Clean Slate -- A Doom 'n Gloomer's Pledge

[Wing Man]

Cheers to you, tgreg! I'll be cheering all season. Hope we win more than a few and prove the "experts" wrong.

[Red]

What a damn good post!

 

What a damn good picture!!!

 

Where can I get a blonde like that?

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

What a damn good picture!!!

 

Where can I get a blonde like that?

 

Starting next week, on the Wies'n in Munich.

[CosmicBills]

Starting next week, on the Wies'n in Munich.

... I'm trying to make that sound way dirtier in my head than it really is. That's probably a sign I need some help. Or maybe just some

[CosmicBills]

In just seven days, the 2010 Buffalo Bills will take the field and try to squish the most foul smelling of fish. With a new season finally upon us, it's time to put an end to all the off-season hysteria and over-analysis. Since the final few weeks of the 2009 season I've been pretty vocal and extremely pessimistic about how far off course this team had strayed. Now that the final roster is set for the 2010 season I think it's time for me to shut the hell up and instead get fired up.

 

(1) Yes, it's true that I think that Nix was an uninspired and incestuous hire. (2)Yes it's true that I (still) think the Spiller pick was the wrong move for this team no matter how good he becomes. (3) Yes it's true that this team has so little talent on its roster that 5 undrafted free agents made the final 53 man squad. (4) Yes it's true that this team has horrible depth in the offensive trenches, absolutely zero talent at the RT position and only potential talent at the LT spot. (5)Yes it's true that this WR corps is not only the least experienced unit in the NFL but it also lacks any semblance of a legit number 2 receiver. (6) Yes it's true that Trent Edwards has yet to stay healthy enough to make 16 starts and is unlikely to do so this year because he's more injury prone than a blind man in stampede. (7) Yes it's true that the defense so far has been awful thanks to a total lack of proper 3-4 personnel along the front 7 and without question the worst LB crops in the NFL.

But you know what? Who cares?! The Bills are 0-0. It's a brand new season, and I'm a fan. The Bills are the only NFL team I've ever rooted for in my life and always will be. Hell, I live in California now but STILL have my season tickets to the Ralph. At the end of the day I'm a fan. And like all fans I want to see my team kick ass on Sunday. Despite all my critiques of this team over the past 9 months, the one thing I've never questioned is the heart of its players. Even the players I've dogged recently have huge hearts and have showed it week in and week out. This team has been punching above its weightclass for a decade now and remaining competitive -- there's no reason to expect that to change this year. And you know what that means?

 

It means they have a shot.

 

That's what makes sports great. That's what makes football great. "Any given Sunday". So I'm putting all those critiques in a little box and padlocking it. Until this team, this pure and clean 2010 Buffalo Bills team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the homer glasses are going on. So let's get ready to squish some fish!

GO BILLS!

 

 

Well, now we sit at 0-8. Glasses come off, time to really look at this thing. The points I made at the start of the year (some of which I got killed for) are proving to be pretty accurate. Still, I also missed on some. Let's break down the points.

1. Nix was an uninspired, incestuous hire:

The one thing that Nix has proven this year is that he does not know how to build a team in the modern NFL. This roster has less talent than the Comedy Store on a Tuesday night. Being asleep at midnight the day that free agency started? That wasn't Nix being funny. That was him giving all the fans a big middle finger. Everything from the hiring of Gailey, to the handling of the Trent Edwards situation, to the complete lack of even attempting to fix the glaring holes along the offensive and defensive lines speaks to his lack of ability to do the job that is required. This team is not in rebuilding mode, they're in free-fall mode. And a real GM is needed to do the job. Sadly, we're stuck with Nix and Gailey for the foreseeable future.

 

2. The Spiller Pick:

Can we now see that this was a total waste of a pick? Please? The kid is exciting though isn't he? Isn't he fun to watch as he sits on the bench, drinking that water? Or maybe when he takes a knee in the endzone on a kick return. The fact is, the kid has talent, but he wasn't the right pick. But you know what? That's done with now. He's a Bill. We can't look back. But WHY isn't the kid getting more playing time? I love Fred Jackson, but we're 0-8, Spiller NEEDS to be on the field getting 15 carries a game. The fact that he's not speaks again to how piss poor of a job both Gailey and Nix are doing at actually FIXING the problems facing this team. When you're 0-8 you have to start focusing on developing your younger star players who will eventually be your core. Spiller sitting on the bench does nothing but highlight how poorly managed this team is. Factor in the Marshawn debacle (not looking for the best trade, going into camp with 3 RBs when you could have made a better deal on draft day, not even contacting GB to inquire about a deal ...) is just more proof of the utter idiocy in the braintrust running this team.

 

3. Little talent on the roster:

That has been proven to be true over 8 straight loses and is once again a reflection on how poorly misguided Buddy Nix's efforts have been thus far. Sure, it's only year 1 of what should be a 3 year process, but the fact that Cornell Green was THE big Free Agent brought in this year is criminal. There were players to be had, moves to be made ... yet none happened. Oh wait, they brought in Merriman. Problems solved. They also traded Marshawn for a bag of salt and a hooker. Rad.

 

4. Horrible depth in the trenches, no RT:

The one bright spot so far this year offensively has been how well the line has played. Mind you, they haven't been great, but they've been decent to good in more games than not. That includes at RT. But of course that level of play didn't occur until Green was benched (another decision that took far too long to make, like Trent Edwards). This team still has very little depth on the offensive line and outside of the talented Guards, has very few guys capable of dominating the trenches in the running game. Call this one a push.

 

5. The least experienced WR corps in the league:

Steve Johnson has finally showed his worth and is proving to be a nice WR. However, he's really a number 3 WR on any other team. Same with Roscoe. This team has no reliable number 2 WR that forces defenses to adjust. While I feel better about this unit now than I did 8 weeks ago, there's still a large hole on one side of the field. But, in reality, this is not a high-need fix heading into this off season. There are far bigger fish to fry.

 

6. Trent Edwards:

Well, Edwards did manage to stay healthy ... but he showed once again what we all knew. He's a bum. Gun shy and unwilling to make the big pass. He was cut, which was great. However, that decision took far too long to happen. The fact that Gailey waited so long and stuck with Trent through training camp threw this team into a no win situation. Fitz has played well ... (more on him later) but the utter debacle that was the Trent Edwards experiment of 2010 shows once again that Nix and Gailey are in over their heads. This team is rudderless at the top and that's why it's doomed.

7. Defense:

The defense hasn't been bad. It's been an abortion. Other than Kyle Williams, this unit has shown that it not only doesn't have the players to play a 3-4, they don't have the coaches. Blending a 4-3 with a 3-4 halfway through the season isn't "good coaching" it's crippling to the development of the young players you are trying to groom for the 3-4 in the future. The decision to resign Kelsay might make sense in the locker room, but on the field he's a liability as an OLB. Poz is overrated, the secondary has yet to have an interception. The defense can't stop the run, Troupe is a joke ... the list goes on. The LBs are still the worst in the NFL collectively. As if this team didn't have enough holes already, they bring in Merriman who, besides being washed up, is also a locker room cancer. Awesome decision making.

 

Things look bleak. But then there's Fitz.

 

The guy has been fun to watch. He plays hard. He plays tough. But I'm losing my mind listening to folks (even commentators) saying that the Bills should build around Fitz. Do they not watch the games? I know that Buffalo has been without a winner for so long they are starving for anything remotely close. But Fitz is NOT the answer. The guy is not accurate enough to be a Franchise QB in this league. And if the Bills do not take a franchise QB in the first round of the draft this year (and based on who's coming out and where the Bills are picking there WILL be one or two available), then this team will doom itself to ten more years of futility.

 

With Nix in charge, it's almost assured that the right choice will not be made.

[cåblelady]

Things look bleak.

[BillsVet]

Well, now we sit at 0-8. Glasses come off, time to really look at this thing. The points I made at the start of the year (some of which I got killed for) are proving to be pretty accurate. Still, I also missed on some. Let's break down the points.

1. Nix was an uninspired, incestuous hire:

The one thing that Nix has proven this year is that he does not know how to build a team in the modern NFL. This roster has less talent than the Comedy Store on a Tuesday night. Being asleep at midnight the day that free agency started? That wasn't Nix being funny. That was him giving all the fans a big middle finger. Everything from the hiring of Gailey, to the handling of the Trent Edwards situation, to the complete lack of even attempting to fix the glaring holes along the offensive and defensive lines speaks to his lack of ability to do the job that is required. This team is not in rebuilding mode, they're in free-fall mode. And a real GM is needed to do the job. Sadly, we're stuck with Nix and Gailey for the foreseeable future.

 

Gailey isn't as innovative as many fans thought. He's barely using Spiller, who now has 57 touches from the LOS in 8 games.

 

As for Nix and Gailey, not all HC's and GM's are created equally. The teams with the best GM's get the best players and usually the best coaches. Buffalo has neither and needed to make emergency hires to save face when it became clear no one wanted to work in Buffalo. This is the direct result of RW making dumb moves in hiring Levy and then Brandon as GM. That, and career minded NFL executives don't want to work for someone who can't say where the team will be in 5 years.

 

All of this adds up to 0-8, no end in sight to a debacle of a season, and the franchise's existence in question. Guess those people who didn't want to interview weren't wrong after all.

[Offside Number 76]

Are you drunk?

 

I'm considering getting drunk, mostly because you suggested it. It really seems like a good idea, even thought it's almost 1030.