BillsVet

Resorting to personal insults is the indication you've got an issue. I won't do that here. Be honest, some people are better at seeing things before they happen. I'm referring to people like BADOL and other posters who know their stuff. Merely hoping and wishing without action (from the front office) is the result of people needing something to cling to. I refuse to believe in this team until I see something on the field. During the late eighties to late nineties I didn't take a wait and see approach because the team was consistently good. The cap has changed this somewhat, but I reserve the right to complain when the franchise is staring a decade in a row at missing the playoffs. I would think most Bills fans have tired of rhetoric without action. And banking on the draft to provide instant starters is not a plan, nor should it be. For the record, I have season tickets, and going to the game is a highlight. But when you've seen the heartbreaking losses and good old fashioned whoopings I have these past three seasons, it gets old. Watching those MNF losses in person is hard. Take it for what it is, but don't make it personal.

You're points are paper thin and certainly not deep. The things you mentioned as being successes are nice, but won't get the team into the playoffs. At least they didn't last year when the Bills had the second best schedule in the league. As many have said on this board, you can be a Bills fan and criticize. We see failure (not making the playoffs) and will say something. I know you're a casual fan and wins and losses don't matter as much. Consider that there are different levels of fandom. And some fans just plain know more than others. The HC is not close to good. The front office lacks a a leader versed in personnel. My second signature says what I feel.

Best example there was using Slow-Train Thomas at Jacksonville in 07 when Jackson was on the bench. I'd expect the HC to know what he's got in a player. AT played hard, but he lacked any burst and struggled. The McKelvin non-play still irks me, but I've come to expect that from DJ. But for all the hype of draft day, rookies don't normally make an impact their first year. Perhaps excepting RB's.

Amid all the hoopla surrounding the draft, I think it's important to recall how Buffalo has used rookies the last few years. In 06, with the Bills in full-on rebuild mode, both Whitner and Simpson played major minutes when Milloy was released, Bowen(!) was hurt, and Vincent was hurt and subsequently released. Their inexperience was minimized by playing them far off the ball. McCargo was hurt, while Youboty didn't get on the field until late in the season. Butler didn't play, though Kyle Williams and Ellison did when injuries struck. In 07, Lynch and Posluszny were counted on to be Day 1 starters. Edwards got PT when Losman was hurt at NE. Dwayne Wright, John Wendling, and Schouman played sparingly. Lynch and Posluszny had to start in 07, given the departure of McGahee, Fletcher, and Spikes. In 08, only McKelvin saw decent time as a starter, although not when he could have been used most in Miami. Only Corner and Fine (when healthy) received time. Of course Bowen was injured in camp. EDIT: Hardy caught 2 TDs, although Steve Johnson surpassed him on the depth chart late in the year. My point being remains that rookies are generally used in emergency cases, or when the depth is so minimal that there are no other options. We're discussing draft day and which guys can come in, but truth be told I suspect DJ will eschew using rookie players. The decision to keep a healthy McKelvin on the bench in favor of an injured McGee against Ted Ginn of all people is representative of this. Of course, the wild card here is DJ knows he must win in 09. He'll gamble on a player, but not because he wants to. How this shakes out will be interesting to watch. I would hope the front office goes BPA at a position of need and isn't settling on filling needs or taking guys with less upside who can play now. That's the wrong formula, IMHO.

C. Biscuit is still doing it. He'll also give the one about Jeff Fisher stunk in the final days of the Oilers, but he rose from the ashes and is miraculously a great coach. I think he wants us to believe that if we give DJ another 4 seasons or so, we'll be rewarded. Everything in your OP will be borne out no later than November. And these fans will be nowhere to be found.

You're looking at a franchise that has struggled to achieve any sort of success in these past 9 seasons. I'll go out and say about 02-06 was on TD. 07-08 are direct failures of the current regime, minus the equally failed and inexperienced Marv Levy. All Buffalo's been doing is talking since 2006. They've haven't nearly done enough to compete in their own division, yet there are fans who "hope" things will change. It's not enough to hope without action, and Buffalo's been short on that this off-season. What's nice about the draft is everyone is required to be involved. You have to make picks. In UFA, a team can choose to get involved or not, but it's the best opportunity to improve for the coming season. Granted the price is high, but why does Buffalo hold back when they've got 9 straight non-playoff seasons in their rear view mirror. I'm saying that the front office, from owner on down, have not done enough to compete with the Belichick's, Parcells, and the rest of the AFC to get one of those 6 playoff spots. We can't know how the season will turn out, but check back 7 months from now, and compare the off-season hype with the results on the field.

I'm fairly certain Russ wanted DJ gone in those "inner circle" meetings RW ran in Detroit at the end of December. Mainly because RB knew he couldn't market a guy who inspires nothing and finds ways to lose games he should win. In the end, RB was overruled by RW and Littman for financial reasons and RW's personal pride. Ralph directly negotiated the personal contract and didn't want to look bad by firing a coach he gave a contract extension to just 2 months prior. RB is a GM without power to make the big decisions, like firing coaches and signing top UFAs. He runs everything past RW, and it's another reason Buffalo is in a terrible state of affairs. Wilson negotiates Jauron Contract

That P.T. Barnum would make a killing on this board if he worked for Buffalo. In his place is Chris Brown.

Among coaches with 8 or more seasons as a HC, only Herm Edwards (.420), Leeman Bennett (.420), Bart Starr (.406), Bruce Coslet (.379), Dom Capers (.375), and John McKay (.333) have worse records in the SB era than DJ (.429). Capers and McKay took over expansion teams, with Capers taking over two of them. Herm "you play to win the games" Edwards is in TV, and Coslet made the playoffs once in 9 seasons with NYJ and CIN. DJ will match him this year. If people don't know that Jauron has had enough time to demonstrate he's never getting better, it's plain ignorance and a lack of football IQ. He should have been put out to pasture long ago. But when there's a desperate team looking to cut costs you hire these types of people. And you get what you pay for. EDIT: Ray Perkins coached 8 seasons with a winning percentage of .359. And I forgot Marion Campbell, who came in with a .298. Either way, this group of coaches isn't entering Canton anytime soon Coaches worse than DJ

The Bills will be looking to take guys who can make an impact from Day 1. Some guys, even in the first, are more projects than others. Even if a guy has more upside, they'll take a guy with less potential who can play from the start. The Bills need their top 3 guys to be at least part-time starters because they've got too many holes to fill (once again) and not enough picks. They'll go DE, TE, and OL though not necessarily in that order.

Dominic Rhodes is a playmaker? He of the 3.5 yards per carry variety? He'll be at the least a good backup to Jackson during Lynch's suspension, but not someone defenses fear. Then again, it's the say nothing Olympics this week. I feel like Obama's talking during campaign season.

I love to see the front office homers defend that one. But I think DJ has lost power on draft day. Taking a CB this season would be almost as bad as Matt Millen's tendency to take WR's. Except no DJ DB was as bad as Charles Rogers. We can only hope DJ is gone after this season, but go 8-8 and he'll be back. Ralph makes the call on coaches, yet Buffalo still needs a major overhaul after 4 off-seasons of rebuilding. I don't understand how a team can't rebuild after 3 off-seasons and 48 games. We weren't like Miami 07 or ATL 07 when this latest round of rebuilds took place. They need to go DE with pick 1.

One other thing on this franchise bottoming out. Buffalo has refused to make changes to their front office, regardless of their record in UFA, on draft day, and on the field. Management always has another reason not to do something, and we're supposed to accept it. Whether it's naming the stadium, finding a new HC, hiring a real GM, or just firing John Guy, they don't seem to think it's important to improve areas which do not produce. And that doesn't include the players, many of whom are not NFL caliber or start and wouldn't for most other teams. This team refuses to chart a new course, especially considering how much the old one (Levy/Brandon) has failed.

Thanks for the post BADOL. Missed your thoughts this off-season. Fans who can't see holes in the ship are sleeping. That said, a lot of Bills fans fail to follow what year in and year out successful teams are doing. They've got the Bills blinders on and fail to understand what transpired for two franchises. Both the Dolphins and Falcons completely replaced their inept front offices and coaching staffs altogether. I'm sure they'd never admit that they expected success like they had, but it is what it is. Those teams were and will be successful. Buffalo doesn't need to make changes, even with a 52-66 record in 9 seasons. Buffalo is stagnant in the offseason when changes are necessary. Buffalo fails to hire a GM when division foes feature proven successes Parcells, Belichick. Buffalo is quiet when major moves like trading a 2007 All-Pro OT who is 27 as made. Buffalo pursues mediocre UFA's when people like Tim Graham say the Bills need a huge off-season. Their big acquisition was not planned before UFA happened. Buffalo talks about draft picks as if they'll be instant impact starters. Most rookies, as several have pointed out, aren't going to be. Buffalo depends heavily on spin to sell tickets. They can't hype last year's success because they haven't had it in 9 years. And lastly, the team is selling games to a company widely believed to have interest in purchasing them in the near term. The truth hurts.

Astro-If those top 4 picks come to fruition, I'd be doing in cartwheels in the street. We can only hope.

Sounds like you need more religion than the Buffalo Bills. I'd like to see Everette Brown at 11 and Mack/Wood at 28. If they trade down with #28 into the mid second round I wouldn't argue either, as long as they get 2nd or 3rd rounders.

What's your point here? Perhaps it's more important to draft lineman and hit rather than LB's, RB's and DB's and get winners. Because the proof is obvious: Reid wins games and he's not going anywhere. We'll just have to wait and see when September rolls around.

You can't summarily dismiss one pick and then say the coach is worthless. But I'll bite here. Bryan Westbrook, Trent Cole in the mid rounds, along with Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley are solid DT's in the first. Michael Lewis at S, OT Shawn Andrews, and OG Todd Herremans are some examples. Billy Celek is an up and coming TE to replace LJ Smith. Reid is the anti-Bills draft decision maker. He predominantly takes big men early, and looks later for non-lineman. He doesn't have a great track record at WR, but he more than makes up for it by getting the OL and DL right. 7 playoff appearances don't happen without talented players. And Andy Reid picks 'em.

If he's had personnel control since 2000 or so, then I'd say he knows what he's doing. He couldn't make the playoffs 7 out of 10 years without the players. His record in UFA isn't as great, but on draft day he knows what he's doing. Anyone can throw an exception out there to marginalize him, but making the playoffs 7 out of 10 seasons means he's found talent, and replaced players pretty well for the duration.

Ralph's indeed been around the game for a long time. But he's not a talent evaluator and doesn't spend much time judging talent. Rooney has/had Colbert, Bowlen has a GM in Xanders, Lurie has Andy Reid, and Hunt has Scott Pioli. The latter hiring was the single greatest offseason move in the NFL.

Those are some fine GM's that run their teams respective war room. Everyone of those guys is indeed outstanding. I'd add Ted Thompson (GM) Thomas Dimitroff (ATL) Parcells (MIA) Pioli (KC and Parcells' son in law) I've been a big advocate of a GM who runs the draft, while the owner should be part, they won't make decisions. I guess to some it's a crazy conspiracy theory to say Ralph has significant input.

I'm glad the team's here as well. One wonders what WNY would be like without "their" team. What I have an issue with is people who believe you must cheerlead for the team. Within reason, I'm not going to support everything, and I don't think you do either. Still like the TO move, not high on Peters and Clements. A well-managed team can be somewhat successful without excellent players. An average managed team with excellent players will be good. But a poorly managed team with average players will be what Buffalo is: mediocre. Donahoe's hiring was a good faith attempt to rebuild the team. It didn't work out, but the GM position was worsened by hiring people not trained in personnel. The failings of Donahoe combined with inexperienced GM's is what has this team in the situation it's in. Fans should expect more from their team. And it starts with re-structuring the front office.

Amazing the difference between teams. War Room Decision Makers One thing which ceases to amaze is how successful teams do things. Philly and NE have their coach running the show, while other good teams have a de facto GM. But Jerry Jones, Al Davis, Mike Brown, and Ralph Wilson still run the show in Dallas, Oakland, Cincinnati, and Buffalo. Those teams have combined for 0 playoff wins in the past five seasons.

Look, I'm down on this team almost as much as anyone. I'm not big on depending on rookies to come in, but for this defense to improve they need a pass rush a better WLB. If they can get production from a rookie DE and LB, and that's a huge if, they won't be bad. The front 7 is aging though, and you've got 4 guys on the DL in Schobel, Stroud, Denney, and Kelsay who are or will turn 30 during the season. That's why you've got to go DL if there's one worthy of 11. I can't forget the team's inability to pressure Warner in AZ last year. Those long drives need to stop if they're going to win more than 6 games this season. Brees, Brady, perhaps P. Manning will carve them if they can't rush the passer. Of course, protecting the QB will be an issue this year.

A few months ago GG you wrote an emotional piece that appeared on TBD about your feelings for this franchise. I'm not accusing you of hypocrisy, but at the time I felt run down by the 2-8 finish and retention of DJ as HC as well. It seemed there weren't a lot of redeeming qualities to their final months of the season. We're close to the draft now, which is perhaps the one day on the NFL calendar requiring the greatest savvy and strategy. Having said that, IMO the Bills lack both qualities to put them ahead of their divisional and conference rivals. I don't see a vision from the front officet to remake the on-field team into something, anything. Again, I'm not trying to say you're a hypocrite, but the current makeup of the front office does not feature the bright minds which might put this team over the hump. I myself can't see the wisdom in having so few football minds running the show. You're correct, IMO, that Guy and Modrak supply the information and someone makes the decision. But whoever makes that decision on draft picks and UFA's hasn't changed in years. I can't support the front office with a continued record of futility like this. When they change the people at the top with football people, it'll change. For now, I'll remain realistic.