Nihilarian

Thank you, Ed well said. How many early draft pick players have the Bills lost over the years for one reason or another. The Bills got a starting CB and a 2018 2nd round pick for Watkins and if that pick translates into a solid starter it will mean the Bills got the equivalent of two starters for a guy who was always nursing injuries while missing a bunch of games. After watching that Rams, 49ers game I can see why Bills fans would be upset over the trade.

I was shocked when the team traded Sammy ...but then realized that this team needs an elite QB more than an elite WR. Besides, next year he would have walked away and the Bills get nothing for him or pay Julio Jones type money for a guy who is always injured. If the Bills get their franchise QB in the 2018 draft and he is an elite player I know I'll be happy.

I'd rather have Woods and Sammy...but that's me.

I don't get the hate for TT either. This is a run-first team that has led the league in rushing and yet couldn't run the ball at all against Carolina. C'mon now, 12 rushing attempts for 9 yards for Shady---3 rushes for 5 yards for Tolbert. Tyrod under constant pressure with each dropback. O line not getting any push. The Panthers just showed the NFL world how to shut down the Bills offense and if the new OC can't figure out a way to move the ball on the ground it will be a long year. The Bills MUST find a way to make the run game work and if I'm to assign blame it goes on the new OC. And yet if Zay Jones make that catch.... JMO

I was worried the run game wasn't going to be as good as last year and it turned out to be even better. Tolbert is a beast and Shady is a Barry Sanders clone. My concern is the defense. However, I think the coaching was greatly improved over what we have seen the last few years. A+ for me after one game

The defense wasn't as good as I had hoped against a career backup QB. It will be interesting to see how they perform against Carolina. OTOH the penalties that have plagued this team for years was much improved. That rushing attack was a thing of beauty and even with the fullback toting the rock. 1-0 in the division!

Exactly. Concussions are all different and everything depends on if he clears protocol or not. Things aren't the same since Trent Edwards.

I gotta tell you that I haven't been this optimistic since Chuck Knox was hired. I kinda doubt we will see great success this season and I'm not holding this new regime accountable to do much this season. These guys deserve some time to straighten out the team. 2-3 years. So far I haven't seen any of the stupidity from past years. Jauron cutting his RT and firing his OC weeks before the season starts. Maybin... Gailey naming Trent Edwards his starting QB to cut him outright after two games and his naming CJ Spiller his starting RB. With both, Fred and Marshawn nicked up that first game the kid couldn't run a route, find a hole or block. Fred came in with a cast on his hand and caught a pass. Gailey was clueless with his smoke and mirror passing game with 5 WR sets and only one decent WR. Marrone naming Hackett as his OC and watching the Bills run up the middle all season while the QB flopped. Anyone else notice Bortles has turned into poop since Hackett has been their OC. Wrex boasting he had never had so much defensive talent and will have the best defense in the league. Meanwhile, in only the second game has his defense playing off coverage against Brady who set a Bills franchise worst record for giving up 466 yards of passing. A coach who was noted for building great defenses only to alienate his best players in Buffalo by asking them to play a scheme that stunted their best skills. Great coaches put their players in the best position to succeed and this moron forces his lame, out of date scheme on players who don't fit it.

THIS! I really like what this new regime is doing so far. The stocking of draft picks for next year to perhaps obtain that real franchise QB! And in a class that I hear should be very good. Now I just hope they build a Dallas like offensive line to protect that QB. I have a high degree of optimism going into this season thinking that these new people in charge of the football operations really know what they are doing. As far as Whaley goes.. he and others have had their hands tied in regards to no real football mind at the top in Buffalo to help guide them. From what I see the Buffalo version of Matt Millen is finally out of the football side of things.

From this thread, http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/193485-tg-on-whaley-mcd-sounds-to-be-in-charge-update/?do=findComment&comment=4343820 "And things have changed/are changing. Once Whaley is gone, Brandon's last link to what happens on the field will be, too." The changing of the guard in Buffalo looks to be finally happening.

My post wasn't about whether Tyrod being good enough or Mahomes developing into the next Jim Kelly as it was about the fact that Whaley had earned getting fired! If firing Whaley means that finally, Russ Brandon will finally be purged from the football side, it's a great day! Enough with this switching coaches and schemes every few years because nobody at the top has a clue how to build a successful winning team. With Whaley as GM after four seasons and a 30-34 record, so many holes still currently all over the roster, Two first rounders for a guy who has missed 11 games out of the last 32 and always seemed to be nursing an injury somewhere. The team being in salary cap hell without paying top dollar for a franchise QB and allowing quality talent to leave for a division rival because of that hell. The inability to find top quality RB/TE talent in the draft was a big reason for overpaying for the current players in free agency. The overall consensus of most NFL scouts were all saying before the draft that this QB class didn't have starting QB talent and they all needed developmental time behind a starter. Knowing this it was brilliant to keep Taylor (who may still keep developing) and not draft a QB this year. Now the Bills will have two first rounders next year should there be a quality QB they want in the draft. Besides, who out of the old scouts/GM would even have the wherewithal to even properly evaluate that QB talent. The best Whaley QB found in his four years was Kyle Orton and Kyle ran for the door like he was on fire from playing behind the worst offensive line in the league. Let's also not forget that Whaley had his rookie QB (EJ) along with two other rookie QB's playing behind some really bad lines along with no QB coach in his first year with the team. So many misses on talent at so many positions the last seven years with Whaley and Nix and the team still didn't find it's franchise QB in all that time! To me, it isn't all about will McDermott get the team into the playoffs this year. It's more about some needed changes in the scouting dept/GM and getting away from the way Ralph Wilson ran the team the last decade. Enough of this middling on the verge stuff and never being able to really compete against the best team in the league in the same division as the Patriots. Sink or swim this change was badly needed and should have happened after the 2014 season.

I look at it this way. If Sean McDermott had great influence in getting Whaley and the scouts fired... then I say kudos to him! Any really good defensive coach would look at Tyrod Taylor as a godsend to a defense in that this QB can run a ball control run first offense and doesn't foolishly turn the ball over! In his two seasons with Buffalo, Taylor has played in 29 games and thrown 37 TD's, 12 INTs. I can see why McDermott wanted to go this season with Taylor at QB while Whaley wanted him gone. From this fan's standpoint, it looked like Whaley didn't get along with Marrone, Ryan for various reasons and probably started butting heads with the new guy. This year's draft was run by the head coach and it looks better than anything I've seen the last four years in that the Bills were able to get at least three starters out of this draft. Along with the Chiefs first round pick for 2018!! White had an 89 grade and will probably start. WR Zay Jones had an 87 grade and will probably start. New OG/OT Dion Dawkins should win the RT position in camp. From reading what scouts had to say about Nathan Peterman in that he about the only QB in the draft that is NFL ready to start. When pressured Peterman had the nation’s No. 2 overall passer rating at 114.7. Passing in 2.5 seconds or less: 69.9 percent completion, 18 TD, 3 INT, 124.6 QB rating. https://www.profootballfocus.com/draft-bills-go-qb-take-nathan-peterman-in-the-5th-round/ I look at this new HC and he reminds me of Marv Levy in that he has the intestinal fortitude/nads to hire experienced NFL assistant coaches. Dick Jauron was afraid to hire a decent NFL experienced OC (Fairchild 2-seasons was the OC in St Louis and Martz called the plays and set up the offense) Chan Gailey called his own offensive plays and set up the offense. Doug Marrone hired an inexperienced college coach to run his offense. Rex Ryan called the defensive plays and set up the defense and in his second season supposedly gave control to Dennis Thurman while the stats in yards/ points looked to remain the same. New Bills OC is Rick Dennison has been an NFL OC for 10 years in Denver, Houston. New Bills DC is Leslie Frazier who has been an NFL HC for 3 years and DC for 8 years. I was somewhat skeptical at first when Terry Pegula hired McDermott and still wonder what the team will look like against the Patriots this year. I'm really hoping that this year's defense will actually do a good job in stopping Brady! Anyway, after all the changes so far I'm far more optimistic about this year's team than I have been in years and I like this new HC. No nonsense, all business!!

This is the best news about this team in almost twenty years for me!! Whaley should have been fired right after Terry and Kim bought the team and the only thing that saved him was probably Brandon telling them to give him/them time. I just hope that Brandon's time with his meddling into the football side of things is also over. This firing is long overdue and I can only hope going forward that the team hires that senior football adviser/team president that can actually evaluate QB/player talent properly for every position.Cheers

The Bills needed a CB, WR, TE, LBer, RT. This draft is supposedly very deep in defensive talent. From my point of view, the Bills did okay in trading back to pick up an extra 3rd rounder this year and a first-rounder next year. I know I'd think better of this trade had the Bills picked up another late round pick like a 5th either this year or next. Anyway, what do we know about this teams/GM's ability to evaluate talent? IMO they wouldn't know an elite QB prospect from a scrub even if the elite guy came up and slapped them in the face. Although, Whaley has done really well in drafting defensive players like Darby. First, it sucks that all the top WR's were gone by the #10 pick. Then, OJ Howard has bee compared to Eric Ebron by some and we all know how much he has done with Lions. Second, most scouts were saying that this year's draft class of QB's all needed developmental time before starting which means none had a very high grade as an impact starter. Besides, would you trust this team to develop a QB that needed a year or more to develop properly? Heck. even if Andy Reid does manage to develop Mahomes properly into a viable starter at some point. (and he certainly has his work cut out for him in going from a WC offense to a gunslinger who often has some WTF moments during games.)Why would Bills fans think he would get that same developmental process in Buffalo? This Bills picked a very solid player at CB in the first which filled a big need. Now they still need to find that WR, TE, LBer and right tackle. I'm thinking they find a starting quality LBer and not so much the WR, TE, RT. I'm fine with the trade and that first from the Chiefs next year will make up a bit for that lost 2015 first rounder.

Of the 35 players Buffalo drafted from 2010 to 2013, only defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and left tackle Cordy Glenn remain on the roster. Buddy Nix was a 70-year-old retired scout when the Bills hired and promoted him to be a first time GM. Even Marv Levy, Dick Jauron managed a better winning record with JP Losman and Trent Edwards at QB. Nix=bumbkin

I can only say I hope all this stuff is true!! This is so refreshing to read I can't tell you. I may end up buying season tickets again if it does prove to be accurate even if the team doesn't win right away. My only other hope is to see a team president of football operations being hired so the power of all football decisions goes through him. From PFT, http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/01/13/russ-brandon-continues-to-have-influence-without-accountability/ Russ Brandon continues to have influence without accountability"The reality of dysfunction within the Buffalo Bills arises in part from the perception that team president Russ Brandon has finagled the ultimate cake-and-eat-it arrangement where he has influence over the football operations without the same kind of harsh accountability that goes with football operations that consistently go wrong. In an interview with Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, the team’s owners essentially confirmed that Brandon has accomplished just that." It’s one thing, for example, for the owner to be watching scouts break down film. It’s quite another for an employee who can’t and won’t be fired due to football failures to be sitting in the room and periodically blurting out thoughts to the employees whose jobs are riding in part on the proper analysis of the film and the proper making of decisions based on it. I can only think that once Brandon is gone then his lackeys will be gone too.

While we all know what Russ Brandon's technical job responsibilities entail, we also know he is involved in activities that aren't in his job description. Such as being on the phone to players in the Buffalo Bills cut room meeting! Among other things. We are also aware that he has had great influence over these new owners various issues. Such as telling Terry Pegula to not let Rex Ryan leave the building after the last Ryan interview. It's my contention that Brandon is the one who talked Terry Pegula into thinking he had the wherewithal to make the final decision on who to hire as head coach of the Buffalo Bills because he told Terry would know who to hire after interviewing all the candidates. Shades of Ralph Wilson all over again! Terry Pegula was going to hire a football czar after he bought the team and was in talks with Bill Polian. For whatever reason, this czar hire never happened and my take is we have Brandon to thank for it. Mostly because should the team hire that senior NFL adviser/czar it will leave Brandon on the outside of the football operations looking in and he has long been involved in that entire process since being defacto GM after Marv retired. How many other owners do you see in the scouting process in taking with college quarterbacks before the draft? Like he didn't learn a lesson by being BSed by Rex Ryan in that interview. I've been saying it for years now that this team is desperate for an experienced team president of football operations! A man that knows how to build a winning NFL franchise and find that elusive franchise QB. Roll out the Brinks truck to Hire Ted Thompson away from Green Bay and promote him to that position of team president.

Polian didn't draft Jim Kelly. Although he managed to get one of the most frugal owners in the NFL to make Ole Jim the highest paid QB in the league. Polian saw the talent in Kelly and had to have him. He also built a playoff team in three short years in every city he was the GM with. Buffalo, Indy and an expansion team. There is a real reason the man is in the PF HOF BTW, Polian stated he would have replaced Whaley had he been hired in Buffalo. In 4 years Whaley is 30-34 in Buffalo. While I can't hold him completely accountable because the guy above him has a baseball/ marketing/finance background and he has been left to his own devices. While it's also true that Whaley did the trades for Hughes and McCoy, he also didn't initiate them either. Let's not forget that the imbicile GM in Indy that was recently fired first called the Bills wanting to get rid of Poilan's last first round pick. Now out of the league Eagle HC Chip Kelly was stupid enough to want to dump McCoy. I look at McCoy and Charles Clay as overpaid talent because the Bills couldn't find that quality talent in the draft. Also, Incognito and Tyrod Taylor are others that Whley gets credit for and yet if not for Rex Ryan those two would not be Buffalo Bills. The Bills lost Chris Hogan, Stephon Gilmore, to the Patriots and now possiably Gillislee. The Bills are working towards officially being NE farm club. I look at this team and I see so may holes in the roster after four years. WR a huge need after 3 draft picks, two numbers ones in 2014 for a WR who is always injured. A number two pick in 2013 on a WR who now plays for the Rams. Corner is a huge need because the team didn't care to resign the #1 pick from 2012 and so he ended up on the Patriots. LBer and safety are both needs for quality talent as is the RT position. Bills fans are too nice and never want to see anyone fired...it's overdue.

What's humorous about that bolded part is that Tom Donahoe lost a power struggle with Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. They realized that Donahoe was making bad choices and was ultimately fired for it. Now for the sad part for Buffalo is that the late owner had a penchant in his later years for hiring people that were fired in their old jobs and then inexplicably promoting them and for promoting from within the org. Donahoe was fired as director of football operations (GM) for the Steelers in 1999 and was hired as team president in Buffalo with the owner retiring. We all learned the hard way as to why Donahoe was fired in Pittsburgh. Chan Gailey was another man fired as the Chiefs OC and was hired in Buffalo to be the HC by Buddy Nix. Initially, in that particular coaching search, Nix wanted to hire a more prominent name who had a history of rebuilding broken NFL teams into winners and the owner said no. Speaking of Nix, he retired at the age of 70 after years of never becoming a GM and the Bills hired him to be their GM. On another note, from what I've seen so far from Whaley is that he doesn't have what it takes to field a balanced well-rounded NFL team with solid backups at all positions. Heck, the guy didn't even find the current starting QB or the all-pro LG and from what we have seen so far his choices in those positions have been nowhere near the performance level of the current starters. The Bills are now overpaying at the starting RB / TE positions because the Bills GM/scouts can't seem to find quality talent in the draft. Most Bills fans know that if the Bills hadn't given up three draft picks for Sammy Watkins (two firsts) that their choice would have been TE Eric Ebron. Ebron is another player who hasn't even been able to play in all 16 years each year since he was drafted 10th overall by Detroit in 2014. Not to mention that his stats really aren't very good considering he is on a team with a QB who throws for over four thousand yards every season. The Bills could have made 12 other choices that year in the first round that would have resulted in pro bowl player. In my view, the best thing that has happened to this franchise over the last decade was the hiring of DC Jim Schwartz who made both Whaley and Marrone look acceptable for a season. The man took over a Hodge-podge 3-4 hybrid defense that three other men couldn't get out of the 20's and got them to #4 overall. Then we all saw what a supposed defensive guru did to that #4 defense after Schwartz. Granted, Schwartz walked into a great situation in Buffalo that fit his scheme. Sad that the team couldn't find a way to keep him. This is the type of ineptitude we have seen over the years from the Bills FO in that when the team does find a scheme that works to fit the players on the roster that they turn around and go in a different direction. Now this year the team wants to go back to the 4-3 with a brand new HC. This after the team just drafted the first three picks to fit Ryan's 3-4. Let's face it, that this team is in desperate need of an established senior NFL man at the top of the football side of the org like an Ozzie Newsome or a Ted Thompson who knows how to build a solid team through the draft Someone who knows QB talent and player talent in all positions like those two men. Lastly, does it really matter who makes the final choice in Buffalo? I have very little confidence that anyone in the current Bills FO who makes the final choice will get it right.

After watching that team video interview with Terry Pegula he looked to be sincerely remorseful that the team hasn't won since he bought it. I can only wonder how long it will take this new owner to figure out that just changing the head coach isn't going to change much with his team...that is unless that HC is Bill Belichick or a Pete Carroll who are both in a class all by themselves. Sean McDermott might just eventually become one of those men. The thing is, the NFL is known to have an unforgiving learning curve that few men manage to survive much less become great in their first job as head coach. Then looking at who he has in helping him find the proper player talent in his first years as an NFL head coach leads me to think he is going to have a very tough time in Buffalo.

I only hope that changes are indeed coming to the Bills FO. What many fans fail to understand is that the one constant at the top of the org chart has been Russ Brandon who was hired by the first owner and has become more prominent in the org since the new owner bought the team. I look back at the years Marv Levy was GM of the Buffalo Bills (2006-2007 seasons) and he stated it was a consensus as to who had the final say in the draft. After reading what he said about the draft it looked like he allowed Jauron to have the final say. After Marv retired as GM it was Russ Brandon who took over as de facto GM of the team. It wasn't that Brandon was making all the wrong decisions for the team and running the football side of the team into the ground on his own. It was that he was acting like Marv in that he stood back and allowed others to make the choices. Modrak, Jauron making the final decisions and what's wrong with this philosophy is that because there was no "top football man" at the top of the org the asylum was run by the inmates. Because the team had no top talent evaluator who could make the proper final calls the team drafted some questionable players for questionable positions over the years. In 2008 after the team drafted McKelvin at #11 there were 24 pro bowl players drafted after him that year. That year the Bills did manage to find Stevie Johnson in the 7th round. The 2009 draft saw Aaron Maybin who was a one year wonder on college and the Bills were desperate for a pass rusher since Schobel retired at the end of the 2007 season. While the team did find three starters with the next three picks the fact remains that the scouts / GM / HC all failed to see the talent in Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews. The point of this is to show that even after all this time the team still doesn't have that top football man in the Org and is still making bad choices for the wrong positions. Look at the drafts since 2000 to see that since the late John Butler left for San Diego the team has been a mess in the FO. And has been lacking that knowledgeable experienced football man that actually knows what he is doing in building a winning NFL team. Buddy Nix might have been 70 years old when he took over as GM. Alas, when he was hired he had never been an actual NFL GM before the Buffalo Job. After four seasons of no playoffs with a record of 30-34 and with a team filled with holes on the roster, no franchise QB yet. Doug Whaley has already proven he doesn't have what it takes! This new owner was in talks with Bill Polian to be the Buffalo Bills czar and it was rumored that the current people in the Bills FO were badmouthing him in order to retain the status quo. Also, recently the team was talking to Tom Coughlin for a senior NFL adviser to have the final say in the football side of the team. Instead, he took a similar job with the Jacksonville Jaguars and now has the final call on all "football" decisions. Now, many Bills fans posting here will tell you that Russ Brandon has had no say in the personnel side of football operations since 2007. And yet we see the man chest bumping Sammy Watkins on the sidelines, read about Brandon dancing on Pegula's yacht when they learned that the team had signed LeSean McCoy. That Brandon was working on the phone in the Bills cut room with Rex Ryan as HC. That after interviewing Rex Ryan for the HCing job Russ told Terry Pegula to not let Ryan leave the building. Even if Brandon has had no say or influence on anything related to the football side of the team (which is something I don't believe). The fact remains that as long as Russ Brandon has been with the team there has been no senior football man at the top of the Org. Until this owner hires that top football man this franchise will be like a rudderless ship going endlessly in circles. With the owner stating that decisions will be made by a consensus tells me that nothing has really changed over the years.

As long as this owner keeps the same front office that the last owner employed I have little faith in seeing much success over the next few years. A better GM and senior NFL adviser other than Russ Brandon would be a good start! What we don't know is if Tyrod will develop further into a better QB. (Tyrod as he is played well enough to win 9-10 games and it was Ryan's defense that let the team down the last two seasons.) And, Is Sean McDermott the answer at HC? Because it's steep and unforgiving learning curve in being a first time HC in the NFL. Chuck Knox proved you don't need a team of superstars to make the playoffs. You need a solid head coach who knows what he is doing and can evaluate player talent properly. Knox took a bunch of young players and made them believe in themselves that they could win games. He brought in a few older rah- rah type players to build a good locker room leadership team. Running the football and playing great defense worked then and it will work in today's NFL as long as the new Bills OC doesn't attempt to make the QB carry the offense all by himself. This team has enough player talent to win enough games to get this team in the playoffs provided that certain positions get upgraded properly in the draft. JMHO

The Jets are keeping a close eye on the Tyrod Taylor situation with the Bills http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-keeping-close-eye-tyrod-taylor-situation-bills-article-1.2989693 "Taylor has run for 1,148 yards and 10 touchdowns in his two seasons as an NFL starter. He's completed 62.3 percent of his passes with a 92.3 passer rating. He's not Brady or Rodgers, but he's good enough for a team desperately looking to solve their most maddening problem." I'll bet there are other NFL teams besides the Browns are taking a long look at a QB who isn't a turnover machine and can make plays with his legs like Taylor. That 2016 Buffalo Bills 19th ranked in total defense, 29th against the run was a big reason why the team went 7-9 in my view. Taylor wasn't the biggest problem with this team the last two years. Get him a solid option at WR like Williams or Davis who might stay healthy for the season and then see what the QB looks like.

Excellent post and points. I couldn't agree more with everything here. That bolded part is what I think escapes most fans and more importantly escapes the fools in the front office because they didn't draft him or even find him. Those mooks are still thinking they need an all out passing QB to make their choices of Sammy Watkins and Charles Clay look more valid. Plus, most fans forget that the Bills fielded a turnstile at RT last season and opposing teams would generally put their best pass rusher on him. Not to mention the lack of talent in the Bills WR corps with Watkins hurt most of the season and Chris Hogan playing for the Patriots. The latter being another lame move by the current GM. The main point here is that Taylor can still develop into a better downfield passer as he will be entering his third year of starting in this league. Build a better offense around him before making the decision he isn't good enough.To those fans out there that want a Deshaun Watson or some other rookie QB in this year's draft need to remember Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell. To add that someone new will more than likely need years to develop. Perhaps if this FO gets their way and boots TT to the Cleveland Browns... which frees them up to draft Garrett and a Mike Williams or Corey Davis. Meanwhile, the Browns go on to make the playoffs before Buffalo, that might just be enough incentive for the owner to finally flush this thing.

Didn't La Canfora state that both Whaley and Ryan would be fired if they didn't make the playoffs in 2016? Why is Whaley still the team's GM and for that matter why didn't Pegula perge the entire FO? Sadly, I don't trust this FO to get anything right in the draft, free agency and I feel bad that a new HC in McDermott now must deal with these losers who have failed to even find a quality starting franchise QB like a Matt Ryan, or even a Kirk Cousins.