Good to see the Bills are in mid-season form

[Alsacs]

If they do fire Rex, I think their top target will be Kyle Shanahan based on the fact that they were rumored to have a lot of interest in him back when they hired Rex.

Personally, I think they should give Rex another year and would probably lean towards keeping Tyrod too.

As a Patriots fan I endorse the Bills keeping Rex Ryan. He has done okay versus them but he is a boob who lose them games.

Taylor is a decent QB they would be smart to keep him as just like Chris Hogan their would be a team that would sign him and use well.

None of these college QBs Kiser, Watson, Trumisky scream franchise guy.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

If they do fire Rex, I think their top target will be Kyle Shanahan based on the fact that they were rumored to have a lot of interest in him back when they hired Rex.

Personally, I think they should give Rex another year and would probably lean towards keeping Tyrod too.

I would roll the dice on Shanahan, I am not in favor of Rex or Tyrod and I was in favor of bring both back up until last couple weeks. Rex just isn't a HC, put and end to it and move on

 

[KaiserUEO]

I would roll the dice on Shanahan, I am not in favor of Rex or Tyrod and I was in favor of bring both back up until last couple weeks. Rex just isn't a HC, put and end to it and move on

likewise.

get an offensive mind in there.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I think its time to move on from Rex. I wasn't a huge fan of his hire and the D has been bad both years he's been here. Taylor has been mediorcore but at this point I am not sure what Buffalo can hope to get that's better. We won't have a high draft pick and the Bills never take a QB in the middle rounds so landing someone like a Dak or Russell Wilson is highly unlikely. Might as well keep Taylor and see about developing Cardale.

Lots of decisions for the Bills this off-season. Try to re-sign Woods or Gilmore or let them walk? Push Kyle Williams toward retirement and save 8 million +? Bills definitely need to address WR, S and OL in the first 3 rounds of the draft. Would be smart to trade down in the 2nd round and pick up an extra 3rd or 4th round pick. Also as unlikely as it is I would certainly look into getting Romo, injury history or not we need all the QB options we can get our hands on.

 

[JeremyCuse]

At this point Buffalo should look to sign one S in FA and draft at least one more, the position is in desperate straights. I am suspecting that A. Williams will retire this off-season based on the issues with his neck. Even if he decides to give it one more try, you can't count on him actually making it through a full season. Not sure what Safeties are on the market this year but Buffalo should be very very active there.

 

[Alsacs]

Damn I just looked at the Bills final 3 games Cleveland, Tannehill less Miami, and @New York.

Those are 3 really winnable games. You guys should start Cardale Jones the last week and help the Jets win so they draft pick is higher and lowers your own. Man if the Bills had beaten one of Oakland or Pittsburgh you could gotten to 10-6 and that gets you in the playoffs.

 

[Alsacs]

Looking at the AFC 9-7 might get in.
Denver 8-5 has New England, @KC, Oakland
Miami no Tannehill 8-5 @NYJ, @BUF, NE
Tennessee 7-6 @KC, Jax, Houston
Baltimore 7-6 Philly, @Pitt, @Cincy

Only Denver really could get above 9-7.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Damn I just looked at the Bills final 3 games Cleveland, Tannehill less Miami, and @New York.

Those are 3 really winnable games. You guys should start Cardale Jones the last week and help the Jets win so they draft pick is higher and lowers your own. Man if the Bills had beaten one of Oakland or Pittsburgh you could gotten to 10-6 and that gets you in the playoffs.

Story of the last 15 years +, if they only won X Y Z game they would have made the playoffs. I fully expect Buffalo to run the table and finish 9-7 missing the playoffs. It's pretty much destiny at this point as Buffalo loves to get your hopes up and then send them crashing down to earth. Look no further then two years ago when they beat up the Packers and Aaron Rodgers and then lost the following week at a terrible Oakland team in week 16 knocking them out of the playoffs. ( I believe they would have been out even if they won the game the way week 17 played out but you get the point). Now that there's no pressure or need to win the last three games we will run the table.

 

[Melancer46]

Damn I just looked at the Bills final 3 games Cleveland, Tannehill less Miami, and @New York.

Those are 3 really winnable games. You guys should start Cardale Jones the last week and help the Jets win so they draft pick is higher and lowers your own. Man if the Bills had beaten one of Oakland or Pittsburgh you could gotten to 10-6 and that gets you in the playoffs.

Or the Seahawks game that the Bills outplayed them for for 90% of it. Or the Ravens game where they left roughly 28 easy points on the field and lost like 10-7. Or the Jets game where they inexplicably let Fitzpatrick absolutely torch them and still almost won. A lot of blown opportunities this year.

 

[Melancer46]

Looking at the AFC 9-7 might get in.
Denver 8-5 has New England, @KC, Oakland
Miami no Tannehill 8-5 @NYJ, @BUF, NE
Tennessee 7-6 @KC, Jax, Houston
Baltimore 7-6 Philly, @Pitt, @Cincy

Only Denver really could get above 9-7.

I think Buffalo loses the tiebreaker to literally any other 9-7 team, so they basically have to hope Denver, Miami, and Baltimore all fall to 8-8.

 

[shandeezy7]

As a Patriots fan I endorse the Bills keeping Rex Ryan. He has done okay versus them but he is a boob who lose them games.

Taylor is a decent QB they would be smart to keep him as just like Chris Hogan their would be a team that would sign him and use well.

None of these college QBs Kiser, Watson, Trumisky scream franchise guy.

The Bills would have loved to have kept Hogan, but they didn't have enough flexibility in the cap and the Pats knew that. They structured Hogan's deal in a way that made it impossible for the Bills to match.

 

[shandeezy7]

Ryan Fitzpatrick got $12 million this year. CHASE DANIEL got over $7 mil. You really think nobody would be willing to pay Tyrod even $10 mil? There are so many teams out there that are desperate for a starting QB, in a year where there's basically no QBs worth drafting early, and outside of Cousins, Tyrod will be by far the best QB available. To put it in perspective, $15 million = #24 QB in the league in terms of salary (obviously ahead of all the rookie contract guys). $15 million = literally the lowest paid starting QB in the NFL outside of rookie contract guys and RG3. I'd be pretty shocked if a team isn't willing to give him $15 mil and could easily see him getting more than that.

Edit: Even if the Bills pick up Tyrod's seemingly massive option, his cap hit would still put him ahead of just two other non-rookie contract starters in the NFL.

Fitz threw for 4,000 yards and 31 TD's, plus 270 rushing yards and 2 TD's in 2015 and literally no one in the league would give him more than $12 million. Tyrod is on pace for 3,000 yards and 15 TD's. Throw in another 600 yards rushing and 6 TD's and you're still only at 3,600 yards and 21 TD's. Why would all of these desperate teams that passed on Fitz be so interested in handing out a huge contract to Taylor?

I still say that the Bills should try to get a more favorable contract out of Tyrod for them. If that doesn't work, then so be it. Draft a QB and move on. Don't think he really deserves starter money when he hasn't really proven he can be an effective starting QB. At least not a QB that you can rely on to win you games.

 

[JeremyCuse]

The Bills would have loved to have kept Hogan, but they didn't have enough flexibility in the cap and the Pats knew that. They structured Hogan's deal in a way that made it impossible for the Bills to match.

Spot on about Hogan, cap issues forced us to let him go. To bad would have been great to have him back.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Spot on about Hogan, cap issues forced us to let him go. To bad would have been great to have him back.

he continues to get better every years as well. They could have really used him for sure

 

[Toga]

Fitz threw for 4,000 yards and 31 TD's, plus 270 rushing yards and 2 TD's in 2015 and literally no one in the league would give him more than $12 million. Tyrod is on pace for 3,000 yards and 15 TD's. Throw in another 600 yards rushing and 6 TD's and you're still only at 3,600 yards and 21 TD's. Why would all of these desperate teams that passed on Fitz be so interested in handing out a huge contract to Taylor?

I still say that the Bills should try to get a more favorable contract out of Tyrod for them. If that doesn't work, then so be it. Draft a QB and move on. Don't think he really deserves starter money when he hasn't really proven he can be an effective starting QB. At least not a QB that you can rely on to win you games.

Does some OK things. Legs. Deep ball. As far as undersized QBs - not in the neighborhood of Brees / Wilson.

 

[Melancer46]

Fitz threw for 4,000 yards and 31 TD's, plus 270 rushing yards and 2 TD's in 2015 and literally no one in the league would give him more than $12 million. Tyrod is on pace for 3,000 yards and 15 TD's. Throw in another 600 yards rushing and 6 TD's and you're still only at 3,600 yards and 21 TD's. Why would all of these desperate teams that passed on Fitz be so interested in handing out a huge contract to Taylor?

I still say that the Bills should try to get a more favorable contract out of Tyrod for them. If that doesn't work, then so be it. Draft a QB and move on. Don't think he really deserves starter money when he hasn't really proven he can be an effective starting QB. At least not a QB that you can rely on to win you games.

If you really think Fitz is comparable to Tyrod, then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Fitz has been terrible every season of his career. People didn't want Fitz because even in what was by far the best season of his career, he led the league in interceptable passes with over 30 of them. He simply got extremely lucky last year and teams didn't fall for it. Fitz was also heading into his age 34 season with 8 years of shitty starting experience, compared to Tyrod, who will be entering his age 28 season coming off a year where most people considered him to have had a borderline top 10 QB season and then this year, where he's just been average at best. Two years as a pretty good starter versus 8 years as a horrible starter.

 

[shandeezy7]

If you really think Fitz is comparable to Tyrod, then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Fitz has been terrible every season of his career. People didn't want Fitz because even in what was by far the best season of his career, he led the league in interceptable passes with over 30 of them. He simply got extremely lucky last year and teams didn't fall for it. Fitz was also heading into his age 34 season with 8 years of shitty starting experience, compared to Tyrod, who will be entering his age 28 season coming off a year where most people considered him to have had a borderline top 10 QB season and then this year, where he's just been average at best. Two years as a pretty good starter versus 8 years as a horrible starter.

He's regressed in almost every facet this year, and that's with pressure being taken off of him by having an exceptional run game. He can't see the middle of the field, he refuses to make read throws or take any kind of chances, and he either holds on to the ball for far too long or he tucks it in and takes off way too quickly. I just don't think he has the necessary instincts or ability to read defenses to be even a moderately successful starting QB in the NFL. I think we've seen enough of that, and I think GM's in the league would see the same thing.

It's virtually impossible to win in today's NFL without a top 10 QB (minus a Hall of Fame QB in his twilight, matched with a ridiculous defense), and I don't think that Tyrod will ever be a top 10 QB. Regardless, even if the Bills do pick up his option, I hope that they also draft a QB early in the draft.

 

[MSOrange]

Bills likely to move on from Ryan, sources say

 

[shandeezy7]

Bills likely to move on from Ryan, sources say

But keep Whaley and Brandon around. It will be the same old same old at One Bills Drive.

 

[MSOrange]

But keep Whaley and Brandon around. It will be the same old same old at One Bills Drive.

Tend to agree. I'm less of a fan of Rex than I am of Whaley so thrilled to get rid of Rex. But I think I'd rather start clean at this point.

 

[shandeezy7]

 

[Trueblue25]

So help me god if the Bills upset the dolphins on Xmas Eve...

 

[pattycuse]

A few thoughts:

- Earlier in the season I mentioned that the 49ers were one of the worst NFL teams I had seen in awhile. Well, replace them with the Browns at the top of the list. That was a really lousy team with poor schemes and a lack of talent. RG3...yikes what a fall off from the glory days. Definitely understand why they haven't won a game all year. It will be interesting to see if their analytics approach works...I am not optimistic.

-McCoy, in a world where RBs are definitely worth less, is a difference maker. He made Cleveland look silly- 153 yards without breaking a sweat. A truly elite offensive asset.

- Welcome back Mr. Clay! Loved seeing him get so many offensive targets, and great production as well. Might be a byproduct of the Browns schemes but regardless it was good to see. Amazing that he has been MIA so much this year with his physical abilities, but some of that is on Tyrod.

- Taylor looked good, albeit against much lower competition- hit some timing routes as well as read the middle of the field. I also feel like at times the designed rollouts are such that they limit his reads to one side of the field, which may be an obvious statement. He also airmailed a few balls. Despite good numbers, Taylor just appears to have a ceiling of great athlete and average thrower. It's been debated on this thread but personally I wouldn't pay him 28 million for this level of production.

Ultimately this is Buffalo: able to beat bad teams and can't match up against elite competition. It's why I think we have to completely change the approach. Right or wrong, Rex is at best a .500 coach. Right or wrong, Whaley has been present the last 7 playoff-less years- and participated in both coaching picks. Right or wrong, Dareus has not played up to his guaranteed max contract, amongst other personnel and contract errors. Those are facts, not opinions. The Bills need to figure out what needs to change at a fundamental level to align the organization on a trajectory to win championships...and a coaching change alone won't do it.

My great fear is the Bills win the last two, go 9-7, miss the playoffs...and mistake fools gold for real sustained success. Compare this year's SU team: in some ways we had to bottom out to build for the future. I hope the Pegulas have the vision to pursue the same path.

Unrelated, I have enjoyed commiserating with fellow fans in this board...I usually just lurk, but it's been a pleasure dipping a toe in the waters around here. Hope everyone enjoys the holidays.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

They can't keep everything as is and expect much better results next year. That said, I think they go 9-7 and I think the players want Rex back. I am not so sure at 9-7 he doesn't squeak out another year. I wont root for them to lose but it's a strange position to be in.

Can I see 10-6 next year with some better lick on injuries? Sure, I guess but I don't see anything better than a wildcard birth and a 1st round defeat with Rex, to me that is the ceiling.

Interesting next few weeks I would rather Rex leave than Tyrod, this team has some talent but also has some glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed. Their FG kicker is one as well.

Rex will have to fix the defense if they want to win 10-11 games. Rex as Bills head coach has been exactly what I thought he would be. Sloppy, frustrating, over rated on defense and .500. He is who he is at this point. Not terrible, not great, somewhere between mediocre and OK. That said, the Bills could do FAR worse as well. A guy like Kyle Shanahan could be a monumental disaster, he could be very good too. Do you give a guy like Jim Schwartz another shot? I have no idea, I don't love head coaches without experience but retreads are often just that as well.

It's kind of just wash rinse repeat past 3-4 years, Bills are .500 and need something to push them over the top to get to the playoffs, that push could be like a punch in the face if they hire the wrong guy. Like I said, it can get a lot worse than Rex Ryan too

 

[shandeezy7]

They can't keep everything as is and expect much better results next year. That said, I think they go 9-7 and I think the players want Rex back. I am not so sure at 9-7 he doesn't squeak out another year. I wont root for them to lose but it's a strange position to be in.

Can I see 10-6 next year with some better lick on injuries? Sure, I guess but I don't see anything better than a wildcard birth and a 1st round defeat with Rex, to me that is the ceiling.

Interesting next few weeks I would rather Rex leave than Tyrod, this team has some talent but also has some glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed. Their FG kicker is one as well.

Rex will have to fix the defense if they want to win 10-11 games. Rex as Bills head coach has been exactly what I thought he would be. Sloppy, frustrating, over rated on defense and .500. He is who he is at this point. Not terrible, not great, somewhere between mediocre and OK. That said, the Bills could do FAR worse as well. A guy like Kyle Shanahan could be a monumental disaster, he could be very good too. Do you give a guy like Jim Schwartz another shot? I have no idea, I don't love head coaches without experience but retreads are often just that as well.

It's kind of just wash rinse repeat past 3-4 years, Bills are .500 and need something to push them over the top to get to the playoffs, that push could be like a punch in the face if they hire the wrong guy. Like I said, it can get a lot worse than Rex Ryan too

I would have loved to have seen what Schwartz would have done with this team. He had the defense tops in the league (which Rex has ruined), and I think he would have been smart enough to hire a good offensive mind and give them total control over the offense. Not sure how I'd feel about him coming in now though, with the defensive personnel changing so much. Still think he got a bad rap in Detroit. He took a perennial loser and made them into a playoff team.