Bob in STL

Given your philosophy you would of hired Sean Payton as the Saints OC but you would not hire him as a HC?

I am not going to dispute Polian's greatness but to set the record straight, Jim Kelly was drafted before Polian was GM. Credit Polian for signing him a few years later but the Bills had exclusive rights to him when the USFL folded. Also, Polian was GM for the first 3 Super Bowls. He left prior to the fourth. During his stint in Carolina he did a great job getting Carolina into the playoff ... he also benefitted from a system that gave them many more draft choices than the other NFL teams. Carolina and Jax both had the luxury of this system that was never used before for stocking expansion teams. Both franchises built strong teams in a short time. Prior to his job in Carolina, Polian also did great work for the commisioner, Paul Tagliabue, to set up the Free Agency system with salary cap. True, he is a certain Hall of Famer.

Uugh. Even in a fantasy question you pick an offensive line and a defensive line that is worst than last years!! I'll skip Trent because we have nothing else but Chambers and McCargo? They were back ups last year. Chambers actually got cut before the season started. Chambers should never play another game as a Bill again and you have him as a starter? Meredith maybe at RT and either Wood or Incognito at RG makes more sense. Hangarter did a nice job at center while playing inbetween two rookies. McCargo at NT? He is an incredible kitty, always has some mystery ailments, he could never hold up at NT. Why not Poz on the inside? Why Maybin on the inside? You say he is "not an edge rusher?" Then why did we ever draft him?

Hmm ... Maybe typical for other teams but it looks like we have about 4 or 5 more coaches than in the past. Thanks for the info.

I agree that over a long period of time the better drafters will prevail. Good timing and good luck should not be discounted though.

I really think this could be worth a few wins. A good S&C program and good coaches as teachers. I just hope that Chan is a good game day coach and can make adjustments at halftime. I will assume he can get a flag out of his pocket and forcefully toss it on the field although we have seen even that small task get botched.

Above all else: NFL - Bills NHL -Sabres Next tier: Baseball - Yankees (AL) and Cardinals (NL) Next tier: College Hoops - I just watch for the fun of it. Would like to see Bonnies, Canisius, Niagara and UB do well. Used to like the Big East games too. Now I like Mizzou since my daughter goes there. College Football- I watch it for fun but would like to see UB and Mizzou do well. Next tier: NBA - not much since the Braves left, used to be Celtics and Lakers.

they have ever seen a Bills coaching staff of this magnitude before? This could be a very good mix of experience and youth from the college ranks. Looks like Ralph is spending some dough here. Any other thoughts on this? Haven't the Bills been notoriously frugal in this area before? Chan Gailey - Head Coach Daryl Daye - Assistant to the Head Coach Curtis Modkins - Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach George Cortez - Quarterbacks Coach Joe D'Alessandris - Offensive Line Coach Bobby Johnson - Assistant Offensive Line Coach Stan Hixon - Wide Receivers Coach Bob Bicknell - Tight Ends Coach Kevin Patullo - Offensive Quality Control George Edwards - Defensive Coordinator George Catavolos - Secondary Coach DeMontie Cross - Inside Linebackers Coach Bob Sanders - Outside Linebackers Coach Giff Smith - Defensive Line Coach Adrian White - Defensive Quality Control Bruce DeHaven - Special Teams Coordinator Stan Kwan - Assistant Special Teams Coach Eric Ciano - Co-Head Strength and Conditioning Coach John Gamble - Co-Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

I stand corrected, but he was removed from his position nonetheless. I admire Rusty as much as anyone but there surley must be other capable S&C coaches.

RT was putrid last year .. wait a minute, I just had another vision of Kirk Chambers spinning in circle while the opposing DE heads in to kill our QB. Walker, Gandy and Williams .. I say move on.

Polian is overall very great but the old saying "the draft is a crap shoot" was started for a reason. To all the folks that talk about Indy, NE and NO and how their lines are made up of mid-rounders ... well this is the reason for it in Indy. Two second round offensive lineman riding the pine. Oouch!

Another Rusty Jones is god thread? He has been gone for a decade. Could it be because some those players got injured last year and they are not recovering? Or maybe we have no plans for them in the new system? I am happy that we brought in TWO new strength and conditioning people. We can also use a little bit of luck in the injury department to go with their skills.

Where are the 3-4 linebackers?

I would like to see us bring in a vet like Clifton while we develop our younger players. I do not see Levitre sitting on the bench. Also, Wood might not even be ready to play the season opener.

Charlotte is still new and is growing and has a much milder climate. Buffalo is much older and had its hey day at the turn at the turn of the century ... the prior century that is! Like all cites on the Great Lakes, age, the harsh winter climate, and the lost industry base explain why you say Buffalo is "dirty". I agree that parts of Buffalo need to be rolled over and restarted. Other parts are still beautiful and have a charm that will never be seen again.

This article sheds a bit of light on some circumstances that have always struck me as odd .. namely, Langston Walker switched to LT, no veteran OTs brought in when Peters was traded, no OT drafted, and Walker being cut just prior to week #1. How could Jauron allow that? What other team would take such a gamble? Organizational structure is the foundation to running a great business. The Bills have failed in this area since Butler and his people left town. First Donahoe had all the control and he ran a "reign of terror" that obviously did not get the job done. After that Ralph went paranoid. The Levy/Brandon/ Jauron era has always left me wondering who is in charge? How much influence did Guy and Modrak ever have? Was the Front Office ever working from a clearly defined plan? Who calls the shots? I am so happy that Modrak convinced people to bring in Buddy and I am pleased with him so far. Yes, Buddy is not very polished as a front man but right now we don't need polish, we need someone to find us lots of good football players. Hiring Whaley is another nice move. Bringing in a bright young mind from a winning organization will help to change the culture at OBD. The national media criticized the Bills for not doing this to begin with. Finally, on to Chan Gailey. We do not know what kind of coach he will be. We know he is experienced and respected. I suspect he will be much better at installing an offense that Jauron. He has assembled a huge staff of assistants comprised of veteran coaches and some new blood. I cannot recall the Bills ever having so many coaches before? I think this is good and I suspect some of these new guys hired from the college ranks will turn out to be very effective. I am optimistic that we are finally heading in the right direction.

agree. Lynch still has great upside and trading him creates another hole on this team. Lynch for McNeil would be great as long as we are all dreaming. If we trade Lynch we need to fill an existing hole and Cromartie is not what we need.

Well said. Add to it that each of those teams give their mid-round lineman time on the bench to learn a system and then join a stable group. We have holes at LT and RT. We need to draft a top OT prospect that has a chance to contribute now. We also need one verteran OT on the roster that can actually play this game, and I am not talking about Jonathan Scott. Meredith and Bell are projects that should not be counted on as starters. If they develop that is great but we saw nothing last year to indicate that either is ready to be a top flight starting caliber OT in this league.

You are correct it is not easy at all. And that is not a great list. If the CBA stuff gets settled doesn't that increase the number of RFAs on the list? As for which one to take, that is for Nix and Whaley to decide. Luckily, I just get to sit back and critique.

Me too ... and I love both of them.

Agree. especially when the Cardinals are a model Baseball franchise with many pennants and World Series titles. The Rams are bad but they did win a Super Bowl. The Blues are the epitiome of average year after year. This city does not however, measure its pride by its sports teams. It is a nice city, not the best and not the worst o(or even close to it).

I can speak for Central California, cities like Fresno and Stockton are in the San Joaquin Valley. Most of the cities in this region are based on the agriculture and have grown way too fast. There is a lack things that big cities should have such as: history, culture, a downtown area, sports, art, symphonies, concerts, good schools, restaurants, etc. Most of the middle California desert was converted to fertile farmland by irrigation. Lots ands lots of flat, irrigated farmland. The area is filled with bad air from pesticides, dust and fertilizers. Most of the year is very hot. Dry climates are now turning humid due to irrigation. There are many migrant workers in these cities. Lots of crime. The "haves" are associated with agriculture and live like kings ... the "have nots" do all the dirty work and are hurting. It is hard to get to the middle. Stockton, Fresno and others in this valley have good points but they are not the kind of cities that resonate the California style.

Concur. We need to draft a tackle in round 1 or 2 and another one in later rounds. We also should sign a free agent veteran tackle. Bell is still a project even as a RT. Meredith is another project. Scott is nothing more than a backup, if that. We need lots of help. Past regimes have taken the OL way to lightly. I want to stress again that we need a veteran free agent that can play one of the tackle spots. Lessons should have been learned from last year.

I have never heard the facts but I do think this situation had something to do with Marty not getting hired. Whether it was Ralph's call, Buddy's, or both.

These list are usually crap. Anywhere in the midwest or Great Lakes must be bad according to this list. I live in St. Louis. Most of the area is very nice, yet it ranked 6th? Buffalo is a great town yet it ranks behind Toledo, Gary and others????? Chicago is one of my favorite cities .. it should never make a list like this.