BillsVet

Marcus Easley was parked on the practice squad, or in other words, made available to every other team in the NFL for their 53 man roster. He was not signed, which indicates to me that he's not in the top 160 or so of WR's in the NFL. Given that Pro Personnel departments know everything about other teams' rosters, why would they eschew Easley? TJ Graham is a guy I wouldn't bank on to start or contribute in 2013. He's still a project type with mediocre hands and isn't a strong route runner.

I've made my point known earlier in this thread. Here goes once again: This is a nuanced argument, not solely about the player being a "difference maker". Scheme, cap hit/contract, and ability to replace the player are part of the conversation as well. Either the Bills believed a 1 yr 1.3M contract was too expensive, he didn't fit their plans or a combination of both. We'll see. At the same time, you can make a rebuild worse by stripping away everything. Nix did it in 2010 when he arrogantly said they'd go from a C2 4-3 to a 3-4. It didn't work. Now, they're overhauling the offense, which means they'll need a QB, 2 WR's (Smith, Graham, and Easley aren't #2s) and perhaps at TE (all good teams have one), and a G (Levitre's gone). That's a lot of personnel moves in one year. Nelson wasn't the problem, nor is 1.3M that outrageous a contract for a possession receiver. Until they prove themselves with a rookie OC and a rookie HC, and a rookie GM, these moves will be questioned. And if David Nelson can't be counted on to recover from an ACL injury suffered in September, what then of Chandler who had one in December? Both aren't renowned for their speed.

Apparently some believe David Nelson went back to the 1960s to have his ACL repaired. That, or they'll support OBD above all else and make claims to validate their opinion.

Robert Quinn had 10.5 sacks for STL last season. Seems like he's well on his way to being very good. To Bill's point: Not seeing the QB this year. I do know that not taking one in what appears to be the QB rich years of 2011-12 means you have to come away with one this year, and that usually means the first round. It remains mystifying why and how the GM missed on so many QB's. They are in the dire predicament today because he failed so repeatedly.

Buddy's track record in UFA and in the draft tells me this won't be a problem at all. 2013 is looking like another rebuilding campaign. That's a lot of starters to get in one off-season.

Have you looked at the depth chart recently? There's more than one off-season worth of improvements for this team to be playoff caliber. Paring it down further doesn't change.

When Buddy Nix is making decisions for you. Is it possible to find a starting QB, 2 solid WR's, and 2-3 starting LB's in one off-season? Say nothing of TE, perhaps G, DE depth, and DB depth. That's a lot to need in one year.

Guess Buddy wasn't lying when he said they'd been in contact with Nelson's agent. They called to say the team wasn't tendering an offer. It's one thing to non-tender when you have better options on the roster. It's another to do so when your receivers consist of SJ, Brad Smith, TJ Graham, and some fringe NFL types. SJ's been banged up the last 2 seasons, TJ Graham is small, and Smith shouldn't be in your top 5. Nelson will never be great, but decimating the WR corps without options is what this franchise always does. When injuries inevitably occur, the WR depth will be exposed as lacking-once again. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

This is all nice, but how does it explain going 16-32? Cue blaming the fired guy.

Eddie Robinson is probably available too.

How about low information Bills fans? There's a never ending supply.

The straw-man.

Chris Brown getting his information from Buddy "I get 35 calls a day" Nix? Oh yeah.

Marrone's putting his stamp on the team and one really wonders who's making personnel decisions at the top. Is it Whaley, Nix, who? The roster is extremely thin from 1 to 53, notably at WR. To expect to get 2 productive WR's this off-season in addition to finding a better QB, better LB's, perhaps another guard, TE help, DE's, and another safety is far-fetched. 40% of the current 60 guys signed are fringe NFL players IMO.

Heard something about a party in the garden, right? Hard to say now what the team is thinking, but neither Nelson nor D. Jones were ever going to be dependable second receivers. They need better. At the same time, the WR group isn't deep or talented. I guess they feel a 3rd or 4th WR isn't worth a second round tender or know they can improve. Either way, it's a position very weak.

Which teams are winning with outstanding guard and safety play? Not many. The Bills went into the 2009 draft needing two guards, and they drafted for straight need with 2 of their first 4 picks. It's a trend the Bills follow seemingly every year, taking a player to fill a position they have no one or little depth at. It's resulted, as others have noted here, in the team never being rebuilt, just cycling through players and the roster remaining thin. It's good to get solid players like Wood, Levitre, and Wood. But this is a more nuanced topic.

Sounds like posturing on the team's behalf. Basically telling the player and agent that they'll go that route if they can't make a deal IMO. Byrd cannot be allowed to leave. You can't blame an agent for trying to capitalize on what will probably be the player's most lucrative contract during his career.

Brandon either didn't want to embarrass Nix, was advised he can't fire him or told Nix to retire after the draft. If none of the above, then he's plain clueless. We don't know how much scouting Nix did prior to the restructuring in January. Perhaps they don't want to lose all those travel points Nix picked up this past fall. Or they actually think his scouting work is still worthwhile. Either way, he should be done on 1 May. If not, well, then not much has changed in the personnel department.

Levitre's agent doesn't care about where AL ranks among NFL guards, nor should he. He'll point at those recent contracts noted here, highlight the player's durability, and convince a team that paying a guard will help them win now. There are several teams that have to spend this off-season. And the OP's list clearly demonstrates that teams will pay good money for guards. I agree the Bills create a lot of holes throughout their roster, but within the past 4 years they haven't drafted well enough to lose significant UFA's, save perhaps Posluszny. Now, that 2009 class featuring Levitre, Wood, and Byrd are coming due. And it also speaks to the lack of depth on this team, which is typically razor-thin and when an injury occurs, forces them to dumpster-dive on the waiver wire or insert some late round rookie. This has occurred for years and Buffalo and creates a convenient out when the team predictably nose-dives around the middle of the season.

So why haven't the Bills cut him yet? They've had 2+ weeks now.

Nix, once again, put this team in a terrible hole with that contract. He bowed to media pressure to re-sign the guy, and now they've got a bad contract that yields little benefit by cutting him. Fitz's starting days are over, and it's that awful contract keeping him around. The other unique aspect is that prior to re-signing TJ, Fitz was the only QB signed for 2013. It's one thing to get 2 QB's, but not having any signed is leaving yourself wide open. You have to believe other teams would feed on that sort of thing.

Apparently some people hold grudges against columnists who aren't all rainbows and unicorns over their favorite (generally losing) sports team.

You forgot to note your sarcasm. I'll do it for you: /sarcasm

Jackson's had 2 opportunities to show he belongs as a NFL starter and couldn't get it done. Believing he's now capable to start in Buffalo with a new, shiny, and unknown coaching staff is complete madness. He's 17-17 as a starter, offers less than a 60% career completion rate, is about 1:1 in TD to INT rate, and played the majority of snaps in 2 of his 6 seasons outside Buffalo. QB's just don't get markedly better after 7 seasons in the NFL

Nix's influence has been reduced significantly. Brandon will say otherwise, but this was done because Buddy is above his pay grade as a GM. He may have slight value in a scouting role, but building a plan and seeing it through is not his strong-suit. 16 wins in 48 games should demonstrate this beyond dispute. Decisions made on personnel people aren't as visual as say, the HC or DC. At the same time, I'm more concerned with who's picking the players than those coaching them. That's not to say a HC, DC, or OC is irrelevant, but Gailey gets plenty of blame (deservedly so) yet it is Nix more responsible for this mess.