BillsVet

46 sacks last year, with the only change being a guy Oakland didn't want. I'd say there's a reasonable change they'll struggle in pass protection this season. Jerry Jones and his boys make the call on draft picks in Big D. I don't think Gailey was instantly making choices on 2nd round picks if this is correct, especially in that 1998 was Chan's first year as a HC in the NFL. I'm not saying Adams is the cure for an OL that will have issues in 2010, but that the team didn't sign Chester Pitts (SEA) and now eschewed another guy who has starting experience to go with guys who are not proven like Bell and Meredith. That's a huge gamble and I think the result of a lower budget. Not to mention draft picks are cheaper than veteran FA's.

I don't think there's any reason to doubt Tim Graham's report (wish he was still with us on TBD) about the opening practice attendance. We're constantly told that the NFL is the most popular sport in the US, and I don't think it's any different in WNY. For fans to shun camp it's not a good sign, and makes me wonder what the ST sales total will amount to. Now, if people suddenly show up this weekend then maybe fan interest is just normal for a rebuilding team. If not, I think it's a result of hype not being fulfilled year after year.

No one knows how those 2 OT's, Bulaga and Anthony Davis, will fare. At the same time, rebuilding teams do not have the luxury of taking BPA as Buffalo did with Spiller. If Bell, Meredith, and Green are yielding sacks and taking bad penalties, Nix is going to take a lot of heat for not having addressed the OT position. That, and the interior OL depth is full of inexperienced types.

The fact they haven't released total season ticket sales is an admission that things aren't going well. And last's year RW ordered that Buffalo sign TO. It may indeed by awhile before they total 2 wins with the opening 5-6 weeks of their schedule. And that's why ST sales are probably, IMO, in the 40-45k range or about 10-15k below last season. .

That's a sobering timeline, but not a long shot. The likelihood of a lockout is high, and RW is 92 in October. It's all well and good to be optimistic, but I'm not sure Nix/Gailey have the time to conduct a full blown rebuild as they've attempted to start this year. Rational Bills fans know they've got a long way to go.

They played DT in a much different defense last year than GB did in 2008. Point is, GB already had the pieces to make a more seamless transition. Ryan Pickett played a lot of NT in 09, and at 6'4 330 is better suited to move from DT than Williams. Stroud may be a better bet to go from 4-3 3 tech DT to 3-4 DE, but he's 32, in his 10th season, and didn't play that well. Still, he dropped weight and reports are he's healthy entering the season. The key will be getting good play out of the NT. Williams is not a Jay Ratliff or Kris Jenkins type, so I'm not optimistic they'll be better there. And we haven't even discussed who's going to be rushing the passer, the other element necessary to having a successful 3-4.

When fans here say the Bills will be better based on what they've done, it's really a narrow-minded perspective The Bills do not exist in a vacuum. Other teams, especially AFCE teams, seem better and the NFCN and AFCN aren't bad either. It's almost as if Buffalo does what they need to avoid bottoming out, but don't do enough to get to the next level. I would tend to agree that going 6-10 or 7-9 does very little, no matter who the GM or HC are. And after 10 seasons of disappointment, maybe hitting rock bottom would do this organization some good. You can't hype much when the team is 3-13 or 4-12.

It's one thing to convert to the 3-4, but doing so from a T2 is a lot different. GB had the guys who played DT (Pickett, Jenkins, et al) that then became 3-4 DE or NT's. They drafted a guy in the first round 09 in Matthews who tallied 10 sacks, not to mention having an outstanding secondary. GB also had Dom Capers coordinating with that offense you mentioned. I'm not saying the Packers defense was stellar, but they had the pieces to convert that Buffalo doesn't.

It's not as though the standards are very high for Buffalo fans after the past decade. Thing is, if the team wins 3-6 games as most experts predict, there'll be a lot of fans who chalk this season up to rebuilding. Problem with that is we're always in a wait until next season. I'm not sure the Bills have 2+ years to conduct a rebuild. They must win now or risk losing more fan base.

You could realistically have said this in 2006 and 2007 as well.

It's ironic that when Buffalo chose to trade Jason Peters, a lot of Bills fans said LT's didn't win games so the need at the position wasn't great. Now, someone cites Oher as a big reason behind Baltimore's going 2-3 in games he started (as a rookie I might add against teams with decent to an outstanding pass rush). Not to mention, Buffalo is entering 2010 with maybe the worst tandem of OT's in the NFL. I guess whatever's convenient to make the point that LT's aren't important, unless it's time to marginalize a guy like Peters or Oher. And who's in football circles saying he'll remain at RT? Guys rarely are drafted 23rd overall to play RT anyway.

Except Baltimore is moving Oher to LT. La Canfora 5-7-10 Oher to LT

Do you realistically enter the season with Bell, Meredith, Green, and Wang as your OT's? Because if you do the QB's better buy extra personal injury insurance and get Cellino and Barnes on speed dial. Bell was a disaster a year ago before getting injured, Meredith couldn't make the Packers active roster when GB couldn't block Mama Pecoraro, Green was allowed to leave Oakland, and Wang is another project. That's positional negligence and Buffalo's OT situation is the worst in the NFL or close to it. Pitts at LT? Man, I remember the days people wanted Levitre at OT because he played it in college. Heck, why not Nick Hennessey or Cordaro Howard? All you gotta be is strong and big to play LT, and it's not different than other OL positions.

Near .500? That's rich. 32-48 in their past 5 seasons and 27-37 since DJ was hired isn't near .500 Besides, anecdotal evidence does not support where teams will fall, Every year, a team or two surprise and some fall off the table. Teams in their first year of a rebuild typically do not win much, especially those that don't have a strong starter at QB, are weak at OT, have no proven pass rushers, are implementing new offensive and defensive schemes (the latter of which does not have the right personnel), and play in a very tough division where their opponents are better on paper. This is a 5-11 team from a year ago, and one that will be led by a HC who hasn't done the job in 11 years. That's why people are picking them to be near the bottom of the NFL. No one's saying some things won't work out, just that there about 10 things that must go right to even be a .500 team.

What does Matt Cassel's mother think about Edwards? Because if she's pro-Trentative, then he should start.

No one's surprised by this assertion. Gailey's always been a run-first coach, unfortunately he can't block for the guys who'll be logging the carries. The OL still has serious issues, namely LT and RT and that's if Wood comes back 100%. There is no team in the NFL right now winning games with a power running style. Not Carolina, not Tennessee, not Pittsburgh, and not Buffalo 2010. For all the plaudits guys like Chris Johnson and DeAngelo Williams receive, teams these days need more diversified offenses with a passing game that can keep defenses honest. Buffalo doesn't have that. Gailey will have his work cut out for him when teams stuff 8 and even 9 in the box. How he responds will be one thing, but I don't think he's got the talent in the passing game right now to succeed. Besides, I won't disappear from the board if the team begins to struggle like others do.

Well written jahnyc. I don't think it occurs to most fans how inexperienced the OL is. More concerning is the lack of depth, where there is no one at guard with much NFL experience. Chambers has logged time, but didn't impress at guard (at NE 08 comes to mind). I really think they were shocked when Butler retired, in that he was their only serviceable OT. Gailey is undoubtedly a better offensive minded HC than DJ was, but it's going to take a lot to get the offense going without a passing attack to keep teams honest and more importantly quality along the OL. I hate the fact that a complete rebuild is happening, given the owner's age and instability of the franchise. Do the Bills really have 3-4 years to perform a rebuild?

Ultimately, Buffalo's preference for drafting skill players with their top picks is why they've not fielded top DL or OL the past decade. In that same time, they've selected several skill players who have a hard time producing without the big men up front. This should be elemental, but in a football universe made up of fantasy football fans, it's always good to take a QB, RB, or WR regardless of the OL . Problem is, real honest to goodness NFL team's aren't built like a fantasy team is. In the former, you've actually got to dominate at the LOS to win. Not surprisingly, Buffalo hasn't and will not in 2010.

Best line in the article: "Some N.F.L. teams’ second-string lines are better than Buffalo’s starting front five." Scott Pitoniak, formerly of the Rochester D and C was on Howard Simon's show the other day and echoed what most prognosticators say about the Bills. That their RB's and secondary are their strongest positions. Teams with issues at QB, protecting the QB and rushing the opposing QB don't win many games.

Nix was hired by RW. So if you're giving Nix the benefit of the doubt, that means you trust RW to make the right decision AND get lucky with that choice. RW hasn't made a good GM move in forever, so if that means I'm doubtful, so be it. Recent history suggests he doesn't find the right guy, and it extends to HC moves when he re-signed DJ. Bills fans were so happy to finally have a GM with actual honest football personnel experience. What does that say about Nix' predecessors, Levy and Smithers, who were both hired by RW. Not very high of a bar, but it's only the NFL. As for Gailey, there wasn't a single team who wanted him as a HC after his 2nd season as Miami's OC besides GT. And no one even mentioned his name after he was fired in KC by admittedly someone in Todd Haley who wanted offensive control. Just because Marv won games with the greatest modern day GM finding the players doesn't mean lightning will strike twice. The team, for all intent and purpose, is still managed by RW, Littman, and Overdorf. That's the triumvirate, with RW playing the role of Napoleon.

Someone should write a book, "How Not to Build an Offensive Line: The Buffalo Bills 2001-2010." First, TD drafted a huge OT (EDIT: bust) and then tried to stock the OL with cheap UFA acquisitions. Then Marv spent huge sums on bad UFA's while hoping late round picks would work. Next, the team trades their best OL when his contract demands do not suit them and after the team issued large contracts to lesser talented players. Lastly, they entrust the most important positions C, RT, and LT, to cheap UFA's, former practice squad cast-offs, and another late round pick. Meanwhile, it appears this year their principal backup G is another 7th round pick. The others will be UDFA's and street free agents.

Sure you can find a top LT beyond the 2nd round. You can also find franchise QB's in the 6th round. Anything's possible, but some positions due to physical demands are found in the first round. Truth is, there aren't many quality starting NFL OLT's who were taken in the 3rd round and below. I show 9 as being taken in the 3rd round or later, with the best being former Bills LT Jason Peters. None of the other 8 are more than average: Doug Free, David Diehl, Jermon Bushrod, Donald Penn, Mario Henderson, Charlie Johnson, Max Starks, and whoever Buffalo plays. The other 23 NFL teams have a first or second invested in their LT. Go ahead and conflate the argument by saying most quality players are taken in the first round anyway, but it's apparent the Bills are trying to find a decent LT from the scrap heap. It rarely happens. BTW, Clady was widely recognized as a premier talent, regardless of conference he played in. So much so that he was taken in Buffalo's reserved draft position of 12th overall.

It may be more a case of not being able to address everything in one year. Nix so much as said so earlier in the off-season, as I'm sure he is aware how much rebuilding needs to happen, especially considering they've moved to a 3-4 alignment. Regardless, there are a host of miscalculations this team makes when it comes to players. And while some will say the organization has been overhauled, decision makers remain who have been part and parcel of those miscalculations: Modrak, Overdorf, and Brandon. It seemed that no matter how big the failure, no one took the fall from 06-09. The fact it took 4 seasons for even a semblance of change is absurd. The entire OL is thin. The team has 2 guards with starting experience, 1 center, and none of the tackles are top-50 caliber IMHO. Once again, we're left "hoping" nothing bad happens. Ralph depends on luck, so why shouldn't we when it comes to players?

It's arrogance on the team's part to say they believe in guys like Meredith and Bell to play OT. All I see throughout this thread is "hoping" one of these guys steps up and takes the job. Well of course one of them stands to get it, but the operative question is whether they'll play decent football and not get their QB/RB killed. I doubt it. Every now and then teams find a diamond in the proverbial rough. The Bills found Jason Peters as a UDFA, but the chances they find his successor in that manner, late round pick or from another team's PS is absurd. Still, fans will keep believing it can happen until it's obvious neither play can do the job. In the interim, people get bashed for saying it's unlikely Bell, Meredith, or Wang will ever be average NFL starters at OT. I thought last season proved you don't enter the year hoping guys can play all over the field. That's a recipe for disaster, as last year's OL was.

Shudder the thought that after 10 seasons, featuring only one over .500, that they shouldn't be expected to. Results are overrated and optional.