BillsVet

Fitz is not your long term answer at QB. He'll make a throw occasionally, but he runs when he's hurried and is inaccurate too often.

Think Grandpa Simpson.

So let's make the emotional knee-jerk decision because it feels good and Buffalo is 1-1 in PF's two games? Buffalo can't get away with not hiring a real GM for 2010, and chances are that person will not retain PF. We're all Bills fans, but Marv was the emotional choice who set this franchise back a few years. We need a person at the top of the front office who makes better decisions than anyone since Butler/Smith, not someone who is simply new.

How about Frank Stallone?

If the draft is such a crapshoot, how come Bill Polian, Jerry Reese, Ozzie Newsome, Kevin Colbert, and their teams rarely have bust picks in the first and second rounds? No GM is perfect, but goodness gracious is there something to be said for people who can find talent in the draft.

Multiple lawmakers including Congressman Brian Higgins if I'm not mistaken, have made this same point. I think the NFL knows it's popular, and will not let anything interfere with becoming even larger. Everytime the anti-trust exemption comes up, they batten down the hatches and play nice with the federal government to ensure they keep their exemption.

I don't understand all this desire to see Brohm hit the field this season. This is a guy who was exposed to any team for more than half a regular season, but now we need to know what he can do? If he was any good, someone would have signed him when GB waived him and subsequently went onto the PS. Brohm had a fine college career, but there was a reason why he was backing up a 7th round pick in Matt Flynn. And how many franchise QB's are signed from other team's PS?

I never felt that DJ let any of his coordinators (Fairchild, Schonert, or AVP) do their thing. He wanted an offense which complemented his defense no matter how simple. We saw much of the same garbage across three OC's, even though offensive personnel wasn't much different from 07 to 08. DJ is to a NFL offense as a tornado is to Kansas farms. I would agree that Perry is delegating and not micromanaging the offense. The fact that Fitz has played in different systems and takes chances also helps. I think DJ corrupted Trent, who I admit is not mentally strong, into being a field version of DJ. Fitz is the right man at this time.

Your attempt to marginalize every poster on this board is low. Everyone on here is entitled to their opinion, even though most have never coached in the NFL, or probably college. There are still a few intelligent posters who are right far more often than wrong. Tony Dungy could not win in TB with a stellar defense, which won not long after he left for Indianapolis. He is an outstanding man who has endured tragedy and triumphed mightily. That said, offensively his teams weren't stellar until he inherited Peyton Manning. I feel Dungy benefitted from the same thing Marv Levy did in Buffalo: Bill Polian. BP is one of the finest football minds the NFL has ever seen, and his collection of talent is nothing less than spectacular. Dungy was a good coach regardless. BTW, it's stratosphere.

PF has definitely gotten through to many Bills accustomed to DJ's timid approach. I refuse to anoint him the next coach, but he's at least given other teams an idea of who he is and how anti-DJ he can be. This was a good win, and it's a good sign the former DC has made the offense better. No one ever thought DJ made an offense better, but PF has done just that in 2 games. Heck, Fitz has almost 550 yards passing in those games. Not bad for a guy on his 3rd team in 5 seasons.

This is elementary football rebuilding. Parcells rebuilt with OL and DL size in multiple locales. Belichick used several top picks on OL and DL. Baltimore has used first rounders on DL and OL. The Giants have dedicated significant resources to DL and OL, as have Philly. Meanwhile, the Levy/Brandon led Bills drafted no less than 7 non-lineman in the first through third rounds of 06-08: Whitner, Youboty, Lynch, Posluszny, Edwards, McKelvin, and Hardy. Their only line picks did not dress today-Ellis and McCargo. It is for personal pride that many lingering fans are so vocal in their support for Marv's front office. They'll argue about individual players, and though it's not about the people selected, they point fingers accusing posters who didn't believe the Marv hype and strategy as haters. For the last time, this team is still in rebuilding mode. If Marv/Brandon were so successful, why is this team going on four seasons removed from the TD era and STILL not able to make the playoffs? Please explain. Someone will inevitably chime in and say I'm complaining despite the Bills winning. Well, it's nice to win, but reality says they're 4-7 with plenty of holes.

Instead of being little kids, maybe these young players should listen to those "old-timers" about what it means to be successful. I met a Medal of Honor recipient years ago, and I listened intently to what he had to say. Younger players rarely have a respect for the game, which is demonstrated by their lack of knowledge about the game's history.

I sit in section 123, and Owens separated from Vontae Davis with ease, which is no small feat for a 35-36 year old receiver. Being old school, it's hard to accept some of the antics TO demonstrates. But I must say he's someone that opponents must respect, because he's excellent in the open field and represents a guy who can still make plays. At this point, he should be in their plans for 2010.

Do the research on trends in the NFL: most teams are spending closer to the cap floor than the max. It is for this reason that the cap rose from 123M to 127M earlier this year. The CBA mandates teams spend a certain amount of real dollars on players, and teams aren't doing it in anticipation of a lockout. Jerry Jones and Dan Snider may break the bank, but most teams, particularly smart big market teams like the NYG and small market teams will not spend out of control. If you've read my posts, I'm not an advocate of throwing money at problems and hoping they'll go away. It takes a savvy personnel man to know where to spend and where not to. Again, this is why I believe the Bills must find a real GM to handle personnel evaluation who then can find a coach. Those two men, without interference from the owner, treasurer, or marketing guy, must be on the same page. One of the reasons the Bills overpaid for talent (Dockery, Walker, Kelsay) is because their GM had no clue what he was doing. It's taken a huge toll on this organization, so much so that RW is in the predicament he's in.

2010 will be an uncapped year because the owners opted out of the current CBA before 11/1/08 and thus shortened the CBA from ending after 2012 to 2010. NFL CBA Items

Solid QB's aren't found in the bargain bin, they're usually in the top half of the first round and waiting to have a solid OL may be too late. The Bills needs are so varied right now (QB, OT, DT, LB) that if there isn't a good QB, they should go BPA at one of those positions.

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.