Sisyphean Bills

Was that little puffs of smoke coming off his cleats?

Another way of putting it might be to say Brad Smith is an "offensive tweener". A good athlete that's not truly set at a particular position. The connotations of calling him a "tweener" seem more apt than faint praise of his versatility, as he really hasn't produced consistently at a high level.

Maybe you couldn't find the link to that Science program that showed he was faster than a quick draw champion?

Does he help inflate the footballs before practice?

Saw him jog out of bounds on a 3rd down rather than get his team in field goal position. (Luckily, it's only pre-season so he stayed on the field for a 4th down and actually threw the ball for a 1st.) Anyway, it was so reminiscent of his play that cost him his career in Buffalo. The shocking thing is that despite media types going down on his Stanford genius pedigree, he clearly still hasn't got a clue.

The total lack of interest when he hit free agency, not to mention what is described as "some sort of record" in terms of this demotion "after only 6 plays", leaves little doubt.

Could Fitz be any worse than Edwards in a no huddle offense?

Maybe they are still afraid to let the RBs take hits?

I'm sure that knee jerk reactions aren't unknown. On the other hand, to lump absolutely everyone that doesn't like a particular pick into the same bucket and say they are all know-nothings is surely an over generalization. There are some fans that are pretty dedicated and do do a bunch of homework. I don't recall them all having a football woody for the Troup pick.

Biggest sunfish in a pond of minnows?

2009, 2010, 2011 is 3. I am not saying the roles did not change over that period. I agree that Nix probably had little to do with the 2009 draft class as he had a nebulous role and was recently brought on board. In 2010, he chose to keep Modrak and some would say that the draft had a similar look-n-feel to earlier drafts. I assume it was more collaborative. In 2011, I said during the draft that it looked like Buddy had locked Tom in the men's room during the draft. Nix' fingerprints were all over that draft from top to bottom. Modrak had spent most of the year scouting Blaine Gabbert, as you may recall, which looks now like it was a pure decoy mission. Buddy fired him right after the 2011 draft.

It is a valid point that there were some that did not think these picks were good from the instant they were announced. That is a fact, and those people may not be quite so "exuberant" about Nix hinting about a possible admission. Still, it could be construed as a different point entirely as well.

On the other hand, Nix had already been working for the Bills in the scouting department for a year before being elevated to the top job. He worked with Modrak for 3 drafts before firing him. Somewhat like a boomerang, Modrak is now Exec. Director at BLESTO, to which the Buffalo Bills are a member. He'll be feeding his Aaron Maybin scouting reports to more teams now.

I think you are right. Spencer Johnson is a very good fit for the Miami 4-3 that Wannstedt runs.

Actually, Modrak was fired in May, 2011. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/04/bills-fire-longtime-personnel-executive-tom-modrak/

Lincoln? You guys really shouldn't believe every POS website out there.

Good point. It's a fine line of trying to cause enough chaos to produce a significant culture change but not hurt the innocent, I suppose.

Sorry, but I find that naive. The football program has already and will continue to suffer. Of that, there is really no question about it. But, yes, I suspect there will be many athletic cuts at Penn St. due to budget. They can't just print their own money.

Emmert was pretty clear that he wanted a culture revolution to take place and that the NCAA would be monitoring. Nothing of that sort really could happen if they just shut it all down completely and indefinitely.

Let's not forget the $60 million fine. One entire year of gross revenue. That means every dime spent to put on a football game will have to come out of some other pocket. Considering just the financial argument, the entire university, but especially the athletic department, is going to suffer.

Not bad. You forgot to mention that every team turns over its roster to a degree every season and every team keeps a good percentage of their draft picks if for no other reason than to give "their guys" a chance and to show ownership that they are doing a great job. Teams that are struggling accelerate that turnover, and let's not mention that an NFL regime change is often followed by a house cleaning. Marv Levy led a massive roster upheaval as well, but like you said that regime was incompetent. So turnover does not equate to competence. Buddy is a good scout and has been doing it forever. On the other side of the coin, there have been clear missteps, such as investing picks in transitioning to a 3-4 defense.

When I said "team", I include coaching as part of the equation. You have admitted that in the Titans drama, Vince, the coaches, and management were not on the same page. On the field, VY was 30-17 in spite of that dysfunction, which is actually rather impressive as compared to Kerry Collins who was 15-17 in the same period on the same team. The good news for your buddy is that Chan has shown some ability to be flexible in the past as far as how he adapts the offense to the strengths of the guys he has. Anybody that can fog a mirror might be an upgrade to Thigpen as the #2 QB, but I hope VY steps it up and achieves more than that.

Well, you know the typical softball question the media asks rookie QBs when they get to the NFL, right? Invariably they are asked about how much more complex the NFL is, how much of the playbook they have mastered, or something to that effect. Jim Kelly was brashly confident in one such interview and claimed he had mastered the playbook after being with the Bills a few weeks. Similarly, your buddy Vince responded to that line of questioning to the effect that he knew it all, didn't need to be coached, etc. Ryan Leaf was another example of a rookie QB that made outrageously cocky comments. Joey Harrington responded to those questions by saying that Oregon's offense was much more complex than the Lions -- which was funny because it may have been true in some respects. In the Young interview, he actually came off as being pissed that he had to answer questions or that anyone would dare question him. By the way, football is the ultimate team sport in my opinion and that interview was memorable to me and foreshadowing of his career. Successful QBs in the NFL have to realize that the winning formula is about having the best team and not just trying to be the Michael Jordan of the NFL. The old cliche about great players making those around them better is true, though maybe not so simplistic. (No one would say Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or the Manning brothers were the most athletically gifted players on the field for their teams. But few doubt that they are winners.)

I get it that you are referring to off-the-field issues, but you are also comparing 1 strike shortened "year" with the Eagles to 5 years of shenanigans (blame whoever you want) with the Titans. Since he was clearly never anything but a backup in Philadelphia, he wasn't really a point of emphasis from the beginning. Though, it should be clear that his flickering brief employ there really is not a comparable sampling to draw very strong conclusions. On the field, he has certainly had his troubles. "Before" is irrelevant in terms of an NFL conversation; plenty of college football players fail to translate success at the NCAA level to the NFL. With a QB rating (73rd overall) that put him in the company of Charlie Whitehurst and Tyler Palko, it's clear he wasn't terribly effective in the Eagles offense. Despite his "dream team" comments, the Eagles had a unexpectedly disappointing season. I do hope you are right and VY can get his act together. There is no question he has immense physical talent. When he first got to the NFL, he boasted that he had nothing to learn. Apparently he had mastered the Titans playbook before he had finishing shaking Goodell's hand at the podium. Comments like "I don’t know when I’ll start again. But I will be the next black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. And I will be in the Hall of Fame," don't really exude a sense of humility.