CosmicBills

This isn't a serious question, right? Trust? He's an NFL GM. This isn't the Boys & Girls club team. It's professional sports.

That's more of a testament to how bad the Bills have been rather than how good Sanchise is.

Everyone wants to win. Gailey and Nix so far have done everything BUT win. They're record is 10-22 and have finished dead last in the AFC East each year. That's 4 less wins than Jauron and Brandon had entering their third year. This is year 3 of a rebuild. This should be the year that the Bills not only go above 500 for the first time in the Nix regime, it should be the year where they make the playoffs. No team needs more that 3 years to "turn it around". Three years is an eternity in the NFL. So far the only thing Nix has done is retain his own players (a good thing), come Tuesday we will see how serious the Bills REALLY are about winning.

This is the best news I've heard all day!

To be fair, the picture posted of Melissa Rauch is not a good representation of how beautiful she actually is. I'm not sure why WWVa chose THAT pic, but to each their own. She's tiny (like 5'1) and has an incredible body that she doesn't flaunt. In fact, they go through great effort to dress her down on Big Bang just to make it more believable she'd marry someone like Wallowitz ... though I dig the glasses. Rauch Rauch 2

The reason why the last 12 years get lumped together is this: 76-116. That's 116 losses in 12 years to just 76 wins. Put it in other terms, the Bills have won LESS than 40% of the games they have played in the past 12 years. That spans three coaching and front office regimes. Chan and Nix have won 31% of their games (10% less than the previous two regimes won). There has been only one constant during that 12 year stretch: the triumbrant of Littleman, Overdorf, and Mister Wilson. THAT'S the trio that's running this team. That's the trio that continues to run this franchise into the ground. I didn't want to believe that at first, but after THREE regime changes without any improvement in the fortune of the Bills leaves little doubt that it's NOT the revolving door at the head coaching spot and GM but rather something wrong at the head of the franchise. And things will not change until Wilson is gone. He's either unable or unwilling to build a winning team in Buffalo. That's why these years are lumped together. This is the type of post that makes me cringe. We as fans have a right to B word about what we perceive as weaknesses on our team just as you have the right to blindly defend your team or choose to ignore reality. It doesn't make either one of us a "better" fan. It just makes us different people. I'm the sort of person who doesn't think unconditional love of a team means having to pretend that team is flawless. I'm the sort of person who thinks that it's the fans' job to point out the flaws -- not out of malice or "hater-ism" -- but out of a sense of responsibility. I want nothing more than to see the Bills win the Super Bowl. Multiple Super Bowls if I had my way. I know that might sound crazy because after all I'm just a guy on a message board. I live in reality and understand that owners, GMs and coaches don't run their teams based on the whims of its fans. To paraphrase Marv, if they did that they'd all be out of a job. But that doesn't mean that the fans have no impact on the direction their franchises take. Fans, as a whole, are what drives the sport. And as such, fans have always had the ability to incite change within their favorite teams. You see it happen all the time in every sport -- coaches go on the hot seat, players get traded -- sometimes in large part due to trying to keep the fans happy. Now, thanks to the internet and social media, fans have more access to players, coaches and GMs than ever before. And I believe that fans have the responsibility to talk openly about the flaws on their teams in hopes of improving their team's chances of winning a championship. I believe that the Buffalo Bills are not being managed well. I believe that Ralph Wilson does not possess either the ability or the desire to build a winning team. I believe that Nix is a backroom hire and has done just enough to get by but not enough to build a winner. I also believe that Fitz is not capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl. But I'm still a fan of the Buffalo Bills. To me it's far better to voice your concerns than it is to hide your head in the sand and wish for things to improve on their own. I'm too much of a control freak to think that way -- even though I realize that thinking my opinion will somehow influence change is kinda ... nuts. But it makes me feel more connected to the team I cheer for. It makes me care more if I believe I can actually have an impact on the fortunes of my team. Hell, isn't that why we all love going to the games in person? We want to be there and cheer as loudly as we can to impact the game and help the Bills win. If you're like me, you have superstitions -- like wearing a lucky jersey, watching the game from a certain spot. As a rational person I know these superstitions aren't really going to impact the game ... but it's more fun to believe. And that's my way of supporting my team. Doesn't make it better than yours. Doesn't make it worse. But it's not bitching just to B word.

Clausen wasn't a can't miss prospect by anyone other than fans. The GMs in the league made that clear when they let him slide. But you're right. There is always hype around QBs coming out of college. But just because there's hype doesn't mean there's fire (okay, mixing metaphors there but you get what I'm saying). In the instance of Cam Newton, Luck, and RG3 there isn't just fan hype -- there's real talent there that's IMPOSSIBLE to miss if you take the time to look at the film. Another thing to consider is that the ability of NFL scouts to correctly evaluate QBs prospects has increased in the past decade. Doesn't mean it's perfect (it's not) but it's WAY more accurate now than ever before. Most of this is due to the fact that High School teams are throwing the ball more than ever before, creating many more polished passers coming out of HIGH SCHOOL. Guys are now being scouted and evaluated from the time they're 15. The entire league now knows QB is the most important position on the field and every team is after their own marquee QB. That means there's more attention than ever before focused on how to properly determine who can succeed and who can't.

Yup. That's my take anyway. He knows how to play to the camera. He's saying outlandish things because he knows they will make for good television. Winning isn't his primary goal in my opinion.

Abraham is 33 with his best days behind him. Williams is 27 and right in the heart of his prime physical years.

I don't think Colton is playing the game for a million dollars.

The subject in my post was whether or not accuracy could be taught. There are some that believe it can. But the majority of coaches, players and QBs think it can't. Fitz has played in 10+ games for 4 seasons in a row. His accuracy has gone up each year. But despite that, his completion percentage over that stretch is still a paltry 58%. That factors in his 62% completion this year. If 58% is his baseline accuracy, then it's unrealistic to expect him to go much higher than 5 or 6 percentage points over this average. Is it possible? Certainly. Nothing is impossible. But is it likely? Injury or not, Fitz dropped off last year after an absolute beastly start to the season. The injury played a role but the law of averages suggests that that drop off was inevitable because Fitz is a career 58% passer. Chances are, injuries or not, that 68% start to the season he had would have leveled off on its own. The truth is you can look at the stats last season to make any argument you want. But looking at one season in a vacuum -- especially a season that was so unique with Fitz's injury and the lock out -- is not very enlightening. With SO many variables at play (the injuries to the OL / WR corps / Fitz etc) you can't draw any real conclusions about Fitzpatrick in 2010. Well, other than he's a tough mo' fo. But if you look at the man's career (and he's had THREE seasons now as as starting QB in this league -- 52 starts, 58 games played) he has a history of hovering under 60%. And, if you agree with guys like Steve Young, Mike Holmgren, Bill Walsh, etc etc and think accuracy is an innate trait, then expecting Fitz to end up throwing CONSISTENTLY near the 65-70% range is just ... well, foolish. Now, if you believe accuracy can be taught, then that's cool. You're just up against a lot of statistical data that seems to say otherwise. This is the type of post that makes me cringe when they read you. I hope you understand that. This is like the people saying if you didn't support the war you didn't support the troops. The two are not mutually exclusive. I know Fitz is the starting QB of the Buffalo Bills. I understand that there is very little chance that the Bills make any kind of move to replace him before the season begins. I also like Fitz, I root for him, I cheer when he throws TDs. But I love the Buffalo Bills more than I love Fitz. I believe that Fitz is an average at best NFL QB. And I also believe that NO TEAM can win a Super Bowl without an elite QB on its roster in today's NFL. We as fans have a right to B word about what we perceive as weaknesses on our team just as you have the right to blindly defend your team or choose to ignore reality. It doesn't make either one of us a "better" fan. It just makes us different people. I'm the sort of person who doesn't think unconditional love of a team means having to pretend that team is flawless. I'm the sort of person who thinks that it's the fans' job to point out the flaws -- not out of malice or "hater-ism" -- but out of a sense of responsibility. I want nothing more than to see the Bills win the Super Bowl. Multiple Super Bowls if I had my way. I know that might sound crazy because after all I'm just a guy on a message board. I live in reality and understand that owners, GMs and coaches don't run their teams based on the whims of its fans. To paraphrase Marv, if they did that they'd all be out of a job. But that doesn't mean that the fans have no impact on the direction their franchises take. Fans, as a whole, are what drives the sport. And as such, fans have always had the ability to incite change within their favorite teams. You see it happen all the time in every sport -- coaches go on the hot seat, players get traded -- sometimes in large part due to trying to keep the fans happy. Now, thanks to the internet and social media, fans have more access to players, coaches and GMs than ever before. And I believe that fans have the responsibility to talk openly about the flaws on their teams in hopes of improving their team's chances of winning a championship. I believe that the Buffalo Bills are not being managed well. I believe that Ralph Wilson does not possess either the ability or the desire to build a winning team. I believe that Nix is a backroom hire and has done just enough to get by but not enough to build a winner. I also believe that Fitz is not capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl. But I'm still a fan of the Buffalo Bills. To me it's far better to voice your concerns than it is to hide your head in the sand and wish for things to improve on their own. I'm too much of a control freak to think that way -- even though I realize that thinking my opinion will somehow influence change is kinda ... nuts. But it makes me feel more connected to the team I cheer for. It makes me care more if I believe I can actually have an impact on the fortunes of my team. Hell, isn't that why we all love going to the games in person? We want to be there and cheer as loudly as we can to impact the game and help the Bills win. If you're like me, you have superstitions -- like wearing a lucky jersey, watching the game from a certain spot. As a rational person I know these superstitions aren't really going to impact the game ... but it's more fun to believe. And that's my way of supporting my team. Doesn't make it better than yours. Doesn't make it worse. But it's not bitching just to B word. I don't disagree that the 11 point drop had to do with injuries. I think anyone with any desire to look at the situation rationally would agree with that. But. I would argue that the 11 point drop isn't the oddity. Instead I think the 11 point rise is the real number to examine. Fitz finished 2010 with a 57% completion percentage. Then he jumped up to 68% during the first 7 games. That's a BIG jump. The optimistic way to look at it is to see it as Fitz finally becoming the "man" and that 68% is the real Fitzpatrcik. The skeptics look at that 68% as a statistical oddity that would have evened out over the course of the season even without the injury. They see that number as being the result of a new offensive scheme that caught teams off guard coupled with the fallout of the lockout. We'll find out who's right in 2012.

I didn't realize his broken ribs to 2008. Thanks for playing.

You're operating under the assumption that accuracy is something that can be taught. A large chunk of coaches, players and fans disagree with that assumption. Most, if not all, QBs completion percentage remains pretty steady throughout the prime of their careers and the exceptions to that rule tend to trend downward rather than upward.

It wasn't. It COULD have been. But they dropped the ball in a big way.

Don't bring facts to PDaddy! He doesn't trade in facts -- only hyperbole, simple mindedness, and unicorns!

You're lumping two very different kind of "hating" into one. There are team fans and there are the talking heads/"experts" of the sport. Team fans, like the Giant fans you are talking about, will ALWAYS be extreme. No one takes them seriously (like Pddaddy on this board). Then there's the talking heads who trade in hyperbole but by in large have a more objective vantage point about the state of the entire league since they're not focused on just one roster. Heading into last season, both Giant fans and the talking heads use to debate whether or not Eli was an elite QB. The extreme Giant fans were the ones who were quick to throw Eli under the bus while most talking heads and analysts pointed to the man's stats which showed since he won his first ring Eli has done nothing but improve and put up monster numbers. It wasn't a serious debate -- but it was still a debate. But now? It's no longer a debate. NO serious football fan or analyst will ever say Eli is NOT an elite QB now. In fact, the debate now is who's the better Manning. Even the extreme Giant fans who will piss and moan (like ANY team's fans) about their QB when he puts up a stinker will not be able to seriously argue the Giants would be better off without Eli. The situation with Fitz is the same. None of the "haters" actually hate Fitz. They just want their team to win and know in a QB driven NFL you need an elite QB to win a ring. Fitz is not an elite QB -- it's not even a DEBATE amongst anyone outside of Buffalo. Fitz is a 7 year vet who is no longer progressing. He's not a rookie with huge upside -- he's a vet with a tendency to throw bone headed INTs, questionable accuracy, and an inability to close. Now, there are Fans who wish to turn a blind eye to this and say Fitz just needs the right pieces around him ... which instantly takes him out of the conversation for "elite" since elite QBs make the players around him BETTER. But I digress. Both sides of the Fitz argument want the Bills to win.

Ummm ... well ... ummm ... I guess that's one way to play it?

"If your first goal is financial results, losing cheap can look a lot sweeter than winning expensive." (Ducks and covers)

This is a brilliant post. .... "Inconfitztancy"

You might be right ... we'll find out soon!

I think you're missing the bigger point: Manning is COMPETITIVE. If he's healthy (and that's still an if but from everything I'm hearing he is healthy) he will have a chance to do something that no QB has ever done: Win championships with TWO different teams. If he can pull that off, it will cement his legacy. He will might only have 2 chips, but he'll have done something no one else has done. That's a mighty big carrot to dangle for someone as competitive as Manning.

This is an interesting angle to look at. The Death Star is becoming a force in the world of sports (they are behind the Miami Heat's big 3 as well as what's going to happen with Dwight Howard and Williams in the off season). The one thing to note though is Tebow is not a CAA client. He signed with WME last week.

We're the only team not to make the playoffs in the past 12 years. We also have a record of 76-116 over that span (that's a 39% winning percentage). Under Nix and company that winning percentage has dipped to 31% and, even the most optimistic fans out there think this team is STILL a year or two away from truly contending. So ... you might want to rethink that statement.

Yeah! Just look at the Bills' record over the past 12 instead! That will do the trick.