mjt328

The difference between picking Top 10 and picking 11-25 is not a good reason to pass up a prospect. With that said, I can't imagine a scenario in this draft where trading down 5-10 spots wouldn't be the Bills best scenario. This team has at least five glaring positional needs (Wide Receiver, Right Tackle, Linebacker, Cornerback, Safety) and a few spots that we need to seriously consider (Quarterback, Tight End). The talent level between Picks #5-25 is not large. And even if we miss out on someone like Mike Williams, OJ Howard or Reuben Foster at #10, we could still get someone like Corey Davis, Cam Thomas or Zach Cunningham later in the round. Plus pickup another early draft selection. For everyone complaining that Doug Whaley isn't fired yet... this draft (more than any class he has assembled so far) is going to really show where he stands as a GM. The Bills absolutely must kill this draft class. Not just in getting immediate contributions from its rookie class, but also in getting good value moving around the draft board. Pulling out 1-2 decent starters is not going to cut it.

Many have been saying this since the day McDermott was hired. This defense is about being strong in the Front 7 and not in the secondary. On the last defense McDermott coached, the team had no problem letting their Pro Bowl cornerback (Josh Norman) walk in Free Agency. And even after Stephon Gilmore signed elsewhere, there have been very few reports about Buffalo going after cornerbacks on the market. We have heard about them talking to tight ends, offensive tackles and linebackers (in addition to the positions we already signed). But almost no corners. The only cornerback prospect that I've heard visiting is Nate Hairston from Temple, who is considered a late-round pick. In contrast, the entire Carolina defense was built around linebackers. Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are the heart and strength of that team. It's hard to see McDermott moving away from the system that found him his best NFL success. And regardless of how big a Bills homer you are, it's hard to imagine that he's satisfied with Reggie Ragland (coming off IR), Preston Brown and Lorenzo Alexander as our guys to man those roles. I have a hard time believing the Bills aren't looking hard at one of the top LBs in this draft.

At the time, rumors were circling that Pegula gave both Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan an "ultimatum" to make the playoffs or they would get fired. Pegula said this never happened. And here we are. Ryan got fired. But Whaley did not. So obviously the story was not true. Where is your evidence that Doug Whaley is "not allowed" to talk anymore? The Pegulas (both Terry and Kim) gave an interview months ago, before they even HIRED Sean McDermott, that they wanted the head coach to be the voice of the organization. That very article was posted on the first page of this thread, just in case you needed a refresher. And even if the Pegulas have put a gag order on Whaley (which is total speculation), that doesn't mean they are getting ready to replace him. Maybe they just think he isn't the best public speaker. Whaley's primary job is assembling the roster, and when half of the City of Buffalo was calling for his head, the Pegulas stuck by him.

LaCanfora had no sources. He didn't even go as far as claiming it was from unnamed front office personnel at One Bills Drive. He instead used the term "rumblings" -- which is clue #1 that his story was pure BS and speculation. There is a public perception that Doug Whaley doesn't like Tyrod Taylor as his quarterback. So when the Bills brought him back, many took that as an indication that Whaley lost a power battle over whether to re-sign the QB. There is a public perception that Doug Whaley loves EJ Manuel and refuses to accept him as a bust. So when the Bills made no effort to bring him back to the roster, many took that as another indication that Whaley is not really calling the shots. Then when it was announced that McDermott was running the press conference instead of Whaley, there was an immediate assumption that something was going wrong behind the scenes. (Despite the fact that Terry and Kim Pegula made it clear months ago that the coach would now be the organization's single voice). These are the reasons that LaCanfora wrote the story. It had nothing to do with him getting top secret inside information. It was a lazy reporter trying to connect the dots, then using the "anonymous sources" claim in order to cover his *** in the event things didn't really pan out. If the Pegulas were going to can Whaley, they had every single opportunity back in December/January. They were starting over at head coach. They had the media and much of the fanbase on their side. But for some reason, they felt that Whaley was worth keeping around.

You have to admit. Our 2013 draft was not very good. I don't understand how anyone can think otherwise. Kiko Alonso was a good pick. Robert Woods was a solid pick. Nickel Robey was a decent UDFA, if you want to toss in those guys. Nobody else has amounted to anything worthwhile in the NFL. The next best player is Marquise Goodwin, and he is nothing more than a #4 speed guy. EJ Manuel just got a rock-bottom contract to compete for Oakland's backup job. Duke Williams was a massive liability every time he stepped on the field. Jonathan Meeks has never started a game in the NFL. Chris Gragg has always been that guy with potential that never really did anything. Dustin Hopkins didn't even make the team, and isn't currently in the league. A GM has 22 starting spots to fill, and over 50 roster spots to fill. How can you consider it a success to get 2-3 contributors per year?

Exactly. I believe a team needs to average 3 solid picks per draft (strong starters) in order to build and maintain a strong team. Otherwise, you are forced to use Free Agency to fill in needs, and eventually the Salary Cap starts becoming an issue. Since Whaley took over as GM, the Bills have averaged about 2. That isn't enough.

If a quarterback is "franchise material" - then I believe his play will show it, regardless of the talent around him. However, there are lots of franchise quarterbacks who consistently watch the playoffs from home, because the teams around them are not good enough. I already mentioned Andrew Luck, who is surrounded by a horrible Colts team and hasn't made the playoffs in 2 years. Same with Phillip Rivers. Drew Brees is a Hall of Fame QB. But since their Super Bowl victory, the team around him has degraded and the Saints annually finish 7-9. Matthew Stafford has watched the Lions go up and down throughout his entire career in Detroit. Quarterback may be the most important piece. But it is still only a piece.

Quarterback is the hardest position to evaluate. If a team is bad at drafting every other position, odds are pretty high they will fail at picking the correct QB as well. If a team is consistently good at drafting other positions, they will probably be better at evaluating the quarterback spot too. It's hard to say the Bills have "demonstrated" the ability to hit on every other position, because we have had 4 different GMs over the span of the last decade. For instance, Buddy Nix did a great job landing Cordy Glenn in the 2nd Round as a solid Left Tackle. But Doug Whaley has struggled to find good offensive linemen in the draft. And neither Whaley or Nix have proven capable of finding late-round talent. I've been willing to give Whaley a pass because of the constant fluctuation with our ownership and coaching staff. But the time for excuses are now over. It's time for the guy to start hitting on his draft picks. Otherwise, it's time for him to go.

I agree completely. Many Bills fans keep waiting on a "QB Savior" to rescue this franchise. They believe that if we tank for a season or two, then keep throwing darts, eventually we will get our Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson or Ben Roethlisberger. And then a Super Bowl is just around the corner. But it's going to take more than just a quarterback to completely turn things around. Quarterback is certainly the most important piece. But even if you get lucky and land an Andrew Luck, you still need a strong team around him to be a legitimate contender. The Colts are finding that out the hard way right now. They draft like crap, so there is only so much Luck can accomplish. Good teams are simply good teams. It's more than just luck. They consistently draft well. They make smart moves in free agency. They hire good coaches and good scouts. If a team is hoping to just hit the lottery jackpot with a quarterback, it won't be enough.

What is interesting about that list, is that there is no correlation between "Number of QBs Drafted" and overall team success. The Jets have drafted the most QBs in the NFL over the last decade (7), but are in worse shape than almost anybody at the position. The Broncos are second on the list with 6 QBs, but their only success came with the free agent pickup of Peyton Manning. The Browns and Rams have drafted 5 QBs, and both are still looking for answers. The Patriots have also drafted 5, but all have been backups to Tom Brady. Teams at the bottom of the list (all with 2 QBs drafted) include Atlanta, Seattle and Pittsburgh, who have all been in the Super Bowl.

Pathetic article. Once again, Sullivan's whole rant is based on assumptions/speculations about the Bills front office, instead of known facts. He states in the second paragraph that Whaley is "not allowed to speak for the organization anymore" and that he is being excluded from the draft luncheon. The entire article is based on this ASSUMPTION by Sullivan, along with the baseless story by LaCanfora earlier this week about McDermott and Whaley not getting along (which was backed by no facts and no real sources). The Pegulas made it VERY CLEAR that they only want ONE PERSON speaking for the organization going forward. They said this before even hiring McDermott. And after McDermott was hired, he confirmed that he would be THE PUBLIC VOICE of the organization going forward. What the Bills did with previous regimes is completely irrelevant. Change does not necessarily indicate a problem. As I've stated before. My opinion is in the "middle" on Doug Whaley. I'm neither impressed or calling for the guy to get fired. But articles like this are just pathetic.

We have enough needs (QB, WR, TE, OT, LB, CB, S) that I think trading down still would be the best scenario, regardless of who is still on the board at #10. Trading down from #10 to the #15-20 range could easily net us another 2nd Round pick. And we still may get one of the guys we wanted at #10.

Maybe Doug Whaley has just gotten tired of getting relentlessly grilled by the Buffalo media.

I worked as a newspaper reporter many years ago. The only way Doug Whaley could win a lawsuit is by proving libel... Meaning that he would need to show that the false report caused damage to his reputation. As a public figure, this is extremely hard to do. And in this particular story (which only alleges that the Bills are considering replacing him), it doesn't really apply. Not to mention that LaCanfora can just cling to his "anonymous source" and claim he was simply given bad information. It's unfortunate, but the media in this country can virtually make up any story they want... and 99.99% of the time they will get away with it.

Certain reporters always cling to "anonymous" sources. Certain reporters have a long track record of always being wrong. This story comes from one of those reporters, and hasn't been mentioned by anyone credible. Until it has been backed by a legitimate media person or source, I wouldn't believe a word of that article.

Sounds to me like Zach Brown really overestimated his value on the open market. Look at this sequence of events: 1. Reports say the Bills made Brown an offer to stay. But it wasn't enough money, so he's been talking the last 3-4 months like a guy who was done in Buffalo. 2. We heard nothing about visits/interest in Brown for the first 7 days of Free Agency. His first visit was reportedly the Raiders. Word soon circulates that Oakland's offer was "insulting." The Raiders then sign Jelani Jenkins instead. 3. Brown hires a new agent, then sets up a visit with the Dolphins and follow-up with the Bills. 4. Reports say the Dolphins are "not close" in talks with Brown. Later in the day, they give Kiko Alonso a massive extension.

Yes. We know that Whaley was very involved in scouting EJ Manuel and putting him a top the board for the 2013 QB prospects. That doesn't mean that Whaley would have picked Manuel at #16 if he was the GM. Maybe he would have targeted him in the 4th Round like Cardale Jones. Maybe he would have taken him at #8 and never traded down. We don't know. You also have to consider that Buddy Nix drafted ZERO quarterbacks in his first 3 years as Bills GM, then started the 2013 offseason by cutting Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills went into the draft with injury-prone Kevin Kolb and nothing else. If the Bills were not aggressive in drafting a QB that year and they missed out on a guy they liked, there are NO DOUBTS that Ralph Wilson would have totally cleaned house after the season was over. Like what has been said earlier in this thread, Whaley has had a very unusual tenure as GM of the Bills. Most guys in his position enter the job with a totally clean slate. Whaley was handed the reigns after Free Agency and the Draft had concluded, with a new coaching staff already in place. Then the owner died. Then his coach quit. Then the new owners hired the replacement for him. Then the owners fired that coach. It's really hard to judge a GM without stability around him.

Based on their record during Doug Whaley's time as GM, the Bills are an average team. 24 wins. 24 losses. Zero playoff performances. They aren't bad. They aren't terrible. They aren't a train wreck. They are mediocre. But that is also far from a "heck of a job" and insulting to even compare to the teams of the 90s, which has already put 7 guys in the Hall of Fame (5 players, 1 coach, 1 GM). I try to look at things fair and balanced, and it's hard to blame Whaley for everything. In my opinion, Nix had too much control in 2013 to put the weight of EJ Manuel on his successor. I also think that Whaley gets some slack because of the constant changes in coaching staff and system, which he had little to no control over (Pettine, Marrone, Ryan). But at the same time, it's about time that Whaley steps up his game in the draft room. We aren't getting enough production out of his picks. Period. Look back at his last 3 drafts. You can blame injury. You can blame scheme change. You can say its too early to judge some of those players. But besides Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby, none of his 20 draft picks are making any kind of significant impact and helping us win. If you aren't killing it in the draft, your team is going nowhere. Signing one free agent veteran means letting another free agent veteran walk. It's a vicious cycle.

The Pats are making a final push, hoping to snatch as many Super Bowl victories as possible before Tom Brady retires. This offseason they have been making moves that are very uncharacteristic of their franchise. Trading away a 1st Round Pick for a guy with 2 years left on his rookie contract (Brandon Cooks). Trading away another 2nd Round Pick for guy who has 1 year left on his rookie contract (Kony Ealy). Making a big splash free agent signing (Stephon Gilmore). Their reluctance to part with their backup QB. They know the window is closing. They are not looking to the future. They are trying to win NOW. The Bills did not have the luxury to keep Gilmore. Yes, they are trying to win now. But their ceiling is probably 10-11 wins. Not the Super Bowl. They are also looking towards the future. And giving Gilmore a big contract would weigh this franchise down in 1-2 years.

Every single team loses players in Free Agency. It is impossible to retain everyone. The difference between good GMs and bad GMs is the ability to: 1. Know which guys to keep and which guys to let go 2. Replace the guys who walk with cheaper draft selections and bargain veterans In my opinion, Doug Whaley has done a good job at knowing which players to let walk (Jairus Byrd, Nigel Bradham) and which ones to bring back (Cordy Glenn, Ritchie Incognito, Jerry Hughes, Marcel Dareus). He has also done a good job at finding good veteran bargains in Free Agency (Tyrod Taylor, Lorenzo Alexander, Zach Brown). Whaley's biggest problem has been re-filling the pipeline with draft selections. He's not getting enough production out of important picks like Cyrus Kouandijo, Preston Brown or anyone from the 2016 class. If this team starts drafting better, this team will turn around. That is the key.

In my opinion, it's better to have a solid roster from top to bottom than to have a few Pro Bowlers and weak spots everywhere else. Don't get me wrong. It's OK to overspend in Free Agency sometimes. But teams can only afford to give big salaries to a handful of guys. Then they are looking at salary cap troubles. If a GM is going to hand out a huge contract, they have to be picky about which guys are really worth it. In this case, I think Doug Whaley made the right choice. Stephon Gilmore was a good (but often inconsistent) player who wanted to get paid like the best corner in football. Robert Woods was a decent #2 on a run-first and run-second football team, who ended up getting paid like a lower-end #1 guy. Neither guy was worth that kind of investment. Gilmore will be the tougher of those to replace. But this is a deep draft class at Defensive Back, and there are several guys who could end up being just as good as Gilmore (hopefully the Bills pick the right one...) In this offense, I think Andre Holmes can easily match the production we got from Woods as the fourth option in the passing game.

Uh, no. Obviously I don't mean death threats. I'm referring to the celebrities (such as Spike Lee), who imply that racism is behind Kaepernick not getting signed. And anyone who disagrees with that point of view is a hateful bigot. Like I said in an earlier post. Kaepernick has the right to say and do what he wants. But now he has to face the repercussions of his actions. Many fans, coaches, owners and players consider what he did to be disrespectful to the country. It's not surprising that nobody wants to hire him.

Why is it OK for Kaepernick to speak out for what he believes in... ... but then it is racist/hateful for anyone who disagrees to speak out in return?

Kaepernick has the right to protest, speak out and kneel during the anthem if he wants. That freedom is one of the things that makes America great. But it is a two-way street. And NFL owners/general managers also have a freedom to run their business as they see fit. Many people view Kaepernick's actions as disrespectful, and want no part of it. There are some people that have completely stopped watching the NFL, simply because of Kaepernick's actions and the other players who decided to follow him. Every time a discussion comes up about the NFL's ratings drop last year, the conversation inevitably comes back to this issue. So I can guarantee that whatever team signs Kaepernick will lose some fans and ticket sales because of it. It's a public relations nightmare for a QB that isn't going to make the on-field product much better.

I don't understand your logic. If the Bills can't go from 7-9 to Super Bowl contenders in one offseason, they should blow the entire team up and start over?