A Few Scattered Thoughts About Running Quarterbacks.....

[Mark80]

A lot of talk about how we could have drafted A.J. Green and Dalton instead of Dareus and Williams; well, what about AJ Green and Kaepernick? Yikes.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Mark80

[eball]

Thanks for the kind words. But I strenuously disagree with your assement on Buddy Nix.

 

What I am not going to allow myself to do is fall into the crippling mind-set of low expectations. The fan base in western NY has been too tolerate of the inane ownership and second-rate management of this NFL franchise. Let's look at Nix's three year record. Under his stewardship the Bills have gone 16-32. His record against AFC teams is 4-14. Against teams in the playoffs his record is 2-18, a 10% winning percentage. The Jauron/Levy combo had a better record!

 

You do acknowledge that Nix has failed miserably on the qb issue. But that isn't something trivial. Selecting a competent qb is probably the most important factor determining success in the NFL . This clueless countryboy not only failed on that issue but what is even more revolting is that he didn't even seriously try in his three year tenure. While he passed up draft opportunities later drafting teams seized on his lassitude. That is a classic example of malfeasance and nonfeasance rolled into one.

 

Let's put Nix's record on the qb issue aside. He has had three drafts to demonstrate his competency. In three drafts his only impact player was Spiller. Overall, it is more than fair to say that his drafting is in the below average to average range. When you are a bottom feeding team you can't afford many draft mistakes. How do you catch up with the better teams when they are drafting better than you? How do you improve your status when the teams behind you are getting better at a faster rate than you are? When you say that the Bills are better under Nix who are you comparing them to, themselves?

 

eball, don't apologize or be defensive about demanding better. Don't be reluctant to demand excellence because you as a fan have been so battered that deep down you don't believe that this franchise is capable of competing with the big boys. Don't graciously accept long term garbage and have an attitude that at least we have a team. Don't allow yourself to have that "loser" mentality. Something is systemically wrong that in a system designed for parity the Bills will have been out of the playoffs for 13 consecutive years. In my view Nix is part of that dismal history.

 

Before Ralph Wilson stopped being involved with his team he did what he usually does: hire incompetents. Instead of hiring someone who would have used the three years to meaningully advance the building process he hired someone with antiquated ideas that kept this franchise stuck in the mud.

 

On a positive note I do have some hope. Now that the feudal owner is not involved and has passed his authority to manage the franchise to Brandon I am encouraged that the Bills are going to be managed in a "normal" fashion. The hiring process of the new HC was well done. It "appears" that Nix is going to be diplomatically transitioned into retirement (I hope) and that a more youthful and energetic person, Whaley, will be taking control of the football operation. Those are all good signs. The shame of the situation is that this process should have been so much more advanced.

 

Thanks for the response. I do understand and agree with much of what you have stated, but I also look at Nix's record as more than just the draft. He has aggressively upgraded the Bills' talent level through free agent acquisitions, as well as re-signing talented players the previous regime would have let walk. There was a great thread in the past week detailing PFF's team grades that seemed to confirm the Bills' upgraded talent from three years ago to now. I don't think Nix is a buffoon, and believe he does have a vision for how to build a football team -- he just failed, horribly, to accurately assess what he had in Fitz. This is perhaps due to an unjust reliance upon his head coach -- and he should be faulted for that. I get what you're saying about the W-L record, but at least to me, it's easy to see this team is "better" than those of the Jauron era. I think the coaching has been subpar, and obviously the QB play.

 

Believe me, I don't want to settle for mediocrity or just "hoping" the Bills can compete. I don't have a loser mentality or always expect things to go poorly. I also realize that as a fan I am completely powerless to directly impact the decisions they make, and must therefore helplessly decide whether I'll look for the positive or the negative.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Thanks for the response. I do understand and agree with much of what you have stated, but I also look at Nix's record as more than just the draft. He has aggressively upgraded the Bills' talent level through free agent acquisitions, as well as re-signing talented players the previous regime would have let walk. There was a great thread in the past week detailing PFF's team grades that seemed to confirm the Bills' upgraded talent from three years ago to now. I don't think Nix is a buffoon, and believe he does have a vision for how to build a football team -- he just failed, horribly, to accurately assess what he had in Fitz. This is perhaps due to an unjust reliance upon his head coach -- and he should be faulted for that. I get what you're saying about the W-L record, but at least to me, it's easy to see this team is "better" than those of the Jauron era. I think the coaching has been subpar, and obviously the QB play.

 

Believe me, I don't want to settle for mediocrity or just "hoping" the Bills can compete. I don't have a loser mentality or always expect things to go poorly. I also realize that as a fan I am completely powerless to directly impact the decisions they make, and must therefore helplessly decide whether I'll look for the positive or the negative.

Actually of the top 7 players on the PFF list, most of them were not drafted by Nix, five of them being here when he took the GM job. On the other hand, most of the names on the bottom 7 list were in fact brought in by Nix, Fitzpatrick being the lone exception.

 

PS: The one draft pick on the best 7 list, Spiller, can further be dismissed as treading water as he replaced Marshawn Lynch who had a dynamic season carrying the Seahawks to the playoffs. More treading water: the signing of free agent Mario Williams, who had a season not unlike former DE Aaron Schobel, who retired when Nix was hired. What the PFF piece actually shows is in direct opposition to the claim made of large upgrades in talent.

[eball]

Actually of the top 7 players on the PFF list, most of them were not drafted by Nix, five of them being here when he took the GM job. On the other hand, most of the names on the bottom 7 list were in fact brought in by Nix, Fitzpatrick being the lone exception.

 

Interesting. No, Buddy's draft record has not been something to be proud of.

[JohnC]

Thanks for the response. I do understand and agree with much of what you have stated, but I also look at Nix's record as more than just the draft. He has aggressively upgraded the Bills' talent level through free agent acquisitions, as well as re-signing talented players the previous regime would have let walk. There was a great thread in the past week detailing PFF's team grades that seemed to confirm the Bills' upgraded talent from three years ago to now. I don't think Nix is a buffoon, and believe he does have a vision for how to build a football team -- he just failed, horribly, to accurately assess what he had in Fitz. This is perhaps due to an unjust reliance upon his head coach -- and he should be faulted for that. I get what you're saying about the W-L record, but at least to me, it's easy to see this team is "better" than those of the Jauron era. I think the coaching has been subpar, and obviously the QB play.

 

Believe me, I don't want to settle for mediocrity or just "hoping" the Bills can compete. I don't have a loser mentality or always expect things to go poorly. I also realize that as a fan I am completely powerless to directly impact the decisions they make, and must therefore helplessly decide whether I'll look for the positive or the negative.

 

I won't add much more to my original post to you. The HC that you claim failed BN was hired by BN. Making a bad judgment on Fitz is only part of the bad judgment that set this franchise back. The more damaging aspect to the qb issue is that in three years he didn't have a viable prospect in the pipeline. His collection of qbs during his tenure was Fitz-Thigpen-T.Jackson and Levi Brown. That is an absurdity. As bad as Fitz was who was going to be his replacement if he got hurt?

 

There is a lot of attention paid to the qb issue. That isn't BN's main failing. His three year draft record was mediocre. There was no way that this lagging franchise was going to catch up to being respectable if the trend line stayed the same. In my view he was ill suited for the challenging job he was hired for. His record clearly demonstrates that point.

 

One of the first comments that Brandon made at his inagurual press conference was that the Bills were a "tarnished" product. It was a brutally honest and obvious description of the state of the franchise. Buddy Nix was the football boss for the last three years. BN more than anyone else has to be accountabile for the team's poor record. I'm confident that BN's influence within the organization will be drastically diminished. His diminished role certainly isn't due to doing a good job.

 

Repeating what I said in my prior post there is no need to be hesitant or apologitic in demanding a better product. Isn't a half century of mostly inept management enough to make the customer intolerant with business as usual? Brandon clearly understands that this backwater franchize has descended into the depths of irrelevancy in the league. I also believes that he understands what needs to be done to get on the right track.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Repeating what I said in my prior post there is no need to be hesitant or apologitic in demanding a better product. Isn't a half century of mostly inept management enough to make the customer intolerant with business as usual? Brandon clearly understands that this backwater franchize has descended into the depths of irrelevancy in the league. I also believes that he understands what needs to be done to get on the right track.

Agreed that there is no need to apologize for wanting a better product. As far as Brandon, assuming he was being forthright in his statement that being President of the Buffalo Bills is his dream job (and I don't see any reason to suggest he wasn't), then his best (and perhaps only) hope of maintaining that position for the long term is to get things turned around and quickly with new ownership being on the horizon.

[JohnC]

H

Agreed that there is no need to apologize for wanting a better product. As far as Brandon, assuming he was being forthright in his statement that being President of the Buffalo Bills is his dream job (and I don't see any reason to suggest he wasn't), then his best (and perhaps only) hope of maintaining that position for the long term is to get things turned around and quickly with new ownership being on the horizon.

 

Whatever happens when the time comes for the franchise to be auctioned off is out of our control. Whether Brandon is auditioning or not for an eventual buyer is not very meaningful to us. Brandon is now running the operation. He is involved in all the major hires. More than ever before I am optimistic that this franchise has a chance to succeed. Not having the mercurial owner involved in the operation in itself is addition by substraction. For a change this organization has an opportunity to be managed in a "normal" fashion.

 

I was very impressed with the way Brandon conducted the HC search.. It was professionally done. A wide variety of candidates were interviewed and in a short period of time the HC was hired. Compare that to Nix's simplistic process in his selection of Gailey? Who else did he interview? Did he consult with anyone else? In a world of complexity the crony system is outdated and limiting. Since the hiring of Marrone there has been a smooth process in the hiring of the assistant coaches. Overall, the staffing process has been very seamless and rational. I have been impressed.

 

The Levy/Brandon/Nix regimes wasted five years in a rebuilding process. That is such a shame. With the shedding of the old school mentality I have a reasonable expectation that things will be done the right way and the organization will move forward. There is no quick fix for this struggling franchise. T.O. type marketing transactions set this franchise back more than it advanced it. Enough with such foolishness. If this organization comes out of this draft with a legitimate franchise qb prospect then I will be more encouraged than ever.

 

I have believed for a very long time that the main problem with the franchise had little to do with the roster as much as it had to do with the caliber of the organization. What do you expect when an out of touch owner is making the major hires? I am encouraged that Brandon has empowered a more progressive and energetic person in Whaley and put together a quality coaching staff. Time will only tell whether Brandon can get the job done. I believe he can.

Edited January 15, 2013 by JohnC

[ALF]

RG 3 was in great condition until he had happy feet. Too big a risk against a mean defense (former N.O.)

[eball]

I have believed for a very long time that the main problem with the franchise had little to do with the roster as much as it had to do with the caliber of the organization. What do you expect when an out of touch owner is making the major hires? I am encouraged that Brandon has empowered a more progressive and energetic person in Whaley and put together a quality coaching staff. Time will only tell whether Brandon can get the job done. I believe he can.

 

It can't have hurt for Russ to see how the organizational culture changed across town when Pegula and Black moved in. Those changes haven't yet resulted in playoff success, but I don't think you'll find anyone in or around the NHL who doesn't think Buffalo is a first class operation now.

Edited January 15, 2013 by eball

[Sisyphean Bills]

Whatever happens when the time comes for the franchise to be auctioned off is out of our control. Whether Brandon is auditioning or not for an eventual buyer is not very meaningful to us. Brandon is now running the operation. He is involved in all the major hires. More than ever before I am optimistic that this franchise has a chance to succeed. Not having the mercurial owner involved in the operation in itself is addition by substraction. For a change this organization has an opportunity to be managed in a "normal" fashion.

Maybe it is not meaningful to some, but it is most definitely meaningful. Brandon is running things, and he is not the owner. In other words, his performance will be evaluated at some time and it is a real possibility that he could be fired. When Ralph was the President, there was no one to be accountable to other than himself. If he !@#$ed something up, he laughed and slid a few deck chairs around.

 

People have long been mooning over, crying about, and demanding that Mr. Wilson sell the team. That was never going to happen, but the move to pass the torch is the next best thing. A young, energetic sports executive has taken the reigns and he has a lot to prove and the clock has not stopped ticking.

 

It is encouraging. Absolutely. Of course, we'll see how Marrone does. The pace of the process and the A-list that they worked was a night-and-day departure from the process Nix ran 3 years ago.

[KOKBILLS]

Interesting. No, Buddy's draft record has not been something to be proud of.

 

That is the understatement of the day IMHO...

[Malazan]

Running QBs to Russ Brandon is cheap. It's everything is a Russ Brandon thread day!

[Nitro]

Laugh all you want but the NFL is a jump on the band wagon, go with the hot trend league.

TWO fluke wins to make the playoffs is a template other teams will look to? LoL... Things can go terribly wrong for Seattle next year if they don't get those two (especially the scab refs win @ GB) wins next year.

 

LoL...

[Malazan]

Laugh all you want but the NFL is a jump on the band wagon, go with the hot trend league.

 

So people are going with pocket passers who can read a defense? I'm so confused. What trend are they going after?