CosmicBills

+1

Longest playoff drought in the NFL. That's the definition of abysmal. The ONLY thing that matters is winning championships. That's the goal of every team in the league at the start of the season. This franchise has yet to win one super bowl and has failed to even make the playoffs for 12 seasons (soon to be 13). The Bills have added players but let other players go. Dareus is a stud. The only true stud they've added to the roster in 2 years since Nix has gotten here. One player. Prior to him, you could put Kyle Williams up there and Fred Jackson. Neither of which came from Nix. And even then, it's only a total of 3 stud players the Bills have managed to find in close to 7 years. That's HORRENDOUS. They've let other players go for next to nothing (or sometimes for nothing), stripping the team of depth which, some would say, is more important than having 3 stud players added to the roster in 7 years. 3 players mean nothing if you surround them with cast offs and garbage players (which is what this roster has in abundance). The linebacker corps has been one of the worst in the league for at least 5 seasons. It was again this year as well. Barnett was a nice addition, Shep might develop into a player. But outside of those two, there's been no serious effort to bring in LBs that are anything more than camp fodder. The OL has more turnover than Lindsey Lohan's sheets, and they still can't get it right. QB has been a revolving door of the wrong pieces. The WRs are terrible. The CBs are now just as bad as the WRs. Also Nix was retired before he came to the Bills. That was the point I was making, it has nothing to do with the rumors of him retiring now. I hope he does retire now. Good riddence, the guy is a joke. Like this team. If you're satisfied with meaningless statistics (of which we're barely in the middle of the pack in the ones you're lauding and near the bottom in all the others), that's fine. Most people seem to be. That's your right as a fan. Me? I want to see this team compete. This team has not been a legitimate contender for anything in over 15 years and there is absolutely no sign of things changing any time soon. They still don't have a QB. They don't have a WR. They don't have a pass rush. They don't have a secondary worth a damn outside of Byrd, Wilson and (maybe) Williams. Justin Rogers is unproven. McKelvin is unreliable. McGee is done. Florance is terrible. Bell and Harriston are backups at best at LT. There's no depth whatsoever at ANY position on this team. So even if the Bills have the perfect off season, there's not enough time, draft picks, or FA to fix this roster by the start of the season. And we're about to be in year 3 of a rebuild that is looking like it's going to take at least 5 to turn any results. That's terrible.

But John, you're missing the bigger picture. Yes, if the defense was better this year, this team wins 8 games rather than 6. If the defense was tremendously better they win 9 or 10. But look at what the Bills have done in the past 15 years. They've always been stronger on one side of the ball over the other. At first it was the defense was strong but the offense sucked. Then, the front office attempts to remedy that by savaging the working side of the ball in favor of the weaker. The point is, the Bills front office won't let the Bills build a team capable of winning. They don't build complete teams, they build half a team. Just enough to get fans in the seats only to rip our hearts out later. Whether that's intentional or due to ineptitude is for the conspiracy theorists to argue about. For me, the longest playoff drought in the NFL is enough proof to show that something is seriously broken.

I respect that challenge 1. Win Loss Record. The ONLY thing that matters. Since 2000, the Bills are 76-116. Over Chan's first 2 seasons, the record is even worse (10-22). As much of a trainwreck as Jauron was (and he was), the Bills have been worse than they were with DJ. Of course, that was to be expected due to the sheer lack of talent left on the roster when DJ left town. No one expected an overnight fix. But things haven't gotten better. They've at BEST stayed the same (we've improved on offense yet regressed on defense). At worse they've imploded. The second half of the season for the Bills showed how little talent they have on their roster (less depth than ANY OTHER TEAM IN THE NFL), and how flawed the team actually is. 2. Front office: The front office is out of touch with regards to what it takes to win in the NFL. They've got a retired GM who had never had the job before in Nix and has done very little to improve the amount of talent on the roster. Now, with a change of D coordinators, it seems likely that some of, if not most, of the Defensive players drafted by Nix will now have to adapt to a new system in which they're not a fit. The poor drafting continues, there's no depth at all on the roster despite having an excess of 30 million to spend. The front office's constant revolving door at positions of need (CB, RB, QB, WR, OL) is a cycle that shows no sign of stopping under Nix's regime. 3. Pass Rush: Simply the worst in the NFL. Bar none. There isn't a player on the roster that strikes fear into opponents' hearts. Maybe Dareus will get there, he's been a stud. But there isn't a single pass rusher on the roster. Merriman was done before he stepped on the field, and reaching for him and not adding any other talent in this area ties in to the utter ineptitude of the front office. 4. OL: You say sacks are down and they were. That wasn't due to the talent of the OL. It was due to the absolute lack of a downfield passing attack. It's hard to get sacks when your QB is throwing short routes. Give Fitz credit for a quick release, but the offensive gameplan of dink and dunk was designed to mask the OL's inability to pass block for more than 2 seconds. Pears, Harriston and Bell were average to below average when they had to block for longer than 2 seconds. No backup center on the roster, no backup guards and very limited talent at the OT position has doomed this team. 5. QB: Fitz is average at best. He has shown nothing to give anyone confidence he can deliver when it counts. He continues to come up small when it counts the most. Hurt or not, he showed absolutely no ability to throw deep and stretch a defense. Some of that can be blamed on the utter lack of talent at WR position, but most of it falls on Fitz's incapable shoulders. The fact that the organization continues to scramble for a franchise QB after 12 years of searching is terrible. The fact this team has never taken a QB with their first pick is even worse. It's a passing league. Hard to win in a league like that when you can't pass. 6. WRs: There isn't a single number 1 WR on the roster and hasn't been since Moulds left. That's a problem. Stevie is a number 2. Nelson is a solid 3. The rest of the WR corps would have a hard time making any other NFL roster let alone their starting rotation. There is an absolute lack of talent in the WR corps. Combine that with a weak QB and a subpar OL and you have a recipe for disaster. 7. Coaching: Chan's in game decisions have been suspect. The defense's inability to adjust was not just due to lack of talent, it was due to poor coaching and schemes. Changing from Edwards to Wanny won't be as big of a score as most on here believe. Mainly because he doesn't have the players to implement the scheme he's most familiar with. But also, if he is as good as some on here said, then he also has to bear some of the responsibility for the abortion that was on the field this year since he was the asst head coach. I could go on ... The bottom line is that this all starts up top. Ralph, either due to ego or design, has created a culture at OBD that prevents them from winning. They constantly turn over the roster, not allowing any continuity to grow. They invest money in the wrong players and trim the budget at the expense of depth in a sport where you're only as good as your weakest link. The Bills are in bad shape. And after 12 years of futility, and 51 years of losing as a franchise, there's little reason to believe that's gonna change without a massive upheaval in the front office. Meaning Ralph himself. So ... they're just barely above average in every stat you're lauding (but for sacks given up which is more a mirage than a real stat). And they're well below average in the stats that count: wins. Yeah, I stand by abysmal.

To me it looks like they took huge steps in some areas and monumental steps backwards in others. That's been their pattern for 15 years. This team is abysmal. And has been for over a decade. It doesn't matter if they give Chan 6 years or 3, nothing will change until Ralph is no longer the owner of the team.

Didn't the Packers have half their team on IR? Or were they back by the Super Bowl. I forget.

I'm not asking for extreme protection. And it's not just for "me". It's for the society as a whole. In our society, if you take away the financial viability of the arts, which is what piracy does on a large scale, then you're going to get less choice as a consumer for your entertainment options. It's already happened in music. It's already happened in film. It will happen in TV too.

Again, just making it to the super bowl isn't enough. It's about winning it. Look at the QBs who have won the past 10 super bowls. In the past 10 years, 8 of the winning QBs are first ballot hall of famers or on their way to being one (Brady 3 times, Big Ben 2 times, Rogers, Brees, Big Ben, P. Manning). The other 2 were, if not hall of famers, in the upper echelon of QBs (Eli Manning and Johnson) at some point in their career. Johnson was a pro bowl QB. Eli may still be great for all we know. Look at the teams that have made the playoffs the past 5 seasons and who their starting QB is. Look at the QBs in this year's playoff class: with the exception of Brady, all were taken in the first two rounds. All but Dalton and Brees in the first round. 3 of the 12 are first overall picks. This is not a new trend. And it's only going to keep going in this direction. You're blind if you can't see that. You need balance. But above balance, you need an elite passing game and QB to win a championship.

Yeah -- for their LAST contract. Not their big one. Jackson has one shot at a big deal. His next contract will be nowhere near as big as what he's about to get now. Money now. Win later. That's the modern athlete's mantra.

As someone who makes his living off of IP, I find that a ridiculous statement. A movie, book or song is still a product. They always have been, and always will be.

The same reason any FA goes anywhere: $$$.

I'm not defending SOPA. As a bill it's highly flawed.

Cool. Thanks, I wasn't sure when it started. But you're right, they almost HAVE to spend some cash this season, if for no other reason than to lessen the dent they'll have to make in '13.

Doesn't the team have to be up to 99% of the cap this coming season? Or is it still a few years away?

I'm talking about winning super bowls. Not just making the playoffs. The goal every season should be to win the Lombardi. Or at the very least, fielding a team capable of backing their way into an accidental championship. So, with that in mind, talk to me about Baltimore when they win the super bowl. Because they're not winning it this year.

But isn't the bigger point that if you know the BEST you can be with that sort of team (an offense that relies on its rushing game and defense to win) is to be above average, then shouldn't we be willing to do make the moves necessary to getting that elite QB? Why should we settle for Fitz when we know we can't win a ring with him? Why should we settle for a front office that, for the past 15 years has not grasped that the game was changing? I'd rather do everything possible to get the QB and weapons he needs to win a championship -- even at the expense of wins in 2012 -- than to try to build around a QB and organizational philosophy you know you can't win with. If that means trading up in the draft to get a guy like Luck or RG3, you do it. Even if you wiff and the player busts, you're in no worse shape in the big picture as you would be if you saved those picks. This organization is beyond saving. They need to implode before they can finally win. But that won't happen until Ralph is gone. I realize that. It's just frustrating as all get out.

Wait, are you for real? You honestly feel that IP is not of value? I have stayed out of the SOPA debate on here because, admittedly, I don't know enough about it on either side. All the info I get is pretty biased considering the field I work in. However, I do take great issue with the attitude/belief you're espousing here with this post. If I make a movie or TV show, that's a product. Just like a car or a lamp or a battery. And downloading movies or shows illegally is absolutely no different than walking into a BestBuy and stealing a DVD off the shelf. The sale of the movie or show -- whether it be to a studio or network or whatever -- is how a large number of people make their livings. Not just actors, directors and writers either. That said, I don't think SOPA (as I understand it) is the answer.

Thank you.

You're insane. How can you call it a myth when the NFL (and any half way knowledgeable fan of the sport -- not just their team) knows that it's a fact. The NFL wanted more scoring so they changed the rules of the entire sport to neuter DBs ability to impede WRs in their routes. They also changed the way defenders can hit and tackle in an effort to protect the NFL's moneymakers: QBs and big play WRs. You of course need a running attack that will keep a team honest, but you don't need a superstar at RB or anything more than an above average ground attack. However, you simply cannot win a championship in today's NFL without an elite passing attack. Think about that in context of league history. It used to be you couldn't win a championship without an elite running back. Times have changed because the SPORT has changed. So you can either accept that as an organization or you can continue to believe that the way to win in the '70s is still a valid way to win in 2012. It sure has worked out great for Ralph and the Bills so far.

I'm not "from" Utica, but I did serve time there. 4 years. 4 loooooooong years. That's why my face is permanently stuck in that pose.

Or, you know, maybe he's voting against theft.

I know. And somewhere in this thread most of us started talking about two different things. You (and the others) are talking about in game decisions. I am talking about a general philosophy in terms of the team's construction. We diverged from the original point, which is more than likely my fault That said, yes, there were plenty of moments where Chan should have ran the ball more. Chan isn't a very good coach, he's not the worst, but he's not as good as I originally hoped. Still, if he had called more run plays this team maybe wins 2 more games. Not enough to make the playoffs, not enough to be a contender. Which is what I think we all want. Fred's injury hurt this team tremendously. There's no question about that -- but even before he went down, Fitz was exposed as the average to below average QB that he is. Our line was exposed to be a product of Fitz's quick release and lack of a downfield passing package. And our WRs were exposed for what they really are: a bunch of number 4 and 5 WRs (at BEST) masquerading as 2s and 3s. The defense needs to be fixed. But this team won't be able to compete week in and week out until the front office finally realizes you can't win in this league with a garbage passing offense.

The past 12 years has given you the answer to that query.

Absolutely. The treadmill to nowhere is a great example. This team needs a focus in its direction. There isn't any. Not even on the defensive side of the ball where the team spent nearly all of its draft picks last year. Are we a 3-4 team or a 4-3 team? Are we a hybrid? If Wanny switches back to his roots, where does that leave half the players Nix brought in on defense who no longer fit the system? They keep tinkering with the wrong parts: RB, CB, DT and ignoring the parts that really matter in terms of winning in the modern NFL: QB, WR, OL. I'd be fine with the team suffering growing pains if I believed there truly was a plan at OBD to build a winner. But from everything they've shown us in 2 seasons, there isn't. And from everything the organization has shown us over the past 15 years -- that won't change any time soon. Awesome.