BillsVet

Ellis and McCargo are gone soon. Neither play, unless the DL is ravaged by injuries. McKelvin, Hardy, and Maybin need some more time, but haven't been stellar in their short careers. Modrak has not done well, and DJ's reliance on drafting small players has created the massive issues along the OL and DL. Their strategy from 06-08 was made by DJ, who didn't draft all that well when he had personnel control in Chicago.

What other guys? Brandon isn't going anywhere, and neither is Littman. The problem remains that an inexperienced nominal GM is listening to bad personnel advice from bad chief scouts: Guy and Modrak. Talk about dysfunctional.

Trent, like his HC, doesn't adapt well to what the other team is doing. I've heard DJ remark that it's more important to out-execute other teams. It's hard to do that when the other team knows what you'll do before you do it. I honestly don't believe that DJ is all that street smart, and his waffling at key moments is an indication he's not a quick thinker. Trent is very similar, and doesn't make many plays in crunch time. I see more sacks taken, holding onto the ball, and poor throws when it counts. It's no coincidence DJ has never made a QB all that great, nor has he had an offense the worries opponents. I think that's DJ coaching scared.

I've heard the term used, "Oakland Raiders of the east" to describe the Bills. Just being referenced that way is embarrassing. RW and Davis are both too old to run teams, but it's a dictatorship and no one's going to challenge them. At least with the Lions they've hired a new HC and promoted someone from within to GM. Modrak isn't highly respected. Tim Graham did a short piece that said many amateur scouting directors don't work out of their stadiums. But he happens to be their only senior football guy and he refused the GM spot at least once. He doesn't want the responsibility, and if I'm a supervisor, I'm leery of someone who declines responsibility. Buddy Nix is 70, and John Guy is not even a joke anymore-he's a nightmare.

They can only work on one contract at a time. RB said so much when Peters wanted a new deal and Evans' turn was up. As long as this team is here, we'll be saddled with a meddling owner, treasurer who has more control than we want to admit, and a marketing guy masquerading as the GM. Those three people aren't going anywhere no matter how bad it gets. The final two are too integral to RW's financial dealings.

It's my opinion, based on the front office in their current form. RW doesn't have contacts throughout the league like he did 40 years ago. What's more, when he needed to replace TD, he hires the most recognized coach in the past 25 years of Bills history. Upon Marv's retirement, he names Brandon quasi GM, when the guy has never worked in NFL personnel. Littman is not a NFL guy, but handles RW's finances. I think it's reasonable to believe neither of those two guys, who reportedly are in the inner-circle, know fellow personnel people in the league. Even if they did, I wouldn't trust them to hire a new pro personnel director, amateur scouting director, let alone a GM.

Is that Russ "Mr. Smithers" Brandon? Because Ralph has to be pretty close to being C. Montgomery Burns. I wonder how many times Ralph has asked Smithers to find him Bobby Layne to QB this team. Or perhaps they can get Alex Karras to play DL for them.

Didn't mean to come off that way. I agree the younger Polian will make a fine GM, because he's trained under the best personnel executive of the past 25 years. It remains largely unsaid, but Bills upper management has few contacts in the NFL. I think most decent front office execs and potential coaches know they'll be dealing with a meddling owner, cheap team treasurer, and nominal GM who doesn't know a lick about personnel.

He's Ralph's money man, the treasurer of the team. He handles his financial affairs for the various businesses RW has or still owns. I'm not clear on all of RW's holdings, but Littman's been part and parcel of many of them. He's never going away because he makes the owner and his family money. No real GM can fulfill what Littman does as team treasurer.

Chris Polian will assume the GM duties when his father steps down. Jim Irsay has denied other teams the ability to even interview him. Jeff Littman runs this team, and will do so as long as RW owns the team. EDIT: Why would Chris Polian come here when his father was unceremoniously dumped because Littman and the elder Polian didn't get along?

DJ has never been fond of playing younger players. He refused to play Fred Jackson over Anthony Thomas, Jabari Greer over Jason Webster, or Jason Peters at LT over Mike Gandy. The only reason the younger and better players got PT was the result of injuries or blatant ineffectiveness. DJ's HC career is over, and I dare say he'll never amount to more than a secondary coach if he gets another job. He's never been good at assessing talent, and why should he? He's trying to survive at this point.

I don't know what Littman looks like, but I'd find him, and have his cheap a** escorted violently from the building. As for Brandon, he can take his marketing side-show back to the Marlins or Pirates and try to work his magic show there. It's little wonder the inner-circle is made up principally of a money man and a marketing guy. I don't know how lucid RW is, but he's ruining whatever legacy he think he's built.

Every off-season, Russ assumes his place next to the newest free agent with a smile on his face. But now, with the season practically over except for some meaningless games, where is RB the boy GM/Marketer in Chief? His silence is deafening and emblematic of a franchise which goes into bunker mode whenever they encounter adversity. All we've heard from him was after the Cleveland home debacle. He disavowed knowledge of the ring ceremony and wouldn't comment on DJ's status. People talk about TO quitting, and perhaps he did. But this organization quit trying to win when they named people without genuine NFL personnel experience as GM or a similar title. Brandon's taking heat, but he's powerless to make a decision. I wonder if he knew this when he accepted the position that he couldn't control his own destiny.

Right on the money. This off-season was the most clear indication they've accepted mediocrity (or worse) as long as they can sell the ST's the next year. Firing DJ does nothing right now, but it can be used to their advantage in a few months. In the meantime, we have to accept 7 weeks of most likely bad football.

He's finding avatars featuring B movie actors with bad makeup. Don't forget, Jeff Fisher wasn't a good coach 12 years ago, so we should give DJ another decade or so to find out if he's any good.

BTW, Bud Adams wrote the book on how to make fans apathetic to the point of not caring when the team is moved. Just sayin...

Have they hired Baghdad Bob as their lead PR guy? I mean, with all the things that happened this decade, they're reduced to this mindless drivel? Bill, last year after the Toronto Miami game, RW said the team didn't have enough talent. They have shortcomings all over the field, but he's never once in this decade moved to remove the people assembling the reports. TD may have made the decisions, but now the decision makers are not football people. I laughed when Levitre was plugged in at LT. His arm length and height make him about as un-tackle like as they come. Meanwhile, Tinker Bell isn't living up to the hype put out by Baghdad Bob, Berchtold, and crew. Chris Brown can keep coming out with that propaganda, but it's not working like it used to.

RW and his handlers are going year to year, leaving not chance for true and meaningful change. As many other posters on this board have pointed out, this franchise has packed it in and simply looking to maximize revenue. But I digress. This off-season will most likely be another with some spin, cheap FA signings, and draft hype. Except this time it won't work. RW stopped trying to win when it became clear TD wasn't the answer.

Donte will get the Langston Walker treatment in late February. His cap hit is too high for him to be on this team. More indication Jeff Littman is the man behind the scenes, not that this team is better with Whitner on it.

Game, set, match. RW knows what that means.

When you play smaller and quicker defenders, it's not a coincidence that bigger teams beat you up and injure your players. It's happened each season since 2007. The offense hasn't had nearly as many injuries in that time.

Absolutely. They have no long term vision of the team, and after 4 years of rebuilding, their roster is made up of far too many UDFAs, low round picks, and inferior talent. They barely maintain mediocre, let alone build a football team. It seems like the Bills are taking things one year at a time, so that if the owner unfortunately passes, they'll be OK for a sale. Call me negative, but the owner's situation dictates this entire team's moves.

Bills LB corps is perhaps the worst in the NFL. Street free agents, converted safeties, undrafted free agents, you name it. They had little to start and this is the result.

Tennessee losing a TO... who's telling Fisher to challenge that? The Bills challenge guy?

Speak of the devil.