BillsVet

In 2008 after Jauron was retained everyone shouted about "continuity." This year, we're changing the semantics to "stability." And it's fun to see the same apologists/shills out at the drop of Brandon's name defending him from anyone who dares criticize. . Buffalo isn't a losing organization because there hasn't been enough "stability." It's because those familiar names aren't the types who make enough good decisions. They're flailing around in the dark for the light switch and still cannot find it.

The Pegula's spent 125M guaranteed this year on McCoy, Hughes, Dareus, and Clay with another 27.5M to Rex. If they don't want to make changes so be it. It's wrong to assume with more job security people will be better at their jobs. What remains is that the GM and HC weren't on the same page in 2015. So why should Bills fans expect that relationship to improve in 2016?

Who cares? The team spending big hasn't produced a winner. The team not spending money didn't either. Their cap situation is the byproduct of people like Nix and Whaley never forging a plan with the HC in place. It seems like they tried to build through the draft, failed, and then spent big in free agency. They've given out some massive contracts going back about 4 years and it doesn't work. That speaks to a level of this organization which some people here claim is not the issue. Well, the personnel department is very much a problem. It's clear they won't have the money to retain the OL pieces AND add the defensive players Rex wants. Then, do they get criticized for poor cap management?

Agreed. TT is not the biggest issue with the team but needs to improve so defenses don't key in on his tendency to run or throw to sidelines. At the same time one has to hope they won't just plan on him improving and decide against acquiring competition.

Going down with the ship again, eh?

Yes. TT throws 65% of his passes to the sidelines. Jeremy White referenced Palmer, Brady, and Fitz to name a few who throw there between 50-55% of the time. IIRC, Russell Wilson was at 58%. No one near TT. Not surprisingly, White found that Kaepernick under Roman in 2013 had a very similar statistic in terms of his throws to the sideline versus over the field. And he had 21 TD against 8 INT in 2013, declining the following year to 19 and 10. His YPA also fell from year to year under Roman. Thanks Dave. So TT has run 35 times not including kneel-downs in the past 4 games. Some might say Cam Newton runs more frequently, and he does. But I'd rather a 6'6 250# guy do it than a 6'1 215# QB who's been hurt already this season.

Guess this means we've officially moved on from EJM. I can't imagine Roman has called 38 designed QB runs in the past 4 weeks for TT. Today alone Tyrod ran 14 times (!) for 67 yards. Sure, some of that is the poor pass protection given he was sacked 3 times. But I've got to believe some of the runs were the result of not seeing the field and making throws when they were there. One-read QBs who tuck it and run don't last long in the NFL.

Why do columnists need a playoff level team to write favorably about the Bills?

The Buffalo Bills of 2014-15 more and more resemble the Buffalo Sabres of 2011-12 and 2012-13. T/K Pegs learned nothing from their experience there and seem inclined to simply accept the status quo until it's abundantly obvious changes must be made. Oddly enough, they spent 90M guaranteed this off-season and have nothing really to show for it. Makes me wonder what would prompt changes to the organization after what's happened this year. I'm still not clear why people advocate for Whaley, yet in the same breath note the personnel issues this team has. No RT? Whaley drafted Kouandjio. No LBs? Is that all on Rex? This is a personnel acquisition issue and that is a GM's fault.

He's a border-line HOFer and there are people who feel inclined to post about him 7 years after he last took a snap in a Buffalo uniform. He's the best Bill since 2000.

Absolutely. They're both short QBs, can run really fast, and are about the same age. Pretty much the same guy.

Except that they didn't spend hundreds of millions on defensive linemen who now don't fit the new HC's scheme. And they never stopped trying to find a QB until they knew they had one. And they have a GM and HC who are attached at the hip in terms of roster building. Yep, pretty much the same thing...but different.

More money spent on a DL and defense? Fans are 20-30 years behind the times advocating a strategy to win with defense and more cap dollars toward that side of the ball. You win with offense, specifically the passing game. Trying to do it any other way is a recipe for failure.

They don't already?

Jim Schwartz fought all 32 NFL HC's and knocked them out with one punch! To Jim Schwartz! I heard he shut out 19 opponents in a row one season...and won the Super Bowl with 11 defensive linemen blitzing every down!

I thought Polian's comments came off as asking through the media for a job. Strange, but I'm not advocating for him based on the analysis he's provided. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if no moves are made nor if some heads managed to roll. It does seem though that the personnel leader isn't thrilled with the coaches use of certain players. I guess we'll wait until after the season Thank jw. #damagecontrol

I've always found it curious that both Brandon (as managing parter in 2013) and Pegula in 2015 seemed to make the final call on a HC when they needed to hire one. Whaley at a minimum was in the room for interviews and most likely contributed but did not get to make the decision himself. Whaley came from Pittsburgh which seems to have a more classic type front office, although others can speak to that better than I. Perhaps his issue has been not having authority commensurate with his what he knew in his Steeler days. In Buffalo, he's dependent on the HC's employment of picks, and if reports are correct, there's been dissatisfaction with how players are used. Yet, he doesn't supervise that HC, which has to rankle him. Either way it's not been very smooth transitioning from one regime to another over the past few years.

Pete Carroll has a solid relationship with GM John Schneider in Seattle and doesn't report to the latter. Bill Belichick runs it all in NE with assistance from Floyd Reece running personnel. The issue isn't ensuring the GM has control, it's the personalities involved and clearly Doug Whaley doesn't get along with HCs. I would agree the org chart isn't suitable primarily because the owner isn't there supervising the GM and HC. That then raises the subject of a football "Czar", a position somewhat new to the NFL but one brought on by the changing nature of the NFL. The league has advanced tremendously the past decade and a classic org chart of HC reporting to GM and GM to owner may not work any longer. Seattle, New England, and a few others have embraced the change is have succeeded with it.

IIRC, one of the top UFA targets Rex made with NYJ in 2009 was Bart Scott. They definitely overpaid, but on this defense having someone who knows it and can perhaps teach it is worth more. Now the question becomes is it worth it to make all these moves to have the defense Rex wants to run. RR isn't deviating from his scheme, so the only options are to get the players or get a new HC. Good post Dave.

Polian offering his services publicly seems strange, but it'd be hard for Pegula from a PR perspective to decline. I know a lot of fans love Doug Whaley, but there's clearly a major conflict between the GM and HC as evidenced by some personnel decisions during and just after camp. What's needed is an honest assessment of the team and personalities involved building the roster and Polian is someone Pegula clearly trust. Regardless, something needs to change at OBD because there's so much negative energy right now.

Rex needs to be asked what's happened and why this team has become a rudderless ship. Now, if those reporters asked penetrating questions of Doug Whaley it's a different story. Because according to some Doug Whaley is not at fault. And that's mostly because what he does is out of the purview of fans and therefore hard to understand. Rex OTOH is there 16 games a year making decisions more easily debated.

The media doesn't approach a professional sports team the way its fans do. That may be the greatest misconception on TBD in the time I've been here. When this bumbling franchise starts making the playoffs perhaps the "negative" articles construed by some fans will be less frequent. And I'm sure the media knows a lot more than they're putting out there, primarily not to totally sever their ability to cover the team. We know how the Bills have controlled the flow of information over the years. Listen to Bills lead journalist Chris Brown on the WGR extra point show from Monday 12/14 at approximately the 22 minute mark. He says what the poster wrote. http://media.wgr550.com/a/111757062/12-14-extra-point-show-with-sal-capaccio-hr-2.htm?q=Chris+Brown Tyrod does indeed need throwing lanes to see the field.

McCoy's contract, particularly this coming off-season, needs to be a part of the discussion regardless of how much Pegula spends. What the Bills did giving him an extension to placate his trade inhibits their ability to staff other positions, namely defensive ones. And that will undoubtedly be a requirement real soon. I think certain fans like (and vocally support) McCoy more for his name than his output on the field. He's in the news a lot and for a team with (some) fans starving for any shred of attention, he provides that. What he doesn't provide is value based on his contract.

Two irrelevant franchises playing a week 16 match-up. Not exactly a programmer's dream if you're NBC, even if it is the Cowboys.

The irony is that last year, as the article noted, Buffalo's starters apparently lost only 13 games to injury. No one then talked about how their success was due to a lack of injuries. Besides, if injuries are to blame for the 2015 season like we're told by the homers, that reflects poorly on the roster depth built by the personnel staff. I can understand blaming injuries if your starting QB is a top player and he's lost for the season in week 2 or most of your offensive line goes down. But those things didn't happen in Buffalo this year. Regardless, some people conveniently people cite injuries when they don't want to admit the team was constructed poorly.