Unpopular Bills takes, Past and present.

[Bills fan since 87]

I'll begin:

 

The early 2000's Jerseys, including the roads aren't as bad as everyone says.  Great? Heck no.  Current and everything prior blows them away but I still kinda liked them.  

 

What's everyone else got? 

[Success]

Making 4 Super Bowls in a row and losing is worse than not making 4 Super Bowls in a row.

 

[BullBuchanan]

Bill Polian is drastically overrated in Buffalo
Doug Whaley was a much better GM than most in Buffalo think. If he hit on QB, his whole story is different.

[BuffaloBillies]

I miss the Jills

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

Present- Trent Murphy is better then people realize. He is not constantly in danger of being cut. He’s a very effective pass rusher when he’s on the field. If he’s healthy, he can help the team. 
 

Past- Doug a Marone wasn’t a bad coach. Just because he took advantage of an opt out, doesn’t erase the fact that he was part of this teams turn around. From 14’ on, the Bills went from a joke, to respectable. He was a part of that initial step. McDermott is better, no question...but people act like Marone was terrible just because they were pissed at him for leaving

[Bferra13]

2 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Bill Polian is drastically overrated in Buffalo
Doug Whaley was a much better GM than most in Buffalo think. If he hit on QB, his whole story is different.

 

How is he drastically overrated? Those were some of the greatest teams the NFL ever saw... if anyone was a bit overrated it was Marv (God bless him though, great man). I could see Polian being overrated in Indy having Manning, but he still did draft him... Whaley sealed his fate with the trade up for Sammy and drafting EJ. 

 

My take is 3rd and long draw to Shaud Williams for 3 yards over and over and over was actually a smart play... lol just kidding. Nothing honestly comes to mind for me.

[Cruiserplayer]

Unpopular takes: Mike Rodak, Jerry Sullivan, Thad Brown. At least two of those were correct:(

[BillsPride12]

25 minutes ago, Bills fan since 87 said:

I'll begin:

 

The early 2000's Jerseys, including the roads aren't as bad as everyone says.  Great? Heck no.  Current and everything prior blows them away but I still kinda liked them.  

 

What's everyone else got? 

No way.  Those road uni's were ugly as sin.  Right up there with the Sabres slug uniform.

[Royale with Cheese]

Marv Levy wasn’t a good coach.

[Buftex]

22 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Bill Polian is drastically overrated in Buffalo
Doug Whaley was a much better GM than most in Buffalo think. If he hit on QB, his whole story is different.

Not sure I agree that Polian is overrated, at least during his time in Buffalo.. but I very much agree about Whaley.  

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

23 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Bill Polian is drastically overrated in Buffalo
Doug Whaley was a much better GM than most in Buffalo think. If he hit on QB, his whole story is different.

 

I agree about Whaley. He wasn't nearly as bad as his reputation around here.  Don't know enough about Polian to judge him one way or the other.

[DallasMac]

5 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

I agree about Whaley. He wasn't nearly as bad as his reputation around here.  Don't know enough about Polian to judge him one way or the other.

Definitely agree. The guy never got to pick his coach and each new hire brought a different system he had to draft for.  

[BullBuchanan]

23 minutes ago, Bferra13 said:

 

How is he drastically overrated? Those were some of the greatest teams the NFL ever saw... if anyone was a bit overrated it was Marv (God bless him though, great man). I could see Polian being overrated in Indy having Manning, but he still did draft him... Whaley sealed his fate with the trade up for Sammy and drafting EJ. 

 

My take is 3rd and long draw to Shaud Williams for 3 yards over and over and over was actually a smart play... lol just kidding. Nothing honestly comes to mind for me.

Because I think he was at best average at drafting, not just in Buffalo, but Indy too. The best 2 players he ever drafted were consensus #1 overalls in Bruce and Manning. Give him credit for Getting Andre Reed in the 4th round. He built those teams in a pre-salarycap era largely by paying Jim Kelly the highest salary ever for an NFL player.

Essentially, I think a lot of Polian's success was luck of getting franchise QB's and elite talent at the top of drafts. And the fact that neither the Bills nor the Colts won anywhere near as much as they should have is the result of his weaknesses. He had a ton of mid round picks that never even ended up playing a game. Granted, there was a lot more rounds in those days , but if he didn't need the picks he should have done something more valuable with them.

Edit: I think the fact that he didn't build the Bills on a salary cap in Buffalo, and that he was unable to build a balanced team in Indy under a cap is further indictment.

Edited August 21, 2020 by BullBuchanan

[Buftex]

Just now, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

I agree about Whaley. He wasn't nearly as bad as his reputation around here.  Don't know enough about Polian to judge him one way or the other.

Whaley never had the power that a good GM needs to build a winner.  Not to say he didnt make some mistakes, but I believe the Bills were very close to finally turning things around when Marrone was there...then he got saddled with Rex Ryan, and that blew everything up. Rex wasn't his coaching decision, EJ wasn't his QB pick... had he not been operating as a lame duck in his last draft, the word is out there that he really wanted Mahomes...but McDermott wasn't going for that.  Who knows, it might not have worked out the same for Mahomes if the Bills had drafted him in 2017 (and I am happy with McDermott and Allen), but that could have made things very interesting.

[DallasMac]

55 minutes ago, Success said:

Making 4 Super Bowls in a row and losing is worse than not making 4 Super Bowls in a row.

 

I was really young for the superbowls and barely remember them but I do remember being a very proud Bills fan.  Going to 4 straight even though they were losses is a tremendous accomplishment.  I sure wish they had at least got the first one though.

Edited August 21, 2020 by DallasMac

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

1 minute ago, Buftex said:

Whaley never had the power that a good GM needs to build a winner.  Not to say he didnt make some mistakes, but I believe the Bills were very close to finally turning things around when Marrone was there...then he got saddled with Rex Ryan, and that blew everything up. Rex wasn't his coaching decision, EJ wasn't his QB pick... had he not been operating as a lame duck in his last draft, the word is out there that he really wanted Mahomes...but McDermott wasn't going for that.  Who knows, it might not have worked out the same for Mahomes if the Bills had drafted him in 2017 (and I am happy with McDermott and Allen), but that could have made things very interesting.

 

Agree with all of this. The 2014 and 2015 teams were loaded with talent. One more year of Marrone and Schwartz with the addition of Tyrod in 2015 and the drought would have likely ended a couple years earlier. 

 

The good news is, as loaded as those rosters were in 2014 and 2015, it looks like we are even more loaded now. 

3 minutes ago, DallasMac said:

I was really young for the superb owls and barely remember them but I do remember being a very proud Bills fan.  Going to 4 straight even though they were losses is a tremendous accomplishment.  I sure wish they had at least got the first one though.

 

same here. was about 6-9 years old for all four of them.  Man, if they got just the first one and still lost the next three in a row they would probably be in the conversation still for one of the greatest dynasties of all time. 

[Mango]

Terrible hot take: EJ Manuel could have been a good QB. He had all the tools, the right head on his shoulders, over drafted, but the right situation could have developed him properly. He just needed more time and better coaching. Hackett and Marrone were destroying him. 
 

Thoughts today: He was never going to be good. But was good enough to bounce around as a career back up if he wanted. Marrone didn’t ruin him. But didn’t do him any favors either. EJ is the best QB in his draft class still. I’m not going to hate on taking the best QB in the draft at 16, even though he turned out crappy. You take that shot 100 times out of 100. He only left the league because he wanted to be a starter and he wasn’t, and he got a job in broadcasting. 

Hot take 2: Bills should have hired Schwartz over Rex. 
 

Thoughts today: Had we done that we would have McD, so I am OK with it. No idea how that would have turned out. But at the time it was still 100% a better decision than Rex Ryan 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Mango

[Beast]

1 hour ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

I agree about Whaley. He wasn't nearly as bad as his reputation around here.  Don't know enough about Polian to judge him one way or the other.

 

Yeah, him trading away the farm for Sammy Watkins, especially when we had Manuel as our QB, screams genius.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Beast

[GunnerBill]

46 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

Present- Trent Murphy is better then people realize. He is not constantly in danger of being cut. He’s a very effective pass rusher when he’s on the field. If he’s healthy, he can help the team. 
 

Past- Doug a Marone wasn’t a bad coach. Just because he took advantage of an opt out, doesn’t erase the fact that he was part of this teams turn around. From 14’ on, the Bills went from a joke, to respectable. He was a part of that initial step. McDermott is better, no question...but people act like Marone was terrible just because they were pissed at him for leaving

 

You are wrong on Murphy. But you are right on Doug.

[BUFFALOKIE]

I LIKE TURTLES.

[GunnerBill]

Honestly my least popular take ever on this board (even more so than not being a fan of the Josh Allen selection) was saying that Nate Peterman didn't have enough talent to spend a draft pick on. I had said it all that draft season way before he became a Bill but suddenly when we drafted him it became an unpopular take. 

 

I have been on these forums some 7 or 8 years and saying before he ever played a game that Nate Peterman totally sucked is the only opinion that has ever resulted in abusive and threatening PMs. 

 

Of course it isn't controversial now. But he had a completely crazed fanbase on here for a while. 

[MJS]

1 hour ago, Bills fan since 87 said:

I'll begin:

 

The early 2000's Jerseys, including the roads aren't as bad as everyone says.  Great? Heck no.  Current and everything prior blows them away but I still kinda liked them.  

 

What's everyone else got? 

I hate those uniforms, personally. If I had to choose one of them it would be the all blues.

[Chandler#81]

I’m glad we kept Kemp.

[Doc Brown]

Past - It wasn't an illegal forward pass.  Get over it. 

Present -  If the asking price is too high we should move on from Tre White and try to get some picks for him.  I have faith in this regime to replace him through the draft.

[BruceVilanch]

Travis Henry was a better running back than Fred Jackson.

[Don Otreply]

Outside of keeping the team in Buffalo Ralph was a bad owner. 

[Buftex]

9 minutes ago, BruceVilanch said:

Travis Henry was a better running back than Fred Jackson.

Henry was a bonehead, but he was a really great football player.

[BruceVilanch]

Just now, Buftex said:

Henry was a bonehead, but he was a really great football player.

Henry definitely "boned" 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

1 hour ago, Beast said:

 

Yeah, him trading away the farm for Sammy Watkins, especially when we had Manuel as our WB, screams genius.

 

And despite that blunder the team had talent all over the roster. A terrible head coach came in and destroyed our top 5 defense. 

[KD in CA]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Marv Levy wasn’t a good coach.

I think most have come to realize he was a good leader of men, but a mediocre game day coach who succeeded by having superior talent in 90% of the games.   From a coaching standpoint, he was totally over matched in those SBs as he went up against one all-time great after another.

 

 

1 hour ago, Mango said:

Terrible hot take: EJ Manuel could have been a good QB. He had all the tools, the right head on his shoulders, over drafted, but the right situation could have developed him properly. He just needed more time and better coaching. Hackett and Marrone were destroying him. 

That is a terrible hot take.  I don't think he ever had a snowballs chance in hell of succeeding in the NFL.  He was just not that good even in college.  I recall a couple FSU guys here at the time warning he was garbage.

[Bills fan since 87]

20 minutes ago, BruceVilanch said:

Travis Henry was a better running back than Fred Jackson.

 

Woah, now we're cooking with gas! 

[Beast]

9 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

And despite that blunder the team had talent all over the roster. A terrible head coach came in and destroyed our top 5 defense. 

Talent all over the roster except on the offensive side of the ball.

[BullBuchanan]

1 hour ago, BruceVilanch said:

Travis Henry was a better running back than Fred Jackson.

Travis Henry was clearly more talented and he burned hotter, I don't think that can be debated. Fred Jackson is maybe my favorite Bill of all time, but he really wasn't a very elite athlete. I think that Fred Jackson had two elite traits that allowed him to have a successful NFL career: vision and balance. It seems like he was constantly finding ways to stay on his feet where other backs would back down - I see a lot of that in Singletary. He also had a knack for finding and slipping into open spaces that made up for underwhelming athleticism. He reminded me of Stevie Johnson in that regard. It seemed to me like Fred Jackson was always the most prepared guy on the team, because he had to be. I would absolutely cut more talented players to find a role for him on any football team.

 

Travis Henry on the other hand had the physical gifts to run around or through anybody, and he was as tough an SOB as has played the game. Unfortunately, he was an idiot, as so many hyper talented guys seem to be.

Edited August 21, 2020 by BullBuchanan

[Golden Goat]

Eric Moulds = overrated

[BuffaloBillies]

Kelso's bubble helmet looked cool

[Buftex]

Past: Drew Bledsoe's first 8 games of the 2002 season may have been the best stretch of games by any Bills QB in my Bills lifetime..which starts around 1972. 

 

Past part 2: Dick Jauron was the worst Bills coach in my Bills lifetime...in my 48 years of living and dying with this team, the Dick Jauron era was the most joyless time of all. They may not have been the worst Bills teams ever, but they were just misrable to watch. I will never forget that Sunday late in the season, playing he Jets in the Meadowlands...Bills, after a mini good-start to the season lost something like six of eight games..the season, like so many others was circling the drain...but the Bills have a 27-24 lead in the final minutes....JP Losman is getting his final shot at proving himself as a starting QB on a lousy team. All they gotta do is ice the game...run the clock out...we can all be a little happy for a week...but nope...all the sudden Jauron turns into the riverboat gambler. Marshawn Lynch had been gashing the Jets defense all day...just giving him the effing ball, run the clock out!  But instead, on 2nd & 5, deep in their own end, Jauron calls for a playaction pass, at the last second...JP, playing with that "bee in his helmet", gets some pressure, and immediately decides he is going to run it...fumble scooped up by the Jets, and returned for the game wining TD.  I was so, so pissed.  And the camera goes to Jauron, motionless, with that deer in the headlights look...so angry.  It is the most angry I have ever beeen after a Bills loss. That night, I decided, "screw this, I am bailing on the last few games of the season, life is too short for this garbage".  Of course, I was back at the bar the rest of the season...but that was the first time I ever gave any serious consideration, for just a minute, of giving up on the Bills.  It still pisses me off, 12 years later!

 

Present: I got a feeling, Buffalo's going to the Super Bowl...

Edited August 23, 2020 by Buftex

[KD in CA]

5 minutes ago, Golden Goat said:

Eric Moulds = overrated

 

I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou.

 

10k yard WR who had eight QBs in 10 years here. And for the most part, they all sucked.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

27 minutes ago, Beast said:

Talent all over the roster except on the offensive side of the ball.

 

They were much better on that side in 2015.  I think top 10 in scoring. On paper I think we are a better offensive team now but we'll have to see if that translates to the field or not this year. 

 

But Rex came in and made a top 5 defense a bottom half of the league defense. 

 

Whaley never really had a good situation here in terms of head coaches. How much of that is his own fault I don't know. 

[JOE IN HAMPTON ROADS]

2 hours ago, Bills fan since 87 said:

I'll begin:

 

The early 2000's Jerseys, including the roads aren't as bad as everyone says.  Great? Heck no.  Current and everything prior blows them away but I still kinda liked them.  

 

What's everyone else got? 

Josh Allen is a franchise quarterback.

[Golden Goat]

5 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou.

 

10k yard WR who had eight QBs in 10 years here. And for the most part, they all sucked.

Hey now, the topic is "unpopular takes" -- Not "takes Lou and I agree on." ?