Yoli

The Bills are in full meltdown mode at the moment, but perhaps a different spin on well-known facts will put some of the chaos into perspective. As we all know, but for the Pegula's, we would certainly be experiencing what San Diego, Oakland, and St. Louis are now experiencing -- the very real threat that our team would relocate to LA (it appears San Diego may even be a done deal). Prior to finalizing of the sale of the team to the Pegulas (and for a short while after), Roger Goodell made it very clear that Buffalo must have a new stadium if it wanted to keep the franchise beyond the lease that our local leaders so successfully negotiated. Had an extremely wealthy owner with local ties not bought the team, Goodell's demand would have hung like a sword over the city until the first reasonable opt out date on the lease. Goodell has no loyalty to WNY; instead, we would have been exactly where St. Louis is now with the Rams, even though we are much more loyal and committed fan base. So Bills fans dodged a bullet only to be hit with another nasty, but not lethal one. The Pegula's took over the team at mid-season last year. Realistically, it's not as though they could have done much of anything except learn their way around the building and meet the staff between mid-October and the end of the season. By rights, this year should have been the learning and evaluation year, during which the Pegulas took a long, hard look at every phase of the operation and made changes going forward into 2016. Unfortunately, the second bullet -- Doug Marrone -- single-handedly derailed any reasonable post-purchase due diligence the Pegulas might have contemplated when he opted out. Marrone's exit nixed any possibility of bringing in a Polian or any football operations person because all attention immediately had to be focused on the need to hire a new coach. Worse, realistically, the Pegulas, as newcomers, had no choice but to rely on the football people they inherited - Whaley and Brandon during the coaching search. Given the situation and especially the PR nightmare that a winning coach opting out created, the Bills could not hire an unknown coordinator to right the ship. Marrone's opt out probably sent a strong signal that there was something terribly wrong in Buffalo. So to give the franchise credibility and, as a result, to have any hope of attracting any free agents, the Bills had almost no choice but to sign a "name" like Rex Ryan. Clearly, that plan has gone horribly wrong, mostly because expectations were grossly oversold and we bought in. The reasons for that big lie should be central to any organizational evaluation process going forward. But now, unless the Pegulas have been seriously and deeply engaged with outside consultants throughout the past year, the Bills are stuck with what we have for another year while a real evaluation takes place. That's not something that could have happened quickly, even under the best circumtances. The Bills are big business, and I would have to think that there are lots of Wilson's people (e.g.,Scott Bercthold whatever he does) deeply embedded at OBD. It takes more than a couple of months to figure all of that out, but the Pegulas never had that time because on Dec. 31 of last year, they had to go into full panic mode to plug the hole at coach and fix the PR nightmare of a coach simply walking away upon their arrival. That event is what has set us back at least two years and gave us the nightmare that is Rex Ryan.

This. And if we lose, will it be more embarrassing than sending the offensive line out as captains against Jacksonville? Classless.

Have missed the last 10 or so pages, so apologies if someone else has brought up this point. Is he trying to leverage a trade out of Buffalo? These comments, justified or not, are bridge-burners.

I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be under constant scrutiny and to either be lauded to the heavens or blown up in the media and on social media. But -- I thought the NFL gave its rookies a full-day workshop on how to deal with these things. And, I wonder if this tweet isn't yet another example of Rex's failure to instill discipline in his players? One of the worst things to do, from a PR standpoint, is to attack fans (however, beer-sodden and stupid they may be). Unfortunately, a professional athlete has to rise above all of the negativity. Us little people in our little jobs often have to swallow a lot. But being mature means taking the high road. It doesn't sound like he's getting any help or advice in this area. Again, it bespeaks a very loose ship being run at OBD.

Hate to burst your bubble Mr. Uber-Logician. But "size" factors in not only height but build. Compare Wilson's build (thick, muscular) with Taylor's and therein lies the problem. Need I note he is out again this week? He does not have the build to take an NFL pounding and therein lies the problem with an otherwise really promising quarterback.

Yes -exactly. Add to that the poor man's Russel Wilson at qb. TT has all the talent and heart, except he is too small to withstand an NFL pounding and as a result, will never last. That is the reason he was a 6th round draft pick and why he will be on IR before the season is out. He reminds me of Steve Tasker when Tasker played wideout toward the end of his career. Tasker had abiltiy and could make plays, but he was injured all the time because he was too small to play wideout (I am not referring to his special teams play). Absolutely the only thing Whaley has been right about is that we are in purgatory -- even if they should get rid of Rex after this year, he has a five-year contract and a huge salary -- I can't see even the rich as Croesus Pegulas taking that kind of financial hit. The reality is that we have entered yet another 5 year tear down/rebuild with mediocre parts/fail/tear down/rebuild cycle. Whaley has made critical blunders with EJ, the Watkins trade (you make a poor quaterback great by mortgaging the future for a wideout the quaterback will never be able to utilize well?), a huge investment in a d-line that is being mis-used, etc. How long before all the sketchy characters on this roster revert for form?

Comparing Marv to Rex is like comparing Marcus Aurelius to Muammar Gaddafi

I apologize that this post may cover ground discussed in other posts. On the other hand, though, a pattern seems to be coming clear that may justify a new thread. Specifically, this Bills team and coaching staff seems to have quite a significant share of scumbags. I don't know if the numbers are greater or lesser than other teams, but Shady's party is very questionable; Percy Harvin is reported to be the most hated person in an NFL locker room; Kromer is facing criminal battery charges; we have Incognito; Darby was implicated as a possible witness in the alleged Jameis Winston sexual misconduct case; the running back we drafted from FSU also has involvement with the law (leaving the scene of an accident, I think). I hope that the end justifies the means and that we win with this collection of individuals (and of course, the remaining, seemingly decent members of the team). Whether the sheer numbers are the result of the times or a staff that doesn't vet players and coaches on the character dimension is a question. But the number of "shady" characters on this team seems high.

I agree with Kiper and anyone else critical of the Bills' draft. The only pick that makes sense is the guard in the third round. The Bills constantly try to outsmart everyone, drafting for glamour (Watkins, Spiller) and reaching when they draft for need and then indulging in luxury picks (a running back this year, really?). The character issues in this draft are very disturbing as well. I can't see the two picks with serious character issues keeping it together over the long haul. If the Pegula era is about disregarding character by signing the likes of Incognite and drafting some of the players we did, I am concerned about a sleeze factor. One Buffalo may be a tank and a football team with a significant number of low character thugs.

I am critical of the draft itself. The NFL seems to be priding itself on controlling for character by not selecting the player involved in the murder investigation and the player who dropped because of a positive pot test. But the press ignores things like Jameis Winston's tweet about having all the crab legs he wants now. This shows, in my opinion, how little respect he has for the law and how invincible he feels he is. Commentators can talk all they want about his football intellect -- he has no filter and possibly no moral intellect whatsoever. And then, there are the Bills' two draft choices, one of whom was in a fleeing the scene of the accident, present at Winston's alleged rape, and the other of whom seems to have been involved in a domestic violence situation. Granted, we are dealing with college kids, and I don't think a little pot is a big deal. I do think that rape, dv, murder, leaving the scene of an accident are big deals. I am disgusted by the caliber of player the Bills and other NFL teams chose. Quaterback is the least of our worries.

Just caught a quick snippet on NFL network regarding Dez Bryant and use of the franchise tag on him. The report indicated that if the tag is used, the player can negotiate and if he signs with another team, one of the remedies is that the team which signs forfeits 2 number one draft choices. This is an awfully steep price, and I can't imagine any team wanting to pay that kind of price. But what if the Bills did franchise Hughes. Are any teams desperate enough for his skills to pay the price? That would solve our lack of number 1 draft choice issue. Probably just wishful thinking.

First of all, I don't understand the seeming distrust of Whaley. Why did it take so long to promote him to GM and why do people seem surprised that he is heading the coaching search? Isn't that what GM's are supposed to do? Second, with the exception of Seantrell Henderson and perhaps Boobie DIxon, very few of the "name" acquisitions on offense, presumably made with heavy input from Whaley, have fared well or gone without a period in Marrone's dog house: EJ Manuel --Draft - perhaps not the best place to start, but is it at all surprising that he tweeted "happy new year!" shortly after Marrone announced he was leaving? Marrone seemed to damn Manuel with faint praise even when (in 2013) Manuel had a good game. DId Manuel's regression have something to do with the climate Marrone created around him? Robert Woods -- draft - also in Marrone's dog house during training camp Marquis Goodwin --draft - see NY Daily News article for Marrone's treatment of him Mike WIlliams - trade - see speculation on this board Watkins -- draft -- too good to be ignored but under-utilized and not effectively utilized by Marrone Cyrus Kuondjio -- draft -- struggled but was he truly beyond redemption? Bryce Brown - trafe - inactive for many games although with the exception of the KC fumble, he didn't look horrible Thad Lewis -- trade -- regressed badly in second season with Marrone

There is something rotten at the core of the Bills organization. What is it? Can the Pegula's figure it out and root it out? Is there anyone available with the intelligence, integrity, and experience out there to help them (and perhaps to save them from Russ Brandon)? The most recent indication of the rot was Marrone. His press conferences and interviews were an embarrassment. He sounded like an idiot -- his sentences went on and on; they were ungrammatical and loaded with word wasting space fillers. When I listened to other NFL coaches (Jason Garret comes to mind), sentences are clear, concise and to the point. If Marrone couldn't speak clearly, how could anyone expect him to think well? Every bill of goods we have been sold, but especially Doug Marrone, has had a tinge of sleaze that comes when marketing isn't paired with a viable product. I don't buy Brandon's schtick that he saved the franchise by regionalizing it. I think people in WNY and Southern Ontario would have bought tickets no matter what was put on the field. We are a football community -- the perfect fans for a brutal sport, not discerning customers who expect intelligence, excellence and quality. The latter are are the people to whom the NFL as a total entertainment experience markets itself. And the latter would have deserted the Bills in droves or insisted on something better, more intelligent, and more accountable. That is the reality; the question is what would it take to change that? How can an apparently fairly nice couple, T. Pegula's utter social awkwardness notwithstanding, figure all of this out in a very short period of time and create a real NFL organization? Frankly, the Bills of the last 15 years seem an awful lot like an estate sale -- the smell of mildew and death is inescapable and yet people come anyway, hoping for something great. I know these issues have been brought up many times on these boards. But I don't know if the concept of rot has been used. Flame away, but I'd really like to explore the contours of the concept.