SectionC3

The point is that this is a very valuable business that should have a level of sophistication and representation consistent with that value. The pc demonstrated that at least one of these two things is true: Whaley was woefully unprepared; and/or Whaley is inept. Neither of those things are acceptable for an operation of this magnitude.

The media didn't make that pc an unmitigated disaster. I've said this in other threads - does that pc give anyone hope that Whaley has the intelligence and skill to lead the bills out of the desert in which they have wandered for nearly two decades? This is the more important point. For too long the psyche of this organization has been deficient. It's sad that we reached a point where, to sign our loafing drug addled DT, we had to omit from his contract language cancelling his guaranteed payments in lieu of a drug-related suspension. To sign St. Doug we had to include the ridiculous opt out that precipitated the Rex mess. And now we apparently are satisfied with a GM who may be described as "not an idiot." I for one want better. We deserve batter. Enough of the Russ/Doug/Rex jock culture. It's time to get some serious, brilliant, and intense people in here who hate losing and who cherish success more than anything else on earth. Again, maybe I'm too hard on people, but I demand more of myself and if the people who work from me, and it's high time that the bills do, too.

Only shot.

Completely agree. If it wasn't for the media we wouldn't have punted in overtime against the the dolphins. I'd also like to note jerry Sullivan's tackling against the dolphins and the steelers was atrocious. Also, if Bucky Gleason hadn't put duke williams against mike Wallace on week 1 the season would have been totally different. Don't even remind me of Jeremy white's defensive game plan against the jets in week two. And the raiders game - if only Howard Simon hadn't taken over playcalling after gillislee's touchdown in the second half we wouldn't have gone three and out three times in a row.

Now I've heard it all. Terry and Kim emerged from "hiding" because they had to squelch the flames of a presser so atrociously handled as to make national news. It's no coincidence that terry spoke to a national reporter. And if the pegulas thought for one second that Whaley pulled a power play on them he would be a former gm in short order.

I don't think they had to trap him. He made his own bed.

Serious question - what did you think of his pc? Also, any thoughts on bill polian's takedown quotes in the d&c? And what does Whaley's track record point to? Maybe I'm guilty of holding people to standards that are too high, but I had a bad vibe about his judgment following the office porn story and his record as a talent evaluator is reflected in our recent record: mediocre. And here's a hint as to what is going on - Whaley doesn't like Lynn, and the "field" doesn't like Whaley. What a mess.

Not to mention the fact that the pegulas paid $1.4b for a team in NFL market 31 of 32 and therefore significantly raised franschise values across the board.

All of this source conversation is ridiculous. Guess what? If a writer reveals a source (either directly or indirectly) he or she will not have sources for long. Putting that aside, this leak reeks of posturing to me. I wouldn't be surprised if Lynn's interview sucked and his agent is in damage control. Lynn has been a bridesmaid a few time, and if this front office won't "marry" him after observing him for a few years it doesn't bode well for his future HC prospects,

And that's the problem. I want people in the bills organization who are smart. Not some guy who can pick a decent linebacker but who sounds like an imbecile when he opens his mouth. This is a billion dollar business, and if you want to essentially be the face of the operation from january to may you better be able to string a coherent sentence or two together. I don't doubt that Whaley has a decent eye for talent. But objectively - after that disaster does he inspire anyone to think he is the guy to lead us out of this mess? I for one can't trust him to get "it" right. As a longtime STH, what disgusts me most about the present situation isn't the length of the drought - of the current employees only brandon bears some responsibility for that - but that our team finds new ways to look utterly incompetent and hopeless after all these years. The word embarrassing is overused in many contexts, and particularly in sports. But this is really, really embarrassing. I'm sorry but he sounds like a dope. His track record also tilts toward dope. (Email problems, yearly fourth round wastes, horrible deal with dareus, deal with Tyrod that all of a sudden doesn't look so hot, the Rex mess.) And, if it walks like a duck ...

The seeds for this mess were sown long ago. For too long and Bills have given a local media nothing in the way of scoops, info, etc. That, in turn, has given rise to a toxic relationship between the bills and the local media in which most of the locals are unafraid to bite the bills' proverbial "hand" because it doesn't "feed" them. The last two pressers have been outrageous. The questioning would have been far less confrontational had some of these guys had something to lose from the bills. Notice that sal c. has gone soft on the bills. Why, you ask? Because he doesn't want to disrupt the flow of information from Kim pegula. Perhaps it's a similar story with carucci - no hostility there because he can't alienate his sources. Not defending berchtold here. I have no idea what type of prep was done. But perhaps trying to school Whaley on media presence is like trying to teach a chicken about gravity. It just isn't going to work.

I'll start with Cliff from Cheers . . . . I was maybe 6 or 7 years old when that episode aired, but that bit resonated with me.

You stole my thunder. I was coming in with a line about how he worked on Kyle to come back ... after smoking some posh rolled into a blunt the size of the Sunday edition of the New York Times.

After today's press conference . . . enough said. I work in a profession where the assessment of one's ability (or lackthereof) frequently is made in extreme terms - someone is either brilliant or stupid. So I'm reluctant to use an extreme adjective in assessing Whaley. But he has long seemed like a moron to me. In fact, it stuns me that somebody who sounds so inarticulate and who appears so inept in front of a microphone could have risen to his position. Is there anyone who has met Whaley who cares to comment (and hopefully to correct me)? This is a good point. Even if Lynn is the choice as of this minute, the opportunity that comes with casting a wide net should be too much to pass up. We have a few axioms -- maybe they're cliches -- in my office. Among them are "it's free to listen" and "from those you meet, take the good and leave the bad." I can't believe it wouldn't be worth the Bills' time to pick a few brains to gain insight on how some of the more successful operations around the league work. Maybe Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia won't return the Bills' phone calls. But I bet Brian Daboll would.

I'm not a fan, but if Washington wanted to trade him straight up for Tyrod I would think about it. I know that Cousins is a much more mature passer than Tyrod, and I know what a comparison of their stat lines reveals. But I'm not a fan of Cousins's arm, and I believe that Tyrod brings a lot to our run game. I suspect that Cousins will be a lot cheaper than will Tyrod over the next two years, so maybe Washington applies the franchise tag to Cousins and considers the idea.

Murph is a good guy, but he has an element of Baghdad bob to him. In fairness, who wouldn't after so many years of nonsense?

Given the conditions at the time of the kick I strongly disagree about not calling the timeout. I have spent a lot of hours in that stadium and, with the wind as it was at the time of the kick, the odds were good it was going in. And, having hung a ball up into the wind earlier in the game and having had it hit the upright to which the wind pushed that ball, it made sense that the kicker was going to hit a low line drive on the last attempt in regulation, which he did. while our block team was on the sideline. Because our incompetent head coach didn't realize what was going on and was late on the timeout.

Oy vey,

No. Just no.

Still made it to nativity 15 minutes early for the 5p Mass!

I didn't like the call, either. I prefer not to risk a big negative play in that situation, especially with the wind being what it was, The wind in the lower bowl wasn't terrible, but the big flags at that end of the field were moving. But in Lynn's defense, on the prior play they "ghosted" Tate, and the end around was there.

"We all know he can coach." -Rex Ryan

I'm glad somebody else feels this way. I'm a STH, had to leave the game after the first OT possession for church at 5 (I live in OP), and caught that part on the radio. I couldn't believe we punted. Our defense was getting steamrolled (again) and had to be exhausted by then. I was stunned. And to top it off, I had no idea about the 10 men on the field routine on what effectively was the game-clinching run until a minute ago. Before I found out my wife asked me about the game, and I explained that it was the game that will get our "defensive genius" head coach fired. We had a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard receiver, a 100-yard back, and another back who was over 90 yards when I left. We also scored 31 points in spite of our "bad weather kicker" missing basically the same kick twice. And we still found a way to lose. I'm genuinely torn whether to keep Tyrod - it would be easier to do worse than than him than it would be to do better than him next year. Before today I could have been talked into year three of Rex given some changes to the defensive staff and side of the ball. But not after today. We missed the playoffs because of our defense, it's time to find a new head coach, and to let him participate in the decision whether to keep Tyrod.

I think you're right about the value Tyrod would return. Ultimately I think Rex is toast. Pegula is a scientist by trade and probably a detail-oriented guy, and I suspect the disorganized nature of one of his highest-paid employees rubs him the wrong way. Assuming Rex is out, it seems logical to let the next coach make the call on Tyrod. Assuming the decision is to move on, I'd be surprised if the bills can't get something of value for him, and I think it makes sense to see if that value might be a qb that we like but that another team may have soured on,

This is just spitballing. Whaley is a creative guy and, assuming he's around this February, maybe some conversations like this will occur within the "brain"trust at One Bills Drive. Would you trade Tyrod for: Kirk Cousins straight up (assuming, of course, that Washington would consider the idea after Cousins's recent slide)? or either Broncos QB? I'm not a cousins fan, but I would do it. Siemian for me is a no absent a sweetener draft pick that Broncos would part with (assuming they are willing to take Tyrod on the first instance). Lynch ... is an interesting idea depending on how the Broncos/Elway/Kubiak feel about Tyrod.