Good Nix article

[DarthICE]

While Donahoe tried to get cute and creative with his draft picks to show everyone how slick he was Nix is going to be fundamentally sound with his approach. Taking an injured McGahee with a first round pick and a pixy receiver with a second round pick is not something he would do. Buddy is looking for football players more than he is looking for pretty boy athletes.

 

If it were up to him I don't see him taking Maybin over Oher either

[Astrobot]

No not at all. I really like the guy and feel he can turn it around. Unlike the POS's we have had running this team, he is hands down a top 3-5 talent evaluator in this league. I feel for the first time since Polian left, whomever we draft in April has a damn good shot at being a stud in the NFL. Nix can also nail the 2nd-7th round picks so I feel good about the draft.

Wholly agree. I've been happy with recent early picks; It's the later rounds that we will improve on. Hopefully Ralph stays out of it.

[DarthICE]

Wholly agree. I've been happy with recent early picks; It's the later rounds that we will improve on. Hopefully Ralph stays out of it.

 

I haven't been happy with many of the first round picks. In fact the last 8 years or so have been misses pretty much. I hope Nix can nail some real studs the next few first round picks we have.

[JohnC]

If it were up to him I don't see him taking Maybin over Oher either

 

Buddy Nix was very candid when he publicly stated that he wouldn't have used his first round pick for one year wonders, referring to Maybin. Shortly thereafter, Modrak came out and said that he rated Brian Cushing higher than Maybin. Not surprisingly, Jauron had multiple fingers pointed at him for last year's first round pick. When you have a mish mash system of selecting draft picks you have a tendency to have more misses. It seems that Buddy Nix is bringing order and rationality to the evaluation process.

[DarthICE]

Buddy Nix was very candid when he publicly stated that he wouldn't have used his first round pick for one year wonders, referring to Maybin. Shortly thereafter, Modrak came out and said that he rated Brian Cushing higher than Maybin. Not surprisingly, Jauron had multiple fingers pointed at him for last year's first round pick. When you have a mish mash system of selecting draft picks you have a tendency to have more misses. It seems that Buddy Nix is bringing order and rationality to the evaluation process.

 

Thank God. For the first time in YEARS I can watch the draft with some excitement.

[Orton's Arm]

Wholly agree. I've been happy with recent early picks; It's the later rounds that we will improve on. Hopefully Ralph stays out of it.

By that statement I take it you mean that you've been pleased by guys like Byrd, Wood, and Levitre. Our first round picks over the last decade or so have been disappointments.

 

2000: Erik Flowers. Result: bust

2001: Nate Clements. Result: first contract and out.

2002: Mike Williams. Result: none.

2003a: traded for Drew Bledsoe. Result: released after three years.

2003b: Willis McGahee. Result: traded for two third round picks.

2004a: Lee Evans. Result: a good #2 WR.

2004b: You-know-who. Result: a championship!! (For the Las Vegas Locomotives.)

2005: none

2006a: Donte Whitner. Result: a backup SS.

2006b: John McCargo. Result: a backup DT.

2007: Marshwawn Lynch. Result: a backup RB.

2008: Leodis McKelvin. Result: too soon to tell.

2009a: Aaron Maybin. Result: a project which has yet to yield any results.

2009b: Eric Wood. Result: a good OG.

[jester43]

hahha..."You can't be successful and be an absen­tee G.M. They said I could fly back and forth, but that won't work." sounds like this guy is a lot more committed to winning than Ralph and his beancounters...

[JohnC]

Thank God. For the first time in YEARS I can watch the draft with some excitement.

 

What is going to be fun watching this offseason is how this front office goes about reshaping the roster. You can see early on that there will be fewer players on this roster who only play on special teams. This makes a lot of sense because when injuries occurred last year on the OL and LB positions there was no quality depth to replace the starters.

 

The Bill Parcells school of rebuilding a roster starts with immediately reworking and upgrading the 23-45 roster spots. If you recall BP brought in a lot of his former players as backups to bulk up the backside of the roster. In his first year he turned it over by more than one half.

 

It is also going to be intriguing to see which free agents he brings in. I don't expect any high profile T.O. type marketing players brought in as opposed to bringing in solid mid-level type of players to augment the roster. I'm confident that this team is going to be bigger and stronger on both lines. A clue indicating that direction were the TWO strength coaches brought in by Buddy. Whereas Jauron favored light and quick players Buddy will tend towards big and stronger players.

[JohnC]

Thank God. For the first time in YEARS I can watch the draft with some excitement.

 

I remember when Floyd Reese was working as an analyst commenting on the Bills drafting and personnel moves: "I'm sure they have a plan but I just haven't figured it out yet." LOL

[Wing Man]

It's a decent feature article on the man, but it doesn't address the fundamental issues that still make Nix a question mark. Questions like: What was his role in building the San Diego Chargers? Why didn't the Bills look at anyone else, was he really that good an interviewer? Can he accomplish what AJ Smith did in San Diego or are we looking at a glorified scout who drafts and manages with all the deft of Marv Levy?

[jeffhcb1]

http://blog.al.com/ray-melick/2010/02/tall...dy_nix_bac.html

 

Man this guy gets me pumped up. I wish we had him as GM instead of Donahoe/Marv/ Russ and all that mess we have went through. I have a feeling I am going to wish we had Gailey this entire time as well

 

I want the QB situation resolved so damn bad, but I am also about to the point of just going with whatever Nix and Gailey goes with and deal with it. Nix has such a damn good rep at evaluating and getting the right players in here. I just wish this was a time when when had like two first rounders, a couple seconds etc so Nix could really shore things up quicker.

 

Look men, I would like to be as positive as all of you are. It all sounds great. Don't fall into the same old trap. I admit these guys seem to be making some intelligent moves so far. And sure Buddy sounds like a football guy. But don't get sucked into all the hype like many of us have over the last decade. There is absolutely ZERO, I repeat ZERO, reason to give anyone in this organization the benefit of the doubt until they prove themselves. You can disagree with me all you want, but you have no evidence. Ralph is a loser. Gaily? His record is just over .500, and Buddy? Well he has never really been a GM. I dont care that he's been in the NFL for 40 year, hell 100 years. Who gives a crap. Ralph has been in the league for 50 years and we know his record.

 

Let's be a little critical for once here and not just assume that everyone knows what they're doing. We'd all be better off.

By the way, did Buddy actually graduate from college? His bio says he "played for" and "attended" Livingston. Why doesnt it say graduated from? I realize times were different then, but just an observation.

 

One step at a time here guys. First they need to execute a successful draft, then offseason, then show some improved coaching and preparation.

 

LONG, LONG way to go and the odds are against them.

[Steely Dan]

It's a decent feature article on the man, but it doesn't address the fundamental issues that still make Nix a question mark. Questions like: What was his role in building the San Diego Chargers? Why didn't the Bills look at anyone else, was he really that good an interviewer? Can he accomplish what AJ Smith did in San Diego or are we looking at a glorified scout who drafts and manages with all the deft of Marv Levy?

 

And you know this, how?

[jeffhcb1]

And you know this, how?

 

That's his point. We dont know much yet. He's right.

[DarthICE]

I remember when Floyd Reese was working as an analyst commenting on the Bills drafting and personnel moves: "I'm sure they have a plan but I just haven't figured it out yet." LOL

 

Yeah I wanted to puke when I heard that... because he was right

[Armchair GM]

http://blog.al.com/ray-melick/2010/02/tall...dy_nix_bac.html

 

Man this guy gets me pumped up. I wish we had him as GM instead of Donahoe/Marv/ Russ and all that mess we have went through. I have a feeling I am going to wish we had Gailey this entire time as well

 

I want the QB situation resolved so damn bad, but I am also about to the point of just going with whatever Nix and Gailey goes with and deal with it. Nix has such a damn good rep at evaluating and getting the right players in here. I just wish this was a time when when had like two first rounders, a couple seconds etc so Nix could really shore things up quicker.

 

Another first would be a stretch as no one on this team would garner that high of a pick in a trade; however, I really believ that some moves will be made to get additional draft picks.

[JohnC]

Look men, I would like to be as positive as all of you are. It all sounds great. Don't fall into the same old trap. I admit these guys seem to be making some intelligent moves so far. And sure Buddy sounds like a football guy. But don't get sucked into all the hype like many of us have over the last decade. There is absolutely ZERO, I repeat ZERO, reason to give anyone in this organization the benefit of the doubt until they prove themselves. You can disagree with me all you want, but you have no evidence. Ralph is a loser. Gaily? His record is just over .500, and Buddy? Well he has never really been a GM. I dont care that he's been in the NFL for 40 year, hell 100 years. Who gives a crap. Ralph has been in the league for 50 years and we know his record.

 

Let's be a little critical for once here and not just assume that everyone knows what they're doing. We'd all be better off.

By the way, did Buddy actually graduate from college? His bio says he "played for" and "attended" Livingston. Why doesnt it say graduated from? I realize times were different then, but just an observation.

 

One step at a time here guys. First they need to execute a successful draft, then offseason, then show some improved coaching and preparation.

 

LONG, LONG way to go and the odds are against them.

 

There is a simple reason why Buddy Nix was hired by the antiquated owner of the Bills: He was the only person interviewed. When the owner was presented a list of prospective GM interviews by Russ Brandon the owner selected Nix because he was one of the few people the out of touch owner knew. No one esle was interviewed, at least in a serious way. That demonstrates how cartoonishly a fool the owner is.

 

All anyone can judge Nix on at this point is on the decisions he is making. Bringing in a young and upcoming assist. GM from a winning Steeler organization, Whaley, is a move in the right direction. Adding additional staff to the conditioning program is a smart move. Not retaining John Guy was the proper thing to do.

 

When Nix was looking for a HC he set up certain parameters. He wanted a HC who was offensive minded and he wanted a HC who had experience. Was Chan Gailey an inspired hiring? Of course not. But at least Buddy Nix has a reasonable plan and he is executing it. That in itself is a refreshing change from the disjointed way decisions were made.

 

Make no mistake about the present status of the Bills; they are a lower tiered team. It is going to be years before they will be able to seriously contend within their own division. Nix is going to be judged by how he drafts and makes personnel decisions in free agency and trades. He also will be judged at how adept he handles the cap and player retentions. That is where Whaley can help.

 

There is no quick fix. Two years down the road there is a good chance of a labor stoppage, which will set this organization further back. But at least now we have some semblance of order and rationality on the football side of the operations.

[DarthICE]

There is a simple reason why Buddy Nix was hired by the antiquated owner of the Bills: He was the only person interviewed. When the owner was presented a list of prospective GM interviews by Russ Brandon the owner selected Nix because he was one of the few people the out of touch owner knew. No one esle was interviewed, at least in a serious way. That demonstrates how cartoonishly a fool the owner is.

 

All anyone can judge Nix on at this point is on the decisions he is making. Bringing in a young and upcoming assist. GM from a winning Steeler organization, Whaley, is a move in the right direction. Adding additional staff to the conditioning program is a smart move. Not retaining John Guy was the proper thing to do.

 

When Nix was looking for a HC he set up certain parameters. He wanted a HC who was offensive minded and he wanted a HC who had experience. Was Chan Gailey an inspired hiring? Of course not. But at least Buddy Nix has a reasonable plan and he is executing it. That in itself is a refreshing change from the disjointed way decisions were made.

 

Make no mistake about the present status of the Bills; they are a lower tiered team. It is going to be years before they will be able to seriously contend within their own division. Nix is going to be judged by how he drafts and makes personnel decisions in free agency and trades. He also will be judged at how adept he handles the cap and player retentions. That is where Whaley can help.

 

There is no quick fix. Two years down the road there is a good chance of a labor stoppage, which will set this organization further back. But at least now we have some semblance of order and rationality on the football side of the operations.

 

I see so the fact he pretty much ran the SD drafts which garnered several probowlers had nothing to do with his hiring? the fact he is regarded by many to be one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL had nothing to do with it either?

[Mr. WEO]

It's a decent feature article on the man, but it doesn't address the fundamental issues that still make Nix a question mark. Questions like: What was his role in building the San Diego Chargers? Why didn't the Bills look at anyone else, was he really that good an interviewer? Can he accomplish what AJ Smith did in San Diego or are we looking at a glorified scout who drafts and manages with all the deft of Marv Levy?

Yo, man........you just CANNOT ask those questions in the middle of another "Buddy is already the greatest GM we have ever had in Buffalo" thread.

 

But to answer one of your questions, word is that Ralph was blown away by Nix's eloquence.

[JohnC]

I see so the fact he pretty much ran the SD drafts which garnered several probowlers had nothing to do with his hiring? the fact he is regarded by many to be one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL had nothing to do with it either?

 

Let's get serious here. Buddy Nix was hired by the buffoon owner for the same reason that Levy was brought in to replace Donahoe: familiarity. Levy was a disaster. Then Levy was replaced by the marketing guru, Russ Brandon, because the owner knew him within the organization. The laughable owner was impressed with the fact that he did a marvelous job marketing the losing team and making an extraordinary amount of money for the hoggish owner. The owner hired these basically in-house people because he doesn't trust hiring people outside of his very tight circle.

 

 

The hiring process for a GM was a joke. There were very few people brought in to interview despite the fact that Russ Brandon brought the fatigued owner an extensive list to be interviewed. The baron selected Buddy Nix because he knew him. It is as simple as that.

 

Was Buddy Nix the best candidate for the GM? How can anyone tell when no one else was seriously considered because the reclusive owner resorted to his lazy approach of going with people he knows. Although the hiring process was idiotic that doesn't mean that Buddy Nix can't do a very capable job. So far I like what he has done.

 

Having a career scout as a GM certainly is dramatically better than having a marketing person as your GM. It also certainly beats having the congenial and clueless Levy, who was out of the game for nearly five years, presiding over the most important position in any franchise. The challenge for Buddy Nix is not scouting talent as much as contending with a fool owner who periodically likes to tinker with his toy franchise. Another big challenge is contending with Ralph's trusted finance people, Littman and Oberdorf, who like to keep a tight hold on finances.