All_Pro_Bills

No state or local government is going to provide tax money for a stadium. They're all broke and can't even fund their own obligiations, like pensions and health insurance or putting enough police on the streets. Floating a 500 million bond issue to build a stadium for a private enterprise (an NFL team) is political suicide and has close to zero possiblity of passing. The days of public funded sports facilities is pretty much over. There will be a lot of resistance in putting an NFL franchise in Toronto, especially from the CFL and its political assoications. LA might be the destination but they've shown it already that the city cannot or has no interest in supporting an NFL team. It might be the countries 2nd largest 'media market' but so what? With large Asian and Latino populations that don't place football as a sport of interest there's probably more hardcore football fans in WNY than there are in the LA Metro area. My guess is the Chargers take the trip a few clicks up north which makes their local SD fans take a decent hike north but keeps the territory as it is now. And if Ralph wants to run the Bills as a business enterprise focused on maximizing profit without concern for putting a quality and winning product on the field I have no issue with that as long as they are not deceitful in pretending to the fan base that ownership actually puts winning as a priority.

You're on to something here. How many times do you find yourself yelling 'turn around' or 'play the ball' at the TV during the season? Too many times to count for me. It seems possible to play DB this way because I observe it while watching other teams play during the season. Even the street free agents NE played last night knew enough to turn around and look for the ball when it was in the air. I think its coaching or more specifically, a lack of it. It would be a good question for DC Edwards or HC Gailey.

A great synopsis of the situation but I don't believe for a minute that Nix has the 'green light' from ownership and the Detroit finance guys to go out there and spend the money needed to provide a significant upgrade to the talent pool via veteran free agency. Or the ability to retain 'high priced' veteran backups. Recall this team is running around $30+ million under the cap. That budget is a severe constraint on Nix and Gailey. I believe it will be 2013 when we'll see some relief here when teams are forced by the current collective bargaining agreement to spend at or near the cap. It's not my intent to absolve Nix from any resposibility for the talent situation, certainly he could and should have done better, but he's operating under funding contraints that the majority of other GM's do not have to deal with in performing their jobs.

And that's the Buffalo Bills. McKelvin (benched), Maybin (cut) and Spiller (limbo) are just about the equivalent of three forfeited high draft picks. Cannot compete with those kind of drafts. McKelvin drives me crazy. He's around the ball most of the time but his 'ball' skills are completely lacking. I watched a little of last nights NE/KC game where NE had a bunch of street free agents and practice squad guys playing DB. The seemed to do all right. Do you think its all talent, or maybe coaching? Do you think there's a possibility that if McKelvin was 'coached up' he might perform better? Maybin is a situational pass rusher and nothing more. Not much you can say here other than the Bills wasted this pick. Spiller should be getting more touches. I can't label him a bust yet. Why can't they apply his talent to the offense like SD/NO did with Sprolls and what NO did with Bush? IMO, the problem with the Bills is not with the players, its with the organization. The truth is, Ralph and his finance guys have never, and will never, spend the money needed to put a top level organization around the team that we see on the field. So bad management leads to bad draft picks, bad scouting, bad coaching, bad reputation, and bad performance. This is pretty much true in any business, not just sports. Last year I looked at the Bills drafts over the previous 10 years and it was pretty sad, so lousy or questionalble picks has been the norm rather than the exception over the life of the franchise. We're stuck with what we have until ownership passes to another party and then its a roll of the dice what happens to the team.

You're making the mistake of thinking rationally and assuming the decision makers have the desire to address the problem. They're $30 million under the cap this year and dumped vets like Evans and Hangartner because the finanace guys decided not to carry their contracts. I'll be surprised if they diviate from the budget contraints imposed on Nix and Gailey to address the talent gaps and depth problems that are obvious right now. I suspect we're going to continue to see the focus on the draft and picking over the scraps from other teams. My wish in the draft is a franchise OT, then LB or DB.

Depth is a big issue. When Ralphie's finance guys decided to waive Hangartner, trade Evans, etc., to save a few more bucks rather than invest in the on-field product I expected Karma woukd kick them in the backside. And now with our starting center out, along with 2 tackles the past few games, Kyle Williams, a thin secondary, we have to shuffle the lines again. Ownership decided to pocket $30+ million rather than spend near the cap and provide the coaching staff with some depth. What you see now is the result of that non-football decision process. Yesterday it looked like the Bills thought it was a 1:30 starting time. The defense might as well have spent the first series resting on the bench. And the line call on the Bills first offensive snap? Not blocking Ware just showed a lack of focus and preparation. You can hang this on the coaches but the players need to step up and accept accountability. There's no shame or dishonor with losing to a superior foe but the Cowboys are just marginally better than the Bills. You're professionals, prepare and perform like one. I remember hearing a quote from Mike Tomlin and it stuck with me 'No excuses, no explanations'.....

Bingo! We have a winner. Superior atheletes are born, not made. Genetics provide potential and all the hard work and nutrition brings out that potential.

His routine is getting old real fast. I've got Rex on 'ignore'.....

Newton says he's an 'entertainer and an icon'. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/cam-newton-views-himself-as-an-entertainer-and-icon/1 Red flag flying here. Sounds like the guy is full of himself and is going to be trouble. Do not waste the #3 pick in the draft on this potential head case....

I think we can all agree on one thing. The Bills did not make a maximum effort (not even close) to improve the O-line prior to the 2010 season. Let's hope they take a different approach this year.

True the Packers are 'publicly' owned but the shares cannot be traded and are priced at a constant rate. I recall seeing it was $200 per share whatever that comes out to in market capitalization I don't know. I always suspected the reason the NFL would not allow teams to become publicly traded entities is because that would require them to file SEC disclosure and reporting documents. So that would publicly reveal the true revenue and profit numbers for the team. From what I've seen revenue/profit figures for each team are forensically produced by various fiancial (like Forbes) and sports media but not provided directly by the league or the teams. Management/Ownership guards this information closely and certainly doesn't want the players union to know the true and exact financial state of each franchise, much less the public. If the public found out the true profit level of these teams you'd probably see extreme levels of pushback when it comes to publicly financing stadiums and sweetheart revenue deals. Taxpayers would know for sure how they're gettng ripped off by rich owners. Given these are 'private' companies or sole proprietor owned they are under no obligation to disclose their finances to anyone other than the IRS. And private tax filing statements, like you and I file, are not publicly disclosed by the agency. That said, I'd hate to see the NFL go the way of MLB. Every year you've got the Yankees and a couple other teams out trying to buy the world series in the offseason with the rest of the teams just along for the ride. How anyone can be a Pirates or Royals fan (plus several other teams) is something I can't figure.

If you have no major weaknesses than drafting the 'best available' player regardless of position is a good strategy. Some teams are in that position because of years of consistent and successful approaches to the draft and free agency. But the reality is the Bills have major holes in several critical areas that if left unaddressed will result in absolutely no improvement in wins vs. losses in 2011 and beyond. Maybe Peterson or Green are the 'best available' players at #3 when their turn to pick comes. But if you're surrending 200+ yards rushing on the ground in 1/2 of your games does it really make any logical sense to not address that area with an impact player at the top of round 1?

I'd like to take the optimistic view and believe that maybe the guy surprises us and turns it around. This team could really use an unexpected positive surprise for once. But it doesn't seem like the most likely outcome here. I have to admit I don't follow college football that closely and I'm no expert on draft prospects. Not sure if anyone else had similar thoughts, but when the Bills drafted Maybin and I heard that Lavar Arington was one of his close 'advisors' it raised a red flag to me. If I recall, Arington had a lot of 'potential' too but never played to that potential. Rather than buy into the scheme or philosophy of the coaching staff he choose to do a lot of freelancing which put him on the outs with several teams. Maybe the 'birds of a feather' this guy should be avoided theory at work here? Too bad the Bills couldn't have done a little creative thinking prior to the selection. And if Dick really insisted on the pick then you've got to question the value of an Ivy League education. The best approach may be, lesson learned, cut your loses and move on here.

+1 Given the Bills plight they need to draft performance over potential. I'd rather have a guy that has a high probability of being very good based on observed on the field performance than a player who MIGHT be great based on somebody's subjective opinion. And in the Bills case a subjective opinion that has been wrong way too often this decade. Use the later rounds if you want to draft project players or reach for potential.

Gotta agree. If you're hired to do a job and your work is continually ignored by management, then you either tune out or get out. You don't stick it out for 10 years busting your ass to do an A1 job because there's no point. So I don't buy the de-linkage between poor scouting and poor drafting. The lack of identify is a compelling point. When you think about what kind of team the Buffalo Bills are what comes to mind first? I've seen mock drafts that have the Bills taking Green or Peterson. Both look like solid players. But you've also got to look at your weaknesses. IMO, the Bills #1 problem is stopping the run. How does picking either player help you stop the run? The Pats and Jets have run all over the Bills the past two seasons (Jets have rushed for over 1,000 yards in 4 games). How does a WR or CB help fix that problem? Sure you can address it later, just like they've addressed the offensive line problem in the later rounds for years. How's that approach worked out?

The question is do you have confidence the Bills are going to correctly evaluate the QB draft class and select the right guy? The top 5 QB that's going to lead this team to the playoffs and the Super Bowl for the next decade? I do not, therefore I'd rather they select one of the blue chip defensive lineman in this draft where picking an impact starter is more likely.

How hard will the laugh when he breaks the NFL personnal conduct policy for the 3rd time and sits out a full season?

The questions is will Harbaugh's decisions to leave Stanford for the Pro's cause Luck to re-evaluate his decision to stay in college? I suspect the answer is no but there's always the possiblity of changing your mind when $50 million is on the table.

I understand exactly what you're saying and agree an upgrade at QB needs to be addressed, at some point. But the implication is this team drafts yet another 1st rounder that rides the bench and contributes nothing on the field in year 1. Given the Bills situation IMO, that's unacceptable. This team can't stop the run, can't pressure the QB, and the offensive line needs upgrades at the tackle position (and others mentioned TE) to even be considered competitive next season. The defensive front 7 is dreadful and a few potential elite players that can assist in resolving the problem are staring you right in the face at the top of round 1.

A QB can only be a Franchise QB AFTER they demonstrate success at the Pro level. Since none of the potential draftees have a single down of professional football experience its hard to say any of them are the real deal. Maybe all 4 top QB prospects turn out to be great pro's or maybe none of them. More likely something in between. I haven't gathered any statistics but I suspect there's just as many 1st round QB busts as there are guys that turn out to be 'Franchise QB's'. The problem with the draft is you're not sure what you're going to get. The Bills have a high 1st round pick and must select an impact player, whatever the position. If they go defense or offense he's got to be a playmaker. He's got to dominate his opponent, win the one-on-one battles, and make plays, not ride the bench like many of the Bills recent 1st rounders. He's got to enable the offense to put points on the board or keep the opposition from doing the same. I'm no draft expert but I do know if you can't stop the run, rush the passer, and protect you're own QB it really doesn't matter who you have at the QB position. Drafting a franchise QB given the current state of the Bills would be like putting a professional NASCAR driver in a Yugo for the Daytona 500 and expecting a 1st place finish. Getting a great QB will lead to more victories only if you've got the support system and an above average team around him to succeed.

The coaches also need to be careful what they say so not to upset the Vegas book makers. The last spread I saw was the Bills getting 1 point. What would it be if the Jets needed the game? Maybe 8? If gamblers know the Bills are going to play their starters, the Jets are playing their backups plus the Jets have nothing to play for that would seem like a good bet from a risk/reward perspective.

Absolutely true. When the Bills were on the clock and Ngata was on the board I couldn't believe it. The guy we 'need' is still on the board and we are going to get him! Then the pick, Donte Whitner. Again I couldn't believe it.

It gets kind of comical listening the him and watching his facial expressions, if you've seen his routine on video. Guess no reporter has responded, 'Come on Bill, your team has beaten these guys what? 21 of the last 22 games or something like that? You're leading the conference and while they've won 4 of 6 their still a 4-10 team You can't seriously expect to come in here and leave with a loss'. Much of what he says about the opponent is also meant for his team. Because the true champion never takes any opponent lightly. Your mindset needs to be that you're always playing from behind, you're the underdog and complacency plus overconfidence, along with conceit are a fatal combination of traits to avoid.

I understand what your saying, he presents information to the decision makers and they make the final decision. The question is what is the quality of the scouting assessment? Not sure how we can know the answer to that question without being present during the evaluation. All we know for sure is the end result of the process which is the actual draft choices. However, I cannot envision a situation where a scout's superior judgement is consistently being overruled by a higher ranking member of the management team which then turns into drafting the wrong guy year after year...

Withholding judgement until I see a game where he gets 9 or 10 carries and doesn't get hit 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage by half the defense on every play. That said, its clear that FJ has learned how to run with these conditions, Spiller has yet to develop that skill.