BillsVet

I suspect there'll be more cuts when they survey the scene tonight. Guess Wrotto and Howard's GT connections weren't enough.

Going back a few years, the Bills have typically failed when trying to replace veterans. They allowed UFA's to walk and subsequently replaced them with rookies. At least this season they replaced Posluszny with what appears to be quality ILB's in Barnett and perhaps Morrison. For the most part though, they've used the draft to replace rather than build, especially since 2006. Draft Whitner to replace Milloy. Draft Lynch to replace McGahee. Draft Posluszny to replace Fletcher. Draft McKelvin to replace Clements. And when they drafted high to rebuild their team, it resulted in busts like McCargo and Maybin.

Especially ones that he probably campaigned for who's commanding 3M+ per season. I highly doubt this franchise gives up on TT so quickly and takes that kind of hit. Brown may wind up on the PS, but Thigpen's contract keeps him on this team.

In keeping with the lowered expectations mindset, 8 wins in 2011 to prove the rebuild is working. Winning 6 or less does reveal that Buddy's 4 year plan is still on track to get them into playoff contention by 2013. Of course, the stadium lease has expired by then, but pain and patience is necessary.

2010 draft class going into their second season features 0 starters. Can't call it a complete waste, but Spiller is a role player, Troup struggles, Carrington is being used as a super hybrid LB in sub-packages, Easley will get the nod because they have nothing but bodies at WR, and Batten and Moats are depth at this point. For a still rebuilding team, I'd expect them to have some of their 2nd year players starting. Well, Buddy has a much higher rate of success drafting in the top 5.

Better to have a big fat unproven guy plucked from someone's PS than a reasonably priced veteran who wasn't acquired by the current regime. Hangartner is getting the Gurode treatment and doesn't fit Nix' mantra of bigger equals better. It doesn't help that he'll earn about 1.75M more than the prospective starter at RG. They're 25M beneath the cap and will be paring it down in short order.

Merriman will be doing modified lights out dances for the training staff lots this season.

Hairston's prowess as a NFL OT can be deduced after 1 pre-season game against what appears to be an average defense?

Hard to tell an outlier versus a norm, especially with trades so infrequent in the NFL. After the Troy Vincent release in 2006, I find it hard to believe Overdorf doesn't have enough gravitas at OBD to get fired. He may not be part of the inner circle, but is well aware he carries weight. Ultimately, as has been said thousands of times previously, it's an ownership problem. And in the interim the Bills will continue wandering in the proverbial desert.

Overdorf's job puts him in the middle of the personnel and business sides of the house and moves like the Evans trade make it appear that he bleeds a little too much into both. While the Williams contract extension on the surface appears very team friendly, I can't imagine morale was raised knowing the GM isn't as involved in trades. Players have to know the functions of a GM versus the capologist and the latter isn't determining compensation or even who can be dealt. Jim Overdorf is still not part of the solution in Buffalo. He is one of the problems that anyone who works for the Bills has to face, regardless of negotiating one seemingly team friendly contract.

That's where he learned to cut players mid-season without telling the GM or HC. No one said they could anticipate the future. This is a team that paid Dockery and Walker, then got ticked when Peters wanted more money for playing the hardest OL position. Or when they decided to keep Losman in '08 after Edwards won the starting job. Or cut Crowell when he decided to have surgery in 2009 before the season. The blunders never end with this franchise.

ST sales dropped 20% last year off 2009 numbers and I wouldn't be surprised to see another 10-15% drop in 2011. If memory serves, they didn't announce final ST sales until late into the regular season last year, as opposed to 2008 and 2009 when they quickly announced sales were in the 55k area.

Nix had better be right, or those big balls of his are going into the vice grip. So far, his decision making on the OL and at WR aren't looking good. Still, any time the Bills drop or trade a high priced player once could think that it's engineered by someone above the GM level for a financial reason. True or not, the reputation of the organization makes it a possibility.

I've always felt the franchise was just buying time with most of their moves. And I too believe that this mantra of building through the draft is nothing more than a means of getting time on their side. Whether it was the intention or not, hiring Marv bought the team a few years. Signing Owens bought them another year re: ticket sales. And last season they brought on a new GM, AGM, and HC who will need time. At what point are they out of time? As bad as TD was, his record from 01-05 was the same as the Levy/Brandon years with Nix's first season: 31-49. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

Apparently almost anyone can play LT as long as they can move their feet. Arm length and anchor strength aren't important. Cue the circus music. The changes to the offensive line remind me of the offense leading up to the 2009 season opener. Wild changes borne of sheer desperation which ultimately resulted in another lost season. Guess Buddy's going to be MIA for about the first 8 weeks of the season again. EDIT: And now they've PO'd the best RB on the roster in favor of their 3rd down back who has poor instincts and can't run between the tackles. Are they rebuilding or tearing down?

And for the record, Denver changed their coaching staff and converted to a 4-3 over an off-season minus OTA's. I'm not saying they're world-beaters after one half of starters versus starters, but we were told after last season that these changes equaled a drop in the W category. Interesting to see what Denver does after their 4-12 2010 campaign. No, Buddy said he had 35 calls a day for the HC job AND made fun of Oakland AND claimed 80% of the reporting about the HC search was false. What's Buddy going to claim next? That they need to coach 'em up harder and everything will be all right? I suspect he'll be MIA the first 5-6 weeks of the 2011 season just like he was in 2010 when they proceeded to start off winless.

Awesome.

Last season plenty of people said Buffalo had to deal with a new staff, defensive alignment, etc as a reason for their struggling. Denver was the 2nd worst team in the NFL and don't appear close to that for 2011 with a new staff and defensive scheme.

During the off-season, some were convinced Bell was going to improve just because he could work out in the off-season. I think it's clear he's no more than a swing tackle. Can't handle bull rushes and appears slow against edge rushers. Gailey: "Offensive line got manhandled in the first half." He's PO'd and Nix owes him some help immediately. Not sure if anything's available, but there's no excuse for entering the pre-season this short in talent on the OL. None.

At the risk of not being a "real fan" I concur. Denver has a new HC, coaching staff, and a new defensive scheme yet look much further along than Buffalo. And Buffalo's continuity in staff and personnel was supposed to help them. At this point it means nothing.

Buffalo is playing like the guys in your avatar.

They have to save face after the guy who was going to make the OL better didn't fare well last season. Jackson doesn't appear to have lost anything, but he's not "their" guy either.

2006: Fun with Dick and Marv

You're pretty old for being a ball boy here, aren't you?

Nix has a lot riding on this season: the lack of quality resources allocated to the OL, trusting Merriman to remain healthy and provide a pass rush, Spiller's improvement to being an all-around back, the WR corps now without their arguably best threat, et al. It's not enough to get 50% of your personnel decisions right and if the OL isn't at least replacement level in 2011, the trust in Nix needs to be downgraded. If he can't put together a decent OL I have serious doubts about his other decisions.