BillsVet

Mark Gaughan from the BN disagrees: Gaughan BN article They aren't required to spend it, nor does it increase the minimum for that team. I can see the Bills requesting the carry-over while ST sales are going on, then fall back and not spend it. Interestingly enough, the Buccaneers and their owner, Malcolm Glazer, requested the carry-over this week. Reportedly, they'll have 60M in cap space to work with.

The rebuild needs a large infusion of talent, especially now that they've junked the previous defense. If they don't add a dependable WR and DE in UFA, it's hard to see them improving with draft picks and low cost options off the street, from practice squads, and UDFA's. That said, I still don't expect to see any major spending in UFA - that would hurt the bottom line too significantly. Besides, 2/28 is the deadline for Buffalo to request to carry over their 21M in cap dollars. Not doing so tells me where they stand with respect to adding good pieces for 2012. Keep Johnson and sign another solid WR. Because David Nelson, Derek Hagan, Donald Jones, and Marcus Easley aren't the answer right now.

Rebuilding football teams don't have the luxury of strictly taking BPA. That is, unless they're going with a top QB, pass rusher, or perhaps LT and don't have one already. And from a supply and demand perspective, RB's with above average VORP aren't hard to find. Although someone will rebut with the below concept: Dan Williams yes, Anthony Davis not so much. If the confirmation that a top 10 pick is good because he gets decent PT when the starter is hurt, well, rebuilding in perpetuity will become common all around the NFL. NFL teams do not build around RB's at this point in the evolution of NFL offense and justifying Spiller's selection because everyone behind him in the draft wasn't good outlines the fallacy of the pick. Regardless, the Bills from 2003-2010 have been one of, if not the poorest drafting teams in the NFL. And it's occurred with 4 men as GM.

He's a victim of moving to the 40 front, in that he's best served as a 5 technique. Sure, he played DT in Baltimore some years ago, but there's a price to changing defenses despite what some believe. Edwards won't be paid what's in his contract for 2012 to be a backup. Buffalo isn't keen on having depth in certain places aside from younger, less costly players.

Does SJ make the team better or worse? If it's the former, keeping him is essential to building a football team. The italicized demonstrates the absurdity here. Derek Hagan is a journeyman, with 109 receptions for 1,221 in 6 career seasons whereas SJ's production in one season is about 80% of that. If decisions were made in a vacuum, sure you could save the cash and let SJ leave. Except it means your top wideouts become David Nelson, Donald Jones, and Derek Hagan who are 2 former UDFA's and a street FA. It appears SJ is working with the team on a deal and that's good. At this point, the team knows that they need him more than he needs them. And that's why there's ongoing negotiations.

Anyone who watched SF in the playoffs could see that outside of Vernon Davis, the niners didn't have a viable receiving threat. Michael Crabtree is OK, but they need another guy, and most quality teams have 3 guys capable of making catches. I haven't seen one player get a contract extension yet this off-season. This isn't a Buffalo thing, it's league-wide, but we'll see what happens after the period to place tags expires. If SJ goes, then yes it's clear they're not interested in winning. And that'll be especially awesome if the Bills don't request to carry over their unused cap money of 21M from 2011 to 2012. I love it when people have to show their hand and this off-season they'll have to do plenty of it. Of course, they could carry over the money and then never use it, which we won't know until the regular season after ST's have been sold.

Yes, several teams are beneath the cap, but I cannot see how the Bills have helped their situation much the past few years. When you sign players like Cornell Green, Brad Smith, Chris Kelsay and Shawne Merriman to decent contracts, it's not good cap management. Meanwhile, we're noting that Buffalo's situation is similar to other teams? Ever wonder why NE is always in good shape and their personnel so much better? The key to a successful team is an owner who supports a front office. Unfortunately, ownership is absentee, and the front office with a limited payroll is spending on players who offer little to nothing. And while I'll applaud them for keeping Kyle Williams, they've more than shown they aren't re-signing players before they peak in value and still keep players who shouldn't be around. That's how their situation is relatively similar to successful teams.

There is no minimum to spend until 2013, and Buffalo exploited that by being nearly 21M beneath the salary cap in 2011. It will be interesting to see that should they choose not to use this option how it will be explained. After all, when you've missed the playoffs a NFL worst 12 seasons in a row, it only makes sense to do as much as possible to get better players in here.

Let's state it this way: With Fitz the Bills ceiling is probably 9 wins with a solid defense. In a league where there's a premium on scoring, the Bills averaged less than 15 points per game during their 1-8 finish. If your QB is limited to a short passing game, teams are going to figure it out mighty quick, which is what happened during and after the Cincinnati game when the Bills scored 24 or more offensive points in only 3 of 12 games.

Dwan Edwards is a 5 tech DE and may be a rotational DT in their new scheme, that is if he's not released for cap reasons. Switching defenses so frequently has its cost and Edwards may be the odd man out. To the OP's point, it's imperative to win and fans won't accept mediocrity again in 2012. The HC and GM know this is the season it has to happen, hence the big swing to the 43 and firing of Edwards. It also stands to reason the Bills sign some top end UFA's with their rebuild seemingly in a very low gear. I don't expect Buffalo to be SB champs, let alone the AFC winner, but not making the playoffs is failure. No one wants to hear the Bills tried to sign players in UFA. Sweat doesn't count, only results. And aside from perhaps the aforementioned Edwards and Nick Barnett, Buffalo hasn't signed a meaningful UFA in years. The time is now and it's playoffs or bust.

There's only one problem with all of this: Nix doesn't control RW's money, Jeff Littmann does . And it's been proven time and again that BN talks out of his backside, so trusting him to talk about how they're going to spend is doubly ridiculous. The team has their back against the wall, especially with season ticket sales falling from 55k in 2009 to 37.5k in 2011. This is not the year, it's a make or break one for this franchise. Promising hope and hyping this team isn't cutting it anymore and most fans have finally figured it out.

We'll see how willing they are to go in the right direction this off-season. That is, re-signing SJ and FJ while adding some top UFA's. Just re-signing your own isn't enough and the building through the draft mantra isn't cutting it anymore. They need immediate upgrades all over the field. Buddy and Chan want to be all-in for this season. Whether Littmann allows them to be is another story.

Where does a 40 front get its pass rush from? DE's. And Buffalo doesn't have one proven to be a bonafide pass rusher with the only options on the roster being an aging Kelsay (a base end) and Carrington (another bigger base end). And whatever production from DT's is a bonus. Buffalo needs a 7 tech or 9 tech who rushes from the RDE spot. And anyone mentioning Shawne Merriman clearly is wishing upon a star. The guy is cooked and hasn't rushed with a hand in the ground in his entire NFL career. FO may be off in a few small details, but their analysis is spot-on. Buffalo needs more pass rush help immediately, has no depth at WR where former UDFA's were counted on to provide the difference, and if Johnson leaves they have nothing proven. David Nelson averaged less than 11 yards per reception, and had 50 yards receiving in only 2 of the last 13 games. He is at best a third receiver.

They loved Pears so much they desperately tried to sign Tyson Clabo last July. And they were left standing at the altar when he re-signed with Atlanta. Your history is extremely flawed. Green came in the UFA class of 2010, played 5 games and was cut around mid-season after signing a 3 year 9M contract. Langston Walker was a UFA signing in 2007, played 2 seasons as a RT, then inexplicably was moved to LT before the 2009 season opener (a position he physically was incapable of playing) and was cut to force the cheaper and unproven Demetrius Bell to start. Walker was cut because the team had already moved Brad Butler to RT, and it would have meant Buffalo would be paying multiple millions to a backup. Sound familiar? Geoff Hangartner also was cut for the same reason: he'd be a decently paid primary backup. Langston Walker and Hangartner, while not great players, were salary purges. Same can be said for Jason Peters.

-Teams using 3 receiver sets aren't exclusively vertically oriented. -Both RB's are good receivers, but they're not as good a receiver as an actual one playing the position. -No one uses 2 back sets anymore. No one.

No one runs out of 2 back sets anymore. I can't remember a team doing so in the past few years, as it removes options in the passing game particularly with offenses in 3 receiver sets. The CJ experience in two years really illustrates the lack of a vision with this team. They select a hybrid RB with their first pick in a massive rebuild, then proceed to pass almost 60% of the time while possessing an OL more suited to a power running game. Beyond that, Gailey couldn't find ways to involve their prize RB or simply didn't trust him. Either way, that's a failure on several levels. And I'm willing to bet that Fred Jackson's legs have more life in them than the normal 31 year old back. He's got 817 career carries with short seasons in NFL Europe and the NIFL/UIFL. That's not a lot, but apparently some have forgotten the production Fred had in 2011. He'll be back.

If you think Nix and the Pro Personnel are so outstanding and Pears is a solid RT, how does it explain Nix's signing Cornell Green? I wouldn't give him that much credit with their spotty record in unrestricted free agency. Pears is on his 4th NFL team since entering the league in 2005, so he's no slam dunk starter. Pass protection is pretty easy when your QB has thrown the ball less than two seconds after the snap.

Ironic the WR debate came up before the SB. In big games, an offense needs three receiving threats, and the Giants flashed Nicks, Cruz, and Manningham. When the former 2 were covered, Manningham made plays. The Patriots were a team that banked on 2 TE's and Welker. Green Bay with Jennings, Nelson, Finley, et al. Falcons with White, Jones, and Gonzalez. Saints had their stable of guys. etc. Buffalo has Steve Johnson between the 20s. After him are a bunch of low cost options short on accomplishments and experience. The odds of Jones and Easley both becoming dependable receivers is not high. For every Victor Cruz there are 15 guys who are marginal NFL wideouts. For a team predicated in Chan's offense on the pass, their options are few and far between. That more than Fitz's ribs probably played a huge part in their offensive woes.

More like re-arranging the deck chairs. That 2010 group isn't looking all that good, especially considering their first 3 picks are backups entering their third NFL seasons. I remember Buddy talking about "stacking players on top of players" and they accomplished that. They just didn't find starters. At some point the team will run out of excuses and building through the draft mantra ain't cutting it anymore. Buddy's draft acumen isn't enough to get this team anywhere near the top of the mountain. Sure, 2011 picks look better, but to build through the draft you've got to get about 3 above average starters a year for 3-4 years. Buddy's 1 for 2 in that department at best right now.

It's great to recognize guys in the trenches, but 4 of 5 in the class of 2012?

The old fall back "you've never worked in the NFL, ergo, you know nothing" response. How original. His 2010 draft and UFA signings tell a big story, as well as that pesky 10-22 record since taking over as GM. Really? Because the Bills just promoted Dave Wannstedt to be DC, and his 4-3 Over defense calls for smaller quicker players. Quite the opposite they were looking for when Nix authoritatively went to a 3-4 back in 2010. There's another indication their vision isn't quite you make it out to be. Nix was Pro Personnel Director and didn't work from San Diego, choosing to remain in Tennessee during most of the year. I would ask you to review the 2006-08 drafts which were either average or mediocre.

The problem Nix has, aside from being undercut by cap guys Littmann and Overdork, is that he hasn't put together a vision for what this team is going to be. Buffalo hasn't spent in UFA for years, so their drafts have to be outstanding and a 2010 "meh" draft means they'll be rebuilding in perpetuity. And if he didn't know Modrak was garbage in 2010 after working there since early 2009, then he's not the "top 5 talent evaluator" a lot of people claim he is. Has Buddy Nix ever built a team? Ozzie Newsome built one from the ground floor.

The difference between Ozzie Newsome making this statement and Buddy Nix is clear. One is an outstanding talent evaluator who has an owner, Steve Bisciotti, who'll back him up. The latter is an average at best talent evaluator with an absent owner who's delegated responsibility to bean counters. Cue a Lee Evans criticism of Newsome, but ON drafts a heck of a lot better than Nix ever will. That, and he doesn't flip flop his defenses every 2 years.

At the risk of being called grammar police, dominant is an adjective. Dominate is a verb. Finding talent is step 1, which the Bills still have not accomplished at the money positions, QB, LT, 43DE/34OLB, WR, and CB. There are some younger players, but nothing proven at any of those positions aside from SJ. Step 2 is deciding whom to retain, which Buffalo isn't quite at yet. Buffalo does have Johnson up for a contract, and then Byrd and Levitre next season followed by Wood. Rosters turnover quickly, but that in and of itself isn't necessarily a good thing. The Bills have done it many times over with the same mediocre result.

Basically? What was Jim Bates doing, twiddling his thumbs? Carrington will become the backup based end in their 43. He's not a pass rusher. Dwan Edwards is a 5 technique who's played that position the past 4 years, and even if he becomes a DT in their rotation, he'll backup Williams or Dareus. And we know the Bills aren't interested in paying backup linemen a couple million each year. But you're right, not a whole lot has been lost. They still have no one capable of rushing the QB, are missing at least 1 starting LB, and have another who is unproven at a key position (MLB).