thewildrabbit

Just absurd from my point of view as Brady wouldn't have lasted 10 years behind any Bills O line. The receiving corps have stunk, the lines have stunk, the coaching has stunk. How does a QB as good as Brady even develop into a super bowl winning QB on a bad team? Answer: he doesn't! After 100+ hits, 50 sacks a year, and several concussions later and the guy is a washed up, running for his life loser. Brady just doesn't have great escape-ability, great mobility. What he does have is great pocket presence, and the ability to float around or step up in the pocket. That is, provided he has an actual pocket. QB's don't step on the field and magically transform the entire offense into quality personnel.

You guys are dreamers, and keep forgetting who owns this team.

Pettine will be competing with the Bills to find the right DC for his new staff His target is Jim O'Neil the Bills LBers coach...or Gregg Williams Just think, Pettine can also target Gary Kubiak as his OC, or Kyle Shanahan, Scott Linehan.

spags was hired by the Saints as their new DC in 2012, and let go the next year. Since HC Sean Payton was suspended for the year, good ole spags was left to his own devices. As a result the Saints then allowed the most yards of any defense in the entire history of the NFL. This was the first time in four years the NO Saints missed the playoffs ummm, no thanks

spags was hired by the Saints as their new DC in 2012, and let go the next year. Since HC Sean Payton was suspended for the year, good ole spags was left to his own devices. As a result the Saints then allowed the most yards of any defense in the entire history of the NFL. This was the first time in four years the NO Saints missed the playoffs ummm, no thanks

They had a plan to replace LG Andy Levitre....how did that work out?

Somebody who can figure out how to have a good pass & run defense at the same time

This will be interesting to see whom Doug Whaley ultimately selects. I just hope he takes no advice from Buddy Nix on the issue Those three former HC's would suffice. Will the Bills be willing to pay them what they want? err didn't spags suck with the Saints?

I see some Bills fans so enamored with Chan Gailey & Buddy Nix that they put portions of their quotes in their own signature. I almost think that Russ Brandon is so very smart at what he does that he probably has some of hiss own people posting in this forum daily to keep the propaganda flowing properly. What is propaganda? Manipulation of information to influence public opinion. Yea, those two ss in "his" were intended. Anyway, was hiring Marv Levy as a GM a smart move in terms of building a playoff team? While Levy might always have a good eye for talent, he was never qualified for that position, and he proved it. Buddy Nix is in the same category, as a retired chief scout who was never placed in that high a position before. Think about the opportunity in terms of yourself. You are 70+ years old and are offered millions of dollars to do a job. Would it matter to you that its a job for a younger person who needs to work 20 hour days to get it right, and not a job for someone who needs frequent naps. I look at Buddy Nix and think " king of the band-aid" as all he did was band-aid the team. Can anyone name one area position on the team that Nix himself unquestionably solidified for years? Band-aids everywhere, on the LBers, the QB's, the O line. The acquisition of DE Mario Williams for 100 million dollars put the Bills in a special salary cap situation. http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2012/3/17/2880629/mario-williams-contract-breakdown-buffalo-bills Yet Whaley makes a trade of one of Nix's draft screw ups and comes up golden with Jerry Hughes. I just don't get how some fans can praise him, and not acknowledge his hiring was a complete disaster from start to finish. In his first year he made the wrong choice for head coach, for assistant coaches, as Gailey hired a lot of his cronies from his days at Georgia Tech to be NFL assistants. Which was something that they had never done before, so it took time for them to learn how to do their jobs. Glaring mistake! George Edwards for defensive coordinator. Glaring mistake! In allowing a switch from a 4-3 Tampa two scheme which required a specific set of personnel to run that scheme to a 3-4 when he clearly didn't have the proper players on the D line or at linebacker. Glaring mistake! Bringing in a FA RT for 2 mil per only to see the guy benched and cut after 6 weeks. Then replaced by players right off the waiver wire! Sound familiar?because the 2013 team did the very same thing at LG. No pass rush. Bad O line, so very little pass protection. Bad QB's. Bad defense. Traded away "beast mode" to Seattle for a 4th when the NO Saints wanted to give up a 3rd, and he never even took their calls. One of the very worst drafts in recent history of the team in 2010. One player out of 9 a situation player. That first year at 4-12 was such a train wreck of ineptitude, its staggering!

Replaceable...just like Andy Levitre was replacable. Its tragic that the Bills find a quality talent and he is gone after one year, and yet typical.

great....

Buddy Nix took over in 2010, so it would be name a bunch in 2009. Still, 2008. Poz, Jason Peters, Marshawn Lynch, Terrence McGee, and Jabari Greer who now has a SB ring with the Saints. Poz, move Kiko outside. Peters, move Glenn to LG. Lynch as the main power back. Yea, both Greer and McGee both start over McKelvin & Gilmore However, it really is irrelevant considering Buddy Nix himself stated "you're going to think i'm crazy, but this team is not that far away" after he was hired. He must have deeply believed that because when free agency open he stated he was going to get some sleep, and slept right thru that dreadful 4-12 season. Oh yea, he did sign FA RT Cornell Green for 2 mil per, and guess what, he was almost as bad as this years Colin Brown. Both were benched and cut after week 6. That 0-8 start with Fitz literally leading the team in rushing YPC while running for his proverbial life The old buzzard actually thought the team was brimming with talent. Particularly on the O line because he didn't bother to replace the all pro LT that was traded away, or the lack of a decent pass rusher. Instead the old fool drafted a RB in an area of non need, and traded away the starting RB to this years SB team. Someone said he wasn't as bad as Levy / Brandon / Jauron era. Except I think he was worse. Kyle Williams, lil Donte, poz, Lynch, McKelvin, Stevie Johnson, Freddy Jackson. Eric Wood, Andy levitre, Jairus Byrd, 6 pro bowlers to none?

Then why sign him in the first place? The point here is the Bills chose the path to the situation they ended up with concerning the 2013 Bills QB's.

Look over the drafts from 2010 -2013 2010 Nix's first draft, nine players drafted, and only the #9 overall turned into a part time starter in Spiller. Not an every down back Carrinton has had 9 game out of a possible 64 starts. ONE STARTER! 2011 with Nine players drafted, and the #3 overall Dareus the only actual full time starter. CB Williams converted into a Safety 30 of 48 possible starts TWO STARTERS 2012 Nine players drafted, and only Gilmore, Glenn, Graham starting, THREE STARTERS, and only one of the 3 is really good. 27 players drafted, 6 starters. Oh yeah, Buddy Nix is outstanding Basically anyone drafted after round three was a waste of time. How many pro bowlers did he draft? The best place for Nix is the ole fishing hole...retired! EDIT: I still feel Nix is to blame for Colin Brown at LG debacle. Probably telling Whaley that the guy could do the job. Here is hoping Whaley does his thinking for himself.

Didn't the Vikes already hire George Edwards as their DC? I understand Dave Wannstedt is available

I stated that already. They had plenty of time to sign another QB before the season started to sign a different backup QB, and CHOSE not to. This team was prepared to start the regular season with Jeff Tuel Like I also stated they CHOSE not to give Matt Flynn a start for whatever reason. He went back to Green Bay and started for them.

a link for the above post about a 3rd interview http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000316586/article/mike-pettine-a-finalist-for-cleveland-browns-coach-job

I don't believe that at all. Dave Wannstedt & George Edwards both look like Joe Schmoes to me, and they both fell on their faces. The HC just has to know the difference between a good coordinator, and a bad one. Besides the obvious of knowing how to manage a game, be a supreme motivator, and know talent when he sees it. Marv Levy didn't know squat about the offense as he was a special teams assistant under the late George Allen. Then tried to run the winged-T as HC of the Chiefs. What he did know was who to hire as his coordinators in Buffalo. Well, he did get extremely lucky to find and hire ex Colt HC Ted Marchibroda as his OC.

Oh yes I can compare QB situations. The Chiefs went out an acquired Alex Smith from the 49ers. The Bills had one in hand, and when he was injured they CHOSE to not retain another. You read my post but missed the part where I stated they failed to bring in an experienced backup QB before the season started, and failed to even give Matt Flynn a chance. Last season was a clear result of stupidity in taking a chance of employing not just one rookie QB, but three rookies at QB for the duration of the season. So don't blame the lack of an experienced QB on anything other then the coaches / GM, aka team.

Sok CD, as it seems the majority of the fans here simply don't realize the importance of having a solid line with all five players. They don't get the fact that despite the fact that the Bills lead the entire league with rushing attempts, and were the #2 rushing team in the NFL. Yet they graded 25th in run blocking. They just don't comprehend that disparity, and probably don't care What it means to me is that the RB's were the primary reason for the success of that run game, and that the Bills O line couldn't control either the LoS or the clock. Something that is essential in winning games. It almost seems like the majority of the fans enjoy regurgitating the company line that Doug Marrone started to tow right after he was hired. I read the following as another excuse to not draft O linemen in the first round. "Buffalo might look outside the organization to upgrade their offensive line this offseason, but they're also optimistic about three young O-line prospects already on the roster." “We’re in a league that’s based on a salary cap and there are certain positions you need to develop and spend your money in other areas,” he said. “My background as an offensive line coach I realize that you’re not going to be able to spend top dollar for five offensive linemen across the board. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Marrone-sees-promise-in-young-guard-prospects/eba6f00d-58f9-4daf-8dfe-6de9ab15ab16 The Bills prefer to continue to draft for the defense and have no qualms about how many draft picks or how much money they spend on the defense. A 100 million dollar DE because they failed to identify a quality pass rusher in the draft. Continuously spending top draft picks on the secondary so now that they have two #1's at CB. two #2's at safety, and finally became #4 in the NFL in pass defense! as its a passing league right? Where did it get this team to be the #2 pass rushing team in the NFL along with #4 in pass defense this year, as its a passing league right? Allow me to answer, 6-10. Oh wait, i forgot they were #28 against the run.... so instead of building that O line up. They will draft a LBer to help with the run defense. Yea, that will finally get them out of the 6-10 basement! I can guarantee one thing, that the Bills will never win a playoff game with a line similar to the one they have. P.S. Pears was penciled in to be replaced by Hairston in pre season and would have been replaced had he not been injured, and eventually placed on IR. "He was originally pegged as a starter." http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/6643/chris-hairston

When you think about it, neither guy did all that great. While Pettine's D was #2 in sacks, and the Bills moved up to a respectable #10 in total yards allowed. While at the same time #28 against the run, which really sucks, and 20th in points allowed. Then consider how many 1st & 2nd round draft picks are on that defense, 9 of 11. I guess we learned that sacks don't mean much if you can't stop the run. Most Bills fans are out of their minds over this years D because the team finally found a DC who actually knew how to somewhat properly utilize all that drafted talent. Two #1's at CB. Two #2's at safety. A 100 million dollar DE. Then the offense stayed about the same in being 19th overall in total yards. Now Marrone certainly ran the ball a heck of a lot more by leading the NFL in rushing attempts, and moved up in total rushing yards from 6th to 2nd. 28th in passing offense with a batch of rookies compared 25th with Fitz. All he did was prove that running a lot means nothing if you can't control the LoS or the clock. If Marrone had only gone to Whaley and stated that the OG position wasn't upgraded enough, and filled it in with a decent free agent LG. Then the backup QB position to have an experienced backup from day one or at the very least give Matt Flynn a chance at a start. Plus, Marrone still has his buddy Crossman as ST coach. Just think, Turk Schonert & Alex Van Pelt both went 7-9 with JP & Edwards at QB Here we are bickering over a pair of wannabes, and other teams that hired new head coaches last year actually took their teams to the playoffs. Mike McCoy, Chargers 9-7. Bruce Arians, Cardinals from 5-11 to 10-6 just missing the playoffs in the best division in the NFL. Andy Reid, Chiefs from 2-14 to 11-5. Chip Kelly, Eagles from 4-12 to 10-6. Leave it to Brandon to figure out a way to have the fans arguing with each other over crumbs instead of looking at the big picture. Meanwhile 6-10 again, SSDY.

This is just bluster to sell his book. Bill Polian stated he never wanted Leaf, and also refuted this story as just one way agents try and convince their players that they can get them to any team they want. Which really is complete BS,

You guys can make jokes.. The leading candidate Broncos OC Adam Gase turned down a chance to interview with the Browns. While they are still interested in interviewing Seahawks OC Dan Quinn after the super bowl. They are also interested in current Falcons OC Dirk Koetter. The simple fact that Pettine was given a second interview petty much means that he blew them away with the first interview. JMO "And Pettine had a strong interview last week." http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24416253/browns-schedule-two-more-interviews-seattles-quinn-still-in-mix

So do something so the extra point kick isn't so almost automatic. Moving the spot for the extra point further back would allow the chance to get more blocks. Did I mention that I love blocked kicks... Fandemonium: Tell it to Fred Smerlas who blocked a FG in a 9-6 OT win in 1986 against the Jets in a torrential 40 degree downpour. That win allowed the Bills to be the first ever NFL team to win the division after only 12 games. http://books.google....emonium&f=false

The #4 receiving WR in the NFL in 2013, 92 rec 1430 yards. Demaryius Thomas a middle of the pack, really? Eric Decker #12 with 87 rec, 1288 yards Welker with 73 receptions this year. He also has been a top 5 WR in the NFL since 2007, and he has had over 100 receptions every year since that time. TE Julius Thomas with 65 receptions this year, and there isn't many big play, clutch tight ends in the league as good as he was this year. There is no question that Manning has had a great impact on all those players, save Welker. Just think Manning was out there as a free agent, and the Bills didn't even make an offer... I would take that Denver coaching staff over the Bills staff eight ways to Sunday. Can we also trade the owners and Elway for Brandon?