"Buffalo is a black hole of draft information "

[thewildrabbit]

A coach needs 4 of his own drafts to get it right. If after 4 off seasons the team still sucks, its the coach and GM. No doubt.. Anything less than 4 is tough. You could argue 3. But 1 or 2 is not enough time to get the type of players that he needs/wants in his systems.

First of all, I think you could give this new staff 10 years and they still wouldn't get it right if they are listening to the same scouts who advised drafting players like Maybin-McCargo-Losman in the first round, and all the bad players this franchise has drafted for 10+ seasons.

 

 

Then I would argue that looking at the 2010 Buffalo Bills, and the state in which Dick Jauron left the team in, that there were some glaring player needs that needed to be addressed, and this new GM / HC failed to address them. They went into last years draft stating that the O line was a "priority", and yet almost ignored it, they drafted a 5th and 7th, and the 7th was cut in pre season, the 5th was injured and never saw the field despite the fact that the team was desperate for stability at RT all year . Buddy Nix stated after the draft that things didn't fall right for them to take any O linemen early. Clearly someone made a horrible mistake in thinking Cornell Green would be a solid fixture at RT, he wasn't.

 

I can understand the thought process in trying to change from a 4-3 to a 3-4, considering the Tampa 2 scheme is noted for allowing big gains on the ground. But why even try and make that switch if you don't have the proper personnel to run it? The result was that one of the top rated secondaries going down hill, and the run defense stayed as bad as there were when running the T2..

 

Another area of concern was that the new HC was hiring some inexperienced college coaches that needed to be trained to do their respective jobs at the NFL level. This put an extra burden on the HC because he not only needs to teach his players his schemes, he needs to teach his coaches as well.. Plus the fact that the HC was calling plays, setting up the new offensive scheme, and weekly game plans. That is a crap load of extra work for any HC. The one area that showed how inept this staff was last season was when the HC named the rookie RB the starter, only to find he didn't know how to block for protections. Remember the line by the HC, "this RB will make the O line block better" ... well, that didn't happen.

 

Looking at this team, and the way they went about the rebuilding, it should take 4+ years if not longer.....even then I don't see them competing for a playoff spot with this staff vs Rex Ryan -Bill Belichick

 

 

 

 

Anyway, its going to difficult to screw up this years first round pick if the team drafts for defense- Darius-Miller-Peterson all look to be future pro bowlers. IMO this team still needs 2 tackles, a guard now that Wood moved to center, a TE, a decent OLB. The only thing that makes me think the Bills will screw the pooch again this year is if the "owner" wants a QB to sell tickets.

[BillsVet]

Looking at this team, and the way they went about the rebuilding, it should take 4+ years if not longer.....even then I don't see them competing for a playoff spot with this staff vs Rex Ryan -Bill Belichick

 

SD took 3 full seasons and 4 off-seasons to go from picking 1st to being a playoff team. The more savvy teams don't need 3 or 4 seasons, which is important now because the NFL is more win-now than it's ever been.

 

Since Nix has taken over, the Bills have made some poor pro personnel moves: signing Cornell Green, re-signing Kelsay, and giving guaranteed money to a player who's missed chunks of time in Merriman. On draft day, he used a top pick on a RB who couldn't start and seems to think he can find bargain bin OT's to start. At this rate, the Bills might need a lot more time than fans have patience for.

[Captain Hindsight]

SD took 3 full seasons and 4 off-seasons to go from picking 1st to being a playoff team. The more savvy teams don't need 3 or 4 seasons, which is important now because the NFL is more win-now than it's ever been.

 

Since Nix has taken over, the Bills have made some poor pro personnel moves: signing Cornell Green, re-signing Kelsay, and giving guaranteed money to a player who's missed chunks of time in Merriman. On draft day, he used a top pick on a RB who couldn't start and seems to think he can find bargain bin OT's to start. At this rate, the Bills might need a lot more time than fans have patience for.

Rome wasn't built in a day. I'm willing to trust Buddy and Chan to work with these guys. Especially Chan hes made **** into a decent offense in half a season

[thewildrabbit]

SD took 3 full seasons and 4 off-seasons to go from picking 1st to being a playoff team. The more savvy teams don't need 3 or 4 seasons, which is important now because the NFL is more win-now than it's ever been.

 

Since Nix has taken over, the Bills have made some poor pro personnel moves: signing Cornell Green, re-signing Kelsay, and giving guaranteed money to a player who's missed chunks of time in Merriman. On draft day, he used a top pick on a RB who couldn't start and seems to think he can find bargain bin OT's to start. At this rate, the Bills might need a lot more time than fans have patience for.

amen

 

The current Bills fans seem to have tons more patience then past years fans, even considering the decade of the 70's in which the Bills didn't win one game against the Dolphins. The Bills are approaching that mark again only this time its the Patriots, the last time the Bills won the division was 1995. They now have finished last in the division 3 years in a row, and yet from reading what most of the posters have to say...they are blissfully optimistic about the future of the team.

 

All anyone need do is look at the history of the franchise down thru all the years to determine that this owner will continue to hire 2nd -3rd rate head coaches-GM's as long as tickets are selling and the stadium is sold out year after year, its almost as if winning is unimportant. Simply consider this new combo, the GM is 71, and is in his first job as a GM. This HC was fired in his last job as the offensive coordinator after the team went 2-14, the new rookie HC didn't want him calling plays for him. Most fans seem so eager to defend this new staff no matter what their past history or how many bad moves they made in their first year.

 

 

Even more unexplained is the fact that although the 2010 offensive stars were QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Stevie Johnson, AND this is the first time in years that the team has had a 3000 yard passer, while Johnson went from the bench to 1000+ yards receiving with 10 TD's, many many fans seem to be clamoring for a new QB to be drafted with that #3 overall pick. I suppose one could argue that the Bills played very well against 3 playoff teams in the Ravens-Steelers-Chiefs and took them to overtime last season, and they did this with one of the worst Bills defenses ever, a horrid O line, and no running game. Clearly the QB play by Fitzpatrick was the highlight of the season, and yet many fans want him replaced.

 

While most Bills fans appear to give all the credit to the emergence of Fitz to Chan Gailey, I look back,and ask why then did this HC spent most of the off season preparing Trent Edwards to start, and not Fitz. Then he claims credit for Fitz when Perry Fewell had already acknowledged Fitz was the better QB the previous season after he benched Edwards and replaced him with Fitz. So I'm not entirely sold on the ability of this new so called offensive guru HC to build an offense, the team flounded with both Edwards and Brohm at QB, they had no effective running game to take pressure off the QB whatsoever, and badly regressed in blocking schemes.

 

 

I remain highly skeptical that the team will make the proper choices in this years draft, and for this team to win games next season..... consider if Fitz gets hit like Edwards got hit in Arizona... game over... season over.

[tennesseeboy]

Turning everything over every 2 seasons is a great way to GUARANTEE every coach we bring in will have 2 losing seasons....

I'm not saying we turn over a coach afte every 2 seasons. I believe that a coach who takes over a team with seven wins should show a significant improvement after two seasons. Nine wins is not a stretch goal. I think you have to set realistic but stretch goals and expect them to be met. This "maybe four years" talk is just an excuse for doing nothing.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I'm not saying we turn over a coach afte every 2 seasons. I believe that a coach who takes over a team with seven wins should show a significant improvement after two seasons. Nine wins is not a stretch goal. I think you have to set realistic but stretch goals and expect them to be met. This "maybe four years" talk is just an excuse for doing nothing.

The problem isn't in the replacement of incompetent people promoted out of their skills sets and who can't get the job done. The problem is in hiring them in the first place. It becomes a systemic problem when your process repeatedly leads you to hire the wrong people over and over again. P.T. Barnum comes to mind when some get all fired up, defensive, and trot out the same ragged excuses each time the record skips and the same chorus of the same song is played.

 

I hope Nix is different and hope he finds a clue; but, he hasn't earned blind faith by taking the team backwards any more than Ralph has earned blind faith in the way he's run this franchise the past decade plus. It is what it is at this point. Mere hope and wishful thinking.

 

Nix and Gailey both said it themselves. Talk is cheap. Show me the baby.

[jester43]

wow...this is false regarding Bowers...

 

Unless I'm wrong microfracture does not involve the injection of artificial cartilage. The fractures cause 'new' cartilage to develop.

beerball you are correct. microfracture surgery is done when the cartilage is so torn and degraded there is nothing left to cushion the end of the bone. they drill into the end of the bone and the fluid that leaks out contains stem cells that, when rehabbed correctly, can harden into a cartilage-like material. the problem is, it is not as strong as the original and is not likely to hold up to the rigors of pro football.

 

i know this because i had it done in order to try to return to competitive running. i was no professional, but i was pretty good by most peoples' standards. the microfracture procedure was unsuccessful for me. i went from being an 80-100 mile/week runner with no prior injury history at all to someone who can only tolerate 10 miles a week of slow jogging. for 2 years after the surgery i couldn't run at all.

 

terrel davis had the same surgery in his ankle if you recall, and he never made it back. i would not touch this guy with a 10 foot pole.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

In general (read: league-wide and over the past 20 years if I remember correctly), a regime change more often than not improves the W-L record immediately in the first year. Now, obviously, one can trot out any number of hypotheses as to why that is, argue that it doesn't matter for the Bills, and suggest why the Bills of 2010 went the counter-trending direction. That's all well and good. Still, the fact is that it is more common for a regime change to take over a team and make it better from the word "go".

 

I guess I'm less interested in what's common, than in what happens when a team that's been in the crapper for a long time changes hands.

I could be mistaken, but I think in those cases, it's more common than not for the next season to be worse as "servicable" players are let go in favor of promising but mistake-prone youngsters.

Mid-'90s Rams and Colts come to mind as examples.

 

I think the exceptions are

1) when the owner is willing/able to immediately fill holes with all kinds of free agent talent. Sometimes that works (Jets) sometimes it doesn't (Redskins)

2) when there's been a change in the front office and the start of bringing in better talent, a couple years in advance of a more-publicized (and easier to track) head coaching change

 

Interesting points though. It is what it is, as you say. I'm more interested in building a long-term winning franchise than a Wonderyear a la Sparano followed by mediocrity.

At the same time, I was one of those who was genuinely surprised that we backslid last year. We'll see.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I guess I'm less interested in what's common, than in what happens when a team that's been in the crapper for a long time changes hands.

I could be mistaken, but I think in those cases, it's more common than not for the next season to be worse as "servicable" players are let go in favor of promising but mistake-prone youngsters.

Mid-'90s Rams and Colts come to mind as examples.

 

I think the exceptions are

1) when the owner is willing/able to immediately fill holes with all kinds of free agent talent. Sometimes that works (Jets) sometimes it doesn't (Redskins)

2) when there's been a change in the front office and the start of bringing in better talent, a couple years in advance of a more-publicized (and easier to track) head coaching change

 

Interesting points though. It is what it is, as you say. I'm more interested in building a long-term winning franchise than a Wonderyear a la Sparano followed by mediocrity.

At the same time, I was one of those who was genuinely surprised that we backslid last year. We'll see.

Hey Hope.

 

Still, most regime changes do happen when a team is bad. (Franchises that are winning every year aren't too motivated to blow it up.) Most regime changes clear out the management side of the business and start afresh with someone that is intimately connected with an NFL franchise that is on the winning side of the equation and has been making noise. Those people tend very strongly to bring in other coaches, players, and systems that are successful in the NFL at present and inject a new passion, shall we call it?, into the organization and fan base (a large part of the formula really is to get everyone enthusiastic about the team). Then they are drafting early in each round (often franchise QB early) and jettisoning anybody that smells like a bad apple. I don't think it is a coincidence that most such changes improve the situation right out of the gate. In fact, that lends itself much better to giving some credibility and inspiring some confidence in the new regime right from the start. Just getting everyone to pull on the oars in the same direction goes a long way to making the ship sail straighter and stop circling the drain.