BillsVet

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.

With personnel changing due to injuries, I would like to think the coaching staff would fill in as much as possible despite not being on the field. But when you look at that group, most of them are from the college ranks and have little NFL experience. Outside of DeHaven and Catavolos, no one on that staff has much more than 3-5 years experience in their current positions. Gailey has 2 years as a HC, and the coordinators aren't exactly top shelf either. There's a lot of work left to do at OBD, both in personnel and the coaching staff. Yep, a lack of leadership hurts this team when things aren't going well.

Injuries hurt Buffalo more than many other teams because the bean counters insist on spending far beneath the cap. With 20-25M to spare in 2011, they're doing fine. Gailey OTOH is the one who pays the price in terms of roster quality. Perhaps that's why it's hard for Buffalo to find HC's who'll even interview.

Chan knows he doesn't have the talent to win at the NFL level but he can't admit it. He's been around the NFL long enough to know who's capable and who isn't. Nix said it would take 3-4 years to rebuild and right now that's looking about right for his style. It would be quicker if he got more production out of his draft picks and free agents who, aside from Dareus and Barnett, aren't producing.

The true response to PTR should be this: Charlie Casserly has worked in the NFL, therefore his opinion is better than PTR's because the latter hasn't been a GM, personnel guy, or otherwise. That's the standard homer way of argument suppression in use on TBD. You can't do it all in 2 years. They have Barnett and Dareus after two years of rebuilding with Buddy, what more do you want?

There are only a handful of real X receivers out there, and they don't become available on the open market. But I can see Buffalo going shopping at the bargain bin because Buddy doesn't like to spend RW's money (or so he says). Meachem might be worth a look and fits Nix' requirement for a physical type. NO needs to keep Colston and Nicks, so he's probably available. Still, this team doesn't typically spend in UFA.

When was the last time Buffalo signed a marquee free agent? And when was the last time said UFA actually was worth it? This team is in full-blown cost cutting mode and has been for a about 7 years now.

At least Brad Smith can play special teams.

Nix' prowess in player evaluation is equivalent to Mario Mendoza's batting average. His best move thus far has been taking what should become a very good player with the third overall pick in the 2011 draft. The 2010 draft is looking eerily reminiscent of what Buffalo did in 2006-2007 when Marv was supposedly in charge. The Bills 6 UFA signings in 2 off-seasons are very underwhelming besides Nick Barnett. Cornell Green, Brad Smith, Andra Davis, Dwan Edwards, and Tyler Thigpen are either backups, not with the team, or replacement level starters. Even the players re-signed while Nix has been GM are extremely pedestrian. Merriman had epic fail written all over him and he lived up to it, Kyle Williams is a nice piece but not a game-changer in the 34, Fitzpatrick is back down to earth as a journeyman backup, and Drayton Florence's toaster is always on. It matters when the owner doesn't know anyone to be GM and settles for the last guy he knows. That's usually not the way to rebuild an organization.

Blaming injuries has become a TBD pastime, much like it probably is on any team board. This same excuse was used after the Giants loss and evidently it'll be use ad nauseam. Buffalo's roster being littered with fringe NFL types is why they struugle. They haven't rebuilt anything in two off-seasons.

Just what you look for when you use a top half of the 3rd round pick on a guy. He's looking like the best player in that 2010 class, and he doesn't start until Kyle Williams get hurt.

I think you spoke too soon.

Two years of Buddy Nix rebuilding your team will do that.

Buddy Nix' GM time is quickly turning into a disaster.

Amazing how things have changed in a month.

Fitzpatrick's going to be injured if this keeps up.

How many bad personnel decisions can a team make in 2 seasons? Spiller, Troup, Cornell Green, Brad Smith, et al. A small market team can never overcome as many bad personnel decisions as this team has made during the Donahoe, Levy/Brandon, and now Nix regimes.

I just don't see top HC's and assistants wanting to work in Buffalo. Even Wannstedt is trying to come back from years in the college ranks, and it's no guarantee that he'll make the defense better. That, and he's never coached a 3-4 team before, so I can see them trying to change everything. Of course they've been drafting 3-4 pieces the past 2 years.