thewildrabbit

Ralph Wilson was a really great NFL owner at times. Over time there have been much, much worse NFL owners by far. Wilson loved his fans and dearly wanted the team to remain in Buffalo. Gotta love him for that. He realized Buffalo was a small market, blue collar city and kept the seat prices lowest in the league so all fans could attend games. For the first super bowl Wilson took every employee he could from ball boys, cheerleaders, office workers. The thing is... he learned that winning can be very expensive after those SB's as all the players think they are now worth more money as did the coaches, FO people. Besides that every NFL team wants a piece of the thunder so they steal players, coaches, scouts, doctors and trainers. Ralph Wilson had several serious faults at times. The biggest thing was he became very controlling again in wanting to micromanage most everything to do with the team, draft included. His other big fault was that he needed the team to make money to support himself and his hobbies. Like racing horses and collecting fine art. Another flaw was his frugality and cantankerous nature in firing GM's Polian, Butler and HC Wade Phillips. He didn't mind playing the players top money at times. But it seems he really disliked paying top dollar to coaches and FO people like Chuck Knox and John Butler. My take is from 2000 to 2005 Mr Wilson did attempt to step away from the team in hiring Tom Donahoe and then after felt there was nobody he could trust to run his team. Which is a big reason as to why he asked Marv Levy to be his GM and poor Marv just wanted to coach again. Bills fans should be very happy in the future. We now have a billionaire owner who doesn't need the team to make money to support himself, his family or hobbies. This owner can afford to hire the very best and brightest in all aspects of the franchise. All we fans can do is hope he learns who that is very quickly.

The Bills scouting department has been long overdue for an overhaul and from what I've seen from them over the years this is a great move. While new Bills GM Brandon Beane is also a rookie GM like the last four. The new Bills coaching staff has a great amount of NFL experience to help him along. In my view none of those past GM's were not even qualified to be an NFL GM and the last two were not allowed complete control while being helped along by a previous non qualified GM. Just looking at the latest draft, free agency gives me the impression that things are changing for the better as the team now has an extra 2018 1st round pick and filled a bunch of needs at the same time. I look at the team and have to believe that things have changed greatly for the better. No more Rex, Whaley, crappy scouts or Brandon involved in football operations.

What a lot of fans forget is that when the Bills hired Chan Gailey he had stated to both Nix and owner Ralph Wilson (in what helped him land the job in Buffalo) was that he didn't need star players to win games. Wilson loved that statement! "Last point: I can guarantee you one of the things that the Bills loved was Gailey's attitude about how you can win without stars in the NFL." https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/01/19/mailbag-0 Basically Gailey had told the Bills FO that he could win games with the current QB's on the roster. That 2010 off season the Bills had Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Brohm and Trent Edwards in the mix for a starting QB job and Gailey stated that they were all about equal. Then after camp Gailey was convinced he could win games with Trent Edwards as his starting QB even after Bills fans at training camp told him differently. Gailey was adamant about defending Edwards all the way up until he cut him after that regular season week two game against the Packers. For the 2011 season Gailey said he could win with Fitz at QB! "I am extremely confident in Ryan Fitzpatrick," said Gailey. "We can win a bunch of football games (with him)." http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/bills-chan-gailey-i-am-extremely-confident-in-ryan-fitzpatrick/1?csp=34sports#.WSseV-vyuUl So, in regards to Nix and the QB situation the GM was only following what his head coach had told him he could win with. As for Whaley and the changing of the HC from Gailey to Marrone in 2013 when Nix stepped down after the draft. From What I recall Whaley went and personally scouted the prospective QB prospects that year and came away that EJ was his man. In his years as GM it looked to me like Whaley never wanted to give up on EJ as his starter even when Marrone and Rex Ryan didn't want him. Bottom line is that this franchise hasn't seen 10 wins since 1999 and they can only lose twice to the Patriots every year. What happened with the other 14 games every year in all that time? Anyway, I'm just happy that it looks like the Bills might finally be moving out of that mediocrity zone. Can't wait to see how this team looks this year.

I agree. You can't get into the HoF while sitting out injured all the time.

I disagree that Nix thought it was a full rebuild as the team had a bunch of talent on both sides of the ball. As I attempted to point out in my earlier that both Nix and Whaley had no clue on how to build a proper offensive line. Look back to that 2010 roster to see the Bills had RB's Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB and Stevie Johnson, Lee Evans at wide-out. Beast mode used to make his yards in Buffalo with 3 defenders hanging on to him and Freddy was the better back because he was more elusive. What did Nix do with a former #1 pick at RB but trade him away to Seattle for a 4th and a 5th. The one area that was weakest was the offensive line at tackle and had Nix bolstered that area properly in the off season the team would have undoubtedly won more games. Ultimately Nix eventually band aided the line by bringing in free agent scrubs Urbik and Pears who were both off the street pick ups during the season. The team kept those band aid players for years while not realizing what proper talent at OG like Richie Incognito would do for the team. The defense wasn't so bad in talent either with Kyle Williams, Poz, McKelvin, Whitner and Byrd. The Bills had the #3 defense in yards against the pass but were 32nd against the run. The team was basically lacking more quality talent on both lines. Which is the basic area of foundation in building a decent scheme for either side of the ball. Like I said that Fitz and Edwards were running for their lives for the first 8 games and it wasn't until Urbik and Pears came in that the line got a bit more stable. Yes the team went 4-12 that year and lost their first 8 games. However, they also lost 3 games in OT to the 12-4 Ravens, the 10-6 Chiefs, the 12-4 Steelers. It's my contention that had Buddy Nix obtained better talent on both lines that 2010 off season the team would have fared far better then the end result. In my view, Nix's legacy revolves around his thinking that any 6 ft plus, 300 lb plus player can play OG on the offensive line and it lead to his own undoing. BTW, Nix was on retainer as a consultant to the Bills long after he retired as GM and might be the reason as to why Whaley was also misguided in his idea on how to build a line. Anyone else recall what Erik Pears looked like at RG? What GM with a normal brain drafts a rookie QB with a #1 pick and then fails to build a decent line to protect him.

Buddy Nix created his own steaming pile. Let's not forget that the Bills were constantly at 7-9 under Jauron until his final season in 2009 which was 6-10 . Nix came in for the 2010 season and the team went 4-12 with an 8 game losing streak. Anyone else recall Nix's words that off season? You're not going to believe this, but we're close! Close alright, close to the worst in the league! Look back at that 2010 draft and free agency period to see that both stunk under Nix. FA DE Dwan Edwards 4 years, 18 Mill only worked for two seasons. The offensive line was a complete joke since trading away all pro LT Peters and then attempting to replace him with guys like Demetress Bell under Nix. Not to mention the complete scrubs at RT like Cornell Green for 2 mill per that lasted 5 games. Others at RT include notable scrubs like Cordaro Howard, Mansfield Wrotto. Needless to say that Bills QB Fitzpatrick was literally running for his life most of 2010. The Bills drafted a "waterbug" in CJ Spiller when the real need was at tackle for both sides. The Bills paid huge money to Mario Williams in 2012 because the scouting dept failed to find a decent pass rusher in the draft since Schobel retired at the end of 2009. However, they did make lame attempts with Aaron Maybin, Alex Carrington. The Bills also paid big money to McCoy, Clay because they failed to find that elite talent in the draft. Both Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley were a colossal waste of time. Look at the holes in the roster for the 2017 season pre draft to see this team wasn't even close to competing with the Patriots. Things have improved greatly from the HC, GM, scouting dept in my view. Now I just hope the owner gives these new men time to clear out the crap and build a solid contender.

They called it the K gun and in reality it was a no huddle offense using the old Redskins "counter trey" run scheme. A few things made that no huddle offense so potent for the Bills back in that day. First, QB Jim Kelly was brilliant at running a two min offense at the end of the halves and all that no huddle did was allow him to run that 2 min drill for 60 min. The Bills had a very potent WR corps in 7 time pro bowl WR Andre Reed, 8 time pro bowl WR James Loften, speedster WR Don Beebe. (The funny thing is the K gun was named after TE Keith McKeller who never caught more than 44 passes or had more than 464 yards in a season.) Second, the Bills players were at the top of the league in conditioning because of Bills trainer Rusty Jones http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Former-Bills-coach-Rusty-Jones-receives-Lifetime-Achievement-award/5b49e914-69a9-4bf8-a839-22b18223d2ed Shoot, I can recall the Bills going down to Miami to play the Dolphins in 90 plus degree heat and the Bills would look so dominant, focused near the end of a game and the Dolphin players were gassed and running for oxygen on the sidelines. Lastly, the Bills usually ran the ball more than they threw it all those great years of the late 80's, early 90's. It was that counter trey scheme that allowed the offensive linemen to take a step in one direction and then go the other way that slowed the defense down enough to not react on the first move. HoF RB Thurman Thomas was a master at cutback runs and the holes that all pro line on the left side produced you could drive a truck through. Even the doctors on the team were among the best in the league as both Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly had huge question marks on them which caused them to drop in their drafts. Thurman with his knee and all that mileage on him. Kelly with his shoulder separation in his senior year at the U which was so bad he needed metal pins inserted to hold it in place. Also, in which doctors had said he may never regain full throwing motion. Now, with the 2017 roster I doubt the starting QB could run that no huddle like Kelly and besides the current receiving corps is a big question mark. The current O line on the left side looks similar to those great years except those SB years players looked to be a bit better and the right side of the current line is much worse. RB looks to be slightly better back in the day and yet McCoy is the least of the worries in running a no huddle.

Whaley made so many mistakes in his time as GM. The man was clueless on how to build a proper offense to support a rookie QB. I think his biggest flaw was he wanted to support EJ as starter and yet didn't think to build a better offensive line to protect the kid. The whole allowing Levitre to walk away and then filling his spot with complete scrubs in Colin Brown, Sam Young and ultimately Doug Legursky was my biggest problem with him. Any rookie QB needs a solid chance to develop properly. In a nutshell, Whaley, like Buddy Nix thought that any big bodied 300 pounder at 6 ft plus could play OG. What were his sayings? Any tackle can be moved to OG and OG's are a dime a dozen. Erik Pears proved that idea was complete nonsense. It took Rex Ryan to bring in an all pro OG who instantly made Glenn, Woods and the entire line better. (Old Rex even chased after La'el Collins only to lose him to Dallas.) Kyle Orton ran for the door after the 2014 season playing behind the worst line in the league. TG is right in saying that Whaley was a waste of time as GM. Just like Nix was. Just like Brandon, Levy were. Hopefully now things have changed for the better.

Jailbreak...

Another thread about the defense from fans who want to keep making excuses for the severe 2015 defensive regression. In my mind there is no explainable excuse for the lack of QB pressures, sacks, hits on opposing QB's other then pure ineptitude by this new HC. Its what happens when you hire a 4-12 coach. The only season the Bills had less sacks (21) in 2015 then in the entire 50 year history of the team was in a strike year. To the fans that think that is OK and sacks don't mean all that much. Tell that to this years sack leading Denver Broncos with 52 sacks and last years Bills had 54 sacks. Mike Pettine's D in 2013 had 57 sacks. First, when Ryan says he merged the two defenses he is outright lying and all any fan need do is re watch the game to see the D linemen dropping into coverage while playing gap contain. Plus, the secondary looked like they were in a prevent defense from the start of the game by playing 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage. The 2015 defense was built specifically to rush the passer with the front four and it looked like they did everything except rush the passer. At some point I think all Bills fans will come to realize what Jet fans already know. That Rex Ryan is a blowhard who makes promises he can't keep, and then blames someone else or something else for his failings. Even "IF" Ryan manages to build a top ten defense by changing over to his 3-4 scheme (which might take 3-4 years). I highly doubt he will ever field a team that can contend for the division title much less a SB championship.

The QB wasn't the biggest problem from what I saw. Yea he did play poorly quite a bit yesterday, and did some good things too. I'm far more concerned about the defense that looked so good most of last year, and allowing a new franchise record for passing with 466 yards from Brady. The Bills defense is currently ranked 30th in the NFL right now.

Run blocking was fine...really?? After the first series lets look at the run game. 2nd series-McCoy off RT for -1 yards, Taylor pass for 2 yards, Taylor sacked -6 yards, PUNT 3rd series- Taylor pass for 1 yard, pass for -1 yard, Taylor sacked -9 yards, PUNT 4th series-McCoy LG for 2 yards, McCoy up the middle for -1 yard, Taylor pass intercepted. 5th series- Taylor pass for 9 yards, McCoy RG for -1 yard, Taylor Sacked -8 yards, PUNT 6th series- Taylor pass 5 yards- Williams up the middle for 2 yards, Pass incomplete (overthrown), PUNT McCoy had some good runs in the first series, and three runs later in the game for some big gains, and other then those the run blocking, pass blocking was abysmal IMO. Once the Patriots started stacking the box the entire offense went into the crapper, and when they stopped stacking it in the 4th QTR the offense started to move the ball again.

Trust me it was, and it was like last years players had never used a blocking sled. With Cyril Richardson in at OG the line graded as the worst in both run and pass blocking. Then after Urbik replaced Richardson the line still finished last in run blocking in 2014. On another note, lets not forget that EJ was also the starting QB, and after he was benched Maroon also benched Richardson.

I do agree, and it looks like this new coaching staff is actually teaching the players how to block. I realize the Bills were running very simple schemes. Even so, I'm not overly excited that Shady only got 16 yards on 6 carries for a 2.6 ypc average. Or that with Cassel starting against that Panther first string D he did an outstanding Trent Edwards impression with his safe, short throws. I really want to see the Bills line with a power run game make opponents D suffer this year!

Rex already said EJ started the blue / white scrimmage. Cassel started the 1st pre season game. Now Taylor will start the 2nd pre season game. Me personally I didn't care for Cassel, and his high percentage short "safe throws" with his Trent Edwards style of play. If he can move the chains, and get TD's doing that I'll change my mind.

I don't get the Bills FO dislike for the guy, but whatever. We will soon see what the Bills have at QB

Really good post, and don't apologize for a long post if its worth the read. If EJ can go 6-8 with 16 TD's 12 INT's with complete morons coaching him I can only think he will improve under Greg Roman. But it might be moot at this point if the FO has already given up on him. Cassel has had two good seasons going 10-5, and some real stinkers where he went 1-7 in his last season with the Chiefs throwing 6 TD's, 12 INT's. I honestly don't get the love affair for a backup QB with a not so great arm, and the Bills actually gave up a draft pick for this guy. Time will tell us very soon.

How can anyone base an opinion on EJ from what they saw in his last two games considering Hackett went pass crazy calling 40-44 passes respectively while basically abandoning the run game. That run game which helped the team win the first two games. Besides this coaching staff has already stated that they will be a run first team with McCoy, and ask the QB to just manage the game while not turning the ball over.

Thanks! and am glad somebody gets it.

I've seen enough of EJ in a ball control offense to know he could develop into a decent starter if he isn't rushed into an all out throwing scheme like Hackett tried after week two last year. The Bills ran the ball successfully against Chicago 33 rushes for 193 yards vs 16 of 22 passes for 173 1 TD, 1 INT. result win 23-20 The Bills ran the ball against Miami 33 times for 113 yards vs 16 of 26 passes for 202 yards, and 1 TD. result win 29-10 Then inexplicably against the Chargers the Bills rush 22 times for 87 yards, and ask EJ to throw 40 times result loss 10-22. A complete reversal of what was helping the team win the first two games. Against the Texans it was 23 rushes for 96 yards vs 44 passes. About the only thing the Texans had going for them was a great rush by JJ Watt, and the Buffalo coaches stupidly forced EJ right into the Houston strength!! Then after benching EJ the coaches went with a basic all out passing scheme asking the QB to carry the offense by himself. Kyle Orton managed to go 7-5 last year despite the bad play calling, offensive scheme. Bottom line: I feel EJ can still be a decent starter in a ball control offense with a limited passing scheme if he isn't asked to carry the entire offense on his shoulders. Lets not forget that this kid played his entire college career in a one read simplistic offense. He needs to develop at a slow pace by adding one or two plays a game, and not by throwing the entire passing offensive playbook at him all at once like the last coaching staff did after week two.JMO

Actually Fitz luckily fell into Gailey's lap, as that moron chose Trent Edwards over Fitz initially. That first year in 2010 the Bills started the season 0-8, and ended up 4-12. Fitz was literally running for his life for those first few games behind a bad line with new RT Cornell Green. A guy who was benched and cut after 6 games. Replaced with off the street waiver wire players in Pears, and Urbik was also picked up. Good thing because the starting center in Hangartner played 12 games, and Wood was moved to center, and Urbik took over at OG. That week four Jets game Fitz was the leading rusher with 7 rushes for 74 yards...literally...running...for...his...life!! Fitz was a result of Chan Gailey building the offense around what Fitz did best, and that was he was able to read a defense, set the O line, and get the ball out in usually under 2.0 seconds. A quick, short passing game throwing mostly to one WR in Stevie Johnson. The Bills also had WR Lee Evans but it was Johnson always getting open that helped make that quick strike offense work. Gailey wasn't and isn't a QB guru, as it was all Fitz eventually developing into a decent backup journeyman QB. Opposing defenses soon realized Fitz's limitations with his arm strength / deep accuracy, and the Bills never finished better then 6-10 under Gailey. Lets face facts here, if Fitz were that good he would still be the starting QB for the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills have had lots of bad coaches, bad talent evaluation which resulted in a lot of losing seasons over the last 15 years. If you don't believe that fact then don't even bother reading any further. Why do I have patience with EJ? Mostly because many highly respected draft analysts graded the kid a late first round pick and stated that EJ needed a redshirt year. He needed to go to a decent team to sit behind a decent veteran QB and learn the NFL ropes. He did not get that at all his first season, and was instead thrown into the fire. No QB coach, and no vet QB on the roster!!! Was he supposed to learn his role as an NFL QB by osmosis from the opponents QB? The coaching staff under Doug Marroon was bad, and most everyone now concludes he was a very bad offensive coach. The real reason for any success last year was the defense, and the vet QB. Doug Maroon with a rookie GM let a decent OG walk and tried to replace him with utter garbage in Colin Brown (outright cut after 6 games), and Doug Legursky cut after the season. This with 3 young QB's on the roster, unbelievably moronic!! To me, the coaches / coaching is the most important part of building a great team. Bad coaches will lose more games then having great players. Example? Go back to Bills DC's George Edwards / Dave Wannstedt, and Bills fans knew there was better talent then the defensive record was showing, as 9 of the 11 starters on defense were either a first or second round draft pick. Even DC Mike Pettine improved the defense enough to show that. But it wasn't until a really good DC / ex HC in Schwartz took over that the defense that it showed up by becoming the #4 overall defense in the NFL last year. Chicken or egg? QB Drew Bledsoe was a former #1 overall pick at QB, and would tear bad teams (with not much of a pass rush) to shreds. The Bills acquired Bledsoe then they tried to upgrade the O line by drafting LT Mike D Willams, and since that pick didn't turn out well they basically gave up on building an elite line. (GM / president Tom Donahoe probably fired for this and other bad moves) In 2002 Bledsoe threw for 4,359 yards with 24 TD's, 15 INT's. On offense the Bills were 11th overall that year, and went 8-8. The very next year in 2003 the Bills didn't protect the QB very well and the result was a 6-10 finish with the offense ending up at 30th. HC Gregg Williams was fired and replaced by Mike Mularkey. The new HC changed the offense and had the Bills running more then throwing, and the result was a 9-7 finish with an improved offense. Bottom line: instead of building a top O line to protect the QB the Bills FO & Mularkey wanted Bledsoe to get the ball out quicker, and when the older QB couldn't change his ways they opted for a rookie QB. A player who they managed to ruin behind bad lines. (Trent Edwards left the Bills with at least 5 severe concussions that I'm aware of.) The NFL is littered with great prospects at QB who go to bad teams and get beaten down, and ruined. In my view it wasn't that they all sucked from the start. Chicken or egg? Look at Steve Young at Tampa Bay. Drafted @ #1 overall in the supplemental draft. A HoF QB who played like crap on a bad team going 1-4 his first year, and 2-12 his second with 11 TD's & 21 INT's while completing fewer then 55% of his passes. The Bucs deemed Steve Young a bust! Then the Buc's opted to draft Vinnie Testaverde #1 overall, and then basically went on to ruin him.

Its stunning to me that others think differently. But then most NFL fans think its all about the QB.

Reminds me of the 70's- 80's Al Davis Raiders where he would bring in any bad boy he could find. Then tell them to party all they want! But, Just Win Baby! The stories of Ken Stabler & co being out all night before a game were epic. A commitment to excellence... in partying. Not sure Marv would approve of this years team.

First off, any QB the team would have drafted the last 15 years would have been beaten to a pulp, and rendered useless after a few years. Case in point JP Losman, Trent Edwards. No question in my mind that the morons coaching the Bills over the last 15 season were more useless then any QB they could have drafted or obtained in free agency. Fitz could get the ball out usually in under 2 seconds and he was still hit way more then he should have been! Now that the Bills finally have a decent HC, OC, O line coach, along with some top players things could be drastically different for any rookie / young QB. Although I'm not so sure about the QB coach looking back at how Geno Smith performed last season, and what the guy did with Fitz when he was here before. I'm also not to keen on the starting right side of that line with a rookie at RG, and a still developing RT. Cassel could be the right guy to manage the offense and not make mistakes in turning the ball over, and a lot will depend on how well that line blocks for the statuesque QB. We will see on Friday. I have no faith in TT in that he will become anything other then a turnover machine. JMO EJ being on Doug Maroon's staff, and he was being tutored by a moron who didn't know how to do his own job much less help a first year QB develop. EJ still needs time to develop properly, and should the Bills have that power run game working like it did in SF then I can see EJ eventually maturing into a decent starter. It makes no sense to me to give up on a QB with only 14 starts when the guy has a winning record when the team actually ran the ball, and the QB wasn't being asked to throw 40+ times a game. JMO