Monday Morning Quarter-Goal-Back-Tending

Having been born and raised in Western New York, I am a die-hard, life-long fan of both the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. In my lifetime I have endured two events, the mere utterance of which sends us Buffalo fans into instant convulsion: Wide Right and No Goal. I've seen the Bills advance to four Super Bowls, and the Sabres advance to the Stanley Cup Finals and Conference Finals, only to fall short of the championship each time. Still, like an addict, I return every year to root on two teams, and a city, that very well may be cursed.

Of course I know there's no such thing as curses, and the teams' fates boil down to management, coaching, personnel and play on the field or ice. But holy sweet bejeebus it would be nice if something good could befall one or both of these teams. Unfortunately, they can't seem to get out of their own ways. This year's teams are no stranger to that fact.

Let's start with the Bills. A new coach, new direction, and new players all pointed us towards a renewed sense of hope and success. Tyrod Taylor emerged as the number one quarterback, and through the first several games played well. Not perfectly, but well. Well enough that if the rest of the team stopped taking stupid penalties, the Bills should have won more than the three games they won with Taylor under center. At least one game in particular eeked its way into the win column squarely on Taylor's shoulders. And then he got injured, and we discovered the team's true weakness: its general manager.

Quarterback EJ Manuel was drafted and named the starting quarterback a couple seasons ago, the intent being that he would be the franchise quarterback for which the team has been searching since Jim Kelly's retirement. Manuel never lived up to the expectation with which he was drafted, and was supplanted as the starter. Nevertheless, the Bills continued to have faith in Manuel and kept him on the roster. This summer's training camp featured a three-way battle for quarterback among Taylor, Manuel, and veteran Matt Cassel. Taylor emerged as the starter, and in my humble opinion, rightfully so. After that things have gone terribly, terribly wrong at the position.

Inexplicably, the Bills GM, perhaps in a last-ditch effort to prove his naysayers wrong, traded Matt Cassel to the Dallas Cowboys and elevated Manuel to the backup quarterback position. That decision was quickly shown not only to be the wrong one, but an epically wrong one. Manuel was thrust into the starter's position with Taylor's injury, and now, not even halfway through the season, the Bills' playoff hopes are in dire jeopardy mostly due to Manuel's subpar play, and GM Doug Whaley's unilateral decision to keep Manuel on the roster.

Case in point: Buffalo Bills v. Jacksonville Jaguars. This game, played in England, should have been an easy win for Buffalo. The Jags came into the game with a record of 1-5 and a lackluster defense. EJ Manuel, however, made that defense look downright spectacular with three plays. The Jaguars built a 28-12 halftime lead solely because of Manuel's ineptitude – on three Bills offensive plays, in one case literally within seconds of each other, Manuel a) fumbled, the recovery run in for a touchdown; b) threw an interception, which was returned for a touchdown; and c) threw another interception, resulting in a Jags touchdown a play or two later. Three minutes, 20 points, game over. Yes, the Bills mounted a comeback, but they still lost. They should never have been in a position to mount a comeback, because Manuel shouldn't have made those costly errors in the first place.

Would the Bills had won if Matt Cassel was under center? I'm going to be bold and say yes, yes they would have won that game. Cassel is a ten year veteran, and simply wouldn't have made the errors Manuel made. (Yes, admittedly, Cassel had a bad day with Dallas, but I stand by my statement.) Three years into his career, Manuel still suffers from inaccuracy, poor vision, and poor decision making. He's just not an NFL caliber quarterback, and Whaley's blind devotion to his draft pick will cost him his job as Bills' GM, mark my words. I hope his ignorance doesn't cost the Bills the playoffs, but at this point I'm not optimistic. And that sucks.

As a fan, I am continually astounded by the lack of effort and dedication Buffalo sports general managers exhibit when addressing the most important position of their respective teams: quarterback and goaltender. The Bills should not have entered the season with EJ Manuel on their depth chart, and the Buffalo Sabres most certainly shouldn't have entered into their season with the goaltending tandem of Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson.

In the offseason the Sabres loaded their coffers with plenty of talent, so much so that, on paper, they should have had a legitimate shot at making it back to the playoffs this season… if they had a number one goaltender. In typical, Buffalo sports fashion, however, they took the "he just needs his breakout chance" approach and handed the position to not one but two back-up goaltenders with no proven staying power in the NHL. Lehner didn't even make it through his first game, spraining his ankle and putting him out of the lineup six to ten weeks. Did the Sabres immediately investigate free agency or the trade market for a new goaltender? No, they turned the reigns over to Chad Johnson, their now unproven starter who really had yet to even prove himself in the backup role. To date the Sabres have won two games, and one of those by the skin of their teeth in a shootout, leaving this fan to wonder why in God's name Buffalo GM's have such a hard time acknowledging the quarterback and goaltender positions are the most important and filling those rolls accordingly.  

Thankfully for the Sabres there is still plenty of time to build a winning season, provided management does something to address their goaltending issues, and does it quickly. Chad Johnson, like EJ Manuel, is a backup, and also like EJ, one of questionable talent. Granted the Montreal Canadiens are having a red-hot start to this season, but there is no way the Sabres should have lost to them by a score of 7-2. I was there. I witnessed the debacle first hand, and even with my limited time playing goaltender, I think I could have stopped a couple of the shots that Johnson let in. No goaltender should ever allow seven goals to get past him. Of course every goaltender has an off night, but if he lets in goals in the manner in which the goals got past Johnson on Friday night, he shouldn't be playing in the NHL.

It pains me to say all this as I want so desperately for my favorite teams to succeed, but for f*ck's sake, GMs! Are you watching the same teams/games I am? Because even this layman fan can see the obvious that you apparently either cannot, or refuse to acknowledge. So to Doug Whaley and Tim Murray I offer this fan's plea.

Dear Mr. Whaley and Mr. Murray:

We the fans of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres are a loyal, passionate bunch that cares very deeply for your teams. We have cried tears of elation and joy, but mostly sorrow, for many years as we watch them progress through the seasons without a championship to call our own. For both teams, the glaring inadequacy has rested at the most important position. So for this, the 2015-2016 season, we beg you from our knees, please, please do something smart. Do something right. Put your egos aside and think of the teams paying you to manage their personnel. Find a suitable backup quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, and find a starting goaltender for the Sabres. While it's admirable that you keep placing your faith in players that "just need a chance," those players haven't demonstrated that they deserve that chance. Not Chad Johnson, and certainly not EJ Manuel. They've had their chances. They been given their opportunities. And they haven't delivered.

You owe it to your teams to do better. You owe it to the fans, who's hard earned dollars drive the revenue from which you're paid, to do better. You owe it to Western New York, starved for a championship, to do better. Please stop testing our loyalty with your poor decisions, because eventually there will come a time when our hope dwindles, and our dedication fades. If that happens, it will be your fault because, despite the ability to do so, you couldn't do better.

DO. BETTER.

Sincerely,

A Bills and Sabres fan

 

© 2015 J.J. Goodman. All rights reserved.