ColdBlueNorth

My concern as well, but have no idea how Brandon worked his way from Marketing guy to his current confidant role. One could argue that he has risen as fast as the organization has fallen into disarray. That inner-circle could be rotten to the core - I hope we are wrong. That is why I hope that Buddy Nix has some moxy, it sounds like he disagreed with the Maybin selection and perhaps in his new role he will be more vocal and allowed to run the football organization like a football organization. The recent purge and Brandon's role reminded me alot of the way Lovie Smith in Chicago took a big step back from most of his staff and acted like "who hired these idiots, they should be fired"

Thinking the same thing, when he compares the former GM and current "Team President" to the guys taking tickets. Wow. I hope he is just kidding.

Remarkable insight... as usual. I get the played-out Mantra of all will be better when Ralph dies from ICE, and an unsubstantiated "No" from you. I was actually hoping to get a response from someone who has some small insight into the Bills organization - then again, who isn't?

Guess I am not as quick as you Allowing for intervening mistakes made in the past, Ralph is like 200 years old and a multi-millionaire. If anything, folks that reach a ripe old age are more concerned with the legacy they will leave behind rather than obtaining more material things. That being said, I would not be so naive as to think that I know what motivates Ralph in particular. Dick said he could correct things and Ralph gave him free reign even though the signs of disaster were evident to even the most casual observers. It was not until another crotchety old rival from the NFL owner's Country Club gave him the finger that he actually cared enough to blow the mess up. We could have an ultra-competitive, willing to spend up the hilt kind of owner like Snyder in DC, but that really does not translate into victories on the field.

Buddy Nix is respected throughout the league, but are candidates being turned off because Russ Brandon is being retained at a high level after serving as GM and seems to have the ear of Ralph? Are they concerned that they will not truely have the ability to build the team as they see best, too little money to spend on retaining or obtaining talent, or are folks just concerned that the succession of the organization has not been worked out? I am not one for panicking and although I liked the name and family tree of Schotty Jr. the fact that they came out throwing against our defense did nothing to impress me in regards to his offensive prowess. Buddy will get a good HC prospect in, but if it isn't a big name I don't think that it will soothe the troubled masses until we see that individual make some good moves for the team and prove he knows what he is doing.

I would rather see him than the DC from the Vikes (I wonder how well their defense would play without Jared Allen and Pat Williams on the line?

agreed. Walker was not cut out for the no-huddle, but was a team guy who did a good job manning the right tackle spot before they moved him. Considering the depth we had on the o-line it was plain stupid to cut him. Then again, stupidity ran rampant this past year at OBD.

I "do" blame the guy for taking the money, I can't speak for the rest of fans merely speculate, but if he had played out his contract honorably, and then put his skills on the open market - different story. Do I blame Pat Williams, or Antoine Winfield for following the money, no. They played out their contracts and the Bills did not meet the $ they got on the free agent market. I felt thankful that we had them for the time we did and wished them well (except when they play the Bills).

I know that there are a lot of "move on" posts when it comes to Peters, but I think the reason this topic has not died is how the Peter's Situation symbolizes much that is wrong in this sport. When the everyday working stiff shells out money to watch their favorite team play then sees a player - an undrafted walk-on, who is groomed and coached-up by the team, then given a lucrative 5-year deal, turn around and not honor that deal, that player becomes the epitome of the term douche bag. Not only did he not honor the deal, but he lumbered into a season after holding out completely gassed and out-of-shape. The only good thing Peters did do was to give us some draft picks for two IMO solid o-linemen, and hastened the departure of one of the lamest coaching staffs ever assembled. May his career forever be associated with failure (might as well try my version of a Flutie curse).

Really is not one or the other. We should not reach for a QB in the first round if there is a LT that is more likely to succeed at the next level, or we go for a sure pick DT or LB if he is there. This team needs some help, but the re-tooling could be just a few years away with the right moves. This team needs to tweak both lines and needs a solid QB, if we get Butler and Wood back healthy and pickup a serviceable LT, then a rookie QB may have a chance to develop - provided we have the right coaching staff in place. I like the potential of Nelson, and Johnson as complimentary receivers next to Evans - Hardy is an unknown. Jackson is a stud with 3 solid years left in him if he can stay healthy. Fine and Schouman are both good TE's and it hurt losing them both so early in the year - hopefully the come back healthy. The defense was not too bad for how often they were on the field - we have the most stacked secondary in the league. They were playing at a pretty high level at the end of the year, and that is without McKelvin who's bone-headed special teams play aside, is still a rare talent in the backfield. Not sure with Yobouty there are times he flashes some incredible closing speed and for the few games he played healthy he had that solid Ohio state run-support tackling that reminded me a bit of another Ohio state product we lost to MN. What the defense needs is two playmakers on the line a big run-stuffing mauler and an edge rusher (Maybin needs to grow a pair - or just grow. The Jury is still out on this young product, but holding out and playing like crap is not a winning formula). They also need some quality depth at LB. But the argument that you have to draft a Qb early... I don't know. Put any decent rookie QB behind a bad line with sub-standard coaching you end up with the David Carr syndrome - a shell-shocked, jumpy, mechanics all out-of-wack, no-confidence player with the potential beaten right out of him.

amen to that. Cowher has credibility and his w/l record is very close to Marty's, but I do not get why everyone is on a Cowher or we are doomed kick. With Buddy at the helm, I feel much better about the Bills getting good football people in - haven't felt that way in a while.

I usually am right there with you Promo, but on this one I still feel it is way early to judge the trade. Cutler has already proven that he has franchise QB potential. As we already know, that is not a very easy thing to find via the draft. This year, I chalk up the early struggles to learning a new system. Denver fell off towards the end of the season, and Chicago started coming on when Forte started showing a bit of the stuff he had last year running the ball forcing defenses to play a bit more honest. The Vikings game was a good measuring stick of what Chicago can do when they get their offense and defense clicking. I do think that Cutler will get back to form next year, but Chicago needs some better WR prospects and a few tweaks on thier O-line to take advantage of his abilities. I can just about guarantee you that finding a QB is not going to be on Chicago's list of priorities for the next 3-5 years, and that has got to be a good feeling for any coaching staff. IMO though, he would have been beaten down and concussed behind the line we had this year. It would not have been an auspicious start for Jay in B-low.

The common sense answer is of course a strength and conditioning coach can make a difference with preventing injuries, but not alone. Good nutrition enforcement as well as flexibility, stamina, and strength conditioning can certainly help a professional athlete avoid injuries. I would wager that losing teams that are poorly coached also have a higher number of injuries. Players that are overmatched for the position they are playing, players that try to recover when playing out of position, defensive players twisting and lunging to try to make a saving tackle or an offensive linemen trying to pick up a guy he missed or being bull-rushed into a pile of bodies all end up with poor form which in turn leads to injuries. Not all injuries can be prevented in a contact sport, but I think it would be hard to argue that fixing the issues above would not contribute to a more injury-free year.

The LAST thing this team needs is another luxury pick. Cornerback/Secondary and wide receiver, are depth areas on a team that is fundamentally broken on both lines. NEEDS: Left Tackle, Run-Stopping Defensive Tackle or Nose Tackle (depending on offseason d-coordinator move), Linebacker, a later round QB prospect, round out the O-Line and D-Line depth.

Priorities: New GM New Coach and Front Office Personnel men a busy offseason of evaluation the result of which is: A real Left Tackle or Left Tackle prospect - Bell is literally the definition of soft-turnstile. Seriously, there was actually a news article about the ingenious defense the Pats used to pressure the QB. Really? Was it that difficult to come up with a plan that involved defensive players running past, around, or through Bell? Butler and Wood back and healthy. New OC New DC Monster DT or NT if the new DC goes with the 3-4 Some bigger LB to fill out the roster. a boot up Maybin's worthless butt I like our secondary, and I would not bother focusing on a rookie QB till we get someone in here that can solve our protection and run-blocking issues. A serviceable QB that is durable will do until the blown up pieces start to fall in place and resemble some progress, then focus on the QB of the future in 2011.

Some folks just don't get sarcasm... I watched Bell get juked out of his jock by the lamest head/shoulder fake I have seen in years - pathetic. The KC end faked outside and Bell swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. He lumbered 3 steps to the outside and left a 5-yard wide hole clean to Fitzpatrick for a sack. I have yet to see what management and the coaching staff sees in this kid - he is raw, lacks balance, and is slow on his feet.

Seems? Why do folks keep posting this crap about Martz. Martz cannot lead or build an NFL team - period.

Great pic of Grimm BTW. I remember Rypien's Redskin uniform being completely clean for an entire season - no one laid a hand on him, now that's protection. I do think Grimm could do wonders for our offensive line, but would he be able to pull together the rest of the staff we need? Zona benefits from having two world-beaters in Fitzgerald and Bolden, and a future HOF in Warner throwing to them when he isn't banged up. Grimm wont have those luxuries here - particularly at QB. I don't think that Fewell will stick around if he is not offered the job so we will be out a defensive coordinator as well - not that we have rated any less than mediocre on defense the past decade. It will be interesting - particularly the draft. We should be able to tell a lot about the direction of this team and what the emphasis will be from the draft that our next coach/gm presides over and in what players are kept and what ones are jettisoned. For now, I will just be happy if our players stop listening to their "fat girlfriends"

The interviews alone would be worth the price of admission - not sure if his style would translate over to the pro's though. Out of the three presented Billick would probably build the best team for the elements. Heavy use of tightends and running game and could assemble a pretty respectable staff. Of course I am guessing like everyone else, but I at least I have hope for next season. I had a pretty good idea of what Jauron was going to accomplish when this year started out and it was pretty dismal.

Hmm... dog turds or horse turds for lunch Both QB's suck so why not start the guy I haven't seen?

Stroud may have mentioned MLB because this team is so desparatly thin at the LB position that they are playing POZ in the middle which has not been his natural position alongside a emergency-converted linebacker from strong safety in Scott and Draft who is a 33 year old FA castoff who has never been an impact player and has been passed around during his career from the Bears, Niners, Falcons, Panthers, and Rams. Stroud was just stating the obvious, they have a lot of players playing out of position to cover up for their lack of depth at LB - I highly doubt he was singling out POZ. That being said, Maybin should have been moved to OLB at some point this season to see if he could make the move and flourish there, heck he could always lineup on the line and rush the passer on obvious passing downs. I understand Fewel trying to win games to show his coaching prowess, but it does this team no good to leave their future players on the bench while scrubs try to win a few more meaningless games for us.

I am on the fence on this one... watching teams eat up over three quarters of the clock ripping off one 6 to 15 yard run after the next doesn't do our offense any favors. And the offense is horrific at converting 3rd downs. Top flight LT prospects are hard to come by so I would take a flyer on one early (no Texan's thank you very much), then nab the next best run-stopping mauler. I don't know if I am sold on QB until after this team has a coach with a plan and the ability to execute it AND an offensive line that could give the kid a chance to grow without getting killed.

Jim knew how to keep the ball on a rope in the cold. If you go back and watch some of his late season games he wouldn't loft passes real high, rather even with his 20-30 yard passes there was never a lot of air under them. He had one hell of a strong arm, but knew that he needed to keep those passes low. Bledsoe had a similar throw, and it was no secret why he could also thrive in the elements. Too bad he had to end his career getting the crap beaten out of him behind our pathetic line. It seems that every QB we have had ends up shell-shocked after a season of bumps, bruises,...... concussions. Hull, Ballard, Wolford, Ritcher... I never appreciated how rare that collection of skilled linemen was at the time. I thought that JP had a similar arm - passes on a rope, but he never had Jimbo's touch on short and intermediate throws. I think that any young QB with potential will be ruined until we address our glaring need at LT. The rest of tbe offensive line should be set next year if Wood and Butler are back from injury. Hangartner and Levitre are serviceable. It was honestly a whole lot to ask of Levitre and Wood to start right away with all those injuries and shuffling around them, but by the last few games I thought they were both grading out pretty well. Our scouting department has been highly suspect, but I doubt we would benefit much if we flushed them all before this years draft: They have one last draft to get it right for a new coach. Draft the top LT, then address the fact that our defense cannot get off the field and is dead last against the run - pick up the biggest baddest run-stuffer available (someone that could play NT in a 3-4 if needed), shore up the linebacker position, then see what's left. Maybe pick up a journeyman QB via free agency with some potential and draft a prospect QB in 2011. Get a coach that can teach and motivate the troops and we should have some interesting games to watch for a change.

Yup! Could not have said it better.

Alright JP!!! The disasterous culmination of Jauron's tenure as head coach leads me to believe it wasn't all this kid's fault. Had a great attitude and a hell of an arm, but was deaf to the pass rush. If he could have just taken better care of the rock when he was back there things may have turned out differently. Hope he gets another shot at the big league.