SoTier

He's also had a much worse team around him than those 1990s Bills, especially this season when that OL has been trash. It's easy to forget just how talented those teams were. I can't watch video of those 1990s teams ... it's hard to believe those were Bills teams after watching the garbage teams the Bills have fielded in this century.

The real problem with the Bills has been and continues to be that the real control of decisions about chosing players, keeping players, paying players, and apparently even playing players seems to reside higher up the food chain that Beane or McDermott. That's been the case since Donahoe was fired in 2005, and that didn't change much when the Pegulas took over. Beane is a largely a figurehead who is subservient to both his bosses at OBD and to McDermott on player matters just as Whaley was to his coaches. Nix and Gailey were good ol' boys together who went back decades IIRC. Nothing is really going to change on the Bills until/unless they have independent leadership -- with real power and only answerable to the owners -- from a "football guy" as was proposed to have Polian oversee the team. As long as GM and HC are saddled with putting the interests of accountants and marketers ahead of winning, the Bills are going to wallow in the same "Pit of Misery" they been in for the last decade or so.

"The Guy" doesn't necessarily have to be the best at his position. He has to be a game changer, which is a player whose play can change game momentum -- and does it somewhat frequently over the course of his career. Bruce Smith was that as was Kelly and Thurman. So is Shady.

Well said, sir! You have nailed it. I said back in pre-season that McDermott reminded me too much of Jauron, and that's EXACTLY what the Bills have, and maybe worse. Jauron at least had a consistent philosophy: play not to lose by too much. I'm not sure what McDermott's philosophy is except "it's my way or the highway". He sticks to it, however, even when it's obviously not working. Dude, let me set the record straight here. The Super Bowl Bills were not choirboys off or on the field ... or in the locker room. They also weren't well known for what you describe as "football character", either. Just the opposite. Some wag nicknamed them "The Bickering Bills" IIRC. They were a rowdy crowd, and they got into trouble, which tended to be covered up when it happened locally unlike today. They even got into fights in the locker room ... which were reported. Numerous members of the team got drunk regularly, used drugs, and smoked frequently, including during the season. McDermott and Beane didn't think Dareus had "football character" because the Buffalo Bills wanted to dump his salary. They had been trying to peddle him since well before OTAs which was before McDermott had any real opportunity to judge Dareus first hand and before Beane was even hired. McDermott apparently decided back in March that Zach Brown, Mike Gillislee, Stephon Gilmore, Marquise Goodwin, and Robert Woods all either lacked the skill sets he wanted or weren't willing to buy into his system, too. Such an astute talent and character evaluator, he doesn't even have to work with them to know they're not what he wants.

Probably if McDermott and Beane get the five years their fanboys insist they deserve.

Now, now, you can't go blaming McDermott for THAT. He had good reasons for having Whaley trade back to the end of the first round: he needed a DB immediately since he had none more than he needed a QB for the future since he had one for now; he wanted to collect more draft picks for 2018 which is supposedly going to be the best QB class ever so each first round QB will come with a guarantee; he wanted to wait until his pal Beane from Carolina replaced Whaley so that they could implement their "vision" together. Hate to rain on your parade, dude, but Miller went at #2. He wasn't on the board when the Bills picked at #3. Dareus was becoming a game changer under Jim Schwartz, and he's likely to become a game changer in Jacksonville now that he's on a team with a coach that knows how to use him.

The Bills don't keep their top players long enough for them to become difference makers here. Some of the best they've sent packing: Pro Bowl CB Antoine Winfield (Minnesota), Pro Bowl LG Ruben Brown (Chicago), Pro Bowl DT Pat Williams (Minnesota), future HOF LT Jason Peters (Philly), All Pro RB Marshawn Lynch (Seattle), Pro Bowl CB Stephon Gilmore (NE) ... and likely to be added to that list: WR Robert Woods (LAR), WR Sammy Watkins (LAR), Pro Bowl DT Marcell Dareus (Jax), CB Ronald Darby (Philly). Certainly Peters and Lynch went on to become "the guys" for their respective teams.

And apparently discovered the Fountain of Youth ...

You're denying that the concept of professional athletes "quitting" exists. As fadingpain noted, it's been documented that it does. You're taking the literal meaning of "quitting" and assuming athletes just decide they're going to slack off because there's nothing to play for. That's generally not how it works. Teams "quit" on coaches because several players at least on the team have become disillusioned with the coach, his coaching style, what his assistants are teaching, etc. Feeling that way about coaches stress out athletes because they've been conditioned to believe in their coaches, and it often affects their on field/court performance. Psychological stress can affect job performance (among other things), whether you're a teacher or an accountant or a law enforcement officer or a professional athlete, and the sufferers don't have a whole lot of control over it because they're not making conscious decisions to do x or do y. I'm not saying that the Bills have "quit" on McDermott, but it is something that exists and can happen.

I agree except for starting Peterman against the Chargers. My gut feeling is that it wasn't McDermott's decision but was ordered from above. I say this simply because football coaches and players don't like to lose, although they'll tolerate it at the end of the season if the record won't impact whether they go to the playoffs or where they're seeded. "I think I'll start my low round rookie QB against a 3-6 team just to see if he might make a pro QB" said no NFL coach ever with his team sitting on a 5-4 record and holding a playoff spot.

This. "Buying into" the HC's "system" doesn't trump a lack of talent despite the manure the Bills FO and coaching staff have attempted, with some success, to feed to fans. Excellent post. I think that you may have nailed the real impact of the Dareus trade dead-on: it had a tremendous psychological impact on the defense far beyond what his physical presence added to the defense based on however many snaps Dareus was given. You may have also correctly assessed the impact of the Benjamin trade, too. Might want to do some reading in psychology. It would open your mind.

on the Ducasse and Mills. Ducasse has been a bust since his days as a second round pick with the Jests. He's bounced around the league as a backup since ... until he landed in Buffalo where Dennison and Castro think he's played well as a starter. That's how low their standards are! Mills looked like he was going to develop into a decent RG until Dennison instituted his zone blocking scheme which the entire OL has struggled to master except for Ducasse. As for Dak, he looks like a shadow of himself with Zeke and LT Tyron Smith out, but that's true of most QBs, even supposed "franchise QBs", when key parts of their offenses are missing. What exactly has Nate Peterman done to deserve another shot at starting this season?

I would agree but it's not going to happen. There aren't all that many good OL candidates so I can't see getting more than 1, and that likely won't be with one of the firsts; QB and DL are most likely. Who did we get who was actually better than Fitzpatrick until Taylor was signed? Certainly not Orton. If Marrone had had Fitz, the Bills probably would have been 8-8 or 9-7 in 2013 and likely would have made the playoffs in 2014. Even with Fitzpatrick's TO tendencies, Marrone would have given him the kind of support he needed -- a strong D and a decent running game -- so that he'd wouldn't have to try to win games on his own. As for Taylor, nobody is saying to keep him forever. It makes sense to keep him for 2018 so that you can bring a rookie QB along slowly, but never fear, Taylor is due a bonus just after the start of the league year, so he will undoubtedly be released before then.

The Bills have made so many of what appear to be bizarre or contradictory decisions since they fired Ryan (no problem with that) that they seem to be taking their cues from the Keystone Cops of silent film fame. Much of what they've done seems to be irrational in a football sense.

IMO, a desire on the part of either the coaching staff or FO to distract fans from the defensive meltdowns against the Jests and Saints may very well have factored into the decision to start Peterman last week. If fans had only the defensive meltdown to consider, many more of them might start correlating that the Bills D went south along with Marcel Dareus while Jacksonville's rush D improved. Starting Peterman when they did just doesn't smell right. That's why the national media jumped all over it, and guys like Carucci came up with lame, far-fetched explainations for it. The fact is, if the Bills were 3-6 and they started Peterman, nobody would bat an eye but they were 5-4 and sitting in a playoff position. That's what smells like dead fish that's been sitting at the end of the dock in the sun for three days, especially when Peterman played so poorly. He's a rookie who probably makes a lot more mistakes than Humber simply because rookies tend to do that.

Lack of talent isn't a lack of mental toughness; it's not being fast enough, strong enough, smart enough etc. Neither is pressing/over-compensating to make up for lack of success nor attempting to cover for teammates who aren't good enough for the roles they've been assigned. It's on the coaches to put players into the best situations to succeed, and that usually requires a change in scheme and a major infusion of talent. Neither seems likely to happen.

This is a much more like scenario than that the Bills draft a franchise QB and everything is rainbows and unicorns all the way to the Lombardy Trophy, especially if McDermott and Beane are still around.

Thanks for the article. Yes, but Peterman isn't a smaller QB like Taylor or a skinny (he might have been called slight) kid like Tom Brady was when he was drafted or a kid that got caught up in some kind of power struggle at his school like Tony Romo who wasn't even drafted. Being "pro ready"" is not a good reason to gamble on a fifth round QB because a team should be drafting for potential. I totally agree that it would be wisest for the Bills to keep Taylor in 2018, but I just don't see it happening. Whether they get rid of him to save money or to placate the anti-Taylor contingent of vociferous fans or to pave the way for a yet-to-be-drafted first round QB, he's history just like Fitzpatrick was in 2013. It will undoubtedly be better for Tyrod. I doubt it will be better for the Bills or their fans in 2018 but then it's most definitely "the Bills way".

Ummm... when fans say "draft a QB", they've mean in the first round not in the fifth. In this day and age, QBs who fall below the second round generally lack significant physical attributes to be NFL QBs, primarily NFL arm and/or height. Both Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins have NFL arms, but Wilson is short and Cousins is slight (small framed) so they were both considered risks. If they had been more prototypical size, they'd have both gone in the first. Even going to unimportant football schools doesn't necessarily mean real prospects can hide from the scouts: Joe Flacco is from Delaware and Carson Wentz from North Dakota State.

Have they actually watched the Bills play the last three games, especially on defense?

And he's not going to get the players for positions McDermott wants just like Whaley did? Get a clue: Beane is not an independent GM here. He's not only subservient to higher ups in the FO, he's subservient to the HC. That's what a figurehead is.

I was willing to give McDermott and Beane the benefit of the doubt early on although I remained skeptical of what they claimed they were doing. I have always viewed Beane as a figurehead GM who marches to orders delivered by Russ Brandon or one of his bean counter surrogates just like Whaley did. Some posters get really bent out of shape when I say many of the Bills roster moves are motivated by cutting player payroll but making personnel moves to save real $ -- NOT necessarily cap $ -- has been a recurring theme on Bills teams for the entire length of the drought. The Bills have spent the last seventeen years developing some pretty good players through the draft and as UDFAs and then letting them walk away in FA rather than pay them or getting skinned in trades because of their desperation to get rid of players. That was standard operating procedure under Wilson's ownership and it seems to be continuing exactly the same under the Pegulas: draft a first round DB -- develop him into a Pro Bowler -- let him walk in FA -- draft another first round DB to take his place. Plain and simple, I don't think this is "roster building" with the purpose of building a winning team in the future but simply to insure that the bottom line stays healthy. That's very cynical, but I've been a Bills fan since 1963, so I can't help myself. It's just the same manure that OBD has been shoveling and Bills have been accepting for 17 years. When the Bills draft their "future franchise QB" in the first round in 2018, the fans will get all excited and run to buy/renew their season tix ... just like they did when the Bills signed Terrell Owens in 2009 and Mario Williams in 2012.

What makes you say that? Peterman has shown nothing to indicate that he's starting QB material. That he looked decent against the Saints 2nd and 3rd stringers only proves that he can play against scrubs. His supposed readiness for the NFL seems to have been the product of the wishful thinking of the most vociferous Tyrod Taylor haters. It looks to me that nobody on the Bills coaching staff bothered much with Peterman at all since TC until McDermott decided he'd start last Sunday. Then he was crammed full of plays for a game plan totally unsuitable for a rookie QB in his first start ... and fed to the wolves. The #2 QB on the roster -- the starter's backup -- should at least get a smidgen of the coaching staff's attention, and if the Bills truly thought he was a possible future starter, one would think that some coach would work with him! But hey, McDermott is a coaching genius and Beane is a great GM and they've got this great plan to win a Super Bowl so all us dumb stupid fans who keep pointing out that the emperors are strutting around bare-arsed should just shut up and find other teams to support. I have no doubt that Taylor is gone before next season but if the Bills don't draft a QB in the first or second round, then they'll bring in another veteran as a starter.

Don't confuse the haters with facts FCOL!

Those teams may be bad but they seem to be trying to win. I'm not sure that that's true of the Bills any more although earlier in the season they certainly did. A team that expects to get whipped, gets whipped, and I think that's where the Bills are. IMO, the Dareus trade had a huge psychologically negative impact on the Bills D, far more than missing his physical presence. Benching Taylor may have had a lesser though similar effect on the offense.