BillsVet

Every player in the draft is therefore a risk because they haven't taken a snap in the NFL. You don't simply eschew those positions like OT that are risks because they could fail. The 49ers thought enough of Anthony Davis to take him 11th. GB chose Bulaga 23rd. Both of those organizations are not in rebuild mode, but chose OT's. You'd be hard-pressed to find an organization that hasn't used a 1st or 2nd on an OT in the past 5 seasons. Some teams are able to find guys later, but Buffalo isn't one of them. And so they select project players who they hope develop. Just once I'd like a guy with the measureables to begin from day 1. But that'd be too much of a risk. I'm quite certain that teams will key in on the run and force Buffalo to pass. When that happens, those OT's are going to need a lot of help, minimizing the options in the passing game for whomever is still upright to play QB. I see a lot of 8 in the box treatment until they can overcome the pressure. Bell and Green will be tested early and often. As for the team being "8th in rushing average" that tells only the slice of the story you'd like. They were 16th in yards and 29th in rushing TD's too. Rushing average is simply a misleading stat. Personally, I'd love to know how they fared in short yardage, how they fared on 1st and 10, and how they fared in situations where running would be harder, like say 3rd and 6. That's what tells me if they can run the ball effectively, not a cherry-picked stat which isn't specific.

46 sacks allowed last season says the OL was worse to begin with. If they're the same, I expect more of the same bad pass protection and an inability to convert in short yardage. Chalk it up to injuries, inexperience, lack of talent, whatever. They were not good and never adequately developed a plan to stock the position with talent post-Peters. Go ahead and say they couldn't do everything in one year, but rebuilding teams don't take RB's when their OT's are among the league's worst. There's a theory on TBD that says RB's can make a bad line look better which is patently false Aside from Barry Sanders and Walter Payton, there aren't many who can do this. Aside from Steven Jackson, I don't know of a good running back having success behind a bad to mediocre OL in today's NFL. IMO, Gailey attempts to build a run-first offense. How he does that with little talent at OT is beyond me. And forbid them having an injury on the interior, where no one has more than a handful of games experience at C or G.

Once Donahoe burned him by failing after having the president title, I think RW went into protect mode and has hired only known commodities for GM's as a result. Levy, Brandon, Nix. Still, I don't think Buffalo's respected enough league-wide for anyone with a lot of NFL success as a GM or HC who'll come to Buffalo. And it's the result of hiring guys like Levy, DJ, and promoting Brandon into a role he not surprisingly couldn't handle.

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but did you expect them to say sales were poor? Most of the stories are anecdotal, but indications from people I work with and on this board are that sales are low. The economy was very bad last year and yet they sold 55k season tickets. I don't buy that as a reason sales are down and merely a distraction from the obvious: people are no longer buying the hype from OBD. If the NFL is wildly popular and the Bills aren't selling 50k season tickets a year, something's wrong. I dare say that the NFL is a much more popular sport than it was when Buffalo was having their best ticket selling years during the SB years.

I don't think serious NFL fans are fine with their team rebuilding, but they'd admit it needs to happen when players get older and the core groups fade. Some rebuilds aren't as hard or last as long, but it's clear the Bills are entering their third rebuild in a decade. And this season reminds me a lot of 2001, though there are some differences. But the Bills are very different than a lot of teams that have rebuilt. There's a decade long playoff drought, they haven't won a playoff game since 1995, have a nonagenarian owner that will not discuss the team's future, and struggle with difficult player situations. Their PR department has a disconnect and information is tightly guarded for fear of anything bad coming out. And now, they can't release the total season ticket sales because they're probably far down from 2008 and 2009. Buffalo is very different than the other 31 NFL teams. They draft differently, make front office decisions differently, and have been able to remain merely mediocre over a long period of time. We've learned an awful lot about them just in this off-season, and not much of it is good. What we need to learn is how committed they are to winnning.

IIRC, Schobel said something about the direction of the team just before DJ was fired last November. After 9 seasons of losing, just about anyone wants to get out of that situation.

An outstanding post. Ralph is a polarizing figure, probably the most of any sports personality Buffalo has ever seen. I suppose it's impossible to ever succeed in today's NFL with RW owning the club. It's clear he spends a certain level on players because the NFL CBA mandates it. Meanwhile, spending on coaches and front office personnel is not required, and not surprisingly it's where he skimps. Amazing to think with a guy who's worth some money that he will not pay the people who are charged with finding the players that make the money.

When the Bills begin winning, they'll earn some points both here and in NFL circles. They've mastered the ability to never bottom out and win from 5 to 9 games, thereby running in direct contrast to every other NFL team. No team can claim this track record of never completely failing or having some semblance of success. IMO, they'll finally bottom out this year, but it doesn't excuse the fact that they have problems dealing with players who carry some weight. Whether it's Clements, Peters, Spikes, and now Schobel, they come off as being uncoordinated and aloof. I don't know how Buffalo continues to get a pass from fans after their terrible track record this past decade.

Whoa, hold on there. As decent a coach as Marv was, he had Bill Polian stocking the roster albeit with input from others and Levy. The GM and HC must work together, and Nix isn't in this for the long haul anyway. Let's wait until the regular season before anointing him as the guy to turn this around.

Apparently Adam Schefter believes otherwise: Schefter predicts long holdout from Spiller If Rolando McClain has signed at 8 and Ryan Matthews as the other RB within 3 picks of Spiller have a deal, I'm not sure what the hold-up is. Spiller's holdout is now in its fourth day. If this lasts another week, I'd say there's a problem on Buffalo's end. Besides, I trust Schefter more than Buffalo's backward PR department and their unending quest for face-saving.

If reports are true, most of Buffalo's front office has been go along to get along these past few years post-TD. It's almost as if no one wanted to cross Wilson and possibly lose their job. Even the giant restructuring that people say happened this off-season was more symbolic than substantive because ultimately everything has to be run by RW. I wish Buffalo had a GM who would have more control over football without people like RW, Littman, and Overdorf butting in. Polian was the last guy who had the audacity to tell RW and his family that he was the GM and didn't just take orders. History shows Polian was right and RW was wrong. But that's all in the past.

Some GM's don't make a lot of trades during the draft. So I'm not going to hammer Chix for not having done so. Top-10 picks aren't easy to trade for considering the ridiculous guaranteed money they stand to receive. That said, LT and RT play make a big difference on game day, although the fantasy fans here won't admit/realize it. For all the money Buffalo saved in trading Peters and considering Wood and S. Nelson (who I both like) the replaceability factor is killing them after the fact. I think Bell is not NFL material, and Meredith is a RT candidate only. I think Buffalo can't afford to give either much more time to develop.

We all trust that he'll be good, but there aren't many 200# RB's that play in the NFL. Chris Johnson is the exception, but he also benefits from a very good OL featuring guys like OT's Michael Roos and David Stewart. Buffalo's ability to run block will be the deciding factor in how well the offense functions. And with Bell, Green, and Meredith being their top 3 tackles I think they'll struggle.

Maybe Wichard wants too much and Buffalo's offering less. It's contract negotiations and it's nothing new. I wouldn't worry about it unless Alualu signs and the thing drags on.

I'd count the following teams as strong running teams: NYJ, BAL, JAC, MIN, and CAR. Of that group, MIN, NYJ, and BAL made the playoffs and all 3 were backed up with strong defenses. I can understand Buffalo not going for Bulaga or Anthony Davis at 9 if they didn't like them. Unfortunately, they've left themselves a huge hole at OT and expecting a RB to make up for that is ridiculous. I think the lack of talent at OT is going to hurt even more this season.

Mr. Smithers has access to everything Mr. Burns owns.

Buffalo went 6-10 with a win against Indianapolis' JV team in 2009. Theymay improve in 2010 given a HC who actually knows what an NFL offense should look like but the record may be worse. Blind homer fans are scared of the team leaving and believe buying seasons and not complaining miraculously will keep the team in Buffalo.

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.