Tim Graham:Whaley wasted everyone's time.

[JohnC]

You loved the Redskins moving up for RG III. You actually lamented that the Bills should have done it.

No I didn't. Their coach, Shanahan, told the owner that if they moved up for Griffin that he was going to be a project qb who was going to take time before he would be ready. I have said on many occasions that not drafting Cousins or Russell in the third round was a mistake, especially for a team lacking a qb.

 

I have no problem with a team being aggressive in signing a qb prospect. But the Skin situation was not that type of situation. It was an owner driven decision that forced the HC to make a deal that he had qualms about before it was even made.

[The Jokeman]

Whaley sucked but he gets too much blame for quarterback and not enough blame for everything else.

 

Manuel had a promising rookie season. He just shouldn't have traded up for Watkins the following spring. And he should have drafted another one in each draft to compete. I wasn't a fan of the Orton signing even in hindsight considering it accomplished nothing except get us 9 meaningless wins that hurt our draft position and destroyed any hope that Manuel was going to develop. The Taylor pickup was good.

 

My biggest knock on Whaley re: QB was not drafting enough of them and choosing Adolphus Washington over Dak Prescott.

but would have Dak even seen the field with Tyrod at QB last year mabe not until we were eliminated from the playoffs and would he have performed in the offense that we were running as a lot of his success came about last year because Garrett changed his offense for Dak, not sure if our rookie OC would have done that. Also let's not forget that Washington started almost the entire season due to Kyle Williams injury. It's easy to say X will be X regardless of situation but all too often X+Y=Z doesn't mean X+V=Y. I admit to being an EJ supporter as thought after his rookie season he just need to develop yet it never happened because Marrone was more concerned with his job and called for Orton and then left when appeared be stuck with EJ. That said EJ showed he wasn't worth holding on to in part because of that Jets game and many other poor outings prior. I'm glad we got Peterson as think he has some of the intangibles that could give him success in the NFL but only time will tell.

[4merper4mer]

Tim Graham with hindsight is so prescient.

 

 

Wouldn't it be postcient?

 

And this thread title could swap Graham's name for Whaley's and it would become true.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Sigh. EJ proved to be a bad NFL QB. Whaley pushed him on two staffs. I do not went bad at any position on the Bills. Any bad player needs to go.

How does that change the fact that you enjoy saying EJ sucks? All you did was stir up more endless EJ this and EJ that posts.

 

I was enjoying not seeing EJ mentioned daily.

 

Both are gone and no longer our problem. Get over it.

I'll say this one thing. EJ was better than Meh Cassel and that is why he remained on the team the past 2 seasons. Matt had hoe many wins in Dallas? 1, 2, maybe 3?

[Kirby Jackson]

How does that change the fact that you enjoy saying EJ sucks? All you did was stir up more endless EJ this and EJ that posts.

 

I was enjoying not seeing EJ mentioned daily.

 

Both are gone and no longer our problem. Get over it.

 

I'll say this one thing. EJ was better than Meh Cassel and that is why he remained on the team the past 2 seasons. Matt had hoe many wins in Dallas? 1, 2, maybe 3?

EJ remained on the team because it cost as much to cut him as to keep him. It was certainly the prudent business decision but it wasn't because he was a good player.

[DallasMac]

Ej looked better than Cassel. If I remember correctly he looked really good all preseason that year.

Edited May 23, 2017 by DallasMac

[SoCal Deek]

Whaley lost his job because he swung and missed more often than he got on base. The Tram switched coaches and quarterbacks way too regularly to show any clear progression. And in the end the franchise was no better off when he left then when arrived. It's pretty much that simple.

[H2o]

http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/22/tim-grahams-power-take-doug-whaley-wasted-time/

"What rookie GM doesn't know this from the jump? How did Whaley not understand EJ Manuel wasn't the answer when Doug Marrone preferred Kyle Orton off his sofa eight days before the 2014 opener, or when Rex Ryan preferred Matt Cassel to Manuel as the backup?"

Say what you want about Whaley, but the guy is a class act. He pointed no fingers, but took the blame upon himself.

[oldmanfan]

I hate to tell you this, but Marrone wanted Orton. Rex Ryan is the one who pushed to get Taylor. Whaley brought them in because the Coaching staffs wanted them. Cassel beat out EJ for the number two spot. EJ had more than enough opportuniteis. He's just not a good NFL QB and never will be.

. I'm beginning to think you could use professional help. You didn't like Whaley. He's gone now. Enough already.

[Foxx]

If you set aside your single track mind, you may find that there is nothing wrong with Buftex's post. You are just looking for agreement that EJ is a bust. He OTOH is explaining the larger point of Whaley's tenure and not really saying that EJ was a great prospect.

 

If you decide to be a bit objective in your posts, you may learn something from differing opinions

and the pope might become something other than Catholic.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Foxx

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

seems his article is a waste of time. both Whaley and EJ are gone, time to let it go, move on from the past.

[Sweats]

I heard on Sirius last night from a recent Whaley interview that he was uncertain of the direction of the Bills organisation without a franchise QB.

 

Wait.......what?

 

Wan't Whaley supposed to address the QB situation over his tenure..........besides EJ, what the hell did he do to address it?

 

Good riddance.

 

 

[Scott7975]

Ej looked better than Cassel. If I remember correctly he looked really good all preseason that year.

EJ did look really good in preseason that year. That's why I never take stock in preseason. Half of BBMB thought EJ should have won the competition and were saying he was going to be great. I kept saying preseason

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

EJ did look really good in preseason that year. That's why I never take stock in preseason. Half of BBMB thought EJ should have won the competition and were saying he was going to be great. I kept saying preseason

Half is a bit much to be honest.

There were less than 6 daily posters who thought as much.

EJ remained on the team because it cost as much to cut him as to keep him. It was certainly the prudent business decision but it wasn't because he was a good player.

How much was wasted on Matt Cassel?

 

Teams throw away money all the time.

 

EJs gone I'm moving on.

[BarleyNY]

In the grand scheme, Whaley may have made some mistakes but talent-wise the Bills were good enough to be a wild card team. If you want to blame someone, blame Fat & Fatter, the two dumbasses who couldn't get 11 players on the field.

I blame them all. The Wrecks Brothers were a train wreck to be sure. Whaley wasn't nearly as bad as them, but he sure wasn't good.

[Kirby Jackson]

Half is a bit much to be honest.

There were less than 6 daily posters who thought as much.

How much was wasted on Matt Cassel?

 

Teams throw away money all the time.

 

EJs gone I'm moving on.

EJ's contract was fully guaranteed. They were on the hook for $2.87M for EJ in 2016. If they were to release him they would have had to spend another $1M (ish) on a backup. They would have had roughly $4M tied up in a backup that was Cassel (ish). That didn't make any sense. They were stuck with EJ and used the savings on Lorax. It's not about throwing away money it's about making solid business decisions. They were keeping ANY backup QB that they already had to pay $2.8M to.

 

Cassel got $2M from the Bills and incentives that could bring it over $4M. They traded him for a draft pick.

[Rico]

EJ's contract was fully guaranteed. They were on the hook for $2.87M for EJ in 2016. If they were to release him they would have had to spend another $1M (ish) on a backup. They would have had roughly $4M tied up in a backup that was Cassel (ish). That didn't make any sense. They were stuck with EJ and used the savings on Lorax. It's not about throwing away money it's about making solid business decisions. They were keeping ANY backup QB that they already had to pay $2.8M to.

 

Cassel got $2M from the Bills and incentives that could bring it over $4M. They traded him for a draft pick.

After London, having a street FA QB making the rookie minimum would've made more sense than bringing EJ back. So would making Cardale the #2. Just look at the last game against the Jets and imagine if TT had been lost for the season earlier.

[Kirby Jackson]

After London, having a street FA QB making the rookie minimum would've made more sense than bringing EJ back. So would making Cardale the #2. Just look at the last game against the Jets and imagine if TT had been lost for the season earlier.

That cap space was dead either way. I believe if TT was out Cardale would have started the next week. I don't actually think that the Bills believed in EJ at all (my personal opinion). I believe that they would have rolled the dice. You have to look at it like this though, the cost to sign anyone else was EJ's contract + new player contract. If TT would have went out for an extended period it would have been interesting to see if they went out and got someone else. We will never know.

[Rico]

That cap space was dead either way. I believe if TT was out Cardale would have started the next week. I don't actually think that the Bills believed in EJ at all (my personal opinion). I believe that they would have rolled the dice. You have to look at it like this though, the cost to sign anyone else was EJ's contract + new player contract. If TT would have went out for an extended period it would have been interesting to see if they went out and got someone else. We will never know.

I think Whaley still believed... but if they had more games to play after the 2nd Jets game, I can't see him ever seeing the field again as a Bill, that had to be the final straw.

[JohnC]

That cap space was dead either way. I believe if TT was out Cardale would have started the next week. I don't actually think that the Bills believed in EJ at all (my personal opinion). I believe that they would have rolled the dice. You have to look at it like this though, the cost to sign anyone else was EJ's contract + new player contract. If TT would have went out for an extended period it would have been interesting to see if they went out and got someone else. We will never know.

Ultimately what did in Whaley was the drafting of EJ in the first round. When you make such an investment in a qb you are to an extent committed to the player. If EJ would have been a third or fourth round selection then the finances and dynamic of the situation would dramatically have changed. There were better qb prospects after the EJ draft, such as Carr, who would have been better qb prospects but having him on the roster made it more difficult to commit another high pick for the position. That was a miscalculation that haunted Whaley and was a major factor in him losing his job.

 

What's disappointing is that finally Whaley came to the realizaton that he had to take a qb in the first round in this year's draft. It was too late because he was stripped of his authority to act. It's not surprising that in an interview after his firing he acknowledged that if he had it to do over he would have been more aggressive in seeking a more credible franchise qb.