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Doug Whaley puts full onus of EJ Manuel pick on Buddy Nix; believes he should have been a 3rd/4th round pick


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4 hours ago, mjt328 said:

 

Whaley clearly had an eye for talent.  But something was missing as a General Manager.

It was hard to put a finger on exactly what that was, until Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott took over.

 

For an organization to be successful, the front office must have a seamless relationship with the coaching staff.  

You can't just throw "good football players" onto a roster.  You must consider the scheme, the personality fit with teammates, etc.

It's not a coincidence that Whaley clashed with both Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan, or that he's throwing his former co-workers under the bus now.

 

I think he deserves a job in the NFL as a pro-scouting director.  But a team would be foolish to give him another GM position.

 

As a fan from Wyoming that showed up with Allen don't have much perspective on the guy but this video I thought might have an interesting comparison of him and McDermott. 

 

Sean show up for this press event wearing a suit and tie clearly trying to project his professional manner, and Whaley was wearing a long sleeve T-shirt/sweatshirt?

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13 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

As a fan from Wyoming that showed up with Allen don't have much perspective on the guy but this video I thought might have an interesting comparison of him and McDermott. 

 

Sean show up for this press event wearing a suit and tie clearly trying to project his professional manner, and Whaley was wearing a long sleeve T-shirt/sweatshirt?

I remember this video. It was a fascinating rewatch.

 

I especially got a kick out of how McD introduced himself to the welcoming party at 1BD. I remember thinking that it was an awkward exchange the first time I saw this video. Now it just looks like someone that was very prepared to take a leadership role. In fact, he seemed more prepared than many of the other “leaders” in the building.

 

It was a video meant to place a good light on McD. That and his success certainly create bias. But I still feel like the fact that he had to introduce himself and the fact that it seemed so natural for him is both a damning insight into the Bills’ past and a pleasant thought for their future.

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6 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:


My take is that this is a lot of revisionist history on Whaley’s part designed to paint him in a positive light.

 

I do believe that Nix was hell bent on finding a QB but I have a hard time thinking that Whaley was not on board with the move.  First there’s that video of him taking credit for the selection.  Then the next season Whaley doubled down on EJ by drafting Sammy. Finally when it was pretty clear EJ was a bust Whaley, who was still GM at the time, never distended himself from the EJ section.  
 

These don’t look like the moves of someone who wasn’t on board with EJ as QB.    

 

 

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4 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Why does Whaley believe he would still be in the league as a backup if he went On day 2 or 3? Because no one would have seen him play to know that he can’t?


My guess is that he’s assuming EJ wouldn’t have the unreasonable expectations of being a 1st round franchise QB on him.  As a mid-round pick there might have been a chance that he could have been slowly groomed into a backup position, as opposed to a starter.  
 

I know that EJ’s confidence was completely shot in Buffalo because he was being cast for a position he never should have been in.  But I think it was far from the only reason that he failed in the NFL

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While Nix was one of the worst GMs I’ve ever seen, Whaley’s Rex Ryan Press Conference and humans shouldn’t play football quote made him look incompetent.

 

Whaley has no one to blame for passing on Khalil Mack out of Buffalo for Sammy Watkins. Seems to me on that one he backed himself into a corner to get a WR1 for EJ.

 

 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:


I mean that was literally a pre-recorded speech he gave to the Backers IIRC.  If he now says he was lying, it’s called consumer fraud.  Dude should just never speak to the media because he’s a moron with that stuff.

 

That's basically my take on Whaley.  Hell of a scout, should not be allowed near a microphone, ever.

28 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

While Nix was one of the worst GMs I’ve ever seen,

 

I'm just gonna sit here and look at this statement for a while.

 

Nix.  Was hailed as an actual competent football man when the job was given him.  Did a bunch of things that were highly approved by fans at the time, such as firing Tom Modrak and revamping the scouting organization.

 

One of the worst GM's you've ever seen.

 

Son, I think you may be suffering from selective memory here.

 

Lucky you!

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2 hours ago, Warcodered said:

As a fan from Wyoming that showed up with Allen don't have much perspective on the guy but this video I thought might have an interesting comparison of him and McDermott. 

 

Sean show up for this press event wearing a suit and tie clearly trying to project his professional manner, and Whaley was wearing a long sleeve T-shirt/sweatshirt?

 

At this point, most feel the writing was on the wall that Whaley was a "lame duck" and it affected how he presented himself.  There was a famed debacle of a press conferece after Rex Ryan was hired which left Whaley in a very bad light.

 

There are a few here who believe that Whaley firmly believed he would continue as GM, and claim inside knowledge to that effect but most seem to feel otherwise.

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4 hours ago, Doc said:

I believe him. I also believe that if he had stayed GM, Mahomes would’ve been ours.

 

 

I believe you are correct.

 

Good scout.........excellent eye for football talent.........but that was literally all he brought to the table as a GM...........and it's a position that requires A LOT more.

 

People reflect on his trade up for Sammy Watkins like that was his MO..........that was about the only time he showed any courage/conviction.........spineless is a good description of his tenure.

 

He didn't understand the first rule of management.   Regardless of whether you made the call, it's your fault if you have the GM title.

 

Clearly he thought that standing for the outgoing GM selecting HIS QB and the marketing guy and neophyte owners hiring his first two HC's wasn't going to be held against him.   Maybe he didn't want to walk away from the money but he should have resigned SEVERAL times before he got fired.    

 

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8 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Doug Whaley never had a problem seeing talent 

 

He has an accountability problem. I believe what he's saying

 

But he never took any responsibility for his own actions while he was our GM. He always passed the blame 

 

But he could scout

Agreed. He would pull the curtain back when cornered, rather than publicly face the music. That brand of defensive "honesty" (I don't see him as dishonest) comes off as scapegoating and deflecting when under scrutiny. 

 

I've witnessed him, in front of scouts and players, openly mock other teams' overdrafted/overvalued players before, so I tend to believe the scout in him wasn't sold on Manuel. He came off as a tough evaluator. He was just so damned candid/unfiltered, probably too much so to be a top football guy for an NFL franchise. 

9 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Exactly. He's too shifty and opportunistic (I'll bet none of what he's saying in this quote is dishonest, exactly, yet he could be omitting important context) to be a public-facing leader. And while I often imagine him being very blunt with his own guys, this kind of thing calls his integrity into question.

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Whaley may have been a good talent evaluator but his lack of a spine makes him a bad leader.   I believe Fitz made a pretty famous joke about Whaley at one of the WGR roasts.

 

As an aside, Buddy NIx may have over-drafted a QB while he was here, but he never ended up on the instagram of the owner's daughter while employed by the team.  Literally no respect for Whaley. 

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I'm one of the few who thinks Whaley put a good team together here.  Sure, there were blunders along the way, but you could say that for any GM.

 

Rex and Doug Marrone weren't exactly visionaries who could see the vision through and we all know he wasn't behind those selections.

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