BillsVet

They're trying to win now to help renovate an aging stadium. In WNY you sign Mario, trust in Buddy, hope to win, inevitably lose, and still wait for the check despite the results.

No one should care about Asper save for one point. The current team is not stacked with talent at positions despite what Brandon said in January. And so, when you take a guy in the 6th round who you like in the early part of the year only to cut him in August, it speaks to the point the personnel team isn't on the same page. And given the lack of a vision advanced by the cell phone challenged GM, I should think this really isn't surprising.

I would agree turnovers can partially be aided by scheme and thus coaching. But as far as QBR is concerned, teams were beating this team running the ball all season long. I chalk that up to a lack of personnel and less on coaching. Of course Wannstedt was completely inept, but his LB play was pretty awful too. Right now we know that Pettine is an improvement, based on the past few years, over his predecessor. Marrone/Hackett are something of unknowns but people hope they're better than Gailey. .

And the the 2013 regular season might well resemble Gailey's first in 2010. People aren't buying Nix anymore. And someone dares compare Ozzie Newsome who built or helped build 2 SB winners to Buddy Nix. Whoa.

Good coaching can cover up some personnel flaws, but it'll never completely do so. It doesn't make up for poor QB play, not protecting the QB, not having receivers, not getting a pass rush, not making tackles, and not creating turnovers. Marrone is still in the honeymoon phase of his tenure. Pettine is a proven DC with a good track record (unlike his 2 predecessors) and the OC we're told is an offensive prodigy (we'll see). Still, the HC and his staff cannot make up for bad drafting, which has been a hallmark of this organization for years.

Can Marrone still play guard? If so, it'll allow them address the other 5-7 positions that need starters and depth.

Draft Chance Warmack. Hopefully the Chiefs don't take him #1 and he falls to us.

Yep. Scheme versatility is something good DC's are looking for. NE drafts for it, and so should Buffalo. Pettine is the first coordinator in years I've got some faith in.

It's pretty well-known when a team contacts a player to re-sign. And typically you try to get the player under contract before the current deal is expiring, which it appears the Bills didn't do with Levitre in 2011/early 2012. I don't recall the Bills attempting to get him under contract last year, which speaks to the GM's plan. He's looking for guys who can win in the phone booth, not be mobile like other teams want in their OL. Now they can insert player A who weighs 325-335 who fits the Nix mold.

I would love to know why did the Bills not fire Buddy Nix when it became clear they had flamed out in 2012? Did they need more evidence his plan failed? Given the nature of this franchise and their almost iron-curtain like lock on information they may have retained Nix to avoid further embarrassment. Which plausible reason does anyone provide for having the guy who failed in his first rebuild hang around for the second? That he has info on RW? Sure. Smithers won't be taken seriously until Nix is gone. And as always, they're late doing that because the franchise is concerned about how things look.

Sad that it'll probably take another year to learn this. Meanwhile, buy your season tickets for 2013. Wonder what the slogan will be this year? Change is good, even when it's the same.

We get it. You believe that it's luck to have a great QB fall into your lap and everything else is mere gravy. The point is, you'll never get that QB when you can't evaluate the position properly. And in your world, that precludes the team from ever being successful again because they're not lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Well, I believe you make your own luck and Nix has a tendency to not do that. Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyler Thigpen, Vince Young, and Tarvaris Jackson indicate to me the GM is always late to the party and gets leftovers. Hard to get your "franchise" QB when the guy can't evaluate the position and won't draft a guy.

They need three straight home run drafts where the team gets 3 players per, particularly at the QB, DE, WR, OT, and perhaps CB positions. Good guard, safety, and linebacker play is nice, but it's not winning games. For me, it's going to take a minimum 10 wins and a playoff appearance. To be so bad for so long, especially these past 13 seasons should mean a higher standard from the new people in charge.

Given that Buddy and Shawne are so close, I think Buddy should give Merriman 1M guaranteed to guard his cell phone, take calls, and figure out how to use the dadgum calendar app for him. And maybe the reason the Bills haven't signed anyone yet is because Merriman is no longer making calls on behalf of the GM who may or may not be asleep right now.

How about a front office guard for Buddy's phone? We need one of those too. Lots of holes, new defensive and offensive schemes, new coaching. 2013 looks hard.

Apparently averaging 5 wins per is acceptable to some. Wow. Hope springs eternal. Even with the same bumbling GM.

Pitchforks? How can anyone retain someone, advocate for that guy, and expect fans to nod in agreement?

Nix will not be fired. Modrak was.

Scott Berchtold just threw up in his mouth. The Bills VP of Communications job just got a lot harder. Wow. Why does this seem like this seem like Dumb and Dumber with this GM at the helm?

I'd hate to be the northern or western area scouts. Those guys gotta feel unloved. It's a nuanced argument debating the players taken and their respective region. But to exclude a significant area of the nation 3 years in a row is not a coincidence. If you always do what's familiar you'll never know what you're missing.

Has ICB reported that Buffalo carried over 90M in cap room from 2012 yet?

But can they do this in a year where they are clearly rebuilding? Resources are clearly limited and let's face it, they're closer to a roster resembling 2010 than anything else. UFA dollars being what they are, the team has ~25M to work with starting Tuesday. I've got to believe that while Nix, Marrone, Whaley, et al. know Fitzpatrick isn't the answer, they'd prefer to keep him on the roster with the cap hit rather than cut him and pay the price. Hard to believe a contract signed in mid-season 2011 is so much a burden during the 2013 off-season.

Does a GM who thinks he's got a team on the verge of success, i.e. the playoffs in Buffalo, spend the kind of money Buddy did last year? I highly doubt it. After all, with clearly a poor roster in 2010, Nix avoided the big UFA's and stuck to lower cost options. I don't expect significant free agent spending, probably more close to what 2010 was when they signed Dwan Edwards, Andra Davis, and (gasp) Cornell Green. If Buddy has a plan it's either taking longer than he expected or it's just a very poor one. The latter seems more likely.

Like others, I wanted Nix gone after this 16-32 debacle from 2010-present. Teams don't typically fire GM's after only 3 seasons, but I'd make the case Nix's record has been so poor that it's warranted. I'm not sure what precluded them from telling Nix to retire and promote Whaley. It stands to reason someone with 15 years experience in personnel is ready to step up. Then again, it's in-line with an organization that rarely lets in outsiders for high positions like GM, Donahoe being the exception. I'm not sure what they have to hide, but retaining Nix is a head-scratcher. Particularly with Whaley there now 3+ years. Every time the Bills re-brand, I have the feeling very little has changed. Perhaps that's not the case and Nix has been relegated to GM emeritus without us knowing, but until he's gone it doesn't seem like personnel evaluation changed much.

The difference is Pettine, who already is head and shoulders above anything the Bills have had since Dick LeBeau. While I have trust in what he's going to do, it's hard to see a lot of success without more horses to run. And right now that means improving CB and LB. As for Mario, well, Bruce racked up some great seasons playing a more modified 3-4. They need pass rush to help MW though. Someone on the other side to keep teams honest in pass protection so they're not sliding to the left side.