Sisyphean Bills

Look for the answer in Brown, Colin.

It would be awesome if CJ could put this team on his back and lead it to the playoffs. OTOH, it would mean some serious criticism would be coming down the pike.

So you agree that 19 players (not 8) are left over from Jauron (and before) and that many of the better players on today's team are also hold overs. So, when you say the team has been "gutted" you are talking primarily about the second and third stringers (i.e. the depth) and a few other players that range from upgrades to downgrades in the starting lineup. This depth that was gutted and replaced is the same depth that Nix himself critiqued as being sub-par and really thin, and which now is being criticized on this board. You count the year Nix was just National Scout as not part of the previous regime even though they were still making the decisions, in order to fit the data to make an argument seem even stronger than it is. OK, glad we got that straight. And, yet you can't understand that I know the roster has had turnover, but I also know that the better players, those that were largely responsible for the team starting off 5-2, were the backups and hold overs from the Jauron era: Fitz, Fred, Stevie, etc. You apparently don't see that was the point of departure, when I said "I'm not sure about" the characterization of completely gutting the team because... Again: I'm not sure I'd claim the team was "completely gutted" when the team is still relying on players from the last regime in key positions in order to be competitive at all. When I hear "completely gutted", I'd expect (virtually) no starters at all from the previous regime. That is, there would be a new QB, new RB, new defensive leadership, etc. New playmakers on both sides of the ball. A whole new cast of players to cheer for. Yet, the Bills have Fitz, Fred, Stevie, and Kelsay as their leaders. (3 of those 4 were, in fact, depth on Jauron's team.) Yes, I know. I know. We're building through the draft and the far end of the scrap heap. It'll take years, etc. Of course, drafting a backup RB who rarely touches the ball at #9 overall doesn't speed things up much, but maybe we'll finally see what he can do this weekend. I'm also interested in winning. I'm far more interested in winning on the field than in crafting special-purpose timelines and arguments therefrom to defend the Buffalo Bills organization from perceived criticism. That is the point. If one looks around, she can find examples of teams that have gone out and turned it around rather quickly and got to winning ways. There is no magic formula and many ways to do it. But, it is ironic that the Bills have replaced all of their depth with Buddy Nix players and yet the first complaint off most keyboards in this recent tailspin is that the team has no depth. You can call it "assigning blame" but then that is a conclusion that you drew from the facts I presented. Happy Thanksgiving. Glad that we are in complete agreement.

Ronnie Jones is to Special Teams Coordinator as George Edwards is to Defensive Coordinator.

It's not that hard to understand. Nix gets credit for what actually happens under his watch. While some give him credit for the Bills drafts under Bill Polian and John Butler, the Chargers drafts, etc., I find such claims to be flights of fantasy. (It's like saying the guy driving the city bus is puppet master of the mayor of the city.) What has Nix actually brought in to Buffalo that is a clear improvement? That's not the same question as: what was already here that Chan has found a use for? Seriously. What has Nix brought in in your estimation? Dareus and Barnett were upgrades. Pears was an upgrade over his first attempt to address RT. Is Jones an upgrade over Evans? Spiller an upgrade to Lynch? You are correct that there has been a lot of bodies coming and going. Players played out their rookie contracts and left. So, you want to give Nix credit for "taking out the garbage". OK. Some players brought in have been improvements and others ... not so much. The guy that is responsible for stocking the roster -- all 53 -- is the GM, and it's not logical to credit a GM for "finding" talent that he inherited and did nothing to obtain. Are you saying Nix made the Maybin pick? What is yours?

Maybe I wasn't clear. Holdovers from the last regime are the "stars" on this team. So, while we are starting over in bold new directions the right way, the dominant contributions are coming from leftovers from Jauron. Ironic, no? The point wasn't really about the volume of turnover, it was about the quality. Any fool can do the former and stay on the treadmill to nowhere. Let's see, some fact checking: Fitz, Fred, Stevie, George, Wood, Levitre, Kelsay, Moorman, McGee, Parrish, Kyle Williams, Lindell, Bell, Byrd, Corner, Spencer Johnson, McIntyre, McKelvin, Sanborn. Did I miss anyone? These guys were all brought in under Jauron (some even earlier). So you must be saying Buddy Nix actually began gutting the team when he was National Scout Emeritus. A year before he became GM of Football. While that's clearly a bunk myth, I don't know if it really helps your case because Aaron Megabust Maybin was drafted that year, which wouldn't be good if Buddy was calling the shots.

Are you serious that you think a coach and GM would intentionally go into multiple seasons with the plan to "stay bad"? That only after 3 years of staying bad would they then attempt to lift themselves up off the mat? Really? To carry your comparison forward a millimeter: what do you think players around the NFL think of Jim Harbaugh? He didn't take the 49ers job to lay face down on the mat for 3 years. He got to work immediately, and taking the talent on the roster, with a few free agents, etc. has turned a bunch of losers on their ear and got them winning. Do you think players that are committed to excellence would want to play for a coach like that or for an organization that tells itself that procrastinating for 3 years before doing anything is acceptable? Here's where I land on your assertions. I don't think Gailey is at all interested in coaching a laughingstock. He knows he doesn't have a bunch more chances lining up and that he needs to win. I do think Nix believes in the plan of building exclusively through the draft, which would not be a bad plan for a small market team if only that team had the scouting department to pull it off. But, you can't build through the draft and garbage heap recycles if you whiff more than you bunt to get on base.

The reason this team is out of the Suck for Luck Sweepstakes at this point is named Ryan Fitzpatrick. If he had broken his neck like and instead of Peyton Manning, the Bills, not the Colts, would very likely IMHO be in the driver's seat of that race. I'm not saying he's been playing like a franchise QB in the last 3 games, but if he were to go down with an injury, the Bills offense would be in even worse shape. Much worse shape. Thigpen has looked nothing better than awful.

Not so sure about your claim of "gutting the team". You realize that most of the key players on the list are actually hold-overs from the last regime, right? In fact, many of the key contributors now were the depth (read backups) that the previous regime developed and which have been pressed into front line service now. Fitz, Fred, Stevie, and George were all backups.

Yet, let's not forget the last regime where Dick Jauron was frequently lauded and defended ardently by some because he kept the team playing well enough to keep the scores close and even sneak out a win here and there despite lengthy IR lists.

Exactly the point. No depth at all at the most important position, and yet he ranked it #4.

Just wondering, but you know Tyler Thigpen is the "backup" QB, right?

I was making a light reference (note smiley, it's a visual cue) of all the CJ Spiller discussions. Nice try with the straw-man though.

Yep. Brown Colin has promise.

Why so many injuries?

Can he snap a football? My bad. Not a requirement for playing C.

It's actually not as mutually exclusive as you'd like it to be. Where some of these guys great players that the Bills should have built the team around? Not by a long shot. Where they worth keeping around as backups in case the inevitable happened? Absolutely. Believe it or not, a team trying to get to the playoffs needs a little more depth than a Brown Colon.

On the third hand, they weren't looking for Fitz to be a threat to Edwards' job at one time either.

I'd hope they could get good seats between the 40s somewhere so they could see how it gets done. PS:

But, this week he's an upgrade to a former 1st round pick.

The last time the Bills were in the playoffs was before the original iPhone was even invented. Heck it was before anyone knew what a "hanging chad" was. "Instant gratification."

True, that. This bed was made in August/September.

It begs the questions: If Urbik is a better C, why didn't he play there last week? How useless is Brown Colin, if he can't be relied upon at all?

On the other hand, how about looking for upgrades, not just hole filling putty?