Buddy Nix and addressing the QB position

[BillnutinHouston]

This is more gymnastics and speculation (regarding who Buddy like but did not actually draft). It's true that Seattle whiffed on Whitehurst, but at least they were constantly trying hard to upgrade at QB, even though in Hasselback they had a better option than Fitz. And that same burning desire to upgrade at the most important position led to them drafting Wilson even though they had just signed Flynn to a big $$ FA contract. As a result, they appear poised to challenge for the Super Bowl over the next few years. The Bills, meanwhile, sat on their hands and did not even try to draft a young QB to groom, regardless of what they thought of Fitz.

 

Reminds me of the Sabres power play strategy - don't pull the trigger until the PERFECT shot opportunity presents itself and the result is...no score.

[Kelly the Dog]

For someone who admits that Buddy has bungled the process, you sure do a lot of defending of the indefensible ...

 

The bolded above is more proof that Buddy is over his head as the GM. He's the anti-Brandon as far as telegraphing his intentions. What point did it serve to scream from the mountaintop that Bills will be selecting a QB early?

There is a lot of truth to that. I do defend him a lot even though I think he made huge blunders and I think he should be gone. I do not, however, think most of his decisions were indefensible, they were just mistakes. Ones he has to pay for with his job, like most other coaches and GMs. I also defend him when I think he has been wrongly criticized for being a total buffoon or completely lacking any understanding of the QB posiiton, because that is nonsense. Or that he was derelict in his duties, which I just don't agree with.

 

He made huge mistakes though, and I am ready for the Whaley era to begin. I think Buddy is going to be calling the shots on Draft Day though, and I hope it hits it out of the park. I'm not predicting he will, but it's foolish to think he can't, which was the thesis of the thread.

[JohnC]

To the bolded sentence, on average his backups were worse; but, I don't believe Tavaris Jackson is really any worse than Fitzpatrick. They are nearly the same guy -- streaky QBs that can look adequate one minute and then implode the next. Even though the GM went out and acquired Jackson, the coach had predetermined that Jackson was never going to see the light of day. Heck, the careers of both Jackson and Fitzpatrick are similar to the point that Buffalo was the 3rd team in their journeyman careers. The one key difference is that Gailey thought he could transform Fitzpatrick into a quality QB and thought that Jackson was a huge waste of his time. Gailey might have even saved himself if he had been able to milk enough good streaky play out of one or thhate other of these QBs to win himself games. But, he refused and bet the house on the arm of Fitzpatrick to his ultimate demise.

 

Edit: On the other hand, Gailey also had to fall on his sword for his hiring of Wannstedt and unwillingness to take ownership of that half of the team. The defense was an unmitigated disaster and Wannstedt actually made it worse than it was under George Edwards.

 

I agree that Gailey to a large extent tethered his job to Fitz. That bad bet was a losing hand from the start. With respect to T. Jackson being better than Fitz, who cares? Neither are legitimate starters in this league. Debating whether a qb should be ranked 28th or 30th or 20th for that matter is meaningless. Neither similar type of mediocre qbs are going to lead their team anywhere.

 

Would it have mattered if T. Jackson played last year? Not to me. What mattered more to me was the HCing issue. Why was CG so resistant to playing either of the backups simply for the purpose of changing things up? CG also exhibited stubborness and rigidity in the way he handled Spiller. In my view on the qb issue the blatant void at the position belongs to the GM, not the HC. Even if it was CG who lobbied hard for his Harvard boy, it was the GM who had no one credible in the pipeline to back up the starting qb.

 

Should CG have been fired? I have no problem with that course of action. However, the person holding the door for Chan's exit should be the same person who hired him. In my view Brandon made a major mistake when he allowed BN to stay. Now the person who has to a large extent mis-evaluated draft picks and players is the same person who is heading the search for additional prospects. That makes no sense to me. It's easy to blame the underlings when things go wrong; but the real problem is the boss, the GM. If you want to instill a culture of accountability in an organization then it is imperative to hold individuals accountable. It didn't happen here!

[Nanker]

I believe the crux of the matter is that Buddy believe Chan when he told him that he could win with Fitz, so he turned his attention elsewhere because this team had so many holes.

 

When Fitz put the lie to that, Buddy put his buddy out on the street.

 

Now without question, he knows he's got to get a QB.

[BillnutinHouston]

I believe the crux of the matter is that Buddy believe Chan when he told him that he could win with Fitz, so he turned his attention elsewhere because this team had so many holes.

 

When Fitz put the lie to that, Buddy put his buddy out on the street.

 

Now without question, he knows he's got to get a QB.

 

Good summation of the situation. I agree with all points.

[NoSaint]

Last two he was an influence on - brees and rivers. What his role was or what it means for his next? Who knows. He's seemingly had some success, for those that argue that they'd never trust his evaluation on one. If anything he's erred cautious, not overzealous which isn't the worst as long as he finds the guy and makes the needed moves sooner than later.

 

[CardinalScotts]

That was a lot of writing...

 

Buddy Nix Drafted Aaron Williams over Dalton and Kaepernick...TJ Graham over Russell Wilson...

 

Sorry, but that's all I need to know...

you not looking at the holes this roster had....again the only reason he ended up in San Fran was they don't have the lack of talent Buffalo does- so they take a flyer on Kaepernick if it doesntr work no one cares or remembers. Not fair

[mannc]

you not looking at the holes this roster had....again the only reason he ended up in San Fran was they don't have the lack of talent Buffalo does- so they take a flyer on Kaepernick if it doesntr work no one cares or remembers. Not fair

Rubbish. Take a look at what the 49ers' record was the year before they drafted Kaepernick. They had been a bad team for a long time.

[JohnC]

And in the thread, I said I understand that he should have been taking one anyway, even with Fitz, and agreed he should have; a huge mistake. But that is moot now because he IS taking one.

 

Do you want to know what isn't a moot point? His record of 16-32, his record of 4-14 against AFC opponents and record of 2-18 against playoff teams. The cumulative score against the 49ers and Seahawkds (two very good teams that have dynamic qbs that he passed in the draft) was 95-20 against his team.

 

Buddy Nix is a good fellow who is in over his head as a GM. Based on his very mediocre draft record he should not be the person who has the most influence and authority in making the draft selections. He has had more than enough time to show his stuff------I'm not impressed and am not buying into his belated act.

 

 

Which is why I said, "Now, it's easy to say, and VERY true, that Nix should have been drafting rookies anyway. But the fact is, he's drafting one this year. So that argument is old and moot at this point."

 

The real point is that Ralph Wilson made his typical foolish hire that set this franchise back, again. Don't take my word for it just look at the record!

Edited January 25, 2013 by JohnC

[Kelly the Dog]

Last two he was an influence on - brees and rivers. What his role was or what it means for his next? Who knows. He's seemingly had some success, for those that argue that they'd never trust his evaluation on one. If anything he's erred cautious, not overzealous which isn't the worst as long as he finds the guy and makes the needed moves sooner than later.

Good point.

[Mr. WEO]

When everyone's major fault they have with him is he wasn't smart enough to recognize that Russell Wilson* had what it takes to be a starting NFL QB and chose to keep Ryan Fitzpatrick for two full years after it was clear he wasn't the answer. And nor was Tavaris Jackson.

 

The genius who did recognize that Russell Wilson was so good and drafted him, signed Charlie Whitehurst right away to be his starter. That tanked. The next year he signed that same Tavaris Jackson to be his starter. That didn't work so well. Then he signed Matt Flynn. He was promptly beat out by a third round rookie. His fourth try was Russell Wilson and he struck gold.

 

Now, it's easy to say, and VERY true, that Nix should have been drafting rookies anyway. But the fact is, he's drafting one this year. So that argument is old and moot at this point. If the guy you think is the smart one for recognizing QB talent hit on his fourth choice, why is it so hard to think someone else could?

 

And that is also ignoring that Nix loved Newton when a lot of other guys were wary of him and would have drafted him if Andrew Luck didn't screw us. And he liked Russell Wilson a lot, too, he just didn't pull the trigger when he had the chance and should have in retrospect.

 

*The same could be said for not selecting Kapernick, in retrospect, but Jim Harbaugh had just taken the job and had no history of taking QBs we could look at. Ozzie Newsome struck out a few times before Flacco. The list goes on.

 

.

 

This is getting to a bit of a crusade. Buddy, like all GM's, has only 2 menaingful tasks to complete. Hire a competent HC and a solid, productive QB. He has failed miserably on every coaching hire in his first 3 years. He has totally ignored (at best) or shown a complete lack of scouting skill (at worst) when it came to QB. Why anyone would bend themself into a pretzel in order to find logic in Buddy's ineptitude is beyond explanation.

 

And the guy wo picked Wilson was Pete Carroll.

[Adam]

There is no quick fix available this offseason. Not Glennon, not Cousins, not Smith. Sign a veteran to start and draft the kid out of Central Michigan as a project. Maybe we get Te'o and make sure our defense can keep us in games.

[3rdand12]

I believe the crux of the matter is that Buddy believe Chan when he told him that he could win with Fitz, so he turned his attention elsewhere because this team had so many holes.

 

When Fitz put the lie to that, Buddy put his buddy out on the street.

 

Now without question, he knows he's got to get a QB.

Buddy aint stupid regardless of his errors.

 

Nanker you have nearly mirrored my exact opinion.

And you too, are correct on this point.

[JohnC]

This is getting to a bit of a crusade. Buddy, like all GM's, has only 2 menaingful tasks to complete. Hire a competent HC and a solid, productive QB. He has failed miserably on every coaching hire in his first 3 years. He has totally ignored (at best) or shown a complete lack of scouting skill (at worst) when it came to QB. Why anyone would bend themself into a pretzel in order to find logic in Buddy's ineptitude is beyond explanation.

 

And the guy wo picked Wilson was Pete Carroll.

 

What Kelly is basically doing is not defending a person's actions while at the same time defending the person. Peculiar logic and reasoning, Makes no sense.

[3rdand12]

We are in rebuilding mode again. It might be alot more fun than the last effort , and then again, it might not.

But y'all might as well write this season off as far as a strong run early in the season. Gonna be a work in progress. Think two year plan.

 

Let the rookie QB start. Back him up only if he gets injured. Bury the other rookie qb on the practice squad

[Green Lightning]

Well, he also drafted Marcel Dareus over AJ Green, Julio Jones, Aldon Smith, and JJ Watt, etc, but folks here seem to want to give him a pass on that one.

 

The reason we are not ready to move on is that this buffoon apparently is still the GM of the Buffalo Bills and is positioned to squander yet another draft. When he is shown the door, I promise to stop beating this particular drum.

 

So every GM who hs whiffed on some players is a buffoon. So the GM's who let Urbik go, Pears go and who thought Cordy Glenn was a guard....what are they? JJ Watt could be the next Roid bust and Dareus could have a huge year next year. You probably thought Eric Moulds was a bust because his first two years were awful. You can't just cherry pick the bad without crediting him with the good. We are strong in the trenches thanks to Buddy. He's being phased out so quit the bile.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Green Lightning

[Kelly the Dog]

This is getting to a bit of a crusade. Buddy, like all GM's, has only 2 menaingful tasks to complete. Hire a competent HC and a solid, productive QB. He has failed miserably on every coaching hire in his first 3 years. He has totally ignored (at best) or shown a complete lack of scouting skill (at worst) when it came to QB. Why anyone would bend themself into a pretzel in order to find logic in Buddy's ineptitude is beyond explanation.

 

And the guy wo picked Wilson was Pete Carroll.

I was talking about Pete Carroll. He struck out with his first two (including the same guy Nix struck out with), his third was beat out by a rookie, and he got it right on the fourth. You people cannot seem to read. I wasn't defending his previous choices. In fact, just the opposite. I was saying the guy who made the choice you guys complain about, made a bunch of bad choices, including the same one, before they got it right.

 

What Kelly is basically doing is not defending a person's actions while at the same time defending the person.

No and no. I wasn't defending his actions, i said they should get him fired.

 

EDIT: as GG correctly pointed out. I misread your post. But I don't agree with it once I reread it either. And explained why below to GG.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Kelly the Dog

[NoSaint]

 

I was talking about Pete Carroll. He struck out with his first two (including the same guy Nix struck out with), his third was beat out by a rookie, and he got it right on the fourth. You people cannot seem to read. I wasn't defending his previous choices. In fact, just the opposite. I was saying the guy who made the choice you guys complain about, made a bunch of bad choices, including the same one, before they got it right.

 

 

No and no. I wasn't defending his actions, i said they should get him fired.

 

The irony being after missing on whitehurst and Jackson the board would be running him out of town.

[Kelly the Dog]

The irony being after missing on whitehurst and Jackson the board would be running him out of town.

Yes, of course.

[Maury Ballstein]

So every GM who hs whiffed on some players is a buffoon. So the GM's who let Urbik go, Pears go and who thought Cordy Glenn was a guard....what are they? JJ Watt could be the next Roid bust and Dareus could have a huge year next year. You probably thought Eric Moulds was a bust because his first two years were awful. You can't just cherry pick the bad without crediting him with the good. We are strong in the trenches thanks to Buddy. He's being phased out so quite the bile.

 

maybe you should check the defensive stats from last year. where are these strong trenches you speak of? are they the trenches that give up 50 points to every .500 or better team?

 

buddy hasn't done much IMO. no "diamonds in the rough". give him a double Fail for not addressing qb whatsoever. teams an embarrassment presently.............some of that blame goes directly to Mr. Nix IMO.