oldmanfan

Allen in terms of QB. I absolutely agree that any QB needs pieces around him. I presume that will be the major focus this offseason.

One could also say Barkley filled in OK with the Bears. Ultimately it's Allen that matters.

Ed Rotkowski? Marlin Briscoe? Joe Dufek? Bruce Mathewson?

Such is life when the starter is out. My daughter just texted me that we wouldn't have gone through this if we had kept McCarron. I said back it wouldn't matter; may have made the losses closer.

Like not drafting a QB. Oh, wait.....,

Fine with me too and I'm already old

I believe so.

You're right. Hate to see it happen though.

I'd rather have Watson. I said so at the time. You said they shouldn't touch either one of them. Yet here you are criticizing them for not doing so. Hypocrite.

Again, it is amusing how many folks ignore Beane saying before the draft last year that you can't win in the league without a QB. Or how they cherry pick a comment from McD this week about seeing some positives and somehow ignore th e statements about how your QB has to be consistently good to win. They know they need more offense, they know they need better QB play. As an old timer I recognize that. But yes, I do love smash mouth football and good defense and am sad the game is starting to turn into the collegiate circus like football. I would say the end of the Tennessee game, even though a defensive game, was pretty damn exciting.

Says the guy who, before the draft, said the Bills shouldn't touch Mahomes or Watson.

Such a ray of sunshine.

I think it is unreasonable to expect that the owners of franchises will not have any involvement in the team. Now, that of course doesn't mean Terry should be picking players, we had enough of that with Ralph at times. But when you put 1.4 billion on the table you get the right to be involved. As for their hirings, they're had painful experiences to be sure. Some talk of having a layer above the current HC and GM, like a Director of Football operation or whatever. I'm not sure that does anything but just add another layer. would it really benefit much? Coughlin took that job in JVille - worked OK last year but they're struggling this year. The NFL, (not sure about the NHL) I know has structure where they have a council of former coaches, executives, that advise on guys who are ripe for HC positions. I am sure Terry and Kim used that resource in deciding on McD. Beane likewise was ripe for a GM shot. Same with the Sabres; Botterill was ready after what he did it Pittsburgh and Housley was touted by many as being one of the top candidates for a HC spot. Looking at each franchsie, they have realtively young, hungry guys that work well together. And that's key; you have to have a GM and HC in synch to decide on how you want to play the game, what kids of players to draft, what kind of FAs to target, and such. I have said in other threads but the Bills situation going into last year, and certainly this year, reminds me of the time right before Polian came on board. When he did, he basically told Ralph he did not have god enough players to be successful, and that he had to start paying more money to get the right guys in. And he hired a glorified special teams coach who's one shot in the NFL with the Chiefs failed, and that was coming out of Canada. I remember scratching my head then, but it worked. we will see whether a similar young first time GM for both our teams and their unproven as yet HCs, can do the same kind of thing going forward. Calm down. Then look up the payoff teams from last season. Then pipe down and quit yelling out the word idiot as if it has any bearing and makes you magically correct. Because it makes you sound like a , well.........., an ............ They made some difficult choices this season. They wanted to clear cap space and they chose to do it quickly. That was a conscious decision that affected things, and one can argue its merits. They lost two really good linemen, and guys they had slotted in to replace them didn't measure up. They brought a QB in as a FA that they thought would be a bridge to Allen, and he didn't work out. They tried to sign some receivers in FA and lost out, tried to bring in high draft pick guys that had not performed elsewhere, and found out there's a reason they bombed out elsewhere. They made decisions, several of them didn't work, they have to own that and they have to fix them this offseason. But just stop with the name calling. The same folks had a team no one thought would do anything last year and got them into the playoffs. That didn't make them geniuses then anymore than the struggles this year make them what you keep howling at the moon about now.

And people like you are babies who can't read and refuse to look at what actually transpired. Wood got hurt, they felt they had his replacement in Groy. And they added Bodine. It's hart to find centers in the league. Richie accepted the pay cut. He signed the contract. Terry sucks? The billionaire who you claim is a moron? Get over yourself.

Glenn was hurt pretty much all of last year. They traded up to get their QB and that was the capital cinci wanted. Tough to lose him but at the time it made sense.

Everyone is tired of your Allen schtick.

They are opinion writers. They don't really need access to write their opinions do they?

Rex promised the moon and stars and didn't deliver. Plus he couldn't get along with Whaley. McDermott promised it would take time to build a consistent contender and he gets along with Beane.

I think they probably already have their eye on some guys that are under the radar a bit. Guys like Poyer. I had never heard of him but he came in and is a solid contributor. I hope they play Teller and Boettiger to see if they can be guys next year. Get a starting C to stabilize things; I'd overpay for that. I think they need 3 new linemen next year. Then WR or TE.

No. It's not. Like having a lineman break his neck and another one go crazy. Like having your rookie QB get hurt. They have work to do this offseason. No one is saying different.

Assuming it's true, seems a little petty. But if I had been called a liar and stupid in print by someone I might also decide I don't want them around my team.

Want to see Allen continue to develop. And to see some of the young O linemen on the field

Shaw, as you know I value your opinions highly and we generally are in agreement with most things Bills. But I will take issue with a couple things here. First, saying doing your job and playing hard is flat out wrong. I would point to Belichick. What is his mantra? Do your job. There is nothing wrong with instilling a mindset where you want your players to work hard - that in fact is a basis for success at any vocation. Now, as to making players play better, Daboll, etc. I have read several columns from folks around the game more than me who have actually been complementary about what Daboll is trying to do, just that he doesn't have the horses to do what he wants to do. Yes, that is in part due to decisions made primarily to clear cap space. But they simply don't have guys that are good enough right now, and while you oftentimes talk about how coaching is so critical in the league (which I agree with) sometime you cannot make up for lack of actual physical talent. Our WRs as a group don't get the separation they should, and the O line the other day was simply pathetic. They are slow inside so they don't pull well, and just got beat physically too many times. Is that coaching, or is it players? Probably a bit of both, but I'm not sure what coach right now could make, say Vlad Ducasse into a really good NFL lineman. Now, does McD have to do better? Absolutely. These wipe out type performances should not happen. Does the offense need to step up? Yes, and I think when Allen comes back we will see that - you and I share the view that Allen could be really good for years to come. Bottom line right now is we're trying to get by with backup QBs, WR's that lack overall talent, and O linemen that also need to step up their game. Coaching can influence some of that, but is not the sole cause either.

Wish you'd have been there in 64 and 65 as well.

I thought 6-10. If they can get Allen back I think they get there. Jets and Fish are both weak.