BillsVet

Ernie Accorsi and Jerry Reese. The former and current GM for the Giants.

900 posts in 2.5 months and you still haven't said a thing.

It should strike everyone as strange that Ralph decided against hiring a GM when Marv retired. Sure, the argument was all about keeping the front office intact, but the results are clearly evident. Maintaining continuity in front office personnel is superceded by having a winning team. Clearly the execs aren't good enough, and now it's time for a change.

Forget about reasoning with the unreasonable. A culture dedicated to blindly accepting mediocrity has developed among some Bills fans. There is nothing you can say which will convince them that Buffalo is an exception and eight years of no playoffs is outrageous. I'm not sure what's worse: having a team like Buffalo that teases you every year or being a Detroit fan where you know the team isn't going to do anything. But if your a fan that demands some accountability, go on being who you are. There are still a few who think Buffalo has serious issues.

Dallas hasn't won a playoff game since 1996. Jones' moves (trading a 1st, 3rd, and 6th for Roy Williams) still make many NFL experts scratch their heads, and this season it's 5-4 for an team with too many stars and not enough wins. Hurney? Carolina's been up and down the past few years. So much so that John Fox's job was in question until recently. THe last two years have produced 7-9 and 8-8 records. The year before was a playoff team, but they're not a perennial contender. I will say Hurney's had the foresight to draft OL and DL early and often. How come business man Hurney does this, while our franchise can't? And the Vikings. Zygi Wilf has really done a marvelous job shelling out big dollars in the past couple years. Whomever is responsible for hiring Brad Childress might be out the door with BC if the Vikes don't make the post-season this year. All in all, none of those teams have had long term success. BB is not the GM. As a matter of fact, NE has no de facto GM. BB and Scott Pioli (Veep of Personnel) share the duties, and have been the exception to the rule of having a GM. Both know talent when they see it, and have complemented each other well for many years. As for the comparison to Buffalo, we feature the three headed monster of Guy, Modrak, and Brandon. The former two have been handling personnel in Buffalo since at least 2001, and should share some blame for a franchise which is 8 year w/o a playoff appearance.

I think the only way Ralph makes a change is for enough fans to vote with their feet and not renew season tickets. It's not the best solution to the problem of not having made the playoffs since 1999, but at this point there's a clear line between the haves and have-nots in the NFL. To me, it's essential to have a GM in this league. Right now, the Bills are behind the curve with their triumvirate of Brandon, Modrak, and Guy. If, and it's a huge if, this team doesn't make the playoffs, it should signal that Buffalo needs a true talent evaluator.

Where did I mention HC's. This thread isn't about who walks the sideline. It's about executives who handle the personnel side. Better teams ensure they have shrewd evaluators of talent. The teams which consistently flounder do not. Coaching is an element of the game which is not being discussed here. Ah, WRaimus thanks for your input. Nowhere, as I previously mentioned, is the coaching element mentioned.

Definitely. For all the flak they took, Fletcher, Clements, Milloy, and McGahee are all playing at a relatively high level for teams primed for the playoffs. Yet they were dumped over time by the Bills. For all the money Buffalo saved in salary on them, additional resources were spent replacing them. At the end of the day, that's the reason were on a treadmill. Replacing those guys has resulted in a trade into the second for Posluszny, arguably Youboty and then McKelvin and Corner for Clements. Milloy's departure paved the way for Whitner and perhaps Simpson while it was all but necessary to take Lynch when McGahee was traded. That's a boatload of picks to save money.

Maybe it's also because they have Ozzie Newsome as a GM. His draft record since 1996 is on par with almost any franchise in the NFL. In the last four drafts they've taken G Ben Grubbs, OT Jared Gaither, G/C Chris Chester, DT Haloti Ngata, and OT Adam Terry. That's five starters in four drafts on the lines, something perhaps whomever Buffalo's GM should study closely.

He had Scott Pioli, NE's VP of Personnel who has spent the last 16 years in personnel. 3 SB titles later, I think the tandem of BB and SP have demonstrated they "get it."

How about we bring in Greg Robinson for GM, SD?

Everyone knows how bad Detroit is and their absolutely terrible record during the Millen era. But looking at the other awful NFL franchises, they all have one thing in common: the lack of a real General Manager with a personnel background. Millen was hired without any previous personnel experience. Cincinnati fans are putting a billboard up asking owner/GM Mike Brown to hire a GM. KC has the the man Jason Whitlock at the Star calls, "King Carl" Peterson. Oakland still has Al Davis calling the personnel shots. Those four teams will be drafting in the top 5 come April. All of those guys are terrible talent evaluators, and their teams have become jokes. So much so that in the last five seasons, those four franchises have produced a mere 2 playoff teams. In an era where a salary cap exists and parity is almost predictable, some teams have still had no success while others routinely win. It's a lack of true talent evaluators and sound football minds that's been missing in Buffalo. For as much heat as DJ rightfully takes, it's time to demand an experienced football executive with solid personnel experience. Maybe then this franchise can regain some semblance of a winning culture.

It's probably 6-3 minimum. The more things change, the more they stay the same. All of the bad teams have one thing in common: Bad front offices. Detroit had a bad GM and now has no one. Cincinnati's awful owner is the defacto GM. Oakland's GM is the owner who is well past his prime. And Buffalo doesn't have a GM. All of those teams are struggling mightily while other teams prosper. It's no wonder none of them appear headed in the right direction, despite millions spent on players and new coaches. If more fans on this board knew what happened elsewhere, their attitude would change. Unfortunately the Bills are the exception to the rest of the NFL - and not in a good way.

I think PF is gun-shy after these past few weeks. Most of those blitzes featured Mitchell and promptly were handled by opposing OL and his predictability is what I can't understand. We know Mitchell excelled while blitzing for NYG, but in Buffalo he doesn't have the supporting cast to be as effective. It's time for something different. Going a step further, the DL can't generate pressure on it's own. Everyone knows it, and they're not that talented enough. A hallmark of the C2 is dropping those LB's into short zone coverage. I think PF's more concerned about pass coverage on the short to intermediate routes than he is rushing the passer.

I remember when people were saying that 7-9 season last year was improvement over the the 06 7-9 record because of injuries. That's fine, but I haven't heard a chorus of "we're progressing" this year despite a 5-4 record. Making the playoffs in 2008 was the goal, and every fan with a pulse knows it. Given the schedule, and Brady's injury, an 8-8 or 9-7 without the playoffs is unsatisfactory. There are quite a few fans (probably ones who've grown up with this mediocrity since 2000) who don't see anything wrong with what's going on. They've never known anything different. I'd believe it's time to demand some accountability for 2 seasons of rebuilding and a subsequent non-playoff season. 7-9 or 8-8 isn't cutting it.

My post to BBB and SD was an example of illustraing absurdity by being absurd. Of course SU should fire GR, because he's neither good on the field, or heading a recruiting effort. In those same ways with the Bills, DJ has failed. At the first signs of trouble this year, there was no adaptation, no creativity with the gameplans. And during the offseason, the team prioritized areas that shouldn't be a priority. This includes spending 7 picks out of 26 total (including 2 1sts) on DB's. Yet, both the OL and DL aren't much better than they were in 2005. We have the same DE's, and the OL can't run block. Sound familiar? Yet we're (SD and BBB) are still looking to excuse DJ's time in Chicago, and the fact that he's had a great deal of control in acquiring players for his team. We know he, Marv, and Modrak shared this responsibility. And with RB, it's probably mostly DJ handling personnel. It's plain silly to continue this masquerade that DJ is competent and finds the right personnel.

SD-perhaps SU should retain Greg Robinson because he hasn't had enough time either? BBB, how about it? I mean, GR's only had a four seasons and they played Louisville tough, right? Head coaches should have at least five seasons, regardless of record. The problem is they don't have the right players at SU, and GR's trying real hard. Let's give him another year or two to right the ship!

The Bills are playing the team who eliminated them from the playoff contention last season. With a home crowd on MNF, a weak Cleveland secondary, and inexperienced QB in Quinn, they'd better destroy Cleveland. They certainly should have enough motivation, given a 1-4 record these past five weeks. If the coach can't do it, which is readily apparent, the players need to do it themselves.

Fisher's previous two seasons (2004 and 2005) resulted in 5-11 and 4-12 records. Had Fisher duplicated that in 06, his rear end would have been gone, rookie QB or not. Only in Buffalo, Detroit, and Cincinnati does mediocrity get rewarded.

We'll never know how much input or research Marv did into the draft, but I'm guessing he didn't play the entire Polian role during draft day. I believe he deferred a great deal to DJ, who had personnel control his first two seasons in Chi-town. I like the 07 draft a great deal. When Lynch begins taking what he's given (which isn't much) and gets a few more lanes to use, he'll be a fine back. Posluszny is a super-rookie, and has made some mistakes. He hasn't shied from contact, and given his injury last year, that's good. He's just a little too aggressive right now. That will be channeled correctly with more game experience. Despite his poor showings the last few games, Trent is a super-rookie as well. He will improve and mature as a player and there will be better days. I firmly believe he is the future QB of this franchise. The coaches he has though, are not.

IIRC, Jeff Fisher saved his job in the latter half of 2006 when VY and the Titans went 6-1 in their final 7 contests. In that stretch, Tennessee defeated Indy, Jacksonville (division games I might add) Philly, the Giants, and a certain Buffalo Bills team that should have defeated them. The Titans started 0-5 that season, yet finshed 8-8 and defeated three playoff teams in the process. All of this with Young, who has probably started his final game as a NFL QB. While Jauron and Fisher are former NFL DB's, the similarities end there. Coaching careers are far different. By the end of 2008, Fisher will have won 10+ games in 6 of 15 seasons, including this year . Jauron has 1 out of 8. Go ahead and blame players, but Fisher's teams do the things needed to win games. Stout defense, a strong OL and running game along with not turning the ball over are what Fisher teams do well. His teams have made the playoffs 5 times in 14 seasons, and barring a complete disaster, will do so this year as a top seed. He also finds a way to get good coordinators, which has been DJ's number 1 failure since he became a HC. Gary Crowton, John Shoop, and Steve Fairchild have been banished to the college ranks for a reason - they weren't capable OC's. Nice try.

It was always strange to me that Buffalo didn't really interview anyone else. There was going to be a promotion from within. There is a dearth of good coordinators and certainly good HC's throughout the league. The best ones react in-game to opponents, and I've not seen that with a Bills team in a long time. I'm not sure Schonert can adjust in game, which is a similarity he has with his HC. That fact alone is startling, considering that both men have spent a lot of time as coaches in this league. Jauron spent 8 seasons as a player and 24 as a coach in the NFL. Schonert has 20 seasons in the NFL as either a player or coach. I would like to see an aggressive passing game on Monday night, given the thrashing Denver handed Cleveland. That should nicely set up the running game as well.

If only there was a Polian type who could come in and do what needs to be done. Difference is in 2008, as opposed to 1985, this team is plain mediocre, not pitiful like they were 23 years ago. Polian's son Chris has been mentioned, but I'm sure Sr. Polian has advised Jr. that working with Ralphie is akin to sticking needles in your eyes. So, I don't see that happening. This team will suffer until finding a veritable GM from the personnel ranks and who is able to spot talent-both players and coaches.

Is that by opposing defensive lineman or this person: Fowler's "opponent"

This board was so high on that 2006 draft during and after that season. To many, it was the foundation of the franchise because so many of those guys started. But much like DJ's style of coaching, the Bills went with the safe move on draft day with Whitner. Ngata was a little risky, albeit with a greater ceiling professionally. McCargo is clearly a bust, and demonstrates why bad teams should not move up that early. Youboty came on this year, but his injury history should be reason enough to declare him underwhelming. He just can't stay on the field. Simpson is an average FS, and saw the bench in a few games this year. Butler and Kyle Williams are serviceable starters, but will be replaced when a better player is available. (Although both got unnecessary extensions this season) Ellison was liked so much at WLB that Buffalo signed Mitchell in March. All in all, you have Whitner, average starters in Williams and Butler. Outside of that, the rest is depth. Dawgg, great post. The front office must be nuked with a real GM hired to make this team competitive again.