BillsVet

I see a lot of conflation within this debate, including how other teams have bad drafts. The 2010 draft was the first under Nix as GM, and therefore needed to be a good one as they were rebuilding. Buffalo made a decision in one year to transition from Jauron's Cover-2 to a 3-4 defense, necessitating the addition of pieces, both in UFA and the draft. Strategically, this wasn't a smart move. I don't think you can hammer Nix for not taking a QB in 2010, as there weren't many options. But taking Spiller was a bad move strategically for a rebuilding team. As for the Patriots, sure there have been some swing and misses at the top of the draft. But they're better at getting value out of the 2nd-4th rounds and don't miss on their 1st round guys going back to 2008.

Go back to late December. I believe, based on what I've read, that the Pegula's anticipated having Polian in the building and no HC search when the season ended. It didn't happen, that way leaving only Whaley to assist from a personnel perspective as GM in lining up HC interviews. Polian backed out, leaving new owners with no one to advise them on football issues. Whaley did his role then getting HC candidates in front of new owners and then participated in the interviews. The owners made the call and changed the reporting structure to make the GM report to them but now, only the HC reports to ownership. JMO.

A lot of talent went in 2014, on that it's pretty obvious. Unfortunately draft picks aren't just valuable on draft day. They can be used to acquire experienced talent such as a QB. Look, I don't know if Buffalo was interested in Bradford or a guy like Jimmy Graham, but it didn't help being without a first. Negotiations on players like that usually start there (unless you've got a very good veteran-at least in this off-season) and if you don't have one, there usually is no option to acquire the player. I'm not convinced, based on his record, that Whaley is doing anything but flailing around in the dark for the light switch. Sure, there are good moves like trading for Hughes. But then there's signing an oft-concussed Kevin Kolb, drafting Manuel, trading for an already back of the rotation RB in Bryce Brown, drafting Kouandjio,et al. Any GM can make good moves. It's stringing together enough of them and minimizing the misses that makes a great team. The best move this off-season will be made by the owner, who hired Rex Ryan. The ensuing personnel activity is being dictated by his vision for this team and Whaley is playing a supporting role. It's strange that the Bills have departed from their MO in 2015. Call it TPegs' money, call it whatever, but Whaley's job is on the line in 2015. He doesn't have any excuses after this his 3rd year in the job.

Is Whaley clairvoyant enough to know the 2015 draft would be bad a year before it happened?

Seattle had a strong defense in 2013...and then a year later was defeated by a Patriots team that carved them up with short passes and didn't run the ball much with basically the same defensive personnel. And, Seattle had much better QB play in 2014-15 than anything the Bills will put on the field in 2015.

NFL offenses have changed tremendously since the Ravens won SB XXXV. OPI and roughing the passer penalties being called more frequently have helped transition the game into being predicated on scoring points, not stopping the other team from doing so. Where, in the past 10 years, has there been a defense as dominant as the 2000 Ravens or 2002 Buccaneers? There haven't been any.

Colin Kaepernick circa 2012 and Russell Wilson are head and shoulders better than Matt Cassel. As for acquiring a QB...well, I'm a firm believer in swimming out to your ship and not waiting for it to come in. But the attitude prevalent on TBD is it's hard to get a top QB and so you've gotta wait. Tell that to an owner.

And yet, Walsh went after Steve Young and managed to keep that dynasty going well into the 90s after he'd already left. I'll give Rex time to see if ground and pound combined with a good defense works. If it doesn't, they'll be back to square one looking for a QB, but not before the rookie contracts of Woods and Watkins continue to tick. There's nothing worse than being a 7-9 win team, i.e. stuck in no-man's land. Not bad enough to land a top QB prospect and no good enough to make the post-season.

Is it 1985 all over again? I love Ditka, but he was not on the cutting edge 30 years ago. It was Bill Walsh and the passing game, specifically the WCO, that was winning more often. In fact SF beat CHI twice in the playoffs between 1984 and 1988. It was an underachievement for da Bearsss to only win 1 SB in those years.

Buddy Nix...the gift that keeps on giving. Sorry.

How ironic is it that the Bills have let Spiller go and are pursuing Bulaga? Five years ago some advocated rebuilding the OL by drafting Bulaga, but the powers that be decided on the fastest RB in the draft. And now the Bills have no one signed in 2015 from the 2010 draft class.

I do believe you'd get your butt kicked if you said that at my job.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT! LOUD NOISES! Sincerely, Brick Tamlan

Clump was outstanding describing the cap years ago. Miss his posts.

Isn't this a mute point?

The report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (go ahead and doubt the veracity of it) indicates Rex did not want Alonso. And it makes sense because LB's in Ryan's defense are called to do different things than even what Pettine required. Rex Ryan, despite employing Mike Pettine at one time, doesn't do things exactly like MP does. In 2013, Pettine used what he had and Alonso played well. I've long suspected there was a disconnect between coaches and personnel people before Rex was hired. That, by all appearances, has ended and Rex has the authority to shape the team as he needs.

At this point I'd trust Rex to know what he needs and doesn't need. Hughes is a solid player, but I'm not necessarily sure he's a scheme fit anymore. Additionally, the Bills were among the top spenders on defensive personnel in 2014. Re-signing Hughes puts them further up there, but presumably at the cost of building a better OL.

How may running backs dress on game day? And we haven't even spoken about signing a FB yet, which may or may not happen. In 2009, NYJ rushed 331 with Thomas Jones, 108 times with Shonn Greene, and 72 times with Leon Washington. Let's say the Bills run the ball 500 times. Provided they're healthy, McCoy's going to get 275-325, and the other 175-225 will be between FJax, Dixon, and Brown. That's not a lot split 3 ways, and that's before we talk about a back getting some consistency by getting carries.

Trades aren't just players. It's the cap hit one takes on to acquire a player, and in Williams' case the Bills took on some of that, which was somewhat off-set by only surrendering a low round pick. The McCoy deal included an even larger degree of that. As for Bryce Brown, well, the backfield is awfully crowded right now. That deal doesn't look so good in light of the deal made Tuesday night.

I get that most fans don't care who makes personnel moves or the OBD organizational chart. It's not exciting, but following this is very interesting to some. Personally, I like to know the hierarchy I work under, or when I was in the Army, the chain of command and who was making decisions above me. Development and execution of strategy is part and parcel of what a team needs to do. It's not simply players showing up on game day. It's the acquisition of them as it relates to the scheme employed. With the Bills, none of us are going behind that door to see how decisions are made. But when moves happen, like trading Kiko, it reveals a little of how they do things. My personal feeling is Doug Whaley is no longer GM in the classic sense, particularly with the HC not reporting to him. He's akin to what some GM's have become: the people who process transactions but have a seat at the table. They don't run the table anymore because HC's have as much or perhaps more say. And that's because the first guy who gets fired when things go south is the HC.

Well of course I'm making "assumptions." So are you and it's necessary given how none of us are allowed behind closed doors. However, I form my opinion and make "assumptions" based on the actions they've taken. I guess critical thinking dies when confronted with fans who cannot criticize their team under any circumstances. Doug Whaley has become a GM in the mold of Seattle's John Schneider. He doesn't have total personnel control anymore, which I recognize hits to the core of those who don't focus on the inner-workings of the front office. But the relationship between GM's and HC's is rapidly changing in the NFL and Buffalo is one of the teams that has the HC report to the owner and not to a GM. Makes sense given the record of the GM versus the new HC. Think of it this way: Rex is telling Doug what he's cooking, so he gives Whaley a list of things to get at the store. And Rex does the cooking after Whaley acquires the goods.

Here's an example: Last year it was clear the Bills needed an insurance policy for Manuel. After all, the previous year they'd signed an oft-concussed Kevin Kolb knowing full-well they'd draft a QB. But Whaley did not trade for or sign a veteran before or during UFA. Now apparently he's the one doing it? When you compare tendencies with people, things become clear. Buddy Nix drafted players almost universally from the south in three separate drafts. In 2013 though, 2 of the top 3 picks were PAC-12 guys. Did Nix, after years of being a southern guy, suddenly change? Or was it more likely the individual making the decisions had changed? That's my point here. The other scenario is when a big event takes place which prompted people to change their decision making. When RW passed, I think the organization as a whole change because new ownership was on the way and job security was in play. Anyone who's been in management knows that survival is the highest priority when new ownership comes in the door. I don't think Whaley changed this off-season. I think the new HC is driving the change.

Then debate me on why I'm wrong. I'll most assuredly listen to your opinion.

Whaley showed his allegiance to another 2013 pick in Manuel throughout the off-season last year despite EJ showing little. So then there's Alonso, who played well for the Bills during his rookie season, gets injured, and now he's dealt? Doesn't make sense for a GM to give up on a performing player they drafted this quick unless there are behavioral issues during their NFL career. I'm not seeing that with Alonso, so why would the guy who drafted him deal him? ACL injuries aren't so severe that players, even LB's, don't return and play well. IMO, Whaley is acting more like John Schneider does with Seattle, not like a classic GM. After all, we know Buffalo's HC does not report to the GM, but to the owner.