finn

Hopeful nails it for me. I give Rex and Whaley credit for resigning Hughes but not much else. The chief weaknesses of the Bills last year, besides coaching, were qb, guard, guard and right tackle. Incognito is a stopgap that might or might not work out; for a third wr, Harvin is a very expensive distraction; McCoy is a VERY expensive dancer who will be wasted behind last year's line or the equivalent. Meanwhile we lost a decent TE and one of the most promising players in the entire league and spent up to or near the cap (I'm guessing there), and we STILL need a qb, at least one guard and a tackle, for the third year in a row. There's still time, but they strike me more like teenagers maxing out their dad's credit card than shrewd insiders who know what they're doing.

Smart. But consider that the Eagles didn't give up a rising star on its roster to get their first-rank RB. To put it another way, before they had just Shady. Not they have Demarco AND Kiko--at our expense.

This would have been my first priority by far. Same with last year and the year before that. It's always seems to be an afterthought with this crew. They seem to think any warm body can block the Suhs of the league. Prove me wrong, Whaley, please. Or plug in those all-stars Williams and Richardson again.

Kicks the can down the road, though. Keep in mind we don't have a qb, and if a great one becomes available in one or two years in free agency, we might not have the cap room to pay him because of these deals, in which case we'd be stuck cutting stars to meet the cap. See Orleans, New.

Mind if I play the pessimist? There's a reason fullbacks are vanishing: they don't carry their weight. Put a fullback on the field, especially one who can't catch like Felton (or so I read here) and an extra linebacker comes on. The box is stacked because there's only three receivers on the field, maybe two, and there's no room for running or short passes, so soon we have third and long with our heroes EJ or Cassel throwing into a blitz or double coverage. Why is everyone so happy? Courteous answers welcome.

What makes you think the Stevie trade was a great move? He was a good receiver for us; hard to judge him in the new context. The Hughes trade fell in Whaley's lap, as he admitted. Sure, he gets some credit but he said it was a "no brainer," and he's right. I hope Whaley's moves work out, but I'm not optimistic. He's acting like a kid on a sugar high. He's paying a high price for his glamorous toys. Watch who's available when our former first-round pick comes up in April. In a RB-heavy draft, that might have been our own Shady, so we would have had him, Alonzo and--if we had a GM who knew his business--Odell or Benjamin, along with a fourth-round pick and a lot more money to spend.

Kiko. It's not even close. A budding star with six or seven prime years ahead of him versus a prima donna with two years of tread left at a price that causes us to lose Searcy and Hughes in addition to Alonzo--in one of the deepest drafts in running backs in years. Heck of a deal, guys.

EJ wasn't just timid. He also threw his receivers into coverage (or body slams), was jumpy in the pocket and reluctant to run. I don't really blame him; I think he could have done much better had he sat and watched a few years, like Brady and others. It's very difficult to judge.

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No, I certainly didn't know they were bad picks at the time, but what does that have to do with whether or not they were good picks? They weren't, nor was Williams a good free agent. Whaley failed, in other words. What, do you want to give him credit for trying, is that it? If the Bills are "bringing in" people of the same quality as Kujo, Richardson, et al., then they'll fail again. Not sure I follow you. Are you happy as long as they seem to be trying hard? If so, you're pretty easy to please. (But you have picked a good team to follow.)

You're right. I'm mostly venting. But it's also true that my restraint in previous years regarding the offensive line ("of course they'll address it") was not rewarded--or "rewarded" with Chris Williams, Kujo, Richardson and (an afterthought) Henderson. In other words, my anxiety-fueled scorn is warranted to a degree!

Intriguing view of what the Bills are thinking, but it's illuminating what is not listed. Based on these tweets, they don't see right tackle and guard as a priority--once again. People here dismissed that Whaley press conference when he seemed excited (good lord) about Henderson, Richardson and Kujo, but together with this information, it seems even more possible that they will go into next year still deluded about the offensive line--the third year in a row. What does it take to make it a priority? We had the worst tackle and worst of the worst guards in football--and their priority is a third WR? A third (or fourth) DL? I can't help but wonder if Whaley's ego is getting in the way: he drafted these three clowns and might care more that they're not busts than the OL being top quality--and, no, they're not the same thing. Doug "just one step away!" Whaley.

I have no patience for cheaters or their lame excuses they and their apologists make. I live in Patriots territory, and the past few weeks I've heard all the excuses that will be trotted out to justify Jerry Rice's lies. "Everyone does it"; "It doesn't matter"; "It's not true"; "If you complain you're naive and/or a whiner." Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong, Jerry Rice, Tom Brady...They're all happy to accept their awards and bask in the glory they wouldn't have experienced without cheating to get ahead of their peers. Strip him of his records and kick him out of the Hall of Fame. That might get the attention of the budding cheaters out there.

Richardson, Kujo, Tuel, Rivers, Chris Williams. Yes, I would give Richardson and Kujo till the end of training camp, but the others are deadwood. Unfortunately, Whaley's ego will keep them all on board way too long at the expense of the team.

Like one of the other posters said, optimism is in my DNA as a Bills fan, but so is a sort of masochistic skepticism. They balance each other. At some point we should have a thread to discuss what keeps Bills fans loyal despite so many years of disappointments. For me, it's like the Bills are MY team, for better or worse, and I'll continue following them no matter what. I'm from Buffalo (Williamsville, actually), and I'm proud that we have a major league team. I like thinking about their strong suits--the linebackers, D-line, etc.--and speculating what can be done with the weak parts. But reading about yet another--another!!--coach who reportedly wants to change an already excellent defense, who sticks stubbornly to mediocrities, doesn't adjust and so on... Yes, my optimism dwindles. Doesn't yours?

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed, well-supported post. It's hard to be optimistic about the Bills' chances after reading it, in part because the weaknesses you describe---cronyism, no adjustments at halftime, stubbornly sticking with players despite poor play--are all too familiar to Bills fans, as are the boasts of a new HC inheriting a top-five defense vowing to make it still better. I have higher hopes for Roman (the new OC), but from what you say the offensive position coaches may undermine him. Let's just hope Whaley and the Pelugas did their due diligence and didn't hire Rex because of his personality. I remember the Bills GM at the time (forgot who) saying he hired Gregg Williams because he was blown away by his multi-colored notebook. So many pretty, pretty tabs!

Three pages of wise cracks, not a single comment worth reading after the first two or three. Pro personnel pickups were one of the few bright spots of the Bills administration--Carpenter, Hogan, Gray, Thigpen, Dixon, Graham, Rambo, and of course Orton...they all contributed a lot. For all we know even Williams (the WR) might have been a great pickup ignored by our idiot head coach. So this looks like a truly dumb move on its face. One of the most depressing features of the Bills is their tendency to replace what is working fine. I hope this isn't a case of the same.

Posts like these are why I come to this board. Informed, concise, smart, courteous.

You may be right about Tim Graham. Look at this passage from his article today: "A source close to the situation told The News that executives from previous owner Ralph Wilson’s regime – eager to maintain their power – badmouthed Polian in Marrone’s presence during the season." Is Graham claiming these executives are eager to maintain power, or is he saying that is what his sources say? And do these sources have a stake in spinning what might be an innocent conversation this way? This is sneaky, biased journalism.

So Pegula asks Polian to come in, Marrone hears bad things about Polian and leaves, prompting Polian to change his mind because things are falling apart fast. Today we hear that at least two people in the front office badmouthed Polian to Marrone, who passed on the tidbit to Pegula, who announces that the new HC will not be reporting to Whaley, leaving his role up in the air. And any of this might be inaccurate. Confusion, greed, betrayal, backstabbing, power plays... We just need a little sex to top it off. The Bills organization is on the verge of becoming a laughing stock, if it isn't already. What do the Pegulas have to do now to turn this debacle into something positive?

Maybe that's just why Pegula let it be known that the head coach would report directly to him. Still seems pretty unstable, though.

Pegula has got to be wondering who agreed to that idiotic clause. Let's see, $4 million for leaving if another job opens up. And for what? To be sure to land this outstanding coach? Incredible performance with.... Syracuse? For one year?

Never liked him. What was to like? Hiring Hackett, an overeager amateur, as offensive coordinator, his baffling benching of Urbick, keeping Hairston on the bench when Henderson was struggling, stubbornly sticking with Colin Brown at guard when he was one of the worst guards in NFL history, his idiotic press conferences (it's hard to be that inarticulate), his game management, fourth-down cowardice... I hear what you're all saying about what was commendable about him, but I'm not persuaded at all. At best, it's been a matter of giving him the benefit of the doubt all along. Pettine then Schwartz have carried this team, making use of Whaley's personnel work (to be fair). Marrone has just been along for the ride, making obvious moves (like benching EJ) but just as often getting in the way or messing up, like cutting Tarvaris Jackson or playing footsie with Urbick. In fact, one could argue the Bills won nine games DESPITE Marrone. His classless departure is a fitting coda to a mediocre tenure.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Touche.