BillsVet

There was a new regime in 2001. And a new one in 2006, not to mention 3 coaches in that same time period. New coaches and front office guarantee nothing. But as with most of American society, wrap things in a new package and people will come. It works temporarily, especially in Buffalo where the goal may not be to win anymore, but change things enough to keep people interested.

Because every team that is active in free agency will be a loser the following year(s). Most posters operate in absolutes and are incapable of landing somewhere in between. Donahoe signed some solid players, but chose to ignore the OL besides on huge bust OT, and was 0 for 2 in picking coaches.

Teams typically find their interior OL in the thirds through later rounds. It's the OT's, particularly the LT's that are taken in the first. Interior OL aren't required to be as nimble as the tackles who see outside pass rushers. Furthermore, if you're taking guards or centers in rounds 1 or 2, they had better be outstanding players: they should be the best 1 or 2 in the entire draft if selected that early. Both NO and IND found outstanding interior OL in the middle rounds: Jahri Evans Round 4/2005 for NO and Jeff Saturday UDFA/1998 for IND. That allowed the team to use their higher picks on positions generally drafted earlier. Being good in the middle rounds is underrated. If you're getting a player or two there, and nailing your top picks, you'll be building. Buffalo has been replacing and spinning its wheels for too long.

This is a story in progress, and I won't doubt some players may be let go down the road. Bills contract per Rotoworld These numbers are salary and certainly incomplete, but it's not a stretch to say guys like Whitner, Parrish, McCargo and Kelsay. The latter is due 3.7M this season, which would be a lot if he doesn't convert to OLB.

Trading down is wonderful, if you're confident you can get your player(s) later on. Cleveland traded down two or three times in last years draft, turning down plenty of players. The point remains that talent is generally found in the first through third rounds. The team needs their picks in those rounds to be instant starters not just because they're rebuilding, but for the long haul of 4 or 5 years+. Buffalo does not find solid long term starters as often as they should.

Updated Cap Figures for teams as of a few days ago I count 12 teams beneath last years cap floor of 107.7M: 1. KC 79M TB 3. JAC 81M 4. CIN 85M 5. AZ 91M 6. STL 92M 7. BUF 98M 8. CLE 101M 9. SD 104M CAR 104M 11. DEN 105M 12. DET 106M It's been discussed ad nauseam, but teams are spending less. I wonder when the NFLPA will file a collusion complaint against the NFL owners for cutting costs and spending more on players.

Whoever signs Whitehurst would surrender a third round pick. SD won't match whatever the offer sheet, but will take the pick.

Kinda like Osi Umenyiora and Demarcus Ware? Two guys taken out of Troy in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Look, there's a lot that can change between now and the draft, which is the final chance for this team to add quality players. But one thing I believe is important is that teams have been built in one year before. Atlanta and Miami in 2008 both went from top 3 draft picks to the playoffs? Why is that impossible in Buffalo? Well, ownership needs to support their hand-picked personnel people with the resources to rebuild as fast as possible. It's not automatic that a rebuild takes 2-3 years. And on that point, look at the teams starting to rebuild in 2010 in the NFL: CLE, WAS, and BUF. All of them hired new GM's with only CLE not hiring a new HC. SEA could be construed as rebuilding, but aren't as bad as these teams. It will be interested to see how fast these teams rebuild, if at all.

Every team has finite resources in a given off-season. If a team needs a fullback, kicker, punter, or long snapper, they'll not use a first day pick on them. Even RB's are sliding out of the first round given their high probability of injury and short shelf-life. It's called economy of force in military terms, or rather, not using more resources than are absolutely necessary to accomplish a task. Positions like G and C are a step up for the positions I just mentioned. With good scouting, a team can find those players in the mid rounds, thus keeping their top picks for positions like QB, DE, OT, DT that aren't typically found outside rounds 1 or 2. Now, there are exceptions, but when you're rebuilding, using high picks on interior OL isn't getting the most bang for your buck.

They invited him to Buffalo, probably team paid for, to see if he'd be willing to play for them. It's not Kennedy's fault that he's 30 and doesn't want to go through a lengthy rebuild, which is what the Bills are now.

It's wonderful to trust Clayton, but I've still not seen a link to indicate he said the team pursued outside the organization interviews for the GM job. The owner himself charged the then COO/GM to search for his replacement. And RW, being the man he is, admitted they interviewed two candidates at Nix' presser. I've seen absolutely no reports that Buffalo pursued anyone but Nix and Guy for the GM job, unless of course you count Shanahan handling the dual role as HC an GM. You can continue arguing minutiae, but the fact remains: the team interviewed only in-house candidates. Even if they considered guys from other teams, they didn't schedule interviews nor get approval from the individual or team. Is it that hard to admit RW ordered his top deputy to not hire anyone he didn't know for fear of TD2?

JfH I've already accepted they're staring a top 5 pick in the 2011 draft down. As a matter of fact, they have a real shot at getting the top pick and having a chance at a Locker, Luck or a Mallett. It's too early to say for now. Thinking and hoping the team is not enough to convince me they will be. They've got too many changes, particularly new offensive and defensive schemes to learn. That, and not enough draft picks to address all of their needs, including QB, LT, NT, DE, OLB, WR, and TE.

I'll keep this simple. The above is what I said and prospective candidates I thought should be interviewed. And this is what you said. And this is what I said to show you were wrong. And this is you being wrong again and citing nothing to back you up but a generic reference to John Clayton. And now you're pulling the old "you're not a NFL insider so you don't know anything" stunt. Pretty weak. I take it you trust everything that John Clayton says. Please impress upon me who John Clayton said the Bills interviewed and provide a link. The Bills were reported to have pursued Shanahan, but he went to Washington. Next, it was Bill Cowher, who chose to remain at CBS. Ralph Wilson (the owner) said at the Nix presser that they assembled a list, but didn't know any of the people on the list and only interviewed Nix and John Guy for GM. Of course, you recall that Guy was fired shortly thereafter. There were FIVE GM openings this season in the NFL: Buffalo, Seattle, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Washington. Reese not being hired this year does not destroy his credibility: he's a senior football adviser for the Patriots. But I guess John Clayton already told you that.

In signing Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen, the Snyder and the Redskins get some level of respectability in NFL circles. For the past 4 years, the Bills haven't duplicated that, signing Marv Levy, Dick Jauron, promoting Russ Brandon, and ultimately hiring Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey when no one wanted them. Credit Snyder for recognizing he needed better decision makers than Vinny Cerrato. Fault RW for promulgating a franchise which is not respected and thus cannot find better management.

They need to bridge the gap to the rookies they'll be drafting. Buffalo had a good idea in finding depth guys in 06, but their judgment on those players was poor. To make matters worse, they weren't all that great drafting from 04-08 either, thus magnifying the problem. I'm advocating a calculated approach where the improved Pro Personnel Department finds a starter or two and locates some depth. Meanwhile, college scouting is drafting their replacements. This is especially true while they transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

With all due respect to you SJBF, talking about life in the context of the Bills is simply absurd. The Bills are playing a game with their fans that stretches back to the day Levy was hired. If they don't feel they have to win now, as evidenced by their casual approach to finding decent players who might keep more rookies off the field, doesn't that tell even the most homer fans what their intentions are? It's to simply squeeze as many eggs from the golden goose and then whatever happens after RW passes, so be it. They made their money. Dan Snyder is the worst possible example you can use here to illustrate this team. He splurged for and signed a respected coach, who while not great recently, brings respectability to that franchise. The Bills hired a guy who'd never been a GM before who then brought aboard a man who couldn't get a NFL HC gig in 10 years. They're far, far, different. Let's not conflate arguments here. How many years should the fan base wait before getting angry and demanding the team put a winner on the field. Some around here apparently think success is optional, as long as they don't move.

When you want to rebut my point, please let me know. By the way, what's your plan for introducing a new offense and defense with holdovers from the previous coaching staff? Most of the posters like you on this board evidently believe the mere presence of Gailey and Nix with some rookies will turn this thing around. Unfortunately, rookies rarely perform well and it's important for veteran players to be involved. I've never demanded big name UFA signings. I'm simply looking for them not to rely on rookies every year like successful teams do when they rebuild. ATL, BAL, and MIA in 2008. NE in 2000. NO in 2006.

So in other words, no one will play for us almost no matter what we pay because we're bad. And how did the franchise get to the point of being this unattractive? Secondly, MIA in 08 and NE in 00 went heavy into free agency. The guys they inked might not have been all-pros, but gave them a chance to draft guys who'd replace them. It took exactly one year for both of those teams to go from among the league's worst to being playoff teams. How long do you think it'll take for the Bills to get back into the playoffs? That is, before you change your mind to being anti-Bills again.

The start point for both franchises could not be more different. Buffalo is in full on rebuild mode, and the Steelers have avoided free agency when they were coming off good seasons. As a matter of fact, Pittsburgh has had only 1 LOSING season since 2000. Steelers Season Team Records Pittsburgh's draft record is excellent, so free agency is optional for them whereas Buffalo has 1 WINNING season in that same timeframe. Free Agency should not be optional for them.

The reputation was earned over many years by the owner's misguided decisions. He made the situation worse by hiring Levy as GM and following that up with making Brandon quasi-GM in 2008. Those moves were widely panned, but for a guy like Ralph who has hired non-football people for GM's, it's not a big deal. Now, RW freely admits to the world in the Nix presser that he and Brandon didn't personally know anyone to interview on their list. Yes, the damage is done, and it's insurmountable. For the Bills to get back to respectability, they need to win-NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week, but this season. But too many blind squirrels on TBD think just drafting well will erase the other problems you've talked about. Unfortunately, it will not.

If they can't attract low-end free agents, who can they attract? UDFA's? When players like Jimmy Kennedy eschew a possible starting position in order to remain with their old team as a backup, what does that say? It's not Kennedy, Wade Smith, or individual players with a problem. It's the franchise itself.

VP of Communications Herr Berchtold probably set the thing up. That guy has a reverse Midas touch, but at this point it's standard for the Bills to screw up.

Kennedy wanted a chance to win, get paid and not move his family. Pretty simple, and he probably got more than Buffalo was offering. How does this team intend to acquire picks? They've got nothing anyone wants in trade, unless Lil' Donte fetches a 6th or 7th. Who else on this team do they have the depth to trade? Getting rid of Lynch means they've gotta find a backup. Perhaps they could trade someone out of the secondary, as that's the only place Dick Levy could build. At some point, fans need to admit to themselves that not signing free agents they bring in means something is wrong.

3 mediocre UFA's in. 2 leave without signings a contract. Pro personnel and Overdorf are working wonders this year. Jimmy Kennedy said he wanted a chance to win so he signed with a team that could have a chance if Favre returns. People know the Bills are in full on rebuild mode and not going to win more than 5 games next season.

Wrong. Floyd Reese was the GM for Tennessee for many years (cue the "he sucks point because he drafted Pacman" diatribe) and as such participated in day to day operations. Tom Heckert was the GM for the Eagles, and oversaw the Pro Personnel and Amateur Scouting Departments for his team. The Bills conducted no search for a GM candidate (besides the ill-fated Shanahan attempt at wooing) because they didn't interview anyone. And before your attempt to suppress my argument, I think it would have come out that they'd interviewed an outside candidate. Do the research.