(Rich here. Typically, I’d have the witty rejoinder and some comments about where I stand on things. Not today however. Instead, I enlisted the aid of the fine folks on staff to see where they stood. Their comments are below – with their twitter handles, should you want to throw things in their direction…flowers, candy…vitriol. Also, note that at no point does “lack of quotable content” hit from any of them with regards to any of this stuff. Enjoy.)
Question 1 – Do you activate Taylor’s extension? If not, where do you go for QB?
Michael (@manecci): As much as I want to say “NO FREAKING WAY” to this question, the Bills almost no choice but to. Who are they realistically going to get? Tony Romo won’t accept a trade here. And the free agent pool is extremely shallow http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/quarterback/.
After the week 2 Jets game the Bills lost 2 of their top 3 WR’s going into the season, Watkins, and Greg Salas (remember him?). Tyrod’s now throwing to Sammy Watkins on one foot, Justin Hunter, Goodwin, and Brandon Tate. I think we know what we have in Taylor, but in his defense he has nobody who would be on any other NFL roster as his targets. The only way to get a franchise QB is in the draft.
Joe (Uh, come on now): No. They should’t do it and its about cap numbers for me. I feel bad for Tyrod. I wanted to believe in him and feel that this fan and media base have zero patience for any QB cause 16 years of losing has killed any goodwill. We’ve become a society that is more concerned about Tyrod missing WRs than if Tyrod makes a play with his legs. I’m still waiting for a lame streamer to explain to me what a franchise QB is?
I assure you, if the Bills had Joe Flacco, you bet your bottom dollar the Jerry Sullivan’s of the world would be comparing him to Brady and try to run him out of town as not being a franchise QB. And if we had Aaron Rodgers, it would be how he only has one title and his numbers have been off. If you are average, you need to demand good…if you are good, you need to demand great…if you are great, you need to demand legendary status. This is the narrative in 2016: It’s just never good enough.
Evan (@evancdent): I do activate Taylor’s extension, mostly because I can’t think of a realistic, better answer for the second part of the question. The free agent QBs are, to put it mildly, butt. I grew up in Chicago, and I’ve seen enough from the past decade to know I want no part of the Jay Cutler experience. Jimmy Garoppolo is intriguing, but I think the price would have to be high for the Patriots to trade him within the division – a price that the Bills will probably blanch at.
Getting Tony Romo would be a waste without significant upgrades to the rest of the roster, but he would be an upgrade. If Doug Whaley has the cojones to go get Romo, then don’t activate the extension. But I don’t see it happening, and I don’t think anyone they draft will be ready to start this year, so I think they give Tyrod another shot. This doesn’t mean the Bills shouldn’t draft a QB – they absolutely should – but the class is, according to draftniks, not especially strong.
Mike M (@mmigliore): I think the Bills have to decide what their overall plan is going forward for 2017 and (more importantly) beyond. If Whaley and Ryan are here to stay (I think they will be), the Bills likely want to patch the holes on the roster and contend for the playoffs in 2017. To me, that means bringing Taylor back unless a more viable option becomes available in FA/trade (I don’t think there will be one).
Tyrod is the perfect QB for the Bills franchise in its current state in that he is so mediocre. He perfectly fits everything else they’ve been doing for 17 years. They can win 8-10 games with Tyrod as long as he gets plenty of help from his supporting cast. He doesn’t have that right now and Tyrod clearly isn’t good enough to elevate the rest of the roster.
If it were up to me, I would tear down this roster and start a complete rebuild as I think 10 wins is the ceiling for this franchise in its current state. I want better than mediocrity. I would let Tyrod walk and turn things over to Cardale or a one-year stopgap for 2017 before turning my attention to quarterbacks in the 2018 draft, but that’s just me. If the Bills plan on another run at the playoffs for 2017, I think Tyrod is the best option available to them, sadly.
Mike M^2 (@mack10zie): I think the second part of the question is where you start. If you don’t extend Tyrod, there are really only a few options. The three options as I see it are plan on going with Cardale, draft a QB, or sign/trade for one. Currently the only FA QB worth a damn is Kirk Cousins, and there is no way Washington let’s him walk. He either gets a long-term contract or is franchised again. Otherwise you are looking to a guy like Romo. I think Dallas cuts him, and he likely would be looking at e team like Denver who is made to win now.
I can’t see him wanting to come to Buffalo. I don’t love the draft this year. The top 3 QBs are likely Watson, Kizer, and Trubisky. I think Cleveland and SF will take 2 of those three prior to Buffalo drafting, so you are either moving up (a really bad option because of all the needs), or hoping one of them falls to you. Before you tell me Prescott and Wilson were a third round pick, or Brady was a 6th, know that most starting QBs are first round picks, and you would need someone who can start game 1. This brings us to Cardale. I think you can see where I’m going, but you have to read question 4. Long story short, if he sucks, you have to keep Taylor because you literally have no other options.
Chris (@2itb_buffalo): I’m probably not picking up Taylor’s extension at this point. For all of his strengths – escapability and ability to create with his feet, decent to good long ball – his shortcomings have really surfaced in a bad way this year. There was a lot of talk about how well he played against Seattle and while it was a strong performance, it wasn’t enough to win and it struck me as a good game but nothing that I think would properly qualify as a true building block of a franchise QB.
I think the biggest problem we’ve run into with Taylor is that he is so electric that it’s easy to remember statues like Edward or Bledsoe taking countless sacks while Taylor is very adept at getting out of the pocket and converting positive plays which would have otherwise been busted. While there’s plenty to like in that statement, we’ve also seen that he struggles to find receivers, especially once he flees the pocket. In a passing league it’s just not a recipe for success.
My concern is that there aren’t many other answers at the moment. Cardale Jones has nice measurables and can throw the ball out of the stadium. But I doubt that he can run an NFL offense given what he was handling at OSU. Even with a year of tutelage under his belt I doubt he’d be a viable option. You have EJ but his inability to read the middle of the field rivals that of Taylor. The obvious answer is to draft, draft, draft QBs until you find a winner. It’s the only true way out of this mess. My lone worry is that if they wind up with Deshaun Watson or Mitch Trubinsky, will they be serviceable as rookies or do the Bills need a stopgap. I can’t imaging a competition between Jones and one of those rookies would pay off for the Bills. Maybe it’s 17 years of cynicism talking, but I think all that does is set you up for another disappointment with a first round QB. That being said, they HAVE to draft a QB. Find the right fit in the right round – doesn’t need to be the first – and take the steps necessary to find your franchise signal caller. Maybe some sort of renegotiation can keep Taylor under center for at least part of next year. The free agent crop is weak and I doubt Tony Romo can withstand a full season of NFL football again. So my non-answer is go through the draft, but there needs to be some sort of contingency to help that player develop.
Michelle (@michellewaslike): All in all I feel like Taylor isn’t bad. I really find him like able and I want him to be a winner. That being said, I just don’t know what happens that he can sometimes throw these insane magical passes that work and the rest of the time, can’t really manage to see who is open. It feels like there is some strange disconnect, and I don’t know why. Replacing him with a negative result gives everyone the “same old Bills have no QB” mentality and if they put in Jones and he does well, everyone questions every decision that has been made all season.
(Which I suppose will happen anyway.)
I work with a lady who is 63 and had the demeanor of Mother Goose, who politely suggested to me that they let Tyrod be a running back and get a new QB altogether. So there’s another option I suppose. At what point do we end the emotionally abusive relationship we have with Jordan Gay? Hasn’t he suffered enough at this point? I get it’s a paycheck but how bad does he need the money to keep up with this charade? I almost feel bad for him until I think about his weekly paycheck versus mine.
I get frustrated over the defense the most. Partially because we had such a ridiculously good defense with Schwartz and I’m salty that he left as a result of the Marrone debacle. Partially because he was replaced with the Tweedledee and Tweedledum of defensive genius minds. I want to like Rex and I want this whole “brothers are trying to make their dad happy” narrative come to fruition in Buffalo. It would be such a great lead in to the Super Bowl. I’m aware we have a different defense than we had with Schwartz.
(I will always love you, Mario Williams.)
I’m aware of the injuries. But I would like to think not one but TWO defensive geniuses could put their minds together and come up with a better third down plan that the plays we usually execute. Our third down defense is terrible. What happened to our pass rush? Why do we have little Robey Coleman covering He-Man Rob Gronkowski??? Okay, I had to get that out, I’ll end my rant there.
Question 2 – I currently have their needs as QB, RT, Interior OL, 2 WRs on offense / DL Depth, CB, 2 Safeties and Kicker on defense. Agree/Disagree?
Michael: Yes. Their first two picks have to be Safety and WR in this upcoming draft. Tackles, interior OL, etc those can be had on the FA market. As stated the QB market in free agency isn’t good at all. They should and probably will draft another one because I don’t see EJ Manuel coming back in 2017. The Bills should be going into 2017 training camp with 4 QB’s. Taylor, Jones, maybe 1 FA, and one draftee.
Joe: Aside from QB, the defense has been bad, especially when the offensive competition doesn’t consist of Case Keenum and Blake Bortles. The Bills were supposed to win the Denver (Last year-ranked last in passing) and Seattle/SF (2011-2013-ranked either 30th-32nd in passing) way with a kick ass defense and running game, while having the QB manage the game. The running game has been there, but the defense and QB play has been very uneven this year. As I tweeted Sunday, Tyrod isn’t good enough to carry this team and the team isn’t good enough to carry Tyrod.
Additionally, they are getting long in the tooth in certain areas. I mean, you see a team like Oakland and they are good and young. The Bills are average and old. With Gilmore/Woods probably walking, where are your young upstarts at? I got Dareus/Hughes/Darby/Sammy and that foursome has had their issues on and off the field at times. Kyle Williams/McCoy have probably been the team’s offensive and defensive MVPs and they aren’t getting any younger. That’s why you blow it up cause you need to bring in some talented youth. It should always be about the future when you are a constant 8-8 disappointment.
As for Tyrod, t think injuries really stunted his growth this season. Just look at his numbers from last year to this year, specifically in the deep passing game. PFF ranked him as the 10th best passer on throws that went 20+ yards in the air and now he’s ranked near the bottom. I think not having Sammy hurt him to go along with the revolving door at WRs. And consider that in his 26 starts, he had Sammy-Clay-McCoy together for just 12 of those games. Now, the key to me is the economics. I don’t give a shit about the Pegula’s spending money. They are billionaires and don’t give a crap. However, I care about the cap and Tyrod’s number for next two seasons is at 15-million which is the middle of the pack for QBs. However, his production for that cap hit isn’t worth it if he’s putting together below average numbers. The Bills can draft a QB within the first 3 rounds and have the same numbers for a fraction of the cost. Now, if Tyrod/team were able to lower his cap number for the next 2 years to say 8-million, I’d be game to give him another chance IIIIIIFFFFFFF Doug Whaley thinks the QB class isn’t very good. You can go after Kirk Cousins or Romo (I like Cousins more cause of age), but you better make some upgrades to the RT, Secondary and WRs.
Bottom line: Everything is fucked.
Evan: Not in that exact order, but yeah. I’d love to see them build up the offensive line, as I’ve already written about. The Cowboys have done it, and so have the Raiders, and it’s done wonders for both those franchises. Of course, they also have great QBs, so that takes priority if you can find one.
Mike M: I agree with all of that and would maybe add punter to that list as well. The Bills need to fix holes at nearly every position on the roster in the offseason if they want to be a contender in 2017. I don’t think that’s feasible, which is why I would start the teardown now.
Mike M^2: Agree. This is why I would hate to trade up in the draft. We need more picks, not less. You can fill some in free agency, but we do have lots of needs, and we are going to lose our best cover CB.
Chris: I don’t disagree in the least. If there’s one footnote I’d add to that it’s that WR should be last on the list. Yes, the depth at WR this year has been bad, but we continually see the Bills drafting skill positions high in the draft (Watkins, Gilmore, Spiller, Darby, Woods etc) only to wind up weaker at key interior positions (and QB). Obviously, if you alter your approach like they did this year, you wind up shallow at the skill positions. So there’s certainly a careful balance that needs to be struck. I’d be placing my focus on the secondary as I think their safeties were quite overrated even when Aaron Williams was healthy. My order of importance based on your list? QB, S, RT, CB, WR.
Question 3 – Joe has said it’s time to blow the whole thing up – Do you agree? Also, do you think they have the fortitude to admit so?
Michael: The problem with constantly re-building is that it leaves you with no building. The core of this team, (Watkins, Glenn, Dareus, Lawson, Ragland, Preston Brown, etc) are good building blocks. The issues with this franchise is that there are WAY too many leaks and “sources”. Hunt those fools down and get rid of them. The Bills at some point need to part ways with Whaley. Look, he did a good job with bringing guys in and finding quality role players but as good as Watkins is, that trade really set this team back, I’ve seen enough of Doug Whaley. They need to bring in a completely outside football operations/general manager, not a “football czar”, and let him over look this mess and go from there.
The elephant in the room is Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan probably shouldn’t get fired, but he isn’t the coach that will eventually get this team over the hump. The players like him. A lot. Almost too much, and that to me is a problem. Teams shouldn’t be collapsing and letting games “snowball” like the Bills did in Oakland with a second year coach. If this was Rex’s 3rd or 4th year, yesterday’s game was a fireable offense. The problem with firing Rex after year two is that now the Bills become that team who can’t keep a head coach and who don’t give head coaches time to build. No Bills coach since the drought has lasted more than 3 years. Dick Jauron was the longest at 3 1/2 years. 2006 – midway of 2009. I think Rex deserves one more year, and then when they miss the playoffs again next season, maybe then you start rolling people.
Evan: They should go scorched Earth rebuild, but it won’t happen with Rex at the helm. And Rex is getting one more season, it seems, unless Pegula decides to clean house and toss out Whaley as well. I think they standby for one more year, so I don’t think we see them strip down the roster till after next season; someone during the next round of GM interviews will have to give Pegula a coherent rebuilding plan, or luck into getting a top pick in that draft.
Mike M: If you read my two previous answers, you know that I agree with Joe. I think there’s a better chance of Trump naming Hillary his Secretary of State than of the organization agreeing with me and commencing the implosion.
Mike M^2: This team was built to win now. All the trading up, and veterans on the roster suggest the front office sees it that way. As for blowing it up, I’m not sure. It’s the NFL, things can change quickly. the team needs to solve its QB issue. If you have a QB, you will be good, if you don’t, you have almost 20 years without a playoff berth. I would do whatever is necessary to find a real-long term solution at QB.
Certainly being really bad is one approach to doing that. There is no way they have the patience to do this. You have a fan base who is dying to go to the playoffs, and a veteran team, and QB. You have a coach and GM fighting for their job. A rebuild likely means both GM and coach are replaced, so I don’t see them going that route. Nothing the front office has done has given me hope they could successfully pull off a rebuild. I also feel like fans are so sick and tired of losing that the stadium would be half empty all season.
Chris: Yes and no. I hate to compare this to the Sabres since the draft process in each sport is so drastically different. Not to mention the cap and roster limitations. But it’s not as simple as diving to the bottom and building from scratch. It worked for the Colts in some respects when they wound up with Andrew Luck, but unless there’s a bonafide number one QB sitting at the top of the draft, I don’t think a serious tear down makes much sense. That being said, they need to tear down as much as they can. A new coat of paint and some new fixtures aren’t getting the job done anymore.
While I think Whaley has done good work, I’d remove him, Rex and most of the other big names in the front office. That includes everyone’s favorite ticket salesman Russ Brandon. He’s not tied into the on-field decisions but I can’t help but think that the snake rots from the head down and the one constant in this drought, aside from training camp at Fisher, is Brandon. Cleaning house wouldn’t be the worst thing when it comes to the decision makers, but there are players on the roster who I think it would be foolish to move on from. There are some solid building blocks here that a new staff could do well with.
Question 4 – It’s the fourth quarter of the season game wise. Do you give the final set of games to Jones to figure out what they have?
Michael: Play a rookie QB who hasn’t been active for one game this season to “figure out what they have”? Here is what they have: A rookie QB who isn’t good enough dress as a 3rd stringer. That’s what they have.
Evan: Rex will not do this until they’re officially eliminated, and if he does, probably not even till Week 17, because the final W-L record probably matters a lot to his bottom line and job security. (“9-7, with these injuries — I’m proud of our football team, I tell ya, even if we didn’t make the playoffs.” – Rex, post-season press conference.) You have to weigh getting a full season of stats / tape on Taylor before you make your 27 million dollar decision against the desire to see if you have anything in Jones. I think the Bills will go with the former option, and let Jones have a shot at the job during next year’s training camp.
After all, Cardale is going to be around next year, no matter what, unlike Tyrod. I’m also wary of deciding anything based on an end of the season game, which is probably all that Cardale is going to get. Keep in mind that Geno Smith went 20/25, 385 yards passing, 3 TDs and no INTs at the end of the Jets’ 2014 season, and he sure hasn’t turned into anything special.
Mike M: I would typically want the Bills to give their unknown QB a shot in the final weeks of a lost season, but everything I’ve read about Cardale is that he’s so raw that he really needs to watch and learn on the sidelines and fine tune his game in practice for a full season at least before seeing the field. Maybe he could play in the finale, but, otherwise, I’d be afraid of stunting his growth by throwing him into a game now.
Mike M^2: 100% yes, you absolutely have to once they are eliminated from contention. You need to see if he has anything, because if he doesn’t, you really have to pick up Tyrod’s option, because you have no other realistic choice.
Chris: I’ve heard this take circulated a bit today. I suppose I’d like to see what he has to offer. If you know for a fact that you aren’t picking up Tyrod’s extension and moving up a few spots in the draft is of interest to you, there’s nothing to lose. Worst case scenario is that he’s clearly not ready for NFL action, the team loses their final games and the Bills are picking between 6 and 10 as opposed to 12-16. Conversely, if Jones plays well you can take solace that the work you’ve put in is working and that you may have a candidate to play in games next year.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a win-win situation, but the stakes for putting him in are quite low. I think you can make that call after this week. If they’re dead in the water, there’s no reason not to give him some run. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing a bit of Manuel, too.
Yes, we know that you’re not changing the spots on that leopard. But if Jones is seen as a project there’s no reason to think that perhaps Manuel has developed as well. I’d advocate for Jones far more than I would for EJ, but if you’re having that debate you might as well consider all the options. Especially since you could sell EJ as a veteran stop gap while your shiny rookie develops. Either way, what do they have to lose?
-Fin-
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
