BillsVet

Thank goodness the Bills took a RB with their first pick for their second rebuild in 5 seasons. The HC himself said he'd make the line look better. Truth is, his blocking does make the line look half-way decent.

A lot of this "proven" nonsense comes from those who lap up every word Nix and the Bills website speak or write. The record speaks for itself with guys like Wrotto, Urbik, Pears, Colin Brown, et al. in that they've bounced around and now have ended up in Buffalo. Perhaps one of them becomes a starter who is reliable, but you don't find NFL OT's hiding on other teams practice squads or who've been on 4 teams in 3 years. That should be indication enough that a player really isn't starting grade. I hope the team invests some UFA dollars in a RT, but I sincerely doubt it. Unfortunately, it won't be until the first games of the regular season when it becomes obvious a player isn't up to the task of starting. Then, as in the case with Cornell Green, people will see how foolish it is to rely on cheap UFA's or other teams practice squads, street free agents, UDFA's, and late round picks to build your OL.

I'm not sure what Chad Rinehart, Kraig Urbik, and Mansfield Wrotto have shown to indicate they've got potential, other than that Buddy Nix scoured practice squads and picked them up. That seems to be enough to some fans though. Buffalo needs to focus on finding guys for that right side of the line who are proven NFL starters and not guys found off the couch or residing on practice squads.

Owners have more money...ergo, they're worse than players.

In all likelihood, Merriman signed with Buffalo when no other team offered guaranteed money. And if 31 other teams' pro scouting departments aren't keen on the player, it has to make one wonder why the Bills would take a chance and guarantee dollars. 2.5M may not sound like a lot with a cap of 120M and teams prospectively required to spend let's say 108. OTOH, Buffalo has fewer resources to call on during this rebuild, and Nix' track record in evaluating pro personnel while Bills GM so far hasn't been very good. The burden is on Nix, in essence because he's gambling precious few resources that could be spent improving a very weak roster on a guy with 4 sacks in the last 4 seasons. I would also add that a healthy but ineffective Merriman keeps guys like Moats and Batten from getting game experience because Buffalo can't afford to take their high profile signing off the field. That would be admitting they made another bad personnel decision and prevent the staff from finding out if some of their late round picks are indeed starting worthy.

It'll be a frenzy as the signing period probably won't be more than 2 weeks long IMO. There'll be some good talent available, but just re-signing their own and thus banking on rookies and their current roster to improve is a stretch. This 2011 season will show whether Nix' plan is working or not and eschewing free agency or signing depth free agents probably won't score many points with the fan base either.

I understand the topic being discussed. Whether's Nix' plan is working is subjective and certainly open to interpretation, but your first pick as the GM of a team should tell you what their plan consists of, which was my point. I disagreed that you begin rebuilding with a RB, especially in the NFL of 2010-11. That's a foundation pick, and not many teams build around RB's, regardless of their supposed big play ability. I'll maintain that to demonstrate his plan is a good one, the Bills need to win 8 games in 2011. Less than that indicates, IMO, that it's not working

I think Buffalo has the TE position prioritized lower than many other teams. And so far, they haven't made much attempt at finding a guy who is anything but another blocker. If they don't sign a TE who can block and receive in UFA this year, it tells me they're not concerned with improving the position. Chalk it up to the shortcoming at OT, or rebuilding last season, whatever. Most playoff caliber teams feature a TE who can make plays in the passing game and the Bills don't. Besides, if any of us were coordinating the KC offense in 2008, I think we'd use Tony Gonzalez as often as possible. That's a no-brainer.

To your point about a "real system in place." I'm not sure many teams would draft a RB with their first round pick in the first draft of rebuilding. That decision indicates to me that their plan is not as structured as some believe so fervently. Buddy Nix gives great quotes, but his skill in A) rebuilding franchises and B) find top personnel evaluators and a HC is very much in doubt. I frankly don't see a plan, except them saying it takes 3-4 years.

I've never understood how building through the draft translates into building exclusively through the draft. If you're a team that's won 10 games in 2 years, I'd expect them to use free agency to get the team to a level above where they've been. Teams should try to rebuild as quickly as possible, and efficiently using UFA is a means to an end. And I'm not talking about how Daniel Snyder approaches UFA. Buddy told RW that it'll take 3-4 years, which is what happens when you're not using all of your options and don't think fans care for those 3-4 seasons. Hopefully free agency begins when Buddy's awake. Because if he goes out and says they signed a guy from someone's practice squad like Mansfield Wrotto and then claims that's like getting another 3rd round pick, they'll be a lot of unhappy Bills fans. UDFA's, street free agents, and other teams' practice squad types don't suffice when you're coming off a 4-12 season.

I would argue the selections of Wood and Levitre were borne out of necessity in 2009. Going into the draft that season, Buffalo had already cut Dockery, forcing Butler to RT when they brilliantly decided Langston Walker could play LT after Peters was dealt. They had nothing at G to begin with and were forced to find immediate starters via the draft. To say they only have so many picks is absurd. You never have enough picks when you're constantly changing schemes designed by sub-par coaches.

220# receivers running the underneath routes are the same as a TE. Still don't think Nix will invest serious money into a position that Gailey believes is for blocking first, second and third. Besides, block first TE's are much cheaper and they already have a wealth of talent at the position in David Martin, Scott Chandler, Mike Caussin, and Shawn Nelson.

I think the key point to take from Nix' comments about building through the draft is that it doesn't mean a team is made exclusively by the draft. And while there are extreme examples of teams who tried to build through free agency (Washington) there are others where it helped them considerably. Chicago has made some major moves in the past two seasons and it vaulted them to the NFC Championship game. It is still critical to have a team that does personnel well, both in the draft and during free agency. Teams without top notch personnel people keep swinging with little to show for it like Buffalo's done for the better part of a decade.

Nah, they'll just give increase Chris Kelsay's contract to 10 years and 50M because he gives great quotes after losses.

The staff Gailey assembled last off-season was a who's who of Gailey followers, some of whom had never coached in the NFL. And yet there was Gailey and Nix talking about teaching. Who's teaching who here? DC George Edwards - career LB coach (98-02; 04-09) save a season as DC for Washington where his defense struggled OL Joe D'Alessandris - career college OL coach; became Asst OL coach in KC in 2008 after Gailey is hired A. OL Bobby Johnson - college OL coach; 2010 was first year in NFL DL Giff Smith - career college defensive coach, 2010 was first in NFL, worked for Gailey from 04-07 WR Stan Hixon - 6 years working in NFL, all with Washington as a WR coach; previously WR coach at LSU RB Curtis Modkins - 3 years ago was GT's RB coach. Now the nominative OC and has basically worked for Gailey since 2002. QB George Cortez - had never coached in NFL before 2010 TE Bob Bicknell - 3 years in NFL; former Asst OL coach in KC, hasn't coached in NFL anywhere else Gailey's staff is short on NFL experience, particularly in their current positions save for Catavolos, DeHaven, and of course Wannstedt. But in that initial season, Gailey's staff resembled more of a college staff and not one that had proven much. I believe this is in large part to the unattractiveness of working for an also-ran HC for an organization with such a poor rep league wide.

Gailey may a straight shooter, but he's made numerous mistakes a NFL HC shouldn't. First, he picked the wrong QB and proceeded to learn it after 2 games. I can't remember the last time, save Cleveland a few years ago, any NFL team made such a quick starting QB hook. Second, he started Spiller in the first game and then couldn't get him 100 carries his rookie season. Apparently, the "pass catchin' runnin' back" couldn't be fit into offensive genius Gailey's offense. It doesn't take an entire season to figure out what is on the roster. Most of that should be done in the off-season and training camp, especially for a veteran HC with so many years of NFL experience.

Showcase? Really? Jay Glazer has reported that Buffalo did not actively market Lynch and that teams were pursuing Nix, not vice versa. It's reasonable that in Buffalo, the owner isn't the only one who has few contacts throughout the NFL. Glazer Re: Lynch per PFT I suppose the attacks may recommence on Glazer again. He's obviously anti-Bills. Plus, he knows Adam Schein.

Let's not conflate the argument by injecting Rodgers and P. Manning here. For all the talk about RF's TD passes, he also averaged more than an INT per game. And given Buffalo's defense, their anemic offense can't afford to turn the ball over like Green Bay or Indianapolis. Rodgers and P. Manning have offenses that can score points in bunches. Buffalo failed to score 20 points in 12 of 16 games last season. By comparison, GB was 13 of 16 and IND was 14 of 16 scoring 20 or more points per game. It's obvious the Bills won't be among the league leaders in points scored in 2011. Buffalo needs a QB who is efficient and a HC who can take that guy and develop a short to intermediate passing game which has a lot of completions and keeps their defense off the field. A gunslinger is not what the Bills need right now who happens to have a below average arm and a high turnover rate.

The foundation of every Bills season is this potential talk. One guy had a career year last season in Steve Johnson, and even he's going to have to adapt as teams roll coverage his way. Will his hands improve? Will he learn to read coverages that are shaded his way? For all the talk, the receiving corps may be young, but there's very little to bank on. More importantly, how does Fitzpatrick improve his game now that opposing defenses have more film on he and Gailey? The assumption the offense will improve is one borne of naivety. I'm wondering why only now Gailey realizes Evans needs a bigger role? Did he just now realize the highest paid WR in team history was on the team and what he's apparently there to do? Johnson and Fitzpatrick meshed almost from the start, while Evans struggled mightily. It makes little sense that an unheralded guy was able to come on and the established vet with 2 1,000 yard seasons could not. As much as some want to pronounce Evans a great X receiver, he's not. His route running was not sharp and he dropped plenty of catchable passes in 2010. Outside of the Baltimore game he failed to catch 6 balls and had all of 1 TD reception in the other 11 contests. If Johnson could have the season he did, why couldn't Evans? I guess we can now cue up those who believe Evans and his diversionary 9 routes were what was freeing up Johnson to have a career year.

George Edwards was DC for Washington in 2003, so it's not as though he's a rookie at this. This coaching staff is about as unproven as the team they're leading.

It's a huge concern. The Bills OL and QB play is fine if they want to continue being a 4-7 win team. Pat Kirwan has noted in his recent book that of the 5 OL positions, the order of importance is LT, RT, LG, C, and RT. At LT, homers keep talking about Bell's potential, but his inability to remain healthy and overall lack of "sand in the pants" are the reasons why can't handle power rushers and is not yet starting caliber. The RT position has bodies, none of which appear to be more than marginal NFL'ers. I'm fine with the LG and perhaps the C, while not as concerned that the least important position, RG, will work itself out. Perhaps Rinehart or Urbik is at replacement level. Still, this group isn't blowing people off the line in run blocking, save perhaps Levitre. I'm not insinuating they need to all be Pro Bowlers, but as a unit they left a lot to be desired. If the OL is the foundation of the offense, they need more talent, not more bodies. As for TE's, well, they've become extra blockers and I'm not confident they'll invest money into someone that can attack a defense.

Cue the person who says you can't build it all in 2 years. Seriously, there isn't one legitimate starting NFL OT on the roster right now. There isn't a proven TE on the roster right now. And while the board is famous for talking about player potential, that's nothing you can bank on. An OL that allows its QB to get injured and cannot open up holes for Fred and their water bug RB needs a lot of personnel help.

Coincidentally, James Hardy was 6'5 220 when he entered the league. Despite his obvious size advantage on CB's, he did nothing. Nelson's a guy who will never stretch the field vertically, and will be running a lot of underneath routes. I mentioned before that teams play cover 2 frequently, and a solid TE who can run the seam is what keeps this defense honest. If ever there's a fan base who should know the value of a legitimate TE, it's Bills fans. Last year, Buffalo was torched throughout the season because Chris Kelsay et. al couldn't cover a TE to save his/their life.

I base it off the receptions his TE's have had when he was an OC (PIT 96-97, MIA 00-01, and KC 08) then a HC (DAL 98-99 and BUF 10). Aside from Tony Gonzalez who is a sure-fire HOFer, he hasn't had 1 TE record 40 catches. And their YPC average is very low as well. One could say this was the era in the late nineties and early part of the 2000s, but not having that guy now hurts an offense. Discarding them as blockers demonstrates a lack of foresight for the supposed "offensive genius." Now, he didn't have the greatest talent, but he still has very much to prove. Some fans can say that a guy in the slot like David Nelson suffices, but he can never pose a match-up challenge like a physical TE such as Marcedes Lewis. Two completely different players and something an opposing defense has to account for. Ask the Bills who were torched in the first half of the season by every TE they played against.

You must be kidding? A RB, TE, and WR pose huge matchup issues, especially considering where they're lined up and how the defense reacts. Do you go man and put a nickel CB on the TE or use the SS, two players with different skill sets. A solid TE can also expose zone coverage, particularly the Tampa 2 that all teams at some point use in a season. I really don't think Gailey sees the TE position as anything more than another blocker. There likely won't be any significant signing in UFA for this reason. They're content with fringe NFL players like Stupar, Chandler, Caussin, David and Martin as blockers. All of them are low cost blockers who aren't all that great receiving. I had hopes for Nelson, but he's struggled mightily and may never be a receiving threat, especially in Gailey's offense.