BillsVet

Bell and Merriman happen to play 2 of the most important positions on a NFL team. And beyond them there was little answer, which speaks to the lack of basic organizational planning from that front office. Predictably, both players have missed a lot of time, forcing Buffalo to look to late round draft picks who are unproven. I guess RW's need for luck applies to the personnel department, because that's what Nix was depending on. Nelson, Naaman Roosevelt, and Donald Jones are not the physical types. Nelson and Roosevelt are very thin and Jones is looking to be injury prone. Still, not one of those guys are proven NFL types and it shows when Fitzpatrick drops back. Guys like Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, James Jones are all proven type receivers. Jennings is perhaps the game's best X (with Rodgers), Nelson is becoming a great Z, and Jones is probably the NFL's best third receiver. To even mention them alongside Johnson, Nelson, and Jones is way off the mark. Besides, Driver is 37 and while not what he used to be, is better than anything Buffalo has save for perhaps Johnson. It's a weak group nonetheless.

Look at those players who've been injured. Demetrius Bell has been injured every season of his short career, so I would think a personnel type would see that it's important to have a quality swing OT. And yet, their version was a 4th round rookie who clearly needs a lot of work physically. The WR's? Beyond Johnson all of them are not physical. I'm not saying their WR group needs to be what GB has, but it's completely patchwork and again, not surprising that they've gone down with injuries. Roosevelt, Nelson, and Jones aren't the types who can take a lot of punishment. And as for Merriman, any fan who considered him anything more than replacement level at this point in his career clearly has some coke bottle rose colored glasses on. He defines "damaged goods" and yet the GM looked the other way and pronounced him ready. The loss of KW, Wood and FJ hurts. But beyond those injuries, there isn't one that people can cite as a huge loss.

Almost every year leading up to the draft the TE topic comes up for discussion. And each time it becomes a question of needs and how Buffalo has bigger positional issues above TE. Chandler is adequate, but he isn't someone that opponents game-plan around nor will he ever be. I don't think anyone can quantify how much of a force multiplier a top TE would be for this franchise, but then again you can add that to the list of positions the Bills don't like to draft high, like OT and OLB.

Buddy also said he got 35 calls a day for the HC job. But if this is true, that the GM talked the owner out of spending, it makes me wonder who told RW not to spend previous to 2010.

Buddy was pretty arrogant about the roster, then backtracked about week 3 with their depth. It's not all Nix' fault, he's just playing with half a deck courtesy of ownership. Now it seems Nix and Gailey are subtly noting the lack of depth and talent all over the field. As much as I feel sorry for them working without, they knew what they were getting in to when they accepted their jobs. That would be OK if Nix was better on draft day, but he refuses to make trades to add picks (hello depth) and his core rebuilding philosophy isn't one that can make up for blanks in free agency.

I thought they were reeling off 6 straight in the regular season then winning the SB this season?

Curtis Modkins could probably suit up Sunday. He hasn't had to do much with Gailey coordinating the offense, though years of getting coffee and lunch for Chan and his staff is probably catching up with him.

Problem: Buffalo has not been talented enough to win enough games during this or any season in 12 seasons. 1. Why? Because their draft and UFA acquisition record has been terrible. 2. Why? Because the team cannot attract better GM/front office candidates to find the talent necessary to sustain a good teams. 3. Why? Because no one better qualified to be a GM/front office type will take the responsibility of working for RW and Littman. 4. Why? Because RW/Littman will not commit the resources (budget and relinquishing of personnel authority) to ever make the Bills successful in an ultra-competitive league. 5. Why? Because the team has always been treated like a toy for the express purpose of being a revenue source for the owner. And so the team is run to maximize profit, even if it comes at the expense of rebuilding into a winning team. Then again, the plan all along seems to be to rely on luck for success. They're going to need a lot of it to overcome the self-imposed obstacles this team has.

Another GT alum, this one being someone who's been cut from two teams in about 10 days. Does this mean they pick up Mansfield Wrotto again?

Who would want to work for RW and his band of front office morons (thanks George Costanza)? RW tried to recoup money from the fired Wade Phillips, and followed that up by firing Butler, who he lowballed with an offer which wasn't half of what most GM's worked for in 2000-01. That definitely factors into someone's decision making process when the Bills try (and fail) to get interviews. Buffalo went from not being willing to pay for top notch personnel people and coaches to simply not being able to get interviews. Even if Littman allowed RW's money to be used on a very good GM candidate like Eric DeCosta, there's no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't even interview for a vacancy. And so, Buffalo ends up with Nix who is showing that he's above his pay-grade. Relying on luck is such a RW philosophy. I just wish Mr. Smithers (Brandon) would have the guts to tell his boss that the owner has made it impossible to field a good team.

And we don't even play the Tampa 2 anymore.

WR's typically take time to develop, often as much as three years. RB's shouldn't be, but here Spiller is getting about five touches a game in 25 career games. The fact Gailey has so little faith in a ninth overall pick speaks volumes. Especially when you consider plenty of teams feature two backs prominently.

So they can pay him veteran minimum? He's not going to get much interest on the Free Agent matket given his injury history and poor track record.

No sane person wants the owner to die, but a strange dichotomy exists if you are a Bills fan. With RW here you'll have a mediocre team. Without him it could mean the end of the franchise. And there are many who accept the former because the latter is worse.

It's time for Nix to retire. And even though it'll never happen, Buffalo needs to start building and stop running the treadmill of failure. To do this requires more investment financially and someone who knows personnel. It could be Whaley, but right now he's more known for his email prowess. It's not mediocrity anymore, it's plain embarrassing.

He's exciting and that's why Buddy drafted him. Unfortunately college stats can't be transferred into NFL play.

Because we trust in chan to do the right thing and because he knows Spiller isn't capable yet.

Problem with Buddy remains his eye for talent. His UFA classes haven't yielded many starters and that '10 draft class isn't looking good either. To build through the draft he's going to have to get better real soon because he hasn't rebuilt anything.

There aren't many great X's in the NFL, perhaps as few as 7 or so. But not keeping SJ at a reasonable rate, perhaps 6M per sets the franchise back in the early stages of another rebuild. We have no idea what he's looking for, but I think he has more options on the UFA market than Fitzgerald did. Teams will overpay for younger receivers, even those who are more like a Z than an X.

Just for the record, the Packers won the Super Bowl with the following on IR: Nick Barnett, Jermichael Finley, Morgan Burnett, Ryan Grant, Mark Tauscher, and 9 others.

I'd be fine with 8-8 too, but it doesn't appear that they've improved after Week 5. Cincinnati, then the Giants, and now two more teams have the book on Buffalo, so they basically peaked early in the season. Without a major infusion of talent during the off-season, 8-8 is about what they'll remain. And so far, Buddy Nix' record in the draft and UFA hasn't been stellar enough to vault them to being a double digit win team. Besides, when the owner chooses to be ~25M under the cap, it's hard to put together a roster good enough to win consistently when injuries occur. That, and contracts typically last no more than 4-5 seasons, so it's just as essential to find talent as it is to replace it.

And we have two strength and conditioning coaches!

Completely agree, but it seems like every year by mid-season they're scouring practice squads and signing street FA's because they've had some injuries and didn't sign depth guys. I don't see many other team resorting to filling their roster when injuries inevitably hit.

Well said.

Absolutely. From top to bottom, the organization is just dysfunctional and eventually it reaches the playing field. 11 defensive players drafted and 3 UFA's signed in the past 2 off-seasons and this is what they get? Not to mention Nix inherited Byrd, Wilson, Kelsay, and Williams. They have a lot of supporting cast types, but aside from the potential of Dareus, there isn't one guy on that defense I game plan around. Chan did hire the wrong DC, but he had nothing to really pick from in early 2010. Just like Dick Jauron had nothing to pick from when he went OC shopping after Fairchild was gone in early 2008. Good HC's, DC's, and OC's don't want to come here because they will not get the support from the front office in terms of players. So promising candidates shy away from openings.