BillsVet

Saint Louis was going with Bradford all along no matter what. Rams 2010 1st Pick Consensus Sam Bradford is a far better prospect than anything in the 2011 draft.

Why on Earth would Chris or Bill Polian give up anything for Z receiver? They find them in the middle rounds already who don't command large salaries. Reggie Wayne is their X. Evans seems to have quit the past 2 seasons and it's probably because he's tired of being on a losing team that's at the beginning of another rebuild. I guess he can keep running those 9 routes.

Vince Young won a NC at Texas and he became a huge liability to the Titans. College stats are nice for the Heisman voters, but they're not going to tell me if a player will succeed in the NFL. Furthermore, the NFL Draft is not a time when you take huge chances on players who have character concerns like Newton does. Buffalo needs to stick the landing on their pick and leave the first round with a starter from Day 1, not another project who needs time learning how to read defenses that'll sit for a season. If anyone's gun-shy about taking a DL and is worried about the bust rate, well, look at players like Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, B.J. Raji, or Sedrick Ellis. All were top 10 DT's taken and all have or look to be solid if not excellent picks. QB's aren't easy to find, but good personnel people tend to locate them more easily. The jury is still out on ole Buddy, who has proven nothing as a GM one year in. Taking a project like Newton tells me he has no clue whatsoever.

How many fans will think Buddy's an old fox if the defense becomes more 4-3 than 3-4 this season? He and his head coach have made conflicting comments about their scheme, and have signed players and coaches who are either 4-3 or 3-4 types. This is the same guy who re-signs Chris Kelsay to a decent contract extension, despite the fact he can't play LOLB in a 3-4 and his pass rushing ability as a 4-3 LDE are marginal at best. The same Buddy Nix who makes fun of the equally dysfunctional Raiders at his HC's introductory press conference and rambles on about getting 35 calls a day for the HC job. This is not a man who is savvy or capable of subterfuge during the off-season. He's a former national scout not qualified to be the top football man for a NFL franchise but gets the position because he's the only quasi-personnel man RW still knows. Buddy said on 12/31/09 that the Bills weren't that far away. I laughed then and I'm still incredulous that he's saying anything but that he's got a lot of work to do. Eventually the team has to play games, and after year 1, Buddy's work hasn't translated into much but suspect draft picks and UFA's who aren't much either. Buddy flunked year 1 as Bills GM.

Why did he quit? Was it pictures he emailed showing him shirtless?

My issue with Buffalo the past 5 seasons has been a reliance on unproven players. It seems like every year they need 2-3 guys on either side of the ball to play well and it just doesn't happen. Astute observers know a player's improvement is greatest between years 1 and 2, if it happens at all. So, depending on 2nd year players to form the basis of your defense is all they have because they rebuild every 3-4 seasons. It's not a model for success. KFBD, you and I both know this team will sign 2-3 low to mid tier UFA's, then proclaim it a busy off-season. Soliai either never leaves Miami or gets snapped up by a team needing a 3-4NT like HOU or KC. Buffalo doesn't get in bidding wars, so they'll be hyping Troup and Carrington ad nauseam. I'd be happy if one of them is a reliable starter in a 3-4. That is, if they go with the 3-4 like ole Buddy says unequivocally. Besides, Buddy doesn't have the budget to be awake when UFA begins.

Yep. And they thought Williams could be a 3-4NT. As good a player as KW is, he's not a fit in that defense and never will be. If they move back to a predominantly 4-3, they have no clue what they're doing. They can say all they want that it's a hybrid, but in this case it's because they don't have personnel for either scheme.

But ole Buddy said we're a 3-4 team? More subterfuge from OBD or their actual plans for defense. Perhaps they realize their best player, Williams, is a 4-3 3T or 1T and not a 3-4 NT. Makes a lot of sense now that they've signed Shawne Merriman to a decent sized contract with guarantees. If this is true, the defense is a mess.

As long as you've got a front office and players, there's nothing else you need to win in the NFL. Don't need a HC, that's for sure because they don't draw up game-plans or decide whom to start. And while we're at it, let's credit McCarthy as SF's OC in 2005 for advocating Smith over Rodgers. It's not like those same front office people making decisions don't have the overwhelming say about whom to draft, leaving the OC to make the call.

You're so negative.

GB has so much depth. They lost 6 starters from their opening day roster during the season and then lost Woodson and Driver tonight. Ted Thompson has really stocked that team with outstanding starters and capable depth players. Where the Packers have good depth with later round picks who can fill in, Buffalo goes dumpster diving for UDFA's, street free agents, and guys plucked from practice squads.

It's easier to draft and subsequently keep your own players when you have an actual general manager (of football I might add) running the show. Instead, the owner decided it was better for him to have an old hand that he knew. This went on for 4 seasons, encompassing several draft picks and free agency periods which produced almost nothing. Buddy Nix isn't off to all that great a start, but I have more faith in him than I do non-personnel people like Marv Levy and Mr. Smithers heading up the football side of the house. Too bad it's taken moves like this to demonstrate how far the Bills are behind in building a team to even be respectable.

Garbage.

Buddy said last year going into the off-season OL was his top priority, and then he did jack but sign a washed up backup who lasted less than half a season. So yeah, I take what they say with a grain of salt. The other element to all of this is, the QB is normally the highest paid player on the team. I don't see a rookie wage scale being in place this season, and if not, I don't see this team paying someone 40M guaranteed who plays any other position but QB. I can see them going with Gabbert to fill the void of not having a franchise guy, and of course someone they can hype to sell tickets. Of course, there's always the chance RW likes a certain National Championship QB with a questionable background.

I think Ted Thompson figured Clay Matthews Jr would be pretty good or he wouldn't have used a top pick on him.

Not every position is equal in terms of impact, which oughta be obvious to most fans. At 3, yeah sure they need an impact guy, but if it's not the next franchise QB, a DL or LT, it's a waste for this team. Fortifying their DL should be the name of the game seeing as how there isn't a top QB nor top flight LT available this draft. Last year should have proved that taking players who require support like a RB does from their OL is stupid. AJ Green might be a great WR, but he needs an OL and then a QB to get him the ball. It's been talked about ad nauseam here, but build the lines, especially the high dollar positions of OT, DE, and DT/NT.

Ironic how the draft picks became good to great players when Bill Polian started in the front office or was officially elevated to GM. My optimism dies with this franchise when I realize RW or his people can jump in at any moment and "recommend" a player OR Buddy is making the picks. Neither scenario is all that attractive, the former being even worse. Not all talent evaluators are created equal.

You don't hire Marv Levy to be GM. You don't hire Dick Jauron as HC. You don't draft skill positions when your lines stink. You don't promote Mr. Smithers to be GM. You don't spend 49M on a guard not named Steve Hutchinson. You don't trade Jason Peters. You don't draft Aaron Maybin. You don't hire Buddy Nix to be GM. You don't name Trent Edwards starter and then bench him 2 weeks in. You don't draft Cam Newton in the first 3 rounds minimum.

Spot-on. Whether RW realizes it or not, 11 years of losing has ensured a general distrust of both he and his franchise. His friend Buddy Nix hasn't committed to anything like a plan for the future nor made moves anyone can point to and say were solid. They made the choice to go with the 3-4, used a lot of picks and free agent dollars on players for that scheme, and found themselves going 4-3 a lot by season's end. On draft day, the took a RB 9th overall in an era when teams are starting and getting production out of late round picks and UDFA's. The RB ended up with fewer than 100 touches from the LOS. The named Trent the starting QB in camp and after 2 starts and 3 weeks he was cut. After the season, in an attempt to give credibility to their poor defense, they announce they're sticking with the 3-4 and then hire Dave Wannstedt who's always been a 4-3 guy. And now, the owner and GM are pulling out all the stops to defend their College Scouting Director who has worked for 4 different GM's and is supposedly not responsible for the draft record since starting in 2002. When you describe the issues, as Harvey as done, it's pretty clear they have no identity or plan. The owner is either meddling deeply or he's simply hiring people unqualified and inept at building a football team. So whether is Tom Donahoe, Marv/DIck, Mr. Smithers/Dick, or ole Buddy, he isn't getting enough big decisions right. And people around the NFL know it and thus will not work for him.

A Pro Bowl selection is an individual award, and Williams is deserving as an alternate. But the defense which he's a 34 NT on, gave up a shade under 170 yards rushing per which ranked dead last in the NFL by 15 yards. If the Bills are going to be a team that can stop the run with a 34, they need a different type of player.

He's a 4-3 1 tech or perhaps 3 tech DT. He's just not a 2 gap lineman.

And giving up 30+ points 9 times. Teams are going to keep running the ball down their throat until they start showing they can stop it. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a NE team with Brady beating you by running Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead at you. And in the 34, that starts with a NT who can occupy blockers at the 0 technique. For as good as Kyle Williams is, he's neither a 34DE nor a 34NT. It would help if the DL could tie up blockers so their ILB's can make plays.

Mankins plays LG, where Levitre plays. And no team should invest huge UFA dollars in a guard after having already allocated a 1st and 2nd round pick, especially one that has practically nothing at OT. Tackle is the high dollar position the Bills need to improve, because the difference between average and excellent guard play isn't that much.

Believe it or not, teams change front office personnel and sometimes the new people are better than the old people. This is why the Steelers weren't as good in the 80s and 90s as they are in the 00's. I'd say right now that Mike Tomlin is at least as good, if not better than Cowher. And, Kevin Colbert is an outstanding talent evaluator. So, they end up with good players who are well coached and it's no coincidence they win. Chalking up success to the luck of finding a player underscores how much planning and overall team talent is required to win long term in 2010. NE, IND, PIT, and PHI have been winning regularly for a decade. Think that's coincidence or because they have a plan, remain committed to it, and have great people to design and implement it? Right. No one lucks into a decade of success.

Everything this organization does seems to be a delaying effort or a rear-guard action. Drafting is terrible according to the owner, but the same people are there building the board and coordinating the scouts. There is no vision and no cogent plan when you name a retired HC as GM and replace him with the marketing guy. Placing personal familiarity above actual talent when searching for a GM is a reason why the Bills are 31-49 since 2006, or the same record they were under the hated Tom Donahoe. Kudos to DiCesare for making this point. You don't go 11 years straight without making the playoffs and not completely blow up the front office. Overdorf, Modrak, scouts, et al. should have been gone when a new GM takes over. It happens in all franchises when there is true "regime" change. Organizationally, they get rid of people only when things get really bad publicly, i.e. Jauron and Guy. Those guys should have been gone way before they were fired.