. What we know involving Brandon is pretty simple. He's had at times an overarching role within a losing organization. He's been with the team during the NFL's largest rise in success. When faced with the prospect of a new owner, he was promoted and not released. I expect to see him in his current position for the next twenty years.

Pretty sure Ralph Wilson was legitimately senile at that point, and Russ Brandon's title was CEO at the Nix hire, operating as the teams effective owner.

This always sounds so personal for you. Why do I need to reconcile anything? I don't think for a second that he's not a permanent fixture. His recent promotions tell us this, and it's painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that Russ Brandon will be the President for a long, long time. I still despise the guy. I'd think the Buffalo Bills forum is a great place to discuss that, no? Help me understand how I can detest the Buddy Nix, Doug Marrone, and Rex Ryan hires, acknowledge that Russ Brandon was a significant contributor in those hires, and still be supportive of him as the President. Keep in mind that I am a fan that only cares about winning. Perhaps I'd rather someone else be having a critical say in those decisions?

For an unltra-conservative QB, this is even more damning.

The only thing absurd is that you keep bringing up 1997. He no longer holds the position he was hired for then.

You're better aquatinted with the revenue side of things? Other than an absolute ego trip, what does that even mean exactly? You think somehow I can't comprehend how the team makes money? I'm not the owner, you're right, I'm the fan. No idea why I would value marginally successful business ventures over success on the field. Also...you again absolved him of any responsibility for the team's recent ineptitude.

Are you telling me Russ was unique in increasing unshared revenue during the most prosperous time in the history of the league? Also, you know damn well the argument is that he's still involved in football decisions, and therefore it would be refreshing to see a systematic overhaul, starting from the top. Again, as a fan, the marketing means nothing to me. I have no allegiance to the man trying to shill me a jersey, and I certainly don't care that he snagged some state dough to paint the bathrooms. And why exactly is that impressive? No other man could do that? You want to praise the man for doing an absolutely mediocre job at the business level but absolve him of guilt for the on-the-field stuff (you know, the only bit I care about).

There have been 14 games without Sammy Watkins AND Robert Woods...that doesn't seem right at all.

Ah yes, the first week of December in Buffalo:

I forgot the Jets have an eight year old quarterback on their roster.