How does this ship get turned around organizationally?

[Fadingpain]

I dunno that it's just that simple. We have a defensive coach with a bad defense, a GM who can't read a trade value chart and a team that just rolls over when things get bad. I think we need more than just a good QB.

It's not that simple at all.

 

But you haven't been paying attention. There has been a ton of discussion around here on what needs to be done.

 

Pegula needs to implement his Sabres plan with the Bills and re-build from the ground up.

 

That starts with a football savvy trusted advisor to get him a great up and coming GM who can stick around here for a long, long time....and then give that guy the power he needs to make it happen.

 

Pegula is not going to know who to hire on his own, so he needs a "czar" as some would call it or what I would simply call an advisor. This person need not even be a formal hire on the payroll. Pegula got the La Fontaine idea when he bumped into Patty at some sort of cocktail party event, though he then of course did hire him.

 

Start there. Lean on the right guy who is football knowledgable, still has strong contacts around the league, and is generally tuned into what's happening in today's NFL.

 

That person needs to give Pegula a short list of GM candidates, and then the interviews need to begin.

 

Forget old names of the past, go with fresh, young, up and coming talent.

 

As an aside, I would sweep the organization clean as a matter of principle, but I don't think Pegula will.

 

Russ Brandon, for example, has too much involved history within the organization to remain, even in a "business only" mode.

 

Of course, having doubled down on Brandon recently with the Sabres too, Russ is sticking around.

Then again, Terry Pegula once infamously said "Lindy Ruff ain't goin' nowhere" about a year or so (?) before he fired him.

 

Sweep clean, bring in trusted intelligent football man to create GM candidate list, and conduct GM interviews.

 

Hire GM when winning candidate is found; give GM the freedom and power to do as he thinks is best in a bubble of security. Try innovative ideas free from fear of consequences (at least for a while), implement a proper draft strategy where we trade DOWN, not UP (like Whaley the idiot) and acquire as many draft picks as possible...that's what the smart GMs do and where the value in the draft can be found. Focus on the QB position until we find one.

 

In the meantime we might have a few seasons where we don't make the playoffs.

 

I'm guessing we can all handle a few of those. Ask me how I know.

[Mango]

The biggest thing wrong with the organization in the drought is not letting football people make football decisions. Post Donahoe. The same thing is happening now. Let your GM control football. That is it. Done deal. We do not do that in the least. When you come out of a coaching interview, and your marketing guy is even present. Then has the freedom to say, "don't let this guy leave without a contract", and he is not your GM's first choice. Then you give him 5 years. That is what is wrong with the organization.

 

Whaley has been slightly better than average overall as a GM. That encompasses the draft, resigning, trades, and FA. That might be his ceiling. He may also be trying to do his job a bit hamstrung. We won't know until internally that structure changes.

 

If you need a consultant to come in, or a czar, just hire a new effing GM.

[MikeSpeed]

To ME, the QB is 50% of the reason for winning or losing, while the other 50% is distributed between other players, and coaches. So if you have a great QB and say average everything else (25%) you a 75% chance of winning. Does this make sense to anyone else? So stop trying to fix the problem the hard way by improving everything else and get a QB.

[Fadingpain]

The biggest thing wrong with the organization in the drought is not letting football people make football decisions. Post Donahoe. The same thing is happening now. Let your GM control football. That is it. Done deal. We do not do that in the least. When you come out of a coaching interview, and your marketing guy is even present. Then has the freedom to say, "don't let this guy leave without a contract", and he is not your GM's first choice. Then you give him 5 years. That is what is wrong with the organization.

 

Whaley has been slightly better than average overall as a GM. That encompasses the draft, resigning, trades, and FA. That might be his ceiling. He may also be trying to do his job a bit hamstrung. We won't know until internally that structure changes.

 

If you need a consultant to come in, or a czar, just hire a new effing GM.

And who finds the solid interview candidates for the GM position, interviews them to find the best, and then hires him?

 

Kim Pegula?

To ME, the QB is 50% of the reason for winning or losing, while the other 50% is distributed between other players, and coaches. So if you have a great QB and say average everything else (25%) you a 75% chance of winning. Does this make sense to anyone else? So stop trying to fix the problem the hard way by improving everything else and get a QB.

You're right. I'll drive right over to Quarterbacks 'R Us today and buy an absolutely top shelf model. I'm sure Pegula will reimburse me.

[MikeSpeed]

You're right. I'll drive right over to Quarterbacks 'R Us today and buy an absolutely top shelf model. I'm sure Pegula will reimburse me.

Cool! Get 2 we could use them.

[nucci]

To ME, the QB is 50% of the reason for winning or losing, while the other 50% is distributed between other players, and coaches. So if you have a great QB and say average everything else (25%) you a 75% chance of winning. Does this make sense to anyone else? So stop trying to fix the problem the hard way by improving everything else and get a QB.

Do you believe in good coaching? The Ryan brothers need to be replaced

[Mango]

And who finds the solid interview candidates for the GM position, interviews them to find the best, and then hires him?

 

Kim Pegula?

You're right. I'll drive right over to Quarterbacks 'R Us today and buy an absolutely top shelf model. I'm sure Pegula will reimburse me.I

 

I do not disagree with you, in getting outside help to hire a GM. I also don't think we need to fire a GM who doesn't get to pick the HC. We don't have an idea of how good or bad our GM is, because he doesn't have full control. Christ our GM hasn't hired either of the two HC's he has had.

 

Also, this is directly correlated to the QB position. If your GM does not have full football control, don't be surprised when your roster isn't what you would like. Give your GM the keys to the car, rather than have him read off directions from the GPS, because that is what this organization has been for nearly 20 years now.

[hondo in seattle]

 

 

Honest question....late in the 3rd Q of Sunday's game, with a 3 score lead--did you think the D would give up 4 TDs? Is that a good, smart D, playing with courage?

 

It was a good O versus a mediocre (not bad), banged up D.

 

I imagine things would have been different if Darby, A. Williams, and some others were playing.

 

But, yeah, I get the idea that Rex is supposed to be a defensive guru and he's not performing guru things.

[MikeSpeed]

Do you believe in good coaching? The Ryan brothers need to be replaced

Not to get too in depth with this, but a great coach can decrease the percentage of the QB, but not by enough too change it's importance. The point of my post was to try and put a number on the importance of the QB. Do you think Belichick would take this team to the playoff? I think he could, but he most likely would replace our QB ASAP. I also believe that if Rex had a top 10 PASSING QB this team would be in the playoffs. To defend your opinion I think the days of winning with the run is over, and if Rex cannot change then he should go.

[xsoldier54]

Can we at least wait until the season is over before we figure out what we need to turn around? We're 6-6, not 3-9.

We have more negative threads on here than in the Jets forum.

This team has not made the playoffs in working on two decades now. I'd say the negative threads are warranted. You suggest that being 6-6 is a good thing. It isn't. This team has been pushed around and abused for years. It's time to make some changes AGAIN. The biggest problem IMO is that they have not chosen a good HC in all of this time. We have got to find a coach who actually understands how to prepare a team to win football games in the NFL. I believe there is enough talent on this team right now, but game planning has been poor and execution has been poor. That falls squarely on the shoulders of the HC.

[8-8 Forever?]

Can we at least wait until the season is over before we figure out what we need to turn around? We're 6-6, not 3-9.

We have more negative threads on here than in the Jets forum.

well said. 16 games people, not 12. I wish they'd have lost to the Raiders 24-17 and never been ahead the whole game. The Bills fan base really sucks -- so burned out and bitter after 12 games. Stop watching NFL network video of the best plays/players in the league. they are rare. if they showed the sh-t with the great, you'd be saying "hey, we're OK after all"... dumb fans.

[Helpmenow]

Losing has been accepted there. Where are the polian's, levy's, butlers and bob fergusons

[AdamK]

Patience.

 

No thing great is created suddenly.... -Epictetus

Edited December 8, 2016 by AdamK

[BillsVet]

Talking about finding a QB is pointless if the same people are the ones trying to find one. Sometimes good GM's make mistakes at the position, but rarely do they have the rope to miss twice.

 

Advocating for keeping Whaley is essentially doing that and whether or not he was behind TT (I suspect he wasn't given his push for EJM). Moving on to another option indicates people don't know what they're doing. EJ started 15 games and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt he's a bust. TT is now 26 games in and at best not improving.

 

I highly doubt the entrenched leadership will want to move on from TT because it proves they're flailing around. So, if your T/K Pegs, do you hand over the 27M and hope he gets better? Or would it be easier to find a new management to make that decision.

[Jerry Jabber]

If I was Pegula I would hire an outside consultant to review the organization and make suggestions of what to change.

 

I think the Pegula's have been talking to outside people [Polian, Coughlin] about which direction they should go in. It should be interesting to see what happens in the offseason once the Bills go 8-8 or 9-7.

[Mr. WEO]

I'd love to see some solid QB play at that position.

 

But at times the QB mantra skates way out on the thin ice of hyperbole.

 

Winning is made easier when one has a team with a stud QB. Big chunk plays can be executed. The team can respond to adversity and some mistakes.

 

But this is still a team game. Look at Drew Brees and the Saints. In recent years, they've been a team with a proven QB, but the defense has sucked hugely and they've struggled. Cam Newton was a world-beater last year. The team around him this year has changed and suffered injuries and likely won't even make the playoffs.

 

At the end of the day, "just put Tom Brady on the Browns and they're in the Super Bowl" isn't a very good argument.

 

 

Great post!

 

And it's hard to believe, but for many posters here the bolded part is their ONLY argument. That's the degree of the complexity of their analysis of what's going on.

[yungmack]

the same 'organization' gave a no stone unturned search that brought the Marrone administration with a golden parachute, as well as the current 'incompetent' HC.

 

I do not trust them to suddenly get it right. They also stink at finding QBs

You forget how unattractive the job was at that time. They couldn't even get top coaching candidates to schedule an interview. I believe Marrone was seen as an outside the box solution. And he was considered something of a rising star at the time. In retrospect, he seems to have seen the job as a stepping stone to a better job. To all those around here that think the Bills should just go out and hire the top people have to ask themselves why any of them would want to come to this franchise.

And who finds the solid interview candidates for the GM position, interviews them to find the best, and then hires him?

 

Kim Pegula?

You're right. I'll drive right over to Quarterbacks 'R Us today and buy an absolutely top shelf model. I'm sure Pegula will reimburse me.

While you're there, pick up one of those elite football czars who are clogging the shelves. Edited December 8, 2016 by yungmack

[John from Riverside]

If I was Pegula I would hire an outside consultant to review the organization and make suggestions of what to change.

This is actually a good answer

 

Get someone totally non partial to the situation.....but get someone young enough that can relate to today's NFL

[All_Pro_Bills]

I think the Bills biggest issue during the playoff drought, outside of having sub-standard QB play for forever, is being stuck in the AFC East during the Tom Brady era. In the last 10 seasons they're 2-18 with an * alongside both wins. One was a meaningless last game of the season and the end of the Marrone era and the other was this season against a nicked up 3rd string QB.

 

It means fighting for a wildcard berth with 11 other teams every season and as close to 2 guaranteed loses as it gets every year which translates to a 2 game lead in the wildcard chase for every team outside the division. That means going 10-4 in the remainder of the schedule just to get a shot at a playoff berth.

 

As far as getting the organization turned around I'd like to know first what Terry Pegula's plan is here. Does anyone here know what he really thinks? Does he believe the team is moving in the right direction, that he has the right people in place? Because if he does maybe that's step one? The owner has got to realize his organization as staffed and strategized is not going to get the job done.

Edited December 8, 2016 by All_Pro_Bills

[26CornerBlitz]

If the Bills finish with 8 to 10 wins this season after going 17-15 in the previous two seasons, is it time to blow it up or should they proceed with plans to make the team better? IMO the situation does not call for tearing the team down with a subsequent rebuild that some here are calling for.