Fan in Chicago

Are you referring to RR or Dennis Thurman ? I would rather see Thurman get the axe and see the results next season. It is evident that the blame deflection game is on in full swing. Last year Idzik was Ryan's scapegoat. This year, Mario and Thurman. Who will it be next season ?

Truth be told, for as much flak as TD takes (and much of it is well deserved), the Bills haven't fared much better in the W-L department after he left. How many years are we going to blame him for the long playoff drought ? The point I am making is that the Bills did well by getting rid of him when they did, but have been unable to replace him with someone who can deliver a consistent winner (yes, I am including Whaley). I don't care about individual players hits or misses, I care about the W-L record.

All we can do is wait. But as for Brandon, no matter how this season turned out, didn't last season's moves result in high season ticket sales ? I think the Bills had a successful financial season, something that Russ continues to deliver year in and year out. Ultimately, IMHO, that is the power he wields. I think this offseason will be marked with one or two eye popping moves (just an example - trade for Brees/Rivers), which will get the fan base excited and buying season tickets again. Trick is to see through those marketing moves and really evaluate whether they will help the team get to the playoffs. Despite Marrone's weird methods, the team seemed to be going in a good direction. It appeared that with the addition of a couple of pieces, we would surely make the playoffs. Yet, here we are. For now, I will not be hopeful but will wish for the best.

Wow !

Probably because it all adds up to him saying 'stay the course' I get what you are saying, but we fans have become so accustomed to failure that we are suckers to buy into the 'wait until next season' syndrome. At what point, do we call BS on these tactics and wait until the results match the words and hype ? Sorry I am a little negative these days but over the last decade, I have gone from being a cheerleader to cautious optimism to cynicism. The words 'show me the baby' make me cringe because they were a great sound bite but meant little. All these statements and positive words from Whaley sound hollow. I don't see how this mess gets fixed. Put this season in perspective, most believed we have enough talent to make the playoffs and sneak a win or two. And now we are left defending how Whaley has a lot of work to do with the roster.

Pay him for what exactly? He says he wants to play but there is no guarantee? If people want incentive laden, I wish the NFL would allow a pay as you go contract. Move on from him and get a more dependable, big, strong, possession WR

Anyone can disagree with anyone. It's the language and style that are important. Disagreements can be polite also

Remains to be seen. Color me skeptical for now.

IMHO, it is in PM's and Ari Fleischer's best interests to keep their traps shut, hire a lawyer and see how it plays out.

But isnt that exactly what keeping RR would do ? The running thought is that he will need to extensively re-tool the D to make his scheme work. This is a faulty strategy with today's NFL. You cannot have all starters under contract for the exact same time. The scheme has to be flexible to accomodate players as they become available. Do we need better players ? Sure we do. But, so does every team in the NFL. And not too many great players become available in free agency. Key is drafting well, and building the team - things that take time and which we seemed to be on the right path till suddenly this year we weren't.

For a while maybe. But then the new stock of players would come in and result in a new (arguably lower) norm. At least there will be an assurance that everyone is on the same level playing field. The notion that some players are better at getting away with HGH is contrary to the notion of fair play. Also, allowing 'some' peds runs the risk of not knowing where to draw the line. As you have mentioned earlier, the Seahawks SB players were likely using such enhancers on a widespread basis. If true, it is truly disturbing. How is this much different from the antics of the Pats* with them taping opposing team practices ?

And yet, seemingly have already made the decision to keep both Whaley and RR ? How independent is this consulant anyway ?

Seems most likely, but why continue with RR in that case ? It seems like RR is continuing the sell his message successfully to OBD. Fool me once ...

Thats right. 'Stay the course' implies this was an intentionally lost season. That there was knowledge that the D may underperform due to their ill fit with the scheme, yet no significant changes were made. Not a good situation.

Wasn't much wrong with the D till last year. I am repeating my sentiments a lot, but retooling the D for compatibility with Rex's scheme may help us win the battle (D) but we will wont win the war. Does RR strike anyone as a man in control of the overall game ? That he will get us to the promised land even if given 4 years ? As for the #2 WR, I don't think Harvin was the correct receiver for that. We need a big, strong possession receiver ala Brandon Marshall

I know you are a big MW fan as a person and a player. I too have appreciated his game in 2013 and 2014. What worries me is that Mario suddenly gets spun as the bad guy and RR gets a pass. The issue is way more than Mario's comments and on field performance. Take away Mario this season as we would still have sucked on D. Let Mario not become an example scapegoat for the players being the main reason for the underperforming D. Maybe the OBD spin machine is getting warmed up

I am surely not willing to risk yet another season or two to find out. The NFL has repeatedly proven that a single season turnaround is possible (Bowles). Given that the talent this year was not lower than in 2014 (save for maybe Spikes), there is really no reason for the D to have fared as badly as it did. Can you imagine RR saying in his interview that 'my Ds are better over the long run than Schwartz's, but be prepared for pain in the next 1-2 seasons as I instill my brand on the D.'. If he did then whoever hired him is an idiot. And if he did not, then RR needs to be fired for not performing according to what he promised. I agree with the general thought that the 2013 was repeatedly put in bad field positions and did not have the opportunity to dominate. But I would also say that the run D was not very good. I would still take that D over this year's, but all said and done, the 2014 D is what would have gotten us to the playoffs this year. He stopped playing this year. He excelled after his huge contract and prior to this year. Lets not pretend otherwise. Depends on the coaches for 2016. I think Mario cannot work any more with the current D staff. If the coaches stay, Mario should be traded. With no changes to the coaching ?

I am sure MW knows the longer term financial repercussions of not playing up to his contract. Not trying to absolve MW of dogging it, but I think he is at a point where he feels he doesnt mind going elsewhere for less money if it means escaping the current mess.

Levy often gets quoted for 'if you listen to the fans....' but if you look at this board, the majority opinion has far too often proven to be more right than the FO.

And Kiko. BTW, I remember reading here how Parker ****wed the Bills when in fact Whaley set a firm value for Byrd's services and refused to pay over that. The flip side of Whaley's moves are the loss of Spikes and Jackson whose absence hurt the Bills in more ways than most care to acknowledge.

Apart from the 'aging and unathletic' part, yes. Most on here think that it needed to happen. And it was painful for me to read, but I also agree that the Bills need to officially turn the page on EJ. Strange though that Polian said precious little regarding the D, save for its' incredible complexity. In general, I am not sure how I feel about him as a consultant. I think the Bills need someone who can look beyond the current power structure and make true, unbiased, football-based player decisions. I hesitate thinking that BP is that person because he couldn't leverage a player of Peyton Manning's caliber into more than one Superbowl.

What about the other players who are yapping to the media ? How many do we ask to shut up ? And the flip side, the sheer number of player quotes in the media lead me to believe they dont expect repercussions from the coaches. Is that a good thing ? I happen to think the players should just play and 'keep it in the house'. But it certainly looks like things are a tad out of control there.

Okay, Hopeful. It wasnt just my perception. Check out where his defenses ranked: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/RyanRo0.htm You have to search real hard to find single digits for any category.

On my phone so will type a detailed response later. But in short, his previous stints have been terrible. As with RR, his performances seem to be littered with excuses. The games iv watched, he always looked animated (almost Carl Mauck-ish) and helpless while his D was taking a beating. I don't think the Bills are in a position to take a flyer on OC and DC.

Neither. It will be 'disgusting, very disgusting'