Teams are built through the draft....

[sllib olaffub]

You can argue all kinds of opinions and sides on this, because the situations differ. This is how I see it:

You have to have consistency in coaching and in coaching philosophy, so you are bringing in the type of players that will fit your system year in and out, so that you can reach a level of quality and then maintain it every year - and teams like the Steelers, the Eagles, the Colts fit this description really well - and now Green Bay and New Orleans look to, as well.

If you're changing GM's and coaches every two or three years then you simply can't build anything - and that is where we are at. Have the Bills identified the real problem that has prevented them from bringing in the same level of quality players over the last decade as better teams? I suspect it is tied to ownership and that it won't be resolved until either someone like Nix stands up and tries to fix the problem or until Wilson is gone entirely.

 

Then, you've got to look at the positions that can be replaced in F.A. and the positions that must be drafted. I think you have to draft a QB, because no one is going to get rid of a franchise Qb - it happens, but you're better off targeting a young one. LT is another position that seems to be easier to draft than to replace through FA. DE is another. So, if you're rebuilding a team, and you know where you need improvements, I think you start with the hardest positions that can't be got through F.A. and you throw your drafts at them until you have those down - in our case, you draft high end QB's and LT's until you have good enough players, and then go after DE, OLB, etc. in the draft. Meanwhile, the positions that can be found often in F.A. you address.

Our staff has done neither - we haven't gone after the top QB's or LT's and we haven't got the F.A.'s that would clearly help us.

 

I see our team as one that implies it has it's hands tied - it acts and suggests it cannot compete in the same ways as other teams; it seems to say it can only build through the draft - and I'm beginning to suspect without ownerships real commitment to this, we might never see a real champion here. I hope I'm wrong.

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

How can we build thru the draft when our top picks, mid picks, and late picks can't play or do no teven dress for games????

[Geno Smith's Arm]

I'd agree with building through the draft with everything excpet QB. Nothing worng there with building through the draft, but QB more than any position seems ot be more failures than sucesses. So having said that, I'd be fine with bringing in some established guy there. It's been proven you can win with a Trent Dilfer and an exceptional team around him. Does that mean I think Fitz can be that guy? Maybe, but would prefer someone with a bit stronger arm and you build an exceptional team.

 

I wouldn't be too upset if the Bills drafted a LT, OLB and DE next year and signed a mid level QB instead of taking chance on drafting one. I think you could improve quicker that way. Drafting QB's is very risky. I also can't imagine RW being willing to pay the going rate for a 1st round QB. All 1st rounders are expensive, but for QB's the price goes up. Maybe a rookie wage scale by next year will solve that issue?

 

Twisted logic there, my friend. There have been far more unsuccessful "Trent Dilfer's" than successful. A handful of mediocre QB's have accompanied great, once every 10 years-type defenses to the Super Bowl. It's probably even harder to build a great defense like those, than it is to find a top shelf QB. There are probably 7 really good QB's in the league right now, and let's say they average 10years a career. There is (maybe) one defense like that right now. That 10 years of high level QB play. How long are you going to keep a GREAT defense together (one capable of winning with Trent Dilfer)?

 

I also want to add that the Ravens were the dullest championship team I ever watched. I would rather have the 6 or so years of what may have been the most exciting football team to watch ever ( the Golden Age Bills). than one Super Bowl win and years of dull football.

 

It sucks that they didn't win a Super Bowl, but they were way more fun that anything the Ravens or those Tampa Bay teams ever were.

Edited October 1, 2010 by Matthews' Bag

[rpcolosi]

In reality, or to people that can accept reality, watching/reading/listening to everything that has gone down with the Bills in the past few weeks/months truely confirms that the only true way to build a francise it through the draft. I know I may be stating the obivous, but as I continue to read peoples posts and comments it seems as if other teams baggage is quickly deemed the "savior". This goes as far as "the QB situtation being solved with Fitz". The guy has been in the league 6 years and been on 3 seperate teams (2 years in B-LO). If he was to be an every day starter on a regular basis in the NFL he would have been there by now and would have beaten out his competition not slid in by default

 

The Bills are truely 2-4 years away from being a Playoff contender, especailly being in the AFC East. This is reality. We need to have confidence in Gailey and Nix and need to understand that players such as EVANS, JACKSON, McGHEE, STROUD even KELSAY wont be around when the Bills truly become a playoff contender. If this means letting Vets go (Mitchell) or trading away players such as the ones above for picks or youth so be it. I am a believer in Evans and dont feel that we have seen his true potential but at this point I dont believe you ever will in Buffalo so why not get him to a team that could use a good WR for a 2nd round pick. He is going to be 30 next year. Face it, the Bills are rebuilding, starting from scratch. Save LYNCH, trade JACKSON...lynch is 5 years younger. Everyone is sick of getting rid of the "talent" but when the talent wont be there to help you in 2, 3, 4 years whats the difference?

 

Anyway, enough with the ORTON for LYNCH....enough of the Castoffs are the Saviors...only time, good drafts and good player development within is what will cure the BILLS

 

 

 

most of what you said is well strange. i agree teams are built through the draft and fine tuned in FA. i 100% agree that Jackons is the one you trade, not lynch. a Lynch/Spiller tandem for 4-5 years is deadly. that said, this isnt 2-4 years away and evans most certainly will be a part of this, as will kyle williams, our interior O-line, McKelvin, McGee, Byrd, etc.

 

Drafting a good QB, 2 good LBs (1 pass rusher, 1 coverage) and a RT are the main points for this team. It can be done over the next year or two if it means we can pick up a piece or two in FA. unles Urbrik suddenly becomes an amazing RT.

 

I will say this, though... getting guys like Brohm, Urbik, Florence, etc who were high draft picks and great college players is a smart move. sometimes it just takes a few years for guys to really develop or to find a system they thrive in. this is a smart move on Nix's part.

[seq004]

No not in today's NFL. You have to bring in free agents and pay them also. Yes you can do the majority of building through the draft if you want to take a decade and be cheap like the Bills.

[sllib olaffub]

One thing that has been apparent to me while watching games this year is how many teams look bad at times. There aren't a lot of teams in the NFL this season that stand out way beyond everyone else. Specifically, I was getting down on Buffalo after the second game and then I realized the Vikings - who were considered potentially Super Bowl caliber - looked as awful as the Bills. Also, I was thinking about recent teams that were Super Bowl winners - and the teams that threaten year in and out - and they are usually not just good, rather they are usually loaded. Take New Orleans, for instance. Their third and fourth wideouts might be capable of putting up better numbers on our team than our number one guy.

 

These teams that expect to go to the Super Bowl aren't looking to build a competitive team. They are looking to build dominant teams, Legendary teams. There isn't a lick of that kind of mentality in the places on this team where it needs to be - and that is whoever is in charge of bringing in talent and keeping it here. Paying Kelsay 6 million a year - are you kidding me? There are quite a few teams where he wouldn't even be the second stringer - at either DE or OLB - and we're paying him that kind of money! Look at Lee Evans. He is good. But he sure as @#$^@ isn't earning his pay. We could be putting that money into better coaches, into better F.A.'s. Into retaining quality players.

 

I'd be alot happier with this idea of building through the draft if our team's F.O. has shown any semblance of being eager - not to mention willing - to put together a dominant team. My point is: dominant teams don't even always win it all. There are a lot of really amazing, super talented teams that fall short; our Bills of the nineties are a great example. The talk we've been hearing isn't going to get us to where we need to be to be champions. And this front office knows it - they don't plan on that - they are only ever going to do as much as they need to to keep the fans coming in and to keep the organization profitable.

[Thoner7]

WE CANT DRAFT

 

IF WE EVER WANT TO WIN WE HAVE TO SIGN GOOD PLAYERS IN OTHER WAYS4

 

WE CANT DRAFT - WE ARE NOT GOING TO BUILD ANYTHIGN BUT A PILE OF CRAP THROUGH THE DRAFT

[spartacus]

Any building thru the draft is impossible until the Bills find some talent evaluators who can produce some playmakers with those draft picks.

 

The Bills drafts have been collosal failures for the last 10 years producing no true difference makers 

 

With no significant talent brought in by trade or free agency, this team will not improve any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

[tennesseeboy]

WE CANT DRAFT

 

IF WE EVER WANT TO WIN WE HAVE TO SIGN GOOD PLAYERS IN OTHER WAYS4

 

WE CANT DRAFT - WE ARE NOT GOING TO BUILD ANYTHIGN BUT A PILE OF CRAP THROUGH THE DRAFT

Actually, given our last few drafts we have built a pile of crap through the draft...That being said the draft is just one of the processes we need to build a quality team. Also we don't build a team through "next year's" draft. We do it through "this year's" draft. This year's draft so far isn't exactly crying out as the beginning of a rebuild.

[billsfreak]

The Bills, especially, must build through the draft. We are at a huge disadvantage in recruiting free agents. We can't change the rep of the city but we can get better as a franchise and that may draw some people.

 

PTR

Western New York may not be South Beach in Miami, but it is the rep of the team, the owner, the management, etc. that make if tough to get top free agents here more so than the area. Even if it was South Beach, you have to have an owner who will pay the top free agents, that is where we are at a disadvantage, not the city. In the 1990's we didn't have a problem getting top free agents to come here-Lofton, Paup, Speilmann, etc., and they didn't have a problem getting the top players to stay here either, because we were winning.

Edited October 2, 2010 by billsfreak

[JohnC]

The Bills, especially, must build through the draft. We are at a huge disadvantage in recruiting free agents. We can't change the rep of the city but we can get better as a franchise and that may draw some people.

 

PTR

 

What is hurting attracting free agents to Buffalo is not the reputation of the city as much as the reputation of this very oddly run franchise.

[ajzepp]

As of now, we have no elite players to build around yet.

 

Apparently you've never heard of Brian FREAKING Moorman?

[sllib olaffub]

I don't mean to be simplistic, or to underestimate the dynamics involved in running an organization as large as the NFL teams are - but, it is mind boggling what it says about human perception and our ability to judge reality when there are an apparent endless spring of opinions and judgements about one football team. I know that makes it fun for fans, but the coaches should have it down to a bit more of a science by now. Maybe it is more the owners interference? Most NFL coaches would probably tell you - "if you give me the players I ask for, I'll give you a Super Bowl".

 

As for the simplistic angle - if I were going to fix a team like ours I'd go at it on a three year plan: year one you add what you think are players of real quality at areas of weakness, or BPA, even. 2010 for us, and it's an evaluation year, to see who you have, who is better or worse than they seemed a year ago. Then, I'd spend an offseason fixing one or the other side of the ball, and the next year finish the side you neglected the year before. You figure, 11 guys on each squad. The Bills are considered a talent poor team. Yet, on defense you could keep the secondary, Williams, Troupe, Carrington, Poz, Edwards, Moats, Davis. You go into an offseason looking for a DE, two linebackers - maybe two DE's and three linebackers - but maybe first round OLB, 2nd round DE, third round OLB. Say they were good enough to be starters. That could make our D go from average to good.

On the offense: Get a good WR, LT, TE, C, QB. QB with the 1st pick, trade up for a LT, and you could probably find a C to start in the third round. Nevertheless, you could pick up in FA a TE and a WR. Even a C, if you needed to. We could, I think, easily make our squads very good with one offseason given to each. I'd start with the offense, let the QB develop that year and then when the D is ready to shine you've got a mature team.

A three year plan.

[spartacus]

I don't mean to be simplistic, or to underestimate the dynamics involved in running an organization as large as the NFL teams are - but, it is mind boggling what it says about human perception and our ability to judge reality when there are an apparent endless spring of opinions and judgements about one football team.  I know that makes it fun for fans, but the coaches should have it down to a bit more of a science by now.  Maybe it is more the owners interference?  Most NFL coaches would probably tell you - "if you give me the players I ask for, I'll give you a Super Bowl".  

 

As for the simplistic angle - if I were going to fix a team like ours I'd go at it on a three year plan: year one you add what you think are players of real quality at areas of weakness, or BPA, even.  2010 for us, and it's an evaluation year, to see who you have, who is better or worse than they seemed a year ago.  Then, I'd spend an offseason fixing one or the other side of the ball, and the next year finish the side you neglected the year before.  You figure, 11 guys on each squad.  The Bills are considered a talent poor team.  Yet, on defense you could keep the secondary, Williams, Troupe, Carrington, Poz, Edwards, Moats, Davis.  You go into an offseason looking for a DE, two linebackers - maybe two DE's and three linebackers - but maybe first round OLB, 2nd round DE, third round OLB.  Say they were good enough to be starters.  That could make our D go from average to good.

On the offense: Get a good WR, LT, TE, C, QB.  QB with the 1st pick, trade up for a LT, and you could probably find a C to start in the third round.  Nevertheless, you could pick up in FA a TE and a WR.  Even a C, if you needed to.  We could, I think, easily make our squads very good with one offseason given to each.  I'd start with the offense, let the QB develop that year and then when the D is ready to shine you've got a mature team.  

A three year plan.

and then the drafted players would have proven to be duds because the talent evaluators don't have a clue

 

the coaches would be fired - but the inept talent evaluators retained

 

 

and the process would start over - with the new staff changing schemes so whatever good players are around will not fit and will have to be cut loose and put in new postions they have never played before.

 

but it would be a 3 year plan

 

 

[jahnyc]

Building through the draft is great if you have competent people in scouting and making the decisions on the players to draft. Our drafting has been horrible, and I have no confidence that it will get better. Meanwhile, the team is either releasing or not re-signing players who are better than the players replacing them. If anything, on a net basis, this team is losing talent and not improving. While it is way too early to make a judgment about this year's draft, PFT has an article about all of the first round (and other) players making contributions this year. I know that KC is getting good production from most of their draft class. For a team that has so many holes, I find it very surprising that our draft picks are not making more of an impact to this point. I do not agree with the posters who point to the free agent rookies who made the team this year. I think that is a sign of our poor overall talent and nothing more.

[aristocrat]

to have continued success year after year you need to have above average qb play. we need to get that franchise qb and build out from there. we need to get a legit play making lb or two. if we can get the qb at the top of the draft next year and a nice lb at the top of the second round. david harris in free agency would be a great move. this is a whole easier said than done.

[Malazan]

It wasn't just drafting Matt Ryan, it started with the GM stolen from the Patriots in Demitroff. Then as GM he hired Mike Smith as HC and as HC he went on to hire experienced veteran assistant coaches like ex Bills HC Mike Mularkeyas OC. Then in free agency they got Michael Turner and rebuilt the O line and D, yea Matt Ryan helped, but it was a complete revamp.

 

BTW that makes a great point on how to build a team quickly and not in the fashion of just the draft and having it take 3+ years. The Falcons went from worst to first in ONE YEAR! 4-12 to 11-5 The Dolphins did the exact same thing only by bringing FA QB Chad Pennington,they spent their first pick on LT Jake Long. Their story is even more significant in that they went 1-15 to 11-5

 

The way the Falcons and Dolphins rebuilt in one year is something that Nix and Gailey failed to emulate this year, at the rate they move it will take 3-5 years ...and even then I have doubt about those two building anything.

 

and..where exactly are the Dolphins now?

[PromoTheRobot]

RW will have passed by the time this team gets to the playoffs again...

 

Sorry, but I have lost complete faith in Nix / Gailey building this team through the draft. not if their eye for talent is Cornell Green and Kelsay.

 

So far they hit one on one draft pick in the last draft in an area that wasn't even needed, they failed to upgrade WR-TE-RT-LT-C....2x OLB NT that's pretty sad.

 

 

True, but we also seem to be at a huge disadvantage in the draft too.

 

 

Western New York may not be South Beach in Miami, but it is the rep of the team, the owner, the management, etc. that make if tough to get top free agents here more so than the area. Even if it was South Beach, you have to have an owner who will pay the top free agents, that is where we are at a disadvantage, not the city. In the 1990's we didn't have a problem getting top free agents to come here-Lofton, Paup, Speilmann, etc., and they didn't have a problem getting the top players to stay here either, because we were winning.

 

 

What is hurting attracting free agents to Buffalo is not the reputation of the city as much as the reputation of this very oddly run franchise.

 

There is no question that the Bills were once able to attract quality free agents, but the rep of the franchise over the last decade hurts us greatly. But you can't dismiss the rep of WNY either. It does have an effect as well. There are certainly players who consider lifestyle when selecting a team, and for some Buffalo's lack of glitz is a drawback.

 

As for our current regime, let's give them two or three drafts before we declare them failures, okay?

 

PTR

[Another Point of View]

With some smart planning the Bills are one year away from a playoff contender.

[Geno Smith's Arm]

With some smart planning the Bills are one year away from a playoff contender.

 

It all revolves around finding a quarterback. If they have a QB they can be effective, right now they are floundering. A top shelf QB instills confidence that you are actually playing to win. Not only the offense, but it motivates the defense to know that they are sacrificing their bodies with a real chance at glory.

 

Otherwise it's just a paycheck, a large paycheck, but that's only enough motivation to stay in the league. That's what we have right now, guys that want to win, and probably expect to win each game going in, but don't really believe that they are good enough to win the Super Bowl, so they are working for a check.

 

It can be turned around quickly, there are some good players on the Bills, but they have a few critical positions that are really weak. They need a QB, a quality LT, an average RT, and an elite level guy in the defensive front 7 (one that can make the guys around him better by drawing the focus of the opposing offense).

 

As an aside, with an 18 game schedule, depth is going to become a lot more important, and that has to be part of any plan.

Edited October 2, 2010 by Matthews' Bag