Fan in Chicago

We should be rooting for the 9ers and Kaepernick to do real well in the playoffs. That will make Smith's availability much more likely. If CK chokes, the 9ers may have second thoughts about hitching their wagon to Kaepernick

I think so too. He was made a scapegoat. A huge trade for Cutler and not many resources into protecting him. Rumor is that Emery and Co. are using this as an opportunity to poll coordinators about Cutler's abilities and whether his problems originate from within himself or the surrounding cast. This is not a good reputation to have, if true. I think the Bears FO is flailing right now and don't appear to have any direction or strategy to their search.

Numark has already volunteered to do analytics

If I have to assign a number, I will do 6 or 7. Call it 6.5

Okay here is my sentiment and it is very similar to what I felt when Gailey was hired: I am cautiously optimistic. It is refreshing to see that we have taken a different path to hiring the HC (not a retread HC). What I worry about is the combined NFL experience of the three head honchos. It has worked well in the recent past for other teams and wish it is finally the Bills turn to have done a slam bang job of choosing the best people. The choice of QB for this upcoming season will dictate the pace and strength of the recovery. As always, my good luck is always with the team and hope this is the beginning of a long and successful tenure for Marrone and Co.

Its official http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Nathaniel-Hackett-named-Buffalo-Bills-offensive-coordinator/c9b4265d-336b-4274-a478-e7052a045082

And just in case people don't believe you: http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Mike-Pettine-named-Buffalo-Bills-defensive-coordinator/b80953b6-1278-4c5b-8796-fbcad28028d8

You can never have too many opnions if looking for the answer to 'how would you fix Cutler'. But agreed, the Bears coaching search is looking aimless.

I wouldn't put it past the Pats* to draft a QB in this or next year's draft and groom him to take over from Brady. I am not sure they are sold on Mallett.

They fired Sparano and likely will get a new QB so really no advantage to us on the defensive side. Perhaps will help our O

This aspect struck me yesterday. It is just 10 days since our season ended and the Gailey era seems like such a distant memory. I can't recall when I forgot about an ex-coach in such a short amount of time. In just a few days, we have witnessed a shift in the top power structure, hiring of a new HC, DC and OC ! Let the player evaluations begin.

Made me chuckle. Guy may be a decent DC but he is certainly full of himself.

I seem to remember a lot about that too. Became a rallying cry for a bit against TD. ICE EDIT: This is the interweb, nothing is ever lost my friend... http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/23265-donahoe-is-the-son-of-satan/page__hl__%2Bdonahoe+%2Bsatan

Don't draft a DB or RB with your first pick or you will be in Bill in NYC's dog house for the rest of your career j/k Seriously: - be pragmatic in recommending draft picks without sticking to need or BPA - Give straight responses to questions without being cute or condescending (unless you are responding to Sully) - Trust your play makers such as Spiller, Mario, Gilmore and whichever QB you draft. Unchain them - Make sure Byrd, Levitre don't hit the street - Out-coach Bill Belichick and when the Pats* are down by a 3 scores late in the game, score a couple more TDs

Or Matt

Shanahan should have played it safe without question. I used to play tennis (a decidedly more pansy sport, I admit) and on a couple of occasions, played with a sprained ankle. In the heat of the match, the pain didn't seem near as bad but later the doc said I should never have continued playing. Call it adrenaline, call it a a desire to not be seen as a wuss, the player is not always the best judge of his own health. wassup, SJBF ?

So the moral is that if you want to keep looking young, don't coach the Bills.

Even though this is about last month's game, yesterday it was obvious that RGIII was in pain. Especially when he scrambled to the left sideline for a first down, he was limping. Having seen him sprint and cut in earlier games this season, it was evident he is not the same physically. I was hoping that he had been cleared to continue playing but if I am the coach, I err on the safe side and take him out. The play when his knee sorta buckled was also cringe-inducing. It was apparent that it didnt take much to have that knee give out from under him. Aikman was also calling for Cousins in the 3rd quarter. Would have been a wise and safe choice.

Killdrive (Kevin Gilbride's drive killing play calling) Did someone see them at Tempo ? (self explanatory) Boo boo foot (crayonz referring to Kyle Williams getting injured after a big contract)

I may have missed that but had heard Lovie is interviewing this weekend. regardless, McCoy was a plug for my argument which (as Jay sais above) is that coordinators of wild card teams seem to get a bit of the shaft during open competition for the available jobs.

Seems like a game to me. What if they liked, say, Lovie and Horton. But they wouldn't know if one of these are better than McCoy as they haven't spoken to him ? What happens then ? Do they wait for McCoy to become available and risk losing Lovie and Horton to other teams ? To state the obvious, exhaustive searches cannot be in a vacuum. IMHO, there is a case to be made that no interviews and hiring happen till after the Superbowl.

I posted those stats a.couple of pages back. Gailey helped Fitz to his best yards/game and TDs per season. But his td/int ratio and QB rating has stayed close to his career averages. Which gives credence to the theory that 'Fitz will be Fitz'. But Smith improved and posted his best performances in the last two seasons

Maybe. I think fans' expectations keep adjusting upwards. When Fitz replaced TrentEdwards, this board (including me) were very happy. “he has guts”, “gun slinger” got people excited. I was happier primarily because he was willing to attempt more throws, read defenses better and not telegraph the next play. Yet, here we are waiting to run him out of town. So, I agree that if Smith was our QB, we would have found his game very conservative and not strong enough to win the big battles. However, I have faith that the next coaching staff will use the available players better and our D will take a big leap upwards with the addition of a couple of LBs. So, in effect we should have mre success with Smith at the helm. This move, should we make it, should not prevent us from drafting the long term answer in this draft or the next. But it buys us time. Care to support with some data ?

You want the Pats* to win ???

Let us see: Alex Smith Lifetime: 59.3% completion, 14,280 yards, 179 yards/game, 81 TD, 63 INTs for a 1.28 TD/INT ratio. Rate of 79.1% Alex Smith Last 3 years (his best have been the last two but I threw in one additional year to even things out: 62.7% completion, 7251 yards, 207 yards/game, 44 TD, 20 INTs for a 2.2 TD/INT ratio. Rate of ~ 90+ (I didnt have exact calcs) RF Lifetime: 59.5% completion, 14,336 yards, 193.7 yards/game, 92 TD, 81 INTs for a 1.14 TD/INT ratio. Rate of 76.8% RF Last 3 years: 60.3% completion, 10,232 yards, 227 yards/game, 71 TD, 54 INTs for a 1.31 TD/INT ratio. Rate of ~82% So,: - Alex Smith has improved over the years and his statistical best years have been the last two. - AS is much better TD/INT than RF over past 3 years - RF throws for 10%+ more yards/game - AS has a better QB rating - AS has a better completion rate over past three years - RF throws for more TDs/game (1.57 versus 1.29) over past 3 years RF's air game is much better. But AS is more conservative and has been throwing a lot less picks per TD. None of these prove that AS will give us a dynamic passing offense but he is less likely to make critical mistakes. Also, from what I have seen, he has the arm to make the sideline throws which RF lacks. Not a long term solution , but I prefer AS over RF just cos he is less likely to lose games for us.