BillsVet

There is no such thing as a franchise safety because they depend so heavily on the people in front of them. You do not take 2 safeties and a CB with your first four picks in a draft which should have formed the foundation of the team. ALL of those picks are busts or near-busts: Whitner, McCargo, Youboty, and Simpson. Sure it's hindsight, but there were a lot of people on draft day 06 doubting Marv's strategy of building the secondary first without having the pass rushers, interior DL, and OL. Their doubts were ultimately confirmed. The Buffalo Bills have spent each 1st-3rd round pick since 2006 drafting for sheer need, which is more evidence they've not improved one iota. You could say each 1st-3rd round pick save Edwards was a need pick: Whitner, McCargo, Youboty, Lynch, Posluszny, McKelvin, Hardy, and Ellis. At the end of the day, the talent on the roster to close 2009 isn't much better than what was present to conclude 2005. It's not a bash-Marv thing, it's reality.

On this subject, Felser is spot-on. There will be those who say Felser is old and no longer connected, but here his plan is the best means of curing a franchise which is clearly broken. RW is the problem, because his age has become an impediment to re-building the franchise. He has every right to own that team, but it seems they're grasping at straws more than putting together a cohesive plan like Arthur Blank did.

Free Agency tells the story. Last year, a LOT of fans on this board believed the Bills would go big in UFA fresh off the 2-8 finish to the 08 season. They ended up with a backup QB, former backup C, CB released from JAC, backup G, and a star receiver who came on a one year deal. The chances of getting a difference-maker in UFA are extremely thin, but this season it should be a lot more interesting if there is no cap. We'll know if RW is serious by how much he chooses to spend, because there is no cap floor in 2010 w/o a new CBA. Time will tell.

Arthur Blank had a plan all along: to find a competent football man to re-make his organization. Parcells spurned his offer and went to Miami, but Blank then focused on some lesser heralded candidates, one of whom was Tom Dimitroff. Blank is not a guy who runs his football team, but instead finds people who know the game and let them do it for him. I wish RW would practice this, but it's not happening. If Shanahan does not accept the Bills offer, where does RW turn then? We know what Arthur Blank would do, because he's been there, done that.

I think those posters wanted DW to succeed simply because he was Marv's first pick. They were enamored with Levy as GM and utterly convinced that he would get this team back onto the high ground. This is more proof of why competent people versed in NFL personnel must be in charge without significant interference from the owner or team treasurer. Everything takes time to play out, but Levy's time as GM set this franchise back almost as much as TD did in 04-05.

Spending money does not make a problem (bad management) go away. The Bills need to find a GM first, perhaps Floyd Reese, or an up and comer, that can build a vision of what they want to do. Every move RW has made since firing Philips has been a disaster. For this reason, I would not trust him, especially at his age, to make a good decision for this football team. My post was that it is possible to win without having great name recognition at GM or HC. RW does not need to spend 10M per year, but it should be mentioned that he himself has put the Bills into their current predicament.

It seems the Bills lack a cohesive plan or vision for where they want to take this team. IMO, much of this stems from the owner's advanced age and unfamiliarity with how the NFL works. Compare this with the Falcons situation not long ago. At the end of 2007, Falcons owner Arthur Blank found himself with a coach who flat-out quit (Bobby Petrino), a QB who lied to him about dog-fighting (Vick) and a highly successful former HC who turned him down to be a GM elsewhere (Bill Parcells). Blank, one of the founders of Home Depot, didn't stop amid all these setbacks. He also realized that Rich McKay, his GM, wasn't doing him any favors and moved him away from personnel. Blank then hired Thomas Dimitroff from NE, who in turn hired HC Mike Smith from JAC, who hired old Bills HC Mike Mularkey as OC from MIA. They drafted Matt Ryan and set about rebuilding a team that had been in the NFC Championship game a few years earlier. Atlanta went to the playoffs last season, and despite being 5-5 this year, has the makings of a solid team. Blank had a vision, but didn't feel the urge to hire a big name guy when he was shot down. Instead, he hired no-nonsense and talented people who make football decisions. And while Buffalo doesn't have the challenges Atlanta had at the end of 07, the owner made good decisions that put his team in a better position. He didn't make rash choices, nor hired big names people and this is what the Bills should be doing right now.

It's taken nearly 4 complete seasons to see that Whitner wasn't the player many wanted him to be and it had more to do with DW being Marv's first draft pick.

Meredith was drafted by a team (GB) with a huge weakness at OT. And yet he could not make the active roster, was exposed to 31 other teams in the league, and ultimately was placed onto GB's practice squad. If he's that good, wouldn't a team with huge needs at OT promote him when they began having problems at his position? Offensive lineman DO NOT take 3 years to develop. There are a host of guys who came into the league and played well from the start. Meredith, like Demetrius Bell, is a project player that needs another season of development, and only plays because the team is woefully thin on the OL. It's why he was taken in the 5th round and not the 1st-2nd. I would like for someone to give me proof, other than dated scouting reports, as to why players like Meredith and Bell are going to be good starters in the NFL.

Why would Polian Sr. return to Buffalo where he was unceremoniously dumped in early 1993? Furthermore, I'm not sure it's allowed for one man to receive paychecks from two franchises. As much as Bills fans want Polian back, he's the president of the Colts. He's not returning, so I think it's absolutely ridiculous to even discuss this. Ralph Wilson has burned more bridges than many of us what care to admit or probably even realize. The search for a coach will confirm how the Bills have few contacts throughout the NFL.

What definitive proof do you have that these moves are anything special? Both players were buried on GB's practice squad, with little chance of making their active roster. Too many fans talk about potential, which in this case are people remembering scouting reports from 1-2 years ago. They wouldn't be on practice squads if they were as good as some say they are.

He was being groomed for the position for the past few years. Jim Irsay should count his blessings that his treasurer gets along with BP and hasn't needed to fire him for hurtful words. After all, they've had 8 consecutive 10+ win seasons now.

I don't think anyone, let alone the front office, saw their two best starters going down to season ending injury. Still, their depth at OT going into the season was downright criminal. If you ask me, they've got one guy on that entire line who'll be a starter in the NFL two seasons from now: Andy Levitre. The rest are has-beens, or never will be's. I don't believe for a second that Meredith will amount to much, given GB's unwillingness to put him on their OT starved roster.

Maybe the Raiders might be willing to part with a high pick. That 2006 draft was a complete debacle, the result of untrained and incompetent talent evaluators who used to work for TD. Why Marv thought both they and DJ could find players is beyond me. Whitner, McCargo, Youboty, and Simpson. They found a good depth DT and talented but injury prone OL in round 5. That's all they got, outside of an undersized OLB, from that draft. Four bust or near-bust picks is part of the reason this team has no depth and is on their way to another sub-.500 season.

I've heard so many excuses why Whitner isn't an impact player. The bottom line is he doesn't have great instincts and remains frequently washed out in the box. It would not surprise me to see him cut after the season for lack of production and his salary, even if 2010 is uncapped.

Trent is finished because he elected to follow Dick Jauron, the only NFL HC he's known. Edwards seemed mentally weak and unable to see that his HC wasn't doing him any favors. Buffalo could realistically finish 4-12 or 5-11, which puts them in the 3-6 range of the draft. If they select Tebow, it'll be a wasted pick. There is a huge graveyard of college QB's with great ability for that level of competition that do not translate into the NFL. Tommie Frazier at Nebraska comes to mind. He won national titles and set several records about 15 years ago. But he never got much interest from the NFL.

Maybe Shanny needs a change of scenery, but I'd rather see the team sign a GM with personnel experience. That person can then find the coach. Perhaps they think only a big name will sell tickets, but people like Gettleman and others have been finding players for years. It's not the fancy move, but it'll cost a heckuva lot less.

It was a mystery why so many people thought Bell would be an instant starter despite never seeing NFL action prior to this season. At a minimum, he was a two year project that wouldn't pay off until at least 2010. But when the team was thin and needed someone to hype for fans to forget Peters, Bell was their man. If it's not acceptable to have a strong opinion about players or the front office, then what are any of us here for? You can go over every draft this team has had since 2005 and not find one star player. Bill-we've all made mistakes and bad predictions, myself included. But I agree that believing in untested players to suddenly be average to good NFL starters without the benefit of actually playing is absurd.

There will be more attractive options for guys like Shanahan, Cowher, and Holmgren should they decide to work again. They'll weigh their options and go where there's an opportunity to win more quickly because the Bills are a total rebuild. RW did paint himself into a corner by making so many bad decisions, yet now he's heading the search and asking the questions? And I'm sure Polian and AJ Smith have told people not to go to Buffalo unless they want a meddlesome owner in their back pocket. The HOF owner is the man who's put this team where it is now. He avoided making decisions for so long and not getting qualified people in that it has come to this: pure desperation.

Neither Wilson nor Brandon understand what they're looking for, especially RW. This is the same guy who we all know fired Polian, ran Smith and Butler out the door, then hired Donahoe. I won't even comment on Brandon, who has no experience in NFL personnel. Basically, a NFL franchise is counting on their 91 year old owner to make a good decision. I'm not optimistic.

Forgive me if people have chimed in on this, I've been in the southern tier hunting the past few days, but... Exactly who is searching for and interviewing all of these people the Bills are evidently interested in? This is not the type of thing left to chance, and certainly not something anyone at OBD is qualified to decide on. Meanwhile, RW is making waves by talking about how much money he's willing to throw at the problem he himself is responsible for. Does he know which person to interview, let alone what he needs? For my money, find a GM first and let that person hire the coach. IMO, Buffalo should first recruit a "consultant" like Ernie Accorsi or Charley Casserly to advise them on the process. Left to his own devices, RW could make another bad decision given how poor his track record has been this decade.

My thoughts exactly. It works in a dome, even TB, but not here although someone will say it did in Pittsburgh 30 years ago. Unfortunately, they had Joe Greene, Lambert, Ham, Blount, Greenwood, and several solid players. Dungy did win a SB, which is something no one can take away from him. But I never had the feeling he was quick on the sidelines and Manning was more the reason they were successful. That, and Bill Polian finding the players. Sound familiar?

I don't care much to discuss specific college QB's at this point, but this is going to be an item with any major front office person the team interviews. No one wants to fail, and trying to win in the NFL with the likes of Edwards and Fitzpatrick isn't a big selling card. It's probably one of the first things a guy like Shanahan is interested in talking about. No matter how good those guys are, they know rebuilding with what the Bills have now is tantamount to failure. As much as I would like to see a new LT or dominant DT, this team is going to need a QB. We'll see if it's Locker, Bradford, Clausen, LeFevour, Tebow, whomever. That's for another time.

I don't think DJ figured he'd be fired. NFL coaching is about survivability, and DJ had to have figured that after the bye week if he hadn't been cut loose, it wouldn't happen until the end of the season. Still, it's odd he was let go when he was. I suspect a combination of Bud Adams, the disruption of TO and Reed on the sidelines, Schobel's comments, and the general misery of the fan base contributed to this move.

Do you know how this organization operates? We're not the Cowgirls, but if there's revenue and it's not a stadium name, they go after it. Merchandising is big for this team, just look at what happened after TO signed. It's not beneath them to realize ST sales and jerseys weren't going to leap off the shelves. This just gives fan a little bit of "hope" and rekindles some positive thoughts that the owner MAY do something. I'm not saying this is the central reason, but it's out there and not far-fetched as a supporting reason for DJ's firing.