BillsfaninFl

I'm not high on Hardy either, but I think he and Johnson should have their chance to earn a job in the starting lineup. Reed is an enigma. He seems to be a valuable slot receiver at times and has been touted for his blocking ability. But he has dropped as many balls as T.O. and goes invisible for games at a time. No one has value because they know the playbook, because that will be thrown away with the new coaching staff on board. So I don't know if Reed will be kept or not. He certainly is not in line for a "big bucks" contract and he is a known quantity. Which means he probably gets Wilson's vote. Regarding other WRs, I hope we pick on or more up as free agents, but not in the draft. Hey, it's our turn with Sam Aiken. He started with New England, then came to us, then went back to NE (where he looked good). It's time he returned here.

Interesting. The responses seem tepid compared to the ugly comments about Michael Vick. I guess beating up a pregnant woman is not as serious a crime as killing dogs. I think both are horrible, but my point is that there always seems to be an extreme response to discussions about what Vick did.

We never questioned his love of money or ability to make profits. Every NFL team owner is a successful businessman. But the difference between winners and losers has to do with how they view success for their franchise. If they want more than just profits: like also having pride in winning championships, then their success can be twofold. For 50 years, Ralph Wilson has "talked the talk," but never "walked the walk." The few successful seasons were because of personnel (both staff and players) who were among the best in the game and succeeded in spite of Ralph. The fact that he didn't respect their abilities and didn't place a high priority on keeping these people (as evidenced by not paying the big bucks and/or firing staff because of arguments), shows his real recipe for success was strictly financial and his intolerance for those who challenge him. Even the one time he gave someone (Donahoe) the power to do it their way, it was to shore up profitability. But then he realized how important it was to him to hold the final vote on everything and he admitted after firing Donahoe that he would "never give up that power again." The proof is in Wilson's own words. Like the comments he made this year, which made it clear that his reorganization would follow "his" rules, (which obviously were not intent on building the most competitive team possible). The only thing we do not know is whether the chase for a big name staff was real or just showmanship. But even here we have evidence. When a big name coach did show interest (Marty Shottenheimer), Wilson immediately said "no." It takes a really blindly faithful fan to ignore all this and still believe that the team will be a winner.

The egg came before the chicken. This stupid subject has been beaten to death. There are no obvious franchise quarterbacks available in the draft. There are a number of offensive and defensive lineman that have a greater chance of being pro bowlers than the QBs out there. Therefore, the QB question is moot. End of story.

The Bills don't just release decent players, they have several ways to get rid of players who have the audacity to expect to be paid the going rate for their skill level. But the most irksome for me is when they have said they can't afford to get into a bidding war to keep a talented player who is about to become a free agent. They have indicated this many times during the years. But in my opinion, you can lose more money than you save by letting that high-priced player walk away. Teams that consistently lose because of a lack of top eschelon players lose sales in tickets, souvenirs, etc. They also lose the respect of players, coaches and GMs, who are then not interested in being part of the organization. They also create an unfavorable image of their city. The poor performance and won/lost record and negative image may actually out weigh the "savings", although that is hard to prove. Unfortunately, our home team is one of the handfull of teams who believe that paying high salaries is a waste of profit dollars. Most NFL teams appear to believe you have to spend money to make money. Which group do you think has the better strategy?

It is totally false that ostriches bury their head in the sand to avoid facing reality. However, some Bills fans...

Forget it. Ralph already indicated he is uncomfortable having Marty on the team. Only "yes men" are accepted into the club.

How's this? I love the Bills. They are the heart and soul of western New York. In fact, they are really the only team in New York and I am proud to say they reside in my home town. I enjoy the tailgating, cheerleaders, souvenirs and lots of other things. The NFL experience is an important part of my life. I love all these things, but the way management runs the organization... not so much.

You're right. I can't agree with mindless fandom. The NFL is an entertainment venue. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect to be entertained. If the quality of the product is not where it should be, then you have two choices: walk away or complain. Several people have indicated they are walking away. That's fine. Others, like myself, want to continue to be Bills fans, so they hope someone is listening when they complain, and that something good will happen. But I'll never agree to being a fan without the right to express my disappointments, to speculate about what is wrong, to suggest what changes need to be made to bring about improvements and/or to indicate when I think the customer is being short-changed.

How can you say that? Money has never been a factor before.

He's not going to fire Modrak. Modrak is his friend, campaigned for him to get the Bills scouting job and therefore is partially responsible for Buddy's success in being given a high ranking position within the organization. There is virtually no chance Buddy would dump Modrak, unless he gets a call from Wilson about it.

A sad, desperate attempt by Reeves to get back into coaching. I always liked this guy. It's a shame that he has to publicly beg for a job.

Sounds like Toronto 2.

A fresh start, but with the equivalent talent of an expansion team.

Thanks for the info. Good post.

"The people that we're going to attract probably won't have the names that somebody might recognize right off the bat," he said. "We're going to get the best teachers — the best people to help fit into a program. Everybody's not the superstar on the team. Everybody's got a role on the team. We're going to get the best people to come in here and be a part of our organization to help us build a winner." Another contradictory statement by the Nix/Gailey team. And like the others, they are an obvious attempt to lower fan expectations while maintaining the we're going to build a winner spin. In other words, Ralph continues to show that his promises are meaningless. He has hired a cheap GM and HC and the rest of the staff will fit the same description. Then they will bring in a few new players and proclaim that it is a new organzation. Why bother firing Jauron and his staff? Gailey may be a better coach, but he will not have the staff or players needed to make this team a winner. The status quo has not changed.

Perhaps. The team owner is wise if he does not alienate his customers, who pay the bills and send him millions of dollars in profit every year. Yes, he can do whatever he wants, but it is ill-advised to disregard customer unhappiness; especially now that it seems to be at an all-time high. Regarding hiring people you are comfortable with. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as it also gives the paying customers a good product. Which is the point.

There is a psychological response to those who think others are always working against them. It is a Persecution Complex. But for sports fans, there is the Pseudopersecution Complex. After many, many times of seeing the refs call it against our team when we see it differently, we start conjuring up all sorts of conspiracy thoeries. It is interesting to note that a percentage of each NFL team's fans is convinced that such a conspiracy exists. I have screamed my belief of it during many Bills games. But in my quieter moments, I realize that it ain't so. But there is a bit of favoritism by the refs toward protecting the top stars in the league. Some day someone will confess about this.

Jerry Sullivan - never met him - sometimes I agree with his comments, sometimes I disagree. I don't believe that is the major issue here. Nix said most of what has been publicized has been "fabricated." That defines as "made up a lie." But these reports about the Bills' embarassing process have come from a great many sources: including reporters, TV analysts, coaches, and even Ralph Wilson. Almost everyone who contributes to this board cites these reports as evidence for their opinions (in addition to statistics). If you and I only have posted facts here that could be proven in a court of law, then you are fabricating. So choose your position: I believe 80% of what has been recently said about the Bills is true and that's why I have refered to it in my comments (so Nix is fabricating). -or- I believe 80 % of what has been recently said about the Bills is made up lies and I never refer to it. (So the media is fabricating.) Forget about the media. Think about the times the Bills organization has fed us the usual "spin" and our own observations of what then happened have shown that they were not being truthful and it was doubtful that they respected our ability to see through the BS. We can all cite a long list of examples over a period of many years. Wilson was even stupid enough to admit the lame process they used to choose Nix. Gailey and Nix are saying what they MUST to protect the organization (and their jobs). Can there be any doubt who is lying?

It's all BS. He also said "we get the best qualified guy." Does anyone believe that one? Talk about spin and delusions, Gaily refered to Nix and himself as the top two football guys, as evidence that they are on the same page and that brings about success. Sorry, Chan, you are not one of the top 2 decision makers and Nix doesn't have ruling power. (See Shottenheimer article.) Ralph pulls the strings and you are a (Wade Phillips style) Dick Jauron clone in waiting, but don't know it yet.

Three years ago, his record with the Chargers was 14 and 2. Go to your room.

I made a list of the top 12 guys the Bills might hire at DC. Then before I made a fool of myself by posting it, I considered each individual and tried to determine whether they might have a reason to be interested in the job. Unfortunately, that bounced 10 from the list. So now I'm down to McCargo and Whitner. Rationale: Ralph knows them both, they are already in the organization, he might be able to get one of them to coach and play for the same salary they are making, they didn't play a lot in 2009 (so they are fresh), both supposedly understand the defense we have been using (so the players will not have to learn a new one) and there will be no moving expenses. If Ralph suggests this to Buddy, I hope he says "nix."

No one is wrong for being excited. We all respond to different levels of stimuli. Apparently, you are an easily excitable guy. Just remember that the higher you are, the more it hurts when you fall on your face - or more accurately when the Bills fall on theirs. Best to tone it down a little until we see those division rivals start to panic.

I don't agree that Gailey is less qualified than Fewell. I didn't think much of his coaching at Dallas, where he had a team loaded with talent but still struggled at times. But though I am not a fan of his, I wish him good luck: he's going to need it. Of course, the spin has already started. Nix said, "we get the best qualified guy" at the press conference. Maybe he meant the best available guy, but he is already pushing his credibility to the extreme. We all know Nix had few choices to pick from and perhaps Gailey is the best among the (3?) candidates. (The only other two who seemed interested were Frazier and Billick.) I'm not going to go into my concerns about this choice right now. Instead, let's see who his assistants will be. That will give us the first clue about if Chan will have the resources to be successful. Clues 2 and 3 will be free agency and the draft. Until then, the guy deserves a honeymoon period.

I will definitely renew my DirecTV Sunday Ticket next season. It was too painful living in Florida and having to watch the local teams when there were much better games being played. Regarding watching the Bills, after 50 years of being a fan, I don't buy that blind faith crap any more. If they are competitive I'll watch them and root for them (win or lose). But if it is more of what happened in 2009, when even their wins were usually ugly, I'll pass.