Turmoil brewing between Marrone and Whaley?

[BigBuff423]

so then we need to attribute the Hughes trade, Alonso, Woods, Goodwin, Meeks, d00k Williams, and Gragg to Nix as well?

 

Well, to be fair Hughes trade came in DW first official Off-Season and pre-FA period, but yes, the others were Drafted with Nix running the Draft...and in fact if you took a look, which I'm not saying you didn't - I just don't know and won't assume, at the links posted Nix talks about Kiko, Gragg, et al. as he was asked specifically about those picks

 

 

Don't be silly. All those players would up in Buffalo by accident. They took the wrong exit on the Thruway.

 

Please see my above comment, assuming your sarcasm was intended to be ridicule. Otherwise, please ignore.

[TXBILLSFAN]

 

 

Sounds like a whole of this is starting to happen at TBD with this FO

Edited August 27, 2014 by TXBILLSFAN

[Fan in Chicago]

we're forced to treat his statements as fact...and in those statements Buddy owned the Draft and his choice of EJ Manuel and that he went into the Draft determined to find a QB, regardless of their issues, which are statements he made in the 1st link, I provided in the first page of this thread.

 

This was the crux of my concern before and after last year's draft. The seeds of the QB problem were sown long before last draft. Nix made a major blunder by not prioritizing the QB position and/or incorrectly evaluating Fitz as the long term answer. Much as the 49ers did, he should have taken a QB early in his tenure despite the brief flashes that Fitz showed.

Painting himself into a corner caused what you note above. Picking for position than BPA almost always gets a team in trouble over the long run.

Be that as it may, the problem continues to be compounded by a bone-headed confidence in one QB. I am NOT saying that EJ sucks - I am talking overall strategy regarding the QB position.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Fan in Chicago

[Fingon]

Well, to be fair Hughes trade came in DW first official Off-Season and pre-FA period, but yes, the others were Drafted with Nix running the Draft...and in fact if you took a look, which I'm not saying you didn't - I just don't know and won't assume, at the links posted Nix talks about Kiko, Gragg, et al. as he was asked specifically about those picks

 

 

 

Please see my above comment, assuming your sarcasm was intended to be ridicule. Otherwise, please ignore.

Buddy Nix was still the GM of the Buffalo Bills when we traded for Jerry Hughes.

[BigBuff423]

 

Buddy Nix was still the GM of the Buffalo Bills when we traded for Jerry Hughes.

 

You are correct, my mistake. Hughes was obtained at the end of April and DW was named GM two weeks later. And that is a fact and I cannot dispute that. However, DW was Director of Pro Personnel indicating a pretty thorough awareness of Hughes and his "metrics", so while to be consistent I would have to give Nix credit for that trade, but also bear in mind I'm sure DW's information played a pretty large role. Thank you for correcting my error courteously.

[GG]

Considering that trades under Buddy were Bills veterans exchanged for draft picks, I'm taking a guess that the Hughes/Sheppard trade was also a Whaley decision. I'm not sure why this is being revisited again. It was clear that since January 2013, the organization was being run in a different fashion, and it wasn't only because Brandon became President. Doug Whaley was a lot more involved in the decision-making process and Nix started taking more of the back seat role. Just because the Bills made the formal announcement on a specific date, doesn't mean that the seat of power hadn't changed behind the scenes.

[Mike in Horseheads]

Don't be silly. All those players would up in Buffalo by accident. They took the wrong exit on the Thruway.

Were they headed to the QEW Promo?

[PromoTheRobot]

Were they headed to the QEW Promo?

 

They were heading to the Sundowner.

[mattsox]

Mike Rodak ‏@mikerodak 1h

Marrone was clearly upset about something. Had some choice language reporters could hear from sideline. Whaley threw up arms in response.

 

Mike Rodak ‏@mikerodak 1h

Marrone, Whaley, and Brandon having an animated conversation as Palmer, Manuel, Tuel warm up.

 

 

I'm wondering why these two are very upset at each other?

 

Not really worried about it. Maybe some bickering will help them get out of their comfort zone. Works for me.

[RuntheDamnBall]

Perhaps a message board where each of us spends half the day is the wrong place for this criticism, but if any of us were as lousy at our jobs as Mike Rodak or his predecessor, I can't imagine we'd last in them for very long. That is, unless Rodak's real job is just to generate the clicks. In terms of presenting useful information, he's a hack.

[The Big Cat]

Perhaps a message board where each of us spends half the day is the wrong place for this criticism, but if any of us were as lousy at our jobs as Mike Rodak or his predecessor, I can't imagine we'd last in them for very long. That is, unless Rodak's real job is just to generate the clicks. In terms of presenting useful information, he's a hack.

 

Yeah...it's 2014. It sucks.

 

ESPN Writer Enrages Fan Base. What Happens Next Will Leave You Speechless

Edited August 27, 2014 by The Big Cat

[Tyrod's Tailor]

Perhaps a message board where each of us spends half the day is the wrong place for this criticism, but if any of us were as lousy at our jobs as Mike Rodak Nathaniel Hackett or his predecessor, I can't imagine we'd last in them for very long.

 

Fixed

[26CornerBlitz]

Perhaps a message board where each of us spends half the day is the wrong place for this criticism, but if any of us were as lousy at our jobs as Mike Rodak or his predecessor, I can't imagine we'd last in them for very long. That is, unless Rodak's real job is just to generate the clicks. In terms of presenting useful information, he's a hack.

 

ESPN's (Disney) primary concern is driving ratings via hype and buzz that lead to revenue. They care very little about actual journalism.

[Mike in Horseheads]

They were heading to the Sundowner.

Well nothing wrong with a little Canadian Ballet! That should be a regular stop on FA visits.

[Rico]

 

 

The HC search was conducted by a team led by Brandon, and while Nix was in the room, it was clear neither he nor Whaley's voice out-weighed Brandon. Marrone's introductory press conference was led by Brandon, who days before had assumed the role of team president. It was clear RB was taking control after his promotion. I think Marrone was RB's guy and the others supported his hire

 

This is a nuanced topic, but after the debacle in 2009-10 hiring a GM and HC, I think Russ wanted a little more control. And far be it from the outgoing GM and the then Assistant GM to tell the team president they didn't want his guy.

Bottom line, I don't think Russ deserves a pass from the new ownership if this team tanks the year, not at all. Neither does Whaley if the team tanks due to the QB position. They both will have made their bed & they'll have to lie in it. Of course, if the team finally turns it around on the field, I have absolutely no problem with them staying along with Marrone.

[thebandit27]

The HC search was conducted by a team led by Brandon, and while Nix was in the room, it was clear neither he nor Whaley's voice out-weighed Brandon. Marrone's introductory press conference was led by Brandon, who days before had assumed the role of team president. It was clear RB was taking control after his promotion. I think Marrone was RB's guy and the others supported his hire

 

This is a nuanced topic, but after the debacle in 2009-10 hiring a GM and HC, I think Russ wanted a little more control. And far be it from the outgoing GM and the then Assistant GM to tell the team president they didn't want his guy.

 

On this particular topic, I'm not exactly speculating. Marrone's hiring was Nix/Whaley when it came to the final decision. I don't know how fervently Russ pushed for Marrone (or if he did at all), but I was told by someone that would definitely know that Nix/Whaley were told (paraphrasing) "this is your hire, so pick who you want". Russ has operated very consistently from his first day as President/CEO; empower the football people to do what they believe is best.

 

They wanted Chip Kelly, but he was turning down interviews when they approached him. When Chicago started sniffing around Marrone, they made the call.

 

Regarding your second point, I agree that Hostler was brought in to assist Hackett in bringing the Offense to fruition and to the point of helping a broader-scoped understanding of play-calling and that has not "yet" materialized...personally, I'd like to see Marrone call the Offensive plays for a few games to see if the result is any different. Marrone's experience in New Orleans would seem to indicate he at least has an ability to know when to call certain plays, even assuming it was Sean Payton doing the calling Marrone would have learned a thing or two about calling plays while serving at Payton's behest....either way, it wouldn't appear to be capable of any worse and then if Marrone's play-calling improves the Offensive output of TDs, Hackett can still be the "eye in the sky" on game day and learn a little bit about what works and what doesn't, sort of like Marrone tutoring him...I like Hackett, but I also agree right now we, as fans, don't really know whether it is EJ's ineffectiveness, Offensive line issues, or simply bad play-calling that has caused the Offensive futility and Marrone calling the plays for at least the first 4 games of the year, may very well ferret out some of those issues to have a clearer understanding of those concerns....at least, IMHO I think it would help...regardless of outcome.

 

We'll see I suppose. If things look bleak after 5-6 weeks, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Hackett get the boot and either Hostler or Marrone take over play-calling duties.

[Kelly the Dog]

According to a person close to the situation, "It would have been nice, and professional, if Rodak were to ask a follow up question to Marrone or Whaley."

 

Tweets are not really part of the reporters reporting. Their superiors want them to tweet to drive up readership. But most of them will tweet both professional stuff and personal stuff on the same account. This still seems to me to be Rodak tweeting only negative things about the Bills to stir the pot.

[DirtDart]

FWIW, here is a link to a story ESPN did just prior to the Draft speaking with Buddy Nix about his thoughts on the QBs in that draft class:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/story/_/id/9211442/2013-nfl-draft-buffalo-bills-gm-buddy-nix-hopes-land-franchise-quarterback

 

Another link on NFL Network about trading "up" to get a QB....he seemed pretty intent to me:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000111083/article/buddy-nix-buffalo-bills-should-trade-up-for-qb-in-draft

 

And here's another where Buddy owns the EJ pick along with refusing any idea or notion of when he would step down:

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Buddy-Nix-Doug-Marrone-comment-on-Bills-2013-Draft/1cdcc444-216a-4d1a-8d4e-d459ff58c670

 

And another, this will be the last one for now, where Buddy talks about how he picked EJ and what they liked and didn't:

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Buddy-Nix-and-Doug-Marrone-comment-on-drafting-EJ-Manuel/f1c81a79-1804-4e0e-99dc-48a109e7ff6f

Of course the GM at the time said, "I made the pick". Would you expect him to say, "Doug, made the pick"?

[eball]

According to a person close to the situation, "It would have been nice, and professional, if Rodak were to ask a follow up question to Marrone or Whaley."

 

Tweets are not really part of the reporters reporting. Their superiors want them to tweet to drive up readership. But most of them will tweet both professional stuff and personal stuff on the same account. This still seems to me to be Rodak tweeting only negative things about the Bills to stir the pot.

 

I was thinking this myself yesterday when this "news" broke. Doesn't Rodak attend the press conferences? Of course, he's still essentially a snot-nosed kid so expecting him to be professional may be asking too much.

 

Would have been oh-so-easy to ask, "coach, it appeared that you, Whaley, and Brandon were engaged in a heated discussion during practice -- care to elaborate?"

[BigBuff423]

 

Of course the GM at the time said, "I made the pick". Would you expect him to say, "Doug, made the pick"?

 

Again, I politely ask you to go back and read all of my other responses...of course we can throw conjecture as to what was "really" happening, but my point is simply that anything other than accepting Buddy's words at face-value is simply that: speculative. So, we can choose to believe or not believe Buddy's statements or think that he was indicative "levels" of truth to these statements and responsibility for the picks or just take his statements as he said them. Up to you individually to believe or not believe what he had to say or how much of it is accurate, I'm merely stating that many on this board want to attribute DW with the guy who Drafted EJ, when factually speaking we have nothing to support that statement or assumption. Factually speaking, Buddy went on record as the GM before, during, and after the Draft that a QB was going to be taken in the Draft and afterwards Buddy spoke at length about why EJ was the guy taken....so, draw whatever conclusions you like, but that's what they are supposition and guesses, facts are Buddy publicly stated EJ was his selection.