BillsVet

Ironic you mention Atlanta. Their owner, Arthur Blank, hired former New England front office guy Tom Dimitroff to be GM. Dimitroff was selected over Buddy Nix and proceeded to sign one of the top UFA's that year in RB Michael Turner. Then, in the draft Atlanta selected QB Matt Ryan who went on to thrive in Mike Mularkey's offense. ATL also picked an OT in the first round of that 08 draft, giving up three picks to do so. Besides, Arthur Blank has always wanted a winner and will commit the resources. I'm not sure winning is RW's priority right now.

Donahoe came from an organization that played the 3-4. Williams had just run a 4-3 scheme in Tennessee that was very successful. I'd say the decision was more GW than TD on which specific defense to run. But for the record, what are the moves Nix and Whaley have made with Buffalo that make you already trust these guys? They've signed a cast-off from the Raiders, cut some camp fodder, and hired some no-name assistants. And I don't know what the heck "strict" means here.

Not to mention, not one guy on the team has any experience in playing this defense. GB transitioned from the 4-3 to a 3-4 under Dom Capers, and drafted a NT in Raji and an OLB in Matthews Jr. It helped that their ends, Cullen Jenkins and Johnny Jolly were big enough from the 4-3 days to play a new style. I'd also point out that they have zero depth on the DL and in the LB corps (that's corpse to you Obama fans). Posluszny and Mitchell are it at ILB, and neither Keith Ellison nor Nic Harris are big enough. I think there's a better chance Maybin succeeds in the 3-4 than Kelsay or Schobel.

It's Bill from NYC's term for the failed logic and tenure behind the Marv Levy and Dick Jauron pairing from 2006-2007. And then, when Levy retired, the term continued on, because Jauron (as Levy's hire) continued making poor decisions with non-GM Russ Brandon leading the way. Dick Levy is a shortened version of this.

After Dockery and Walker, Buffalo signed Kawika Mitchell and Spencer Johnson to moderate contracts the following year in 2008, committing a total of 35M to those players. They traded for Marcus Stroud in that same off-season, thus assuming a decent sized contract. Seasoned vet versus over-the-hill and highly penalized OT for the Raiders? Cornell Green is not a guaranteed fix for their RT hole. And no, the team could go NT in Round 1 and then hope another LT prospect falls into the second round. Perhaps the kid from Hillsdale College, I don't know. The Gailey hiring was an emergency move made when the franchise was being rejected left and right. They needed someone to take the job by the point Chan was hired. He was not even close to being their first choice. The Occam's Razor point cannot be trumpeted enough. Build up that bank account RW.

What if the business you work at had a cap for their payroll? How would that go over for you and your co-workers. It would only be instituted so that they didn't have an unfair advantage over other similar companies. I'd prefer to see no cap at all then start placing restrictions on anything and everything to "level" the playing field. When someone tells me that it's in my best interest to agree to give up small freedoms to gain something, well, eventually you'll have no freedom.

You do realize everyone's favorite scapegoat John Guy was on-board back then? And that Dick Jauron had a sizable say in Levy's communal approach to rebuilding? Signing free agents doesn't mean they'll be great, but it doesn't mean that capable people can't find talent to build the team. Everything on this board is either black or white to far too many posters.

Even though Florio and crew at PFT are bordering on sensationalist, they still report things most of us wouldn't ordinarily see. Case in point is this article outlining Raheem Morris' response to the lack of TB's pursuit of free agents. Particularly Michael David Smith's comment in the fourth paragraph that free agency and building through the draft aren't "mutually exclusive." Raheem Morris defense lack of free agent signings We get that Buffalo isn't going to pursue the name free agents, and that's fine. But it's not illegal to build depth at the beginning of a massive rebuilding project. This could be a matter of being patient for the lower tier guys and waiting them out wrt contracts. But if the team ends up with only a handful of players who don't make the roster, that's not OK. Besides, even Dick Levy went out and signed a bunch of depth guys in 2006, albeit in most cases at absurd prices. See: Price, Peerless and Tripplett, Larry.

We'll draft Dez Bryant to appease your affinity for receivers. Generalize my positions with those four phrases? Fine. All I had done was generalize what the homer fans say whenever anyone dare attacks this franchise. (1) RW can do whatever he pleases with his team. His leadership has featured too many lengthy periods of failure. When he hires quality people (Saban, Knox, Polian, Butler, et al) the team succeeds. But he's not cheap. (2) Buffalo stinks because RW doesn't hire solid front office people, and can't attract them as evidenced by this past off-season. I would have been fine with Frazier or Grimm after the fiascos of Shanahan and Cowher. (3) I've never seen a first time 70 year old GM. And I can't recall anyone in private or public life who is ascending to the pinnacle of their career in their eighth decade. (4) Russ Brandon is Mr. Smithers personified. He's the guy who does exactly as his boss says, demonstrated by the TO signings. The fact that many propped him up as some sort of wunderkid who could get Buffalo back to respectability continues to be laughable.

Another hole filled if he signs. Man, I love what Nix and Gailey are doing. At this rate, we can get Troy Smith or Jake Delhomme and the QB problems are solved as well. As Tim Graham pointed out on his blog, Kennedy probably benefitted from playing beside other outstanding DL in Minnesota, one of which is arguably the best pass rusher in the game. He's a depth signing, and just because he weighs 320 doesn't mean he's a bonafide NT-he's never played the position in 7 seasons.

Troy Smith's resume is so huge that entrusting him with the franchise is a rational and cogent thought. Guy couldn't beat out a rookie Joe Flacco, but he's now good enough for Buffalo? Well, then again, it is the Bills we're talking about.

I can see it already from the homer, schlub, off-season Super Bowl fans: 1. Who is John Wooten? He's an idiot. 2. Gailey didn't have enough time in Dallas to flame out. Jerry Jones said he should not have fired him when he did. 3. Georgia Tech doesn't get the players to be a top team. It's not Gailey's fault. 4. Nix is a Top 5 talent evaluator. his age doesn't matter. 5. Leslie Frazier hasn't been hired for a reason. He just doesn't have HC experience like Nix wanted. 6. I like the way Buffalo is rebuilding-no wasted money in free agency. For the record, John Wooten's background can be found here.

There aren't many teams beside Indianapolis who can build wholly through the draft. It's taken them many years to do build and replace talent. The Bills don't have that kind of timeframe with their owner's age. A quick review around the NFL shows that perennial winners like NYG, GB, NE, BAL, SD, PHI, and NO aren't afraid to sign free agents. Bills fans need to decide if 2-3 years is enough to wait for something that's not a guarantee, even with a "Top 5" talent evaluator at GM. I'm sorry, but anyone who's fine with another few years after 10 straight mediocre and worse seasons is what P.T. Barnum was talking about.

It's a LOT different. Changing to a 3-4 means Schobel moves to OLB plain and simple. Aaron Kampman couldn't make the switch in GB with a good DL, so AS making a move like this isn't something I'm sure he's crazy about.

Having a 2-3 year plan is wonderful if the owner isn't 91 years old. Either RW knows he's going to live a lot longer or winning in his lifetime isn't a priority.

They've missed the playoffs 10 years, but who's counting anymore? I'm sure Buddy had a reason not to pursue Williams, because he knows him. After all, there's always an excuse why the Bills don't try to sign someone. But when they do, they're the best and most underrated front office in the NFL!

A lot of homer fans on this board figured DJ would get better after the awful finish to the 2008 season. He didn't. Expecting a guy with years of NFL coaching to magically get better is mindless.

Let's see, highly successful college QB with Heisman is available, though doesn't translate to the NFL game. It's like 1985 all over again, and I can see RW ordering Buddy Gailey to make the pick, more likely in Round 2. Unfortunately, there isn't a Bill Polian around to tell Burns to shove it. With a lackluster effort in free agency, it makes even more sense. The team can sell more individual tickets when season tickets aren't scooped up like they were in 08 and 09. Besides, this is the type of move that makes Smithers the marketeer smile. And you know who he works for.

Smithers and the Marketeers need a drawing card. Who better than Tebow?

Evidently, some fans are forgetting that Anderson was dreadful in that 6-3 slugfest last October: 2-17 15 yards and a pick. Anything more than a player to be named later is too much.

One might think the owners' age would dictate they pull out all the stops to win ASAP. Instead, it looks like a 3-5 year plan to get them on the road to success. Even Nix has admitted they can't fill all their problem positions in one off-season, which means it's at least a 2-3 year program. So if the 2011 season begins, RW wouldn't see results until he's 93. And BTW, the stadium lease ends after the 2012 season. Perhaps the organizational direction doesn't parallel fan expectations.

RW's last three GM's have been huge failures, but the common denominator is he hired all three. We learned that RW wanted Marshawn Lynch in 07, and directly negotiated DJ's extension in October 2008. And I'm sure when Nix said he wouldn't be going after UFA's, it was music to RW and Smithers' ears. At the rate the Bills are building, RW would need to live to be 94 to see anything. And that's if they draft 3-4 starters each year. Nix may have a great plan, but whether he has the tools to make it happen is another matter. And the timeframe might not be satisfactory to most fans, save for the homer schlub fans who eat up everything from OBD.

It's ironic that we've acquired the Raiders' former starter at RT. Sure, this is a cheaper contract, but giving a 34 year old guy a 3 year deal is something. It'd be interesting to know how much of the deal is guaranteed. I would highly doubt he's not going to be on the team in September if his guarantee is more than 2M. Will James' signing in 08 wasn't for what Green is getting; at least not on the surface.

I don't think D'Alessandris was scouting or even observing the opposing teams RT. If anything, a team's Pro Personnel Department is handling that with their advance scouts. But go on talking for the sake of talking. Matt Millen's chiming in, so it's a free for all I suppose.

Where is Darth's disclaimer that states everything on this board has an expiration date? Somehow I missed that.