BillsVet

Your contention remains that Detroit's 3 year rebuild was predominantly on the shoulders of top picks. I would only submit that other teams without the benefit of top 10 picks have successfully rebuilt and done it quickly. The Packers have drafted twice in the top 10 in a decade and have built quite a roster in the past 7 drafts Ted Thompson has run. Baltimore hasn't had a top 10 pick since 2003 and they've successfully rebuilt off the Kyle Boller years. Teams do not need high picks, but if you have them they need to count. Saint Louis has had a bunch and are still a team in transition. Best thing about rebuilding is you don't have to completely bottom out to complete one like Detroit did.

He's the best 6'8" center in the league. NFL that is.

Jay Glazer reported that Buffalo was not listening to offer before Lynch was traded before the 2010 trade deadline. Glazer per PFT re: Lynch There was no long drawn out process for trading ML last year. And while I'm sure some will attack Glazer, this goes in-line with the Bills and their commitment to holding everything close to the vest. Peter King reported that the Bills were a "black hole of information" before the 2011 Draft. I think we can insert that clip from Billy Madison again.

First, I have to ask what the identity of this team is moving forward. Spiller is looking like a nice player, but is this a run first or pass first offense? It doesn't seem like either at this point late into the second season of rebuilding. People here talk up Gailey all the time, but what does this team do well that you can point to and say they're good at? If they're a pass first team, well, now they appear to have two good backs and a mediocre QB. If they're run first, Gailey throws it a lot and abandons the run when things aren't going well or they get one or two scores down. And furthermore, when a team thinks it's rebuilding, just drafting good players isn't enough. Personnel then becomes more targeted and tailored to your team's identity. I just don't get the feeling Buffalo is developing anything than just trying to find players rather than identifying what they want to be. Spiller is an example of that.

Seeing Tashard Choice on the field in third down situations drop passes and run for small gains indicates to me that Chan is in protect mode re: his job. He's not going to allow rookies or lesser experienced players like Spiller to make mistakes when he can take the safe route with people he knows. And he's not calling the downfield throws anymore which were intercepted in games like at NYG. Rather, everything is in the flat, and those short passes every team knows is coming. Chan plays Choice for the same reason DJ had Anthony Thomas start a few years ago when Fred Jackson was waiting in the wings. Thomas was clearly past his prime and offered little, but was the safer option for DJ who had him for three seasons in Chicago. HC's always go with their guys, especially when they need them to get the ball. Coaches are about self-preservation in the NFL and hope that translates into wins. Chan is no different and undoubtedly knows being 10-21 is a lot closer to being unemployed than being 4-12 with cast-offs.

At which point do you run out of excuses for the Bills and their 12 seasons of failure?

How does making the playoffs set Detroit back three or four years? They've gone from bottom of the bottom and turned it into a good team, albeit one with some flaws. Buffalo is not even close to completing their rebuild, but Detroit did it in three seasons.

Only Buffalo could have a RB controversy, and this isn't the first time. The fact that some see Spiller's production as a reason for Jackson's departure shows that fans are prepared for the usual Bills offseason cost-cutting shenanigans.

A few things come to mind reading this thread. Nix was Pro Personnel director when SD made some high dollar signings. Now as Buffalo GM he says they'll build through the draft and he talks RW out of spending. All of this policy sounds more like team restrictions and not the GM's philosophy. That said, Dwan Edwards was a good signing in addition to Barnett.

How in goodness is this an apt comparison? SB contenders similar to the Bills?

Wilson only makes the first round picks. He leaves the late round picks to the personnel guys. Merry Christmas!

Why, so he can be injured again next year? Couldn't someone find a tackle who can play an entire season? Both Bell and Hairston are proving less than durable. Just once I'd like to see this team find someone who can play 16 games.

Didn't care much for the Tebow sucks chants either. Should have seen it coming when someone yelled eff the Catholics on the way in. Tebow's not even Catholic, but crowd behavior wasn't great considering it was Christmas Eve.

Yet if they'd have just followed his draft guide they could have drafted so much better. Someone should propose this as a cost cutting move: Fire the entire college scouting department and order subscriptions to Kiper's service. Imagine how much money RW/Littmann/Brandon/Overdorf could save!

Since when have the Bills been actively signing quality free agents to give them options in the draft? The only decent UFA they've signed since 2006 has been Barnett. I don't see that changing now.

Which NFL franchise takes their fans through the ringer like this one does? This is the same owner who said the team would take a QB last year, but we're not even debating the Toronto thing, which is the main point of the article. It's become so bad we're forced to wonder if the nonagenarian owner is actually lucid.

For those thinking there'd be big changes this year, I guess not. Continuity in 2008-09 as the excuse has been changed to patience 2011-12. The result just happens to be the same or worse.

I never said upgraded, I said a replacement was available who was not a complete drop off the cliff from the starter to the backup. The run defense, much like an offense, is a team thing. Williams isn't the only guy on that DL or the defense as a whole and he definitely isn't the problem. My point remains that a 34 defense needs a different type of player and playing Williams as a 1 gap NT in a 34 is forcing a square peg into a round hole. The Bills defense doesn't have the horses to run a 34 or a 43 at this point. Play Williams as a 1 or 3 tech in a 4-3 and complement him with a decent pass rush and this team is far better defensively.

There ain't nothing on Indianapolis' bench coming as close to filling Manning's shoes compared to Buffalo's situation at RB. Running backs like Jackson, while never fully replaced, aren't as hard to fill in for as an All-Pro caliber QB. I would further add that the loss of Williams allowed Dareus to play a position he's been okay in, thus providing a more than serviceable replacement. While I'd like to have Williams, he's miscast in a 34 and won't ever be the space-eater they need. As for Wood (not mentioned) it'd be easier to offset his loss had the team planned to have someone on the roster who, you know, had actually snapped the ball in the NFL before.

Unless Spiller becomes an All-Pro, drafting a RB with the first pick of a rebuild is not a "sound plan" executed poorly. It is a poor plan executed poorly with little forward thinking considering that trends show teams who can pass and rush the passer are making the playoffs. Hybrid backs like Spiller, while a part of the modern game, aren't drafted this high, especially when the team had huge holes at QB, OT, and OLB.

32 NFL teams build through the draft. That's nothing new. Difference is, some just complete the job while others continue on the treadmill of mediocrity. And some teams, like the Steelers, Patriots, and Packers haven't bottomed out in years, turn their roster over, and continue winning. Having the same philosophy as successful teams doesn't mean Buffalo is set up to achieve the results those teams do. Levy, Brandon, and Nix all tried to build through the draft. The first two failed, the jury is still out on NIx, and the 2010 draft is looking very much like the first two GM's attempts.

Levy and Brandon were made GM, and both Modrak and Guy kept their jobs. How Modrak survived working for 3 GM's is beyond me, but it wouldn't surprise me if Whaley is made GM and Gailey stays around for another year. Remember, it was RW who fired DJ, not Brandon the GM at the time. Most teams' GM fire the HC. Walker signed a 5 year 25M dollar deal in March 2007.

Management has more influence on the roster than the coaching staff. And right now management has ulterior motives which significantly impact how the roster is constructed. Whaley isn't going anywhere either. You don't get promoted only to change organizations less than 12 months later.

This. I don't think anyone figured Nix would be around long. He'd have time to right the ship (which obviously never happened) and give way to a younger man. Whaley's promotion earlier this year and the fact he was already on-board seemed like a precursor to Nix being only temporary. At least Buddy told some great whoppers to keep us entertained. He certainly didn't get much in the way of wins.

IIRC, John Wawrow reported the Bills would not be franchising Johnson. This remains the most misleading metric to grade an OL. It is indicative of nothing more than Fitzpatrick getting rid of the ball on designed plays where the ball is out in less than 2 seconds. Even Erik Pears can't mess that up. Cue the OBD spin machine of Brandon and Berchtold, who no doubt are in high gear to explain why they couldn't come to terms. Negotiation is a two-way street and by the tone of this thread it doesn't appear that fans are buying the BS launched out of OBD. Sure it's anecdotal, but I don't talk to many fans at the games who want to see Johnson go. Commitment to no commitment but setting the team up for sale. Re-signing SJ adversely affects the P&L statement, so that's a no go for the franchise. The more things change...