Kudos to Nix and Whaley

[jahnyc]

It is way too early to be making any assessment about the efforts of Nix and Whaley.

 

The roster is very thin now as a result of not re-signing players and waiving others. The Bills lacked depth in 2009, so there is a significant need to replace these players, as well as Butler and possibly Schobel. It can't all be done through the draft in one year, so the Bills will need to sign some free agents. The real test for Nix/Whaley will be their ability to find quality free agents, particularly at lower compensation levels. The Bills have been miserable in this regard for years.

Of course the other tests for Nix will be drafting and picking Gailey as head coach.

 

There is a perception that the top free agents in particular are overpriced. That may be, but it does not mean that some of these players would not be significant improvements over what we currently have. There is no salary cap this year, so I am not sure whether overpaying for a free agent has the same significance (at least in some ways) as in years past.

[DarthICE]

the only moves I see the Bills make are letting go Ingoneto, Denney, Wendley, Josh Reed, TO. That is what is pissing me off about our inactivity. We have so many holes, and now we are creating more. Go ahead and rant that those 5 suck. But they need to be replaced. Who is going to replace them? Plus the need at DE, NT, QB. OLB, LT, RT....and the upgrades at other positions. We are going to have a joke of a 53 man roster. You can only do so much through a draft. And you can only do so much in 3 drafts. How are we improved? This is a team that lost to Cleveland minus the 5 I mentioned and perhaps minus Schobel. I would not be praising the front office. Show me

 

So far I have seen addition by subtraction. Guys that were overpaid for the production they had....or should I say lack there of.

 

BTW I missed the season kickoff, who won opening weekend? Oh wait...that is MONTHS away. Draft, undrafted Free agents, June first cuts, guys on the open market because they think too highly of themselfs that will be there for us come July....Lots of time left to fill in that roster.

[DarthICE]

It is way too early to be making any assessment about the efforts of Nix and Whaley.

 

The roster is very thin now as a result of not re-signing players and waiving others. The Bills lacked depth in 2009, so there is a significant need to replace these players, as well as Butler and possibly Schobel. It can't all be done through the draft in one year, so the Bills will need to sign some free agents. The real test for Nix/Whaley will be their ability to find quality free agents, particularly at lower compensation levels. The Bills have been miserable in this regard for years.

Of course the other tests for Nix will be drafting and picking Gailey as head coach.

 

There is a perception that the top free agents in particular are overpriced. That may be, but it does not mean that some of these players would not be significant improvements over what we currently have. There is no salary cap this year, so I am not sure whether overpaying for a free agent has the same significance (at least in some ways) as in years past.

 

No cap THIS year, but teams overpaying this year will feel it when the cap comes back.

 

Ok so lets talk high priced FA's. All I listed above are bad fits for what WE are doing. So who is out there worth the money that fits our systems? No one, at least not yet.

[BUFFALOTONE]

Bolden is oft injured and isn't worth the money he is after. Dansby is a good ILB, not great, Good and again not worth the money. BTW EVERY team has a guy that 'led the team in tackes' and more often than not its the ILB so that stat is worthless.

 

Keep justifying it any way you want they were contributors to SUCCESSFUL teams.

[ChanOverChin]

What the Bills are going to do is to build through the draft, not FA. That means they are not going to be very good in 2010.......but that is by design.

 

There is no sense in acquiring a whole bunch of expensive FAs in 2010 that won't fill enough of the holes anyway.

 

They are on a TWO YEAR plan.

 

I don't mind waiting until 2011 for the Bills to actually be able to compete for the division title/playoffs.........as long as they have a viable plan in place.

 

Don't even try to tell me that the Bills will be better this year than last year. There's no way that's going to happen unless the draft picks produce big time in year 1.

[SuperKillerRobots]

the only moves I see the Bills make are letting go Ingoneto, Denney, Wendley, Josh Reed, TO. That is what is pissing me off about our inactivity. We have so many holes, and now we are creating more. Go ahead and rant that those 5 suck. But they need to be replaced. Who is going to replace them? Plus the need at DE, NT, QB. OLB, LT, RT....and the upgrades at other positions. We are going to have a joke of a 53 man roster. You can only do so much through a draft. And you can only do so much in 3 drafts. How are we improved? This is a team that lost to Cleveland minus the 5 I mentioned and perhaps minus Schobel. I would not be praising the front office. Show me

 

So you're worried about the 4 backup players and TO that we lost? I liked Cogs, but if they let him go, they must feel 1. Wood is doing better and 2. they want a vetern backup on the interior instead of a potential headcase or rookie there. Denney was a backup and it would have been debatable if he had a place as a reserve on the new defense let alone make any impact. Wendley (I think you mean Wendling) obviously was such an impact player and will be so missed come the first game that people in the stands will be chanting "Wend-ley, Wend-ley!" Josh Reed would have been a nice option to keep, but they have two young receivers that they need to evaluate, so he goes. TO is basically gone for the same reason as Reed - younger talent that needs to be given a chance. These five guys can be replaced with UDFAs and one FA vet signed a week or two before the draft. I'd rather see them sign a 5 tech DE to start or rotate heavily, but I expect that to happen later in FA.

 

As Darth said previously, there isn't anyone worth it on the market this year.

[Thurman#1]

the only moves I see the Bills make are letting go Ingoneto, Denney, Wendley, Josh Reed, TO. That is what is pissing me off about our inactivity. We have so many holes, and now we are creating more. Go ahead and rant that those 5 suck. But they need to be replaced. Who is going to replace them? Plus the need at DE, NT, QB. OLB, LT, RT....and the upgrades at other positions. We are going to have a joke of a 53 man roster. You can only do so much through a draft. And you can only do so much in 3 drafts. How are we improved? This is a team that lost to Cleveland minus the 5 I mentioned and perhaps minus Schobel. I would not be praising the front office. Show me

 

 

 

Do you think you're making some brilliant point when you say this team is bad? That nobody else has noticed? You're missing the point, which is simply that the Bills have decided to fix it in their own way, with a football man at GM, finally, and another real football man as pro player scouting head, finally.

 

You don't pick up the fill-in guys in FA the first few days. If you do, you have to overpay. The first few days are for the high-priced guys. Then as the others sit and wait, they get more reasonable in their salary demands, and they come to realize that maybe their agents were wrong when they said teams'd be lining up to court them.

 

This is how it happens every single year in FA. They will be replaced. But not yet. And particularly in the new 3 - 4, some of those guys don't need to be replaced, because they weren't going to be on the team anyway.

[DarthICE]

Keep justifying it any way you want they were contributors to SUCCESSFUL teams.

 

And that successful team were more than willing to let both go in an uncapped year. So maybe they thought in order to continue to be successful, they could do so without those two? Hummmm....

[VADC Bills]

They are doing it right. You know for all the Nix bashing, Whaley is the guy that runs Free agency to a majoritive extent. He scouts potential FA's then makes recomendations to Nix on who to bring in....which has been pretty much no one so far and I agree.

 

Peppers? Overhyped. Takes many plays off and is in it for the money only. He was going to the highest bidder which was Chicago. Funny, Washington didn't go after him....hummm....

 

Dansby? A 'good' ILB that doesn't rush the passer. He is so good Arizona just flat out let him walk. Nuff said.

 

Vanden bosch (sp). Pure 4-3 DE and he was going to play with his old DC so no one else had a shot.

 

Kampman? Sucked in the 3-4 in Green Bay, a pure 4-3 DE. Went straight to Jacksonville who sucks as well.

 

So tell me again, who was it exactly we were supposed to go out and get? I may be wrong but hasn't Buffalo signed a FA on the first day of FA every year from 04-09? What is our record over that time again?

 

So not only Nix doesn't feel there are any FA's that are going to make a drastic difference, Whaley who has spent a decade with one of the best teams in the NFL when it comes to finding talent, doesn't think so either.

 

Bottom line no matter how much Bills fans and local media B word and whine and complain, they are doing it right. They are cutting the underproducing fat, and they are not going to go out and just sign someone to appease the fanbase and I love it. I love the fact Nix and company are saying screw the whining fans and worthless media, we have a plan and are sticking to it!

 

If there isn't anyone out there that can really help your team in FA then dont' sign anyone. I feel when things calm down and some of these guys finally understand their true market value, we will sign a couple guys. But in the end this team is going to be built through the DRAFT first and formost.

Interesting.... This years crop of FA's are like the over the hill version of normal free agency. However the players are good...I'm not going to trash players that someone else acquires and say they are not good enough to be Bills when we are coming off of a 6-10 season.

Whether Nix and Whaley are doing the right thing, I will only know by the product they put on the field.

I remember when TD arrived, all was on board.. he was making all the right moves according to the bloggers on this board and a few short years later he was a stupid moron that got rid of our good players.

When Levy arrived everyone drank the "we need to be smaller and quicker" kool aid. A few years later Levy and DJ were morons that screwed the team up even more.

With that in mind I will wait until I see what they put on the field before I reserve judgement. I will also give them 2 seasons to get things turned around. By then we should know where this thing is going.

[BUFFALOTONE]

And that successful team were more than willing to let both go in an uncapped year. So maybe they thought in order to continue to be successful, they could do so without those two? Hummmm....

Right, trying to fill 2 massive holes is a better option. I get why they did not pay them bud it does not mean they are not worth the money like you are saying.

[DarthICE]

What the Bills are going to do is to build through the draft, not FA. That means they are not going to be very good in 2010.......but that is by design.

 

There is no sense in acquiring a whole bunch of expensive FAs in 2010 that won't fill enough of the holes anyway.

 

They are on a TWO YEAR plan.

 

I don't mind waiting until 2011 for the Bills to actually be able to compete for the division title/playoffs.........as long as they have a viable plan in place.

 

Don't even try to tell me that the Bills will be better this year than last year. There's no way that's going to happen unless the draft picks produce big time in year 1.

 

And see that is the deal, we have tried to 're-tool' instead of truly 'rebuild'. We are now rebuilding. It is going to be a 2 year process or so if you do it RIGHT.

 

Again I point to the Redskins...they go out and spend out the ass on Free agency....and they are drafting ahead of us this year. Go figure :-) In all of Danny Snider and Jerruh Jones' big FA spending...how many superbowls have they won since they started doing that? None would be the answer. When Dallas built through the DRAFT they won 3 superbowls. BTW the Patriots starting out doing what Nix is doing right now. AFTER they became a winner did FA's want to flock there. Even then the Pats don't overpay.

[Thurman#1]

And that successful team were more than willing to let both go in an uncapped year. So maybe they thought in order to continue to be successful, they could do so without those two? Hummmm....

 

 

 

Which could be they have different needs from ours, and maybe drafted a guy to take their place a year or two ago, which we didn't.

[Amstel]

I agree with Darth on this one. Honestly what superstars were out there at our biggest positions of need? There were no LT/OL, NT nor QB superstars available. There aren't even any solid starters at any of those positions really available. So who were we supposed to jump out of the gate and sign? With the lack of a CBA there's something like 200 less FA's available......

[billsfreak]

Most people don't get KUDOS for doing absolutely nothing! But then again just like the Rochester paper said, it isn't their money, they were hired to be office decorations apparently.

[DarthICE]

Right, trying to fill 2 massive holes is a better option. I get why they did not pay them bud it does not mean they are not worth the money like you are saying.

 

Ok so make up your mind. Uncapped year and they let both walk and this is a 'Successful' team to you. So are they worth it or not? The Cardinals the 'successful' team you refer to says NO they aren't worth it.

 

Neither player is worth the money given them and neither is that great of a player. Bolden is oft injured and not anywhere near the threat he used to be. Dansby is a good ILB, something you can find in the 2nd-5th rounds of the upcoming draft.

[DarthICE]

Most people don't get KUDOS for doing absolutely nothing! But then again just like the Rochester paper said, it isn't their money, they were hired to be office decorations apparently.

 

Well the Rochester paper is the end all of football knowledge And for those that can't get it...they ARE doing something. They are cutting the fat off the roster, they have evaluated the FA class and know who they want to bring in WHEN the time is right and for the right money. they are further evaluating the talent for the upcoming draft and preparing their draft board.

 

Too many fans are caught up in the Madden mindset. Sometimes doing nothing IS doing something. If there isn't anyone there that can drastically help your team while fitting your system, then you don't sign anyone. I love the fact Nix is flipping off the whiny fanbase and the moronic press. You do not go out and sign someone JUST to sign someone and appease the fanbase and media.

 

Tom Donahoe did that each year, how did that work out?

[tonyjustbcuz]

They are doing it right. You know for all the Nix bashing, Whaley is the guy that runs Free agency to a majoritive extent. He scouts potential FA's then makes recomendations to Nix on who to bring in....which has been pretty much no one so far and I agree.

 

Peppers? Overhyped. Takes many plays off and is in it for the money only. He was going to the highest bidder which was Chicago. Funny, Washington didn't go after him....hummm....

 

Dansby? A 'good' ILB that doesn't rush the passer. He is so good Arizona just flat out let him walk. Nuff said.

 

Vanden bosch (sp). Pure 4-3 DE and he was going to play with his old DC so no one else had a shot.

 

Kampman? Sucked in the 3-4 in Green Bay, a pure 4-3 DE. Went straight to Jacksonville who sucks as well.

 

So tell me again, who was it exactly we were supposed to go out and get? I may be wrong but hasn't Buffalo signed a FA on the first day of FA every year from 04-09? What is our record over that time again?

 

So not only Nix doesn't feel there are any FA's that are going to make a drastic difference, Whaley who has spent a decade with one of the best teams in the NFL when it comes to finding talent, doesn't think so either.

 

Bottom line no matter how much Bills fans and local media B word and whine and complain, they are doing it right. They are cutting the underproducing fat, and they are not going to go out and just sign someone to appease the fanbase and I love it. I love the fact Nix and company are saying screw the whining fans and worthless media, we have a plan and are sticking to it!

 

If there isn't anyone out there that can really help your team in FA then dont' sign anyone. I feel when things calm down and some of these guys finally understand their true market value, we will sign a couple guys. But in the end this team is going to be built through the DRAFT first and formost.

 

 

Well I liked your blog which seemed well thought out and also persuasive! I don't know for sure that I totally agree with it

in the confines of the Bills organization. I think in theory you are correct and that building through the draft alone for some teams nets them great results after probably about 3 years. I just am concerned about the track record that we have had in the past decade on drafting players. I know that Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley should do better? I know they have been successful in Sandiego/Pittsburgh...So hopefully that trend will continue into our draft. Another concern I have with living and dying with the draft is that we are slated for 9 picks, but 4 of them are 6th & 7th rounders! I would think that we'd be lucky to have 3 of the other 5 players drafted to be highly productive at their position. Look at Hardy, Maybin, Pozinjury,

who the team had high expectations of, but because of either injury or lack of having the IT factor...so far they have been a disappointment.

 

Another real problem the Bills have had that will be interesting to see if Buddy Nix can remedy is that the Bills fail to retain

some of their top players and re-sign them...so they end up losing them in Free agency...Just a few to ponder: Nate Clements, A. Winfield, Jabari Greer, Pat Williams, and I know there are several others. There is no future in teaching your young players, developing them, and then they mature into real good players, and all of the sudden you lose them to free agency...makes another hole in the roster and creates a need to draft another CB, or OLT, or DT or whatever...but it also keeps you from continuing to strengthen and assembling your team when you are just filling holes that is self-created. I know Buddy Nix said he'd rather spend the money to keep his players, and when they get more quality players I would agree with him, but I don't know if I would like to keep many of these players!! I think some of the younger free agents with some upside that haven't had the opportunity to start may be available in free agency and we probably should scoop up about 4 of them and see if we can fill some holes prior to the draft.

[Thoner7]

Dansby just wasnt let go. He was franchise tagged twice I believe.

 

These FAs are worth the money they get paid. Thats the going rate now a days. The league is so big and popular and the $$$ its generating is going to the players. (that WR the Lions signed is over paid though)

 

How is it that one of the leagues best WRs in Boldin making 7 a year is too much, yet we ay Lee Evans 9+

 

The league is different now and great LBs like Dansby now cost 8 mil a season. Great WR cost 7 mil a season. Great QBs 12+. Get ready because the second there is a rookie salary cap the contracts these FAs sign are going up by about 50% - the new CBA wont let all that money now going unspent on rookies go straight to the owners pockets.

 

Cutting fat off the roster? They went out and tendered Ellison. Kelsay and Parrish havent been cut, and Schobel hasnt been traded/cut. In fact they havent made a single cut. How is that cutting any fat?

 

Yes we are rebuilding. Who says that say - Larry Foote - wouldnt help us rebuild? He has played for Pittsburg for years, playing for THE KING of the 3-4 Defense. He would be a coach on the field for our young bad team. Many are failing to recognize the incredible importance of quality veteran leadership.

 

Kevin Mawae could do the same for our OL. AKA he could teach Levitre/Wood/our 2 to-be-drafted rookie OL what it takes to win and how to prepare at the NFL level.

 

Rebuilding does not mean get all young rookies. It means building a championship caliber team that will compete year in and year out. If you want to do that, then you need even turnover on the roster - you cant have all young guys. This team does not have one veteran leader worth a damn on it. Not on O, and not on D. Who is going to help our young guys transition and teach them to win?

The logic is this thread is off on many levels.

[Thurman#1]

The #1 complaint during the season was lack of depth for the O-Line.

 

We've brought in 2 depth O-Linemen over the last 72 hours.

 

People are NOW complaining about those players.

 

The one thing that has driven me crazy over the last few years is how the Bills have had no depth behind their O-Line starters. If Wade Smith and Cornell Green are signed as our first lines of defenses in case of injury, we've already taken a step forward.

 

Hopefully the Bills continue to research this with guys like Levi Jones and Adam Terry also available and then sign the best of them.

 

 

You had me up to the "Levi Jones" part. He is not good.

[BillsGuyInMalta]

You had me up to the "Levi Jones" part. He is not good.

He really looked good during the last half of the season for Washington, lets remember he had some injury problems before that so I think it took him awhile to get back to his old self. I would definitely bring him in for depth and possibly even as a starter at RT.

 

An O-Line of Draft Pick/Wood/Hangartner/Levitre and Jones is a hell of a lot more appealing to me than Draft Pick/Wood/Hangartner/Levitre and Draft Pick.

 

Two rookie bookends scare the crap out of me.