BillsVet

I'm sure you're glad to be home. Merry Christmas and welcome back. I wish I would have known about TBD while I was deployed. Trying to follow the Bills from third world countries with sketchy internet connections and frequent blackouts are tough.

Hey, Buddy had other positions that were more important than LB Well, when you pull 1-2 players from every draft of course it's hard to build a complete team. That, and switching defenses twice in 3 seasons, but who's counting anymore? The rebuild already failed.

Yep. The team hyped Moore and he's been invisible for about a month now. Gotta retain Levitre and Byrd no matter what. If that means not signing a good UFA then so be it, but when you accumulate good players, you won't be able to keep them all. Good teams allow guys to leave and replace them with as good or better options who come from all rounds. Nix can say they've drafted well, but aside from not totally firing a blank on their first rounders, he's been poor in rounds 2-4.

I get the impression Gailey viewed the job in Buffalo as a him versus the league type thing. He wanted to show he could win almost regardless of the QB because his system was better and ahead of the curve. He'd run the spread and show 'em and now he was getting another chance as Buffalo HC. Then he comes here, figures he doesn't need a great QB to implement the spread, and proceeds to win some games in early 2011. That first 3 games then is probably what they refer to when saying Fitz has done it before. Well, I've maintained that Gailey cannot fool anyone anymore because the skill positions, Fitz included, aren't good enough. It started during the Week 4 game against Cincinnati and since then it's been a lot of downhill. I'm not saying Chan is arrogant (like his boss) or anything different than most HC's. But, as you point out, he's been too loyal to his system and the QB he chose.

I'd already forgotten about that brilliant call to have the wildcat QB throw deep, only to be picked late in the 4th quarter. Or, to have the FG unit run onto the field versus the Rams, only to call TO and pull them off the field to punt from the opponent's 34. Then there's talking about the RB's taking turns when FJ was healthy. The list goes on and on and on...

Please enlighten us as to why Chan called a play late in the away NE game, with Stevie and C.J. on the field, to a rookie WR running a route he'd never run before? Chan isn't offensively surprising opponents anymore, and I'd venture to say against good opponents they've been terrible since the Cincinnati game last season. And on defense, they're on pace to allow the most points in team history. Chan is what his record says he is: Bad. Moreover, if the talent is better as many say it is, then why isn't the record? Who does that fall on if it's not Gailey?

Fire Berchtold, Brandon, and Overdorf. They've been there for this whole thing! I was going to say get rid of Chuck Lester, but he's been gone for a few years. It's all their fault.

At the end of season meeting with RW, who else will push for any change and encourage RW to do so? Rumor had it back in 2008 that Brandon pushed to have DJ fired. Brandon knows better than anyone that selling 45k+ season tickets with Nix, Gailey, and perhaps Fitz, is all but impossible. I've been hard on Brandon because he's something of a sycophant, but he's not the problem at OBD. He may, in fact, be part of the solution. The BinT series is not his fault, he just happened to find a billionaire, Rogers, and his stooge, Lind, to overpay for the product. I suspect Brandon will push RW to have Nix retired, Gailey, fired, and Whaley to assume the GM role. Who else depends more on the personnel people more for their own success? It's Brandon.

Well, McGahee was dealt when he made comments about the city of Buffalo. Much different player, but now he's criticizing the BinT, their yearly money-grab. I can see him not being re-signed, as his deal ends after 2013. Hate to think like that, but, it's how this team operates.

Well, if you evaluate the 2010 draft given their 3 seasons in the NFL, only Spiller is a starter on the team. Troup may never come back and wasn't starting before the injury in their former defensive scheme. Carrington's claim to fame is blocking kicks, Easley occassionally doesn't dress, and Moats is a role player. That draft really gave them little, especially at the key positions of QB, WR, OT, CB, and DE. 2011 is shaping up much the same. Dareus is underwhelming, A. Williams toward bust status, Sheppard is strictly a 2 down LB who can't cover, Searcy may see more time when/if Wilson is cut at SS, and Hairston is a backup type. Nix's first 2 drafts are not consistent with being a top 5 talent evaluator. They are the mark of someone who doesn't back up his big mouth, but right now Spiller is his best pick.

Wow, 6 months ago. I trust that there was some dialogue, but it apparently went nowhere. Byrd, meanwhile is represented by Eugene Parker, Jason Peters' agent who forced a trade and subsequent extension with the Eagles. It's a huge if, but if the Bills lose one of the two, I wonder what the opinion of Nix becomes. Aside from the much maligned Posluszny, Nix hasn't really lost anyone that Bills fans really liked and that includes Whitner.

The key to signing players drafted in the 2nd or later rounds who have 4 year deals and should be re-signed is getting them locked up before their final season. Why are the Bills only now talking to Byrd and apparently not even opening talks up with Levitre? Both players were out-performing their deals last season. Maybe Overdorf is being paid by the hour, necessitating the negotiation of only 1 contract at a time. Who knows with these clowns at OBD.

You cannot be serious. Chris Polian never earned his stripes and succeeded in alienating many in that organization which directly led to his and dad's firing. And, if you want to further lower the organization's reputation, eschew Whaley despite clear evidence he was hired for RW to get to know him and later assume the GM job. Not saying it'll be a home run, but this seems to be the plan.

OBD tries desperately to restrict information by keeping as much in-house as possible. It's demonstrated by who the organization hires to be GM and of the last 6 to hold the position, 5 were people who'd already worked at OBD. That said, I suspect Nix isn't going to be fired. If anything, he'd retire. OTOH, firing Gailey means a job search, which will lead to added focus on the organization. Brandon and Nix have to know by now that opening themselves up for that scrutiny makes life only harder. And so, I see Gailey being back, a QB taken high in 2013, and the team hyping said player. Firing executives just creates so much of a hassle, especially when no one wants your job.

The issue is whether Buddy can be trusted to draft someone at the most difficult position to assess. And he's got, after 3 complete off-seasons, major holes at LB and WR. And that's only if they re-sign Levitre and Byrd. If not, they're recycling pieces and that means finding guys in the later rounds, which Nix hasn't proven to do either. If I'm Doug Whaley and the old man won't get out of the way, it may be time to look for another gig. Being an understudy ad nauseam isn't what most front office guys sign up for.

Sounds like a third round version of Ted Ginn Jr. without the kick return ability. And the Bills traded up for him to boot.

I'm not sure on Whitner, his offers were small from Cincinnati and subsequently San Fran. Fletcher and Clements got sizable contracts from Washington and San Fran. And Byrd's status shouldn't depend on the DC. He's played well in both the 3-4 and 4-3 the past 2 years, improving his run support and essentially being the only one in the secondary getting turnovers.

Levitre and Urbik really aren't interchangeable IMO. LG is a position that requires more agility to pull and Urbik isn't that. He'll be fine at RG, but it'd similar to an OT playing LT versus RT. Certainly not a bad thing to retain Urbik, but losing Levitre from that line disrupts whatever continuity they had up the middle. And, it'll mark the first time in awhile, Posluszny aside, where the Bills have lost a talented player in free agency if he leaves. The last where Fletcher and Clements in UFA 2007. Buffalo has some decisions to make on Byrd and Levitre. Both are building block type players and both will command good money on the open market.

I want a coach who does this: And who can forget Dennis Green? I'm sure those guys are available. Dennis Green might need an unlimited McDonalds gift certificate, but otherwise they'd be cheap.

You won't get any argument from me about Nix. Atlanta wisely decided against him and selected an up and coming guy from a top organization. And make no mistake, Dimitroff went to work for a team that just jettisoned Rich McKay, had their coach quit, and were dropped by Bill Parcells. I said Nix was a bad hire from Day 1 and was predictably chastised for not giving him enough time. Well, some fans didn't need to give him time. The guy's intro PC told me all I needed to know, that he was hired because he met the minimum requirements of A) knowing RW and B) working in personnel. When that's all your looking for, you the garbage this team puts out 16 times a year.

I do agree that Jerry Sullivan could draft better than Nix.

Nix interviewed for the Falcons then vacant GM job after Petrino left. That job when to a former Patriots guy, Thomas Dimitroff. http://www.chattanoogan.com/2007/12/21/118981/Buddy-Nix-Eyed-As-Falcons-General-Manager.aspx Still, when you only interview 2 in-house candidates and one of them is later fired, you can only conclude neither were in much demand. Which fits perfectly into the Bills' MO for interviews. Funny thing is, Nix's record is much worse than what Levy/Brandon did. Imagine Brandon throwing that into the argument against Nix.

At least in 85 the Bills had the top pick and Ralph wasn't as old as Methusaleh. Even better, the Bills, after the season, hired a young guy from within. Today, they won't have the top pick, RW is a nonagenarian, and the GM will only know discuss the QB position when it's far too late.

Marv Levy/Russ Brandon GM tenure 2006-09: 27-37 (.421) Buddy Nix GM tenure 2010-present 15-31 (.326) Two non-personnel people have out-done Buddy. I guess Buddy meant it when he said he wasn't the smartest guy in the (football) room. Little did we know that included the reporters covering him.

You wonder if Buddy was just following the Al Davis model for drafting: pick the fastest guy and watch him run.