BillsVet

Rex comes off as a more boisterous Wade Phillips. He can coordinate a defense, but as a HC he's had periods of success and then loses games with that lack of attention to detail at crucial moments. I work with a Jets fan who told me that while Rex has a good idea of what he wants to do, but left unsupervised he will mess things up in personnel and on game day. And he's holding true to that.

This is straight-up delusional speak here. An owner pays 1.4B for a NFL team, keeps the GM and hires a HC with the GM's support. Then, he makes both of them report to him independent of each other. Naturally, there are issues. I'm not sure if you know this, but consultants are hired to make changes. It's how the corporate world works. Because if the guy came in and said all is well, Whaley is great and Rex is good, then what was the point? He ain't there to say they need a new right guard or inside linebacker. He's there to make big sweeping organizational changes, because the owner is paying him big dollars. Whaley isn't a TPegs/KPegs guy. He'd be the first one gone if a czar is fired, primarily because no one owes Whaley crap right now.

The W-L column hasn't improved noticeably despite all the money spent on that offense. We expected the team to improve offensively in 2015 because they acquired McCoy, Clay, and added people on the OL. The defense, as Tim Graham pointed out weeks ago, is hard to maintain for 2-3 years at a top level. Guys get old, players are hurt, and suddenly they're not elite, though I'm not sure they ever were outside of sack numbers.

We are at the fork in the road. And it's time to take it!

To the bolded: And not someone who risked the team's future on a first round QB that many at OBD knew was not working by the end of 2013. Whaley may not have been able to hire his own HC in 2013 and again this year. But the GM played political games at QB in 2014 and 2015 which have been more about him saving his job/reputation than the team. But it's not surprising this happened when a career minded guy like a GM has a new boss he's not sure approves of him.

You wonder if it's alcohol, delusion, or the ability to sit at a keyboard and post an average of 30+ times a day that drives these fans to such wacky conclusions.

Hate is a strong term to be used proportionally. But I digress. Pegula made mistakes with the Sabres' management that I had hoped he learned from. I can tell the guy is loyal to people he hires and clearly didn't want to upset the organization much when he bought the team. But right now it's time to make modifications to the hierarchy at OBD and he needs someone who will make those moves for him. If he doesn't find an adviser who is not at OBD now then we're going to see more of the same. It's dysfunctional to think the previous owner's GM would work well with the HC TPegs/KPegs hired. And that they would report independent of each other. This needs to be changed in early January with someone overseeing them both and reporting only to the owners.

Whaley's done a great job if you don't count finding a good QB and spending boatloads of cash on defensive players in a league where offense rules. It's that kind of thinking against the grain that produces consistent 6-8 win seasons, which is where the Bills have been for most of the past decade.

Maybe Dick Jauron knew what he was doing years ago trying to eek out wins with a bend but don't break defense and pedestrian offense. But maybe not.

It's time for a new GM who doesn't try to build a winner through defense. No one's winning that way unless they've got a competent QB. And at the game's most important the GM chose to stick with his draft pick until it was too late. And why haven't the Pegula's hired someone from outside the organization to assess this franchise yet? After Polian turned them down nothing transpired on that front.

It's hard not to be extremely bitter if you care about wins and losses if you've been paying attention for the past 15 years. The changes made over the past few years haven't been enough, and that includes the owner. If they're serious about winning, it'll take more than a new coaching staff and high priced players. If not, these types of losses will continue because when you dig down in the organization, there's plenty of dysfunction remaining. Stop, you're offending me by naming a columnist who offends me.

Welcome to the dark side FiC Lol

Ignoring the obvious doesn't make you more of a fan though. Fandom boils down to ego. You're a fan of a team, in this case the Bills. And if they lose or make bad decisions, you're not thrilled because you've been touting them for years without any results. So, to protect your ego (the team) you shout down anyone who isn't like you even if factually you're dead wrong. It's been the hallmark of Bills football for years now: beat up on bad to mediocre teams and lose to the good ones. That hasn't changed so far this season. I guess that makes me a hater, so cue that crowd.

I suppose if you repeat a lie long enough it becomes true or so the saying goes. You mention players, but fail to highlight that the Rex signing had people excited as well. Being a player in UFA with TPegs' money in contrast to previous years should not be downplayed either. There were other seasons when fans bought 55k+ season tickets. 2009 when RW had Russ sign TO. Or 2008 when it seemed they'd actually get beyond 7-9 but neither year matched the hype. Compare those seasons to 2010 when Nix and Chan were all who'd work here. That was a low point in team history. The thread is titled, "2015 Fall Guy" and there is no connotation of anything about "15" years here. I'm not sure why you're inferring that the point is the duration for not making the playoffs.

Nice straw man argument. Who's stating that here? The current administration has some holdovers from the Nix years. Let's not muddy the waters and claim that the people who couldn't get it right from 2010 through 2012 are completely different than the 2013-forward years. And I don't think anyone's talking 2000-2009 anymore. That's ancient history, albeit bad history. This is plain and simple the re-writing of recent history. 60k ST's sold is not the result of "casual" fans just buying into hype. Fans had an expectation of excellence with a more proven HC, improvements at RB, TE, the return of the defense, et al. They bought tickets expecting to win. Maybe you didn't to fit the narrative you're now trying to establish, but this was no "casual" fan thing.

Was it expected when Rex was signed that they'd be average? When McCoy, Clay, and Hughes were acquired/re-signed did fans think that they'd be average? Did 60k ST's get sold thinking the team was average? Most likely not. No playoffs = failure. And they don't have the 6th spot. KC holds the tiebreaker. Per ESPN, Kansas City "Wins tie break over Buffalo and Houston based on best win percentage in conference games."

Saving cap space helped get John Idzik fired with NYJ not long ago. Some teams, NE for example, make moves that seem heartless and cold. Yet, it's that mindset that needs to happen to clear space for the important positions. It's amazing that the Bills continue to spend huge resources such as high picks and cap space on the WR and RB positions year after year. Yet, it doesn't get them closer to making the playoffs. If a guy like Brees has gas in the tank you find a way to acquire him on a rental the way Arizona did with Carson Palmer or Denver with Peyton Manning. Players careers are being wasted while the Bills fumble around trying to get a QB. Acquiring a veteran would sure make guys like Sammy, Robert Woods, and Charles Clay happy. They're watching their careers suffer because the starting QB can't read a defense and/or the staff doesn't trust him to make throws downfield other than the sideline.

Buffalo has almost nothing invested in Taylor financially. If they're not looking QB in 2016 then it's more of the same: Decide on one guy and then go with him until it's clear he can't play either because someone's ego or job status is at stake or due to sheer laziness. Meanwhile, seasons are wasted waiting for one guy who doesn't materialize. The Bills spent multiple seasons hoping Trent, Fitz, and Manuel would be the guy. Meanwhile, there was no long term option behind them to develop into a starter. Competition at QB is not a bad thing. Unless of course the GM is hanging his hat on his 1st round pick.

Why should it be free? The NFL's content is going to cost something and ultimately that money is paid out equally among each of the 32 franchises. This in large part allows teams like Buffalo to remain competitive by getting a 200M+ check every year.

The last few weeks have seen both Charles Clay and Robert Woods get less looks. Much of that is due to Taylor being predominantly a one-read QB at this point in his career. And the first guy he looks at when dropping back is Watkins. Most QB's don't go through progressions early in their career and that's on display. Fortunately, Tyrod seems better able to avoid bad decisions than Buffalo's 2013 first round pick who just couldn't develop. Guys like Woods and Clay need to become more involved when teams (NE on MNF) try to take Watkins away. I hope the coaching staff recognizes that running the ball and throwing to Sammy won't get you very far.

You have to wonder whether the Bills were afraid to take certain positions early. After Mike Williams in '02, they didn't take another OT in the first or second until Glenn in 2012. Heck, at QB they didn't take one in the 1st or 2nd after Losman in '04 until EJ in 2013. 10 draft gaps at those positions is astounding given how teams win in the NFL today. Were they afraid to fail and "found" other positions to address or just that inept so as to not address the position at all? And this occurred over the course of multiple GM's and HC's so it's not like one mindset was in play here. It makes sense they'd avoid the big money positions. Knowing what we know now about how the Bills operated financially it's wouldn't be out of the question to think this was a strategy.

First, it's great having you back Bill. Your post-game thoughts are not replaceable. As for McCoy, running for 112 against that defense is impressive. Wilkerson, Leonard Williams, and Sheldon Richardson may be the scariest DL in the NFL and that includes Buffalo's. Clearly the difference maker Rex envisioned when they made the move and while I know he'll get taken down for losses, he's a guy defenses have to account for. I am beginning to come around on this thought that Taylor is their guy going forward, provided he remains healthy of course. He doesn't turn it over, has good accuracy on short to intermediate routes and can make the deep throw. If Sammy doesn't mistime his jump on that first possession, Tyrod is 18-27 for 200+ yards. Tyrod seems to process and adapt to the game. I know he's not reading the entire field, but I think he has the aptitude to do that, whereas it was clear EJ wasn't able to do that. No dig on EJ, just that NFL QB's have a ceiling and Tyrod hasn't reached his.

Maybe EJ just needed another bye week. His bruised ego probably isn't 100% recovered from the Jacksonville game yet.

I guess if this team had a playoff appearance and demonstrated success then my criticism at "more than 90% of his or her contributions and posts" would be unwarranted. You've been on this board long enough to know there are numerous solid posters who no longer post because the crowd predominantly goes one way and does not tolerate dissenting views. In no way is that being constructive. People have the right to express their views without fear of retaliation. If you don't like what I say ignore me. But attacks on character through name-calling such as "hater" is not constructive. It is what people who cannot develop a cogent argument do to stifle debate. Uses of the term "hater" to silence criticism is not constructive, doesn't add to the debate, and ultimately turns people off. You should know that.

Given the lineage, Whaley has never been someone who uses UFA. The fact that Buffalo decided to sign/trade for some big money players like McCoy, Harvin, and Clay tells me Rex had some power upon taking over. And Whaley, in true political fashion, deferred to the HC to show he could work with a HC he didn't hire. But given how much he pushed for Manuel during the HC interviews, it seems plausible that he wasn't in the camp to trade for Cassel or sign Taylor. It's kinda like deducing the 2013 draft was more Whaley's because they traded down, something Buddy Nix refused to and didn't do from 2010-12. I doubt Nix suddenly changed his tune and draft strategy.