BuffaloRush

I would be curious to hear how the rest of fans feel about Mario. Because I don’t think the Bills got enough of an ROI on the most deal he signed. Yes it was big for the organization to land the biggest free agent in the offseason, but in the end he didn’t make much of a difference until 2014. And even then it seemed like guys like Marcel and Jerry were consaitantely the ones getting after the QB more often. It certainly seems like you distanced youself from the initial comment about Buddy Nix. Now he only got them on the track “a bit” because of the structure of the front office? Either way, it’s hard to argue in favor for a GM that built a team that finished 16-32 in 3 seasons.

Except the fact that he was cheap. Look at all of head coaching hires. He was a cheap skate I disagree... Doug Whaley could identify talent but he had no clue how to build a team. He severely overpaid for certain talent and left the team in salary cap hell. He was a good scout but a terrible GM.

LOL You can't possibly give Doug credit for the 2017 draft picks. He did not make those selections. In fact, many reported that he loved Trubisky and wanted to trade up for him. McDermott wasn't having it. The rest of that list is not very good at all. His best selection was either Ron Darby in the 2nd or Preston Brown in the 3rd. These are competent NFL starters, but hardly exceptional picks. The rest of the lineup isn't very good. Again - Doug was not good at drafting

Well well well. It's @T&C from the Bills Message Board. I feel like Indigo Montaya finally getting to confront the One Arm Man. You treated me and a lot of other good fans like crap over at BBMB - not really a big fan of you Better than what? I'm just saying you should say they made the playoffs. Period. THE AUDACITY of a member creating a thread in a message board. This was pretty funny.... even though I do agree he was not a good person to roast!

The similarities are there. I think Tyrod was a bette athlete and Doug might have been a little better as a passer, but you might be into something. Doug’s team had a much better defense which might account for why he had a better W-L than Tyrod

I'll +1 this..... The fact that Tom Brady was not better than Joe Montana because he lost 3 Super Bowls When Joe was 4-0 Here's another one - The fact that fans should not start threads on a message boards. I mean - THE AUDACITY!!!!

OK my point is, it seems like when every some fans talk about the Bills season this year they put as asterisk next to it and preface by says "they only got in because of Andy Dalton." You can find asterisks in nearly every NFL season, but most people don't because it's irrelevant

Fair and well said.

Interesting choice...explain

I feel that this was perfectly summarizes Buddy's tenure in Buffalo

Buffalo Bills fans are probably the most loyal fanbase - perhaps in all of professional sports. With that being said, like most fanbases (or most families) it doesn't mean that everyone always agrees. There are several narratives floating around this message board, and conflicting opinions which arise in conversation when talking Bills. I am curious to know, which narratives that are out there, do you not buy. There are several that I can think of off the top of my head, and I'm sure I'll be able to add more. Here's a few: Doug Whaley was a good GM Sorry but it's hard to make this argument. You can say that Doug was good at finding free agent talent and that he did have some circumstances which made his job tough, but at the end of the day he didn't draft well, never knew how to build a team, and left the Bills in salary cap hell. The 2017-2018 Bills "backed into the playoffs" and were lucky to get in. Many teams have gotten into the playoffs and even won the Super Bowls thank to fortunate situations. No one goes back and says "yeah the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2001 but they were lucky because of the tuck rule." I could rattle off countless scenarios. Could have. Should Have. Would Have. Get over it. Bill Polian Was Overrated as a GM I was quick to point out how often Polian missed in the draft, but that doesn't mean he was a bad GM. He probably is one of the biggest factors in turning around the Bills in the 80's and is well deserving of a Hall of Fame selection. John Butler Rode Bill Polian's Coat Tails Again, completely untrue. Butler was a great GM who often draft well (sans 2000) and made some excellent free agent acquisitions. The Bills team in 1999 was extremely talented and was perhaps on Special Teams play from making a serious run at the Super Bowl. The Bills Never Should Have Traded Sammy Watkins ln hindsight, this was the right move for the team as it is clear they probably never would have resigned Sammy for the $16M a year he received on the open market. By trading him, they received a 2nd round pick, a competent start for one season, and they still made the playoffs. Those are a few - I'd love to hear yours

Ok so Buddy put the Bills back on track by going 16-32 over three season? Explain how three losing season puts the team back on track, when they failed the make the playoffs with a team that had few hold overs from the Nix era. As far as Mario - yes the numbers were good. But can you name me one memorable game where Mario completely took over and made the play of the game? You really can’t. In comparison I can name multiple games with JJ Watt or even a Khalil Mack has. Also take a look at the Bills defenses with Mario on the team. They basically had one good year in 2014, right after Buddy left. That’s why I don’t think he was worth that huge deal Buddy signed him to. Who’s living in a fantasy world now, Chester? Well according to @GunnerBill the Bills didn’t need a player like Mack because Mario Williams was such a difference maker

The amount of love for Doug Whaley is unbelievable among Bills fans. He is single handedly the most polarizing individual in Bills history.

This is a pretty good take, not so sure I’d call him a “moron” but I don’t think he was an effective GM. You never even discussed how his manhandled the QB position. I’m still very shocked to see people defend him and believe he did a good job. I think the record speaks for itself.

We gotta raise the steaks. Like all of us buy $20 Tim Horton’s gift cards and send them in the mail to a moderator. I’m thinking 20 people each buy a $20 gift card. We have prizes for the first, second, and third place winner below: 1st: $350 2nd: $45 3rd: $5 Or maybe Tim Horton’s could sponsor this contest and give the winner “Coffee and Donuts 4 Life”

How in the world is this “traffic bait?” It’s a question that Bills fans, as you’ll in this thread, have varying opinions of. What does his age have to does to do with it?

What in the blue hell are you talking about Sure the Bills never had a good GM...Polian, Butler...never

No it wouldn’t. Washington trades the house to draft RG3 and still took Kirk Cousins in the 3rd round. If paid off big time for them and no one accused them of being a “dumpster fire.” Also, there is a video from 2013 where Doug firmly is behind EJ and basically says he won’t be GM if EJ is not successful (he was right). PLUS Doug admitted his involvement with drafting EJ numerous times on air. He was a “Buffalo Bills pick.” Im not saying that he made the final call but I do believe that Whaley was invested in EJ, perhaps as much as Buddy was.

Are we talking the best signing on paper or on the field? because I can tell you that John Butler signing Bryce Paup and Ted washington in 1995 were far better signings and their performance translated in improvement on the defense. Now I will say, Mario was perhaps the highest profile FA to sign with the team. He had a few good years but I really don’t remember him making an impact in games like a Khalil Mack or JJ Watt do. Also that contract really did hurt the Bills under the cap. Again...you say that they suck but how can you quantify that statement when Buddy’s teams always had less wins that any team Brandon was a part of?

You may say that they “sucked,” but the records don’t lie. Those teams consistently had more wins than any team that Buddy put on the field in his 3 years as GM. Aaron Williams and Nigel bradham were good pics and nice NFL players. I would not call them “blue chippers.” Beside Most Bills GMs hit on players like this. Calling DaNorris Searcy a blue chipper is beyond laughable. He was a competent starter at best. Probably not the player that you want to use to support your argument You say Buddy wasn’t as bad as Russ but the bottom line is that Russ’s teams had a super winning percentage. Also don’t be fooled that Whaley wasn’t “all in” on EJ. He wouldn’t have made the ridiculous trade for Sammy in 2014 if he didn’t believe in him.

The rejuvination!?!?!? It took the team 7 years, 3 GMs, 4 HCs, and 1 new owner until they made the playoffs! That’s one long rejuvination.

Take a look at his winning percentage 16-32. He never finished a season with more than 6 wins, while both Marv Levy and Russ Brandon who are lauded as "bad" GM's never won less than 6. Also who are the "many" blue chip talents? I think I listed the three players he drafted outside of that he didn't have as many "hits." And who were his FA hits? Mario Williams was good in Buffalo but he never was a difference maker and his contract left the team in Salary Cap Hell. Ugh terrible post

Working on my popular blog post "Hits and Misses: How Successful Was GM Buddy Nix in The Draft," made me wonder - do my fellow Bills fans think Buddy Nix a good GM? In my opinion, I will say NO he was not a good GM. People complain about the tenure's of Marv Levy and Russ Brandon as GM, but the winning percentage of the Bills was actually much higher under Levy (14-18) and Brandon (13-19) than Buddy(16-32). He had some good draft picks in Gilmore, Cordy, Marcell. Buddy also should be credited with the trade of Jerry Hughes for Kelvin Sheppard (which his assistant Doug Whaley was heavily involved with). He also had a really cool accent and a "hip for an old guy" look. But there's a lot that he didn't do well including missing on many other selections including drafting Torrell Troupe over Rob Gronkowski and then wasting a very high draft pick on CJ Spiller when the team was stacked at RB. Buddy also mismanaged the QB position by hitching his wagon to Ryan Fitzpatrick as his franchise QB and signing him to a long-term deal which hindered their salary cap. In the process he put off the decision to draft a QB of future and passed on several prospects. In the end, Buddy put the team in "QB purgatory" resulting in ridiculous over-drafting of EJ Manuel in round 1 (which Doug Whaley was heavily involved). Then there's free agency - Buddy never seemed to get that right. He would tend to overpay very average talents (Dwan Edwards, Brad Smith, Erik Pearz) and severely overpay good talents (Matio Williams, Mark Anderson, Spencer Johnson). Unlike some of the great Bills GM's, he never really had a great free agent signing. But I am sure someone will make the argument for Buddy being a good GM. In the end, I don't think his tenure as GM really helped the team. Instead you can make the argument he left them worse off than the previous regime

Many people feel that Lawson was a "hit" for Doug Whaley. He was not - he was a miss

George had a great set of teeth