Nix/Gailey, the Big 10, and the Pac 10

[ieatcrayonz]

Now that Maybin has finally been cut, it's becoming abundantly clear that the brains running the Bills have it in for the Big 10 and Pac 10 (save for one school - more on that later). Since Nix and Gailey took over, they have dumped the following high profile (relatively speaking) Bills players:

 

Lynch (Pac 10)

Edwards (Pac 10)

Whitner (Big 10)

Evans (Big 10)

Poz (Big 10)

Maybin (Big 10)

 

In their place, they have substituted a vast sea of players from the SEC, the ACC, other southern schools, and no-name northeastern schools. The only remaining significant Pac 10 player not from Oregon State left (excluding kickers) is Byrd (Oregon); the only significant Big 10 player is Bryan Scott (and who knows whether he makes it through camp). I'm not convinced that Urbik (Wisconsin) will make it through camp; we'll see.

 

With the exception of Evans, another thing those guys have in common is that they suck. Maybe that is the theme. They get rid of players who suck instead of developing them. Imagine how great Edwards could have become if he just weren't a Glove Wearing Mary from Los Gatos.

[dave mcbride]

my bad all this time i just thought mckelvin was a stupid new yorker now it all makes more sense

Levi Brown went there too, fwiw.

[Lurker]

Anyway, their personnel biases seems pretty obvious to me: opt for southern players and avoid both the Big 10 and Pac 10.

Yeah, damn the southern conferences for being the best in the nation...

[dave mcbride]

With the exception of Evans, another thing those guys have in common is that they suck. Maybe that is the theme. They get rid of players who suck instead of developing them. Imagine how great Edwards could have become if he just weren't a Glove Wearing Mary from Los Gatos.

Far be it from to defend these guys, but a) Poz doesn't suck and b) neither does Lynch. Lynch had a couple of very good years, and Poz got a big contract for a reason. He might not have been the right fit for the Bills, but I can certainly see him doing well in Jax.

 

Yeah, damn the southern conferences for being the best in the nation...

I never said I was opposed to signing and drafting southern players. I'm just identifying a clear tendency.

[ieatcrayonz]

troy is in new york....

:wallbash:

 

It is in Michigan

[dave mcbride]

my bad all this time i just thought mckelvin was a stupid new yorker now it all makes more sense

 

It's worth noting that Gailey was the head coach of Troy in the 80s and got his first assistant job there as well.

 

:wallbash:

 

It is in Michigan

I'm calling BS. It's in modern-day Turkey.

[ieatcrayonz]

Far be it from to defend these guys, but a) Poz doesn't suck and b) neither does Lynch. Lynch had a couple of very good years, and Poz got a big contract for a reason. He might not have been the right fit for the Bills, but I can certainly see him doing well in Jax.

 

 

 

You actually think they cut/traded/allowed veterans to walk based upon where they went to school 5 years earlier?

 

If Maybin had gone too LSU he'd still be here?

 

Good one.

[dave mcbride]

You actually think they cut/traded/allowed veterans to walk based upon where they went to school 5 years earlier?

 

If Maybin had gone too LSU he'd still be here?

 

Good one.

I actually do think that if Whitner had gone to Alabama or LSU, they would have treated him differently. Of course Maybin sucks, and they weren't going to keep him. But so did Buster Davis, and at about the same level as Maybin. Look where Buster is now.

[Malazan]

I actually do think that if Whitner had gone to Alabama or LSU, they would have treated him differently. Of course Maybin sucks, and they weren't going to keep him. But so did Buster Davis, and at about the same level as Maybin. Look where Buster is now.

 

I think you're trying too hard.

[Lurker]

I never said I was opposed to signing and drafting southern players. I'm just identifying a clear tendency.

Just fun'n, cousin...

 

Buddy probably knows every coach and trainer in the SEC, so I'm sure his inside info on prospects is better than Donahoe and Modark's subscriptions to Kiper, Ourlads and Street & Smith...

[dave mcbride]

I think you're trying too hard.

All I'm doing is looking at the roster. Plus the fact that every one of nine 2011 draft picks is from a southern school.

[Jauronimo]

All I'm doing is looking at the roster. Plus the fact that every one of nine 2011 draft picks is from a southern school.

Or, perhaps the previous regime had a bias for mediocre players from lesser Collegiate Conferences? Looking at the last draft you'll see the SEC and ACC produced the most draft picks. Its not just the Bills loading up on the biggest, and fastest athletes in college football.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/2011-nfl-draft/2011/4/30/2146540/2011-nfl-draft-results-picks-by-conference-sec

[Like A Mofo]

All I'm doing is looking at the roster. Plus the fact that every one of nine 2011 draft picks is from a southern school.

 

 

Whatever it is, I welcome it.

 

SEC players play against the best of the best in College Football, how can that not translate well to the pro level (for the most part)

 

ACC Im not sure what to make of that.

 

Big 10 is slow, slower players, not as progressive as the other conferences.

[I hate the Bills !]

The Bills have finally realized that the SEC is the power conference 5 straight national titles should convince folks.

 

Penn State may have been Linbacker U, but I'd rather get my Linbackers from Miami University or Texas or some SEC school like LSU or Alabama. Anyone remeber the Biscuit.

 

If you want good OT sure The Big Ten is a good place to find OT like Jake Long and Joe Thomas.

 

Keep taking those SEC defensive players, they produce on the field !

[dave mcbride]

Or, perhaps the previous regime had a bias for mediocre players from lesser Collegiate Conferences? Looking at the last draft you'll see the SEC and ACC produced the most draft picks. Its not just the Bills loading up on the biggest, and fastest athletes in college football.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/2011-nfl-draft/2011/4/30/2146540/2011-nfl-draft-results-picks-by-conference-sec

People are misinterpreting me. I have *nothing* against harboring a bias towards the SEC and the south more generally. That's true college football country.

[AthensThunder]

I do believe that what you see is the product of our scouting department.It just wasn't evaluating players with the right tools and we ended up not getting the value we needed when we drafted.

Nix idenified the problem and completely restructured the whole department.

Hopefully this will be a big help in our future drafts.

[RealityCheck]

Well considering the SEC has been the strongest conference in the country for the majority of the past decade, I don't feel remotely bad having them pick up players from the South.

I agree, there will always be those people that insist on fishing where the big fish are scarce.

[Jauronimo]

People are misinterpreting me. I have *nothing* against harboring a bias towards the SEC and the south more generally. That's true college football country.

You suggested that this "bias" was a result of "lazy" scouting and "mental shortcuts" which clearly implied that you believed Nix and co. were discounting or omitting the other major college conferences during the scouting process. If Nix and his scouting department are really only evaluating the SEC and ACC I find that to be seriously negligent. The allegations made in this thread have been pretty damning.

 

I don't consider what we're seeing to be a bias at all, as I don't think the Big 10 product is equal to the SEC. We don't talk about a bias for Division I players over Division III football players, as we acknowledge the difference in quality. If anything, there seemed to be a previous bias toward drafting from the Big 10 despite the fact that better talent was out there, which would start to explain the roster turn over. If you think that the SEC is true football country, why would you call the selection of SEC talent a "mental shortcut"?

[PromoTheRobot]

I actually wonder if this is lazy.

 

Nix and Gailey know the South, so they draft guys from the South. They coached the North-South game, so they draft a bunch of players from that game. They know San Diego, so they pick up free agents from San Diego.

 

I question whether this approach is going to be successful in the long run.

There is lazy, and there is knowing you can't know everything so you become an expert at what you do know.

 

PTR

[OCinBuffalo]

This thread turning into one more, boring, "my conference is better" college football tardfest in 5...4...3..

 

Look, as a Bills fan that doesn't care whatsoever about college football, largely because the entire premise of "who is better" is solely based on opinion polls and promotion, with play on the field taking a back seat...and as this is a Bills board, I have to say: spare us the college conference crap. This is a retarded argument made by retards, supported by their retarded allies in the media, in hopes of getting other retards to spend money.

 

Does anyone honestly believe that the retards at ESPN aren't promoting the hell out of whichever conference of retards they have a contract with? Said promotion then serving as "proof" for the contracted retards that their conference is better than another conference of retards?

 

In the immortal words of Hancock: "You're all idiots".

Edited August 15, 2011 by OCinBuffalo