JohnC Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I was exaggerating for a sense of levity. Sorry you took it the wrong way. Everyone knows you are not a big cheerleader of the front office and the way this team is run. I never thought anyone would think otherwise. You missed the actual point. The Bills have known for months what their cap situation was shaping up to look like. Why is it a big surprise a week and a half before free agency? The cap mess is a mess that they created. My point, in a nutshell, is you are equating losses with moves. I'd rather see the gains, let the other shoe drop, before counting the chickens. Sometimes levity is lost when reading as opposed to listening to voice inflection. No slight is intended from me. You are one of the more insightful posters and I enjoy the exchanges, especially with their are differences. The state of affairs of the Bills is certainly attributed to their GM. No one can dispute that. The boss is the boss and should be held accountable. Where I again disagree with you is that you are suggesting that I am equating cap losses with moves. That is not the point of the salary dumps. The issue comes down to contract value and cap value. The Fitz move was inevitable and it was the right move. The Levitre move, as painful as it seems, in my estimation was the right move. I got the impression that both Levitre and Nix knew what the outcome was going to be. It was a question of waiting for the market to be officially open. The departures of Barnett, Wilson, Fitz and Kelsay (retirement) taken individually and collectively are the right moves from a production and contract standpoint. How the saved moneyis used is really the true test. There are good values on the secondary market that would not be available unless particular contracts were shed. As I have frequently stated there is no quick fix for this franchise. Free agency is still in a very early stage. Let's see how it plays out and not jump to conclusion about what has happened at this very early stage of the free agency market. You probably disagree with me but I do see a glimmer of more rationality in the way this front office is functioning. Time will tell if it is a mirage or not.
FLFan Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 The level of hysteria on this board is laughable. Levitre was as good as gone when he decided to test free agency. He announced this intention last year. Now all the hindsight heros know all the answers. The Bills were not going to, nor should they have, break the bank for an above average guard. Levitre was in the right place at the right time and clearly was intending to go for the best money he could get. God speed, and F him. Move on. Left Guard is not an irreplaceable position by any means, and not even in the top 5 biggest needs of this team right now. As for Fitz, absolutely the right move if he refused to renegotiate, which he did. We are less than 24 hours into free agency. Lets see how the Bills plan (which of course none of us knows) unfolds over the next couple of weeks before declaring all is lost.
Dorkington Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 But that cannot happen this year. No one available. So one further entry: 2013 regular season; Bills are a joke again The Bills are a joke every regular season.
Sisyphean Bills Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I'd ask the steelers if it can work with Big Ben I can only say the Steelers are the opposite end of the spectrum from the Bills. I'd also add that Big Ben wasn't the focal point early in his career, so the Steelers followed a "Trent Dilfer" sort of model there. I never said it worked out, just thats my hunch was the plan Let me be more direct then. A "plan" of waiting for a franchise QB to fall out of the sky is not a plan. It is a snake oil money grab. In today's NFL, every team has excellent players. Every team has some turnover (Pittsburgh being one with the very least). Not every team has a great front office (ask JohnC), great coaches, and/or great QB play. If a team isn't actively trying to find or even develop a franchise QB then it is not truly trying to compete. They are just dicking around on the fans' dime. Which is really worse? Taking a chance at greatness or to do nothing but just talk about it? Of course, one might say that the Bills have been trying, but to other's view their attempts have been little more than dumpster diving and low-risk, low-reward choices made to QBs that, for the most part, are out of the NFL or barely sticking around as fringe players.
BuffBill Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 It looks like they are trying to. Something we havent done in years What have they done this year to lead you to believe that?
xsoldier54 Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 And how is this year different than any other over the last 14 off seasons? I guess time will tell. We won't know until all the pieces of the final roster come together and they start playing some games. Until then, it's all just speculation, but that's what makes it fun. Everyone is convinced that they are right, but nobody really knows for sure.
Pete Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) The only consolation I can find in a schadenfreude way is that the Jets just might be worse off then the Bills **** show. But then that joy subsides when I realize their QB is Sanchez and they just might get first pick overall. A typical Bills 2013 scenerio -we play awful football most of the year and are in driver seat for first selection- then we win 2 meaningless games weeks 15 and 16- and get pick #3- thus missing out on both Clowney and Johnny football Edited March 13, 2013 by Pete
Sisyphean Bills Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Sometimes levity is lost when reading as opposed to listening to voice inflection. No slight is intended from me. You are one of the more insightful posters and I enjoy the exchanges, especially with their are differences. The state of affairs of the Bills is certainly attributed to their GM. No one can dispute that. The boss is the boss and should be held accountable. Where I again disagree with you is that you are suggesting that I am equating cap losses with moves. That is not the point of the salary dumps. The issue comes down to contract value and cap value. The Fitz move was inevitable and it was the right move. The Levitre move, as painful as it seems, in my estimation was the right move. I got the impression that both Levitre and Nix knew what the outcome was going to be. It was a question of waiting for the market to be officially open. The departures of Barnett, Wilson, Fitz and Kelsay (retirement) taken individually and collectively are the right moves from a production and contract standpoint. How the saved moneyis used is really the true test. There are good values on the secondary market that would not be available unless particular contracts were shed. As I have frequently stated there is no quick fix for this franchise. Free agency is still in a very early stage. Let's see how it plays out and not jump to conclusion about what has happened at this very early stage of the free agency market. You probably disagree with me but I do see a glimmer of more rationality in the way this front office is functioning. Time will tell if it is a mirage or not. I enjoy our discussions as well, John. I think you nail your points with regularity and am often in agreement. I had actually called the decision to let Levitre walk a couple of years ago. So, I was not surprised at all. I don't think it was good for the football team, but the Bills have gone in these cycles pretty regularly. So, again, it wasn't too surprising and I guess that sort of is the backdrop for why I don't really see anything new going on in this. I don't get the sense things have changes from reactive to proactive.
stevestojan Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 2012 offseason: Bills are finally on their way to the playoffs 2013 offseason: Bills are a joke again. Get a real QB and everything else falls into place. Same thing with the Jets. yep.
ReturnoftheBuffaloBeast23 Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 2012 offseason: Bills are finally on their way to the playoffs 2013 offseason: Bills are a joke again. Get a real QB and everything else falls into place. Same thing with the Jets. JACKPOT... Finally somebody with some damn sense.. Geez...
JohnC Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I don't get the sense things have changes from reactive to proactive. Buddy Nix is a what you see is what you get type of GM and person. He was a perplexing hire by an oddball owner. You are expecting too much for him to be creative and strategic in his approach to the job. He's simply a plodder who will never be nimble in action. His bragging about running up to the podium on draft day without fielding offers is a testament to his simplistic approach to his complex job. He is basically staying within himself. Where I see the loss of opportunities he sees the risk of doing things outside of his comfort zone. All you can ask of someone is to be who they are and act within themself. Has Brandonn surrounded Nix with handlers who guide him into making better decisions? I hope so. I'm sure it is a contrarion view but I see what he has recently done with recent player cuts and departures and I can't fault his decisions. Just because I'm not enamored by him doesn''t mean that everything he does is wrong. There is still plenty of time for this organization to use their new found cap space to acquire players who will more than compensate for the departed players. If we come out of this draft with a legitimate qb prospect and an overall solid draft then I will be more than satisfied. I'm not calling for him to be a brilliant tactician, I simply want him to be solid. For me that would be adequate. Moving forward with baby steps is certainly better than moving backwards.
Mark Vader Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Andy Levitre? Overpaid and underproductive...???? What are these guys smoking? If the Bills cut every overpaid and underproductive player they would have five or six players on the team. Unfortunately Levitre was one of the few who were productive. You do realize that this is coming from NFL Network personnel. Do you really think anybody on the sets of NFL Network actually pays attention to the Buffalo Bills in full detail? NFL Network is just like ESPN they only pay attention to the glamour teams and constantly suck up to them. Which is very disgusting, since it is the NFL Network. When you are a TV network that covers a specific subject, then you should cover every team, not just the ones you love.
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