All I Need is Hope

I wish I understood more about how they prioritize who they want to sign to extensions, prior to them hitting UFA. It seems like they've known Easley and Searcy are solid players who they could've extended sooner, and at a fair price. As opposed to having to potentially overpay to keep them, or losing them.

I'll be really disappointed if we can't keep Searcy and Easley. Not elite players by any means, but important contributors who've both developed as Bills. I'm certain Hughes is as good as gone. But I'm not sure why these two haven't been extended prior to now, especially considering Whaley's "core belief" of developing and "keeping our own" first. Also, we sure as hell aren't paying a franchise QB 18M per year, so cap space shouldn't be an excuse. I realize that we have Gilmore, Dareus, and maybe Glenn coming up; but Searcy and Easley should be retained and it should be reasonable to do so. Hopefully, I'm pleasantly surprised and we keep them and pull in some other good free agents, but I'm not holding my breath.

The consistently finding value in the later rounds, and the overall balance on the Seahawks is pretty amazing. Wilson makes the plays that he needs to, when they are needed; but the Seahawks aren't 100% reliant on him being phenomenal. Contrast this with the "find an elite QB and they can hide a lot of other deficiencies" model (Patriots, Packers, Broncos). Not sure if one or the other is better, just different philosophy... I would be happy if the Bills could get close to either.

Is their any precedent or hope that we will receive draft picks for losing Pettine to the Browns? Could we demand a draft pick to let O'Neil out of his contract? I would imagine that these guys write some language into their contracts regarding promotions, and the option to exit the contract if these promotional opportunities present themselves. Not sure though.

When can the Bills start negotiating with him again? Do they have a window to try to sign him long-term, prior to the franchise tag deadline?

Top 1-3 safety based upon his peers/coaches (pro-bowl voting) and production, in his prime, provides credible/respected leadership to a young secondary... pay him top money. Besides, the difference between the number 4 paid safety and number 1 isn't significant.

Couldn't agree more with this thought JR... they need to aggressively pursue their franchise QB (if they believe he exists in this year's draft class), even if they need to trade up. It's not ingoring other needs and "giving up on EJ"... it's hedging our bets in a smart way, and not subjecting us to 1.5-2 more years of spinning our wheels.

The concerning part for me is that Brandon has known nothing but failure/futility during his entire Bills tenure (except '98/'99). He's been part of a seemingly endless cycle of mgmt. & coaching changes (no stability whatsovever). He also learned at the feet of Ralph Wilson, who is a scary-bad mentor if you're trying to learn how to be an inspirational/purpose-driven leader. Does he even know how to build a sustained/winning culture? He definitely knows how to sell (false?) hope. I'm sure that another promotion for him is part of the '14/'15 plan. If he can find our franchise QB in this year's draft, he's done his job.

To get a franchise qb, I would be in favor of trading UP... we shouldn't rule anything out, if the Bills believe that a potentially elite qb is attainable.

I think that if we had a Roethlisberger/M. Ryan/Flacco/Rivers type QB talent with our current roster, then we would be in the playoffs. EJ might get there... I really hope that he does. My point is that, without good QB play, we'll never advance beyond 6-10, 7-9, 8-8; no matter how many other positions we seem continually "address". It's not a wasted draft pick if we take another QB, if he's the one. I know that the Bills leadership will have to make a decision prior to the draft, and I hope that they have a legitimate contingency plan (not a journeyman/late round draft pick/etc.), if there is doubt about EJ's ceiling and his ability to reach it.

I wonder if Whaley/Marrone/Hackett now have enough EJ tape to make a decent assessment of if he'll be capable of leading this team to the playoffs?... and be a consistently good to very good qb? If not, I suppose the draft will be telling. If they have enough doubt about EJ, then you would assume that they will draft another qb fairly high; one that they believe has the potential to be very good. This is a win-NOW business, and I can't imagine that they will stick with EJ all of next year if he struggles; and not have an option that represents legitimate hope (a high potential draft pick, not Thad). My big concern is that EJ will be a bust, and we'll have to wait for 2015 draft for another glimmer of hope.

We're on a perpetual hamster wheel of futility. A couple of years of respectable offense... coupled with a crappy D-coordinator that squanders our talent. An aggressive D that is playing relatively well, coupled with rookie QB, coaching staff, etc. A new GM and philosophy, coupled with a losing culture and lack of vision/accountability for what we want to be as an organization. I hope that this latest crew can put it all together, including the organizational identity & culture pieces. I'm not optimistic, though, especially considering that Russ Brandon is running this thing, and has NEVER been part of a winning organization (or knows what it takes to build one). I belive that HE believes that he knows what he's doing, but to me; he is just a good snake oil salesman. And, he has mastered the art of getting promoted, while the organization is a perrenial dumpster fire...

At one point during the game, I think it was Gannon who commented that Troy P. said that "EJ waits for receivers to be open, vs. throwing them open". I'm not sure how correctable this is, but EJ is (we are) sunk if he can't throw receivers open in this league. I think that recognition/reads, confidence, good mechanics come before being able to throw a receiver open; so I'm really down on EJ's ability to ever do this... this sucks. There was one deep out/sideline pattern that Ben threw to Brown... it was beautiful. McKelvin was tightly covering Brown, but Ben put it on his outside/upfield shoulder.... I want a qb that can do this!

I remember Nix on the John Murphy show awhile back, explaining why they let Levitre and Reinhart leave... something to the effect that they had several "good" players that will step up. This was before Legursky was even signed. Not a specific dig on Nix, just funny I guess.

Culture Talent acquisition/retention Organizational stability/continuity

Does anyone know if McClain could be a noticeable upgrade over Brown and Legursky? Any statements from Whaley or Marrone regarding expectations for him (strictly back-up or expected to compete for starting job?) As we've seen and Brown's grades reflect, it would be difficult for McClain to be worse.

Completely agree with the spirit of this thread... however tonight is another important data-point that, when combined with several others, will be enable us to judge if this is the same 'ol Bills. If they plan hard/smart/more physical than the Browns, with energy, and leave it on the field; I consider it a positive data point. EJ showing progress is also necessary. I think a sustained string of positives is necessary for any of us to believe that this stinker of a franchise could be actually turning it around.