JohnC

Is Miller that bad? Last year I thought he was coming around. It seems as if the OL coach made an immediate determination that he wasn't a good fit for or a good enough player. Sometimes I believe that the OL coach is just as important as the OC coach. If the OL coach is too rigid and doesn't adequately adjust to his talent he can screw up the whole offense. Coaching matters.

Teams adjust to what other teams and players do well. Defenses game plan to take away a players strengths and force him to go to his weaknesses. I'm not singling out TT because all teams use the same general game plan of forcing teams out of their comfort zone. The problem with TT is he doesn't have the full repertoire of skills to respond to the defense forcing him to do the things he is not good at. I'm not suggesting that Taylor is a bad player, because he is not, but there are limitations to his game that can't be overcome. Taylor has been in the league for seven years. He has started for three years. I just don't see the evolvement of his game that will make this team a serious team with him at the helm. If you think otherwise then you should be arguing not to use a high round pick on a qb. Odds are that the Bills are going to probably draft a qb in the fist round. I believe even you agree with that probability. There is a reason for it

You are at times astute and perspicacious.

Would you do the deal for Mayfield or Jackson? I would.

He was playing hurt for most of the season. The reason why he would consider skipping the bowl is to heal and be ready for the draft preparations. If he further injures his ankle and is not ready to work out and demonstrate his abilities prior to the draft It would definitely affect his draft status. That would obviously cause him to lose a substantial amount of money.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with your view that the Whaley "team" was a playoff caliber team. In my view Whaley had a habit of over-valuing his talent. He made expedient moves to get over the proverbial hump that ended up mortgaging the future. He had a bad habit of gratuitously giving up picks for selections that weren't the cost. Many people point out that giving up Watkins for a second round pick and a starting CB was a big mistake. Yet, with our current qb situation having a talented Watkins would have been a waste. There were also considerations of cost and whether he wanted to be here. You are right that there are no guarantees with draft picks. There are also no guarantees that more costly free agent acquisitions are going to work out either. Whether you agree or not Beane has clearly and forcefully stated that the Bills are going to rebuild mostly through the draft. I agree with that approach.

The Whaley imprint is steadily vanishing. I'm not saying that Lawson is a bust but as a first round pick he certainly has been a disappointment (as you noted}. The one thing that McDermott has brought to the team is accountability. It doesn't matter if you are a top tier player such as Dareus or a secondary type player. Players are being held accountable. Mario Williams quit on the Bills while Rex silently stood by. That type of sabotaging behavior would not be tolerated by the wrestling coach.

It doesn't matter who the OC is because the mobile qb can't run a full range offense. Your criticisms of Dennison are valid but that doesn't change the reality that Taylor is a limited qb that the prior OCs had to contend with. Roman is a capable OC whose philosophy of stressing the running game was conducive to Taylor's talents. He was fired. Ask Lynn if he rather call plays for Taylor or Rivers? The issue comes down to do you want a qb who has unique talents but also limiting abilities and have to conform to his limitations. Or would you prefer a qb who can run a full range offense that uses the whole field and a greater variety of passing routes. Getting another OC won't be much of a challenge. The real challenge that is more meaningful is getting a franchise qb (most likely from the draft) who is capable of running a more sophisticated offense.

You bring up a very provocative issue. Is it different for a qb to sit out a bowl game for fear of injury compared to the rest of the positions? If a qb sits out a bowl game it is more likely to have a major affect on the offense. That profound effect from a player playing the other positions is much less when compared to a qb sitting out. Another related issue is if a top tier LT prospect sits out and a much lesser player plays in his place is the qb prospect then placed in greater jeopardy bringing up the issue of sitting out for the qb? The bottom line for me is that in a high stakes business and a high risk profession I'm not going to criticize a decision a player makes for his own best interest.

Bryce Love, the running back from Stanford, should not play in a bowl game when the season is finished. He has been playing with a high ankle sprain for most of the season. He has been gutting it out and playing with a lot of pain. He is a terrific player and person. I would hate to see him further damage that already injured ankle and jeopardize his pro career. That type of sprain takes a long time to heal.

Why do you think that this regime hasn't come to the exact same conclusions that you stated with respect to Taylor's current status and long-term status? Most people inside OBD and outside OBD have come to the conclusion that Taylor isn't the long-term qb. However, I doubt that there will be a qb change if this team stays in contention. McDermott made a qb change in the Charger game because he wanted to jolt the offense out of its lassitude. It didn't work; it was a disaster. So he went back to the starter in the second half and put him back in as the starter. Some people act as if the HC is now contaminated because he took a drastic action to get his cautious qb to be more aggressive. To some extent that qb exchange did make Taylor a little less cautious. Tyrod Taylor is a terrific person and earnest player. But he, like any other player, is not immune from being judged based on his performances. And he, like any other player, is not immune from be substituted for when the coach believes that there needs to be a change. In my view there is too much over-reaction to the benching from inside and outside of the region. A short term change was made and the end result is that the status quo is still in effect.

Because so many teams need qbs, including legacy teams such as the Giants and Steelers, there is a risk in not being aggressive in grabbing one of the top five. There will be teams drafting behind us who can leap ahead to procure one of the top prospects. The same scenario applies in the second or third round where you might be interested in a more developmental qb. I recently read an account where the Giant owner ordered the GM to put a lot of resources into scouting the qb position. Whether that story was true or not what is very apparent is that there is greater pressure now to be aggressive in securing a high end qb prospect. The Rams with Goff, the Eagles with Wentz, KC with Mahomes, Chicago with Trubinsky and Houston with Watson all demonstrate that if you have a conviction on a qb then you have to be proactive to get the job done. If you want an example on what not to do is to use the Cleveland model.They traded their picks and allowed the Eagles to get Wentz, now one of the best qb in the league. The Browns had the ability to draft Watson with their second first round pick for a versatile safety. Is there any doubt that if they had a do-over they would do things differently? Assuming that Rosen and Arnold are not attainable I like Mayfield and Jackson a lot. Because this new regime has smartly and strategically accumulated picks the Bills should be in a good position to get a good qb prospect. Isn't a quarter century long enough to not have an authentic franchise qb taking the snaps?

In the Saints game their players were simply better than our players. They got out-muscled. In the Jets game the defense simply played poorly. If my recall is correct in the Jets game is correct their qb was able to spread the ball around.

I agree that Milano did not look out of place. He diagnosed one play really well and brought the back down behind the line of scrimmage. He's not a thumper but covers the field very well.

Except for the critical holding penalty on Dawkins I thought he played well. Our top three picks are progressing with White playing as an established starter. It seems as if Zay Jones has worked through his early jitters and exhibiting his talent.

I thought the defensive linemen and LBers did a good job staying in their lanes and not overcommitting. When the qb isn't much of a threat to throw downfield there is a lot less space for the running game.

As the season advances it's interesting to watch how our draft picks are developing. Our first round pick CB White has generally played well right out of the gate. In this game I thought Dawkins played well although his holding penalty on a big play was damaging. The player that is coming along after a horrible start is Zay Jones. You can see him gaining confidence and making catches that he didn't in the first half of the season.

Next year Mahomes will be starting for KC. Our coaches are coaching as if they are more afraid of the qb making a mistake more than a play. It seems as if their instructions to TT is not to lose the game. That's a stifling way to coach and a stifling game to watch.

That so called monumental screw up had no bearing on the game because the Bills were going to lose to the better team regardless who played.

In hindsight it was a bad decision. So what? If Taylor would have started do you think the outcome would have been different? Of course it wouldn't. Our defense was atrocious and our offense is limited with or without Taylor taking the snaps. This was a game in which Rivers was seen laughing throughout the whole game. Bosa came off the field laughing how no one even blocked him. The Chargers chuckled their way through this game in both the first and second half of the game. Your fixation on the decision is way out of proportion to the outcome. You accuse me of attempting to spin this situation. That's not what I'm doing. You keep magnifying the issue as if McDermott's qb decision was an act that should be considered disqualifying. That's utter nonsense. The Bills are not now a playoff team and will not be for the near future. So the HC is attempting out of the box decisions that have you in a perpetual scolding mood. For whatever odd reason you are making a decision that didn't work out be not only a threat to collapsing an already faltering franchise but a threat to western society.

So he made a bad decision. Big deal! It wasn't a catastrophic decision because it will have little lasting impact. As it turned out the decision that you considered ill-conceived at least had the positive effect of forcing the reluctant qb to be more aggressive. When a player, at any position, is not playing the way the coaches want him to play then at the minimum it is an understandable decision. You don't have to agree with it. But it was far from being a zany decision. I'm not designating Taylor as the source of all the team's deficiencies. He's playing with a lot of deficient players on his unit. But when a coach gambles to jolt a flaccid offense, even if it is a long-shot effort, I'm not going to make it out to be an outlandish act. It didn't work out for the rookie but it did result in the veteran to play better. The irony is that the HC is criticized for being too conservative and in the same breath is being criticized for being too radical. As far as I'm concerned I'm not bothered that he started the rookie. On the other hand I would have been harshly critical if he wouldn't have started the veteran in the second half and in the following game.

T-Bomb's point that this regime doesn't believe that TT is the answer at the qb position is the central point. That's not surprising because Whaley came to the same conclusion. Does resorting to a rookie qb give the team a better chance to win? It was a risk that this staff was willing to take because it got tired of the seven year veteran qb not doing what it wanted him to do. If they didn't believe he is capable of running an offense that they wanted to run then going to the rookie was not as crazy of an idea that many people are making it out to be. One positive coming out of the first half benching is that when he played in the second half he played more like the staff wanted him to play. I believe the Bills are going to use a high draft pick on a qb in this draft. If they do it won't be because they have much confidence that either of their qbs are franchise qbs. If I were a betting man I would bet that Peterman is more likely to be on the roster next year than the more mobile qb who is now taking the snaps.

No doubt he has behaved like a jerk. Other teams have gone out of their way to provoke him by such classless tactics of not shaking his hand at introductions or headhunting. He immaturely took the bait. He failed to control his intense emotions. But let's not exaggerate his scofflaws and portray him as criminal. If you watch how he relates to the other players you will see that he is a leader in which they rally towards. When a player fumbles or drops a pass he is the first person to go up to the player and offer support. This is a player in which football means a lot to him and he is committed to winning alongside with his teammates. Adding a passionate player to a sleepy team is not something that should be feared, it is something that should be embraced. The mediocre Bills not only need a jolt of talent but also a jolt of attitude. At this point I'm not committed to any one qb but without a doubt he is one of my favorites.

If that happens one person whose serious wounds won't be healed is NYC Bill.

I wholeheartedly agree with your point. As the draft process advances I wouldn't be surprised if his stock increases, especially with so many teams vying for a qb. As far as his behavior I'm not as worried about this rambunctious character as some people are. What I like about him that bothers so many critics is that he is passionate about the game and has a tendency to show his intense emotions. Not only am I not bothered by it I welcome it.