BillsVet

ESPN must be using TBD as a source on their reports.

I don't see how, if all of this is accurate (and reports are often wrong) that the Buffalo Bills can succeed with the entrenched senior management remaining in place. We had a report in February prior to Mr. Wilson's passing that said the new coaching staff felt hindered by this very group of people. I doubt that feeling among the staff has changed, although coaches may be swept up in this as well. It's reasonable for high level executives to want to keep their positions, but given the track record I would expect a new owner committed to winning to find replacements.

There are still so many unknowns about this process, the price of bids, timelines, etc. One thing I'd expect with the advent of new ownership is new senior management. The Buffalo Bills franchise cannot move forward without new leadership at OBD. That said, today is a day to celebrate Bills history. The process needs to play out and it will in due time.

Not when there's a new GM, as was the case in Cleveland and Jacksonville recently. Besides, when someone spends upwards of 1B they usually want their own people making decisions. Not the previous owner's people. It's going to take a playoff season for Whaley, Marrone, and the rest of the front office and coaching staff to keep their jobs. A new owner probably won't be swayed by an 8-8 record with lots of youth.

I'd like a team leader to be a veteran with a few more NFL seasons completed with the Bills, have a high level of play and be able to motivate people. Average players and rookies aren't the types who command respect from others, so aside from Eric Wood and Fred Jackson, I don't see anyone vocal enough to get people going. And there still isn't one guy on this team at a Kelly or Darryl Talley level right now. Someone needs to step up or else when things get difficult, you'll see no one filling the leadership void. In theory, it should be the QB, but I'm not sure he has the personality to do so. And he certainly doesn't have the on-field to success to command respect. Not yet at least.

Buffalo got the guy with the most legal problems, failed conditioning tests, and semi-untapped potential though.

Yep, they've had bad QB's for years now. Doesn't make EJ better or worse conflating the argument that previous QB's were bad as well.

Then explain why, under the same coach, FSU went from EJ's production in 2012 to Winston's in 2013 at QB. For the record, Manuel (a senior) was 263 of 387 (68%) for 3397 yards and 23 TD's versus 10 INT's. He rushed for 321 yards on 103 carries for 4 TD's. Winston was, as a RS freshman, 257 for 384 (66.9%) for 4057 yards and 40 TD's versus 10 INT's. He rushed for 219 yards on 88 carries for 4 TD's. Stats don't tell the whole story, but it's interesting to note the difference between a RS freshman versus a senior.

In the defense of Spiller, I see the term "home run hitter" being used quite frequently. But on 235 touches last season CJ had only 2 TD's, and yes, I recognize he was dinged up. But therein lies the issue, and that's durability. He's never had more than 260 touches in 8 seasons of D-1 or NFL football. And that's over the course of 3 different coaching staffs (Swinney/Gailey/Marrone) When the Bills dealt for Bryce Brown and paid what they did, it said a lot about their view on Spiller. I expect this will be FJ's last season and so it leaves them with questions. Spiller will be 27 in August and while that's not old, he's not going to get the contract Jamaal Charles got. LaCanfora's point was speculative, but not out of the question. If Brown's doing well it may mean CJ isn't as valuable to this coaching staff.

Moeaki is an "up and comer"? Guy's been around a few years, had 2 major injuries, and according to one observer on this site at camp he's not moving extremely well. Gragg's claim to fame this year has been having to go to the hospital for as a heat casualty. Chandler, by virtue of his contract, isn't thought of highly. But they're content to feature him and not improve the position. The last time Buffalo drafted a TE above the 4th round was Kevin Everett in 2005.

I want this team to be healthy so there aren't as many excuses if they fall short of a playoff spot. Although with Alonso going down they're off to a bad (unlucky) start. Training camp battles are nice for debate during camp and journalists looking for a story, but I just don't see the importance when the regular season begins.

Who cares? The guy isn't going to dress unless someone gets injured.

Byrd hasn't missed any regular season games for New Orleans yet. What's odd here is (like always) fans get ticked when a good player leaves their team for a big contract. Happened with Peters, happened with Levitre, et al. Buffalo still didn't have a replacement on the roster and if one thinks Aaron Williams as that guy, well, how does one feel about Search, Duke Williams, or Meeks starting? That's 5 NFL seasons of experience there and less than half a season worth of games started. Who cares what Byrd does now? This Bills saved some cash and are going with younger, cheaper and less proven options. We all "payed" attention to this long ago. It's only pre-season. That was during NFL free agency.

Wow, that escalated quickly.

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

I can't help but think a guy's speed (typically validated by 40 time) is more mesmerizing to fans than it should be. The Bills have made it a point to draft speed going back to Nix's first draft (2010) and now have some blazers. That's nice in theory but if it's not translating onto the field you've got a lot of symbolism (home-run hitters) over substance (game-plan, QB, results). If the Bills lined up their five fastest offensive guys, I'd be confident they'd beat teams in a sprint competition. But an offense is about more than raw speed. Case in point, Spiller's scored 17 TD's from scrimmage...and the Bills are 8-9 in those games over 4 seasons. Lots of speed, not as much on results.

I think the same could be said of the 2006-2008 years when the team had K. Williams, Whitner, Lynch, Peters, Posluszny, and others. Who said, potential means you ain't done nothing yet?

Spiller won't be extended and he's not in Jamaal Charles' category. If reports are correct, Bryce Brown was a guy the current front office liked a year ago and this probably will be Jackson's final year. Re-signing RB's to big money long term contracts is fool's gold. I doubt CJ fits into the mold of what Marrone wants to do, and it's anyone's guess who the HC and GM will be come January.

I find it ironic that Buddy Nix could have selected Seattle's, San Francisco's, Cincinnati's, and Philadelphia's QB's between 2011 and 2012. But what risk is it to Doug Whaley? He may well be out of job in January if new ownership takes over and then it's on their hand-picked guy at GM to go into 2015 with little at QB should EJ fail.

Making decisions out of desperation is not a good plan when you're building a NFL team. When Buddy Nix, because he couldn't look bad for re-signing Fitz, subsequently avoided taking a QB like the plague in 2011-12, it set up 2013 and absolutely having to take Manuel. I don't understand why this team, who preaches competition at every position, doesn't like it at the QB position. Manuel has had no competition and the team's gone to lengths to make it so. Same could be said when Fitz was the starter for 2011-12. Same can be said when, upon taking over in 2010, Gailey admitted to Trent being the unquestioned starter. I think senior Bills management is deathly afraid of any QB controversy, and I wouldn't doubt it's the effect of the Flutie-Johnson situation.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Thurman made that comment after the Bills advanced to the AFC Championship the previous season. To argue that this is the same situation is pure sophistry.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11200179/nfl-teams-divided-6-billion-revenue-according-green-bay-packers-financials I'm guessing the majority of this is derived from the tv contracts, although the result is a salary cap is increasing rapdiidly. It's part of the reason why I'm not sure investing in a NFL team is a clear winner. There's more to review if you're going to bid 1.1B+ for a team.

Cleveland, not so much. But the other 4? What do they have in common that Buffalo doesn't have? The Bills don't have the attendance because the team hasn't won. Whether that impacts the sale of the team, I don't know.

Perhaps it's been mentioned before in this thread, but the question is who the family selects to sell the team to. Do they take top dollar regardless of who submits the bid or do they take less from someone local? Pure speculation, but I think there's going to be a bid that blows people out of the water. Perhaps 1.4B+ and it might not be JBJ and crew. They said early on this process would be concluded fairly quickly and hopefully it is so the media and fans can focus on the on-field stuff.

No one's getting through to this guy, not last season and certainly not now. I think Marrone tried to get his attention with the suspensions late last season, but it hasn't worked. Nor has the talking to he's had from veterans like Kyle Williams who has to know Dareus has talent but isn't motivated to use it, get in shape, and play well. Dareus is not really a Marrone guy and while Whaley was there for the 2011 draft, I'm not sure the current GM is tied to him. If a few guys play well in camp I can see them getting rid of the 3rd overall pick just 3 years ago for a conditional pick. Marrone and Whaley have too much to lose by having this distraction in 2014.