BillsVet

Jim McNally used to coach the Bills OL and was handed very little to work with. Not surprisingly, the OL struggled particularly running the ball in short yardage. What should concern people is the team doesn't use high resources on their OL, instead focusing on players from the waiver wire, practice squads, or late round draft picks to round out their OL. Meanwhile, several teams are drafting mobile athletic types who can move, not the space eater win in a phone booth type preferred by Nix. At this point no one knows who'll start at LG, a position that demands outstanding agility. Urbik's penciled in at RG, the RT position is a question mark, Glenn has 1 year under his belt, and Wood seems solid. The depth behind them isn't strong either, marked by plenty of UDFA's and street FA types. The line is not in any way shape or form a strong point despite who the coaches are.

And Byrd's been in 3 in 4 NFL seasons. There's a chance for a lot of things, but it's a huge leap to think not showing for TC will mean his play suffers significantly to warrant a smaller contract on the open market. There's a chance he could have another All-Pro season in a scheme that should generate more pressure and therefore more inadvertent throws into coverage. The point to all of this is Byrd will get paid. If the Bills don't like paying the going rate, well, it's Peters 2.0. And that worked for the player and agent last time.

Huh? That's a heckuva a stretch to declare missing the off-season automatically means him playing poorly and therefore he won't get the cash after this season? Revis held in 2010 for the entire post-season and did just fine and yes, I recognize one is a CB and the other a S. It's probably the last thing on Byrd and the agent's mind going into negotiations. Byrd's adapted fine to playing in 3 defenses in 4 seasons. I doubt it'll take much to pick up what Pettine's preaching.

Goldson is two years older, has four less INTs and four less fumble recoveries in playing 19 more games than Byrd.

Some are still bashing Jason Peters 4 years after he was traded so this isn't surprising. Homerdom knows no bounds.

Who cares? Dude hasn't played for the Bills since 2008. Move on already.

If Ozzie Newsome makes mistakes, what does that make the tenures of Donahoe, Marv, Brandon, and Nix? And if the standard of excellence is perfection, every GM falls short. Bills fans can only dream of having a QB worthy of re-signing with the team after winning in the post-season.

I'm not sure if I'd call it hatred, but If Russ was as concerned with being semi-real as he is with optics, perhaps more fans wouldn't question his integrity. It's one thing to talk about establishing an analytics department and then not do it. But to tell fans the GM (who delivered no results) was going to be around for a long time, people have a right to question the guy's frame of mind and remain dubious about his motivations. Brandon's been in top level management with this organization since early 2008 and he certainly wasn't just hired 1/1/13 as you indicate. In 5 lackluster seasons he rose from COO/GM to CEO and now to team president without any on-field results. It's for that reason that people will be skeptical about Russ Brandon, as he will be identified with poor results.

I take this as a shot against Eugene Parker, who has a habit of negotiating in the public arena.

Did Brandon just say it's all about wins and losses? Doesn't he know that it's whether you can say the roster is better? Russ needs to get his facts straight and start reading TBD.

We can only hope Whaley is ahead of the curve on league trends and drafts better than the man he was apprenticed to. If so, the Bills may have a chance. But yeah, before everyone gets all hyped up about every move this off-season, I'll wait for the results. After many years of poor play, it's the only logical response to this organization.

Not accusing you of that. My point is certain people are redefining success and it's a final desperate attempt to avoid blaming OBD. . No one gets credit in the NFL for building rosters and those who state this in lieu of actual on-field results clearly can't be objective and a fan.

Thank goodness the roster is unquestionably better. Wins and losses don't really matter during the perpetual rebuilding at OBD.

You'd think the Bills had won a third of their games these past 3 seasons. Rampant complaining for no reason, right? Who is the GM, Whaley? Someone who's been around for these 3 years of great success. Have we established he's a solution already? As for Nix, he hired his own college scouting and pro personnel director, the former of which came aboard after Modrak got to play in two drafts and received a vote of confidence from the owner. Nix may not be responsible for the 10 playoff less seasons before he became GM. But he didn't end them and if he himself couldn't change that, what evidence is there people he picked will either? Meanwhile, it's guys like Brandon and Overdorf who remain with influence over the football side of the house. Some things never change.

This isn't Texas hold 'em. I get that subterfuge is a part of the game, but Brandon continues to say things which are hardly believable. Like Nix putting a better team on the field (record says otherwise) or Nix would be GM for a long time (16 days to be exact) and that an analytics department would be started (it hasn't been). This is a man who convinces people via a marketing department that things have changed when the front office isn't much different today than when Dick Jauron was fired. We can quibble about truth, but it's clear Brandon is showing that he's put on his big boy pants. But in the process, he has no results to have established any credibility with, thus people are dubious and playing a wait and see game. I for one can't stand Belichick, but he's got results to back himself up with while Brandon has nothing but the Toronto series, 2 years as GM where the franchise was lost in the desert, and a shiny new title he's got from sidling up to RW for years.

Cordy Glenn performed like an erector set at the beginning of the season. Then he fell down when the offense was deconstructed as opponents figured out their scheme. Someone needs to rebuild the erector set so that the offense isn't negatively effected (sic).

The question should be: Do you want to compare an unknown entity (2013 organization) with a known failed entity (2008 organization). And of course, it's like people asking would you trade the 2010 Bills with Gailey et. al for the 2013 version full of hope and change. That's stellar logic there. How about trading the 2009 Bills for the 2012 version? Both had the same record, both had HC's jettisoned, and both were the last season for the GM. So, the question should be, what's changed?

Funny that Nix now becomes a special assistant. It would be like getting a promotion at work when your boss retires and he remains as a consultant. Talk about uncomfortable. Not aware of another team who keeps their retired GM around in an emeritus type role with the team. It's truly bizarre, but the Bills are adept at going counter to what other teams do without setting the pace anywhere.

Russ Brandon, ever the marketeer in chief. I realize he can't be 100% open about everything happening at OBD, but he's told some whoppers to a fan base he courts every off-season. Whatever trust he has should decrease, but it probably won't.

Why? Oh goodness why? DOOMED!

It's a prerequisite this time of year when people realize the TE position is weak. Next thing will be people saying is how a 215# WR can replicate what a 240 pound guy can do in terms of match-ups.

How many good teams have mediocre let alone bad GM's? And how many GM's get to a second chance to rebuild a franchise after their first attempt fails? What has Buddy done to instill any level of confidence that everything will come together now in 2013? It must be May.

Byrd and Parker would not be judged kindly in league circles if they took a deal less than Dashon Goldson's 5 year 41.25M deal with 22M guaranteed. Using that as a baseline and considering Byrd is a better safety, 2M might be a bridge too far. We don't know the nature of the offer or what the player is seeking. I highly doubt Parker will ask for less than what Goldson received and if that's the case, then the agent wants at least 8.25M yearly, but probably more like ~9M per. So the Bills are probably offering ~7M and the agent is balking. Not surprising, but perhaps initial offers. In which case, one would hope this dialogue between sides continues.

I wish you would be more positive.

Crazy as 'ol Buddy on the backroads of Mississip looking for another diamond in the rough. Individual players still don't tell me about a team. Even if the roster is better (and it should be) the record still doesn't illustrate that. Why? The answer, IMO, is simple. Personnel placed into a fluid environment of changing schemes will not produce results. Buddy Nix himself ensured that when he made a few key decisions, namely the defensive scheme change that had guys like Kyle Williams masquerading as a 1/0 tech NT. On offense, he seemed to be building the offensive line for the exact opposite of what Gailey wanted to do. While Nix wanted his 330 pound blockers, Gailey wanted a short quick passing game suitable for his lesser QB's that didn't run the ball from anything but a spread based scheme. And then, they draft their water bug back who wasn't a between the tackles runner. Where is the cohesion there? You can't ever build a team when forcing players into a revolving door or schemes. It doesn't and will not work. Players take time to learn how to play in new alignments, and they certainly aren't set up for success when their talents are not suitable for a scheme.