SDS

John Fina was drafted in 1992 BY POLIAN to play guard. He was never drafted to play tackle - particularly left tackle. That was a "Butler move". Butler's big claim to fame for our o-line was to pour $6M down the Ruben Brown rat hole. Because that is how you build o-lines. You pay LT money to LG's and you take OG's and put them at LT and then you fill in with bums the rest of the way... Save your breath.

Charles, while you are reminscing about the good old days, perhaps you could scan our drafts from 1993 to 2000 and list those top players that came in and reloaded our empty gun from the early 90's. Try and at least pick guys who have made it to a pro bowl or two. Then, list the starting o-lineman from the last few years of the Butler era. Don't forget to include such guys as Corbin Lacina, Jamie Nails, Corey Louchiey....

you can believe that all you want. Put Nate on Carolina or a dozen other teams and he is a top tier pro-bowler.

That is my point - we don't have really ANY of those players for 4-7 years. We aren't losing top draft choces to FA... Maybe Clements this year. Who else? Who is signing that rich money after their contract is up? Jonas Jennnings? 70 picks and barely a handful of top-tier talent.

So, do you think there is an actual prescription for that or is it just dumb luck that you hit on your drafts and your free agents? Or is it just the coaching and only a handful of guys know the secret?

Marv Levy? The guy who would PAY to coach at any level in the NFL again? The guy who puts his name out there time and again but gets ignored time and again by 32 NFL teams? Yeah, where's Marv...

While the anger is understood, I think the talent is there. And if it is there, then the problem lies elsewhere. Brees had a phenom day. Their game plan was dead nuts on. Nate was victimized, but he is the symptom and not the cause in my opinion.

There are certain positions that need to be solid to be a contender and then you need to hit big on a few others. Look at our drafts in the past 10 years. Despite the Butler/TD apologists, how many BIG-TIME players did we draft in the last decade? Players that solidified their positions for more than 1 or 2 years and were/are NFL top-tier talent? Eric Moulds... Willis McGahee... Nate Clements... Anyone else? 70 players and this is our top talent? How many years did we have Kelly, Thomas, Reed, Smith, Hansen, Tasker, Pike, Talley, Bennett, Hull and company holding down key spots? We are missing badly in the drafts in getting guys that anchor our team for any length of time. Guys that dominate their positions for a multi-year window.

let's not forget that Reed and Evans stayed with Losman in the offseason and got to know one another. Moulds was off somewhere else...

look what the cat dragged in... What's your prescription for this patient Doc?

if you want a cookie - it is in the cupboard. However, here is a lesson in lahjik - The Bills can suck and Sullivan can be an ass at the same time. They aren't mutually exclusive.

This may very well be true, but I am always skeptical about guys who leave and have success. It doesn't mean they were getting the job done in BUFFALO. Rusty may have needed a change of scenery or maybe the team wasn't buyng into his methods anymore. Without being on the inside, it is hard to say what the truth is.

Why are you stopping at 5 years for this o-line??? What was it like 6 years ago? As far as my Bills memory goes - we have been bitching about our OL since Will Wolford left - and that wasn't 2000 on my calendar. Shall we revisit what John Butler did for our line the 5 years before that? Ruben Brown... a couple of one year wonders like Robert Hicks. Our best years in the last 13 were horribly average.

Lots of problems with this post... You're smarter than this Brandon. Polian started with the Colts in friggin' 1998... They are ROUTINELY blasted for beiing soft and getting spanked in the playoffs. Maybe this year is different, we'll see. If you want to talk about the fact that they are competitive, then you need to look no further than Manning. Manning is the reason they were competitive so quickly. Unfortunately, Archie didn't have 32 kids to pass around to all the teams. How many draft picks have we gone through to address the QB position since Kelly? Maybe Losman is our man, but Peyton has a 7 year head start on him. Having a star QB in his prime is every GM's dream. As for AJ Smith. How many people are going to get credit for their success? Is it Butler? Smith? Marty? Where are they if LT turns out to be another Kajana Carter? they have put a good team together this year, but it loks a lot more like Marty's doing than the talent provided by AJ Smith as you suggest. As for the Bengals, yes they seem to be on the upswing. They did allow 40+ points at home in a crucial game today and got spanked by a wounded Steeler team a few weeks back. They aren't the model team quite yet. However, they FINALLY got their QB a couple of years ago and lo and behold they can score points... bunches of them. Just like Indy. Polian is an excellent executive, but he has had his share of ups and downs through the years too. His praises haven't always been sung every year. How many years have they been clamoring for a defense in Indy? It would be no different here. Unless we win the SB we will ALWAYS B word. ALWAYS.

I disagree 100%.... Seriously, I don't understand how you hold that line of reasoning. You have an offense with 3-4 RB's, 5-6 WR's, 2-3 TE's... EVERY SINGLE ONE of those overpaid bastards should be able to handle the ball and do their jobs at any time on the field. Succesful offenses don't rely on their best WR and their best RB to carry the load all the time. The Colts are dangerous becuase Manning distributes the ball to about 8 different people WITH CONFIDENCE. Denver is the same way. Keep your eye on what Gibbs does in Washington... If they can't be trusted to do the most basic functions of their jobs - then get them off the team and find someone who can.

perhaps there was some discussion of an onsides kick after the potential score?

Yet, he didn't get the job did he. The Flacons knew 1st hand what they had and decided on someone with NO HC experience. Yep, he is universally revered throughout the league...

BFD. He was demoted. Hasn't sniffed a HC job since.

Absolutely asinine... Dave, take that flamebaiting BS elsewhere. Butler left this team in shambles and you know it. His last draft goes down as the worst in Bills history. Threw money at every mediocre player he could find and stuck us in the ass with fan dividing QB situation. Wade announces we have a punt catcher and tells the team that they don't have a chance to make the playoffs when they do... Go rewrite history with your insinuations elsewhere.

it may not have been a bad drop, but for an NFL reciever and a 2nd round pick - it should have been a catch. It would have made the highlight reel, but it was very catchable.

It started recording CBSW didn't it? Me too... TiVo tries to record all kinds of crap that I don't subscribe to.

That Houston game is drawing me like a moth to the fame...

20-25% of underdogs win every week. It is the nature of the beast... So, picking dogs isn't necessarily bad - you just have to choose the right ones. 2-3 picks every week can be expected to go the other way...

Miami? Baltimore? Houston? Others?

And Polian drafted Kerry Collins with the #5 pick... your point is?