BillsVet

In the five drafts from 2005-09, there were 18 QB's taken from picks 20-100. Of that group, only Aaron Rodgers is what I would consider a long term starter. If you add in the 2010 and 2011 drafts, there were 6 guys taken in this range, and early returns indicate that 1 of them will be a long term guy (Dalton) with one having potential (Kaepernick). That's 24 guys with, at most, 3 having a high enough ceiling to be a starter. Each draft is different, but with the value teams place on QB, finding a guy late in the first or in the second and third isn't that great of odds. This is what happens when you don't get one from the beginning and stubbornly reject conventional wisdom of taking one high early in a rebuild.

Gailey/Wannstedt being worse than DJ/Fewell/Van Pelt is quite telling after 3 years of rebuilding.

I would love to see the fallout if Chan, Nix, et al. go to RW's house after the season and the owner tells Chan to have someone else call the plays. The offense has regressed and we've seen RW call for coordinator heads before. After all, if your best assets, Spiller and Johnson, aren't being utilized so Chan get get his people on the field, it extends beyond play-calling. It's a waste of the owner's money.

The Bills did not sign and draft multiple players the preceding 3 seasons, change schemes twice, and expect to only begin playing tough D mid-way through this season. They were thought to be a top unit entering the year, and they could not improve until competing against lesser competition. If you want to stalk me on TBD, so be it. If your standards of excellence are low, so be it. But don't tell me about negativity when the current regime is 15-30 and will most likely miss the playoffs in their third and the franchises 13th season.

I would hope there'd be a defensive improvement when your last four opponents have been Miami, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Saint Louis. That said, UCONN is right that the league isn't concerned about defense. It's offense the league knows attracts fans and they've enforced the roughing the passer and PI penalties so as to inhibit defenses. The recipe for a championship team features an explosive offense like Green Bay or New England and hope to get a few stops and/or turnovers on defense.

Buddy said a lot of things at his introductory press conference later proven as complete fallacy and hyperbole. When he said building the right way, I wasn't sure what the wrong way was, because every team builds through the draft. But Nix went out and showed how to rebuild the wrong way: forcing a defensive scheme they weren't near ready for and failing to find a QB. Those 2 items are guaranteed to stop a rebuild in its tracks. Nix was very arrogant that New Year's Eve Day, making fun of the Raiders, claiming to get 35 calls a day for the HC jobs and saying they weren't far away. And while he claimed not to be the smartest guy in the room, he thinks he is. 15 wins and 3 years later he's been proven to be anything but smart.

If you quantify success or failure based on metrics only, then sure, Fitz looks OK. And while this isn't a black and white argument (the HC bears fault) Fitz cannot do certain things well enough to win games. His deep ball remains the worst or near worst in the NFL. He is wildly inaccurate on even medium throws and there's nothing suggesting this will change. Go on citing stats as evidence that he's better. He's not, and while not the biggest problem, he hinders more than helps the team at the most important position.

Buddy and Chan were kicked to the curb not long ago and have been out to prove everyone wrong. Changing course now on their appointed QB would undo what they've been striving for, i.e. an admittance of a terrible decision showing they're unworthy of their respective positions.

Football is a tough game for tough people. Too bad Chan isnt tough and a mediocre coach. Rebuild faul and on to a new coach...hopefully.

Is this because they're hiding people using funnels and other alcohol guzzling implements? Just kidding. We'll be pulling in tomorrow to Hammer's Lot.

You failed to answer my question. When you're well enough to do so, and would prefer not to on this forum, you can PM.

Answer me this: Do you think Buddy Nix is satisfied with being 5-7 and on the extreme fringe of the playoff picture in his third season of rebuilding? I'm not delusional enough to think you'll ever be more than a shill for the organization, but the OP made a point and you didn't answer. Back on topic though. Perhaps Arthur Moats isn't a SAM or even starting grade, but moving a player around so frequently makes it appear the coaching remains indecisive. What say you?

They're 15-29 in nearly 3 seasons and you're still banging the drum for the organization? Even if you discount everything that preceded Nix, Gailey, et al. there's no excuse for not making the playoffs this season. None. Zero. At this point, I have to believe you're pulling an ieatcrayonz with posts like this. You really cannot be serious anymore, are you?

No he's not. But some of the posters here are close to that age.

He's the latest version of Mike Jasper. They're actually changing him to DB and stashed him on the PS to prevent teams from picking him up.

Which team is trending upward and which is going nowhere again? Which team gives their fans something to have a little hope in and which one doesn't? Which one is more likely to have a bonafide franchise QB and which one may get one in the next draft? I'll agree there is no blueprint for rebuilding. I can also tell you that rebuilds aren't successful when you radically change the defensive scheme twice in 3 years. They normally don't succeed when that rebuilding team avoids drafting a QB within the first two seasons to develop. Donahoe was 31-49 in 5 seasons. Levy/Brandon 27-37 in 4. Buddy Nix is 15-29. Everyone agrees the first two groups weren't good enough, but the last guy, with almost 3 complete seasons, is worse. Is it rebuilding or tearing down?

Nix not having a backup plan and going all-in with Fitzpatrick is the worst thing he did these past 3 seasons. Upon his hiring, Nix had 2 years of starting tape on Fitzpatrick (08 and 09) and still insisted after 2010 on making him the unquestioned QB. And then they sign or trade for 3 other guys who they really don't want to play because that threatens their unwavering support in Fitz. I'm not crazy about all the resources it took Shanahan and Carroll to find their guys, but the fact remains they valued the position more than this group has. And when they realized their mistakes, they were proactive in correcting them. I guess this is what you get when you hire septuagenarian GM's who've been scouts and haven't managed anything in the front office. Even as Director of Pro Personnel in SD, he was working out of Tennessee. He's above his pay grade and the results show it.

What most people like you don't understand about rebuilding is that each year players are aging and contracts are expiring. This year alone, the Bills have decisions to make on Byrd, Levitre, and perhaps even McKelvin. Next year, every player is a year older and the Bills are no further along in the rebuild process. I'd even argue this rebuild is worse than the previous attempts under Levy and Donahoe, which goes against the conventional wisdom that Nix was a better talent evaluator. Well, he's not a better GM if the record means anything. The two teams that started rebuilds in 2010, Seattle and Washington, are both demonstrating success after 2 seasons. Seattle is 7-9, 7-9, and 7-5. Washington 6-10, 5-11, and 6-6. Both are in the playoff hunt while the Bills have been all but eliminated. If the standard of excellence is not winning but losing with a better roster on paper, well then Buffalo has succeeded. Too bad that doesn't get you a playoff appearance.

Dick Jauron/Perry Fewell: 27-37 (06-09) with Marv Levy and Russ Brandon the GM's. Chan Gailey: 15-29 (10-present) with Buddy Nix leading the front office. Is there anything else that matters? And why after 2+ seasons rebuilding can this franchise not win more than 35% of their games?

Are you saying Jauron should have been retained? There'd be a lot of continuity by now. The Bills can win games with Fitzpatrick. As a matter of fact, he's won 8 since the 3-0 start to the 2011 season.

Any of those guys QB's? The vast majority of elite QB's in the NFL who get to the playoffs, are taken typically in the top 10 of the first round. It's much more nuanced than just getting great players. It's about getting the players where this team needs them. And right now they need a QB.

A few stops, even against the Patriots, is not a metric I'd cite to demonstrate improvement. But, if some defensive stops are indicative of improvement, I'll counter with that 3rd and 17 last week and allowing the Colts to go 8 of 16 on third downs. In crucial moments they come up short, as evidenced by their showing last week. The standard was a lot higher and they've come up woefully short in all phases. They don't force a lot of turnovers, the linebackers are atrocious, and they're 31st against the run. There are no excuses in the third year of a rebuild.

I doubt anyone expected a mediocre to average defense, with some predicting Buffalo would be top 5 this year. It's also amazing that the "improvement" in their last 2 games came against rebuilding teams with rookie QB's.

Study hall distractions? Book reports must be a pain. If a big part of the draft is dumb luck, it sounds like the Bills going back to about 2002 have had a lot of dumb and not much luck.

Nix's appearance today on GR reminded me of the Chan Gailey introductory PC. That day, he used an inordinate amount of time to disparage those who said the Bills weren't getting interviews, etc. by resorting to the Baghdad Bob-esque line of saying they got 35 calls a day among other preposterous claims. Buddy's frustration comes out when he is forced to defend. He isn't tactful, doesn't respond well to (much deserved in this case) criticism, and thinks more highly of himself to have to answer these types of questions. He could have provided the political answer and be done with it, but he didn't. It reflects poorly on him and the organization.