Billsguy

Seriously? If you're happy with what the Bills have done from the last 15 minutes to the last 15 years, then there is no hope for you. I'll bet you were cheering the Bills signing Merriman or Langston Walker or Derrick Dockery or and endless list of retreads and called it progress. How's that working for you? The Bills go nowhere under the current owner and GM. The coach is a question mark. I would sign a competent owner and competent GM and let them do their jobs. A bandage here and there won't cure what ails the Bills. I'm more concerned with the meat and potatoes and others are more excited about the parsley garnish.

This shows how low this team has sunk. A retread for sure. I can't wait for the next underwhelming development. A lot of people here are easily impressed I guess.

I am more optimistic about Marrone than I was about Gailey,Jauron,Mularkey, and Williams. However, the bar has been set extremely low. The only coaches in Bills history that were any good were Saban and Levy. Wade Phillips had a decent won'loss record, but he wasn't a top notch head coach. Chuck Knox had a couple decent years, but the Bills history of head coaches is dominated by miserable failures. Ralph Wilson hired a lot of really unqualified people over his tenure.

Carson Palmer? You wouldn't even start this topic if you have seen him play. He makes Fitz look like All-Pro. I saw him every game lat year. Terrible!

What do the 2012 stats reveal? RB rank #39 Fred Jackson 115 carries, 437 yards, 3.8 yds. per carry, longest run 15 yds., 3 TD's, 43.7 yds per game, 4 fumbles.

Sounds likely. The Bills didn't have a place for an overpaid underachiever under the new regime. I think one of the best things about the coaching change is the re-evaluation of personnel by relatively objective new people. He had no future with the Bills and he made a ton of money while with the Bills. Although I hold no animosity against him personally or professionally, I am glad to see him go.

I imagine this topic will still be relevant in two years.

Great trade for two teams: Buffalo and San Fran. He wouldn't be much of an upgrade over Fitz. Bad trade for KC long term. They gave up two premium picks looking for short term improvement.

I would pick the best players available in all rounds. I would try to address specific needs via trades or free agency or the draft. I wouldn't reach for a specific position need in any way. Reaching to fill a specific need reminds me of Drew Bledsoe and Rob Johnson. How did that work out?

As a group, I have been very unimpressed by the coaching staff hires. None of them appear outstanding and some appear down right questionable. Maybe they will be great, but only time will tell.

This does not sound like an upgrade. I hope he is better than 30th in the league like he was this year. Smells like cronyism.

They are very comparable over their careers. Wishing for Smith is an example of the type of thinking that has the Bills in this mess for the last 13 years+ New coaches hopefully will bring a new mindset that doesn't rely on failures of the past. Reaching for a guy like Smith is a failed experiment repeated many times by the Bills since Jim Kelly was QB.

Finally a worthwhile post. Thanks. Please forward the link to the Bills analytics department.

I think he would be a huge upgrade over Wannstedt. I think the Bills improve with Pettine. Maybe Kelsay will finally get cut? The thing I am most hopeful about is that the Bills didn't choose a proven loser and selected a relative unknown in Marrone. If he can recruit a strong staff, the Bills might escape irrelevance.

Here is what I like about the pick of Marrone as head coach: they didn't pick Jim Haslett or Ken Whisenhut. Here is what I don't know: Is Marrone some diamond in the rough that will turn into a Hall of Fame coach? Here is what I know: The Bills, in their infinite wisdom, searched the length and breadth of the nation for the best football coach in America and came up with Marrone. The best football coach they could find without any limitations and they found him at one of the major football powers in the country: Syracuse! Seriously, why was I born and raised in WNY only to be subjected to this unending abuse? The Bills continue to defy logic. I hope Marrone is a great success, but I find it hard to believe he was the number one candidate in America for the Bills.

Fitzpatrick has a career QB rating of 76.8 and has thrown for 14336 yards and 92 TD's. Alex Smith has a career QB rating of 79.1 and has thrown for 14280 yards and 81 TD's. Smith has played on a better team so you could make an argument that Fitz is better because he has performed about the same as Smith with an inferior team. It is just plain STUPID not to compare them.

I never heard of Mike Freeman and I hope he is wrong. Alex Smith in Buffalo would be like Ryan Fitzpatrick 2.0. How many good seasons has he had in the NFL? For a long time he was considered a bust (similar to Jemarcus Russell) until Harbaugh turned him around and even then it had much to do with the 49er's improving as a team overall. This would be a desperation move by the Bills and it would cost them multiple draft picks including their own 1st rounder. Bad idea!! This would be like Oakland acquiring Carson Palmer from Cinci for multiple picks and that has been a COMPLETE disaster!!!!

Exactly. What gives anyone the impression that Brandon knows anything about building a winning football team? There is no evidence to support the idea. He's been with the Bills for 16 years with his duties largely staying with the business and marketing projects for the Bills. On the football side, the Bills have missed the playoffs for the last 13 years. It doesn't look to good on your resume Russ. If Brandon is an acute businessman, he will hire competent football people who know what it takes to win. I have seen enough in 52 years to know that the Bills hire mediocre talent on a consistent basis. Maybe Brandon will be the exception and hire top people? All Bills fans everywhere hope this time is different. (Don't hold your breath) The first big test for Brandon is what he does about the GM and then the coach. This will indicate if Bills fans can expect more of the same or something new. We'll see.

Cut Kelsay and give that extra money to Levitre.

Sounds like a perfect fit for the Bills? Let the Bills hire the offensive line coach who led the Cardinals who had the WORST running game in the league. He was also the assistant head coach to one of the most pathetic teams in the league (Arizona). He has all the attributes the Bills covet in a head coach- a proven failure at another dismal franchise. Sign him up Ralph!!!!

Ken Whisenhunt? Who dreams up this crap! Why would the Bills fire a mediocre head coach (Gailey) for another proven loser? Has anybody seen how bad Arizona played under Whisenhunt? This is total madness. The next idiot idea would be to hire Jim Haslett as head coach.

I believe this says more about the Bills linebackers than about London Fletcher. Fletcher is not a top linebacker (and the Redskins are not a top defense) even though he makes a lot of tackles. However, he is better than anything the Bills have now. The Bills linebacking corp is the worst I have seen. The talent level is extremely low. I agree that this is a main reason for the Bills defense being so bad for the last several years.

You're welcome. Merry Christmas!

This will be one of the thousand threads pertaining to the Bills draft picks next year. And it will be one of the thousand threads that is POINTLESS as long as Buddy Nix, Chan Gailey and Dave Wannstedt are running the team. Players will only make a difference if they are led by competent people. It is like putting premium fuel in a car with a faulty engine. It won't make a difference until you fix the problem. The problem is mediocre talent in the front office and the coaching staff. Chan Gailey could make Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin look like a bust.

This post should be in the Hall of Shame! I should go back and find the posts where I said the hiring Chan Gailey and Dave Wannstedt were bad hires. Two more mediocre coaches doomed to fail again in Buffalo. I should post all the names of the posters who said I was crazy. Ah heck, that would be too much work. I'd have to post a thousand names. Herd mentality is difficult to break.