Pilsner Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Ralph has gotten screwed by folks like Donahoe and Modrak and perhaps even his accountants telling him to spend less. Maybe Ralph even has screwed himself by taking their advice. Many of you here are more knowledgeable about this than I am. All we know is he hired the wrong people for the past 10 years. Those people have had his ear for quite a while and he leaned on them for bad advice. What I'm getting at is now we have 3 men, Nix, Gailey and Whaley who all seem to be on the same page. My feeling is these three men are a cohesive unit in themselves and speak Ralph's language and perhaps are getting his confidence to the point that he will give them more consideration than men in the past. Maybe to the point that he might be willing to listen to them more so than Overdorph and Brandon. I realize this might be reaching but what if this is the case? I can see an older gentleman like Ralph giving more free reign to older and respectful straight shooters like Nix and Gailey and also to an up and comer like Whaley who is Nix's protege so to speak. This isn't at all one of my best formulated posts. One or even all three convinced Ralph to cough up the $ to hire Wannstache. Now paying two DC's money. Nix, Gailey and Whaley imo are willing to do what it takes to win. And to do so would be to get Ralph's ear and confidence which I believe they are doing. Now that they are getting that, it's important that they keep trying to upgrade the staff and team. Nix needs to have a solid draft and imo get two solid (they don't have to be superstar) FA's who are somewhat young and improving who can start right away (I'm thinking RT and TE or even LB) who are not over the hill. The only baffling moves to me are signing Kelsay to his new deal and the earlier signing of Cornell Green. This post is basically about how the big 3 have gotten Ralph's confidence (imo) to the point where they have enough sway to help him make the right decisions. They might not be there fully but I think they are on their way. I just hope Ralph keeps paying more attention to them. Nix needs to get some good FA's and have a great draft to make this all worth it. If Nix doesn't go hard for at least 2 solid FA's and have a good draft then I'll be greatly miffed. Edited January 22, 2011 by Pilsner
BillsObserver Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 I hope you are right. I do believe that Ralph trusts Nix to some extent. The fact they spent some money signing Wannstedt is a great sign. The fact they snatched Doug Whaley from the great Steelers organization is a great sign. I am excited for the future. But we really need a strong draft to erase the failures of past drafts (even last years). A few free agents are critical to our development as a team. We can't keep relying on undrafted guys. Get 'er done, Buddy!!
BoozeCruise Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 Barry Coefield and Jeremy Trueblood would do the trick. Neither should be absurdly priced and both fill huge holes (Right Tackle and D-End). That would set us up to draft an outside backer to start the draft. That or Cam Newton.
PromoTheRobot Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 You may recall Ralph stood in front of the fans over a year ago (halftime when he got his award) and swore he would do what it takes to win a championship. At the time no one really believed a) he would do spend the money, and b) if he did spend the money would he hire anyone who knew what they were doing. As hard as it is to accept by some folks, he might be delivering on that promise. If we actually sign some blue-chip free agents that will be the sign. PTR
rpcolosi Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 excellent post even for being a little scattered. Having this many "football" guys is a change for our organization, and other than LeBeau, I cannot recall having a high profile coordinator on either side of the ball. the $$ is a good sign that RW will spend some, but what's a better sign is that Nix and Gailey recognized we needed help on Defense (big question is - do we go to a 4-3 now with Wanny?) and they went out and did something about it. It also says a TON about George Edwards, who people on here love to critique, that he maintains his position and is willing to work with someone like DW. I've never, ever bashed Edwards nor do I at all think this unit's struggles were his fault. Quite the contrary, the DW signing just speaks to what kind of guy he is and what kind of coach he wants to be. Mark my words, he will be a Fewell-esque name in a few years. In regards to FA, a lot of that is going to come down to the CBA. That will be a monkey wrench for much of this. Hopefully Nix can get another couple of guys like Dwan Edwards - solid contributors who fill needs. The obvious positions are RT, TE, and LB, and maybe safety depending on how that all hashes out. And to finish my ramble.... What style of defense are we going to run? If anyone recalls Gailey's original hire he didn't initially jump all over a 3-4, only said that it was a pain to scheme against. He has been a coach on many successful teams with 4-3s (the cowboys and phins). I am just curious if the views of Gailey, DW, whaley and Nix all mesh on defense right now. I hope so. If they go back to 4-3 I hope they do it right away and draft accordingly. One thing is for sure, we now have 2 head coaches and I really like that prospect.
Mango Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 triple teaming ralph???...air tight??? nice to see age isnt keeping him down
Buffalo Barbarian Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 You may recall Ralph stood in front of the fans over a year ago (halftime when he got his award) and swore he would do what it takes to win a championship. At the time no one really believed a) he would do spend the money, and b) if he did spend the money would he hire anyone who knew what they were doing. As hard as it is to accept by some folks, he might be delivering on that promise. If we actually sign some blue-chip free agents that will be the sign. PTR Blue chip being the key words, I hope this the start because man I am tired of losing.
Buffalo Barbarian Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 Mark my words, he will be a Fewell-esque name in a few years. Sorry got to disagree here, Wanny had his day as a head coach and has proven to be average. Hopefully he can give us a Defense like the old Dallas days but his head coaching days are over.
bananathumb Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 OK, OK. so we've got the GM and coaches. Now we need some gdam STARS on the field and right now we have exactly ZERO...that's right...ZERO!
4BillsintheBurgh Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) You may recall Ralph stood in front of the fans over a year ago (halftime when he got his award) and swore he would do what it takes to win a championship. At the time no one really believed a) he would do spend the money, and b) if he did spend the money would he hire anyone who knew what they were doing. As hard as it is to accept by some folks, he might be delivering on that promise. If we actually sign some blue-chip free agents that will be the sign. PTR From what Buddy has been saying this will not be the case. I think he needs to ink guys like Whitner, Florence and Poz at a reasonable rate, not have to overpay our own like we did for Evans and J. Reed. That will mean the players believe the Bills are serious about winning. Merriman signing is a big step, hopefully the rest will fall in too. Edited January 22, 2011 by 4BillsintheBurgh
Thoner7 Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 I still think they should confuse him to think the Draft is the wrong weekend, or just lock him in a broom closet for it. Sign FAs then tell him they were always on the team and he doesnt remember. Pump him full of some senile crazy drug if need be just dont let him ruin our football team at all cost
papazoid Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 OK, OK. so we've got the GM and coaches. Now we need some gdam STARS on the field and right now we have exactly ZERO...that's right...ZERO! Kyle Williams is a star !!
JohnC Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Ralph has gotten screwed by folks like Donahoe and Modrak and perhaps even his accountants telling him to spend less. Maybe Ralph even has screwed himself by taking their advice. Many of you here are more knowledgeable about this than I am. All we know is he hired the wrong people for the past 10 years. Those people have had his ear for quite a while and he leaned on them for bad advice. What I'm getting at is now we have 3 men, Nix, Gailey and Whaley who all seem to be on the same page. My feeling is these three men are a cohesive unit in themselves and speak Ralph's language and perhaps are getting his confidence to the point that he will give them more consideration than men in the past. Maybe to the point that he might be willing to listen to them more so than Overdorph and Brandon. I realize this might be reaching but what if this is the case? I can see an older gentleman like Ralph giving more free reign to older and respectful straight shooters like Nix and Gailey and also to an up and comer like Whaley who is Nix's protege so to speak. This isn't at all one of my best formulated posts. One or even all three convinced Ralph to cough up the $ to hire Wannstache. Now paying two DC's money. Nix, Gailey and Whaley imo are willing to do what it takes to win. And to do so would be to get Ralph's ear and confidence which I believe they are doing. Now that they are getting that, it's important that they keep trying to upgrade the staff and team. Nix needs to have a solid draft and imo get two solid (they don't have to be superstar) FA's who are somewhat young and improving who can start right away (I'm thinking RT and TE or even LB) who are not over the hill. The only baffling moves to me are signing Kelsay to his new deal and the earlier signing of Cornell Green. This post is basically about how the big 3 have gotten Ralph's confidence (imo) to the point where they have enough sway to help him make the right decisions. They might not be there fully but I think they are on their way. I just hope Ralph keeps paying more attention to them. Nix needs to get some good FA's and have a great draft to make this all worth it. If Nix doesn't go hard for at least 2 solid FA's and have a good draft then I'll be greatly miffed. Excellent analysis and post. When Nix was hired many people were confounded (including me)as to why the owner didn't conduct a more far reaching GM search for new blood. One of the primary reasons Ralph hired him was simply that he knew him. Although the hiring process was second-rate that doesn't mean the selection was. As it turned out he selected someone who has been associated with three winning organizations under Polian and Butler/Smith. He understands what it takes to build a winning franchise because he had an inside view as to how it can be done. Buddy Nix is not the most articulate and smooth talking person in the room. Don't be fooled by the good-ol-boy appearance. He is not a yokel. He is a football man, through and through. He is the anti-thesis of the more polished "marketing" Brandon pretending to be knowledgeable about football when he really isn't. Buddy Nix has publicly mapped out his strategy. There is no brilliance in the approach-it is simply fundamentally sound. Draft well, develop your players and then keep them as much as you can. That is the same approach (with different tweaks) that the Steelers, Ravens, Packers, Chargers etc.)have used with sustainable success. One of Buddies first staffing selections was Chan Gailey. Was he an inspired hiring? Absolutely not. What the Bills needed more than anything else is to have someone start making fundamentally sound decisions and not try to outsmart oneself. Gailey is an experienced HC wwith a lot of knowledge on the offensive side of the ball. With Gailey you are getting someone who knows how to deal with the struggles of a rebuilding franchise. He is not going to be making panic decisions when the team is floundering. He is going to be steady and systematic. The most encouraging thing that Nix did after he was hired was bring in Whaely. He is younger, and he comes from the Steeler organization, a very successful model. Bringing in Wannstadt is another sign that the Bills are continuing to upgrade the operation. In addition, Nix has added some scouts and different personnel voices to our current battered scouting operation. Buddy Nix is smart enough to know there is no quick fix. The key to the success of this franchise is the same for every other successful franchise: draft well. It is going to take another few years to become a serious team again. If one doesn't have patience, then it is better to get on another train. Edited January 22, 2011 by JohnC
Vinny4sum Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 Excellent post and I believe Ralph trusts Buddy, because their history pre-dates the past 10 years of issues. Ralph reached back to a resource in Nix that was comfortable and trustworthy because he relates Nix to a time before Tommy D.
Lurker Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) One or even all three convinced Ralph to cough up the $ to hire Wannstache. Now paying two DC's money. Why do you think DW's contact is a big lift for Ralph? If he's making a million bucks per year I'd be surprised. Ralph's never objected to those kind of numbers (as opposed to the rock star-type deals that guys like Shanahan et al command). Edited January 22, 2011 by Lurker
buffaloaggie Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 From what Buddy has been saying this will not be the case. I think he needs to ink guys like Whitner, Florence and Poz at a reasonable rate, not have to overpay our own like we did for Evans and J. Reed. That will mean the players believe the Bills are serious about winning. Merriman signing is a big step, hopefully the rest will fall in too. Whitner probably will not sign for a reasonable rate. If he "settles" for a reasonable rate, he'll become a distraction because he'll be whining about being underpaid. He definitely has motivation to play in Cleveland now with Jauron as DC. While I'd like to see Whitner still with the Bills, you're right in not overpaying, or paying what Whitner thinks he's worth. Personally, I don't see Whitner back.
Sisyphean Bills Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 With Gailey you are getting someone who knows how to deal with the struggles of a rebuilding franchise. He is not going to be making panic decisions when the team is floundering. He is going to be steady and systematic. About this point, I don't think so. Gailey has actually led a rather charmed coaching career. He's worked for the Broncos, Steelers, Cowboys, and Dolphins for the majority of his NFL experience. Those were all above average teams and organizations and there was a lot of winning in those years. Gailey's experience with rebuilding a cellar dweller is (and he has said so point blank himself) rather limited. He was with the Chiefs for one dismal season and now he's here in Buffalo. Now, hopefully he sponged up enough from the good organizations he worked at before and is able to bring that to Buffalo, but he is clearly not a head coach with tons of experience in rebuilding franchises from the dirt up.
LabattBlue Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 NOTHING will change until Wilson, Overdorf & Littman are no longer part of this organization. NOTHING!
3rdand12 Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 About this point, I don't think so. Gailey has actually led a rather charmed coaching career. He's worked for the Broncos, Steelers, Cowboys, and Dolphins for the majority of his NFL experience. Those were all above average teams and organizations and there was a lot of winning in those years. Gailey's experience with rebuilding a cellar dweller is (and he has said so point blank himself) rather limited. He was with the Chiefs for one dismal season and now he's here in Buffalo. Now, hopefully he sponged up enough from the good organizations he worked at before and is able to bring that to Buffalo, but he is clearly not a head coach with tons of experience in rebuilding franchises from the dirt up. Thanks for putting him in perspective. I have read of his exp. coaching, but not the details. One thing i feel he is a person/coach is that he APPEARS to be systematic and focused on a particular plan. And consistent as one could be considering the circumstance. He seems to be learning. We hope i suppose. I am ok with slow progress, and to be a Bills fan these days that will have to be enough for awhile.
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