20 years following this team: I've never been more pessimistic

[JohnC]

I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan when I'm not cheering on the Bills. The Pirates haven't been to the playoffs since 1992.

 

For both teams, I'm optimistic and energized every offseason because I look forward to the year that the teams break their playoff droughts because that's going to feel very very good.

 

And of course you know the year you divorce your teams, it'll happen.

 

Why don't you divorce yourself from the Bills so we can experience the joy of having a playoff team? Have some community spirit and do it for the rest of us. We would even pay homage to you, the loyal departed fan who sacrificed for the team.

 

.

[peterpan]

I dont get why anyone spends over 300 bucks for season ticket.

 

I looked into it once, only to realise I could spend 20 bucks a week (16*20=320) at a bar on beers and wings and get free bills football. Or spend 20 bucks a week to get into a bar to watch the bills and get free wings and beer....whatever way you wanna look at it.

 

But yea, Bills suck. I dont follow that close anymore. I got into other more fun hobbies.

[Floridabillsfan1]

I really haven't felt proud of this team since the Flutie era . As sad as it sounds I think all I need to feel good about the team THIS YEAR is a QB that I enjoy watching with the hopes of growing into a contender . It's sad because this organization has made me feel OK with mediocrety after years of feeding it to me . Sticking to the OP I DO FEEL POSITIVE about Marrone and I am excited to see a new STYLE of decision making during the game . No more playing it safe !!!!!!

[Dibs]

Right.

 

And the thing that is really irking me the most about this entire process--

 

this whole board, from those who have said they agree with me, to those who say they are cautiously optimistic, agree that we are in "rebuilding" mode.

 

we've been in rebuilding mode for 3 years now under nix, and now we're starting over?

.....

 

I agree that we are in "rebuilding" mode.....but we are not starting over......we are about to hit year 4 of it.

 

If we re-sign Levitre & McKelvin we will have 16 of 22 starters pretty much locked in.

10 of those have become Bills within the last 3 years......3 within the last 4 years.....2 within the last 5 years.....1 within the last 7 years.

[Dr. K]

I also have generally been an optimist--or at least backed most management decisions--but have little faith in this new regime. My take:

 

1) They have not resigned Levitre, and had to franchise Byrd. To let Levitre walk would indicate they are hopeless at retaining their best players. They've been doing this for more than ten years, creating holes they then have to draft to fill.

 

2) Letting Nelson go, after leaving Jones go, while retaining Brad Smith and Ruvell Martin. Another example of creating holes they have to fill. NO, I don't think either of these guys was great, but Nelson is a good receiver, and is going to play well for somebody else. You need guys like Nelson on any team. People say he can be replaced easily. Well, for one, I don't think it will be that easy to replace his production, and even if they can, spending time and money finding a replacement will be effort they could have better expended in adding good players--not subtracting them.

 

3) They hire a complete loser special teams coach. They retained nobody from the previous regime. Pettine as D.C. is the only choice here that gives me hope. I would rather have seen the Bills keep Gailey and hire Pettine.

 

4) I expect a significant decrease in offensive efficiency. Believe it or not, Gailey got a lot of scoring out of the personnel he had available. The Bills are not going to be able to grind out a running game with the backs and o-line they have. They were not a great short yardage running team. That 5-YPC average was an artifact of the spread offense and long breakaway runs from Spiller. Whoever they play at QB (including Fitz, if they keep him) is not going to do as well as Fitz did in the last three years. Gailey got 24 passing TDs per year out of Fitzpatrick. I expect the offense to revert to Jauron-level somnolence.

 

5) Dorin Dickerson?

 

6) I do not buy into the mystique of the "tough guy" coach. Just reminds me of Greggo with his macho posturing of how he "hates fat guys" (like Ted Washington) and his stupid air horns. That worked out great, didn't it. Bill Walsh was not a "tough guy." Every coach who has a rep for being a hard ass does not end up being Vince Lombardi. In fact, most fall flat on their faces.

 

What this comes down to is that I expect the offense to decline considerably, if not drastically, and the linebacker-less defense to perhaps be better (its hard to imagine it worse) because of coaching but not enough to make up the difference. I have not seen decisions so far in the off season to warrant anything resembling optimism. You will not believe how good Gailey is going to look in about ten months.

 

JMHO

Edited March 7, 2013 by Dr. K

[Ronin]

I dont get why anyone spends over 300 bucks for season ticket.

 

I looked into it once, only to realise I could spend 20 bucks a week (16*20=320) at a bar on beers and wings and get free bills football. Or spend 20 bucks a week to get into a bar to watch the bills and get free wings and beer....whatever way you wanna look at it.

 

But yea, Bills suck. I dont follow that close anymore. I got into other more fun hobbies.

 

Especially since ST doesn't exempt you from blackout rules if you live in the region.

 

Agree tho, for $20 it's free wings and a beer or two out each week. Plus, you can watch the other games along side and during commercials and for reviews.

[BillsVet]

the only way i could even remotely be excited about rebuilding again is if brandon had literally fired every single person (besides himself) within the organization, and hired a new gm. and that gm could be anyone from the manager of a pacsun in the mall, to polian, to brain cashman, WHO CARES.

 

the team just needs a new "culture."

 

Like others, I wanted Nix gone after this 16-32 debacle from 2010-present. Teams don't typically fire GM's after only 3 seasons, but I'd make the case Nix's record has been so poor that it's warranted.

 

I'm not sure what precluded them from telling Nix to retire and promote Whaley. It stands to reason someone with 15 years experience in personnel is ready to step up. Then again, it's in-line with an organization that rarely lets in outsiders for high positions like GM, Donahoe being the exception. I'm not sure what they have to hide, but retaining Nix is a head-scratcher. Particularly with Whaley there now 3+ years.

 

Every time the Bills re-brand, I have the feeling very little has changed. Perhaps that's not the case and Nix has been relegated to GM emeritus without us knowing, but until he's gone it doesn't seem like personnel evaluation changed much.

[xsoldier54]

Right, same thing they said about Greg Williams; you remember the tough guy fog horn strategy right? . . . and how did that work out?

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I see so much of the same thing coming from Marrone. So far, I'm not buying it, but I do hope I'm wrong.

Greg Williams only HC experience before joining the Bills was as a HIGH SCHOOL coach. It was a bad hire. Marrone has experience both as a coordinator in the NFL and now as a HC at a Division I college. Huge difference. Trust me, Marrone is NOT Greg Williams.

 

I also have generally been an optimist--or at least backed most management decisions--but have little faith in this new regime. My take:

 

1) They have not resigned Levitre, and had to franchise Byrd. To let Levitre walk would indicate they are hopeless at retaining their best players. They've been doing this for more than ten years, creating holes they then have to draft to fill.

 

2) Letting Nelson go, after leaving Jones go, while retaining Brad Smith and Ruvell Martin. Another example of creating holes they have to fill. NO, I don't think either of these guys was great, but Nelson is a good receiver, and is going to play well for somebody else. You need guys like Nelson on any team. People say he can be replaced easily. Well, for one, I don't think it will be that easy to replace his production, and even if they can, spending time and money finding a replacement will be effort they could have better expended in adding good players--not subtracting them.

 

3) They hire a complete loser special teams coach. They retained nobody from the previous regime. Pettine as D.C. is the only choice here that gives me hope. I would rather have seen the Bills keep Gailey and hire Pettine.

 

4) I expect a significant decrease in offensive efficiency. Believe it or not, Gailey got a lot of scoring out of the personnel he had available. The Bills are not going to be able to grind out a running game with the backs and o-line they have. They were not a great short yardage running team. That 5-YPC average was an artifact of the spread offense and long breakaway runs from Spiller. Whoever they play at QB (including Fitz, if they keep him) is not going to do as well as Fitz did in the last three years. Gailey got 24 passing TDs per year out of Fitzpatrick. I expect the offense to revert to Jauron-level somnolence.

 

5) Dorin Dickerson?

 

6) I do not buy into the mystique of the "tough guy" coach. Just reminds me of Greggo with his macho posturing of how he "hates fat guys" (like Ted Washington) and his stupid air horns. That worked out great, didn't it. Bill Walsh was not a "tough guy." Every coach who has a rep for being a hard ass does not end up being Vince Lombardi. In fact, most fall flat on their faces.

 

What this comes down to is that I expect the offense to decline considerably, if not drastically, and the linebacker-less defense to perhaps be better (its hard to imagine it worse) because of coaching but not enough to make up the difference. I have not seen decisions so far in the off season to warrant anything resembling optimism. You will not believe how good Gailey is going to look in about ten months.

 

JMHO

LOL I love to come to this board every day because the sheer optimism of the posters lifts me up.

[Al Cowlings]

I agree that we are in "rebuilding" mode.....but we are not starting over......we are about to hit year 4 of it.

 

If we re-sign Levitre & McKelvin we will have 16 of 22 starters pretty much locked in.

10 of those have become Bills within the last 3 years......3 within the last 4 years.....2 within the last 5 years.....1 within the last 7 years.

 

You know you are in rough shape if you are hoping to re-sign McKelvin and consider him a starter. Pathetic.

[Dibs]

You know you are in rough shape if you are hoping to re-sign McKelvin and consider him a starter. Pathetic.

 

Not all players on a team need be top players. We all hated Whitner.....but the 49ers were happy enough to sign him up.

 

I don't understand why so many people feel that our #2 CB or #2 DE should be as good as other team's #1 player.

Look around the league.....it's full of players like Whitner or McKelvin or.....I don't know their names because they are mediocre NFL players.

Edited March 7, 2013 by Dibs

[Al Cowlings]

Not all players on a team need be top players. We all hated Whitner.....but the 49ers were happy enough to sign him up.

 

I don't understand why so many people feel that our #2 CB or #2 DE should be as good as other team's #1 player.

Look around the league.....it's full of players like Whitner or McKelvin or.....I don't know their names because they are mediocre NFL players.

 

No one ever said anything about getting #1 talent. Stop making things up. But to re-sign a first round flop for more money than the same talent off the NFL scrap pile is just plain dumb.

[Storm Front]

The Bills have two stars on offense: CJ and Stevie, and two stars on defense: Mario and Byrd. Most of the starters on this team (i.e., K. Sheppard, A. Williams) would not be back-ups on most NFL teams. Most of the back-ups on this team (i.e., A. Moats, R. Martin) would not be on an NFL roster. This team is a big mess. It is, however, in some ways comparable to the mess Marrone inherited when he took over at Syracuse. There is a sliver of hope for the team next year.

[chris heff]

The reason for optimism is that pessimism is useless. Does anyone really like to spend time around negative, complaining, whining people?

 

I am optimistic about the Bills because this is not the same old same old. Hiring Lovie Smith would have been that.

[Dibs]

No one ever said anything about getting #1 talent. Stop making things up. But to re-sign a first round flop for more money than the same talent off the NFL scrap pile is just plain dumb.

 

No one ever said anything about paying more money than for the same talent.....and to say so is just plain dumb.

[maddenboy]

There is no quarterback in the draft worthy of the 8th overall pick. If they pick a quarterback with that pick, they prove that they are stupid.

 

Yeah. And after RG and Luck, there was no qb in last year's draft worthy of the 8th pick either. Right?

 

Our ability to scout quarterbacks sucks. It needs to be fixed. You MUST have a qb or your chance to win the super bowl THIS year is zero percent.

 

My point was/is that the Bills dont swing for the fences ever. Its a quarterback league. If you never even try . . . .

 

Rinse. Repeat.

Edited March 7, 2013 by maddenboy

[CardinalScotts]

Yeah. And after RG and Luck, there was no qb in last year's draft worthy of the 8th pick either. Right?

 

Our ability to scout quarterbacks sucks. It needs to be fixed. You MUST have a qb or your chance to win the super bowl THIS year is zero percent.

 

My point was/is that the Bills dont swing for the fences ever. Its a quarterback league. If you never even try . . . .

 

Rinse. Repeat.

simply put look at the qb drafted by anyone the last 4 years and unless your bar of what you expect out of qb is very low...you have 4-5 guys for 32 teams and this is assuming after 1 year Luck will go onto greatness. Wilson and RG III - less of a chance

[Lurker]

LOL I love to come to this board every day because the sheer optimism of the posters lifts me up.

Too bad SDS set the "ignore users" feature to only go up to 16 pages...it fills up so fast, you get stuck seeing the 'pearls of wisdom' that pop up here every day.

[Fan in San Diego]

IF anyone is going to instititue a culture change its Marrone. He had players quit because he was too hard of a coach. Thats the most encouraging thing ive read about this guy

 

He may have had a couple quit already.

[Snorom]

always optimistic, and if they suck it up again then by week 8 I will stop watching them as much and wait for another offseason.

 

rinse and repeat. I never chose to be a Bills fan, it was also inevitable that I would become one. I'm not going to let a form of entertainment beat me down.

[Ennjay]

20 years? You mere babe . . .

 

The most pessimistic I've ever been was the year Jauron announced we would go no-huddle on offense and then fired his OC (Turk Schonert) after the last pre-season game.

 

Then there was the year Harvey Johnson took over for John Rauch in training camp.