Inside The Bills

Whaley on EJ’s chances to start

Bills GM Doug Whaley was asked a lot of things as he assumed the post of general manager, but in an appearance on NFL Network’s Total Access he was asked about the chances of EJ Manuel being ready to start Week 1 of the regular season.

Whaley didn’t rule out the possibility of Manuel being a Week 1 starter as a rookie.

“Time will tell,” said Whaley. ”He does have the work ethic and the leadership qualities that he’ll have a chance. But we believe competition brings out the best in everybody. Between him, Kevin Kolb, Tarvaris Jackson, even Jeff Tuel, we’re excited to see who comes out on top of that position battle.”

Buffalo’s season opener is a home game against New England.

Whaley has “an aggressive eye”

According to one of his college football teammates, the new General Manager of the Buffalo Bills is smart and aggressive.

And former Bills Guard Ruben Brown says those qualities will serve Doug Whaley and the Bills very well.

Brown was a guest on The John Murphy Show Thursday night. He and Whaley were teammates on the University of Pittsburgh football team twenty years ago: Brown as an offensive lineman, and Whaley as a hybrid linebacker\safety.

Ruben Brown told host John Murphy that Whaley was a well educated Pittsburgh native who had great rapport with his Pitt Panthers teammates.

“He could deal with a lot of different backgrounds and upbringings and cultures,” Brown said. “It was a big melting pot of different people from all across the country coming to Pittsburgh. Doug was a bright guy that everyone could talk to, you could discuss all types of issues with him. And he respected his knowledge and how well he understood the game of football.”

Brown says Doug Whaley will bring a fresh approach to the Bills personnel department ,and an aggressive demeanor.

“Going forward, there’s going to be a real aggressive eye on the talent that’s in the building or coming into the building,” Brown said. “That’s going to take a lot of different forms. It’s going to be like a John Butler type thing, someone who could walk in the locker room, put his hand on a guy, look in his face, and see whether he’s invested the right amount of money in him.”

The entire interview with former Bills All Pro Guard Ruben Brown is available here

Whaley was “oustanding player” according to Ruben

The Bills new General Manager never played professionally, but he was a standout high school and college football player in Pittsburgh. That’s what former Bills Pro Bowl Guard Ruben Brown says.

Appearing on The John Murphy Show Thursday night, Brown says he first met Whaley wnen they both played in an All American High School football game more than twenty years ago. They went on to become teammates on the Pitt Panthers football team. Brown was an offensive lineman, Whaley played linebacker and safety. And Ruben Brown says Whaley could play.

“Outstanding player,” Brown said on the radio show. “People might be surprised to know that. He was a blue-chip All American who played on a very successful high school team in Pennsylvania, Upper St Clair. It’s the end-all be-all as far as academics and sports in Western Pennsylvania. He was a star there and he led them to a championship.”

Brown says at Pitt, Doug Whaley played a hybrid linebacker-safety role on defense. And he says Whaley was a playmaker.

“He was Brian Urlacher before there was a Brian Urlacher. Not with the size and the speed, but he played that type of position. The game was evolving and you needed a linebacker\safety guy who could cover. Those guys were starting to show up more. Doug was very versatile for us.”

Brown told host John Murphy that he knew twenty years ago at Pitt that Whaley was smart and had leadership potential.

“I just knew from Day One that Doug was a very smart guy, very bright,” he said. “He had the type of education that every young man wishes they had experienced in school. We were, I would say, followers of his, because he was a leader on and off the field.”

The entire interview with Ruben Brown is available here

Bills have youngest front office trio

With Doug Whaley named Bills GM on Thursday, the Bills now have the youngest front office trio in the NFL.

That according to the Bills research department. Whaley (40), President and CEO Russ Brandon (45) and head coach Doug Marrone (48) have an average age of just over 44 years of age. It’s the youngest average age for NFL front offices.

“I stood here on January first and made some promises to our fans and quite frankly to people in our organization,” said Brandon. ”One of the things that I mentioned was we were going to do whatever it takes to restore the pride in the franchise moving forward. We talked about being progressive and forward thinking and attacking in everything that we do. We also talked about identifying top talent and empowering those people with making impact decisions. We did that today, by naming Doug Whaley the general manager of the Buffalo Bills.”

Some of the other younger NFL front offices in terms of average age were Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, San Francisco and San Diego.

Whaley on how he’ll handle Byrd situation

One of new GM Doug Whaley’s bigger short term decisions will be coming to a resolution with franchise player Jairus Byrd. Here’s how he addressed the Jairus Byrd situation when asked about it by Buffalobills.com Thursday.

“First of all we’ve got to recognize that Jairus is a good player, and we’re in the business of accumulating good players,” Whaley said. “We as an organization are going to continue to negotiate with Jairus, but one thing we’ll stick with is not negotiating in the public.”

Whaley clearly understands that Byrd is a player they’d like to keep for the long term, but this is a situation that may not have an easy answer. No one knows what direction negotiations will take, but it will certainly be one of the bigger decisions Whaley will have to make early in his tenure as Bills GM.

Van Pelt remembers Whaley as a teammate

Bills former QB Alex Van Pelt and current assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers, was also a college teammate of Doug Whaley at Pitt. Van Pelt, who was a leader on the offense for the Panthers, remembers his former teammate’s leadership on the defensive side of the ball.

Whaley, who was named the 12th GM in Bills history Thursday, was a leader on Pitt’s defense as Van Pelt remembers it.

“As a leader, Doug is first and foremost going to be very vocal and hold everyone accountable,” said Van Pelt. ”Those are two of the things that will stand out immediately. He has a blue collar mentality. He works hard and has tremendous work ethic.

“As a player, he always had that personality and used his intelligence on the field to lead our defense. He started his career with the Steelers and worked his way up through the ranks – which I think is very important especially in football. He has done the grunt work. He has been successful everywhere he has worked. Doug is a great young mind and will bring a lot to the table in the general manager position. He is ready for the challenge. I think he is going to have a very bright future in Buffalo.”

Cowher on Whaley

Former Steelers head coach and current CBS NFL commentator Bill Cowher worked with Bills new GM Doug Whaley for the better part of a decade in the Pittsburgh organization. He was anything but surprised that Whaley has risen to the GM ranks in the NFL.

“Doug Whaley to me has “paid his dues.” He has done his job professionally and with high-quality,” said Cowher. ”I know from working with him in Pittsburgh he is a guy who put due diligence towards every opportunity and task he was given. He has a wealth of knowledge, a good feel for people and a good eye for talent.

“I think when you talk about people that earn the opportunity to advance and earn the opportunity to have more responsibility that Doug is a guy who has proven along the way at every step that he can equal the challenge and then surpass it. It does not surprise me that he has been named General Manager.”

What Buddy said about Whaley

With the decision by Buddy Nix to step down as GM of the club Monday, it creates the natural assumption that Assistant GM Doug Whaley will be promoted to the now vacant role. What Nix said about Whaley just a couple of months ago supported that assumption.

While at the NFL Combine Nix was asked about his own future with the Bills and while he said he still had the zest to do the job he also mentioned Whaley specifically.

“I think you’re maybe less than confident in what you do if you can’t put your replacement in place, and we did ours,” said Nix this past February. ”I was on the job three months when I hired Doug and nothing’s changed with him. My energy level or anything hasn’t changed. Look, I’m not going to do this until I’m 100, I promise you. I’d like to know I’ll be around until then, but I’ll decide that. I’ll sit-down with Russ and we’ll do what needs to be done, but to put a timetable on it, I started something and I’d like to see it through.”

“Draft will be great theatre”-Doug Whaley

Bills Assistant GM Doug Whaley says the draft board is set and it has been for days.

But he expects a lively, entertaining first round Thursday night, when the names start coming off the NFL Draft Board.

Whaley made the comments Wednesday, in an appearance on The John Murphy Show.

“This draft is going to be very interesting,” Whaley said. “I think it’s going to be great theatre for everybody involved, including the fans.”

Whaley says there’s an unpredictable air around the first round of this year’s NFL draft. And he expects that once one team makes an unanticipated pick, things will open up quickly.

“This draft is probably going to open up,” Whaley told host John Murphy. "In years past, the first round has pretty much come off clean. And that means we stack the guys and we see it pretty similar as most other teams, especially the first round. So the board doesn’t open up, meaning they don’t go for guys that we have in the third round."

"This draft, just because it’s kind of muddled with what people feel and what they need, and how they see these players, we think the board will open up earlier in the first round than it has in years past. This one’s going to be a very interesting draft for everybody involved."

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available at Buffalobills.com\johnmurphyshow

Final thoughts on QBs from Bills Asst. GM

The Buffalo Bills are the focus of a lot of attention as the NFL Draft approaches Thursday night. And most of it centers on the Bills apparent interest in drafting a quarterback with one of their early picks.

Assistant GM Doug Whaley talked about the quarterbacks Wednesday night, in an appearance on The John Murphy Show. And he had complimentary things to say about some of the top candidates.

On Ryan Nassib:

“He’s a guy, we would say, you plug and play. Because of the familiarity he has with the system, but efficient. Strong arm, competitive.”

On E.J. Manuel:
“Powerful. He’s a guy that’s got the size. He’s got the ability to run as well. He’s more of a power thrower because he’s such a big man and he’s so powerful.”

On other potential first round QBs:
“You’ve got Matt Barkley. There are people that are going to look at him. He’s been on the big stage for a while, he’s been productive. One of the things he does is, he gets the ball to the playmakers. And then Landry Jones. He’s set a lot of records in the Big 12, and that’s not a shabby conference. He’s got size, he’s got the ability to throw the ball downfield. And one of the rare qualities he has, he’s not a great athlete, but he can be Fred Astaire in the pocket. He can be a Brady, where he can move around in the pocket and buy time.”

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available at Buffalobills.com\johnmurphyshow

“It takes two to move in the draft”-Whaley

The phone calls are likely to pick up in the next 24-hours. NFL teams will be checking with each other to gauge their interest in making a move in the draft.

Bills Assistant GM Doug Whaley says moving up or down in the draft is a lot more complicated than deciding to move.

“Everybody says, ‘why don’t the Bills move down?’ Well, it takes two to move. And that’s something that you can never plan on and you can never predict,” Whaley said, in an appearance on The John Murphy Show.

“And some times, the phone is silent,” Whaley said. “Sometimes the phone is ringing off the hook. The way we go into it, is we always have a plan for picking the player, and we always have a plan for moving down, and how far we want to move down, before we get out of the range of a player who we think is going to upgrade us.”

Whaley said communication among teams will pick up in the next 24-hours. But most teams are not willing to show their cards to the other NFL clubs.

“They wouldn’t tell us what they want,” Whaley said, “but they would tell us more, ‘Hey, you’re ahead of us, we wouldn’t mind moving up. So contact us if you’re on the clock and you’re feeling that.’ Or, ‘Hey, we’re ahead of you guys and we wouldn’t mind moving down.’ They’re not going to sit there and say ‘we’re looking for this player or that player,’ but they will tell us if they have a feeling or propensity to move.”

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available at Buffalobills.com\johnmurphyshow

Whaley-”Draft Board is set”-fine tuning is final step

Less than 24-hours before the names start coming off the board, the Buffalo Bills are set. Assistant GM Doug Whaley says the Bills draft board has been set for the last day or so.

Whaley made the comments in an appearance Wednesday night on The John Murphy Show. He says the scouting staff has been working the last few days to fine tune the board before Thursday night’s first round.

“What we’ll do is take the total body of work,” Whaley said, “the resume from this guy from when we started this process last May, through the fall, through the all-star games and the combine, through the spring information from pro days and visits, and say, ‘From everything you’ve seen, how do you feel about this guy?’ That’s when we fine tune it, and that’s when we put a final grade on a guy.”

The goal, according to Whaley, is to have the board set up and all contingencies accounted for well ahead of the start of the first round.

“Everybody always asks me, is it hectic on draft day? And the answer is no,” Whaley told host John Murphy. “We’re well prepared and we have the board set for our top eight players. As the players get called, we start taking them off our board, and then it becomes our pick.”

“Usually, about one pick before us, we start looking at who’s up there. And there are usually those two or three guys that we thought were the best eight players up there. That’s when the discussion goes, which player out of these two or three guys will we go for.”

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available at Buffalobills.com\johnmurphyshow

Marrone’s role in draft room

Appearing in an interview tonight on the Bills Draft Special on WKBW-TV Channel 7 presented by New Era at 7 pm, Doug Marrone outlined what his role will be in the draft room on draft day.

Marrone first explained his measure of experience in NFL draft rooms knowing it’s his first NFL draft as a head coach.

“My last job in the NFL (OC in New Orleans) I was in the draft meetings so you know what’s going on and you know you’re looking at the board and phone calls are coming in and there are different options going on,” Marrone said. ”I’m there to support whatever views we’ve had as a coaching staff if asked. I’m looking forward to being in that draft room with Buddy and Doug and the scouts.”

Marrone then said he’ll essentially serve as a sounding board for Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley if called upon over the next three days.

“I think what happens is as we go on and there may be two players out there that may be looking close to the same,” said Marrone. ”And sometimes the coach might be asked here are these two players and we think they’re largely the same, which one would you like? When those things come in you’re able to voice an opinion. You’re there to have an opinion, but not a dictatorship. I’m there to support and do whatever I can to help the scouts and Buddy and Doug with whatever their decisions may be.”

To see the whole interview tune in to Channel 7 tonight at 7 pm.

Nix and Whaley at Arkansas pro day

Buffalo’s top two personnel men are on the ground in Fayetteville as they’re ready to take in another pro day and get up close and personal with another top quarterback prospect.

Buffalobills.com has learned that GM Buddy Nix and Assistant GM Doug Whaley are in attendance at the Arkansas pro day, which most notably features Razorbacks QB Tyler Wilson.

Wilson is widely ranked as one of the top five quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. The Bills have spent a good deal of time in the pre-draft process meeting with him both at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. He’s been forecast as a second round draft choice.

Nix still has energy for the job

While it was news Saturday when GM Buddy Nix, in his statement announcing a contract extension for Assistant GM Doug Whaley, admitted that his understudy will eventually replace him, he’s also gone on record saying he has no intention of hanging up film clicker any time soon.

“I think you’re maybe less than confident in what you do if you can’t put your replacement in place,” said Nix earlier this week. ”I was on the job three months when I hired Doug. Nothing has changed with him. My energy level hasn’t changed. I’m not going to do this until I’m 100. I promise you. I’d like to know I’ll be around until then. I’ll decide that and I’ll sit down with Russ (Brandon), but to put a timetable on it… I started something and I’d like to see it through.”

Arm strength weighs in at QB for Bills

It might not be the end all, be all asset in a quarterback, but as far as the Bills talent evaluators are concerned if they do draft a quarterback it would appear that arm strength is a priority.

That according to Bills Assistant GM Doug Whaley, who in a live chat with fans on Buffalobills.com indicated as much. Here’s the question and Whaley’s answer concerning how important arm strength is for a QB that has to play in Buffalo.

Earlier in the chat Whaley was asked what qualities he and Buddy Nix look for in a quarterback. Again Whaley mentioned the arm with his response.

Comment From Mark

when scouting a QB what are the qualities you and Buddy look for Doug?

Doug Whaley: You have to have a guy with a presence, arm strength, accuracy and an ability to make people around him better.

Fans guide-how to watch combine workouts

The NFL Scouting Combine is underway in Indianapolis. But the most visible part of the combine, the on field workouts, is still a few days away.

The first group to arrive in Indy, offensive linemen and tight ends, will go through a day or two of medical testing and interviews before they hit the weight room Friday. And that group will be first on the field Saturday, for running, jumping and agility drills–the visible part of the combine televised by the NFL Network.

Bills Assistant GM Doug Whaley says the medical tests and interviews are the most valuable part of the combine for scouts. But in an appearance on The John Murphy Show from the Combine Wednesday night, Whaley said his scouts will also pay close attention to the workouts on field.

“Especially with the running, we like to take personal ownership of the times,” Whaley said. “What did you get? We always feel a little better with your own personal time.”

Whaley told host John Murphy Bills scouts and coaches will eyeball the workouts first hand, from the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium starting Saturday. And even though the times and results are measured, there’s value in watching the actual workouts.

“When we’re scouting, we’re scouting to see how they do what they do. If we’re looking at receivers, are they able to drop their hips coming in and out of breaks? Are they hand-catchers? Do they catch with the body? Offensive linemen—can they mirror guys? How’s their lateral movement? Defensive linemen—how’s their feet? Defensive backs—hip quickness and tightness. So, you’re just looking at how they do those drills. And a lot of it is subjective.”

And the Bills Assistant GM had advice for Bills fans when they watch the combine workouts later this week.

“I would advise them to not put too much stock into the times,” Whaley said. “Obviously you want to know, but look at how they go through those drills. Look at the nuances of each position and each drill. You’ll be able to see-this guys a little bit better at this that that guy, and vice versa. That will help you formulate your opinion on the player, along with what you saw last fall.”

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available at BuffaloBills.com/johnmurphyshow

Critical combine interviews underway

It’s not the timing or the testing or the weight-lifting that NFL personnel executives focus on first, here at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. It’s the one-on-one interviews with the prospects.

Those interviews are underway in Indianapolis, as the first group of players arrive in town. Offensive linemen and tight ends are in group one at the combine, and that group began formal and informal interviews with teams on Wednesday night. It’s the first of three nights of meeting with team officials, and according to Bills top personnel execs, the meetings are critical.

Bills Assistant GM Doug Whaley was a guest on The John Murphy Show podcast from Indianapolis Wednesday night. Whaley says he and other top Bills decision makers will conduct the interviews this week.

“It will be some of the scouting staff, myself, Buddy Nix, our director of college scouting Chuck Cook, Tom Gibbons our director of pro scouting, along with Doug Majeski,” Whaley said. “And then the head coach, and the offensive or defensive coordinator, depending on the position, and the position coach will also be in there.”

The Bills Assistant GM says the nightly, 15-minute interviews are tightly structured. The Bills submitted a list of 60-interview requests a week or two ago, as did every other NFL team.

“Each player has a schedule, we have a schedule, at twelve minutes you hear the horn to let you know the time’s almost up. You hear another horn at 15-minutes, that guy leaves another guy comes in,” Whaley told host John Murphy.

Whaley says even in 15-minute sessions, teams can sometimes get a good read on a player and what’s important to him as he embarks on an NFl career.

“I’ll give you a story,” Whaley said. “When I was at a different club, and we interviewed a player who was at a school in the same city as the club I was working for. We were talking to the guy, and at the end, we asked the player, ‘If we draft you, what would be the best part about playing in the city where you went to college?’ And he said, ‘I would know where to go after the games on Sunday nights.’”

The Bills Assistant GM acknowledges the pressure is on the draft prospects when they race through night time interviews at the combine.

“It’s speed dating at one of the most crucial times of your life. A lot of it is teams are going to try to see how you respond to tough situations. You’ve probably have ten or fifteen interviews per night, and you have to be on your toes.”

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available at buffalobills.com/johnmurphyshow

How Whaley organizes Bills draft board

In an interview with Bills Assistant GM Doug Whaley, he tells Buffalobills.com about how he organizes the Bills primary draft board in advance of the NFL Combine. While there’s healthy and professional debate between members of Buffalo’s scouting staff, it’s Whaley’s job to narrow all the input down into one concise and definitive grade.

“I’m the primary guy to handle the meetings and what I’ll do is we’ll have a meeting order and I’ll call out the prospect and call on the guys that saw him and listen to what they have to say,” Whaley told Buffalobills.com. ”My job is to basically formulate one solid opinion for the Buffalo Bills from what I heard the scouts talk about and what picture they’ve painted me of this player. Then the ultimate decision maker will be Buddy (Nix), but we just try to put it together in a way where Buddy can make a qualified decision.” 

Whaley said they came out of their draft board meetings feeling good about the board they’ve put together.

“We feel we have a nice shell,” Whaley said.

Bills scout’s view of Senior Bowl LBs

The Bills have been talking for months about their need to upgrade the linebacker spot. And what better place to start the process, than the Senior Bowl this week.

There are a total of 14 linebackers on hand at the premier All Star showcase for draft eligible players this year, six on the North squad and seven on the South. And Bills Assistant General Manager Doug Whaley talked about the most impressive linebackers at the Senior Bowl so far, during an appearance Wednesday night on The John Murphy Show.

“One of the best guys I’ve seen out there is Vince Williams of Florida State,” Whaley said on the radio show. “He has shown some physicality out there, knocking a couple of guys on their behinds, offensive linemen twice his size. He’s doing a good job hitting the running back in the hole.”

The Bills Assistant GM went on to talk some other linebackers who have impressed in the first three days of Senior Bowl workouts.

“Sean Porter an outside linebacker from Texas A and M. He’s shown an ability to close on the ball and did some good things in coverage, so he’s been pretty impressive.

“Chase Thomas of Stanford—he’s a high energy high effort guy. He may be a little limited physically, but he tries to make up for it with his hustle and heart.

“John Simon of Ohio State—he’s a guy that has a good upside. He’s got to get used to playing inside, they played him at a lot of different positions at Ohio State. He’s got some upside.”

The entire interview with Doug Whaley is available on The John Murphy Show podcast on BuffaloBills.com.