Sisyphean Bills

Eugene Parker wouldn't take advantage of the Bills, now, would he?

Everything on the internet is true. Where did you read that? On the internet.

Maybe it's more subtle but paradoxically simple. Belichick wants everyone on the team to be totally and absolutely committed to winning football games. He wants guys that live, eat, dream, and breath football every minute. He expects everyone to sacrifice and work balls-to-the-wall to perfect their craft, even the kid that goes to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee. Just like he did.

Kicking ass and taking names in the accounting books. Exactly what I want to see on Sundays! Woo-hoo!

Is there anybody that does not know that the Bills need a QB? Heck it might even be worth, say, very publicly feigning to draft, say, Geno Smith even if you do not need a QB to cause the Bills to go into complete full-on apoplexy and trade a bunch of future picks, which are almost certainly going to be very high. The Bills have saved having to pay a backup a big roster bonus, but they have put themselves in a position to be taken advantage of by others. Even if the Bills want to work a trade for a QB, the table is slanted.

I disagree with much of your assessment as have others. But, I'd like to add that for a team that is annually drafting in the top 10 of the draft, a GM that adds one solid player a draft is merely mediocre to average. And at that rate, the team has very minimal chance of ever turning the corner to be in a position for a Super Bowl season. Even with a QB, you could be like the Bears or Lions and still be a few crucial pieces short.

Nix has been pursuing that for 3 years. Last year, the defense was the worst in Bills history. Building a dominant defense does not look like an area of expertise.

I enjoy our discussions as well, John. I think you nail your points with regularity and am often in agreement. I had actually called the decision to let Levitre walk a couple of years ago. So, I was not surprised at all. I don't think it was good for the football team, but the Bills have gone in these cycles pretty regularly. So, again, it wasn't too surprising and I guess that sort of is the backdrop for why I don't really see anything new going on in this. I don't get the sense things have changes from reactive to proactive.

I can only say the Steelers are the opposite end of the spectrum from the Bills. I'd also add that Big Ben wasn't the focal point early in his career, so the Steelers followed a "Trent Dilfer" sort of model there. Let me be more direct then. A "plan" of waiting for a franchise QB to fall out of the sky is not a plan. It is a snake oil money grab. In today's NFL, every team has excellent players. Every team has some turnover (Pittsburgh being one with the very least). Not every team has a great front office (ask JohnC), great coaches, and/or great QB play. If a team isn't actively trying to find or even develop a franchise QB then it is not truly trying to compete. They are just dicking around on the fans' dime. Which is really worse? Taking a chance at greatness or to do nothing but just talk about it? Of course, one might say that the Bills have been trying, but to other's view their attempts have been little more than dumpster diving and low-risk, low-reward choices made to QBs that, for the most part, are out of the NFL or barely sticking around as fringe players.

I don't buy it either. They had to pay Levitre to keep him. Simple as that. They didn't want to pay him and now they've lost his services.

I was exaggerating for a sense of levity. Sorry you took it the wrong way. Everyone knows you are not a big cheerleader of the front office and the way this team is run. I never thought anyone would think otherwise. You missed the actual point. The Bills have known for months what their cap situation was shaping up to look like. Why is it a big surprise a week and a half before free agency? The cap mess is a mess that they created. My point, in a nutshell, is you are equating losses with moves. I'd rather see the gains, let the other shoe drop, before counting the chickens.

Where is this good team? Also, doesn't that sort of fly in the face of most NFL positions just being commodities that get turned over like clockwork? Finally, even if you did assemble all the pieces first, how is dropping in a QB with no experience with the team to lead them at the last minute supposed to work exactly?

I'm not sure that "saving cap" equates directly to "the right way". Not signing Levitre makes sense if they were working on a cheaper contract with some other veteran. Instead, they were busy dialing some kids in Florida. If you know you can't live with the deal you just gave your starting QB, then "the right way" would seem to be to make some sort of move at the position and not wait until a week or so before the bonus is due. Sure, the Bills aren't hitting on the Mario Williams big name free agent this spin of the wheel, but to say they are executing flawlessly on a well-considered plan appears entirely laughable. Building a winner takes more than signing another Cornell Green type bargain patch for the OL and talking about drafting a QB.

Nothing to really stop Buddy from naming his starters, like McKelvin, at this time. Not even clear he'll still be around when training camp opens.

I take it that you're questioning the statement that the roster is "unquestionably better".

Presumably they sat in meetings together for an entire season.

Funny you mention the Jets, because I seem to recall them going all in on a QB not that long ago. In fact, some would say they doubled down in the trade with the Broncos for another QB that led a team to the playoffs. But, to look at the Jets now, one generally sees them in free fall. Point being, that it's easy to say it. Daggummit, even Buddy Nix has said it. Countless times now. But there is a world of difference between saying it and actually finding a Hall of Fame caliber QB.

Stay tuned. We're all going to find out.

Building a bonfire is building, no?

On the bright side, he won't be drafting a Southern Californian for his QB (given the thread title). (Tip of the hat to Jim Kelly.)

Recall that Brandon was the acting GM when the Bills dumped their entire OL in a single season. Perhaps it is just coincidence?

I think that you will see Ryan Fitzpatrick playing somewhere this season. Actually, he's the best QB on the market at this point.

Wouldn't it be 4? Jackson never even suited up for a game. And, they traded a draft pick for Jackson, so maybe that should be 5?

Wasn't there a scouting report that Nassib could develop into the next Fitzpatrick over time?

Guess you missed his retirement party.