SoTier

Who announced it? Not Andy Reid certainly. Reid will part with Smith only if he feels he's finished. Mahomes hasn't played a minute in a real NFL game, and he may not even get any meaningful playing experience at all unless Smith gets hurt. Aside from that, Smith is not going to make the Bills competitive in any way, shape or form. Neither will the first round QB that the Bills will draft in 2018. Lorenzo Alexander, Richie Incognito, Kyle Williams, and Eric Wood are all on the wrong side of 30. All the RBs are 29 or older as is Jerry Hughes. It's likely that both Taylor and Dareus will be gone by next season. Most of the WRs and DBs are never weres or ST refugees. The right side of the OL remains a sieve. Maybe Dawkins helps but he's a rookie and about 50% of even first and second draft picks bust, so who knows?

Only in the forlorn dreams of diehard Bills fans. McDermott and his crew will be lucky to make it to year three, and when they go, the Bills won't be any closer to the playoffs than they were in 2004 or 2013, the last two times they found their "QB of the future". 'Cuz that's what the Bills do. It gives the FO a built-in excuse to replace expensive young talent with ST refugees, saving some significant $$$.

That Dennison's choices are limited is largely his own fault because he's insisted on forcing his players into an offensive system that doesn't suit them.

Don't confuse fools with agendas with facts.

That's how it works on the Bills, but Denver has an entirely new coaching staff, and a DC who's always been a 4-3 guy. Guess what, the Broncos are still running a 3-4 D that fits their personnel. Maybe the Bills FO should try having a long term plan for building a winning football team and hire coaches who buy into that plan instead of giving every single has-been, neophyte, and expensive buffoon head coach they bring in carte blanche to tear down the entire team to fit his whims ... or the whims of his pals. McDermott and his boys will be gone in a couple of seasons or less, and the Bills will once again start from scratch. It's been the story of the last eighteen years, and it's not likely to change unless the team sees ticket sales plummet.

Reality is that this team is not a talented team on paper or on the field.

You don't know that. They've got Mahomes for 5 years, so if Smith has a good year, Reid feels he's still got gas in the tank, and they feel that they have a legit chance to go to the Super Bowl in 2018, they'll extend Smith. It might only be a two year deal but KC isn't going to throw away a shot at the SB to "develop" a QB who has never played in an NFL game. The AFCW seems pretty competitive with Oakland, KC, and Denver all looking like serious playoff contenders, so the chances of Mahomes getting meaningful playing time seems unlikely unless Smith gets hurt. Of course, even then, there's a big gulf between a good backup who can come in and play decent for 3 or 4 games and a good starter as Brock Osweiler proved most recently ... and Kevin Kolb proved to Reid back in 2010. To answer your rhetorical question, Reid couldn't develop Kolb into a starting QB even though he'd been a decent backup to McNabb for 2-3 years, so ol' Andy replaced him with Michael Vick. That was 2010.

Well, sweetie, there's a first time for everything. I don't think it's "more of the same" from Tyrod at all because the last two seasons the Bills had an NFL-caliber offense. It was average but average is better than non-existent, which is what they have now. They looked decent against the Jests because the Jests seem to have even less talent and certainly less desire to win than it seems possible for an NFL team to have. I think the current Bills offense is a very unpleasant flashback to the kind of offensive offense run by Jauron and his supposed OCs circa 2007-2009. Maybe it's better than semi-pro level but it's not NFL caliber, especially in its philosophy and design. I don't see the Bills offense getting close enough to the Denver EZ to attempt a FG, so it's up to the ST or defensive to get them close enough to kick a FG. They better kick on first down, too, before holding penalties put them out of range. Another team might catch the Broncos "ripe for a let down" but I seriously doubt that the Bills "brain trust" has enough imagination to come up with a game plan that might take advantage of the flattest Broncos team. Trevor Siemian is a better QB than many think even if he's only a seventh round draft pick.

^^^ Totally agree with both posts. At least Jauron waited a season to see what he had. McDermott didn't bother. Oh, bull manure! Before Jauron and Levy started gutting talent, the Bills offense had a half-way passable OL and receiving corps. When they finished, they had no OL and no receiving corps, just bodies wearing jerseys with linemen's and receivers' numbers. Jauron's play-not-to-lose-by-too-much offense was so bad that by the end of 2008, Trent Edwards and JP Losman played like equally bad clones of each other. As for the defense, he filled it with smurfs. The damned LBs weren't even as big as the RBs they were supposed to tackle so they got dragged downfield for another 5 or 10 yards. Aaron Maybin was supposed to be a tweener (hybrid DE/LB) but he was more the size of big DB or small LB: 220/230 lbs. The only Bills player to make the Pro Bowl during Jauron's time in Buffalo was Brian Moorman, the punter IIRC. Jauron made the Bills into a team of great STers ... unfortunately, they were playing starting positions. That's the team that Nix and Gailey inherited in 2010. Totally agree. The lack of a passing game is totally on the current Bills FO and coaching staff. No, they're getting the team ready for a new coaching staff to pick up the pieces yet again for the 2019 or the 2020 season. Why does a change in coaching staff have to result in a disastrous season? Andy Reid turned a 2-14 Chiefs team into an 11-5 playoff team in his first season. Bruce Ariens turned the 5-11 Cardinals into 10-6 winners that just missed the playoffs in his first year. Jack Del Rio took the hapless 3-13 Raiders to 7-9 in his first season and 12-4 and the playoffs in his second. Vance Joseph has the Broncos looking as good or possibly better than under Kubiak in his first season, and the Rams under McVay now look like an NFL caliber football team in his first season, especially on offense. The Bills look like a semi-pro outfit on offense.

Good analysis. I pretty much agree. I will add these points. Concerning the Rams and Eagles: they aren't cutting bait on either Goff or Wentz at this point since they're only 2nd year players. I've watched parts of both Rams games just to see how Goff is doing, and he is much improved over his rookie season. It's like night and day. Of course the Rams have added some pieces, most notably a new coaching staff. Wentz doesn't seem to have improved as much as Goff, but he was better last season. That the Pats traded Brissette rather than Garoppolo says that they like him more than any of the other QBs they've drafted since Brady. Is he franchise QB material though? As Brock Osweiler has demonstrated, there's a huge difference between being a competent backup QB who can win a few games and a good starting QB ... and nobody knows which side any QB falls on until he gets to play as a starter for more than a few games. Some of the teams that might appear to need new QBs because their established franchise QBs are struggling like Cincinatti and the Giants need to fix their OLs. The Bills need that, too, although I have no doubt that they're going to draft a QB in the first round of 2018 whether there's a good prospect available or not.

The Bills FO hasn't "thought things through" as far as building a winning team since 2001. They shuffle and reshuffle their first and second round picks among DBs, RBs, and WRs that they use as replacements for the previous first and second round DBs, RBs, and WRs that they've kicked to the curb through trades and FA. They sprinkle in a few other positions just so it's not too obvious. They'll also occasionally add big name FAs to con the fans into thinking they're trying to build a winner like Takeo Spikes, Terrell Owens, and Mario Williams. When the fans get really restless, they draft a QB: Losman in 2004, Manuel in 2013, and some college QB to be named later in 2018. The Bills players they choose to extend are sometimes fan faves like Kyle Williams but oftentimes JAGs like Chris Kelsay, but they're seldom the most talented guys on the team. Marcel Dareus is the rare true talented player they've chosen to pay -- at least for now -- and yes, he is worth his $$$. The problem with Dareus' contract, if there's any real problem at all and not simply FO propaganda in preparation of dumping him before next season, is that the contract is poorly written in its effects on the Bills cap situation. That's solely on the Bills FO because teams that are interested in winning always find ways to not only keep their best talent but also slurp up the younger talent that teams like the Bills, Indy, Cincinatti, and NO can't "afford" to keep because they have morons writing cap unfriendly contracts reminiscent of the early years of the salary cap era.

Don't laugh too loudly. Right now, the Jags have the same record as the Bills, and at the end of the season, they'll likely have more wins. Maybe a lot more wins. McDermott's play-not-to-lose philosophy is shared by so many great coaches, starting with Dick Jauron. Oh, yes, they're most certainly going to send Smith packing to take a chance on a sophomore QB who's played in exactly 0 NFL games that count. This may come as a shock to you but some football teams value winning football games more than just making more profits for their owners. My guess is that KC is one of those teams ... the Lombardi is priceless, and they don't have one.

I think that you demonstrate your superb breadth and depth of football knowledge with this post.

Well, dude, you won't see any better from Peterman ... or your supposed savior franchise QB next season or the one after that. QBs need protection and targets. Ask Andy Dalton and Andrew Luck.

What is "clueless" is simply accepting more of the same bull manure that fans have had dumped on them for the past 18 years. As long as fans don't show their displeasure, the Bills are going to continue doing the same things they've been doing for the past 18 years: hiring cheap coaches every couple of years for OTJT or has-been coaches trying to resurrect their failing careers; continually using first and second round draft picks on DBs, RBs, and WRs whom they send off to other teams through FA or trades; refusing to figure out how to work the cap so that the team can actually keep some of its young talent; and being more interested in putting butts in the seats than in winning football games. The Bills have been running one of the most successful, longest lived con games in history by getting fans to continually believe that they're sincere in their efforts to build a "championship caliber" team. If they were sincere, they would not be doing the same kind of crap they've been doing for the past 17 years nor hiring the same type of coaches/FO people they've been hiring, either. Hell, McDermott is a Dick Jauron Doppleganger! When the no playoff streak hits 20 in a few years, the Bills will be no closer to having a "championship caliber team" than they are today or were in 2010 or in 2006 or in 2001 although McDermott will likely be gone and maybe Beane, too. Oh, yeah, even drafting a QB in the first round won't be anything new either. They did that in 2004 and again in 2013, but hey, third time's a charm, right? There's light at the end of the tunnel, though ... "the Drought" has to end sometime. After all, the longest playoff drought in the NFL since the merger is only 23 years (Colts: 1972-1994 and Bengals: 1991-2014).

All those calling for Peterman will probably get their wish ... the Bills best give some snaps to their emergency QB this week in practice.

As one of the posters who recognized the similarities to Jauron early on when most other posters were gushing over McDermott, I thank you for admitting that. Keep telling yourself that. That's only because McDermott knows you need LBs that are at least the same size as the RBs and WRs they're supposed to tackle. Jauron liked smurfs on the defense and behemoths on the OL. His philosophy -- playing not to lose -- is the same as Jauron's but the details are somewhat different. As someone mentioned, Jauron in his first season, wasn't as bad as he became. Whatever "offensive system" the Bills purport to have, it doesn't appear to be NFL caliber because it sucks against NFL caliber talent. What kind of "offensive system" doesn't have a downfield component to it BTW? McDermott has a QB. His QB doesn't have protection because the OC changed the blocking scheme to one that doesn't appear to fit the OLers he has very well, and he doesn't have targets because the Bills FO sent all his WRs packing in the off season. When a team can't/won't throw downfield, they soon can't run the ball either because their opponents put 8 in the box, pretty effectively stopping even the best RBs. Those 8 defenders up close to the LOS then also disrupt the short/medium passing games as well. That's what we saw yesterday. Teams need to do both, and when they can't, they'll get their butts handed to them most times. It's not rocket science, but it's apparently news to McDermott ... and to Jauron before him. I bet you won't you think comparisons to Jauron are quite so ridiculous after watching the Bills offensive offense for a few more games.

Nope, can't hold the FO accountable for yesterday ...or for the previous seventeen years of suckitude. When the Bills fire one coaching regime and bring in another that has a totally opposite offensive/defensive scheme than the previous one, how can that be the FO's fault? When the Bills have to let their best young players leave because of the salary cap, how is that the FO's fault? When the Bills continuously use first and/or second round picks on a revolving door of DBs, WRs, and RBs that they develop for NE or Philly or Baltimore, how is that the FO's fault? When the Bills hire has-been or neophyte head coaches and GMs, how is that FO's fault? When the Bills trade their best young talent for draft picks because they can't afford to pay them because they're a small market team playing an old stadium without lots of skyboxes and PSLs, how is that the FO's fault? The only fault of the Bills' FO is its failure to get a "franchise QB" since Kelly retired. All the Bills' problems stem from that. Let them get that elusive franchise QB, and they'll be Super Bowl bound by the next season even if their OL sucks and they have no deep threat WRs and some of their best defensive players are refugees from STs. Well, the Bills FO will fix that fault in the 2018 draft by taking their franchise QB savior in the first round. It's a going to be a great QB draft with at least 5 or 6 great prospects according to all the draftniks and their amateur wannabees, so the Bills will surely get their man ... and then, watch out Patriots ... you're DOOMED!!!! //sarcasm off

Or your downfield passing game.

I watched parts of both games. Even if they lost, both teams were far more entertaining -- and showed much more promise -- than the Bills have shown. I think the Bills are going to set a league record for punts in a season. This is what I've seen, too, and I think it's something that's going to come back to bite the NFL in the arse sooner than later. That there were empty seats at the Bills home opener on a sunny day versus division rival Jests simply underscores the attendance problems all around the league. From what I've heard, the Jests have been having attendance issues at their new stadium ... primarily because they've priced out the ordinary fans who were the backbone of the Jests fanbase. The newer Jest fans flush enough to shell out for PSLs want to see better than what they've gotten ... and older Jests fans aren't traveling to B-lo to see their team stink, either. The Bills aren't nearly as immune as some fans think. According to a news story back before the start of the season, the Bills season tickets are down at least 5,000 from last season. I believe that there are individual game tix available for most games, too. It's been seventeen years since the Bills fielded a team that recorded double-digit wins and made the post season. That's a whole generation of potential fans who have never had the experience of regularly seeing the Bills win. There's almost two generations of fans who have never experienced expecting to see the Bills crush opponents game in and game out. Most fans who actually remember "the Glory Years" are staring grandparenthood and retirement in the face ... or are already there. Old folks don't attend football games nearly as often as younger people, and teams that never win -- or win sporadically -- aren't going to attract new fans.

Who is this "we"? You may have been hoping for coaching competence but after watching the fiasco that was the offense in the preseason, I knew that McDermott was most likely a Jauron-clone. I thought that the Jests game would have been a TD-less gem but apparently the Jests are more inept than even I thought, and Carolina not nearly as good offensively as I believed. The good news, of course, just like in the Jauron-era, was that the Bills beat the point spread as they were 7 or 7.5 dogs. PS: every QB needs protection and targets, even the greats like Brady or Rodgers. Taylor has neither ... and that's not his fault.

The Bills hate players with talent because they have to pay them well to keep them ... and the Bills (and too many Bills fans) have 1001 excuses for why the Bills can't "afford" to do that when other teams manage to exactly that.

I'll be interested to see how Cleveland does against the Ravens, how the Rams do against Washington, and how the Jags do against the Titans. All three surprised me last week: the Browns with how well they played against Pitt and the Rams and Jags with how they beat the crap out of Indy and Houston respectively. I'm not sold on Tennessee being all that good like some of the pundits claim but they'll be a better test for the "Sacksonville" than Houston.

If the Bills had given Peters a fair contract in the first place or if they had just said, "mea culpa" and re-did his contract when he found out that they were trying to pay him like he was a backup RT, things wouldn't have gotten as ugly as they did ... and the Bills might have gotten much more production out of their entire offense over the last eight seasons. But that's the Bills' way: maximize profit by gutting the team of its best talent. Y'know, it's really amazing how successful teams always manage to figure out how to re-sign/extend their best players under the same cap that always forces the Bills to let their best young talent leave.

It's only "ridiculous" because you don't want to believe it. Who, exactly, hired Whaley? Let me give you a hint: the same person who hired Beane ... and Nix before him.