BillsVet

To quote Abe Vigoda... "Whitner's a schmuck."

Where is the evidence Buffalo will spend in ufa, provided there's a new cba? They haven't signed a free agent to big money in four years and the GM made it known that they'll build almost exclusively through the draft. Furthermore, the three guys signed last year were to either transition to the 34 or a reach to fill a position where someone unexpectedly retired. I just don't see them spending because they have positions of need. It goes against a couple of years of history.

Something is wrong whenever top coordinators refuse to interview for a HC position. I think the issue in Denver is Pat Bowlen is now far less of a presence than he used to be. Two years later, he realized this was a mistake and re-ordered the situation by hiring the most famous Bronco of them all in Elway. Aside from the age difference, this decision is similar to RW hiring Marv. Both men were respected in their most famous roles, but neither were trained to handle personnel. I think this is one of the reasons people are refusing to interview because a HC needs someone above them who is experienced in personnel.

Or perhaps you can't build a team without busting a few first and second rounders, right? If I was George Edwards and heard the team wanted to talk to Wannstedt about a coaching job, even if it wasn't DC, I'd grow eyes in the back of my head. The fact Buffalo might only be interested in him as an ILB/AHC tells me they're not enthused with the way he coached. And you can be darn sure Edwards knows this, because this interest clarifies that. And for the record, at the NFL level when you make mistakes, the results transfer onto the field real fast. No one executive or team is perfect, but the good ones don't make a lot of bad decisions. Buffalo has for many years now and the result is obvious whereas teams like NE, BAL, ATL, IND, GB, et al aren't known for huge mistakes in personnel or schematically.

Wanny may not end up in Buffalo, but if Edwards is replaced after 1 season, that's an indication Gailey got another big decision wrong. First it was moving to the 34, naming Trent as the starting QB, then Spiller and Lynch at RB, and maybe the DC. That's a lot of bad decisions in one year, even though he's much better on offense than DJ or his underlings ever could dream to have been.

Yep. On that we can agree. Sends the wrong message that despite months of scouting and meetings, the owner can get his way. Modrak is to blame for some things, but I'm sure people knew upstairs that Lynch had some character issues. Every owner will have a say, but the degree to which they do is what's being debated. What's funny is how millionaire or billionaire NFL owners, while successful, generally screw up a franchise by trying to closely oversee the operation. Bob Kraft, Arthur Blank, the Mara's have done much better this decade than RW, Jerrah Jones, Al Davis, and Mike Brown.

Predictable from TBD: A connected NFL insider makes a negative comment about a front office that is proven to be dysfunctional and homers attack. Same thing happened in October when Glazer's colleague Adam Schein wrote an outstanding article about this very subject. Schein said Glazer is always on the money as well. I wonder what it'll take for homers to truly see that the Bills are not held in high regard. Naming a retired HC GM and then replacing him with a marketing guy who was then replaced by a retiree will do that for you.

Let's see, we should take your opinion over the QB he's blocking for? What's your opinion based on anyway?

That person spoke up already about 25 minutes before your post. Sanders was a holdover on Mike Sherman's staff in 05 and became DC in 07. GB's defense had issues holding onto leads in the 4th quarter in 08 and I've read multiple places that Sanders had problems with in-game adjustments. Sanders in Green Bay Giff Smith appears to have coached his entire career in the college ranks with the 43.

Ironic you use the word "terrible" to describe the drafting this decade. Because that's exactly the same word the owner used to describe their drafting after the Miami win. Still, the college scouting department remains virtually unchanged despite the terrible track record there. Buddy's first draft underwhelmed, but it's very early. That 09 draft has thus far yielded 2 decent to solid interior Olineman, a safety who may be improving, and little else. Finding interior lineman and safeties is nice, but taking them in the first two rounds means you should hit. Most teams use fewer resources and draft just as well at those positions. The Bills remain weakest at the positions that are the hardest to find: QB, OT, pass rusher, and CB. Some things never change I guess.

I'm not an expert on the Chan years at GT, but there is someone here who is more of an authority. He was fairly mediocre at GT, but on the surface recruited some pretty decent talent. Bob Sanders was fired after the 2008 season when GB went 6-10 after advancing to the NFC title game the season before.

Not exactly correct. Buddy was not actively shopping Lynch as hard as many thought he should or might have. Lynch's Availability It's early, but after one year of Buddy as GM, there are serious questions about his ability to handle being a NFL GM.

Well, Willis McGahee just scored on a decent run. This begs the question: Will Travis Henry break out of the penitentiary now?

When both teams hire a HC, then it'll be much easier to determine where they go. If they change defenses (CAR was a 43 and DEN was a 34) it changes their draft plans immensely.

Demontie Cross had never worked in a 34 before, yet inexplicably was tabbed to coach ILB's in the scheme. Of the other DJ holdovers, at least OLB coach Bob Sanders had coordinated a 34 and Catavolos has been around for years. IIRC, Cross was relying heavily in the off-season on Andra Davis' knowledge to help him transition. That's not a good sign. It's obvious to see most of the these guys, especially on offense, are Chan's boys. None of them are proven at the level they're coaching at, and I don't think some of them would be in the NFL without the HC.

Defensive lineman don't sell tickets. But I wouldn't mind Dareus either at this early juncture.

Vernon Davis re-signed earlier this season with SF. Seeing discussion of the TE's, I don't think they want anything more than a scaled down OT to help blocking at this point and for next season. They've got major issues at RT, ILB, OLB, and smaller positional problems at LT, NT, and CB. As much as we want a TE who can out-do the 23 catches their TE's put up this season, they've got more important priorities right now. Besides, the GM brags about being asleep when UFA opens. What makes us think he's changed his mind or the powers that be have given him the budget to pursue anyone worth signing? Season ticket and attendance dropped sharply in 2010, which has probably affected their 2011 budgeting.

Wilson said after the Miami game in Toronto 2 years ago the team didn't have enough talent. At the time, he had a marketing guy running football ops who had Modrak and Guy working for him. Then, after the Miami game you reference, he said the drafts the past 10 years have been "terrible." I don't take a whole lot from the look on someone's face as proof that someone is intent on winning. That said, I don't blame RW as much anymore simply because he's 92 and isn't involved day to day. His principal lieutenants, Littman, Brandon, and Overdorf are running this horror story of a franchise for him. I think Nix takes a lot of orders, and this is a central reason why the Bills couldn't get interviews for their GM and HC openings.

Every team in the NFL has a primary objective to make money, which is entirely reasonable. No owner, whether it's Arthur Blank, Bob Krafts, or RW wants to lose money even if it means winning games. There's a balance here. At the same time, not all teams place as high a priority on winning, and that's where the Buffalo Bills fall, especially the 2006-2010 seasons. Buffalo cut their payroll 20-25M in 2010 and hired a no-name low cost HC, If they don't acquire some quality UFA's and insist on building exclusively through the draft (provided there's a CBA) then the only conclusion anyone should draw is that they think they've got years to work with. Based on declining attendance and season ticket sales, it appears their time is limited. Then again, perhaps that's what they want.

Sure he's big enough to play the 5 tech, but I don't think he'll like it. In all probability, he'll line up at RDE and not get nearly the sacks he did in the 43. Antonio Smith probably handles the LDE, but who plays NT is anyone's guess.

Did Buffalo hire the Marv and Dick show again?

What's funny about these anti-Modrak posts is the timing. If he wasn't fired by Nix last year, what makes anyone think he's going anywhere? They're so deep into the college scouting process that if they haven't axed him by now, it's not happening. No one can fire anyone without RW's approval, Modrak included.

You gotta do some serious crack to talk this way. Second rule is not talking about where the free crack is. It's this and calling Lenny Pastabelly with all your favorite in-hindsight picks from 3 years ago Buffalo missed on.

He's a Buddy Nix draft pick. And because Nix once upon a time drafted Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman, it's guaranteed he'll be solid. Buddy is awesome and is the smartest guy in the room. Seriously, a friend of mine does TV sports in the Dakotas. Said Batten will be a player, but must admit he played I-AA and hasn't proven anything in the pros. Banking on late round rookies as impact players is not a reliable way to build a team. Cue the guy who says Moats was a 6th rounder.

TD was rightly fired 5 years ago for going through 2 coaches and severely alienating the fan base on the way to a 31-49 record from 01-05. Ironically from 06-10 Buffalo recorded an identical 31-49 record under 2 HC's and 3 GM's. Whereas TD had control of football operations or as close to it considering the franchise, it's been RW and his people making the choices for the past 5 seasons with equally bad results. Main difference now is the Bills are not attempting to sign the free agents or even having the marginal success in the draft that TD did. Naturally, this begs the question of who should be relieved for this failure? Surely not Chan and Buddy, who were only hired a year ago. Littman and Overdorf clearly have lifetime contracts and Modrak's not going anywhere despite RW's admission that drafting has been terrible this decade. The point is, TD got the ax when it was clear the team wasn't moving forward and the fan base was alienated. Here we are 5 years after Donahoe was sent packing and the team is back to being really bad with a disgusted fan base. Not making any significant changes or free agent signings (provided there's a new CBA) and this is no more than a latent admission the team is content to hang out with the bottom feeders until the inevitable.