thewildrabbit

Jeez, my head was going to explode thinking that the Bills wasted TWO 1st rounders on JP. They really only wasted a 1st and 2nd on him Still, only one QB drafted in the first round since Jim Kelly...considering bad QB play is the primary reason the Bills have been bad for so long. I suppose this franchise values DB's & RB's more then QB's for some inexplicable reason

I can think of 100 million reasons as to why the Bills should be much much better then last season George Edwards is gone after 2 years of worse then Jauron and his Tampon 2! The defense will get in sync, and about 4 guys from the first string should make the pro bowl. The Patriots have a crap O line and should be ripe to rape Brady, at least one win. The Dolphins are gonna be a bad team this year, a complete new coaching staff, no Mike Nolan on D. No Brandon Marshall on O. A rookie QB that will be learning as he goes. sweep The Jets don't have a RT and their QB's have been flopping around more then the fish at the Fulton fish market. sweep If Gailey can get the offense working this team stands a real chance to win the division this year

Trent Edwards learned the WCO while at Stanford and when he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills all he had to teach him differently were two OC's that should have never been OC's in Turk Schonert and AVP. Fitz OTOH was drafted by Mike Martz and learned that system. The Buffalo Bills were playing a version of that MM system when Fitz arrived in Buffalo so he acclimated to it right away. Fitz is the best thing to happen to the Bills since Jim Kelly, my only concern is if Fitz can develop that burning passion to win like Kelly had. Fitz has only played on bad teams his entire career, and I don't see that changing with Gailey trying to force him to play a pseudo form of Tom Brady / Drew Brees in constantly throwing all game long

Holy cow, some fans that still don't get that the ONLY reason the Bills "quirky" offense works is because of Fitz. Here is the reason that the Seahawks made him expendable..."But he also had no TD passes, six interceptions and nine sacks in the final two minutes of halves, which helped prompt the club’s search that led it to Wilson and Flynn" http://blog.seahawks...off-to-buffalo/ Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd that Chan Gailey couldn't get. Trent Edwards- Brian Brohm- Levi Brown- Tyler Thigpen- Brad Smith- Vince Young to flourish in his system. All round pegs being forced into square holes.Thigen has got to be the biggest enigma of the bunch as he played almost full year under Gailey back in 08 when Gailey was the OC for the Chiefs. I only agree to the first half of that second statement,and only agree with part of the final. I think this is the last year for Chan Gailey / Buddy Nix...unless they manage to get Fitz killed behind that line and in that constantly shotgun passing scheme.

What you don't get is that this is exactly the problem with VY and Thigpen...being indecisive and holding on to the ball too long. Not to mention the 9 fumbles and 5 lost last year. 14 TD's, 13 INT's Then sacked 42 times for -293 yards behind a decent Seahawk line that let Marshawn Lynch rush for 1200+ yards. Now we all know that Lynch is a fright train and doesn't make his own holes or make the first tackler miss like Fred Jackson does. I think Tarvaris Jackson gets killed behind this Bills line. JMO tho P.S.Fitz haters will love this move

This is a really great point! The first year under Donahoe / Williams the Bills went 3-13, then went 8-8 the second year. That 2nd draft most fans wanted to crucify Donahoe for taking Mike Williams with the #4 overall. Williams never became that stud LT, but at least he started at RT for 4 years. The others from that year were Josh Reed, Ryan Denny, Coy Wire, Justin Bannan The 3rd draft under Donahoe was also good. Willis McGahee, Chris Kelsay, Angelo Crowell, Terrance McGee, Sam Aiken, Mario Haggen What is it with this team and avoiding 1st round QB's the last 10 years?

Just what the Buffalo Bills needed.... ""Jackson has had his faults, with much of the criticism focusing in on his decision-making and holding onto the ball too long."" http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19928241/ap-source-bills-in-talks-to-acquire-qb-jackson

You are welcome. Are teams supposed to fire or lay off their workforce during the off season or do they go by the evaluations in 2010 they made before the 2009 season? Like I pointed out, Thomas Dimitroff was hired in Atlanta in the exact same time frame. They hired a new HC, turned over the team along with a new coaching staff and then turned out an 11-5 season. ""I'd have to say 99% of all GM's are fired and hired at the end of the NFL season. I don't see the good GM's failing in their first year like Nix did. Case in point Thomas Dimitroff was hired by the Falcons on Jan 13th 2008, hired HC Mike Smith,and the Falcons went 11-5 that first year. They didn't get worse like the Buffalo Bills did after they hired Nix. The difference between the two is Nix only need concern himself with the football operations!"" Want more then one case in point? NY Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum was hired on Feb 19th 1997 after a 4-12 season. The Jets went 9-7 the very next year. The Dolphins did the same thing in 2007 with a new Pres / GM staff and HC they went from 1-15 to 11-5. Bills fans can keep blaming Modrak for that 2010 draft, IDC. Nix was the GM at that time and he takes 100% responsibility for a draft under his watch.

Lets not forget that almost everyone looks at Chan Gailey as some sort of QB guru, and yet the man has failed with every QB so far (6 is it?)...except Fitz! My take is that is because its all Fitz! Gailey keeps trying to get QB's to fit his particular scheme and even failed in Buffalo with Thigpen who played under him an entire season back in 08 while Gailey was OC of the Chiefs The reason VY did pretty well in Tenn was because they were dedicated to building a run first offense. Gailey is more intent on building a top passing game like the Patriots, Saints, Steelers, Chargers have even tho he doesn't that elite QB. What he does have is an elite RB, even possibly 2 elite RB's but all he wants to do is throw it.

I give Chan / Nix no room because Nix stated he thought the team had enough talent to win, hence his monumentally foolish "we are not that far away" statement just after he was hired Giving Jauron autonomy after Levy retired was the worst move ever, by any franchise! I simply can't understand how Jauron could merit that kinda of trust from an owner. Jauron's biggest downfall was not hiring an experienced NFL OC to teach his young QB's. it was the blind leading the blind on offense http://www.huliq.com/3257/90070/buffalo-bills-choose-buddy-nix-new-gm

I don't know what planet you are from, but it certainly doesn't take an entire year to build a draft chart or plan free agent moves. That statement in itself is ridiculous! The real grading starts AFTER the college season, and NFL season ends. All Nix needed to do was to sit and watch past game film, it would take about a few days to evaluate and grade his current players. Then a few days to figure out what players to target in free agency. Then spend some time looking at film of the top 60-90 college players previous to the draft. He had more then enough time to do all those things IMO. Buddy Nix was hired Jan 3rd, 2010. The combine is Feb and the draft the end of April. Nix should have had plenty of time to do his job diligently, and correctly! The fact is that Nix failed badly in that first draft and free agency period and simply didn't do his job properly. Nix not only failed in the 2010 draft, he failed horrifically with his acquisition of free agent RT Cornell Green, 3 mill for that scrub. That one wrong move is a big reason for the 0-8 start of the 2010 season. Then Nix spent half the season trying to find decent replacement RT off the streets. Looking at Tom Modrak's history of a decade of bad drafts there should have been no way Nix relied on him for anything. If you understand there is a problem somewhere why not do some actual work yourself instead of letting a known moron keep doing the drafting. The Bills only turned over about 8 players total that first year. Probably because Nix stated he thought the team was "not that far away" I'd have to say 99% of all GM's are fired and hired at the end of the NFL season. I don't see the good GM's failing in their first year like Nix did. Case in point Thomas Dimitroff was hired by the Falcons on Jan 13th 2008, hired HC Mike Smith,and the Falcons went 11-5 that first year. They didn't get worse like the Buffalo Bills did after they hired Nix. The difference between the two is Nix only need concern himself with the football operations! The lengths that some fans will go to in making excuses for the current regime is absurd! Talk about misguided / inaccurate! edit: Nix was hired 12-31-09

Part of that trouble running the ball was the I formations and other closed formations that the Bills have had clear trouble running the ball out of, Gaily was working on that aspect it appeared to me. The biggest reason for the running success is Fred Jackson breaking the first tackle or making them miss. They did get better running from a closed 2 TE set this week they then looked last week. so that is making me a little optimistic. I still say Fitz is not one of the elite QB's and Gailey needs to protect him better by running the ball more often. The man did make Spiller his #1 pick, dunno why he doesn't utilize him more. 500 runs / 500 passes this season would suit me just fine.

The Bills looked really good in the 1st QTR, the problem is the game is played for 4 QTRs. The offense would be ok if Chan would put as much emphasis on running the ball as he does passing it. Fred Jackson is the best player on the team and should see the ball 20-25 times a game. Spiller needs to get his touches also. The guy who looked out of sync was SJ, is the offense to complicated for him? Donald Jones looked more like the #1 WR then SJ did. Fitz is a good journeyman QB who can win games if Chan Gailey stops putting him in 3rd and long all game long. The coaching staff needs to realize that they don't have big ben at QB, they don't have Brady, Brees, Stafford. They have a Flacco / Matt Ryan type and he needs a strong running game behind him like those two have. Run to set up the pass, it worked for Jim Kelly back in the day.

Although we agree on that 2010 draft, and even the last two drafts seem to be lacking.... It really is wrong to compare the Patriots draft to the Bills draft when one team is very selective in filling a few needs vs one that has so many needs at so many positions. In 2008 the Jets had the mangenius as HC so considering he still isn't working in the NFL in any capacity...I'd say that was a bonehead pick by a bonehead coach. Just like another draft we are all talking about. As for the Dolphins and Jake long, Bill Parcels did the right thing in his view as he isn't one to draft a flashy QB in the 1st round and has proven that he can win a SB with a not so great player at QB. Parcels just never got the chance to finish what he started in Miami. As Bills fans we should be ecstatic that Parcels decided to retire, and he turned the team over to GM Jeff Ireland. My take is most drafts are usually only as good as the man running the team.

The Patriots didn't go 6-10, and were desperate for so many players at so many positions. What does it say about a draft that can't produce a starter on a 4-12 team?

This O line is still a huge concern, and has been since day one. Even with all the starters healthy and playing well, its still not a top unit. Wood and Levitre are the best players on that line, no doubt. But that right side is still very questionable and now they have a rookie at LT, With players coming off injuries, and not 100% yet it has to be a big concern. The way Ryan Fitzpatrick gets the ball out to the open receiver in 3 seconds or under hides a lot of pass blocking deficiencies. Fred Jackson running out of the spread where he breaks the first tackles or always makes the first tackler miss hides the run blocking deficiencies. This team still can't throw mid to deep passes on a consistent basis or run from a closed formation which limits the plays you can run in an offense. Now the starters need to play a few games to gain their continuity again and they should be able to do what they did at the start of last season. The problem is until some of the players can up the level of their play the Bills passing offense will still be a one trick pony.

I'd rather see the Bills give up next years #1 pick for Mike Wallace and then pay him the 11.5 he wants. Vincent Jackson got 11.5 from Tampa bay and Wallace is certainly as good or better then VJ. At this point nobody really knows how good TJ Graham will be this year. But I can only imagine those 4-5 WR sets that Gailey loves to constantly call with both Stevie Johnson,and Mike Wallace. Finally a top 1&2 WR Fitz is making an average salary of 16 mill per year. Plus I highly doubt the Cards will trade the face of their franchise.

Blaming that draft on Modrak is like giving a pass to Gailey when he never watched past film of Fred Jackson, or didn't know Spiller wasn't ready to start that 2010 season. Considering how desperate this team was for talent, and then everyone including the owner stating that the team lacked talent. To come up so short in that first draft is somewhat baffling when you think of Buddy Nix's resume of past drafts. Bottom line, Nix should have watched the film and gone over every player he was going to draft, regardless of when he was hired. That 2010 draft is looking even worse then Jauron / Levy I look back to the Chuck Know and Bill Polian / Levy era's and come away thinking this GM isn't even close. The only reason the team drafted so great in 2011 and got Marcel Darius was because the team was so terrible. Same thing for last years draft. Anyway, it still remains to be seen if any of the players Nix has drafted so far surpass the players Jauron drafted.

Can't cut him, it would be like admitting that #2 pick was a waste...which it was, considering Rob Gronkowski was selected by the Patriots on the very next pick. Not one starter from that 2010 draft class, and the only 2 left are Spiller 2nd string and Carrington who is 3rd string. Jeez, i wonder how many more years Bills fans will need to endure awaiting the arrival of that proverbial baby. Now we also await the "light of day". Anyway, I want to see the Bills field a winning team this year. I just don't see it with this staff.

NO! He doesn't have Fitz's ability to get the ball out to the open receiver in under 3 seconds. Vick has a better line,better WR's, better TE. Better scheme, better HC Fitz has been able to do more with less. Fitz even has about the very same escape ability as Vick. MV just doesn't get the ball out quickly enough to avoid all the hits

Even if that fan watched the same film that the coaches watch. You know, the ones from above on either sideline and the ones from each end zone. Not just the highlights from the networks either. The coaches have the film to see every player from just about every angle. I'm pretty confidant that most fans wouldn't even know what they are supposed to look at to grade each player, or how an NFL team actually grades their players. 99.9% of the fans wouldn't even know what to look for in each play that is called, or how each individual player performed in his execution on each play. Just by reading in this forum I know that about 98% of the fans just watch the QB each play. Even if its the QB we are talking about and the fan even knows the play call. He more then likely doesn't know who the progressions of targets are on that play, or if the WR's ran the proper routes and made the correct reads on the line and off the line. Did the QB make the proper pre-snap read and make the proper line calls? Were all the blocks made successfully, did any fail or were some missed. What injury is each player dealing with, minor or serious. No player escapes an NFL season injury free. TT always played on bad ankles throughout his entire NFL career, you couldn't tell by watching him on TV tho. These are very highly paid professional athletes we are talking about, they get graded on every snap, every play. There is no way that any NFL fan should know more about an NFL player then his team does, no way! If one somehow does, then there is a very serious problem with the coaches not doing their jobs. That said, If Chan Gailey watched any film of Fred Jackson previous to that 2010 draft, there is no way that he drafts Spiller IMO. Then Gailey names Spiller the starter for the opening game in 2010 only to bench him after 5 plays, when he sees that Spiller can't block for protections, can't run a route, can't find a hole. Fred Jackson comes in (with a cast on his hand) on the very next play and catches a pass from Trent Edwards. Like I said earlier, I'm pulling for Chan Gailey to field a winning team this year....winning cures everything.

Seriously? There is no way in hell that any casual observer or even complete fanatic should have a leg up in evaluating NFL talent over a GM or HC getting paid millions to do their respective jobs! No matter how long they have been watching the team. Its not just the GM / HC doing the evaluations,its not just 2 guys, its an entire staff of 18-20 assistant coaches and another staff of scouts. This is kinda why we all knew Jauron was a complete fool. Jauron himself was an ex NFL player and DB, you would think he could evaluate that position better then he did. Not to mention repeatedly drafting DB's year after year, and then drafting Aaron Maybin!! When he should have been searching for that one great mike for his tampon 2. This is what film study is for, good coaches would go back to watch college film and then to everything present to break down a players ability and evaluate them properly. Watching every move and every play. But then, it also helps to know and understand what you are watching. The assistants and scouts shouldn't be the only ones watching the film. Film study is what made Bill Belichick so great. It was in his attention to detail in watching film of opposing offenses and their tendencies. Although it seems like the old master has slipped somewhat recently, his team still went to the big dance last year. Plus his team has been in the playoffs for as long as Buffalo has been out of the playoffs. NFN, but when you have fans that are more knowledgeable about the players then the current coaching regime, even from day one, then there is a serious problem. Kinda why I'm here writing about it

Yeah,what he said. Its tough on this fan to see that both Nix / Gailey are in a "learn as you go mode" in Buffalo when they should be so far ahead of the curve in terms of how much experience each one has. I look at someone like Bill Cowher and if he were to take over as HC he probably could have easily made the switch from a 4-3 to 3-4 because he knows which coaches to hire and what type of players he wants to draft. So that transition would have been so much better. The defense would have actually improved greatly IMO. Stating that, wannstache should have this rebuilt 4-3 with a decent pass rush in the top 15 this year. Now its up to Chan Gailey to prove his doubters wrong. Show us that you can make the adjustmments, that you can scheme more then just a short quick passing game, that you can run the ball in a closed formation, that you can make that 5 WR set work with one decent WR, that CJ Spiller was worth a #1, 9th overall pick, that you can field a winning team! Like I said, I'm pulling for Chan Gailey to get it done this season.

Hey, you are entitled to your opinion...Its a fact that 7-9 beats 4-12 / 6-10 tho. Gailey took a team that had just gone 7-9 / 6-10 and made it worse by installing a 3-4 when he didn't have the proper players. I didn't think anyone could have fielded a team worse against the run then Jaurons Tampon 2. Yet, George Edwards not only managed to field a worse team against the run. He set a franchise record for worst against the run in the teams 50 year history. I suppose Gailey wasn't responsible for 2 years wasted on that 3-4 huh. Gailey picking Edwards over Fitz is a big reason why the team started out 0-8. All the first team reps went to a guy he would cut after 2 games. The back up QB's don't get nearly as many reps so Fitz wasn't even close to being ready to start. Anyone else recall those first 8 games and how pathetic the offense looked, Fitz running for his life, literally. Its my contention that Fitz, Stevie Johnson, Freddy Jackson were brought in under Jauron,and were already on the team when Gailey got here. If Gailey is such an offensive "megamind" & QB guru where is all the offensive talent he brought in? Sorry guys, i don't only see the things I wanna see. I see things as they are. Right now Gailey is a 6-10 head coach. The Bills still haven't found a top #2 or #3 WR for all those 5 WR sets Gailey runs. The O line is still very questionable as to see if they can give Fitz the time to throw a 5-7 step drop deep passing play on a consistant basis like other teams. They still can't run the ball out of a closed formation. Who cares if Gailey can make a QB light it up....its useless if he can't get them to win games. I wanna see wins!