Criticism of Nix

[OldTimer1960]

There are many here who think Buddy Nix is "an idiot" because he has blindly not addressed the QB position in his 3 drafts and because he gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a middle-of-the-road starting QB contract.

 

I think that these criticisms are pretty much unfair.

 

First, Nix's only drafts while GM were: 2010, 2011 and 2012. While there were 2 second round QBs and one 3rd round QB drafted over that span whom the Bills might have drafted, none of them were considered such obvious "sure things" that people at the time could have blamed Nix for not drafting them.

 

Looking back the QBs who have been drafted over that time include:

 

2010:

Sam Bradford - #1 overall, gone before Bills' selection

Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, John Skelton, Dan LeFevour and Tony Pike (many here wanted these last two).

Nix did select Levi Brown in round 7 and I think it could be argued that he wasn't any worse than the QBs drafted ahead of him other than Bradford.

 

2011:

Cam Newton went 1st overall.

 

Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder went after the Bills selected Marcel Darius. None of those guys has shown that they are very good starting QBs yet.

 

In round 2, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick went after the Bills selected Aaron Williams. Now, I'll grant that it would be nice to have either of these guys (or at least it looks that way so far early in their careers). I think this is the only pick in the 3 years where you could legitimately lament that "Buddy blew it" and yet so did many other QB-needy teams.

 

Other QBs from that draft included Ryan Mallett who some might like, but I don't see teams lining up to trade for him and TJ Yates who had a nice run in his rookie year when nobody knew who he was.

 

2012:

Andrew Luck, RG III and Ryan Tannehill all went before the Bills' first pick

 

Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler went after the Bills' pick and then Seattle took a chance on the "too short" Russell Wilson and appears to have struck gold - however note it is still early in his career. It is possible that defenses will find schemes to keep him in the pocket and make his height work against him.

 

Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins are "folk heroes" on this board for very brief flashes of good play early in their career. Maybe they will become very good, but the odds are not in their favor based on past drafts.

 

So, for those that can legitimately say that they KNEW that Kaepernick, Dalton and Wilson were going to be very good, I say you had a good eye. I don't however see where Nix passed on any great QBs in round 1. Those 3 from after round 1 fooled most or all of the NFL GMs, too otherwise they'd have gone in round 1 instead of Brandon Weeden, Christian Ponder and Blaine Gabbert.

Edited March 25, 2013 by OldTimer1960

[jumbalaya]

There are many here who think Buddy Nix is "an idiot" because he has blindly not addressed the QB position in his 3 drafts and because he gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a middle-of-the-road starting QB contract.

 

I think that these criticisms are pretty much unfair.

 

First, Nix's only drafts while GM were: 2010, 2011 and 2012. While there were 2 second round QBs and one 3rd round QB drafted over that span whom the Bills might have drafted, none of them were considered such obvious "sure things" that people at the time could have blamed Nix for not drafting them.

 

Looking back the QBs who have been drafted over that time include:

 

2010:

Sam Bradford - #1 overall, gone before Bills' selection

Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, John Skelton, Dan LeFevour and Tony Pike (many here wanted these last two).

Nix did select Levi Brown in round 7 and I think it could be argued that he wasn't any worse than the QBs drafted ahead of him other than Bradford.

 

2011:

Cam Newton went 1st overall.

 

Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder went after the Bills selected Marcel Darius. None of those guys has shown that they are very good starting QBs yet.

 

In round 2, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick went after the Bills selected Aaron Williams. Now, I'll grant that it would be nice to have either of these guys (or at least it looks that way so far early in their careers). I think this is the only pick in the 3 years where you could legitimately lament that "Buddy blew it" and yet so did many other QB-needy teams.

 

Other QBs from that draft included Ryan Mallett who some might like, but I don't see teams lining up to trade for him and TJ Yates who had a nice run in his rookie year when nobody knew who he was.

 

2012:

Andrew Luck, RG III and Ryan Tannehill all went before the Bills' first pick

 

Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler went after the Bills' pick and then Seattle took a chance on the "too short" Russell Wilson and appears to have struck gold - however note it is still early in his career. It is possible that defenses will find schemes to keep him in the pocket and make his height work against him.

 

Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins are "folk heroes" on this board for very brief flashes of good play early in their career. Maybe they will become very good, but the odds are not in their favor based on past drafts.

 

So, for those that can legitimately say that they KNEW that Kaepernick, Dalton and Wilson were going to be very good, I say you had a good eye. I don't however see where Nix passed on any great QBs in round 1. Those 3 from after round 1 fooled most or all of the NFL GMs, too otherwise they'd have gone in round 1 instead of Brandon Weeden, Christian Ponder and Blaine Gabbert.

You become GM because you should see things that others don't or develop an organization that identifies the top flight talent and then go after it.. That is why he blew drafting the QBs in round two and three and signed a nice guy with no arm as QB.

[billsfan_34]

There are many here who think Buddy Nix is "an idiot" because he has blindly not addressed the QB position in his 3 drafts and because he gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a middle-of-the-road starting QB contract.

 

I think that these criticisms are pretty much unfair.

 

First, Nix's only drafts while GM were: 2010, 2011 and 2012. While there were 2 second round P and one 3rd round QB drafted over that span whom the Bills might have drafted, none of them were considered such obvious "sure things" that people at the time could have blamed Nix for not drafting them.

 

Looking back the QBs who have been drafted over that time include:

 

2010:

Sam Bradford - #1 overall, gone before Bills' selection

Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, John Skelton, Dan LeFevour and Tony Pike (many here wanted these last two).

Nix did select Levi Brown in round 7 and I think it could be argued that he wasn't any worse than the QBs drafted ahead of him other than Bradford.

 

2011:

Cam Newton went 1st overall.

 

Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder went after the Bills selected Marcel Darius. None of those guys has shown that they are very good starting QBs yet.

 

In round 2, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick went after the Bills selected Aaron Williams. Now, I'll grant that it would be nice to have either of these guys (or at least it looks that way so far early in their careers). I think this is the only pick in the 3 years where you could legitimately lament that "Buddy blew it" and yet so did many other QB-needy teams.

 

Other QBs from that draft included Ryan Mallett who some might like, but I don't see teams lining up to trade for him and TJ Yates who had a nice run in his rookie year when nobody knew who he was.

 

2012:

Andrew Luck, RG III and Ryan Tannehill all went before the Bills' first pick

 

Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler went after the Bills' pick and then Seattle took a chance on the "too short" Russell Wilson and appears to have struck gold - however note it is still early in his career. It is possible that defenses will find schemes to keep him in the pocket and make his height work against him.

 

Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins are "folk heroes" on this board for very brief flashes of good play early in their career. Maybe they will become very good, but the odds are not in their favor based on past drafts.

 

So, for those that can legitimately say that they KNEW that Kaepernick, Dalton and Wilson were going to be very good, I say you had a good eye. I don't however see where Nix passed on any great QBs in round 1. Those 3 from after round 1 fooled most or all of the NFL GMs, too otherwise they'd have gone in round 1 instead of Brandon Weeden, Christian Ponder and Blaine Gabbert.

Nix passed on Qbs because he thought he had something in noodle arm. Let's not forget the guy also picked Chan and we saw where that got us. Ask yourself this.....why did Buddy not get a Gm gig until he was 70? Buddy has no doubt been a horrible gm and a bafoon as well

[DefenseWins]

How about Buddy's OTHER PICKS??? You know, the ones he actually drafted??? Like Troup, and the aforementioned Aaron Williams... in fact only Spiller has had any great success from that first draft....

 

And Dareus hasn't exactly lived up to his billing either although most of us still have high hopes for him... But wouldn't A J Green or Julio Jones have been better picks based on their track record so far???

 

And I can remember one or two guys I'd rather have than Troup too...

[DreamOnDan]

that is a great post. I remember everyone was talking about ponder or locker in rd 2 and it was a collective jaw hitting floor when ponder went as high as he did.. I look at this years draft a lot like that draft. Barkley is Locker, Nassib is Ponder, glennon is mallet, and believe it or not manuel reminds me of newton but clearly isn't as dynamic

[San-O]

He took a perennial 7-9 team, and with three years, turned it into a 6-10 team. Voila!

 

And now the Bills are almost forced to reach for a QB.

[billstolast]

Nix is going into his 4th year and we are rebuilding once again and from the looks of it we are 3 years away from being a contender..with an unproven very questionable at best hire for a hc...that is about as bad a job a gm can do...I always try to look on the bright side and I hope marrone does a great job and I am pulling for him, he is unproven, but nix he is proven to be among the worst gm's in football

[billsfan89]

Dalton and Kaepernick are more so products of the systems/organizations they play for. The only QB we really missed out on was Russell Wilson who despite his sensational rookie year still has the jury out on him (And considering he went in round 3 clearly a lot of other teams missed too).

 

Dalton and Kaepernick play for teams with very good defenses. The Bengals don't ask Dalton to do too much while the 49ers have a uber talented team and good scheme built around Kaepernick. Overall I feel like the success those players have had more so goes to show that putting people in a position to have success and utilize their skills works.

 

What I knock Nix for is his inability to hit on the players he has drafted. Troup and A.Williams being key players. Both second rounders who are struggling. And Nix better hope that Dareus, Gilmore, and Spiller live up to their potential too because if they turn out to be just decent players (Or in Spillers case a guy that can't stay on the field) then Nix has a indefensible record.

 

Overall its hard to find a QB but when you draft pieces to build the rest of your roster you better build that roster. Had we hit on those 2nd rounders this team would be in a much better position with that alone.

[Malazan]

I haven't read this thread. Can anyone tell me if it has something new from the other 73287282828 threads on the topic?

[billsfan89]

Nix is going into his 4th year and we are rebuilding once again and from the looks of it we are 3 years away from being a contender..with an unproven very questionable at best hire for a hc...that is about as bad a job a gm can do...I always try to look on the bright side and I hope marrone does a great job and I am pulling for him, he is unproven, but nix he is proven to be among the worst gm's in football

 

Pretty much, agree. Granted the Marrone hire is going to be determined by his on field production more so than anything else. But in three years how much better off is the roster than when Buddy took it over? While after the Jauron years I thought the team was devoid of talent outside of a few pieces now while I think the roster is in better shape but not by much. And after three seasons that's how badly the job has been done.

[thewildrabbit]

Nix is going into his 4th year and we are rebuilding once again and from the looks of it we are 3 years away from being a contender..with an unproven very questionable at best hire for a hc...that is about as bad a job a gm can do...I always try to look on the bright side and I hope marrone does a great job and I am pulling for him, he is unproven, but nix he is proven to be among the worst gm's in football

 

Nix Hired one of the worst Bills HC's ever, who then hired some of the very worst Bills DC's ever. Ran an offense that didn't play to the strengths of his players and tried endlessly to make them fit his scheme. Mid season last year Nix stated he thought Gailey was one of the best offensive minds in the NFL... then fired him after the season.

 

To the OP, even if there wasn't a QB worth drafting the last 3 years (there was 3+ and Peyton Manning in FA) ole buddy still hasn't improved the team with his drafts and free agents. Its like band-aids everywhere on the team.

 

I think Marrone is going to be handicapped by Nix still being GM over this free agency period and draft.

[3rdand12]

It's clearly not easy being a GM for the Buffalo Bills and very nearly impossible to satisfy the fan base.

Nix is truly fading into the sunset and this coaching regime will be telling.

Last year was so bad it might as well be blamed on global warming because i have no idea how it turned out so ugly on so many levels.

 

Just for the record. i have no idea what the heck is going on this year either. Where and how do we replace all the bodies we let go ?

Still hopeful though

You do have a perspective, OldTimer, worth considering though imho

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Nix passed on Qbs because he thought he had something in noodle arm. Let's not forget the guy also picked Chan and we saw where that got us. Ask yourself this.....why did Buddy not get a Gm gig until he was 70? Buddy has no doubt been a horrible gm and a bafoon as well

 

You don't add, but well could, that Buddy thinking Fitz was a winning QB in the NFL doesn't excuse him from taking steps to find a future QB. Seattle signed Flynn, but still drafted Wilson when they had the chance. SF thought Smith could be made into something, but still drafted Kaepernick. Washington drafted RGIII, but also Cousins. etcetera.

 

But what's a Bafoon? is it a newfangled orchestral instrument?

[chris heff]

Nix did not have the luxury of passing on QBs like Kaepernick, Dalton, Wilson or Cousins. It was idiotic. Even the Patriots have a better back up plan for Brady than Nix had for Fitzpatrick for God's sake!

 

[ny33]

that is a great post. I remember everyone was talking about ponder or locker in rd 2 and it was a collective jaw hitting floor when ponder went as high as he did.. I look at this years draft a lot like that draft. Barkley is Locker, Nassib is Ponder, glennon is mallet, and believe it or not manuel reminds me of newton but clearly isn't as dynamic

 

You are making comparisons for their own sake. I don't think this draft is particularly good, but Locker is known for being an athletic, but inaccurate and raw QB, while Barkley had strong production in college despite average physical measurables. Ponder is also significantly faster and more athletic than Nassib, but didn't produce as much and has a weaker downfield arm.

[DrDawkinstein]

Good post OT1960, it's nice to see some real perspective discussed. Unfortunately, I expect most of its rationale to be lost here.

[n3wyork13]

Nice post man, put it in a new perspective for me. Gotta love the people who complain about how theres this many threads of this topic and blah blah. The Forum Police. Get a life

[OldTimer1960]

You don't add, but well could, that Buddy thinking Fitz was a winning QB in the NFL doesn't excuse him from taking steps to find a future QB. Seattle signed Flynn, but still drafted Wilson when they had the chance. SF thought Smith could be made into something, but still drafted Kaepernick. Washington drafted RGIII, but also Cousins. etcetera.

 

But what's a Bafoon? is it a newfangled orchestral instrument?

 

I don't really think that Nix thought that Fitz was "the answer". I do believe that Nix thought Fitz was better than he actually is, but I suspect Nix all along was looking for a better prospect (and said so on multiple occasions). Fitz was a stop-gap and was paid like one. I know $7M/year is a lot in most views, but for NFL QBs it certainly isn't elite pay.

[Gerry]

Remember, this is the same genius who agreed with Gailey that Trent Edwards was a better QB than Fitz. So far, he has failed miserably as GM and will likely ride off into the sunset soon leaving a bigger mess than he inherited.

[Kelly the Dog]

The only ones I would want as my starter are Wilson and Kapernick. The only pick I think Nix blew it on, even in retrospect, is Wilson in the third instead of TJ.

 

I just don't think Dalton or Ponder or Cousins are any good in the long run.