jahnyc

I agree that our talent level was not as good as many believed. Plus many of our starters going into this year were free agent acquisitions, not draft picks (McCoy, Taylor, M. Williams, Graham, Clay, Felton, Harvin and Incognito), so I do not think we can say that this team was built through the draft.

Not saying it is not warranted, but I am not sure that I can recall hearing this amount of complaints/critiques about coaching or scheme from players on the Bills before (mostly from the defense). Today it was from P. Brown and C. Graham. Does this show a lack of respect for the coaches to be this free with the criticism?

Schwartz is the big winner here. He looks good compared to Rex in terms of how the defense performed when he was the DC. The other winner (shockingly) is Marrone. He coached the team to a better record with arguably less talent and his issues with the front office now seem to be more about the front office than him.

I really liked the way that Rex embraced the community and our history. I was fine with hiring Rex, in part because I thought he would be able to assemble an excellent coaching staff and run a great defense. I think he wants to win here for all of the right reasons, but this has been a very disappointing season, and maybe the worst part of it is happening now with all of the speculation about internal disagreements and player dissatisfaction. It has been 16 years of not making the playoffs. Something is not right with this team and the front office, and while there would be huge short term damage to the reputation of the franchise and interest in players wanting to come here, hiring a czar and/or a new GM and a new head coach may be best for the long-term interests and prospects of the franchise.

I also was surprised that Carucci stated that Whaley has one year left on his contract. If the Pegulas want Whaley out, it will not matter, but all other reports had indicated that this was the last year of his contract.

The last sentence of Vic's new piece seems like a killer for Whaley about his problems getting along with two coaches and it not being a coincidence.

In a vacuum, I would understand that the hiring of a football czar may not have been tied to Whaley's performance as GM, but since Whaley has not been extended (his contract reportedly expires at the end of this year), I believe that there may be a connection.

I disagree about Whaley. I do not think he is particularly well respected around the league. The best evidence is that the Pegulas were looking to hire a front office czar. I am sure they learned a lot during the process of buying the team, and if there was overwhelming agreement that Whaley was a strong GM, they would not have been looking to bring in a czar. Given the record in Buffalo over the last number of years and the dysfunction in the organization, I am not sure that Whaley would be able to find another GM opportunity.

This is all about losing and its effects going on for years. Whaley is trying to protect his reputation and deflect blame for another losing season. Ryan will claim that he does not have the right types of players to run his D, which will mean a major retooling, including getting rid of M. Williams, since he has been vocal with his issues with the defense and the way he is being used. Add in a little "we miss Schwartz" from the current defensive players and we have another mess, which is to be expected after we started the season with high expectations and a lot of talk that this was a talented team. This leaves us with more dysfunction, questions about the competency of the front office and coaching, and the prospect of another rebuild of sorts. I think we should have cleaned house last year with a new GM with a new coach picked by the GM.

Interesting that Whaley is going after "assistants" and not Rex directly. I think Roman has been a huge improvement over Hackett, particularly since Taylor is a first-year starter at QB.

Some thoughts about this season to date and the upcoming offseason: 1. If there was a year to end the playoff drought, it was this year. Our schedule was one of the most favorable that I can remember. 2. I do not think this team is as talented as many believed going into the season (or even now). The right side of the o-line is very weak, our linebacking group needs to be upgraded and we need a strong number two wide receiver. We also lack depth at many positions (LB, DE, and o-line). We also will need to see about the health of A. Williams and Henderson for next season. 3. Our holes next year may be more significant, depending on whether we re-sign Glenn, Incognito and Bradham and potentially release M. Williams. Kind of interesting that we have this number of holes and limited cap space considering that we are not paying a starting QB $20 million plus per year. 4. I think it is odd that there has been no information about Whaley since his contract expires at the end of this season. I guess it is possible that an extension was agreed to and not disclosed and I know that Carucci has said that no changes are likely, but with the flirtation with Polian last year, I would not be surprised if Whaley is not back. I also do not think that Whaley will have another GM position waiting for him if he chooses not to return. 5. Darby and K. Williams were great picks last year, but a lot of the recent draft picks have been busts, including CK, Cockrell (although he is getting playing time with the Steelers), Richardson, Goodwin, and Duke Williams. Not sure if Miller and Henderson will pan out, but they both have been disappointing this year. P. Brown has regressed significantly this year, but that may be more scheme related. Woods has been a disappointment as a former second round pick. 6. Assessing the performance of the front office is nearly impossible. Were players drafted/signed because of Nix, Whaley or input from Ryan and his staff? Does Whaley have full control or did Ryan tell him which players to get? Was Nix responsible for trades, drafting and free agency, or did Whaley have significant input before becoming GM? Who was responsible for hiring Marrone? Ryan? It is all really murky. 7. I think that the coaching on offense has been way superior to the offensive coaching in the prior couple of years. Roman is a huge upgrade at OC. 8. I do not think the Bills miss Fred Jackson in terms of this play, but do they miss his leadership? The team seems to lack maturity and team leaders, and I did not feel this way last year or in prior years. 9. I think many of us assumed that the defensive talent was such that implementing Ryan's scheme would not be a particularly difficult exercise. This did not turn out to be the case, and I guess we are going to be changing the personnel on defense. I hope that this is not a two or three year process, because after all of the coaching changes and rebuilds, many of us were not expecting this amount of retooling now. 10. I wonder what was included in Ryan's contract about a change in GM and if he has any consent rights. I know that he went through a difficult with the Jets when they hired a new GM and he was a lame duck, so I would not be surprised if this was addressed in some manner in his contract with the Bills. 11. This has been another disappointing season of not making the playoffs, but watching with sadness what is going on with the fans of San Diego, Oakland and St. Louis, I am thankful for the Pegulas and that the Bills will be staying in Buffalo. Living in NYC, I am always surprised at the number of fans I meet at sports bars or see wearing Bills' gear on Sundays around the City.

I was optimistic for this year, but why is next year going to be better since we have less cap flexibility and some important free agents?

I think we have a lot more holes than people realize, particularly if Glenn and Incognito depart in free agency. Right now, we need a RT, RG, linebackers (multiple), safety (depending on A. Williams), DE and WR.

Will Whaley be back? Kind of odd to leave him hanging without a contract extension before the season began, even if for only one additional year. Seems like he will be the fall guy for this year (and past years).

The Pegulas needed an advisor for the football side of things when they completed the purchase of the Bills. I guess they need to retain that person now, but it would of made a lot more sense to do it when they bought the team so that the evaluation process could have been completed when last season ended. It is more complicated now with Ryan signed to a long-term deal, but after not making the playoffs for 16 years, a review of the entire football side of the organization is long overdue.

For a team that has not made the playoffs in years, we have a surprising number of holes going into the offseason. Miller, Mills and Henderson are all bad. Whaley has whiffed badly on all of his picks for the o-line (Miller, Henderson, CK and Richardson). The right side of the line needs a complete overhaul and Glenn and Incognito, the best players on the o-line, are free agents. Bradham is a free agent, and Brown may not fit the RR defensive scheme. Both have had poor years this year. I hope that A. Williams will be back, but we probably cannot count on it. We badly need a number 2 wide receiver to replace Woods. That is a lot to get done this offseason, without even considering whether we need to evaluate our QB situation or make changes to the defensive line.

I have thought that not extending Whaley before the season (even if for one year) is all we really needed to know about his future as the GM of the Bills. Separately, seems to me that many of the offseason moves, for good and for bad, were directed by Ryan and his staff, including Taylor, Clay, Harvin and Incognito.

Thank goodness for the Pegulas.

Maybe we needed more seasons where we finished with just a couple of wins so that we get better picks in the draft. We really have not had a shot at the few franchise QBs that have been available in the draft. I believe Dareus was a top five pick, but we have not had many others during these non-playoff years (other than Mike Williams).

Well, what is the deal with Whaley and his contract? Seems from what I have read that this is the last year of his contract. Do we know if this is true? Kind of weird that there has been nothing from the local Buffalo sports media as to whether there have been any discussions to extend Whaley's contract.

This team needs an experienced football consultant more than anything at this point.

With the Bills, it always has been difficult to figure out who is responsible for what. As between Nix, Whaley and Ryan, I am not sure we really know who is responsible for drafting and signing our players. Clearly, Ryan has been a big disappointment so far, but given our record over the last number of years, the overall state of the team is the responsibility of the GM. While Whaley drafted two very good players last year (Darby and Williams), the team still lacks talent at key positions. I think it is time for the Bills to move on.

The Pegulas needed a football czar (such as a Ron Wolf type) to help with the coaching search.

I thought it was going to be Whaley, although drafting Darby and Williams in the most recent draft may save him. The problem is that there are no easy fixes this offseason. We will have a number of free agents (Glenn, Incognito and Bradham) and unlike past offseasons, we will not have much cap flexibility. Combine this with more than a few needs, and I think we will have a hard time addressing all of our holes.

Better than Duke Williams.