The Big Cat

Can't say I'm thrilled. The Hilliard firing made plenty of sense, and this one would have too. I guess the difference being: one is a positional coach, the other a coordinator. The optimist in me expects Marrone to keep him on a tight leash, moving forward. Could be a bye-week castoff in 2014. But anyone rooting for that is rooting for the Bills to fail.

Thanks.

A bounce here, a call there, games can shift pretty quickly. What were the best and worst plays of the year? Some could argue that razzle-dazzle plays or all-out blunders like the many we saw against TB belong on these lists, but I tried to identify ones that had the most implication on games and their outcomes. Feel free to add your own. If one gains momentum in the comments section, it can be added to the poll. GO BILLS!

Agreed. As far as OPI goes, only a ten yard penalty for blowing up a would-be turnover seems mild, at worst. Particularly when you just get to try again.

Still waiting on that link.

offensive pass interference should result in a loss of a down

I'm still waiting on that link.

Seriously, if you have it on hand, link to it. Because I don't recall this at all. Otherwise: you spend your time reading 10 month old threads? Nice life, bro.

Dwanye Bowe!? If you're going to talk that kind of trash you better link up, fella. My argument is the same as it has been: you count players twice to make your point then turn around and count two humans as one player. Explain away all you like, it's quite entertaining.

That's some of the most shameless circular logic I've EVER read. Yowsers, buddy.

But they're not counting on you? Seems to me we're all Bills fans here. Unless you don't count because you're pissed.

You do know that our own players were doing #slamcam during training camp/preseason, yes? Led by the receivers. I've posted elsewhere and believe firmly that it was that kind of childish behavior that led to Ike's termination. However, when they got Marrone, Freddy was in on it. I don't recall seeing another one after that...

I had difficulty getting past your egregiously cherry-picked first sentence. Also: why do you keep insisting Hughes and Lawson played the same position? One always had his hand in the dirt, one never did.

Now that everyone has accepted the notion that Levitre should NOT have been kept for the dollar he demanded, it's interesting to see some fans leap frog that point to find something else to nitpick about. In this case, Levitre's replacement...the !@#$ing LG position, of all things.

The NFL is America's favorite TV show. The Bills are our favorite character. If you don't like it, switch the channel. Nobody owes you anything.

Oh we returned last year's top receivers, huh? And one of them (Stevie) did precisely what in 2013? Also, you counted CJ twice to make your point. But sure, all our offensive weapons were back! Yet you'll gladly inform us all in other threads that without a QB, a team is doomed to be forgotten. You also gloss over the fact that NONE of our returning linebackers made a hill of beans difference this year, and you conveniently left 10-sack Jerry Hughes off your list of significant additions to the DL. Only the foolish optimists spin, right?

Calling Byrd a self-made hole is one of your many over-simplified twists to rag on the franchise. I notice you tend only to come around at certain times of year and remain conspicuously absent when there's less to complain about.

Which members of the current regime managed Fitz/Thigpen? Do you mean to continue the narrative that Tavaris Jackson belongs in the NFL?

Hahahahahaha...as I was typing 'Justin' I thought "that just doesn't seem right..." but I was on a roll.

This is precisely where the "they should have signed Levitre" camp shifts once it becomes readily apparent that signing Levitre would NOT have been a prudent option. So, okay, they didn't get a "legit replacement." Can we take a second and think of all the off season acquisitions wherein a "legit replacement" was found? Alan Branch Kiko Alonso Manny Lawson Robert Woods Justin Leonhard Jerry Hughes And last but not least: All three of the quarterbacks on our roster (one could argue the "legit" aspect, but regardless, we went from ZERO quarterbacks to four (if you count Kolb)). On what planet does a team go into training camp with ZERO quarterbacks back from the year prior? Further, the criticism de jour--"the didn't get a legit replacement"--implies zero effort was made, and that's also not true. The point is, the roster was gutted by 50% between 2012 and 2013, and many MANY great moves were made to solidify the team's core, yet LG just didn't pan out after we let the woefully overpaid Levitre find work elsewhere. Fine. Big deal. It's a LG, whoopity doo. If you honestly expected the Bills to upgrade/refill every position of need in one offseason, then you're an optimist in a pessimist's clothing.

when you take a look at it...

I think the receiving corps provided ample evidence that their position coach didn't demand the kind of buttoned-up professionalism Marrone expects. In fact, Marrone's own curt explanation of the matter supports this interpretation: it was a difference of philosophy. There was Internet goofiness during training camp (that I found refreshing at the time), there were critical drops and mistakes starting in week 1 and continuing through week 17, there was a game ejection, and there were instances cited throughout the season wherein the receivers just didn't know wtf was going on. Methinks Ike's philosophy isn't as demanding as Marrone's and methinks Marrone, regardless of whether he's the head coach, is right.

Oh, dear.

So you're saying EJ was no better than Clausen?