FLFan

I am not sure why people are concerned about this. Manuel is two years into a five year contract, with the final year being a team option. It is my recollection that under the terms of the new CBA and rookie wage scale, they are barred from renegotiating that contract until the final year, even if they wanted to which I am sure they don't at this point. Some have suggested that Parker may try to pull a Peters type deal, holding him out to leverage a trade. Exactly what leverage would you suggest EJ has right now? The idea is silly at this point. Way too much being read into this in my opinion. If he starts and has a great year this year, maybe there is a realistic conversation but I am afraid for EJ haters, he is a Bill for at least the next two years.

He was credited with starting the wildcat. Hopefully we are not going to see that again.

TE? What's a TE? Seriously though, I generally agree with your take on offense but much depends on who plays QB and what kind of skill set we see. I think EJ may fit in well with how Roman ran the offense with Kap two years ago. Some of the same skills - not as fast but at this point probably better in the pocket.(although far from perfect as we know) Running some pistol with read option looks may be what EJ needs and the Bills went away from it even before they benched him. As both SF and Washington used it, and how Seattle uses it, it is a run oriented offense. If they bring in a QB with a much more polished downfield throwing game, I would certainly expect a different focus, such as run, play action, mid/long throws, a la Joe Flacco, but this would not be EJ's strength at this point as we learned.

Agree with this. Two questions: Will the new OC commit to installing an offense that can find ways to get him the ball to create those matchup problems? What is he worth in that role? Marrone answered a question in the end of year presser about Spiller saying that they looked at how Gaily used him and tried to do some of that, but you can't build an offense based on the players capabilities. That is a paraphrase, but what he said. I think that speaks volumes as to why players with special skills such as Spiller, M. Williams, Goodwin, and even Watkins to some degree did not contribute to the level they could have. At least on offense, Marrone seemed to be the master of the square peg in a round hole philosophy. We saw it on the OL as well. Roman has shown an ability to adapt his philosophy to the skills of the players he has at Stanford and at SF, so I am hopeful we will see a change in how our skill players are utilized.

Thanks for the post. I find it totally believable actually given everything else we have heard about Marrone in the last few weeks. I love what Spikes brings to the team and I hope the Bills keep him.

He is certainly not a 20 carry ground and pound guy, but Rex has made use of change of pace backs in the past. Question of what he is worth in that role, because I do not think he is "the guy".

Agreed. So you think Chan's exit comments were classier than Marrone's? Oh yeah - Marrone did not say boo to anyone.

+1

I was OK with Marrone staying, willing to see him for another year. Apparently the Pegulas felt the same way. On balance, I thought he did a pretty good job. Once he quit on the team and started his backstabbing, classless act on the way out, I hope he never works in the NFL again. F him. In retrospect, he did the Bills a huge favor. If he was not kicking himself right now he would be even dumber than I think he is.

This is not even a contest. Sullivan is the embodiment of small time.

I have to admit that when Coach Tuesday called the shot back in October I posted that I hated the idea of Ryan in Buffalo, calling him a buffoon and overrated and such. Its hard to see through the prism of fan-hood sometimes and the coach of the hated Jets is to be hated. After today, I am bought in. He had me hooked at "bully". Yeah! Some years ago I had a sales manager that worked for me who garnered a reputation in the company because of his relentless competitiveness which drove him to be demanding and relentless in getting whatever he needed to succeed. We used to say (with all respect) "he may be an ****ole, but he is our ****ole". I was reminded of that today. Seriously, I do not know how any Bills fan could listen to Ryan today and not be thrilled that he is ours. Have we ever had a coach with this kind of confidence, this kind of attitude, this kid of personality? I can't recall one. I know the last high profile coach we hired was probably Chuck Knox. The coaching carousel in Buffalo has not even risen above mediocre since Wade Phillips. Never have we had the combination of profile, confidence, ability, and enthusiasm that we saw displayed today. We will certainly debate ad nauseam over the coming months and the coming season every aspect of the team, every decision, and every aspect of the head coach's decisions. I have no idea if the Bills will be successful or not, although I am optimistic. It cannot be denied though that this is going to be fun. I think we turned a corner today and count myself among the converted. Get on board Bills fans - its going to be a hell of ride.

That was all speculation as far as I know. As for bringing someone in, Whaley said during the end of year press conference they intended to bring at least one but probably two QBs. Nothing has changed, and they said as much today.

These local ESPN beat reporters for their NFL coverage are pretty shallow generally. Rodak is probably the worst, but Cimini is not exactly some sort of NFL savant. I am not sure why anyone would care what he has to say.

Exactly. I am not sure why people keep bringing this up. I can't believe Ryan has that many positive memories of the last couple of years with Sanchez at QB. He above anyone would understand that Marky Mark is severely limited in ability and potential.

I agree with 2 and 3. When McKelvin is back, they are just fine with Graham and Robey as slot corners. They will look to upgrade anyway for depth, but not a huge priority. Hughes is the guy they should have to rush the passer. Sign him up.

This is a bummer but not surprising. He leaves a great base to build on. Let's see how Rex plays it. It's gonna be fun.

Hogan is, I believe, a restricted free agent, so he is not going anywhere. That is of course unless the Bills want him to go, which seems unlikely.

I believe that was reported by Tim Graham.

Agree with this. It is an exciting time to be a Bills fan.

I was not a supporter of bringing Ryan in but like everyone else I suppose, I would like to get behind it. I am anxious to hear what he has to say, and anxious about plans for the DC and OC roles. Open minded. No question this is a bold statement by the Pegulas and I definitely like that. This is clearly not business as usual.

Great article. Thanks. I don't know what happened last year, but the SF offense had been pretty darn good before. Stats don't tell the whole story. Willing to keep an open mind.

So JFF has killed his first two coaches. More to follow.

Well it looks like we have our first confirmed Bills coach not to be retained.

I agree and he is not the only one. See Shanahan and now Gruden in DC with RGIII, and Harbaugh with Kaepernick. It was always going to be a tough transition with these guys and you cannot just turn on a switch and say "OK, now you are something else". Very bad coaching in my opinion. I don't know if EJ will ever fulfill his promise, but I would like to see him have a fighting chance with a coach who will play to his strengths. RGIII badly needs a change of venue for this reason. He has been ruined in DC. Marrone seemingly had no clue how to play to his player's strengths on Offense - EJ, Spiller, Watkins, the OL, Mike Williams, etc. - the list is very long.

Not exactly recovering credibility with that one, is he?