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The way I judge a team from one year to the next is by looking at the overall intention of the coaches and GM, where they want to be and how they want to play. As I see it, each H.C. is building a team in the mold he envisions, and so the question is, how do they stack up, position to position, to the ideal? Because, if you go simply on wins and losses, you might have a very weak division one year and do well, and then actually improve over the offseason as a whole, yet do worse the following year because somehow the rest of the division, or teams you face, have gotten that much better. So, last year we were looking at question marks all over the field. By the end of the season, I think we had our starters at C, LG, LT - although that needs to be proven, RB, WR, NT, RDE, FS, and our Corners. Going into this year, did we lose anyone that was counted by this regime as being important starters? I don't think so. We gained, both by the draft, experience with last year's rookies, and F.A., new starters in Dareus, Merriman, Barnett, and Wilson, not to mention quality backups in Batten, Carrington, Searcy, Sheppard, and Williams (cornerback) - all of those guys looking to become starters in the future. So, we're unquestionably better on Defense, with personnel, and also that much better with the experience our DC gained, and with the addition of Wannstedt. On offense, I think our line might regress at first, but we'll see if they're better, and where we're at with them by the end of the year. They could go a long way towards giving Fitz a good year or tanking, so the whole offense's production could be marginalized by the line. However, I think we have our starters in the WR corps set for the near future, and I think our RB's are pretty solid, too. We will be addressing the O-line, QB, and maybe TE in next year's draft and offseason. All in all, I think we're closer to where they want to be, and after next offseason, I think we'll have the real, total nucleus of the team in place - as I just can't see us not landing our future QB next year, as well as fixing the O-line.

Either way, with Coleman being cut it just goes to show how far we've come in one year. As much as I've been vocal about my dislike of Ralph's bottom line, I also admire the ability of Nix to come in and turn this roster around - in the areas he's paid attention to. The O-line is still a disaster, but I guess after next year he'll be judged more soundly on his job, as 3 years is a pretty established timeline for turning around a team, especially when the method is almost exclusively via the draft. Anyway, as I was saying - last year we were hurting badly with this linebacking corps. Now, we have such a group that a guy like Coleman, who I really think could make it on half the NFL's rosters as a rush linebacker in some capacity, gets cut. Moats, who we all like, is relegated to 3rd string. There is a good mix of veteran ability and young potential. And, something I really like especially with our defense, we have, in our front seven, so much interchangeability that when we line up Dareus, Williams, Edwards/Johnson, with Merriman, Davis, Barnett, and Coleman/Kelsay as linebackers - it could be a 4-3 or 3-4 without changing personnel. With those guys out there, who is going to apply pressure? It could be Merriman, or Barnett, or Carrington, or Dareus or Williams - our opponents are going to have to have everyone accounted for. And, it's a big group either way. You add to that the size of our secondary, now with a couple big safeties in Scott and Searcy who are both the size of small 4-3 linebackers, and even Williams who is solid - we've got a defense that should not be pushed around anymore! Of all the developments that are taking place with this team, at least I'd say we finally have a decent defense in place, personnel wise. You can win with a good defense and an average offense, so it was a good way to go about a rebuild, I'd say.

The Hangartner cut only further proves the organization is much more concerned with saving money than actually putting a competitive team on the field. I mean, he was a starting caliber Guard - not to mention capable of playing Center - and we let him go without any real certainty at RG, not to mention backup at C. If Wood gets hurt, what are they going to do? As for other surprises - I think surprise isn't quite the right word, since I'm not surprised by anything any more with this team accept, maybe, if they actually went out and brought in upgrades and paid them competitively. Anyway, Coleman was a bit odd, because he is young and has shown he can play, and considering Kelsay's salary, I'd think they'd rather have Coleman over Kelsay.

Chris Brown

I know... I was just too eager to actually get an opportunity to talk to someone with potentially real insight and intimate knowledge of what is going on, on the inside, with this team - because, as a fan, I've been getting to the point, with this team, of just not following them anymore, simply because it offends me that an owner who takes in so much money not only gives back so little, in the form of the quality of the team, players and coaches, but that he might actually see the whole enterprise as if he were taking advantage of a bunch of suckers. I just don't like equating being a Bills fan with being a sucker. I mean, I can support and root for a team that is an underdog, and even one that is and underdog because it's made some mistakes - but not if it is an underdog because the team isn't trying to really compete - by virtue of the ownership. And, if that is the case - the NFL shouldn't allow teams that refuse to take every monetary opportunity to put together a competitve team. I mean, as Schoup and the Bulldog were saying the other day - owning an NFL virtually guarantees a profit. But, the support, the very foundation of that income is the fanbase, and it isn't fair to take advantage of that base, and so, I was trying to ask, in a roundabout way, if Wilson had stopped trying to win, or if he was just so out of touch that he thought he could do so with half the expense and effort of other, successful teams.

Thanks for your reply:) How can guys like Nix and Gailey stand that type of environment - and it surely explains why no one of real reputation is interested in coming here for coaching or management positions. Does Ralph, or would Ralph, in your opinion, ever just go all in on trying to get a championship before he's gone, or is it just a business in his perspective?

NGU - if you're still posting, what are your thoughts on the Bills organizaton in regards to where they're going, whether they are capable of becoming a championship caliber team with things the way they are now, or if the structure in place will prevent that from happening. It seems to me that the Bills are behaving as if they are handicapped by their market, as if they cannot compete, and with that attitude, it is no wonder they haven't. Is there a real chance it could change in the next few years, or is the organization hopeless with Ralph at the helm. What is the opinion from the inside of this league?

I have to believe that our defense will only get better as the year goes on. They are in their second season of this system - but how much of it has been modified with the addition of Wannstedt? Also, the offseason is typically the time of year these players get to learn a lot, whereas during the season it is more resting and game-planning. That being said, we have a team that is only really little more than one year into a new system. As for Carrington, Troupe, Spiller, Coleman, Moats, Batten, Jones, Nelson, Roosevelt - those 2010 guys are looking pretty good! I mean, I expect Carrington to outperform Kelsay (I already think he is the dominant player), and he presents a very unique skill set for a man his size. He is exciting - and will be very big in our d-line as more or less a 4-3 DE who plays standing up a lot. Our secondary - it will get tested, and we will see what we have. I think McKelvin is the type of player who will sometimes get burned and sometimes turn in a great play, so if one of the other cornerbacks ends up showing enough talent to be out there, I'd expect the tandem to be, if healthy, Florence, McGee, and Williams, with Byrd and Wilson as safeties. There is some real play-making ability there, if we can get enough consistent pressure on the QB. All in all, I'd say our offense has the most to prove, and the weight will rest on the O-line. When Nix talks about being patient, I guess he is serious. I mean, he doesn't mind throwing a season away because he'd rather wait a year to draft O-linemen than to find alternate ways of getting them. Of course, he might end up finding some additions yet, but when I look at this team, I think we're a few O-linemen and a QB away from being a legitimate contender. But, the fun thing about this team is that they've shown, last year, that they can hang with anyone except the Pats, and they're definitely better this year... so, I think we're going to end up with less than ten wins and more than six.

I share your position. When it comes to football, and the things I like about football - it isn't just about winning and losing. I can stand losing if it means something, if it is a sacrifice made for a necessary reason. What really draws me to football is the belief that concepts (philosophy, strategy), when coupled with extreme determination, discipline, and the hard to define spirit, or heart, or Will - that when you have a system that is yours (like Lebeau's defense, or Bellicheck's defense, or Sean Payton's offense) and you go out and get the right guys, and they all buy into it, and work hard together - you want to see those teams win, because they mean something. It's more than just going out and passing and running. It is about doing it your way, and that is Identity. There are many different kinds of Identity and there are always new ones. But, there are also teams that don't adhere to anything, and they're always changing to mimic the success of other teams, or maybe the team just doesn't want to invest in the right people, to trust in them, or pay them, or maybe the team just can't find a good leader - whatever, there are teams with solid Identities, and those with bad ones or none at all - I'd say Oakland has an Identity, and it is predictable, and unsuccessful. Well, these past years since the mid-nineties have been very bad for us Bills fans. No Identity, and that inconsistent, unsuccessful, disorganized nature of the team is beginning to look like it is rooted at the top, and that it might be the underlying constant. I want to see a man with an idea, a vision, of what a football team should look like. Rex Ryan knew what he wanted the Jets to look like, and bang, after a year there, they represent him. Likewise, Sean Payton, or McCarthy in Green Bay, their teams embody their philosophies. What is ours? When that philosophy does come into fruition, when the team is put together right, that is when you have the real dynasty teams, the teams that are capable of winning it all - and even if they don't go to the superbowl that year, they're in the mix for best team in the NFL while they are put together right. Dallas and the Bills in the early 90's. Denver when they finally won it. New England now. Those teams are so good - they don't go out and hope to win. They go out and dominate. I don't want to see us luck into victories. I want to see us overpower, outsmart, want-it-more than other teams. That doesn't happen, though, unless the whole organization has dominating as its goal. If the ownership, or management believes it cannot compete, or if it believes it must handicap itself, then it will never get there. The message has to be, not that we can do it, but we will do it. From top to bottom. Look how Wilson's beliefs and approach to this team are seeping all the way down to the players, how they're losing faith in the very goals of the team - that winning is not even a real goal. That is sad.

That, and perhaps a year or two more, is the truth. That is what no one at One Bills Drive will admit to publicly, becuse who wants to buy tickets for a team that isn't even expected to win by the teams own coaching staff? When Nix took over, he said it'll take time, but he also said, it doesn't take as long as maybe people think. So, when Nix and Gailey took over, I think a fast assumption of a good turnaround would be 2 years - like the Jets were able to do, with veterans. Four years would be considered a long turnaround, I think. Well, this is year 2, and we're getting rid of Evans - the only explanation for which would be that he isn't going to be here when it matters most, or be in his prime when we need him, so let the young guys develop and get something (a 4th - which usually takes 2-3 years to start making a difference). Well, he still would be an asset for another two years, I'd say. I think all that we've seen gives us reason to believe Nix and Gailey are still counting on at least two more drafts before they are going to hold themselves accountable for winning. So, suck it up. Maybe we'll see some winning in 2013/14 when guys like Brady and Manning are on their way out, and maybe we don't have to actually beat them to get into the playoffs.

I have been a loyal Bills fan for about twenty years now, since I started watching football with any real interest, and playing it, in junior high. This last stretch of 15 years has tried my patience. I was surely spoiled with the Kelly, Thomas, Levy years, but it hasn't been the duration of failure that has tried me, so much as the general implications that emerge from One Bills Drive, and have been consistent regardless of who has been in control, or who has been the coach. I'm speaking of the mentality that because the Bills are in western NY, because it is a "small" market, we simply cannot be expected to be as competitive as other NFL teams. I mean, this organization has all but plainly said, "Fans cannot and should not expect a winning team, nor should they expect ownership to spend all that is allowed to be spent on personnel to maximize the quality of talent and competition on this team. Furthermore, ownership will not spend any more than is necessary on coaching. In all, the Bills will have to win with inexpensive coaches and a roster that is devoid of comptetively paid talent while maintaining a salary cap far below what other franchises will spend. It's profit first, and if the fans don't like it, and they stop supporting the team, then it will be moved." That is the attitude that I'm tired of. I'd rather not support a team that has no real intent on trying, with all it's resources, to win. It is a mockery as it stands. Don't tell me if they weren't winning and playing very good football that there would still be a difference in income between the Bills and most other NFL franchises - that is crap. A good, well coached team that is winning year in and out will have fans across the globe spending money on merchandise and supporting the team. Anyway, I tried to like other teams, teams that I intellectually admired for the way their organizations were run, and I couldn't watch football, or care about it, if it weren't for the Bills. It is the Bills or nothing. So, I'm thinking, if Nix and Gailey are really in year two of a rebuild they envisioned, or set out to accomplish, in three years - and, there's no way they didn't make a plan and estimate how many seasons it would take to make it to the playoffs and to compete for a championship; at this level of the game, I'm sure coaches have to have real goals and be held somewhat accountable for the success or failure. Anyway, if it were three years they estimated, then that means they believe they can go into next year's offseason and come away with a franchise QB, probably a starting LT and either a RT, RG, or one of the two. That isn't even getting into solid depth on the O-line. They'll probably be looking for a LB, too, and mabye they'll be looking to upgrade a spot in the secondary and WR - and that depends on how this year pans out. We might be looking at needing a couple LB's next year. Maybe a TE. The point is, it isn't going to happen all in one offseason. That'll be year three hearing that line. But, I would imagine you'd like to have your young, 1st round QB playing behind an experienced, reliable line. So, if they get their guy at QB, they probably aren't going to have the picks to wrap up the line, not to mention the other areas. It'll push us into 2013, and then we'll be looking at replacing some of the guys that were rookies two years ago. Anyway, even if all goes well and they get lucky in the drafts, we aren't going to see a deep, stacked team for another two years - and that is if they don't make mistakes. If they don't start using FA, and if they don't start bringing in better players at these critical positions, we'll be looking at another rebuild before this one ever gets finished. That is why I would like to see some urgency out of them next year. Go get the future QB. Go fix the O-line. Wilson ought to be embarrassed by this mess, but instead we see Gailey frustratingly embarrassed by this team, when it's obvious he wanted better guys to work with, and is doing what he can with what he can.

I think Gailey and Nix are starting to lose some of their players. It really makes me wonder what they are really trying to do. They knew their line stunk going into this season, and they fed everyone that crap about having better players than the media and fans thought. Bull. They certainly aren't trying to win. And, to make it worse - this team last year, at the least, had heart. Guys played long and hard. Now, they go and get rid of Evans for a 4th, they demote Jackson - nothing like saying playing well isn't the most important thing to these guys - and you go and move Levitre around, and act as though he hasn't been one of two constants for that line all of last year. Gailey is beginning to look like he's taking out on his team what he ought to be taking out on Nix and Wilson. They are the ones who aren't supplying him with the right talent. The players know when it gets to be a joke, and that, more than anything, is why players don't want to come here - its gotten to be a joke.

The worst part about last night's game - Denver defense was beaten up already, and nowhere near as good as quite a few defenses we'll be playing this year. A real problem, I think, with this team, is they base so much of their offseason/preseason optimism on playing against each other in practice. I mean, the defense goes into last night thinking they were so much better because they'd been whipping the offense pretty steadily in practices, but then they encounter an opposing offense that is actually legitimate - and, they aren't thought of as an especially great offense!. Too often these last years it's been a rude awakening playing against other teams. Too often approaching the season, in a bubble the Bills think they're improving, or good enough, and then another team comes to play and they're left embarrassed and scratching their heads. What the hell is the matter with this team?

The way I see it, there shouldn't be fans filling the stadium supporting this team if come regular season the O-line is as pathetic as it is now, and we're still a terrible, boring team to watch. Why? Because we're something like 30 million under the salary cap! It's one thing to have money invested in guys who aren't panning out. It's another thing altogether to have everyone in the football world saying last year that the O-line is not even close to being good enough to be competitive, and then to ignore it altogether. And how about trade your best reciever for a 4th round draft pick - money saved! One of only 32 teams in the world, making millions in profits, shouldn't be anywhere but near the limit on a yearly spending budget. This team acts as though it can put a cheap product on the field and hundreds of thousands of people will continue to pay for it, support it, no matter that the owner - the only one making money here - is making that money at the expense of fielding a competitive team, whose objective is FIRST and foremost the winning of a championship. If the O-line isn't working, and they knew it wouldn't, they should've fixed it, or at least brought in players to make it better - and not just UDFA's.

I think it was said of Bell last year that he had trouble with power DE's who would bullrush him, but that he handled speed DE's very good. Well, he got bullrushed bad tonight, I saw, and he also has been ran around with ease. There isn't anything good about this line tonight. You always hope the preseason is deceptive, that losses don't amount to much, that there will be different game planning, etc., in the regular season. But, the players themselves, their physical abilities, aren't hidden or misinterpreted just because it is preseason. I mean, last year we knew the Defense couldn't stop anyone in the run game, and that our O-line looked bad. It was the case all year long. Now, we know that our run D will be better, that we're bigger in the front seven, but it looks like our offensive line might actually be worse - how that can be I just don't know. But, I'm betting Spiller and Jackson would look a lot better behind a good O-line. And, frankly, Gailey is not hiding his absolute frustration with the O-line. I'm betting he wouldn't keep coaching if we didn't fix that next year - I mean, he seems like the kind of coach who wouldn't accept losing year in and out because the management refused to give him the tools to win with. It's just too bad they didn't address it this offseason. Because now, even if we do land a good young QB next year, we're also going to have to land a couple tackles and maybe a guard, too.

I know it's preseason, but to me, it comes down to this: either Nix made every attempt to improve this team, or he was willing to let it go into the season weak in areas that might ultimately lead to a lot of losses. Either he is willing to see another losing season, or he does everything he can to stop that from happening. I don't need anyone else to confirm this - I know Gailey has been pretty frustrated with the lack of talent on the O-line. It is funny, the Defense has been so good in camp - until they face another offense that isn't considered very good, and then it looks like an average defense. Our offense, though, facing a team whose defense is supposed to be pretty bad, looks pathetic. I think it is a combination of a terrible offensive line and a mediocre QB. I mean, look at the passes Orton is making to his recievers, knowing where they're going to be before they even get there, hitting them in just the right spot, and then watch Fitz, with his light swith accuracy. He made some pretty lousy throws in that first quarter, when he wasn't running for his life. I'm beginning to wonder if some of our O-line troubles aren't in the coaching department. I mean, look at Denver. Fox has a reputation for having some of the best running teams in the league. I always associated that with the running backs, but I'm starting to think Fox probably went to Denver and decided they were going to be able to run the ball, at least. And they can. How about a little bit of that concise decision making on our team. How about our GM and Coach decide they are going to have a NFL caliber offense that looks capable of scoring without pulling out all these "trick" plays attempted to mask obvious deficiencies. I know, it's only preseason, but watching this game makes me think we're still going to have a hard time stopping teams like New England and the Jets. It is harder and harder for me, with every passing season, to watch this team look so inept. Everyone, from fans to football commentators to sports writers - everyone knew our offensive line was bad, and yet we did nothing. It is so obvious watching that first half how nothing can happen on offense without a decent line.

If this front office wants to add a young QB, then it ought to aim at getting a real pro-bowl, franchise QB, one who can take us all the way, and be good week in and out, and I think that is the position, more than anything, that we need to improve on to be serious contenders in the next few years; if that is the case, we should go and get one of the top 3 QB's coming out next year, each of which is reportedly franchise caliber. If we need one, and it has been 15 years since we've had an elite QB, then it is the only place to get one, and we've seen other teams get their guy over the past 5 years - it's time they did whatever they need to to get one, too. Unless Gailey thinks he can make Pryor Vick level, or Newton level - otherwise, they've got to stop settling. Go and get the best options, period.

If you can get five yards per play out of a certain package, then it doesn't really matter if it is out of style or not. Out of style and ineffective are two different things. Gailey will use his guys to get the maximum yards out of them. If it isn't working over the course of the season, I don't think he'll keep doing it. It was a little irritating that the Bills went to the Tampa 2 when that defense started to become ineffective against some of the newer styles of offense. That is a good example of doing something at the wrong time, or "out-of-style". If Gailey succeeds with his packages, then I'd say most coaches would do the same if they could get similar results.

Predicting wins and losses is difficult for so many reasons, least of which is injuries. If the Bills stay healthy, I think they stand a chance at going 8-8 because their defense is going to be much improved, and that will give the offense more opportunity, and that unit, too, will be better than last year. I think with everyone on offense having one more year under their belts, the recievers are young, but talented, with the TE Chandler looking to give us a good mix of blocking and catching ability - we were competitive the last half of last year and I think we'll be better this year - so, all in all, 8-8 is reachable. However, if we don't add to our O-line and someone or two go down for any stretch, we might be so incapable of overcoming that that we just collapse. And, if other teams suffer significant injury, then we might gain advantage, too. I think last year showed us that we had enough talent to compete with most teams (Pittsburgh and Baltimore were good examples) - I mean, we can go out, line up, and play with big hearts and almost pull out wins, because we can run hard, block hard, try really hard... but, with some teams like New Orleans and New England, though, we are just so outmatched by coaching and systems, that we don't stand a chance. That is the point where we're not able to pass, yet. And, it is a real question as to whether or not Gailey can get us there, period. The Patriots have beaten us, pummelled us, really, for years, and it isn't because they're so much more talented than us. It is their coaching, their preparation - we can't surprise them, and they seem to know just what our weaknesses are - and if we can't out-coach them, we'll only be able to beat them by pressuring Brady so much that he loses his cool. That, maybe, we can approach this year. I hope Gailey is smart enough, and his various staffs, to match wits with Ryan and Bellicheck. If he can, then our team is physically, if healthy, capable of competing with any of them.

Who knows how he'll be as a QB until we see him play for a few years. But, so far, I'm real happy the Bills ended up with Dareus. And, to go further, I really like having Carrington and Troupe on that line, too - I think it gives us a D-line to work off of for years, something we wanted for a while here in Buffalo. I also think we might have been wise to go with Sheppard over some of the higher, nationally ranked, ILB's. Spiller, to me, will end up validating his pick and making it seem like a good decision. It looks like Nix is much better at drafting than anyone we've had since Polian. Still, you can't go down the road of who we might have liked had they been available. There is no way to tell what might have been. You go with what you have. And, even if Newton doesn't succeed at first with Carolina, and the Bills would have taken him if they could've, you wouldn't be able to say that maybe Buffalo would have done things differently with him and he'd of had success here; a lot of the fortunes of QB's in this league, as young players, depend on where they end up, I think - the situation they are surrounded with, and whether or not the coaches install the right team and system around them. As for Newton, though, he is so athletic, so physically gifted, and he seemed to have such an instinct for creating something out of nothing - like a mix between Michael Vick and Ben Rothlisberger - I just think he'll be special for what he can do that you can't teach guys. And, by all accounts, he has been very professional and dedicated, something other young QB's he's been negatively compared to weren't.

Barry Sanders never had a very good O-line. I think Spiller will end up being very good. The reasons for my thinking are: he's not a dumb player. He knows he wasn't playing great last year and he spent the offseason trying to get better and figuring out why he didn't succeed. He is also very determined. Some players just want money, and once they get it their motivation is gone until their money is gone, too. Spiller, however, seems very much internally motivated. He's also stronger than a lot of people think. Add speed, strength, motivation, determination - he'll figure it out. It's not like he hasn't ever done it, or as if he's coming from a small school; he has dominated before. He knows what it feels like to be good, and he'll get there again.

I don't think Nix would have passed on a sure thing probowl caliber Tackle these last two years. The right guy hasn't fallen to us - and, as suggested by PTR, you simply can't fix all our problems - D-line, Linebackers, O-line, QB, etc., with a few drafts. Unfortunately, the other means of aquiring talent haven't been used too much of late with the O-line, and I'm sensing that Gailey is getting frustrated by the lack of talented depth he has to work with there - the defensive front seven got pretty good in one offseason, and now there ins't a balance between the two lines. If they figured going into this season that they weren't going to be playoff bound, likely, because they simply can't address all of last year's weaknesses with one draft, then they were right. If they really thought they could ignore the O-line and still compete - I think we'll see how challenging that will be. Nix, man, you've got money to spend - go get a couple guys to help if only for this year! Dump em in the offseason and draft some guys next year, if building through the draft is the only way, but please, don't go into the season this year without a little more help on that O-line! (Even the model of franchises Pittsburgh, last year in similar circumstances as us with their O-line depth, went out and got a guy for a year, and it worked out for them.)

I thought he had a great rookie year in limited action. I was very suprised he didnt play a lot more when Edwards went down. In fact, Edwards went down in the Steeler game and Carrington came right in and had a good QB pressure and a sack on back to back plays. Im expecting a lot from Carrington. Troup, not so much I don't think you're giving Troupe enough credit. The guy had a hand cast on during this last preseason game. I've been high on Carrington since last year - I thought he showed flashes of real potential, not just as a big 3-4, occupy blockers, type of end, but as a dynamic, run stuffing/pass rushing complete package. I could see him having 5-8 sack seasons as our DE, lining up beside K. Williams and Dareus. And, I think he is fine as a 4-3 DE, too, when we go to that look. As for Troupe, I think we've got a real decent player, and one who, like Williams, will get better as time goes on. He's got good conditioning for a big guy, and he likes to lift and stay in shape. I believe we were hearing more about him from camp before he hurt his hand than we were about Carrington. I think we've got a really solid young D-line with Dareus, Williams, Carrington, and Troupe. If Jasper somehow survives and shows he's got it, then we're that much luckier. The group kind of reminds me of Green Bay's D-line group, only with greater potential. Two pro-bowlers out of 3 on a 3-4 D-line.

When Nix and Gailey took over I think they made a mistake in not retaining Bobby April. Our Special Teams has been crap. I mean, you take basically the same team last year and the year before, you subtract April, and you go from one of the league's top units to a unit that looks undisciplined and very ordinary, and often worse. When Tomlin took over the Steelers he made what will prove to be the smartest decision of his coaching career - he kept Dick Lebeau. Why try to fix or change what is working very well? Now, there might have been reasons for concern for keeping April - who is now one of many who apparently see Philly as the best destination in the NFL (they have Mudd, too!), but if you are going to axe a very good coach, you should demand his successor be similarly successful, otherwise how do you justify the decision, or keeping the replacement? I just don't think we should accept mediocrity out of either our Special Teams coach or our Defensive Coordinator going into this season. It should be prove it - or, show the baby - year for both of them.

Gailey might have a bit of an ego. But, you know, he's a creative, well respected offensive mind, one of maybe twenty or thirty on the planet at his level, and he's been, at times, one of the very best period. When you've accomplished that much, you have a right to believe in your capabilities. And, frankly, one of the most frustrating things about the Bills in the past decade plus was their damn lack of confidence, and their lack of creativity. They were mimicking good teams in bad ways. I like a coach who is smart, creative, and who tries to be AHEAD OF THE CURVE. That is how you win in this league. And, as for a QB - it looks like they were pretty smart over the last two drafts, taking a bunch of young guys who will be good in the NFL, and passing on some QB's who haven't looked all that good. In the end, though, this rebuild with Nix and Gailey was going to take at least 3 years, and I see them going hard after one of the top QB's in next years draft, regardless of how well Fitzpatrick does. They want a Franchise QB, a face of this franchise, and one who can carry a team, an elite QB, and if Fitz shows he's good enough to win with, they'll keep him around as a mentor. But, I believe either way we get a rookie, high draft pick QB next year. I'm liking this front office so far, and I think we finally have a NFL caliber team in 2011, one that will be on the up-and-comer's list next year.