Nix is passing on quality free agents

[Kingfish]

The hits just keep on coming!

 

You had a problem with the Bills giving TO $6.5M last season. But now think that a guy who has averaged 33 catches for 417 yards and 4 TD's in his career (minus his injury-marred rookie year) is worth $4M/year?

 

Nevermind the fact that players who leave that winning organization fail to do much with their new clubs. For some strange reason.

 

They must have short term memories and have already forgotten the Bills track record at overpaying for mid tier FAs. The players they're clamoring for us to sign now are the players they'll be clamoring to cut 2 years from now.

[BillsVet]

What do you base this faith on?

 

What were your thoughts of Nix and his skills as an "assistant GM"rior to being hired?

 

Saying the team is going to be reconstructed almost solely through the draft for the next few years expecting the fans will quietly tolerate "2 or 3 years" more of losing football is incredibly naive.

 

It's simply amazing how many people buy that Nix as a #2 automatically qualifies him to be a #1. The man worked out of Tennessee while working as Asst GM, Pro Personnel Director for SD, and then as Bills national scout. He's never been part of day to day operations for the last two teams he's worked for. Yet, being GM means being intimately involved in all aspects of football operations every day.

 

We'll find out exactly how many Bills fans will buy into another unproven group leading the team when the season ticket sales are released. Not that the Bills will be totally forthright with their figures. I mean, this is the team that couldn't tell a HOF RB that the owner wasn't getting his ring on the day specified in a press release literally the same week.

[robkmil]

Andra Davis nuff said

 

agreed, and it looks like he might come cheap too

[manbeast]

Exactly. "Nix overspent on a washed-up, has-been, shell of a player! No wonder we suck! Ralph doesn't know what he's doing!"

Imagine how many people Bitched about giving a draft pick for some Welker guy.

[manbeast]

It's simply amazing how many people buy that Nix as a #2 automatically qualifies him to be a #1. The man worked out of Tennessee while working as Asst GM, Pro Personnel Director for SD, and then as Bills national scout. He's never been part of day to day operations for the last two teams he's worked for. Yet, being GM means being intimately involved in all aspects of football operations every day.

 

We'll find out exactly how many Bills fans will buy into another unproven group leading the team when the season ticket sales are released. Not that the Bills will be totally forthright with their figures. I mean, this is the team that couldn't tell a HOF RB that the owner wasn't getting his ring on the day specified in a press release literally the same week.

Have GMs mysteriously exsisted since the dawn of time. How did Donahoe work out for ya?

[BillsVet]

We have a gap at TE? When did we trade Nelson and Schouman.

 

Derek Schouman: injured each season (2007-09) he's been in the NFL: 27 catches for 275 yards and 1 TD in three seasons

Shawn Nelson (who I liked as a pick) career stats: 17 catches for 156 yards and 1 TD. Seems promising.

Joe Klopfenstein: 34 catches for 397 yards and 2 TD in four seasons (2006-09)

[Doc]

It's simply amazing how many people buy that Nix as a #2 automatically qualifies him to be a #1. The man worked out of Tennessee while working as Asst GM, Pro Personnel Director for SD, and then as Bills national scout. He's never been part of day to day operations for the last two teams he's worked for. Yet, being GM means being intimately involved in all aspects of football operations every day.

 

We'll find out exactly how many Bills fans will buy into another unproven group leading the team when the season ticket sales are released. Not that the Bills will be totally forthright with their figures. I mean, this is the team that couldn't tell a HOF RB that the owner wasn't getting his ring on the day specified in a press release literally the same week.

Yes, because hiring proven GM's is the easy and proven successful thing to do. Just ask KC how Scott Pioli turned them around last year.

 

Furthermore, how you know Nix wasn't involved in day to day operations is anyone's guess. Or that a guy who hasn't can't become a guy who does.

[BillsVet]

Have GMs mysteriously exsisted since the down of time. How did Donahoe work out for ya?

 

Well, the good ones remain in the game and the bad ones are put out to pasture. The same guy who hired TD hired Buddy Nix whether you want to believe it or not. As a matter of fact, RW's hired every GM in this team's history.

 

If you bothered to do any research, only Dick Gallagher, Polian, and John Butler can be considered good GM's in Buffalo's history. Buddy Nix is the 11th GM of the Bills, including Brandon. So that's a hit rate of about 30%, not including Nix.

 

Do the research hero.

[bkc]

the guy has a great resume, he is just a little older then you might like, that said he can turn this whole thing around in a few years and then turn it over to someone else

[Bronc24]

It's hard to say "be patient" when you have been doing it for a decade, but we really have to be. I waited this long for the Bills to get something right and I am willing to give the new regime a chance. It may be a 4 win season, but I think the last quarter of the season will tell us where our future lies.

[manbeast]

Derek Schouman: injured each season (2007-09) he's been in the NFL: 27 catches for 275 yards and 1 TD in three seasons

Shawn Nelson (who I liked as a pick) career stats: 17 catches for 156 yards and 1 TD. Seems promising.

Joe Klopfenstein: 34 catches for 397 yards and 2 TD in four seasons (2006-09)

Schouman: 9 catches 109 yards in 2 games last season. He was going to have a monster year.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

Well, the good ones remain in the game and the bad ones are put out to pasture. The same guy who hired TD hired Buddy Nix whether you want to believe it or not. As a matter of fact, RW's hired every GM in this team's history.

 

If you bothered to do any research, only Dick Gallagher, Polian, and John Butler can be considered good GM's in Buffalo's history. Buddy Nix is the 11th GM of the Bills, including Brandon. So that's a hit rate of about 30%, not including Nix.

 

Do the research hero.

 

 

Vet--who'd you want as GM?

[ChanOverChin]

Bryant is also oft injured and hasn't been very good the last few years. He's definitely not worth $7M/season.

 

Watson was a product of the system in NE. He's good and has good size, but he's not a $5M/season TE.

 

For him, reasonable would be about $3M/season.

 

I'm hoping that Nix is evaluating all available FAs and looking to sign the ones that fit what we plan to do on offense and defense the best.

[thewildrabbit]

What is the saying... You can't teach an old dog new tricks?

 

I look back at Langston Walker and Derick Dockery and think the Bills don't feel like paying a bunch of money to older players who may or may not be in top form, they were burned by those high priced free agents.

There is a point when these older players hit that proverbial wall and are done.

 

Why did the Buc's and Pats not resign Watson and Bryant? Watson is a pass catching TE, the Bills have some of those and need a dominate blocking TE. The Bills have 3 young WR's on the team, lets see if they can play.

 

Sorry, but I'm happy that the Bills are NOT diving into a free agent pool of older losers who are at the end of their careers.

[JohnC]

The owner is 91 and there's no guarantee that he'll survive this rebuild. I take no joy in saying this, but it looks to me like the plan is to be good 3 years from now. That's not good enough.

 

Your assessment that it is going to take a few years to be good is quite astute. If the Bills didn't waste the three year Levy/Brandon era this team could have been a playoff competitive team. The reality is that it is not now a very serious team.

 

The owner made a hideous miscalultion in bringing in the ill-equipped Levy to replace Donahoe. His short stint was very damaging and set back the franchise by years. But that is history. Drafting smartly and bringing in mid-tier free agents to supplement the drafts is not very sexy; but it is the only way to go to rebuild a very flawed team.

 

You may be impatient about the time frame for getting competitive again but you have no choice. There are no quick fixes for this very troubled organization. You either accept that fact or you go on to another alternative team.

[first_and_ten]

Buddy Nix's formula to build his Buffalo Bills appears to be 98% draft, and only use Free Agency to "fill in gaps."

 

But wait a minute here. The Bills have huge gaps right now at tight end and wide receiver. They have plenty of money under the cap, right now. Yet Antonio Bryant and Ben Watson have just signed very reasonable contracts with other NFL teams, while Nix didn't even invite either one in for a visit. And please, don't reply to this post by telling me Antonio Bryant would not have been an improvement over Stevie Johnson or James Hardy. Or try to convince me that Shawn Nelson will become a better tight end this season then Ben Watson will be. Those arguments are laughable.

 

Now I'm thinking that Buddy Nix is more then just an old fashioned draft - first football guy. Now I'm thinking that Buddy Nix has a level of arrogance hiding beneath that "good ol" boy" exterior. Just becuase Watson and Bryant have had excellent seasons in the past, and they are well known (but certainly not "super stars") - he won't bring them in? He seems to be selecting more "unknown - under the radar" free agents to talk to and possibly sign, like Green and now this visit by Jimmy Kennedy. Is he taking his "personnel expertise" a bit too seriously? Who knows?

 

The one thing I do know is that if Nix would have signed both Bryant and Watson, every Bills fan would feel better about our 2010 team, and not one single Bills fan would be accusing him of "breaking the salary cap bank stupidly".

Buddy Nix is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. He said the Bills were not going to make a big spalsh in free agency, so why is everyone surprised? The Bills also know that there probably will not be football next year. They are going to keep costs down this year. They will play it safe and claim they are building thru the draft. This team WILL be bad this year. Get ready for a bad ride.

[purple haze]

I'd agree, but to a point. No rational Bills fan expected the team to sign Peppers or Dansby, although some depth signings would go a long way. Right now, the team has zero depth at OT, DE, NT, ILB, and OLB. To expect players from last years roster to transition to a new job is absolutely ridiculous, and something the team tried to pull last year on the OL.

 

The owner is 91 and there's no guarantee that he'll survive this rebuild. I take no joy in saying this, but it looks to me like the plan is to be good 3 years from now. That's not good enough.

 

 

Listen, I get what you're saying, but let me remind you that FA does not end in March. There will be depth guys available all spring and summer and fall. Teams constantly work out FA's. Teams constantly scour the waiver wire. The guys that are available now are nothing special. Those type of guys will be available all year long. Nix is building through the draft just like he should be. This has to happen at some point. It's painful, but it has to be. The draft is where a teams difference makers come from.

[purple haze]

Buddy Nix is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. He said the Bills were not going to make a big spalsh in free agency, so why is everyone surprised? The Bills also know that there probably will not be football next year. They are going to keep costs down this year. They will play it safe and claim they are building thru the draft. This team WILL be bad this year. Get ready for a bad ride.

 

I wish I had your crystal ball. I could see what the lotto numbers will be. Don't assume anything. The games will be played and then we shall see.

[HT02]

Couldn't agree more, once again it is all about money for Wilson and the Bills.

 

That's also why we will trade former first round picks Lynch and Whitner for third or fourth round picks. Bills-owned reports will tell us its about the future. In an uncapped year Bills fans deserve a little bit of a spending spree for thier loyal support but I am willing to bet that we have a lower payroll this year than last.

 

I can't stand it anymore.

 

Buddy Nix's formula to build his Buffalo Bills appears to be 98% draft, and only use Free Agency to "fill in gaps."

 

But wait a minute here. The Bills have huge gaps right now at tight end and wide receiver. They have plenty of money under the cap, right now. Yet Antonio Bryant and Ben Watson have just signed very reasonable contracts with other NFL teams, while Nix didn't even invite either one in for a visit. And please, don't reply to this post by telling me Antonio Bryant would not have been an improvement over Stevie Johnson or James Hardy. Or try to convince me that Shawn Nelson will become a better tight end this season then Ben Watson will be. Those arguments are laughable.

 

Now I'm thinking that Buddy Nix is more then just an old fashioned draft - first football guy. Now I'm thinking that Buddy Nix has a level of arrogance hiding beneath that "good ol" boy" exterior. Just becuase Watson and Bryant have had excellent seasons in the past, and they are well known (but certainly not "super stars") - he won't bring them in? He seems to be selecting more "unknown - under the radar" free agents to talk to and possibly sign, like Green and now this visit by Jimmy Kennedy. Is he taking his "personnel expertise" a bit too seriously? Who knows?

 

The one thing I do know is that if Nix would have signed both Bryant and Watson, every Bills fan would feel better about our 2010 team, and not one single Bills fan would be accusing him of "breaking the salary cap bank stupidly".

[first_and_ten]

I wish I had your crystal ball. I could see what the lotto numbers will be. Don't assume anything. The games will be played and then we shall see.

 

I said there "probably" will not be football. And how are you any better claiming the games will be played? Do you have a crystal ball? At least my opinion is based on the situation that is laid out before us. It sure appears that there is a very good chance that football will not be played as we know it. And if you believe otherwise, please let that opinion be based on more than wishful thinking.