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Ugh - this sounds too plausible. A new coach and QB might indeed be job security for Whaley for at least one or two years. What a mess. LOL

I would think 3 or 4 games with an EJ Manuel-like QB in the pocket next fall would be enough to oust Whaley, despite having Pegula's 'full confidence' or whatever disingenuous drivel/double-talk Pegula was spouting. But then... if that happens - yet another wasted season or two while waiting for the new GM to put his stamp on the team.

I have never thought Tyrod Taylor was great. I thought of him as another stop-gap measure because Nix/Whaley messed up drafting Manuel, and it was frustrating to see another interim QB brought onboard. That being said, he's clearly proven a bit better than the hot messes we've had in the pocket in the past decade. He's not outstanding, but he's serviceable. Unless there's someone better in the wings to replace Taylor, keep him for now. Fix the defense which the Ryan Brothers wrecked. I believe if the Bills still had the 2014 Defense, and smarter coaching/time management/fewer penalties, combined with the current offense, they very likely would have made the playoffs this season; maybe even made it beyond wild card? If the rumors are true, and Whaley thinks the first priority is to move beyond Tyrod Taylor, that's more evidence of his incompetency as if the presser debacle wasn't enough.

So much for taking it a little easy on O'Reilly in his first game back after surgery (which is what one of the commentators last night figured Bylsma would do. I checked the box score - Almost 20 minutes of ice time for O'Reilly He looked a bit fatigued in that OT period - just another negative in the Bylsma bucket. Not to mention trying to do a line change like that with BOTH Kane and Toews still actively skating on the ice in a 3 on 3. Line change should have waited until one of them was leaving the ice, or don't put a guy who is tired out on the ice, and recovering from major surgery who'd already put in 19 minutes of ice time, who'd have to leave the ice too soon. The sad thing - last night's game was very winnable. And yet still lost.

Pretty successful little road trip, all in all. Sabres earned 3 out of 4 points, visiting a couple tough hockey teams. I was surprised the Sabres were in this one at all - they were outshot 42 to 20. You can't let a team with as many talented scorers as Chicago keep banging away at the goal with 40+ shots and realistically hope for a win - they exceeded expectations by earning a point. I got so sick of seeing the Sabres dump the puck into the Chicago zone. Good luck getting it back from Chicago. OT loss really started with an inopportune line change - O'Reilly went to the bench - not sure who was coming out (never saw a number) . With players as fast and skilled as Kane and Toews out there, in a 3 on 3 sudden death situation, that's not the time for line changes. But perhaps O'Reilly was worn out- he'd just had surgery; maybe Bylsma shouldn't have started him in the OT?- the Sabres seemed totally outclassed in that brief 3 on 3.

Well, I went for a regular workout to Planet Fitness last night, and it looked like a 3 Ring circus - cars everywhere. And then I remembered..... New Years Resolutions. I went New Years Day - it was quiet. I thought perhaps I'd escaped that ugliness, but no such luck! ugh!!! I turned around, left and went on my lunch hour today. I've been going to the gym pretty regularly and consistently (it will be 5 years in February) and every year I see the wave of New Years members who will be gone in 6 or 7 weeks. lol. Well, at least the money from the newbs that don't stick with it help keep my gym membership fee down.

LOL!!! You beat me to it. I hope it proves true because it shows what a farce this Bills (dis)organization really is.

^ yup, ok. I misread. I'd love to see a breakout of plus/minus, or GA, while Risto and Gorges are paired, vs other pairings. Also, Risto's offensive contribution while paired with Gorges would still be interesting - to see if Risto's productivity is higher, lower or unchanged while paired with Gorges.

The "quality of scoring opportunities"? Ok, because obviously Gorges sets up lots of scoring opportunities, with Gorges' single point, and a current productivity of 609 minutes. Wonder how many of Risto's 25 pts were made while paired with Gorges?

Risto with Gorges? Didn't True Blue post some very detailed stats a couple weeks back showing how awful that pairing has been this season, and how Risto is much more effective when not paired with Gorges, and worse when paired with Gorges? Does Bylsma not have access to that same information?

Yeah, but he's really gone downhill in the past two seasons under Bylsma's coaching. Might be age in Gorges' case- but he's not the only player whose stats are down under Bylsma. That makes the first suspect the system and the coaching, not the player. I was harsh on Gorges earlier this year - but it might not be his fault at all.

That was the Comeback of the Century. Now, the Bills are just hoping that Whaley can "comeback" from his self-inflicted public relations disaster during the presser, and nearly complete loss of credibility as an actual real GM. Many questions and criticisms abound in the national media about the "style" and ownership acumen of the Pegulas - but there's no question that Doug Whaley's worst enemy is Doug Whaley. Maybe. That was back when Rich Stadium capacity was a LOT higher 80k+ as I recall - even a "Marketing Genius" like Brandon would have trouble selling that place out. lol Too many games were blacked out as result. At the time, I received Syracuse TV, not Rochester or Buffalo, so I could watch or tape any game I wanted.

Great term. If Bylsma were an NFL coach, he'd switch to 'prevent mode' halfway thru the 2nd quarter. Plus, he doesn't seem to learn - he got burnt with that strategy in the 1st Boston game. So why not try it again against the Rangers? They got lucky this time. More playing to not lose, vs playing to win. Signature Bylsma. Sometimes it works (last night) - too often it doesn't. It's a cliche, but the team needs to play 3 full periods of hockey.

Wow, after 2 back to back losses to Boston, probably the low-point of the season, the Sabres delivered this nice win. Maybe Eichel's locker room explosion after the last loss helped the team? Or the Sabres are just good at playing the Rangers and Lundqvist? .789 SVG% - lol One stat I don't like seeing - overall, a low number of shots on goal (19), and the Sabres had almost as many shots on goal in the 1st period as they did the 2nd and 3rd combined. We saw that with the first Boston loss too; they started off strong, and then sat back on their heels for the 2nd and 3rd periods, and it cost them the game. Didn't hurt us this time, but it's not optimal.

1. It's an odd structure that undermines the GM (whom Pegula claims he has so much faith in). Unless Pegula's faith in Whaley is a lot less than he states. 2. It still makes no sense to not consult the most football knowledgeable guy on the team before you can the HC, at a cost of millions of dollars. How is that a smart decision on the part of the owner? That is, unless Pegula really doesn't trust Whaley's advice. 3. Of course it's possible. Probable. I'm just pointing out the logical inconsistencies in this tangled web of a narrative the Bills have spun. Somebody is full of horse puckey. Likely Whaley, since Whaley also contradicted Lynn's narrative about the Taylor benching, and Lynn seems more trustworthy, IMO. 4. ???? Maybe Lynn WAS/IS the best choice - maybe it's a fantastic idea - but what savvy owner wouldn't run it by his highly knowledgeable GM first, before making it so? That's assuming Pegula thinks Whaley is knowledgeable - doesn't it make one think that perhaps Pegula's private opinion of Whaley is quite different than the company line he's spouting publicly? 5. Possibly. Or, just applying Occam's Razor, it's also equally possible someone is being deceptive. T-Peg's saving face or ego? "It's my decision and my decision alone, blah blah blah blah" 6. I should have mentioned that Whaley wasn't even curious why Ryan was let go - or that the Pegulas didn't tell him. Isn't that kind of important for the GM to know, IF the GM is indeed the "go to" guy on the team that the owner claims he is? LOL 7. I should have stated - the Pegula ownership inflicted a huge black eye upon itself. Wilson's regime, yeah, that had lost credibility. Pegula had been chipping away at credibility - this shattered what remained. This is a PR disaster. Newspapers across the nation are criticizing the Bills front office, and the Pegulas handling of a straightforward situation. Few fans or writers or sports commentators would disagree with Ryan's firing. He was awful. But the ham-handed unprofessional way it was handled, made what should have been a simple, understandable business decision (Ryan sucked) into a major controversy. You'd think the 'marketing genius', Brandon, would have helped Pegula, Whaley, and Lynn, with the PR aspects of it.

Just because the narrative has been refined and clarified doesn't make the reality any less baffling or foolish. Even if Ryan reported to the Pegulas (an unusual structure) why wouldn't the owner(s) at least consult with the GM, who is presumed to be the most knowledgeable "football guy" on the team on firing the HC? Why, even if they went ahead and fired the coach without asking the GM about, wouldn't the owners take the time to EXPLAIN to the GM why the coach was fired? The guy kinda should KNOW to understand the needs of the owners. Why did the Owners take the advice of a FIRED coach regarding who should be interim coach without asking for the GM's opinion? Why did Kim Pegula's own interview contradict Terry Pegula's account of how the Ryan firing went down? His narrative - it happened during the phone call between he and Rex - she said it was THEIR decision. How can we spin it other than this is a poorly run team where the management team is excluded from critical operational decisions, apparently on a whim? And that the GM has lost all credibility with both sports writers and the majority of the fan base as a result?

lolol!!! There is NO way GMTM could look as stupid, foolish, and lost as Whaley did. Guy looked like a fish out of water. Murray is quite a bit smarter and sharper than that, and is skilled with the press.

Can Bylsma's coaching career with the Sabres survive, if the Sabres suffer yet another loss tonight? Of course it can. :)

The Boston perspective on the Bills' legendary dysfunction - if anyone cares. :) They love it because it helps ensure more years of absolute Patriots dominance over the once mighty Buffalo Bills. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/01/03/terry-pegula-denies-obvious-dysfunction-existing-within-bills-organization/

:) Check out this article from over 2 years ago - it wasn't even written by anyone you hate - yet. http://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2014/09/terry_pegula_bills_kim_owners_bio_who_is.html

I've been re-reading some of the articles from when the Pegulas bought the Bills; I needed the reminder that overall, the Bills are Kim's team, and that the Sabres are Terry's team and real passion. Soooo, if we're fortunate, the Sabres aren't run as dysfunctionally as are the Bills, because two different personas in charge. Bylsma should report to Murray, and Murray to Terry. And the GM should have wide authority to shape the team, unlike Doug Whaley at the Bills. And hopefully THAT's the way it is in the Sabres' front office. Frankly, Murray strikes me as a heckuva lot more 'on the ball' than does Whaley anyway. A smart, sharp guy can establish, and defend his own territory and position better than a dullard.

At least Taylor is reasonably durable. Romo could be out 5 minutes into the season; he's only going to get more fragile with age, not less.

I listened to it - note the veryyyy long pregnant pause before he replied (hard to believe he wasn't expecting this question after the Ryan debacle) His answer didn't seem very direct at all. Why is that? If I were asked, I could tell someone, with zero hesitation, who my boss is, and who I report to, and who I am accountable to. And yeah, in theory everyone in our company reports to the CEO, but bottom line - I have a boss, and I could name him without a moment's hesitation. So that is very interesting - maybe it's some sort of weird multiple hierarchy - where he reports to Murray on some things, and the Pegulas on other things. But why the pause? Why such a stammering reply? Interesting.

Yeah, she's the Special Teams Quality Coach - but from the limited number of Bills games I watched this season, Special Teams seemed like anything but 'quality'. Then of course, there's a special kind of Special Teams awful where the Bills let the Jets score 10 points in zero seconds in the 4th quarter, due to Gillisee's inexcusable blunder. He made Leodis McKelvin, with his botched and moronic return during MNF vs the Patriots all those years ago, look like a football genius in comparison. So where was this 'quality' coach? LOL I have no issue with a female coach. None at all. But how about let's laud them for their skills, like any coach, not their gender?? Let's wait to heap praise AFTER they've done something beneficial. I felt like all the press was the Bills' equivalent of awarding 'Participation Trophies'. The other thing - this is Terry Pegula's 'baby' - he's the one who cared about the Bills, he's the one who made all the money, and he's the one who wanted to buy them. She's just along for the ride - I would wager she knew very little about the Buffalo Bills before she met Terry. Despite this, , she apparently is more involved in the HC decisions, with her vast knowledge of football, than Whaley. LOL Yeah, an owner wouldn't want to hire a COMPETENT GM and have that person make football related decisions, based on actual knowledge and experience, and just sit back and enjoy. This is a hobby for these two - they like to putz around and tinker - like gardening on Saturday afternoon is a hobby for non-gazillionaire couples. What a joke. Oh, and BTW - I noticed she contradicted Terry's account of Rex's firing by implying that she was involved. Can anyone provide a straight and forthcoming narrative on Rex Ryan's firing? Why is it so secret? The Pegulas and their team have created a lot of drama, and called into question the competency of their entire management team, for what should be a pretty darn straightforward firing; the team took two steps backwards under Ryan, and he should be let go. http://www.wgr550.com/Kim-Pegula-Lynn-not-a-lock-/22977269

Let's rename Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE) as Pegula Entertainment Enterprises. :) In this article, Mike Florio refers to Whaley as "a glorified scout at best" lol. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/01/03/russ-brandon-still-looms-over-bills-football-operations/