thewildrabbit

The thing is... Nix is showing better this year then last.... as I will never forget Cornell Green for 3 mil per who was the worst RT ever. There were a bunch of areas the team failed in last year, lets hope that doesn't happen again this year. Stating that I wonder if Gailey is the right HC, he certainly would have been a great OC under Bill Cowher. But the team regressed in every area except passing offense, you would think that would have to improve from Turk Schonert and Alex Van Pelt.....although It didn't improve until Fitz took over though. Gailey would do better with some better coordinators under him, it just seems like the guy is pulling a Jauron by hiring assistants that aren't very good. Makes me wonder how much time will Nix give his good ole boy HC.

NFN but looking at the history of this franchise and I get the impression that RW doesn't want a high profile coach that demands a lot of power/control, and yet he hires a moron like Jauron and then gives him complete autonomy over the players, schemes and the draft , makes no sense. I keep waiting for the team to get bad enough for Wilson to hire a top HC like Bill Cowher-Jeff Fisher or even Marty S, all 3 of those men could turn this team around in one year to a winning record, then playoffs within 2-3 years. All 3 know talent, they know what it takes to win and what schemes will work without turning over the entire roster again. My fear is that in 2 years from now this franchise will still be mediocre and be so very Jauron like at 7-9, and with everyone again thinking they are on the verge. When in fact all they will be on the verge of is more mediocrity, and by that time there will be no option of the chin, the stash, or the glasses. At times tho I get this horrible thought that Wilson doesn't really want to win, he wants the stadium filled and the team on the verge so he makes a nifty profit, but doesn't want the cost of what a winning team would actually incur. Say the Bills make the playoffs and get to the AFC Championship game, suddenly every player on the team will be looked at closer by the media and fans...more players start to make the pro bowl because of the recognition and then all of a sudden the cost of keeping the star players goes up like crazy. QB's 15 mill a year- LT-RT want 10 mill a year etc etc etc. I think Ralph Wilson knows the difference between a great HC and a mediocre one that will just get him to the verge, you seem to think he doesn't want to pay for a great HC, but perhaps he just doesn't want the cost of what a winning team would bring. With a small market team as the winning goes up...the profit margin goes down.

entrenched starter my backside, Spiller was named the STARTER for the opener and failed in so many ways, basically he didn't know the playbook. That is why Fred Jackson with an injured hand was sent in, that is why Lynch was sent in and that is why Spiller wasn't used as a RB very much all year. Lets hope he learns how to do his job this off season

Yea well, lets see who the moron is if the guy doesn't recover and spends another year on IR. I looked at Nix's track record as talent evaluator in Buffalo when he brought in Cornell Green to play RT at 3 mill per, worst RT ever. So far the only thing he has done right is draft Darius and he only did that because the pick fell in his lap, Nix made it clear he would have taken Newton if he had been there. I'm still waiting for one Nix draft pick to start and make an impact... still waiting to see the baby

That Charger team was loaded with good players AND good coaches a few years ago, Marty S as HC- Cam Cameron as OC-Wade Phillips as DC. Still difficult to fathom that Marty S got canned after taking that team to a 14-2 record. Anyway, this stint as GM for NIx will only be as good as the HC he chose in Chan Gailey, if only Gailey had the kind of staff that Marty S had in SD.

Hey, the NFL draft is like Christmas time to GM-scouts and Nix was handed a huge gift by Carolina and Denver as the Bills were able to draft the best rated player in the 2010 NFL draft, If I'm Nix I'd be ecstatic I still so happy the Bills weren't given the option of drafting Cam Newton

Wins or losses... the thinking that If your hoping that your team loses so they can draft a better player is lame....because In all probability they will make the wrong choice when its time to draft. History has shown that if you have a bad team it is probably because you have bad leaders, HC-GM-president and history has shown that these bad leaders make bad choices. The Colts had Bill Polian making the choice on Payton Manning-The Cowboys had Jimmy Johnson making the choice on Troy Aikman. Kind of funny that New Orleans didn't need to lose to grab Drew Brees as a free agent, the Patriots didn't need to lose to find Tom Brady as QB.Joe Montana was drafted and developed by Bill Walsh, he also traded for Steve Young and developed him into a winner from a loser. NFN, but this HC thought Trent Edwards could get it done, that's why he spent an entire off-season working with him. We all should know in another year or so if this team found a HC-GM that can take this team to the playoffs or hired another set of losers.

Guys, the Buffalo Bills have been at the bottom of the division for the last decade, and have been the Patriots bitches almost that entire time. They went from bad to mediocre, and back to bad again as they keep hiring bad head coaches. Seriously, what do you expect? The Bills find a player who is good enough to make the pro bowl, walk ons in Pat Williams and Jason Peters and trade them away or let them leave.

Hey you are what you are....lots of my posts are in a negative light because I'm still very skeptical of this staff. They bring in a FA-RT that can't play, they draft a RB in the first round that can't play, they don't have one freaking player from last years draft that became a starter on a very bad 4-12 team. The running game got worse, the defense got worse, the special teams got worse. And no, looking at Merriman's recent history of injuries, his drop off in his performance once he stopped using .. I don't think Nix is very smart or thought about anything. He even stated in his first presser that he "" wasn't the smartest guy in the room""this player looks like a huge gamble, hence my comment. There was a reason as to why the Chargers simply waived him. Don't forget this is the same GM that stated he was ""going to get some sleep"" when free agency opened last year, the result was a RT that was paid 3 million and couldn't play for ****

Thanks for posting I gotta wonder if Nix is taking into consideration.. did Merriman need the juice get all those sacks, If I recall once he tested positive for steroids and stopped using he wasn't quite the same player. 05 AP DRotY-pro bowl 06 suspended 4 games for steroids -pro bowl 07 pro bowl 08 IR on Sept 9th injured knee PCL & LCL 09 knees bothering him ,plus a foot injury-4 sacks 10 injured calf went on IR and released- picked up by Buffalo injured Achilles -IR again Hey, i hope he regains his "lights out" form that got him to the pro bowl, but I also hope Nix has a back up plan.

C,mon guys, the Bills have a legit great back in fast freddy, he can do it all. run-block-pass protect-receive All Spiller need do is watch and learn. Whats scary is that Spiller was named starter last season for the opener, didn't suffer and injury that I'm aware of and yet the Bills only ran him a few times. He only had 127 yards rushing all season after being named the starter above Marshawn Lynch Some say he had problems learning protections, routes, finding holes and learning the offense in general in terms of alerts and at the line calls. Even if this kid learns the offense this year I wouldn't expect him to be an every down back, he is like a Reggie Bush 3rd down specialist. Whats kinds funny is that Fred Jackson already filled that role brilliantly. The Bills should have been looking for a replacement for Lynch in a big bruising power RB The RB taken in the draft this year another 3rd down clone, special teamer so I have no idea what this staff is thinking. Nix and Gailey were so immersed in rebuilding the defense that they almost ignored the offense, I don't see this offense improving this year. I long for the good old days when Buffalo had a great running in Thurman Thomas, they ran to set up the pass...and nobody could stop them either!

This year was a deep year for QB's, the problem was that they were all projected as projects and none projected as immediate starters, like Sam Bradford or Matthew Stafford. The Bills have way to many holes to fill to be drafting 2-3 year projects at any position, that's what killed Jauron.with his Aaron Maybin selection.

I still think some of you guys have your beer goggles on over your beloved Bills...switching to a different defense when they clearly didn't have the proper personnel for it is an excuse... sheer stupidity to me...good coaches don't do stupid stuff like that. Instead of looking at other recent teams lets look back and see what Chuck Knox did to improve one of the worst teams in NFL history, same with Marv Levy. Levy's first statements were, We want to get as good as we can as fast as we can", neither Knox or Levy regressed. Well then WTH happened to the running game, same players at RB position in Lynch and Jackson plus an early first round RB that was supposed to be a player that could make the O line block better (Gaileys words). The HC even named this new kid the starter over Lynch and he did start the game at RB, that lasted a few plays. Doesn't the fact that CJ Spiller was named the starter by the HC and then AFTER he started the coaches found out he didn't know protection schemes, didn't know pass routes, didn't know the play book. give anyone but me pause to think these coaches don't know what they are doing? You can blame the Cornell Green for hitting the proverbial end of career wall, but then who graded this player and thought he was ready to start the season? The running game got worse, the special teams got worse, the defense went from being in the top 5 secondary to gawd awful bad and the run defense that had been porous became even worse. I just think that all the Bills did when they hired Chan Gailey is hire the offensive version of Dicki Jauron, all he does well is the passing offense, all Jauron knew was the secondary. This set of coaches are the type that require a 5 year plan, and even then they might not improve very far with Rex Ryan's Jets and Bill Belichick Patriots in the division

Ya know, we fans can point the finger at scouts, coaches, GM's and FO exec's that would rather sell seats then win games... it seems like everybody gets the blame but the guy who hired them all. We must have had dozens of Modrak threads already this off season, I can only wonder who is next to get them blame when this team doesn't win, Nix perhaps? Until this franchise owner decides he wants to win, and steps down from the president job, then hires a top man to replace him to run the whole show, this franchise will continue to on its everlasting trek from losing to mediocrity and back.

St Louis went 7-9 last season with new QB Sam Bradford and just barely missed the playoffs as Seattle took the division with a 7-9 record, their new OC is ex Bronco HC Josh McDaniel's. If the Rams can protect Bradford and find some WR;s they will win the division next year Miami did better then Buffalo at 7-9 also, the Dolphin team I was thinking of was the one that went 1-15 and changes the entire staff like Buffalo did last year, that team went to the playoffs the very next year with an 11-5 record and took the division from the Patriots. Instead of getting better then 6-10 with Jauron / Fewell in 09, last year the Bills went 4-12, exactly what improvements were made to the offense to make anyone think that Fitz won't be running for his life again this year?

He was the 4th overall in 2002 and played for the Bills for 4 years, 51 games http://www.pro-footb.../W/WillMi22.htm Now I'd like to contend that the Bills could have moved the guy inside at guard if he was failing at tackle, he might have be an expensive guard but if he is contributing at you at least recoup some of that guaranteed contract, The Raiders did something like that with LT Robert Gallery who is now a guard. At least they got a 4 years out of Williams, Maybin held out for more money and got it to the tune of 25 million over 5 years, and that's not the guaranteed part. ZERO SACKS in his 2 year career so far. In 2009 he had 18 tackles, in 2010 he had just 5 tackles in 66 plays McCargo 5 year 8,600.000 drafted in 2006 and in his 5 year career with the Buffalo Bills he has had 46 tackles & 2.5 sacks in his career total... yea TOTAL for 5 years! ....dunno perhaps I'm reading it wrong but it says McCargo has started only one game in his 5 years CJ Spiller 5 year 25 million-20.8 guaranteed- 26 carries 122 yds- 3 passes for 35 yds 3 TD's Pathetic really, is it any wonder why this team stinks ...

The real question is ...did this team hit rock bottom yet? I hate to break it to all the homies out there... but this team regressed last year instead of improving... special teams got worse.... hard to believe but the defense got worse then Jaurons Tampon 2. The running game regressed with basically the same players in Lynch and Jackson, plus the 9th overall pick in a RB that was supposed to make the O line block better. The only area the team improved was the passing offense, and I think that Fitz had a lot to do with that, and lets not forget that Fitz played well the year before after Perry Fewell benched Edwards. I dunno, maybe I expect to much out of a new coaching staff & GM, but when I see other teams change staffs and start winning right away, Atlanta-Miami-Baltimore-St Louis.I also look back in Buffalo Bills history when the team changed staffs and started to win, it was right away. Both Levy and Knox had the team improved their first years and It seemed like every player they drafted early not only started but made a huge impact. http://www.pro-footb.../1979_draft.htm It remains to be seen what the team does this year in free agency and with the un-drafted players, but if we go by what they did last year... it won't be good...considering last year their answer at RT was Cornell Green. So many fans seem to be so optimistic about the up coming year, and I all think about is how Chan Gailey made Tyler Thigpin look good on a 2-14 team in KC in 08. Its about wins, not making the QB look good.

Can this fan base sustain another 3 years of losing, will Gailey and Nix survive that long? I'm still waiting for them (Nix & Gailey) to show me the baby... I'm still waiting for the #9 first round RB draft pick from last year to make the O line block better...Like Chan Gailey stated he would Quote from last off season from Buddy Nix "" This team is not that far away"" until game 5, then it became '' "Its going to take some time"" I'm still waiting for one of last years draft picks to become a starter and make an impact... Before this years draft both Gailey & Nix stated the team needs a RT, now Nix says "" we're a little deeper and a little better than people think we are in the offensive line."" mostly because an OT didn't fall to them. Dang, another non-kool-Aid drinker like myself...I'm just happy that Marcel Darius fell into Buffalo's lap and Carolina / Denver spared the Bills another 3 year QB project. There still is the un-drafted players and free agency, lets hope Nix doesn't plan on going to bed again when they finally open.

It just seems to me that in a draft it would be far easier to find starters for a bad team then it would for a good / playoff team. Like when Chuck Knox first took over most of the players he drafted in each draft became a starter or stuck with the team in some capacity, special teams, back ups. The same can be said about the Bill Polian era, it just seems that the first few years of drafted the team kept most of the players drafted, and back then there were 12 rounds to every draft. I could be wrong but it seems like the team got such a strong influx of good talented players almost immediately. The teams didn't hang on to players like grim death just because they were early draft picks either. The difference between those teams prior to those men stepping up was like the difference between night and day.JMO So when I see a team go 4-12 with no starters the first year it worries me, the one guy named starter at RB stayed the starter for about 6 plays because he didn't know what he was doing, didn't know how to do his job....scary

Went to the AFC championship game in 88, Bills-Bengals Riverfront Stadium and the infamous field clock stopped working to kill the Bills no huddle offense. Tough to find a room at that time, stayed in a Holiday Inn near downtown as I recall. Bought the seats from someone who owned a camera shop in downtown Cincy, 4 seats front row, 50 yard line or so, behind the dugout. An usher came down and dusted the snow off the seats and offered to get us some drinks, great seats. Anyway, the people are SO NICE, everywhere we went wearing our Bills colors we were treated very well. Can't recall were we had dinner, but try the Chili

Looking back over the last decade of draft failures there are only a few real constants, in a world of many coaching changes, FO changes, the only people that stand out to me are Modrak and the owner. I've posted many times that Mr Wilson had the right idea with Tom Donahoe, just the wrong person. I look around the league at teams like Baltimore-Indianapolis-Atlanta et al, those teams are run by brilliant football minds at the highest level. Aside from that, If I'm Buddy Nix I'd make it my goal in life to find out who put that Cornell Green file on my desk....

Yea your correct, i should probably Google more then try and recall off the top of my head. Mularkey spent 2 years in Miami as OC, then TE coach and in 08 was hired as OC of the Falcons

Leave it to you to find an error but miss the point. You are correct that Mularkey had Losman for 2 years and he broke his leg the first year after he was drafted and while he was available to play later in the year, Drew Bledsoe remained the starter. Losman started his second year but was pulled at times in favor of Kelly Holcomb, yea so what. John Elway was pulled by Dan Reeves and replaced by Steve Deberg a few times his first year. The difference is that Elway was kept in the same system, same coaches, same head coach and the team actually got better as time went on, not worse like in Buffalo Don't compare the 08, 11-5 Atlanta Falcons to the Buffalo Bills, their head coach won coach of the year in 08, the Bills head coach was busy scuttling his own team. The difference wasn't just the QB either, Atlanta was a better team all around with better coaching and players

Not every QB is Matt Ryan-Big Ben-Joe Flacco, Like Bill Walsh stated "most QB's take 3-4 years to develop" and not in one or two years. Even then, both Flacco and Ryan went to good teams with power running games so they didn't have as much pressure on them. Even Roethlisberger went to a Steeler team under Cowher who ran the ball with Jeromne Bettis, all Big Ben was asked to do was manage the game and not turn the ball over. Look at the pressure both JP and Edwards had to endure with a less then stellar O line and running game, plus moronic coordinators who should never been coordinators. Like I stated eariler, where is Buffalo's offensive coordinator Turk Schonert now? Do you think any of those 3 QB's could have developed properly in Buffalo given the conditions of the past 5 years?

It really is amazing that head coaches like Dick Jauron are so offensively inept that they promote new OC's and QB coaches to run the offense when they have new QB's that are just developing. Look at JP's & TE history of coaches 04 Mularkey drafts Lee Evans, they wanted QB big ben and settled for JP Losman HC Mike Mularkey-QB coach Sam Wyche- starting QB Drew Bledsoe- 05 JP breaks his leg in training camp and basically loses the year Mularkey steps down as HC and new GM Marv Levy hires DJ 06 Dick Jauron hired as HC- Steve Fairchild OC- Turk Schonert QC coach- AVP offensive QC.Losman had a good year and was expected to be much improved in 07 07Bills draft Trent Edwards 3rd round-so JP starts looking over his shoulder every game, then gets replaced after a few games because the QB is supposed to win games, not the team 08 OC Fairchild leaves and Jauron promotes QB coach Turk Schonert to OC, AVP to QB coach- 09 Jauron fires Schonert 2 weeks before the opener and promotes AVP from QB coach to OC. Jauron gets fired during the season- Perry Fewell takes over as interim HC and benches Trent Edwards and starts Ryan Fitzpatrick 10 Bills hire Chan Gailey, new OC, new QB coach new system, new language JP saw 2 HC changes 4 OC changes 4 QB coach changes-- in a crappy Mike Martz passing offensive system that gets the QB killed by calling for deep passing plays TE saw 2 HC changes 4 OC changes 4 QB changes in the same crappy system run by guys that really didn't know wtf they were doing. Where is Turk Schonert now? Not even in the NFL in any capacity ....AVP went back to being a QB coach somewhere. Mike Mularkey is the OC at Atlanta and has been there since he left Buffalo. If it normally takes 3-4 years in the same system for a rookie QB to properly develop, how then is he supposed to develop at all when the system changes,the language changes, the coaches change. I'm not making excuses for JP or Edwards, but how can anyone expect a young QB to develop properly under inept coaches Mike Mularkey knew what he was doing and if he had stayed in Buffalo as the HC the Bills could have been to the playoffs already, JMO. Mike Mularkey hired 25 year veteran O line coach in Jim McNally away from the NY Giants in 04 and then he retied in 07 under Jauron...after he retired Jauron promoted an assistant. In case anyone has forgotten McNally was the guy who took a walk-on TE and turned him into a pro bowl left tackle in Jason Peters. So is it any wonder that LT Peters play declined in 08 under a new rookie line coach and that same year Trent Edwards gets slammed by an untouched LB in Arizona, was he ever the same after that severe concussion? Jauron and his Tampon 2 defense, ruined Greg Williams Defense, ruined the O line by trading away Peters,cutting G Dockery and RT Walker- ruined both QB's Losman & Edwards with inept coaching in a bad system, and behind bad O lines