BillsVet

No one's conflating the argument, but rather, I'm pointing out that the roster is and will never be complete enough to win. I used the example of Demetrius Bell as another rookie people wanted to believe in who does not have what it takes to be a good player. He further represents the team-building approach this team undertook when it plays rookies out of sheer desperation because they refuse to acquire depth. This was the case in 2009 when Bell, as an untested 2nd year man with no game experience, was forced into the lineup when a player was cut and another traded. My definition of objectivism is not standing in the middle of the road, able to fall on either side of the debate at a whim. At some point, this supposed "negativity" you speak of should be expected when we're debating the merits of a team now 9-20 in the last 2 seasons and sliding further away from success. You can throw big words out there and seemingly make a statement without really saying anything. The fact remains that this team is going nowhere and shows no sign of doing so anytime soon. Ownership does not support personnel, who clearly have major issues and aren't helping out the mediocre coaching staff with players. Call it negativity, call it whatever, but in my book objectivity is about falling on one side of the debate, not avoiding it and seeking to suppress other's arguments because what they say isn't self-fulfilling.

This kinda destroys that argument of "profitability barely being acceptable compared to league averages." Forbes Bills Profitability The team is being set up for sale, with expenses kept at the bare minimum for the most part. If it weren't for a salary floor, I wouldn't be surprised if Littmann, who controls more than we'll ever know, wouldn't go Rachel Phelps and just slash payroll to nothing. That's all this has been, RW's family getting this team as attractive for sale as it can be. EDIT: It's why the contracts they're handing out typically are low in guaranteed money or have out-clauses, like Fitz' and K. Williams'.

Goodness that's rich. Objectivity? Searcy and Hairston have started less than 8 games combined and you see something there? Let me guess, you saw something in Bell 2 years ago too, didn't you? Is it "slash and burn" to note that this franchise is winning less than 39% of their games for an entire decade with no sign of improvement? BTW, homerism isn't objective either.

It's threads like this which demonstrate how much of an early vacation the homers are taking this year.

The only person Ralph hasn't tried for GM that he trusts is himself. Why not follow the Jerrah Jones/MIke Brown/Al Davis model of the owner managing personnel?

Is his version of purple drank ovaltine?

You realize that Denver had the second worst record in the NFL last season and now leads their division? Cincinnati picked 4th in 2011 and now is 7-6. Or how about the 49ers having 10 wins and claiming their division? Just because Buddy Nix says it takes 3-4 years to rebuild doesn't mean it really does. This franchise is not set up to win more than 7 games a season. And since 2001, they've done it twice with the last coming in 2004.

I cannot see Peyton Manning accepting a trade to NFL Siberia. I think the chances are greater Bill Polian comes back to the team as President/GM.

Buddy's bluster is muted when his teams have to actually play the games. He's above his pay-grade as GM of a NFL team and it shows with his terrible decisions with Merriman, Spiller, and re-signing Fitzpatrick. Doesn't help that Littmann and the Detroit crew are cutting him off at the knees with their minimal budget. And I love how Detroit appears headed to the playoffs and Houston made it this week. That leaves our own Buffalo Bills with quite possibly the longest playoff-less streak in the NFL.

At this point it's his people in Detroit running this show into the ground. RW has always been a guy more interested in making money off his toy and being a friend to the players.

John McKay would be in favor of his team's execution

RW sells the team? Sorry, I couldn't resist!

No above average QB lacks accuracy. If you're good or better a lot of that has to do with accuracy on all throws.

This Buddy Nix version of a rebuild bears a startling resemblance to the failures of Marv/DJ/Brandon from 06-09. And ironically, in 2007 the had a lot of injuries too! The more things change...

No it's not. But they do wear the same uniforms.

There's your game highlight.

You get the feeling this team won't be in the lead at all today. And worse against the pass this year. At this rate, they might be average in 2-3 years.

During the great Peters debate in 2008-09, the standard response when people argued against re-signing Peters was that some SB teams didn't have great OLT's, ergo you don't need one. It was no coincidence those teams typically had great QB's who mitigated the lack of great offensive lines. Amid all this OT talk, I can certainly see this team prioritizing the pass rush in the first round next year. I doubt they'll spend in UFA (they've steadily spent less every year since 2006), so once again the draft will have to provide most of the talent. It's just a lot to ask rookies year after year to fill major holes.

The fact that Bell hasn't played of late despite being healthy tells me the team is moving on.

The old saying we hear ad nauseam is teams have to run the ball and stop the run. By now, everyone knows this is not as important in the pass-happy league the NFL has become. It stands to reason that teams would work on throwing the ball and defending the pass by finding players to support it. Dominant running teams from recent years like the 2009 Titans and 2010 Texans do not make the playoffs. But give me an excellent passing team with a little defense and you'll most likely see the post-season. GB and NE instantly come to mind, as neither is dominant defensively, but they do just enough and are always good in the aerial game. Not surprisingly, both teams have drafted OT pretty heavily in recent years, though GB put some resources into the pass rush beyond NE. Having said all of this, it would make sense for this team to find a top shelf OLT who can be left alone against an opponent's top pass rusher. Then, work on finding the pass rusher who can get to the QB. It's not easy, but when have the Bills devoted the resources to filling either of these positions? I'd argue they haven't since 2001 when TD drafted Schobel and Jonas Jennings. The former was a very good rusher and the latter, while talented, struggled to play through injuries. Mike Williams was never seen as a OLT. I don't think anyone sees an up and coming OLB on this roster, nor is there an OT who can be left alone. Pears and Bell are journeyman caliber and Hairston is just the latest incarnation of Bell at this point-much hyped but lacking physically. He's probably suited to be a ORT due to his physique.

Across the past few GM's, one constant displays itself: using the draft to replace departed players. If maintenance was the objective, the Bills would be the experts in continuing to be mediocre. They've won at least 4 but no more than 9 games for 10 seasons in a row. Everything level of an organization must be coordinated to have a consistently good team. Ownership supporting (and hiring) the front office with a competitive budget, front office using that and the draft to stock the roster, and coaches to teach and improve the players. Instead, Buffalo gets absent ownership that pulls the rug out from under their front office, said front office desperately trying to stock a roster with late round picks, street FA's, and UDFA's while hiring a college coaching staff. Not surprisingly the results have never been good enough and the rebuilding treadmill continues unimpeded.

Gailey has a bunch of college coaches, save for Catavolos, so why not go recruit supreme college talent from other NFL teams when all else fails?

Easterbrook makes a claim a year ago that hasn't proven accurate and suddenly he's a hack unworthy of forming an opinion? Typical TBD response in the face of someone criticizing an organization going on 12 season without a playoff appearance. Easterbrook isn't the problem, Buffalo's spendthrift ways, inept ownership, poor coaching, and inferior talent is. The big picture is that Buffalo recycles lower management all the while being run from Detroit by individuals concerned with maximizing the bottom line at the roster's expense.

Well, this is the same team that not 3 years ago retained Dick Jauron after a 2-8 finish to the 2008 season in the name of continuity. Translation: We aren't paying someone not to work, so we'll just go with what we've got and hope there's improvement. For the record, these are Buffalo's coordinators since Gregg Williams: Mike Sheppard, Kevin Gilbride, Jerry Gray, Tom Clements, Steve Fairchild, Perry Fewell, Turk Schonert, Alex Van Pelt, George Edwards, and Curtis Modkins. Seems the trend is that they won't (or probably can't) hire minds on their staff who'll be able to coordinate a side of the ball effectively. Buffalo is NFL Siberia.

Mike Brown is still a better owner/GM that Littmann/Nix are. And as bad an owner as he's been, Brown still traded Palmer when the price was high while going with his (limited number of) scouts and drafted Andy Dalton. So far, those moves have worked and while they don't outweigh some of his decisions, the Bengals at least are looking up in 2011.