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So, the question is what do the Bills do going forward? Where are the issues?
Some of you want to can EJ after a bad game but you need to wake up and be realistic. The Bills are not going to spend all that time vetting the guy, drafting him, developing him, and trusting in him and then can him after one bad game when he just came back from being out for 4 weeks. But it does point to another issue in my mind... Depth.
To me it's about where are we at, what do we need, and then what are we likely to do. Some of you will issue the token sky is falling responses and that the Bills will suck forever. But this thread is more about taking an honest look at it and thinking rationally.
The rest of the season: Go into evaluation mode after the next loss. Develop young players on the field but expect sloppy play and losses. Start EJ throughout the rest of the year.
The right move: The aforementioned.
The Bills move: Probably the same.
Front office:
Whaley hasn't made any signature moves to make us way better when we needed it. He did however end up with a steal in trading Shepp who was garbage for Hughes. This years draft has out performed expectations. If Whaley can improve his ability to upgrade positions and most importantly the depth and shift from asking late round rookies and UDFA's to be primary backups we will be fine here.
The right move: Get on Whaley to spend more money and upgrade the backups with more proven options.
The Bills move: Stay the course.
Coaches:
Marrone's going to get one more year at least. It may be too early to fully assess Marrone. He's made bad choices with his red flags, hasn't motivated the team to close out games, hasn't gotten the mentality over the hump. But, he has put a team on the field that does not look lost for the most part even though they have an all new everything. They look physically ready and have not looked gassed in any game. He's had many young guys overachieve at times but not consistently. Pettine has done a fantastic job and the defense has the potential to be very good. If Marrone is fired we ought to look long and hard at Pettine as a possible head coach. He may not last long until he gets a head coaching gig in the league anyway. Hackett's offense has never really materialized. It's not been the fast paced, productive O that moves up and down the field and score on anyone that it supposedly would be. The run game has been very effective but we thought it should be with two very good backs.
The right move: Stick with Marrone and Pettine. Ditch Hackett and get a solid O coordinator with more experience to run an offense that better suits the talent.
The Bills move: Stay the course.
QB:
The truth is we, right now, on this team have no solid vet #2 QB. We have no legit backup at QB at all actually. What should have happened is EJ gets injured but our vet #2 QB comes in and wins the KC game at least and possibly more one and were going into this game at 5 and 4. And half way through this game when it was clear EJ was just not on his game, we could have benched him for our solid backup and possibly still won this game. Could we do that? No. That quality depth wasn't there. Lewis is our #3 and Tuel belongs out of the NFL. A guy like Kolb was the right answer but we don't have that guy. I really think Kolb will retired and the Bills will be looking for a solid vet backup this off-season.
The right move: Sign a legit solid #2 backup QB in the off-season who can win games in QB game management mode if EJ gets hurt or if he's having a bad game. It's too early to draft a whole new early round QB. Not enough games to properly evaluate Manuel.
The Bills move: The same as the right move. Really depends on Kolb but it'll either be Kolb or we will go after a solid vet as our #2.
WR:
Here we are again with no quality depth. I realize we want a young team since we have a huge hurdle to get over with an all new everything. But, Stevie is a primary receiver and Woods goes out and then we have what? Nothing. Graham and Goodwin have done little to nothing to show they can be an every down WR in this league. Both can run a fly route, catch the ball, and out run defenders. That's great. But that's one or maybe two plays a game. The vast majority of snaps will be in traffic and much shorter. Neither has shown they can be solid in that area. Woods definitely has. And so what we need is either a proven vet with size and speed or a rookie that's bigger over faster. A guy who can get off the physical corners and can get open in shorter routes. We don't have to have a guy who strictly a possession receiver. It can be a quick guy. But it should be someone with better size. Another Robert Woods would be ideal.
The right move: Sign or draft a guy with better size but plenty fast like Marqise Lee or Sammy Watkins.
The Bills move: Likely nothing. They'll stick with their choices in Graham and Goodwin
RB:
Spiller must be injured still. We're going with Freddy a lot and this wasn't his best game. He missed some holes and ran tentative at times. Freddy belongs here and Spiller will get back to being Spiller. I'd like to see a young option with fresh legs and some size and speed.
The right move: Maybe nothing, possibly a later round speed and size RB
The Bills move: Maybe the same
TE:
Chandler made a few plays but just is not a high quality receiving threat. Gragg made a bad drop and may not be the answer either. Having a receiving TE who can out run LB's and blow over S's is a nice thing to have. This could take the pressure of a young QB and give him a legit short area option.
The right move: Sign or draft a legit receiving TE in an early round.
The Bills move: Probably to draft on in a mid-round. The Bills like to get impact positions earlier and could ignore it in favor of other positions.
OL:
The O line did a decent job and has played well most of the games. There is a contingent of fans that will never be satisfied with what we have but also won't have specific solutions when pressed as to what they think we should do. What we do know is that Legursky isn't good enough to be our solid starter long term. Pears plays questionable at times.
The right move: Get a legit starting LG and a solid vet to push Pears if Hairston is never coming back. Add in a few rookies to push for depth spots.
The Bills move: Could be the same but they are more likely to go with a mid rounder to push Legursky instead of an early rounder and then not add quality vet depth.
DL:
Not much is needed here. Branch is a solid vet backup and Carrington will be back eventually. The question will be whether Carrington is re-signed. If he is we're probably fine.
The right move: Re-sign Carrington
The Bills move: The same
LB:
Alonso is a stud and Lawson has been solid. Hughes has been a very nice add for his rushing abilities. To think that we got him by trading away Shepp who was garbage was a major steal in my opinion. All that said, we need play-makers who can at the very least play in waves. Adding a very good play-maker to play along Alonso would be very helpful. We still have to deal with the underneath routes from receiving TE's like Gronk. We need a guy who's gifted at rushing the passer and is also fast enough and fluid enough to stay with TE's.
The right move: Sign a high profile play-maker at OLB or draft one in an early round.
The Bills move: Draft a OLB early or in a mid-round.
DB:
The backfield is finally back together and back from injury. But again it begs the question as to why we ever though Rogers or Brooks could be good enough to play at #2 CB. It's been inadequate depth. Also, Gilmore looks rusty and hasn't gotten back to his old self yet. We all know he will. McKelvin can play solid but can also be beat. Byrd looks like he's finally back. Aaron Williams looks like a very good S. The question is really what will the Bills do about Byrd. I think time may heal the wound here and that Byrd will reach an agreement with the Bills.
The right move: Re-sign Byrd. Add a veteran backup who can play even as high as #2 CB or draft one in an earlier round.
The Bills move: Re-sign Byrd. Ignore CB until a mid-round. End up playing UFA's when injury happens.
Overall, the team is decent and on the right track. There's no way to know yet whether EJ is good enough we will just have to hit the pass button on his fate until we see way more even though it's such a critical position. I think we'll see sloppy play at times and more frustrating games. We'll be a frustrating team because we'll get close but not finish probably several more times. It's a statement about who we are... building but not quite there yet. A good team with a good group but lacking just enough to keep us out of real contention. If EJ develops into a above average starter, we add a few play-makers, and we bolster our depth with quality who can play solid if we get injuries, we can be a playoff team. We're not that far off but we have to change the way we typically do business.
Some of you want to can EJ after a bad game but you need to wake up and be realistic. The Bills are not going to spend all that time vetting the guy, drafting him, developing him, and trusting in him and then can him after one bad game when he just came back from being out for 4 weeks. But it does point to another issue in my mind... Depth.
To me it's about where are we at, what do we need, and then what are we likely to do. Some of you will issue the token sky is falling responses and that the Bills will suck forever. But this thread is more about taking an honest look at it and thinking rationally.
The rest of the season: Go into evaluation mode after the next loss. Develop young players on the field but expect sloppy play and losses. Start EJ throughout the rest of the year.
The right move: The aforementioned.
The Bills move: Probably the same.
Front office:
Whaley hasn't made any signature moves to make us way better when we needed it. He did however end up with a steal in trading Shepp who was garbage for Hughes. This years draft has out performed expectations. If Whaley can improve his ability to upgrade positions and most importantly the depth and shift from asking late round rookies and UDFA's to be primary backups we will be fine here.
The right move: Get on Whaley to spend more money and upgrade the backups with more proven options.
The Bills move: Stay the course.
Coaches:
Marrone's going to get one more year at least. It may be too early to fully assess Marrone. He's made bad choices with his red flags, hasn't motivated the team to close out games, hasn't gotten the mentality over the hump. But, he has put a team on the field that does not look lost for the most part even though they have an all new everything. They look physically ready and have not looked gassed in any game. He's had many young guys overachieve at times but not consistently. Pettine has done a fantastic job and the defense has the potential to be very good. If Marrone is fired we ought to look long and hard at Pettine as a possible head coach. He may not last long until he gets a head coaching gig in the league anyway. Hackett's offense has never really materialized. It's not been the fast paced, productive O that moves up and down the field and score on anyone that it supposedly would be. The run game has been very effective but we thought it should be with two very good backs.
The right move: Stick with Marrone and Pettine. Ditch Hackett and get a solid O coordinator with more experience to run an offense that better suits the talent.
The Bills move: Stay the course.
QB:
The truth is we, right now, on this team have no solid vet #2 QB. We have no legit backup at QB at all actually. What should have happened is EJ gets injured but our vet #2 QB comes in and wins the KC game at least and possibly more one and were going into this game at 5 and 4. And half way through this game when it was clear EJ was just not on his game, we could have benched him for our solid backup and possibly still won this game. Could we do that? No. That quality depth wasn't there. Lewis is our #3 and Tuel belongs out of the NFL. A guy like Kolb was the right answer but we don't have that guy. I really think Kolb will retired and the Bills will be looking for a solid vet backup this off-season.
The right move: Sign a legit solid #2 backup QB in the off-season who can win games in QB game management mode if EJ gets hurt or if he's having a bad game. It's too early to draft a whole new early round QB. Not enough games to properly evaluate Manuel.
The Bills move: The same as the right move. Really depends on Kolb but it'll either be Kolb or we will go after a solid vet as our #2.
WR:
Here we are again with no quality depth. I realize we want a young team since we have a huge hurdle to get over with an all new everything. But, Stevie is a primary receiver and Woods goes out and then we have what? Nothing. Graham and Goodwin have done little to nothing to show they can be an every down WR in this league. Both can run a fly route, catch the ball, and out run defenders. That's great. But that's one or maybe two plays a game. The vast majority of snaps will be in traffic and much shorter. Neither has shown they can be solid in that area. Woods definitely has. And so what we need is either a proven vet with size and speed or a rookie that's bigger over faster. A guy who can get off the physical corners and can get open in shorter routes. We don't have to have a guy who strictly a possession receiver. It can be a quick guy. But it should be someone with better size. Another Robert Woods would be ideal.
The right move: Sign or draft a guy with better size but plenty fast like Marqise Lee or Sammy Watkins.
The Bills move: Likely nothing. They'll stick with their choices in Graham and Goodwin
RB:
Spiller must be injured still. We're going with Freddy a lot and this wasn't his best game. He missed some holes and ran tentative at times. Freddy belongs here and Spiller will get back to being Spiller. I'd like to see a young option with fresh legs and some size and speed.
The right move: Maybe nothing, possibly a later round speed and size RB
The Bills move: Maybe the same
TE:
Chandler made a few plays but just is not a high quality receiving threat. Gragg made a bad drop and may not be the answer either. Having a receiving TE who can out run LB's and blow over S's is a nice thing to have. This could take the pressure of a young QB and give him a legit short area option.
The right move: Sign or draft a legit receiving TE in an early round.
The Bills move: Probably to draft on in a mid-round. The Bills like to get impact positions earlier and could ignore it in favor of other positions.
OL:
The O line did a decent job and has played well most of the games. There is a contingent of fans that will never be satisfied with what we have but also won't have specific solutions when pressed as to what they think we should do. What we do know is that Legursky isn't good enough to be our solid starter long term. Pears plays questionable at times.
The right move: Get a legit starting LG and a solid vet to push Pears if Hairston is never coming back. Add in a few rookies to push for depth spots.
The Bills move: Could be the same but they are more likely to go with a mid rounder to push Legursky instead of an early rounder and then not add quality vet depth.
DL:
Not much is needed here. Branch is a solid vet backup and Carrington will be back eventually. The question will be whether Carrington is re-signed. If he is we're probably fine.
The right move: Re-sign Carrington
The Bills move: The same
LB:
Alonso is a stud and Lawson has been solid. Hughes has been a very nice add for his rushing abilities. To think that we got him by trading away Shepp who was garbage was a major steal in my opinion. All that said, we need play-makers who can at the very least play in waves. Adding a very good play-maker to play along Alonso would be very helpful. We still have to deal with the underneath routes from receiving TE's like Gronk. We need a guy who's gifted at rushing the passer and is also fast enough and fluid enough to stay with TE's.
The right move: Sign a high profile play-maker at OLB or draft one in an early round.
The Bills move: Draft a OLB early or in a mid-round.
DB:
The backfield is finally back together and back from injury. But again it begs the question as to why we ever though Rogers or Brooks could be good enough to play at #2 CB. It's been inadequate depth. Also, Gilmore looks rusty and hasn't gotten back to his old self yet. We all know he will. McKelvin can play solid but can also be beat. Byrd looks like he's finally back. Aaron Williams looks like a very good S. The question is really what will the Bills do about Byrd. I think time may heal the wound here and that Byrd will reach an agreement with the Bills.
The right move: Re-sign Byrd. Add a veteran backup who can play even as high as #2 CB or draft one in an earlier round.
The Bills move: Re-sign Byrd. Ignore CB until a mid-round. End up playing UFA's when injury happens.
Overall, the team is decent and on the right track. There's no way to know yet whether EJ is good enough we will just have to hit the pass button on his fate until we see way more even though it's such a critical position. I think we'll see sloppy play at times and more frustrating games. We'll be a frustrating team because we'll get close but not finish probably several more times. It's a statement about who we are... building but not quite there yet. A good team with a good group but lacking just enough to keep us out of real contention. If EJ develops into a above average starter, we add a few play-makers, and we bolster our depth with quality who can play solid if we get injuries, we can be a playoff team. We're not that far off but we have to change the way we typically do business.
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