finn

Trying is not doing. I give him credit for his successes; I don't find excuses for his failures.

When I mentioned not being entirely sold on Whaley's performance as GM, several posters here wondered why I was skeptical (I did praise him for his additions this off season). Exhibit A is the right side of the offensive line. Exhibit B is shipping off Cassel, FredX and Bryce Brown for a box of tape and a jockstrap. He needs to put down the Red Bull. Or put his frantic energy into finding us some o-linemen.

Here's what's wrong: he went public. Why? Because he's frustrated, vain and he's decided to indulge himself while telling the world, "Hey, it's not me! It's the coaches and quarterbacks! I'm just as good as Odell and those guys, really!" He's putting his ego before the team, and it sucks. Shut up, Watkins, and play the game. It's not all about you, jerk. That's all we need, a prima donna.

He's paid big (huge) bucks for a reason. His teaching may not pay immediate dividends in that it often takes time for learning to sink in, but there's a reason teams hire coaches with his credentials as position coaches and not, say, whoever his assistants are who are making do in his absence. It's a good point to bring up, though. One could argue his return is more important to the long-term (still this season) success of the team than even Sammy and Shady. (In fact, you got to wonder about Shady's production, but that's a topic for another thread.)

I haven't been a big fan of Whaley, but I'm impressed by what he's done this past year. Some of the best-performing players on the roster were added this off-season. Our best wide receiver is Harvins; the best cornerback is Darby; the best offensive lineman is Incognito; the best running back is Karlos Williams; our best tight end is Clay; and of course the best quarterback is Taylor. All of them are not only the best at their position on the Bills; they rank among the best in the league. That's pretty good shooting!

This. You get people dismissing critics with "it's just one game," but it's not. It's 15 years' worth of these games.

Put Kiko on him, the best pass-coverage LB in the league. Oh, wait...

That would be "I couldn't care less." (-;

"I hope I never have the misfortune of meeting you"? "Negative" doesn't mean "Troll," buddy. BPA raises a legitimate point, and you reply by going personal.

Actually, I welcome a thread where we don't have to be a Pollyanna or include endless caveats to a pessimistic (read: realistic) take on the Bills. Posters who dare to disagree with the sunshine crowd are flamed mercilessly, and only a small percentage of posters engage the substance of their comments. I'm not referring to the equally mindless snark ("EJ sucks!") but thoughtful dissents, like saying that the hiring of Marrone was a mistake, which everyone agrees with now. Funny psychology. What's the threat?

Keith Rivers? Chris Williams? He's had some hits--and some big whiffs.

One of the most ignorant comments I've seen on this forum, and that's saying something.

This is where I was hoping Whaley would show some imagination. Offer him the money he would have earned as a first rounder, maybe the money he would have earned with the 20th pick, on the condition that everything works out legally, of course. Everyone wins. Still could do it.

I know you're being sarcastic, but La'el Collins does have future HOF talent, at least potentially, and they could have taken a flier on him rather than draft training camp fodder. Low risk, very very high reward.

My thoughts exactly. I don't understand why they feel they don't need quality people against the monsters at defensive tackle, even after seeing Colin Brown, Legursky, Richardson and Urbick struggle there. Our quarterbacks just aren't good enough to cover for them--it needs to be the other way around, in fact. So you have extraordinary receivers and running backs but an interior line that is likely to be overwhelmed--again. Whaley seems content with mediocrity at a position that is becoming increasingly critical in the game. Yes, Incognito might work out, and one of the young guys might develop. But he's not leaving WR or RB or the defense to chance, only the one position (other than qb) that has been given the Bills the most trouble for three years running.

Why draft a guard? Who needs them against the best d-tackles in the league in our division? You can always get a guard in the seventh round.

A tad worried? Yes, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic, as people have explained here, but going into the draft we have the same personnel at OL as last year, except Incognito, who even the hard-core Pollyannas will admit is a question mark. We have two solid players now. Two.

Love, hate...I mean, think about what that means. Posters here are just channeling their hopes and frustrations, right? We're not being paid to make decisions, so we can be self indulgent and reckless as we want to be. Whaley probably "loves" and "detests" EJ every bit as much as any of us; he just doesn't get to publicly vent his emotions. So I wouldn't be get so bent out of shape at the hyperbolic posters. They may seem like empty-headed Pollyannas or gloom-and-doom naysayers, but they want the Bills to win as much as anyone or they wouldn't be here. Incidentally, there's a personality component to this, too: some people feel more comfortable dwelling on the negative because they instinctively believe it makes a positive outcome more likely, while others see any criticism at all as a sign of disloyalty. In short, don't posts so personally.

You know, this forum would work a lot better if people read more carefully before they posted. I didn't claim that the Bills haven't tried to address these positions; I said little has changed. Look at your list of personnel. The worst three positions have stayed the worst because of these choices. Drafting Glenn is the only clearly good move at this point.

Fair enough. He certainly has the build and evidently the desire to improve fast. I'm hoping with good coaching he'll be solid, but I'm heartened by reports that the Bills went hard after Brian Beluga. I'm just frustrated that so little has changed to two of the three worst positions on the team (G, T and QB) over the past three or even four years.

For a run-first, 50-carries a game offense Rex is planning, it's curious that the Bills have the same awful line as last year at this point except for Incognito, who may or may not work out. I happen to be bullish on him, but Henderson, Richardson and Kujo all sucked: they would have to improve to be mediocre. The afterthought, sneering (pay cut) extension of Urbick may end up being the most crucial signing of all, since you can't run or throw with last year's line, and otherwise all the chips are on the draft. It's natural to be leery of a crew that picked Kujo high and Richardson middle, only to be "saved" by a seventh round mediocrity. Best case scenario: Glenn and Wood turn it around, Incognito returns to form (his good form, that is), a rookie plays great and Henderson is suddenly terrific. Realistic scenario: Glenn and Wood are ok/good, Incognito is rusty/ok, they stick in steady Urbick after the rookies struggle and Henderson continues to suck. In sum, a line that improves from one of the worst all the way to below average. 50 carries a game, man!

This move makes me happier than the more spashy signings, except for Hughes'. I'm with Marv: build through the draft and keep your own people. I would have kept Stevie, Kiko, Chandler and Spiller, although I like the offer sheet to Clay: had to upgrade there. I happen to think building the OL is a higher priority than a flashy back, so I'm less pleased with selling out for Shady. (Not sure what happened with Hairston.) Watkins, Shady, Clay...they will all be pedestrian without a strong OL, and we have the same squad as last year--and the year before, really, since Henderson, Richardson and Williams all look like busts and Incognito may or may not pan out. I know what the apologists say every time: "They tried! They really tried!" Keep it to yourself. Give me results. Urbick has been much maligned, but he's a baller, which you can't say for Henderon, et al. Whaley is lucky Urbick didn't tell him to stuff his pay cut. They'll need him next year, maybe a lot more than the other signings.

We lost Hairston and Lee Smith, too, who weren't resigned.

It's hard to know how to respond to people who misrepresent one's posts. I mean, is it deliberate? A simple mistake? Or maybe a cognitive disability? Tell you, what, Greggy, I send you my contempt, sympathy or best regards, I'll let you decide which is most appropriate. But I do urge you to read more carefully before you sneer. Doesn't make you look very good.

Kiko Alonzo. Yes, I'm honestly saying they're not better on paper than they were a year ago. Where is the improvement? Incognito? An unknown. McCoy? Looks like an upgrade, but at the cost of losing Alonzo and Spiller, I would say it's a wash at best. Meanwhile, they lost Chandler and Searcy, so they added more holes. Ease up on that Koolaid, GG.