PNW_Bills_Fan

I agree. I would break it up into Rounds 1-3 and then rounds 4-7... This will give a better picture of how a drafts is successful. But is would be fun to rate all the teams on the original scale to see if anyone had a good draft.

oh and they just signed another depth player that might compete for the starting OLB job...wait a front office that is not creating holes?

Thanks Zulu

hmmmm really

The problem is everything gets lumped together. I think the last 12 years there has been three different era's. You have the TD era and we all are glad that is over. We had the ML/Russ Brandon temp era. It was a time of healing for Ralph. What we got out of it was a business COO that knows how to run the Bills. Russ is who is behind the Bills being viability in our region. He didn't help get us a good team, but he did earn the trust of Ralph. Now we have the Buddy and Chan Era and this era is the one that has helped turn this around. We have a COO that knows Business. We have a GM and Assistant GM that know talent. We have a Head Coach and Assistant Head Coach that know how to win. I agree we can be mad at the past, but the last two years have been about building and I see the evidence of that.

Thanks

When Buddy Nix took the job he said we would build this team through the draft and then pay our own players. He has also shown that to be true. He has also shown in the Fitz, Chandler and Pears deal that they are willing to pick up a cast away, see if they fit in the system and then pay them. This off season we have fewer holes than in the past. We are missing a few key pieces. We need a DE that can get to the QB. We need an OLB and a #2 receiver. We may have the #2 receiver in the fold already with Easley. We won’t know until we can see him play. Outside of these holes we have players who can play. I am tired of hearing people say that Ralph is cheap because he won’t pay for top coaches and GM. Buddy seems to know what he is doing. Doug is a good young talent. Chan is one of the best offensive minds in the game. Dave has built a Super Bowl winning D. I am not sure but this may be the best coaching staff we have had since the early 90's.

But at what point do we start trusting Buddy? He has done everything he said he would do. He is building through the draft and signing our own players.

When did Ralph stop spending?

I would agree that Ralph has created this culture. I would also add that this is the second time he has tried to give control to someone else to run the team. He first did it with Tom D and now with Russ B. I think we could blame Ralph for the past but this future is on Brandon...just like the Tom D years were on him. Ralph I get the impression wants to be informed, but doesn't want the headache anymore. Since Russ has taken over we have hired two football guys in Nix and Chan. Both had a reputation of winning. We add Doug as the Assistant GM and Dave W as Assistant head coach and now "D" coordinator. I think this staff looks good on paper and has the potential of turning things around. We can look at the past and learn, but our past is not our future.

I cannot stand this excuse. How has Wilson stopped us from winning? Don't tell me because we were not willing to over pay from Clements and others that Wilson has stopped us from winning. He tried to bring in up and coming coaches that to this day are being looked at as good head coach candidates. He has opened his wallet for some free agents. The FO has tried to make this team better...we just have not drafted well or had good luck in signing free agents. That is not all on Ralph. We have a new "D" coordinator that has won in this league...when was the last time we had that? WADE Phillips?

Yeah but how often do we see change way earlier than needed?

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/10spot-wildcard/impatient-owners-allow-coaches-develop--adam-schefter-10-spot I agree with Schef coaches need more time to build for the long term. Give your coach a chance.

I say take away there 6 wins and this team is far away

wow that helps curb expectations

I think when you take time to evaluate this team...for most of us they surprised us with all the wins early.

I am tired of hearing about us letting our best players walk. Who have we let walk that did not price themselves above their value? I want us to resign Stevie Johnson but not at the level of let's say a Larry Fitzgerald. Stevie may get that kind of money from some team, I just don't think he is worth that much. Now if he will sign at a decent rate and play for incentives, I am all over that. That said I thought we could have been 10-6 if we stayed healthy. I think depth was our downfall.

I am just wondering. I thought between 7-9 and 9-7. I still think this team is only a couple players away. If we can get a great OLB we could flawlessly move between the 3-4 and the 4-3. We will have more depth next year as long as we bring these guys back.

no

What type of D does he run? Would he be a good fit for the talent we have? As a D coordinator

All good points about the game but the thing is this team is 1 to 3 players away from being 8-3... imagine this team with a pass rush! I think Nix is doing fine building this team. Do some of the coaches need to go? I think that might help. I am not sure.

I don't think it is the same. We have a QB that is not on his rookie salary or a on a journeyman's salary for the first time in a long time. Fitz is our QB. The team has been competitive since the middle of last year. The team is actually in games and fun to watch most weeks. We have not had that for the past 10 years. We have scored more points this year. We have a front line that is not last in the league in giving up sacks. The line looks like it has talent and we have some depth. In past years when injuries have plagues us our line went to crap. The line today gave up three sacks and Fitz was pressured but in the end they blocked when they had to. We have not had that for 10-12 years. On the "D" line we have a pro bowler and another in the making in Darius. Barnett is a monster in the middle. I think Sheppard is going to be good. We need help at OLB bad. For the past 10-12 years I have been thinking we were two to three years away from being good. This year I feel like we can be a contender next year if we have a good draft and get 1 to 2 key FA. I like the coaching staff. I am not sure about Edwards. How much is his fault verses how much is the lack of talent at OLB. I honestly think we have a chance to win a couple more games this year. I can see us being 9-7 or 8-8. Even if we are 7-9, how many people thought we would be that good? Most of the mainstream media thought we were going to be a 4-5 win team.

I hate losing. I hate my team losing. I can't stand watching a losing team. It has been painful over the years to watch this team. Outside of the first Jets, Dallas and Dolphins games this team has been fun to watch. This very much reminds me of a the late '80's. There is a team being built finally after years of mishandling. The "O" is not broken. We could get by with what we have moving forward...with everyone coming back from injuries. I think this next draft and FA period should be spent on DB's and pass rushers. This team is not as far from being relevant as it was last year. Their are still some holes in the team talent but man I love the direction. This team is actually fun to watch right now. Our O-line is not as bad as some make it out to be. I think next year D Bell moves to right tackle and Harriston stays at left or vise versa. That line is big and good. As for the "D", having Kyle back will help. Actually having some pass rushers will help. I really think with a couple good draft picks this "D" could be good, I mean a real "D" next year.

Bill I always read your comments after the game. I look forward to them. Thanks for posting.

Fitz did everything he could to get us this win. Stevie needs to make those catches. The other thing we see is our need for a pass rush. This team is better than last year, but still missing pieces.