BillsVet

There are three positions in the NFL which carry a premium: QB, pass rushing DE, and a LOT. When a team has above average starters at those positions, they've got a great start. If trading Peters is necessary, and picks are what you get in return, I call that another step toward perpetual rebuilding. The Bills have been at it now for three seasons, why stop now?

After these past two off-seasons, I was beginning to wonder if the Bills weren't interested in taking anyone from outside the organization. The only way this team gets better is through having great drafts every year. They can't afford to miss on a first or second rounder anymore. Nix sounds like a guy who's a fine talent evaluator and will provide Modrak with a go-to guy leading up to the draft. Then again, I'm not sure why this move was necessary. We've got Linda Bogdan to cry to daddy whenever she doesn't get her way.

Bills Draft Options If you removed the names of prospects, this article probably could have been written for the 07, 08, and 09 drafts. One thing that never changes is Buffalo's huge needs for each season heading into FA and the draft. I like Tyson Jackson, but he's a LDE with the frame to play in a 3-4 and not rush the passer in a 4-3. I would hope the front office doesn't reach on a DE because everyone and their brother knows Buffalo needs another pass rusher. Jackson may be strong against the run, but won't offer much in the pass rush. As for the TE's, the coaches need to settle for a guy who can stretch the field that may not be a great blocker. There are plenty of guys in a Dallas Clark mold who are vertical threats without the blocking. If the Bills insist they need a blocking TE who can catch, their lone option seems to be Pettigrew. After that, the TE's who can catch aren't great blockers. Have to wonder if they need the TE blocking to assist Walker with speed rushers from the left (defensive) side. Neither Pettigrew nor Mack are 11th overall worthy picks, as they're going no higher than 20 IMO. As much as I don't think the Bills will splurge in FA, they can't enter the draft needing a DE, SLB, C, and TE. With depth needed at LB, DT, G, and S they continue to enter every off-season with huge holes to fill. IMO, that's the price you pay when you enter the season with 20M+ under the cap. Last season and 07 demonstrated how not spending or drafting quality depth hurts in the long run. Sure the Bills have options. One option I wish they had was taking best player available, which is something they haven't done since about 1994. Ah, well we've got Russ Brandon handling GM duties according to Bill Kollar. There's nothing to worry about.

Link? I'm not doubting this, but dollar wise, I wouldn't be surprised if they had more than 27M.

Great post SB. Schonert's promotion this time last year was heralded by some to be a great move solely because he replaced whipping boy Fairchild. After one season, it's clear he's not capable to handling the job. That's an affirmation of why he wasn't promoted to OC with TB, NYG, BUF (1st time) and CAR. After the 5-1 start, obviously the QB play wasn't stellar other than at KC, but Schonert's failure to answer 3-4 defenses in the passing game when teams dropped 6+ into coverage is proof to me he's never going to get it. He's not a rookie coach, and he's spent no less than 12 seasons in the league as a QB coach. Someone with that record who hasn't been promoted probably ain't good enough. All of this fits in line with what happened to DJ in Chicago. Lackluster coordinators who aren't in the NFL anymore, and offenses which fell into the bottom third of the league. I listened to the braggodocio in the offseason, but as with Fairchild, it was just talk. Aside from being a terrible gameday HC, DJ's biggest failure has been the lack of finding good coordinators. He's hired 6 in 8 seasons of coaching, and none of them ever were mentioned as candidates for head coaching jobs. Schonert's hopefully the last coordinator DJ ever hires, because DJ oughta be fired after this season.

Couldn't agree more here Bill. It's why trading Peters is about the dumbest idea of heard of in a long time. Almost as much as naming an octogenarian the GM. In all seriousness, if a pass rusher isn't available at 11, trading down it the best option. Neither Pettigrew or Mack have value at 11th, but probably no higher than the late teens or twenties. This front office lacks the savvy a front office needs to wheel and deal on draft day. They come off as blundering their way through the process, and expecting anything different this year is probably out of the question. Then again, we've got Russ Brandon.

Establishing blame for this latest mess in the Bills history is not going to accomplish anything and we know it. Levy hiring Jauron happened, and there's nothing going to change that. But my frustration continues to be with this front office, which received the owner's seal of approval this offseason. So many Bills fans believed Levy would bring this team back from the dead in 06. And they were wrong, because they placed their hope in someone who shouldn't have had it in the first place. Marv was If the front office isn't good, the chances of building a winner is very slim. Levy missed on the big decisions and the team is stuck in mediocrity for the forseeable future.

I cannot believe how poorly the Bills are in the front 7, and it shows in the run game almost weekly. They have 3 DT's on the roster, one of whom will be 31 next season, while the other two are depth types. At DE, 3 guys are or will be 30+ in 09. Buffalo has 2 NFL caliber LB's in Posluszny and Mitchell, while the rest is depth or fringe NFLers. As bad as the front 7 is, their offense isn't special either. But if Raji can play well in the Senior Bowl, perform in the combine and workouts, the Bills may need to take a long hard look at a DT. At this early point Raji seems to be a strong presence.

If Marv knew he'd have to hire a has been, I'd expect his Ivy League education to kick in and use the leverage he had (RW needed him badly) to demand a little more power to find a coach. Marv knew he had some sway over Ralphie, and it's obvious in the signings of Dockery, Walker, Schobel, and Kelsay. Why didn't he then have some say over his head coach selection?

Marv hired DJ after observing his shortcomings in Chicago for five seasons. I don't know how many games Marv saw from 99-03, but he should have known better to hire DJ. I will freely admit it could have been due to conditions Wilson set: 1. The coach have previous HC exprience and... 2. He be cheap (less than 1.5M per) I agree DJ has been bad and responsible for no less than those 4 losses this season. But Marv's biggest decision was his first, and he went with the wrong guy. Bears fans knew that in 03 Jauron was terrible. Why couldn't Marv figure that out as well?

Your posts really make me laugh. According to you, no one is ever at fault while this team struggles to remain relevant in the NFL. It's fine to blame TD for 01-05 and perhaps 06. But from 07 forward, the failures of this franchise should be squarely on Levy, Brandon, and Ralph. No excuses. Two years is plenty of time to rebuild a franchise. With UFA and good drafts there are several teams who've made it happen. Some will disagree, but the franchise is no better now than it was when Marv took over. Ask Tom Dimitroff and Mike Smith how long it took him to rebuild. Ask Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano. Ask Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh. They've all turned around teams rather quickly. And while they're doing that, Buffalo is stuck in the muddle with the accelerator barely pressed. So go ahead and make exceptions for everyone. We're still waiting for a season we can be proud of.

To this day I don't believe the Giants were truly serious about drafting McCargo. They had Alford and Robbins already. I didn't see them addressing their DT depth with a first round pick. Instead, NYG selected Mathias Kiwanuka to replace Strahan who they figured would retire imminently. The Giants don't miss all that often on 1st rounders. McCargo's athleticism was probably the item they loved, but the front office was delighted so much that they ignored or didn't know about his lack of motivation. And they discounted the fact that McCargo played close to Mario Williams and Manny Lawson, two other first rounders. The Colts were desperate for help at DT, because they run the same defense. I think it was ironic that McCargo was returned so quickly under the guise of a "failed physical." McCargo has little value to anything but T2/C2 teams. And if he couldn't play in Buffalo, I don't see anyone picking him up. He is a bust and will struggle to make any roster with his poor work ethic.

Obama what is your plan? Who do you intend to target in UFA and the draft?

I'll get destroyed for saying it, but I don't think Levy was a great coach. He was a good coach, and obviously wanted back in three years ago. During his career, he had a fine OC in Marchibroda for several years, and had Polian acquiring players for him through 92-93. Marv just needed to manage the personalities, but from a talent perspective, he had a whole lot. On his blog, Tim Graham made a point that Belichick's 3 SB winning teams will probably have only one HOFer (Brady) while Buffalo's four non-winners will have at least 3 when Bruce Smith is elected. Sure, it's different eras in comparing before and after the cap, but you have a hard time winning SB's without HOF talent. Marv is in the HOF, but if that's the case, shouldn't Dan Reeves and Bud Grant be in as welll. Both had lots of talent, made 4 SB's, and lost them all.

I continue to believe next season will make the final year of TD seem tame. Going 7-9 three straight seasons, retaining the HC, watching the Cards in the SB, and having a game in Toronto have created an unfriendly atmosphere for Bills fans. I hope it doesn't deteriorate into bedlam, but the team is in poor shape, and arguably at the same point as when Marv inherited TD's mess. Maybe DJ was the coach the Bills needed in 06, but he's not the guy to get them into the playoffs. Buffalo needs a tactician, not necessarily a loud person, but someone with quiet confidence who can push when he has to. DJ's stoic demeanor isn't working with this team anymore. Going 2-8 down the stretch demonstrates this.

I really don't think some people realize how thin the margin of error is in a NFL front office. No one should demand perfection, but you've got to make the right personnel move in a smaller market more frequently than Marv did. Whiffing on McCargo and signing Tripplett, Royal, Fowler, P. Price, Dockery, and Walker to excessive contracts are too many failures over the course of two seasons. And ultimately, hiring DJ was the biggest failure. You are spot-on about Marv's principle error being that he trusted the front office to act like Polian's version did years ago. Unfortunately, when you have a thin margin due to financial restrictions and hire a joke of a HC, it's going to be hard to succeed.

One thing I'll say for Marv: he was guilted into taking the GM job after TD failed. I really think at that point Ralph had run out of options. And so he turned to a man who was part of the team's recent glory days, if 15+ years ago counts for recent. Marv wasn't suited for the GM job, either in mind or in experience. And when it mattered, poor decisions were made all too frequently. He's a bright guy, but wasn't all that savvy when it came to crunch time. Marv was not a successful GM. He tried to build consensus with inferior front office characters. He could not duplicate Polian because the guys behind the scenes aren't there anymore. I'm talking about Butler, AJ Smith, Dwight Adams, et al. In their sted were John Guy, Tom Modrak, and a certain HC who should be no more than a DB coach.

They'll begin raising the hype about this team. And hopefully fans begin tuning them out, because it's going to be a long season with clueless Dick running the show.

I'd say the thing that would force RW to get rid of DJ is when 40k show up for games and season ticket sales slip below 35k. The only thing, and I firmly believe this now more than ever, is that RW will make decisions based on financials. I'm really trying to be hard to be optimistic that RW isn't a human example of Charles Montgomery Burns.

What about Chuck Dickerson? Where is the research from Chris Brown beyond a Raiders assistant. We could have a guy who has SB experience. Again, just kidding.

He could easily have said he wanted to be closer to family, but chose to make the statement he did about the offense. Frankly, the writing is on the wall this season for Buffalo's coaching staff. It's win or else, which is what should have happened after this past season. Besides, Kollar gets to coach Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye next year. I'd take that any day over an aging Stroud and Schobel. That's not to say the latter aren't good anymore, but Houston has more talent on the DL.

For every action there is a reaction. And signing Kelsay to the deal he received made it necessary to pay Schobel. Oh sure there was no requirement, but had Buffalo slammed the door in Schobel's face (BTW way he was a Pro Bowler at that point) it would have caused huge issues. The Bills front office has no savvy. They don't see the curveball until it's in the catcher's glove. They're always reacting instead of taking action and they should have known that signing Kelsay would mean a new deal for Schobel, but they didn't. 74M dollars later, they had their DE's. Except both will be over 30 next season, with one just bad and the other coming back from a fairly serious injury which could take away his speed. The folly of Marv and Dick is that they're smart. I'm sure with their degrees they've got a lot of book smarts. But when it comes to street smarts and knowing the landscape and anticipating problems, they're horrible. They proved it in FA and Draft 06, and again in FA 07. Only the 07 first three picks can save them. Signing Dockery and Walker without thinking it would effect Peters was plain bad management. Those 49ers teams of the early eighties got good and players wanted to get paid. The players are still the same. But good front offices know their decisions will have consequences. Once again, the book smarts didn't come in handy.

Isn't Chuck Dickerson available? He's got a history with the team. Just kidding.

I think it's funny that fans are hoping RW spends money in UFA. Going back to 2007, RW spent big on Dockery and Walker because he was so far beneath the cap to being UFA. SOo much so, that he had approximately 20M to spend heading into the regular season. And now we're 22M+ under the cap going into 08. I can see some cuts, but when the Bills start 09, they'll be near the salary floor. But don't worry, they'll be putting a few extra dollars into the marketing department.

Fine post Raimus. Apparently the big picture is lost on some fans (predictably) but the problem remains. And it's that the attitude on this team is all wrong to create a winner. This belief that players must love their coach is contrasted in so many eras, both now and yesteryear. I can't recall an coach adored by his team who was a winner. Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, Vince Lombardi, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, Mike Ditka, and Bill Cowher weren't "loved." There's 19 titles worth of coaches, yet the players respected their them AND played hard. And there's a huge difference. Besides, all of those guys had/have an eye for talent which DJ obviously doesn't have. I just finished reading, "The Genius" which details the 10 seasons Bill Walsh coached the 49ers. After concluding, I couldn't believe the things that were said about Walsh, but if there was one universal element in his relation to players it was a respect for the coaches. Few if any players loved Walsh, but they respected him. It was only after their careers concluded that it became a love.