I can't help feeling optimistic about the Bills every year. Like a guy on his second marriage, being a Bills fan is an exercise of hope over experience. Still, even I can see the same depressing patterns going way back. Exciting new coach enters, promising a new era, more aggressive, attacking football (no one promises passivity and meekness), and he promptly changes the scheme, always changing the scheme. If we have a 3-4, he goes with 4-3; got a 4-3? Well, back to a 3-4. Short passing game? We'll open things up. Opened up already? We'll move the chains, use short passes to set up the long game. Exciting changes afoot, fans!
I had mixed feelings about Marv Levy, but I admired how he chose the scheme to fit the personnel, not the other way around. I think it was Dick Jauron who cut Pat Williams in his prime (switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4, of course), which promptly dropped the Bills number two- or three-ranked defense to among the worst in the league. Wannstedt was an awful coordinator, a real has-been. But his move to a 4-3 made sense given his players' weaknesses (i.e., linebacker) and strengths, with Kyle Williams and Dareus at tackle and Mario at end; Carrington did nicely at tackle, too. (Too bad Wanny pretty much mailed it in after this change.) Now Marrone wants to change--you guessed it--back to a 3-4. Why? Let me guess: for an attacking defense?
Another Levy principle: Retain your own players. Others here have lamented the list of players cut since he left, including Antoine Winfield, Pat Williams, Paul Posluszny, Jason Peters and Nate Clements. Now Levitre's gone and maybe Byrd. When the front office does manage to draft well, they decline to pay the players when their contracts are up. Then they draft a replacement, and we get all excited. I'm fully aware that they couldn't retain everyone, ridiculous salaries, small market, etc. But, c'mon. You have the best safety in football. Pay the man. It's always two steps forward, two steps back.
Let me mention one more pattern: drafting for potential instead of production, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary. E.J. Manuel may be great. Who knows? But am I the only one who is thinking of Jamarcus Russell, Vince Young, Daunte Culpepper (yes, they're all black)--big, athletic, fast, cannon arms, etc? I felt ill when I heard Nix stressing repeatedly that Manuel is "tall." That kind of myopia is what led him to pass on Russell Wilson. Why draft an talented AND productive quarterback when you can draft one that is merely talented (but tall!)? Same with speed over production: neither T.J. Graham nor Marquise Goodwin were particularly productive in college (Goodwin didn't even start--in college!), but both are speedsters. Fine, maybe they can contribute on the odd end-around. But does that justify picking them in the THIRD round, when you want a starter? When you're looking at swapping your Pro Bowl guard for a journeyman, the third on the line? It's like the little kid comes out in Nix. "Oooh, he's fast! He's tall!"
To close my rant, I am still optimistic, still excited, still pumped--and still reading this board every day, as I have been for twenty years. We're a pathetic bunch, aren't we? But we do enjoy ourselves. Go Bills!
