BillsVet

I'm sure you're right regarding Whaley. And perhaps there's something to be said for engaging the not-so hardcore fans at events like that State of the Bills function this past week. They make up a significant portion of the fan base. Heck, 4 years ago it was a press conference where Marv spoke, minus fan attendance, so they're using it for the right reasons. And yeah, I can understand the offensive theme present at an event like this. Talking about 5 technique DE's and WILB's probably wouldn't go over that well. Still, if they finish with less than 8 wins, I'm not sure they're going to have much confidence after 2+ seasons of rebuilding. JMO.

Third overall picks from 03-08: 2008 Matt Ryan 2007 Joe Thomas 2006 Vince Young 2005 Braylon Edwards 2004 Larry Fitzgerald 2003 Andre Johnson Vince Young didn't pan out, and there were some guys before 03 who didn't either, but picking third means the player becomes one of the best at their position. With 5 out of 6 guys having met that criteria, it should not be out of the question in 2011 for Buffalo. Nix and Gailey talk about not wanting to pick 3rd again, but if they're going to improve (and that's no guarantee) then they need to strike gold with their top picks. And for a team with 0 Pro Bowl starters from 2010, it has to start with this decision. Just an above average player isn't going to cut it. The league is predicated on having a few stars with a great supporting cast. Buffalo has no stars and an inferior supporting cast, at least as of right now.

In the 10 minutes of comments I saw Nix deliver, he didn't speak about defense much if at all. I'm not sure if that's a sign, but it's clear they've got to get the front 7 improved immediately. Still, this franchise knows ticket sales and their reputation aren't very good, so a signature guy needs to come in. OTOH, Nix understands that drafting a Newton or Gabbert opens the door for people to say it was RW and/or his people prodding them in that direction. There's a lot of maneuvering going on right now, as is the case every year. No matter what, they cannot afford to bust on this 3rd overall pick. Doing so sets the franchise back about 3 years and probably ends Nix' time as a GM within 2.

Great job Steve.

So in other words, the labor pains are what we're hyping and the baby will eventually come? I guess Nix and Gailey are the anti-Marv/DJ/Brandon triumvirate that royally screwed things up, so they're still getting a pass on many decisions. OTOH, if Buddy and Chan don't get Buffalo to 8-9 wins this season, it's going to get ugly.

Listening to Buddy at the State of the Bills I don't get a warm and fuzzy there's got a long term rebuilding plan. Granted it was a pep rally for fans, but it's not comforting to hear they're talking up Erik Pears as the starting RT. This is a guy on his fourth team in 3 seasons. They have major issues on the DL, and their LB's are bottom of the barrel as well. I have no doubt Buddy can be a solid national scout. But the jury's out on whether or not he's capable of molding a plan to rebuild and then carrying it out. I think he's been promoted beyond his skill set, but only time will tell.

The Bills need a long term answer at QB, but taking one for the sake of taking one is wrong as well. I would hope the talent evaluators are left to pick the best player at a position of need, and not forced into taking a QB. It's one thing to bust on a 8th-12th pick, but doing so in the top 5 takes a lot to recover from. Newton and Gabbert have issues that most top-5 drafted QB's don't have. Then again, Nix may not have a choice but to pick a QB.

I think the OP makes good observations about certain players. The Bills roster is very weak and still in need of a lot more talent, which the GM and HC admit. Unfortunately, they have very little idea what they're doing defensively, either 4-3 or 3-4 despite what the GM and HC say, which makes for interesting personnel decisions. They have two many guys who can play in either/or defense, not both. Offensively, they need real NFL OT's, not projects, UDFA's, or garbage UFA's at the line's 2 most important positions. They struggle to defend the run and run the ball. Not much has changed since DJ was axed. It's okay to be a fan and complain about a team that's gone 11 seasons without a playoff appearance and has all of 1 winning season in that time. It's fine if some want to be blatant homers and never question OBD, but with their track record, almost everything should be questioned.

Buffalo is in no-man's land considering their needs. There isn't a franchise QB available a la Ryan, Stafford, or Bradford. There isn't a top notch LT, and being a 3-4, I don't think they want to pay a 5 tech or ROLB #3 money. Being that this is the NFL, I think they'll place a priority on spending big dollars on (generally) the most highly paid position. And I'd say they're looking hard at Newton if he's available.

Not only this, but Buddy Nix' credibility needs to be called into question. Last year he said the OL would be a major area to improve and they did jack there. Now, he's admitted that the NFL's 32nd ranked run defense needs help. Drafting Peterson would probably constitute a BPA, but does nothing to improve their porous rush D. Oh, and for history's sake, SD used their top pick during Butler/Smith/Nix' first year on a RB. Guy's a HOF'er. In their second draft, they used a top 5 pick on a, wait for it...a CB. Back then, it took them 3 full seasons and 4 off-seasons to rebuild (2001-04). I'm not sure with a drafting strategy to take BPA no matter what that they'll even rebuild that quickly.

Owners wanted 1B off the top, and eventually negotiated down to 325M of that pool. So no, the 9B wasn't halved toward players and owners. OTOH, the owner's offer was made at noon on Friday, and the players countered with demanding to see audited financials at 4PM or thereabouts. A constant theme in these negotiations is the players as partners, for which I do not agree. De Smith has been preaching this since the time he took over in 2009, but it's his trial lawyer contentious overtones which need to be analyzed for what they are-a prelude to what we have now. Players assume a physical risk playing this game. Regardless, I don't see that translating into being full or less than majority partners in the NFL, which is why I don't side with their "right" to see financial records as a requirement to continue negotiating.

First, teams had to spend above the salary floor in 2009, and all of them did. Second, those 31 teams plus the Packers offered via their negotiators, the chance for the players to take 50% of the potential 9 billion dollar revenue pool. If that's not good enough, then this thing is going to drag out for months, because the owners aren't revealing their numbers.

Partners dispute? Seriously? What business is it of the players to know what each individual franchise earns? When the players were offered 50% of that 9 billion money pool and rejected it, this became more than any sort of "dispute." The players demanded to see the books because it's the coup de grace when it comes to current and future labor negotiations with the NFL.

Labor agreements are never black and white, but the previous CBA signed in 2006 called for 59.6% of a certain revenue pool to go to players. It wasn't all of league revenues, but significant enough to move the league's salary cap from approximately 85M in 2006 to 128M by 2009. The NFL was willing to go to 50% of revenues, or 4.5B to go to players and the NFLPA rejected it. The PA's insistence on having team financial records for the past 10 years is unreasonable and nothing the NFL would ever agree to. I guess the PA is banking on Judge Doty to rule in their favor, but the idea that 50% of league revenues (which BTW would have increased the cap to 161M IIRC) is not enough remains absurd to me.

No, interior DL is not an area of need after being the 32nd ranked team in the NFL against the run at more than 10 yards worse than Denver at 31. Perhaps Buddy missed some games last year or just plain forgot how bad that defense was. After all, the season ended more than 2 months ago.

The Bills seem more about the entertainment factor than most of their competitors. Winning and profitability are essential in any sports team, but some favor the latter in favor of the former. Buffalo is a stark example of that, both now and since Day 1. The results are what they are: a team with 41 NFL seasons, 13 playoff appearances, and one man there since the beginning. He pushes away or actually fires his best leaders, interferes in personnel, and makes knee-jerk decisions that ultimately hurt the team.

This. Buffalo Rumblings Nix v. Wilson Re: QB Drafting a QB, specifically Newton, would cast doubt on whether Nix is really the man in football operations. Of course, RW overruled coaches and GM's before, so I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

Bus Cook is the agent for Newton. That's just awesome, maybe Nix can ask about Favre's availability next season.

The old cap (and probably future one) forces RW to pay players. There's never been a requirement to pay for the highest caliber coaches and best front office talent evaluators. John Butler, while not perfect, left because of money. The owner fired and then subsequently sued Wade Phillips, which has to be in the back of the mind of anyone interviewing for a HC job in Buffalo. And just last year, 4 possible HC candidates declined interviews with another, Leslie Frazier, pulling his name from consideration. RW won't just pay people, now his reputation has made it so the organization as a whole can't even attract top guys if they were willing to pay. RW may pay some players, many of whom we wonder why, but when it comes to investing in the manager to pick and coach those players, he's notoriously frugal. And that's how you go 11 years without a playoff appearance.

You and I don't agree on much, but I'm willing to trust Belichick more than anyone at OBD for obvious reasons. We don't know the details of Stroud's contract, but it's for 2 years. A team doesn't give 2 years to a soon to be 33 year old unless A) they see something the player can do B) the deal is reasonable or C) It's Buddy Nix looking for an OT from the Raiders The point to all of this remains that Buffalo doesn't have a good track record in anything while NE does in almost everything. Until the Bills prove themselves capable of winning in the regular season by making smart moves, they're going to be questioned. It didn't help that Nix got off to a rousing start signing players like mid-season cut Cornell Green and then drafts a RB 9th overall who gains 440 yards from scrimmage.

It's hard to be positive when you've got 1 winning season in 11, the GM hypes a 1st round RB who gains 440 yards from the LOS his rookie season, they don't know which defense they're running, and they've won 31 games in 5 years. A fan can be and should be critical, unless they're casual fans or started watching within the past few years. NE can and does play a 4-3 at times. Marginalize them all you want, but they are improving with Mayo, McCourty, Warren, Meriweather and of course Wilfork along with having Belichick. Then again, you've never been wrong on this board, so I'll just bow to your omniscience.

Because even Buddy isn't dumb enough to sign a guy who told the HC to go to another place in front of the team.

Since when has Buffalo signed quality free agents since RW installed his friends and employees at the GM position? The Bills aren't pursuing name guys in the prime of their careers because they just don't believe in it.

Nix and crew hosted Bob Sanders and saw him go to SD. They made it known they were interested in Atogwe, and he went to Washington. Last year they hosted a few lower cost players and couldn't sign them, eventually getting two lost cost options at the end of their careers in Davis and Green to go along with a guy with injury concerns who played OK in Dwan Edwards. Building through the draft does not mean building exclusively through the draft. When the CBA gets hammered out, you'd think Buffalo would be able to fill some holes with quality free agents. If not, I question their commitment to building a winner. Buffalo hasn't made a slam-dunk move in Pro Personnel in forever.

Good thing Peterson is 220# to take on those TE's and guards in run support. Bills were 3rd in pass defense because no one runs against them and some think a CB is going to help the team as a whole. This whole speed thing is overrated. Spiller was one of, if not the fastest out there last year and he did nothing. These skill players need the support to be of great value, and yet we're talking about taking a CB higher than one's ever been taken. Buffalo doesn't have the luxury of taking BPA this year because they've built nothing on either side of the ball. At least there's no top safety to consider like Marv and Dick did 5 years ago.