Zulu Cthulhu

Thanks and yes I totally get that. I'm not mad at Whaley for trying his best to save his own job. Not at all. But I'm also not faulting the media for pressing the issue and doing their job. Some around here seem so cynical as to say, "well, press, Whaley ain't gonna give you a straight answer so why even try. And by the way, don't get all upset when the team is being obstructionist and making your job harder. Sit there and take it!"

I'm not quite sure which people commenting here you're referring to, because your scenario is so hyperbolic it makes almost no sense. Are you saying "of course Doug's gonna lie, so the media shouldn't even bother trying to do their jobs"? Honest question I have no idea what point you have, if any.

Thanks - I'd be totally fine with KS or MP as coach as well.

This is it Can't fault media for coming up with their own narrative when you're not providing any alternative (other than "we ain't good enough.") Fans want to know why. Even more, they want to know why they should keep paying attention going foward. One note - I don't think Whaley was necessarily trying to be jerk, I just think he's so unprepared to speak about things that he has to improvise (poorly.)

Thank God I was worried for a sec.

Just best case: 1. Taylor retained; 2. McDaniels head coach; 3. Aaron Williams healthy enough to play again; 4. draft a WR that can produce right away; 5. draft a CB that can produce right away; 6. (long shot): no Dareus suspensions.

Sure the "tire fire" comments and so forth - those are commentary, not reporting. There are plenty local (and national) sports media that engage in mostly commentary, Sullivan being one of the most prominent locally. But you can't lump them all together and say "Bills media is out to get the team." Some of them (like Wawrow, that I mentioned) are just trying to find out what's going on with the team. Because WE are trying to figure out what is going on with the team. Wouldn't you want a clearer picture of who is calling the shots over there, given the utter lack of success in the last 10+ years? I would. No one needs to be snarky like Gleason was to Rex a couple weeks back, or whomever you are referencing. But if the powers that be would provide a little more access and clarity to these guys doing their jobs, I bet dollars to donuts you would see the snark decrease substantially.

Why are the two opinions mutually exclusive?

So if this is an excuse for Jim can't you make the same excuse for Rex? Why was Rex fired then? Because we've seen Whaley draft EJ, give away a first round pick for Watkins (when they could've had Beckham, Evans, Cooks, etc.) and then draft role players who, sure, some have been okay on a .500 team, but hasn't drafted any other standouts. Gotta be fair if you're going to pull that card.

It's not about who fired who. Everyone knew the leadership structure and knew that ultimately Terry/Kim fired Rex. What the bills media was trying to get at were the reasons why. Sure, "Rex sucks brah, isn't obvious" is a reason. But you can't fault the media for trying to go a little deeper than that. And if it wasn't for JW pressing and actually getting Pegula on the phone, no one would've known the details, i.e. the benching of TT being a factor and so forth. I just don't get the transferred hatred towards the media doing their jobs when the hatred (or frustration, or whatever you want to call it) should be directed squarely towards the people in charge. Stop scapegoating.

Lots of people wanted to know the reasoning behind the firing, that's why. Maybe not you, but the assembled media doesn't answer to you, snowflake. Same thing happens when ANY NFL team fires their coach, by the way. "Focus on the future." Ok. Serious question: what questions about "the future" do you think Whaley was prepared to answer in a substantive way on January 2, a day after the previous regular season has ended? You think They should've been asking about the draft, which is months away? Or about retaining current players, when end of year evaluations haven't even happened yet? Seriously you think Whaley would've gave actual answers to those questions?

Wow thanks TC! All this time I thought it was a reporter's job to ask questions, investigate and report what they hear. Did not know they could just skip all that work and "figure it out for themselves." You've revolutionized journalism in a single message board post.

At least Cook may surprise us.

Pretty good stuff OP (besides the Parker thing, that's okay). 2 things: 1) I agree with some other people above about Woods - Seems like the Bills have basically run him out of town. With the likely departure of Goodwin too, WR is mighty thin. 2) Not sold on Watson in the first round yet - I personally like what I've seen in my limited viewing of Clemson, but the "experts" seem to have him graded all over the place.

I can sense OP's career in comedy about to take off. Really, we need more threads like this.

I don't think being just plain old petty quailfies as a conspiracy. But make no mistake; that's what they're being: petty. The favored sons over at OBD still may be a little skittish about their odds of continued employment. Can't shovel all of the failure on to Rex might as well shovel some on to Tyrod too (in a backhanded way). I dont know about yall but I saw quite a few plays this year from TT that deserve highlight reel status.

Isn't it? Jesus.

He was a garbage pile signing anyways. At least he'll get to point to his name in the record books for something.

1. Why does one have anything to do with the other? 2. Trotter is right. 3. Bills' troubles are entirely of their own making. ESPN (along with many other TV properties) are losing viewership due to changing viewing habits. The ESPN as a whole is still gigantic. But yeah, continue your rant.

Exactly. I know many here are fed up with what they see as a vindictive, unprofessional local media. There's a new thread every time Sullivan or whoever else writes something seen as overly critical of the team. Thing is, his words and the team's actions don't exist in a vacuum. It's easy to sit and craft some convoluted theory on why the Lynn presser was actually a stroke of genius, or that Sully's words don't matter because he's a hack or holding a grudge or whatever. But optics matter and the popular opinion around the league, in front offices are influenced by this stuff. And while we can all sit back and say the team should just ignore these local hacks because they don't matter, they affect the perception around the league and the opinions of those who do matter - the coaches/personnel people that you are trying to court to build an actual winning team.

Agree with this. Sure Cardale was competent enough to close out the national championship run on a stacked OSU team, but he only has a handful of starts and was eventually demoted. Even if he had a stronger body of work at OSU, college success isn't a predictor of pro success anymore. Call him a "WINNER" in all caps doesn't change that. He's an unknown at this point; we've seen nothing to suggest he can hack it in the NFL. If Lynn and the rest of the FO are betting their jobs on this kid, that kind of short-sightedness is astounding. I hope they have a backup plan in place (and it better not involve EJ). Agree with the other points the OP made though.

This is all true.

I don't have a preferred pick for a new HC yet, that's why I didn't start a thread selling out for a guy like this. When I find one I'll let you know. All I know is MP's defenses have been mediocre since he's been "the man" over there (even though anyone that pays even passing attention to football knows BB runs the show). Combine that with the track record of Weis, Romeo, McDaniels, etc sorry I ain't sold on this particular guy, no matter how many letters he has after his last name.

"Some fail some succeed"...so you're saying it's a 50/50 proposition then? Then why campaign for the guy? All I'm saying is BB's recent coaching tree products have failed (in the pros, dont care about college) and no one has been able to refute that. Bottom line BB and Brady are the straws that stir that drink, and people campaigning for MP or anyone else from that shop are deluding themselves. Keep banging that drum though.

I lost you at "it's pretty simply"...