thewildrabbit

Its threads like this with myopic fans that only see the QB and nothing else, and think the team can't win unless they have that "franchise" guy. The 49ers and Alex Smith are the perfect argument against that singular thought about only the QB. Its a team game, and even HoF great John Elway states the QB is only as good as the players around him. Fans forget what the Bills did the first half of last season! Now imagine that same offense with a better LT, and a speedy WR opposite SJ. Now imagine a totally different defense with an actual pass rush. Opposing QB's won't have 5-10 seconds to get the ball out now. It had better be out in 3 seconds or its a sack! The offense will get more chances to be on the field this year, and the defense won't be on the field all game long. There are like 5 players on that list I'd trade Fitz for and 2 are almost over the hill.

I can tell you right now KC & St Louis won't be drafting #1 & #2, not with Romeo Crennel as HC of the Chiefs or Jeff Fisher as HC of the Rams I can see both Indy and Arizona duking it out for the #1 pick next year, Cleveland might be in there also. Oh yea don't forget the Saints are gonna really suck this year everything will depend on injuries at the start of the season EDIT: That moron, he has the Colts with a better record then the Bills

For me its the center position, the team went to complete hell once Wood went on IR. The O line never found the same stability without Wood. Now it remains to be seen how well all this years draft picks acclimate to the pro level. The Bills might have found that #2 WR, LBers, back up center,and LT. The only real concern is back up QB, but then undrafted rookie QB Aaron Corp beat out Matt Barkley at USC and then broke his leg, so it might be wise of Gailey to give the kid lots of reps to see if he is good enough to become a backup. preseason should tell us everything

I think you are underestimating how good the defense will be this year, that front 4 will terrorize opposing QB's. The DB's will suddenly look a whole lot better because they won't need to cover anyone for 10 seconds or be on the field all game long. But yea, like someone else alluded to, a lot will depend on how healthy the 2012 team can stay. 10-6 growing pains, worst to first!

RyanC883 @Jets WIN Chiefs WIN- No more dummy at HC, Romeo Crennell is there now @Browns WIN Patriots WIN @San Francisco WIN- Think about 13-3 last year @Arizona LOSS- now think about who their QB is vs the new Bills pass rush Tennessee WIN bye week @Texans WIN- Think about that #1 defense the Texans had last year with Wade Phillips as DC @Patriots LOSS Dolphins WIN @Colts WIN Jags WIN Rams WIN Seahawks WIN @Dolphins LOSS- The Dolphins suck This is a win! Jets LOSS 12-4...maybe, just maybe. I think you could realistically flip the Arizona game to a win and the SF game to a loss. The Texans game will be a tough game at Houston, particularly if their QB is healthy is why I said 10-6

Like I stated in the post, 10-6 and they could be even better if Gailey decides to give Spiller more carries. "I fully expect to see the same team we all saw in weeks one thru eight of last season play a full 16 games. I will say 10-6, and should Gailey start using Spiller more in the run game(as he could be the next Chris Johnson), they could do even better."

As the 2012 season approaches we Bills fans know that Buddy Nix did an amazing job this off season in obtaining some excellent talent! The Bills have a pass rush!! Not just a good one but possibly the best in the NFL!. With arguably the best front 4 in the NFL with Mario Williams-Kyle Williams-Marcel Darius- Mark Anderson. That front 4 could wreak havoc in the NFL this year. Then Nix added to the defense in the draft with a top CB and some good LBers. The Bills also have a new rookie LT, and some rookie backups at OT and center. plus a new speedy WR. Now its up to Chan Gailey to get this team to a winning record or even the playoffs Fan expectations have to be sky high with all the new talent Buddy Nix gave Chan Gailey this year. Most Bills fans seem to think that this years team will be pivotal around the QB position, because most think Fitz is an average QB at best. Clearly Chan thinks Fitz can get the job done simply because this team hasn't even drafted a back up QB the last two years They did draft QB Levi Brown in 2010 in the 7th round, and did bring in un drafted QB Aaron Corp this year. But neither of those 2 QB's are developed enough to be a full time back up, much less the starter. I think if Chan runs the ball like he did in weeks one thru eight they will have a winning season. I fully expect to see the same team we all saw in weeks one thru eight of last season play a full 16 games. I will say 10-6, and should Gailey start using Spiller more in the run game(as he could be the next Chris Johnson), they could do even better. So, whats your faith tell you? 8-8 Winning record? Playoffs? Playoff win? SB? @Jets Chiefs @Browns Patriots @San Francisco @Arizona Tennessee bye week @Texans @Patriots Dolphins @Colts Jags Rams Seahawks @Dolphins Jets Predict the season! Sorry, I just don't see this years team competing for the Matt Barkley-Landry Jones sweepstakes.

I'd be willing to bet that Chan Gailey thinks more highly of Fitz then anyone on this board realizes, in all aspects. Gailey had visions of the playoffs or at least a winning season and just kept throwing trying to win games last season. I'd also be willing to bet that Chan thinks more highly of Fitz then he does Fred Jackson. The mere fact that the last two years Gailey didn't draft a QB of any sort tells me he loves him some Fitz. Anyway, Gailey needs to realize that Fitz is not Tom Brady and he doesn't have the offensive horsepower just yet to keep calling shotgun, empty backfield 5 WR sets with only one good WR (SJ). PS. now that I think about it VY might be a waste of time, that new QB coach needs to spend all his time of working with Fitz and the un drafted rookie QB Aaron Corp

Chan Gailey is noted to be a QB guru right? Bring the guy in and see if Chan can coach him up. Gotta be better then Thigpin. 11 pages about the backup QB... Bills fans can't wait for Sept

You can't always get what you want... but if ya try sometimes, ya might find... ya get what ya need!

Glenn probably dropped to the 2nd round because of his weight and footwork. Mike Mayock had his listed as a guard or possible RT, said his footwork wasn't good enough for LT. Now he also stated that which ever team drafts him and moves him inside he could see him becoming an all pro guard. pretty high praise IMO. Buddy Nix did state that he thinks Hairston will be fine at LT this year, and I think he meant it or the Bills would have gone LT with that 10th pick IMO. Both Gailey and Nix have stated they think Glenn will be a LT, they don't think his weight will be an issue because he was asked at Georgia to add weight and he did just that. He started at LT last year and got better every week. Even if he ends up at guard and becomes a pro bowler, would that be so bad? I'm just happy that this regime finally addressed the O line to some degree, and offense. Not once but 4 times, 3 linemen and one WR. Now I just hope they all stick,and play well

Some of you guys have some serious "shallow hal" issues, My only thought is which one you of guys has the tail.. http://z6mag.com/fea...ics-168351.html http://clutch.mtv.co...ryan-tannehill/

Actually he was the president of the Lions,and de facto GM. He can't be the dumbest person in that org, who hired him and let him stay as president for so long? 7 years...wow! Anyway, it was good to hear any member of the media throw some love at the Buffalo Bills for a change. So sick of hearing about fat Rex, Bill Belicheat. Also, I think that Jeff Ireland GM of the Dolphins has been working overtime trying to get that worst GM title PS I think that most NFL scouts, teams had Glenn rated as a guard, so did Mike Mayock & scout.com. Mayock went on to say he thinks he is more RT then LT because of bad feet, and whatever team drafts him and moves him inside he could be an all pro guard. Anyway, Buddy Nix & Chan Gailey are both confidant Glenn will play well at LT.

Both Matt Millen and Michael Lombardi really think the Bills had the best off season. With the addition of super Mario and Anderson, along with Williams and Darius makes it arguably the best front four in the league now. Lombardi stated he thought the Bills had the best draft, Gilmore was right up there with Claiborne, thinks Glenn will be moved inside. he really like the Bradham and Carter LBers to make the defense better. He thinks both could become starters and help this season

CJ Spiller could become another Chris Johnson should Gailey ever decide to run him more often, particularly out of that spread formation. Once he initially breaks free there are no defenders that are going to catch him from behind.

I tend to think this is mainly because Fitz tends to get the ball out of his hands usually in under 2 seconds or under, so his setup and footwork aren't always set properly. I also tend to think this is born out of survival . Lets face some fact here, go back and look at what Fitz had to deal with the first 1/2 of 2010. It was a constant jailbreak and he was continuously running for his life. That Jet game Fitz was the leading rusher because he had no where to go with the ball, but it tuck and run. Fitz started to finally have some semblance of an actual pocket to step up into the second half of 2010 and the first half of 2011. Go back to the first half of 2011 and Fitz looked like he could have an all pro season, same thing with C Eric Wood and RB Fred Jackson. All three were having great seasons until Wood and Jackson ended up on IR by weeks 9 & 10. My take is that Fitz's poor stats are the result of Chan Gailey trying to win games by making Fitz carry the entire offense the second half of last year. Build that O line, give Fitz some better receivers and more time in the pocket and I think his accuracy improves.

let me say the reason the 2011 Bills could run so well was because Gailey was utilizing a spread offense. Which makes the corners play away from the line by almost not allowing the opposing defense to stack the box. In a spread formation once the RB breaks free there are less defenders around him to make the tackle, hence the longer runs. I can understand why Gailey doesn't want to go to a traditional 2 back set with a closed formation. First, the Bills couldn't make an inch trying to run the ball from a closed set on 3rd and short. Mostly because the Bills "elephant offense" lack the elephants, they simply didn't have the tight ends or the tackles to block well enough to push the pile IMO. Lets not forget that the O line still had some band-aids on it last year. "Hopeful" put it very well with his reference to the 49ers the last two years. 2 years ago their QB sucked and they wanted to dump the QB because the team went 6-10 ! They then fired the HC midway thru the 2010 season. Jim Harbaugh gets hired and builds a power run first team and suddenly that same scrub QB starts looking great. The reason, the 49ers went from a pass first team with 500 attempts passing-400 attempts rushing to a run first team in 2011 with 451 attempts passing -498 attempts rushing. It helps the QB so much when the defense is forced to play up to stop the run and leaves the middle of the field open for the TE's and slot WR to make big plays. From 6-10 to 13-3 in only one year with mostly the exact same players, the only real change was in coaching and philosophy. That same thing could happen with the 2012 Buffalo Bills should Gailey rethink his philosophy... If not there is always Marty S! EDIT: Just wanted to note that Jim Harbaugh came in on a strike shortened off season and as a new HC and still managed 13-3.

I couldn't agree more This team even under Jaruon who was noted for building a strong running game in Chicago comes to Buffalo and all he wants to do is throw throw throw with young inexperienced QB's no less. Then Chan Gailey gets here and he does the exact same thing as Turk Schonert and AVP with calling mostly shotgun passing plays. It would be different if the Bills had a Manning, Brees or Brady, but they don't! Many fans here think that Fitz is only average and yet Gailey calls mostly passing plays with a great RB and average QB, make no sense. Fitz needs all the help he can get to win games, what he doesn't need is to shoulder the entire game. I personally think Fitz is an above average QB who has been mired in bad teams throughout his career. The only thing I have my doubts about concerning Fitz is his ability to win big games when he finally does have a decent team around him. We saw some very good QB play last season in the first part of the year with everyone healthy. We also saw some amazing QB play against Cincy, Baltimore and Pittsburgh in 2010. But we don't know is if Fitz can win a playoff game because he has never been in that situation. Considering how good Fred Jackson is it makes perfect sense to me to become a dominate running team vs a trying to constantly throw out of shotgun and empty backfield sets with a so called average Journeyman QB. I look at teams like the Texans with their awesome running attack and defense. The Ravens are also noted to have that great defense and ground game. The NY Jets 2 years ago also had that formula and went to the AFC championship with it. This past year they tried throwing more and they didn't even make the playoffs. I would like Gailey to go back and look at what made the 90's Bills so dominate, it was Thurman Thomas and that running game that rushed more times them Kelly threw most years. Ted Marchibroda was a genius utilizing a spread offense, the no huddle and the old Redskin "counter trey" running scheme. In case you don't know what that is, its when the O linemen take one step one way and then go the other. That makes the defenders commit t to one direction and then need to reverse to the other. This slight delay in direction gives the offense an edge in getting the defenders off balance and out of position. This might not seem like a big deal but it is because with each play they never know if that first step will be the actual direction. so even if they pause for a millisecond its still a slight delay. Lastly, even when your team gets behind by 30 points...just continue to run the same offense and not try and constantly throw to catch up. usually when opposing teams get a big lead they tend to forget about stopping the run and focus on defending the pass. they go constant nickle and dime coverages and blitz more. Which usually makes them more susceptible to the run. Once the RB breaks off a few big runs and then the opposing defense crowds the line to stop the run, then pass. It was definitely disconcerting to watch an experienced HC like Gailey fall victim to the try and catch up by throwing syndrome game after game the second half of last season. Which leads me to believe we are wasting our time with this thread.

The Bills did sign un-drafted Richmond QB Aaron Corp

The thing is with rookie draft picks you must have some expectation that they will need some time to develop properly. The further away from the first round you go the more time needed to train and develop skills and technique. Usually why a bunch end up on the practice squad. That said, this Bills team has many unproven players and is still very thin at various positions. That first round pick should start at nickle. Glenn should start at RT or guard, and the rest who knows. That 3rd round WR may take quite awhile before he comes around considering how long it took Parrish to finally develop. If Gailey goes pass crazy like he did last year I can see the Bills losing games. The Bills have the talent at RB to build a strong ground game and let the RB get 3rd and inches. It would be nice for a change to not be in third an long all the time. The new defense should help keep every game manageable. Still, it seems like every year this franchise has more then its share of injuries to key players as far back to even before Jauron. Perhaps Mularkey getting rid of Rusty Jones for his buddy to become the new S&C coach has something to do with it.

Do you not have good reading comprehension? Or perhaps just want to keep this thread rolling? Marty WANTED THE JOB! The owner Ralph Wilson said no!

Buddy Nix already went to Ralph Wilson before he hired Chan Gailey and talked with him about Marty Schottenheimer. Ralph Wilson then told Nix he did feel "comfortable" with hiring Marty as head coach of the Buffalo Bills so Nix went ahead and hired Gailey. Marty at the time was desperate to be hired by the Buffalo Bills as I'm sure he wanted redemption for being fired by AJ SMith of the Chargers after taking his team to 14-2. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Contrary to the diplomatic comments he made on his radio show, Marty Schottenheimer actually did want the Buffalo Bills head-coaching job....Badly. http://espn.go.com/b...anted-bills-gig http://www.wgrz.com/...x?storyid=73757 No way will Marty S ever work for Ralph Wilson as the Bills head coach from everything I've read, much to my chagrin. Sorry to blow up your thread, but this was discussed by me and others before and after Nix hired Chan Gailey. Also what you may or may not know, Ralph Wilson is a micro managing owner and was in constant touch with Dick Jauron every day, every week. It was reported that during the season that this owner was on the phone with Jauron for hours every day. Probably why Cowher and Shanny weren't interested in becoming the Bills head coach. Bills fans must understand the unique situation that this owner puts his head coach in, and thus limits the people that will work for him. Martys Son, Brian Schottheimer turned down a chance to interview for the job as did various others. I dislike saying it, but I suppose Bills fans should count their blessings that they have Chan Gailey. I still highly doubt he will ever lead this team to a winning season much less the playoffs http://www.buffaloru...-more-desirable

Mayock knows his stuff, more so then Kiper, McShay or any other scout wannabes. Those guys just mimic what the hear from the real scouts. Mayock is an ex NFL player and actually sits down and watches the film on each and every player he grades.He has been offered to run scouting departments on several teams and turned them all down. He works for the NFL as a TV commentator, color man for college and NFL games. Mayock stated he watched every pass that Ryan Tennahill made his entire college career before he graded him. That said, Mike Mayock was the only grader that had Gilmore at #8 out of his top 100. Most others had that 1st pick Gilmore at between 15 to 27. He was probably scratching his head over the Glenn pick because he graded him as a RT or G / C and not a LT which is what the Bills need the most. Mayock went on to show that Glenn only played LT this past year at LT for Georgia and played poorly at the start. He did get better as the year went on, but stated at 345 lbs the guy doesn't have the quick feet needed to play LT. He showed a video of Glenn getting beaten by a speed rush inside at LT. He went on to state that if the Bills moved him inside he could be an all pro. The NFL network didn't talk much about Glenn because right after the Bills picked him the Jets traded up to take Stephen Hill, and their focus shifted from Glenn, to the Jets, to Martin who was picked by the Dolphins with the very next pick after Buffalo. Mayock then stated Martin can play either LT or RT but he will most likely play RT for the Dolphins. The 3rd pick was the real head scratcher because the Bills used a #3 pick on a kid Mayock had graded as a 7th round WR. Scout.com had the kid ranked as the #31 WR. So rather then make fun of the selection he remained quiet about it.

Mike Mayock said something about having this kid listed as a 7th rounder. scout.com has him as their #31 WR. 3'11'', 182lbs and runs a 4.41.... "Graham is a deep speed guy and that's about it. " http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/t%20j-graham?id=2532850 http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/999702.html

This pick really really helps this line