One Fan(n)’s Opinion By @RDotDeuce: Bills Year End Press Conference Wrap Up and BINGO Review

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Another year, another press conference where we as fans try to find out why things didn’t work out. This time, however I hope you were armed with the BuffaloWins(TM) official Bingo card! We’ll get to that later, but for now here are the biggest things I took away from the year-end press conference with Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan.

• Contracts, Contracts, Contracts: Whether it was Rex, Doug, upcoming free agents or Tyrod, contracts came up a lot. As per team policy, the details weren’t bandied about. However, Doug Whaley did mention that Richie Incognito and Cordy Glenn would be priorities – and that Free Agency would be a bit of a snoozer if they “kept their in-house talent”.

• Backup Plan at QB Behind Tyrod: While Doug Whaley was fine with EJ as a backup to Tyrod, to the point of citing his stats compared to other backups (oh hey we did that too), he didn’t leave out drafting another quarterback. That might be needed if Taylor didn’t continue to develop in year 2 anyway, so that was good to hear.

• Staff Shuffling: Rex backed away from some of his earlier “big changes” comments, saying they were heat of the moment and that he hadn’t met with his staff yet. With Anthony Lynn and potentially Greg Roman interviewing for new jobs, that may be more pronounced than first thought. And again, to those that want a public flogging and firing of Dennis Thurman I say to you, Rex runs the defense. Do better.

• Rex’s Overall View of Defense: Rex’s big watchword on defense was consistency. Citing the final game vs the Jets, he thinks that the defense should be a collaborative one. Rex also did a good job not taking the bait on Mario Williams questions, but Mario’s been thoroughly buried anyway. Ryan also mentioned that Kyle Williams’ injury forced the defense out of the 4-3 looks he wanted to use this season. Given that most of the personnel rotated in a 4-3 last year I remain dubious to that point.

• Whaley’s Opinion of Outside Counsel: When asked about the rumors (facts really, confirmed by Bill Polian via Vic Carucci) of the Pegula family consulting execs outside of the team on the team, Whaley deferred to the fact they own the team, which is fair. But the see saw of rumors (see below) is silly and stupid and needs to stop.

• Injury Updates: While the two man power trip were reticent on any news of Dareus’ broken foot, Ryan and Whaley both noted that:
  • Kyle Williams seems to be up to returning and happy to be back with the team in 2016;
  • Aaron Williams’ injury isn’t career threatening and he should be back for camp;
  • And Percy Harvin’s in for his check ups and post-season physicals and his situation is fluid.

Glengarry Glen Ross Time: This is something that came up after the conference, but Vic Carucci’s report that Doug and Rex are on a one year ultimatum of playoffs or (Vince McMahon voice) you’re fired was the opposite of what I sought with sources leading the upcoming off-season, but que sera sera. I will say this about that situation – it’s really really short-sighted from the ownership to think this way. If you wanted to get rid of one or both of them, do it this year and not with the specter of a firing over their heads. Much like the situation that occurred post Ralph’s passing, decisions will be made for the ability to continue working, not for the overall benefit of the team.But Rich, you’ll ask, “didn’t that net Sammy coming to the team?” Indeed it did; however this time the offense is more than adequate and the issue lies with playmaking on defense.

The problem now is that if you go all in for “Rex Ryan Players” and in a year he’s gone, how much time is the new coach going to get to put “his” players in? Or will he be mandated to make it work, something Rex was not? You also put yourself in a position as an executive where you are painting yourself in a corner. Next year the Bills play a harder schedule and let’s say they go 10-6 as the Jets did and also fail to make the playoffs. Are you really going to fire a coach with a winning record coaching your team? I’d also be remiss not to mention the fact WGR is reporting via Jeremy White that Whaley is getting an extension.

Here ya go. “Long haul” https://t.co/pcbyby3WTb

— Sal Capaccio (@SalSports) January 5, 2016

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Le Sigh. I’m really hoping the focus becomes the team instead of who can leak to whom what they want to win a PR battle. Because the PR gets upped when you win folks.
Focus on the 5 technique you need, the #2 wideout, the right tackle, the backup edge guy. Don’t focus on trying to get the last word in arguments that mean nothing in the long run.

Prior to the press conference I posted to Twitter a bingo card of many of the tropes one will see/hear during a Bills end of season conference. We’ll try to do this for other events, but we won’t bludgeon you with ’em. I also learned during this process that my grandmother cheated at bingo for years when I was a kid, as she claimed you had to across columns or diagonal but not rows. I’m sure she’s chuckling her head off in heaven, but I’ve got at least six bucks in back winnings to claim!

That’s it for now. If you have any questions you want us to cover in the off-season, hit me up @RDotDeuce on twitter or post below. Enjoy the playoffs!