BillsVet

As long as RW keeps winning, luck will always be the factor this team needs. The owner said it at the Nix hiring PC. There are surprises each season, but depending on luck is not how team's are built or maintained. A lot of woulda, coulda shoulda's will have to bounce Buffalo's way for them to even sniff 6-8 wins. It's looking more like 2-4.

The more questionable positions a team enters the season with, the worse they'll be. And Buffalo's got issues at all the major ones: QB, LT, NT, and the pass rushing OLB's. And, at the less important positions of WR, TE, and RT. When I look at the offense, the only proven guy is Jackson. Evans doesn't take over a game, and the best OLineman are 2nd year guys. Otherwise it's a hit and mostly miss. The defense doesn't have a proven pass rusher, and their run defense is depending heavily on a rookie. That' a major cause for concern. Besides, the HC hasn't done the job since 1999 and hasn't been a coordinated a real offense since 2001. Things have changed considerably since then. But don't tell Buddy or Ralph.

It's also a simple concept for defenses to stack the LOS with 8 and 9 guys. If you have offensive lineman beaten at the POA, Spiller's speed is quickly negated. Defenses aren't going with the DJ philosophy and wait to be attacked; they'll look to stop a predominantly running based offensive at or before the LOS.

Of the many wild claims from Nix this off-season, perhaps the strangest was claiming Spiller will make the OL better. For all the talk about Chris Johnson, Reggie Bush, and others, all of them had good to excellent offensive line's in front of them. I would argue STL's OL in 2009 was better run blocking than Buffalo's will be in 2010. Besides, with the team having few offensive weapons to draw attention from Spiller, defenses can stack the LOS on Buffalo. Reading TBD, it's as if teams will be surprised that the guy is as fast as he is. Sure.

It is a wonderful monument to men and women who weren't appreciated when they died. At least those left behind may remember them.

How about drafting one in the first or second round? Guys like Ed Wang make for nice stories, but they're not the type to depend on, especially as rookies. Few fans understand the cost but ultimate upside of having a top LOT. Sure, some smart aleck will chime in and say Team X went to the SB without a great LOT, but that's an absurd argument. No offensive coach would ever turn down a guy who can handle the other team's best pass-rusher singlehandedly. That gives the play-caller a lot more freedom. And if the team doesn't have a top LOT, they'll need to cover up to handle the pass rush with a TE or chip with the RB frequently. Buffalo hasn't invested anything into their OT's in forever and it's little wonder that the position is a wasteland. Bell, Green, Meredith, Chambers, are what they are: not good enough. Wang may develop, but he's another project that some fans are dreaming about. He needs two years after having started at college as a TE. OT's are rarely found in the 2nd round or below.

I am not sure about his being on that memorial. However, there is a moving wall that will be at the Batavia VAMC from 6/24-6/28. It's a scaled down version of the actual wall in Washington, D.C. Kalsu Location on Wall A redleg forever.

Just the discussion of cold weather SB sites is proof-positive the NFL has gone mad looking for new revenue sources. They've already loaned the Giants/Jets 300M to build this stadium. Perhaps this is another gift to help them pay some of it back. That's a longshot, but team's aren't supposed to carry more than a certain debt to value ratio.

Solutions? Well, how about drafting an OL with their first pick, specifically a guy like Anthony Davis or Bulaga? It remains a huge need, but the front office has pooh-poohed the need for another OT despite having no one on the roster that isn't A) nearing the end or B) unproven You want solutions. And now, you'll tell me CJ was the BPA and will make the OL better, produce game changing plays, and excite people. Right, except CJ's OL is among the worst in the NFL. People don't get it here: We complain about the Bills because there are legitimate issues across the board with a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 10 years. Sugar coating, drinking the kool-aid, hoping, et al. are solutions. They're a way to avoid reality.

I didn't say they were cheap, I said they won't negotiate a sizable contract extension with anyone received in trade. The LOT position is typically the second highest paid player on offense simply because there aren't many guys who can play the position. Gaither and Brown will demand a new contract because A) they play a position in high demand and Buffalo doesn't have a proven LOT on the roster.

How many of those false starts were at home when crowd noise was a minimum? You can slice this ten ways, but not knowing the snap count is elemental in any type of offense. There is absolutely nothing to suggest Bell will be the answer at LOT. Fans that trust former 7th round picks to return from ACL surgery at a position demanding agility and strength are normally disappointed. Tackles are not found in the bargain bin and when Buffalo did find one they traded him. Gaither (and Jammal Brown) will need a new contract, which Buffalo is unwilling to give out.

To quote John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious!" Wang is a project player, as was Bell going into 2009. You can hope and pray that these types of players were missed by teams repeatedly and Buffalo struck gold. Depending on these types of players is tantamount to absurdity. It's just strange that so many fans have forgotten what transpired last season when the team hoped project players and rookies would make the difference.

Feeling good is what it's all about for many fans who cannot bear to hear their team isn't that good. After 10 years, merely rebuilding and hoping to be good in 2-3 years isn't good enough. They don't deal well with criticism, but cannot refute the obvious which is repeatedly mentioned here.

I thought last year proved that rolling the dice on project players to be average starters (EDIT:was absurd)? Meredith was cut by an OT starved team (GB) and Bell was one of the most penalized OT's in the NFL before being injured. Neither of these guys are long term options and with this organization I wouldn't be surprised to see Wang starting on opening day. The Bills know that they can hype up a new player given the lack of tape, and Wang fits that. Besides, OL play isn't quantified by stats, so anyone can play these positions. Sure.

It's dead and none of know why. I suspect Baltimore wanted more in trade than what Buffalo would offer, given that the Bills needed to re-sign the guy to a sizable contract. The Bills aren't handing out 40-50M contracts anymore. Bills fans must resign themselves to seeing projects like Bell or Wang getting manhandled by opposing pass-rushers. After all, they're cheap and that's what counts.

Chances are that Wang will not be a serviceable OT in the NFL. Why? Because NFL LOT's predominantly come from rounds 1 and 2. Teams find RB's, LB's, G's, and other positions later in the draft, but you don't find instant or future starters at LOT in round 5. Donald Penn and Jason Peters are the only LOT's found in the UDFA ranks from the past 04-08 who became starters at the position. Throw in 5th-7th round picks, and you'll still find that about 28 out of 32 LOT's came from rounds 1-3. When you bank on project players working out at positions like QB and LOT, you'll be bankrupt at the positions. And as much as DJ deserves a lot of blame for the offense, why did the team trade Peters without a proven backup behind him. DJ didn't make that move all by himself. Now look at Baltimore who may be discussing trading Gaither, but they've got a plan behind him with Oher. Ditto for New Orleans with Jammal Brown. But not Buffalo. No, they've got all the answers, but it's DJ's fault for everything. Convenient now that he's gone. The Bills OL is a mess. Project players at LOT, LG is a 2nd year man who seems fine, C is a journeyman, RG is a guy coming back from a serious injury, and ROT is manned by a guy Oakland let go. Then again, Chan Gailey can do anything.

Cue the militantly optimistic fans. They cannot tolerate anyone's criticism, national media, local media, or TBD'er.

All good points. One thing throughout this thread which strikes me is fans banking on rookies and 2nd year guys to perform at an adequate to above average level. Rarely does a team get instant starters who can contribute, let alone at foundation positions like NT and Rush OLB. Troup will be the first/second down man, and that's not good but the team had little choice. And then, you're looking at guys like Maybin or even Chris Ellis to provide pass-rush help in a position they've never played before. Relying on too heavily on rookies and 2nd year guys is playing with fire. Buffalo could feature a heavy dose of Byrd, Maybin, Ellis, Troup, Wood, Levitre, Bell (RS 2nd yr)/Meredith, and the WR2 of either Hardy, St. Johnson, or Easley. That's 8 positions with a rookie or 2nd year guy.

If you're a NFL GM taking over a rebuilding project, you can't be afraid to fail based on previous bust picks. Bill Polian watched every throw Peyton Manning took at Tennessee and made sure of himself. People make it seem like he was lucky, but I disagree. That said, there are three types of teams in the NFL: title contenders, the average-mediocre teams, and the rebuilding ones. Buffalo fits squarely into the third category and will probably be about 3-13 when the season is done. People forget that SD took a good QB in 2001, even though his best years were/are in NO.

Thing is, no die-hard fan-base in the NFL has experienced what Bills fans have had to. Bad team, Toronto series, an elderly owner who cannot assure us the team remains, some extremely painful losses (Dallas MNF, CLE MNF, NE MNF) mystifying draft picks, bad FA signings, Dick Jauron, no real GM, et al. The list really does go on and on. It would be one thing if this were Jacksonville where people are apathetic or have other outlets like CFB to follow. Not so in these parts come September. Other teams' futures are in doubt, but none of them have a fan-base that supports them like Buffalo and the surrounding area does the Bills.

I think this about sums it up. The Bills need a lot of things to go their way in order to be successful on the field again.

Why would Brandon have pursued a greater knowledge of the personnel side of business if he wasn't going to be doing it? As an extra credit project for RW? No one can adequately grade a draft pick for three years. Or so I'm told on TBD. Players can regress, and the two notable examples are Brandon Spoon and Ko Simpson. When teams have an entire off-season to review film, some player's weaknesses are easier to spot than in the course of a week's preparation.

We can debate what constitutes actual change, but the fact remains that RW or his designee(s) are/is still in control of a great deal. The list of GM candidates assembled by Brandon that subsequently both he and RW admitted not knowing who many of them were strikes me as amateurish. That fact underscores a serious reputation issue, in that they did not or could not invite anyone but Nix and Guy in for an interview. The GM is the most important football job for any NFL team. And Buffalo had nothing but in-house options to consider, one of who was later fired. In essence, they had one legit candidate all along. At the same time, AGM/GM in waiting Whaley was a solid hire IMO. It will be interesting to see when he gets his chance.

Brandon was promoted to CEO, answering only to RW and overseeing the entire op. I understand this as RW is an elderly man and cannot possibly review the entire organization. Besides, Brandon has marketed a losing product quite well. There were changes made, but the wholesale ones we were led to believe didn't happen. This administration on paper is better than the previous ones, but how much is anyone's guess. Additionally, improving upon a former HC and the business marketing guy moonlighting as GM isn't very hard.

Excellent counter-argument. I understand the HC and quasi-GM listening to Modrak from 06-09, given his position in the organization. Unfortunately, Levy, Jauron, and Brandon leaned too heavily on people like Modrak and Guy, who weren't solid enough talent evaluators. The result is poor drafts and bad FA acquisitions. Generally, when new GM's enter the fray, as Levy and now Nix have, the amateur scouting and pro personnel directors are axed. Why Buffalo chose to simply change GM's is odd, but then again, I think only RW can fire people at OBD.