BillsVet

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.

First, I wanted them to explore options outside the organization and not once again keep things in-house. For that, the Ravens Pro Personnel Director Eric DeCosta would have been a good guy to talk to. Tom Heckert was available, the former "GM" for the Eagles that Mike Holmgren hired in Cleveland. Floyd Reese wants a GM job, but apparently has a decent gig in New England. Dave Gettleman from the Giants probably would have come in for an interview. The point is, they never once considered anyone from outside the organization for fear of a newcomer. Hiring from within may be fine for your company and mine, but this is NFL football. When Ralph said he and Russ looked at a list and didn't know any names, well, that should alarm even the most ardent fan.

Well, the good ones remain in the game and the bad ones are put out to pasture. The same guy who hired TD hired Buddy Nix whether you want to believe it or not. As a matter of fact, RW's hired every GM in this team's history. If you bothered to do any research, only Dick Gallagher, Polian, and John Butler can be considered good GM's in Buffalo's history. Buddy Nix is the 11th GM of the Bills, including Brandon. So that's a hit rate of about 30%, not including Nix. Do the research hero.

Derek Schouman: injured each season (2007-09) he's been in the NFL: 27 catches for 275 yards and 1 TD in three seasons Shawn Nelson (who I liked as a pick) career stats: 17 catches for 156 yards and 1 TD. Seems promising. Joe Klopfenstein: 34 catches for 397 yards and 2 TD in four seasons (2006-09)

It's simply amazing how many people buy that Nix as a #2 automatically qualifies him to be a #1. The man worked out of Tennessee while working as Asst GM, Pro Personnel Director for SD, and then as Bills national scout. He's never been part of day to day operations for the last two teams he's worked for. Yet, being GM means being intimately involved in all aspects of football operations every day. We'll find out exactly how many Bills fans will buy into another unproven group leading the team when the season ticket sales are released. Not that the Bills will be totally forthright with their figures. I mean, this is the team that couldn't tell a HOF RB that the owner wasn't getting his ring on the day specified in a press release literally the same week.

You don't have "potential" after completing 7 seasons in the NFL. At that point, you are what you are. He benefitted from having three Pro Bowl caliber players being next to him and nothing more. Building through the draft is fine, but it doesn't mean you can't find depth players in UFA. Teams that quickly rebuild (NE-2000, ATL-2008, MIA-2008) have used UFA for depth and perhaps a starter or two. Buffalo isn't doing that. I find it hilarious that some fans are willing to give another 2-3 years for Nix' plan to work out. Do the Buffalo Bills really have that long to wait? And are the fans good with being 12-13 years since their last playoff appearance? I don't think so.

I'd agree, but to a point. No rational Bills fan expected the team to sign Peppers or Dansby, although some depth signings would go a long way. Right now, the team has zero depth at OT, DE, NT, ILB, and OLB. To expect players from last years roster to transition to a new job is absolutely ridiculous, and something the team tried to pull last year on the OL. The owner is 91 and there's no guarantee that he'll survive this rebuild. I take no joy in saying this, but it looks to me like the plan is to be good 3 years from now. That's not good enough.

Kennedy's career did not tick up until surrounded by elite talent in Minnesota. Anyone who thinks he'll duplicate that in a defense he's never played in with players who aren't anywhere close to the talent he had last year is delusional.

Like Bill Belichick in 2000 and Dick Levy in 2006? Or how about Miami in 2008? Two of those three rebuilds worked in the AFCE. One of them did not, which means it's not a matter of to sign or not to sign, but who's doing it. Converting to a 3-4, installing a new offense, and to a lesser degree special teams should be reason enough to be signing players. Heck, this board is getting excited for Jimmy freaking Kennedy, a guy who's been on 5 teams in 7 seasons.

Kennedy mentioned that he wanted to win a ring at this point in his career. I guess he should line up some other visits.

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.