All_Pro_Bills

Perhaps a likely scenario which could be faced by Brandon but what to do? What he would do is unclear but if it was me I would entertain the decision but would need to know just who Coach 'X' had in mind to replace Buddy. Its one thing to suggest there is a problem with Buddy's philosophy but for me I'd want to understand the solution rather than a hypothetical there is somebody else I want, and research it, before making that decision. The other thing to consider about Buddy is he is for all purposes a 'short timer' with the idea that he will be transitioning the GM role to Whaley at some point. He knows the clock is ticking on his tenure so whether that is this season on next should not matter much in the big view of things. If winning is established as the highest priority of the organization then I think all options should be left on the table in order to reach that goal. Hearing that stated and then seeing it in action over this off season will be something to watch.

I think it's a great improvement to have a guy in charge that will be on site and on the job 24/7. Whether this means Brandon is going to come through and change the organization for the better or if we'll continue to whallow in mediocrity is unknown. IMO, it's best to wait a few weeks to see what transpires with the HC and coaching staff hires and for anything else organizationally that might be done to support the final product on the field.

I'm probably the minority voice here but with the right coach and a new QB, some key draft picks and a couple smart free agent pickups I think this team can compete for a playoff spot next year. Probably a total of 5 new starters needed. Picking up either Manti Te'o or Jarvis Jones to shore up the LB's in the first round and taking a QB with the second pick (most 'top' QB's should still be on the board) would be a good start. A free agent WR to complement Johnson along with a veteran QB and a veteran LB are on my wish list. Looking at this year's team a competent coaching staff should have been able to wring out another 4 wins with this group and the favorable schedule. That would have put them at 9-6 with a shot at one of the 2 wildcard spots (assuming one of those extra wins was against the Colts which is a game they should have won). If everything goes right for us for just once it could be 1 year or 2 at most..

Gailey is right that Fitz 'gives us the best chance to win' but what he doesn't say or acknowledge is the HC's system and the scheme exposes Fitz's weaknesses and flaws by making him pass 35+ times per game vs. utilizing a balance of run/pass with two very good running backs. The only game I remember them emphasizing the run was the Jacksonville game when it was too windy to throw for both teams. With a better gameplan he might have been able to squeeze out a couple more wins with Fitz and this putrid DC and defensive scheme but its too late for that and all three (Gailey, Fitz, Wanny) should be sent packing at the finish of the season next Sunday. My nightmare scenario would be Gailey getting canned and Wanny being promoted to HC. Even this organization can't be that stupid. Can it?

Unless Nix/Gailey end up staying we're in for another 3 year plan. The team simply doesn't seem to be able to seriously attract and sign 'top' candidates for the GM and HQ positions. And we have to settle on 2nd tier choices that put the team at a competitive disadvantage before they even take the field of play. There are several reasons for this and none of them have to do with the city of Buffalo or the state of the local economy or 'cheap' ticket prices or the stadium facility. The problem is the negative league-wide perception of ownership and the organization. There are many paths to success but until this perception changes we can debate and cite examples of other franchises until the end of time. The Mario signing gave us a brief time in the limelight but the poor showing of the team this season killed that good feeling. This situation will continue until either, or both, ownership or the organizational culture in place changes. At some point in the off season press conference Mr. Wilson will announce changes and conclude correctly that the team simply doesn't have the talent in place to complete with the top teams. Something we've heard far too many times. Unfortunately he appears to be failing to look at the place where the talent is most deficient, in the front office organization and the coaching staff. Maybe doing something different at the top would start to change all that but I doubt that is what we're going to get this time around. The Bills version of Ground Hog Day continues..

Never questioned any of that but rather if anybody in LA really cares or wants a team that they're willing to pay actual dollars to support. The Rams moved to smaller market St. Louis, the Raiders left choosing to go back to Oakland to an outdated facility (granted the LA Collesium was lacking too). So where's the grassroots fan support? There doesn't seem to be enough. And while a new facility might entice a team that in itself will not generate a lot of fan interest beyond the initial curiosity seekers. Right now the NFL gets maximum exposure and revenue via TV (and cherry-picking the best games to broadcast) without spending a penny there. Its been about 20 years without a team, and if it takes 20 years to do something it should be obvious that putting a team in Los Angeles is not a high priority of the league.

There is no upside to playing Jackson. Better to not play him at all. Worst case he leads the Bills to 2 wins and pushes us way down in the draft order for April. Then also plays himself into a free agent contract offer at the end of the season from somebody else willing to pay him more than the Bills. So we lose a 7th rounder, lose the guy in free agency, and ruin our chance for a better draft slot.

Vick might be too physically beat up to be an effective QB at this point from concussions and other injuries. And he's a 'coach killer' and a bigger turnover machine than Sanchez was this season. At least Vick going to the Jets would mean the Bills finishing no worse than 3rd next season.

I am not clear if the scheme is flawed but rather the game plan certainly is from what I've observed. Maybe I've missed some subtle nuances but it seems the Bills gameplan is the same week after week regardless of the opponent. It is so predictable that the opposing offense knows exactly what they will face play after play and has little trouble dealing with the situation because everything they face is so certain without the confusion factor that causes offenses to make mistakes in execution. A good DC will vary up his approach given the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing offenses they play against. This has got to improve by learning from mistakes or a new DC that understands how to gameplan and call a game. I can foresee the tandem of Brooks and Gilmore as the starting CB's coming out of training camp. Would like to see them retain Byrd and believe that G. Wilson has lost a step and taken some bad angles on several occasions. Those two drops against the Rams which might have saved the game did not help either. Look for a new starting strong safety next season. The starting LB group needs a complete overhaul. They are bad against the run and worse against the pass. Nobody, except maybe Barnett, can cover a TE or RB. So maybe three new starters at SS, 2 at LB, and a new DC would be in order here.

Eric said what every other player must be thinking. So kudos to him for telling the truth. As for the Toronto series, at this juncture in time what's the point of it all? The Bills get a disadvantage by surrendering a home game to what's no better than a neutral site, Toronto is not likely to get an NFL team as a result of this experiment. Rogers is paying way too much. That leaves the only obvious benefit of more coin in the pockets of Bills ownership.

A guy that had the fire for the game while coming back for a second stint and saw some success was coach Lou Saban. He resurrected OJ's career and made the Bills into a somewhat competitve force. Then he left again and we plunged back into the darkness of losing once again. I am too young to remember the exact circumstances of his second departure but I believe it was not a friendly parting of the ways. I am just guessing but I don't think Polian has the urge to return here for a second run under current ownership. Especially since the people he had issues with, specifically Littman, are still here and more entrenched than ever.

IMO, your comments are right on target and you've laid it out clearly and logically. This organization suffers from a perpetual dysfunction. If the NFL was a truely competive business the Bills would have been out of business years ago unable to 'sell' a defective and low quality product. Ownership has benfited to a high degree from the revenue sharing arrangement, success of other franchises in building the NFL brand, and taxpayer subsidies for the stadium and other services. The value of the Bills is more a function of belonging to the NFL monopoly vs. value inherent in the franchise itself. In simple terms, ownership has gotten wealthy by taking pretty much a free ride through the success of others. My only other additional comment would be that I've concluded many years ago that winning has never been a real priority of ownership. And the few era's of success the team experienced were more a result of dumb luck and random actions vs. any sort of plan to compete on the field. So its doubtful that Mr. Wilson, his heath in question, is going to 'see the light' at this point and do anything fundamentally different at this point in time. Reality may well be we're stuck with this infinite mediocrity until the time comes for a change at the top. A reality that I personnally find to be very depressing and hopeless taken from a fan's perspective.

The Bills are simply a dysfunctional organization and we as fans are stuck supporting this lousy product on the field each Sunday. The fact that most of us are still around is either testimoney of our unwavering devotion to our team or an indiction of our willingness to inflict pain on ourselves and our loved ones. Anyone that has ever tried to change or 're-engineer' a business culture knows that without support and commitment from the top it is impossible to pull off. And here its clear that ownership is not committed, nor has any desire, to any fundamental changes. To change winning needs to be established a a priority of the organization. Winning as its been said is not everything, its the only thing! But who among us really believes that winning is or ever will be a priority of this owner and organization? Sadly and more than that depressing, is the fact that we're stuck with this can't teach an old dog new tricks situation until ownership changes hands which comes with a lot of unknowns at this point. So expect more bad coaches, lousy front office, poor drafting, and losing on the field until that happens.

This seems like a 'good' time for Nix to step down and hand the job over the Whaley. He was brought in from the Pittsburgh organization a few years ago setting up the expectation that he was being groomed to take over the GM job in the future. Well the future is now. But going back and saying you could have picked this guy or that guy instead of the player they did is nothing more than a Monday morning QB routine. I could do that with my fantasy team too year after year! Its a nice exercise but it gets us nowhere closer to solving the problem. I think the problem with the Bills goes way beyond who they draft vs. who they didn't draft. IMO, the problem is one of systemic failure and an environment that perpetuates it. Simply, the Bills just 'feel' depressing and the organization sucks the life out of players and fans alike. At the end of the season, after watching week after week of bumbling and futility, I feel totally spent rather than looking at the season with the sense that it was all worth it and the team made some progress toward the ultimate goal of a championship. You've got to turn that around by starting at the top. How many times have we written or read that it all starts with ownership? For one thing, the front office and the coaching staff need to get younger (the owner is old, the GM is old, the coach is old). I've got nothing against 'old' people, we're all going to be one of them in the future hopefully, but the team lacks the energy and optimism that youth can bring. Promoting Whaley sounds like a good first step to me and letting him make the decision on coaches and pro and college personnel might finally get things going in the right direction.

I hope they re-sign Byrd too but you can't blame him for checking out his options in free agency. The first free agent contract is the last big deal that most players are likely to sign. From a player's perspective what do the Bills have to offer that would 'stand out' relative to what other teams might be able to offer? More money? Perhaps this will be, and is always, the deciding factor regardless of all the talk about intangibles and touchy-feely issues. If he stays that would be great but if he decides to take an offer somewhere else I would not hold it against him at all. Given the rudderless state of the Bills ship this century and lacking any clear vision on a positive direction why would you want to stay here? I'd have a heart to heart sit down with Nix/Whaley and give them an opportunity to 'sell me' on the program but it better be something other than keep on doing what we're doing until it works because that ain't never going to happen.

Some similarities for sure between past and present with a slightly different theme. Gailey is either stubborn, stupid, or incompetent when it comes to utilizing Spiller and designing an offensive scheme that can get the most out of his abilities. My guess is stubborn. What is most puzzling is by not using Spiller he is putting his position as HC in jeopardy given the overall record of the team during his tenure and the expectation that getting Spiller more ‘touches’ will lead to more points on the board for the offense. Why not give yourself the best chance to win? Like one of my old bosses used to say, as a manager you can only be successful if the people in your organization are successful. I always remember that and try to put it into practice. I think it applies to NFL Head Coaches too and Gailey is not putting his people in a position to be successful because of his unwillingness to alter his approach given the specific talents of the players to run the offense. Something that Saban was able to clearly see and do with OJ when he returned.

Possible changes to estate tax law could impact the timing of ownership's decision to sell the Bills. The current 35% tax rate might rise to 45% assuming it's part of the deal struck by the Adminstration and Congressional Republicans. This change would cost a $1 billion estate around $100 million in extra taxes. Is that enough to 'force' a sale via a capital gains route vs. the estate sale approach? Who can know for sure but it could introduce a new wrinkle in the ownership succession issue and produce a decision sooner than the current plan of waiting for a post mortem estate sale. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-11/buffett-joins-soros-in-effort-to-raise-taxes-on-estates.html

The OP's point appears to be an indictment of the coaching staff rather than any slight of Brooks' ability or effort. I liked the pick too and when the LSU HC was on during the broadcast when the Bills made the pick he also stated the Bills got a great player. I believe that given an entire offseason that Brooks, and Gilmore, will raise their level of play significantly above what we've witnessed this season. Given a year under their belt the DB group should become a strength of the defense. The coaching staff on the other hand appears to have no learning curve or chance of improvement. While I don't welcome another new coaching regime next season unless its a clear 'improvement' and move forward I am completely depressed at the hopeless prospect of dealing with another season of Gailey/Wanstadt next year. The only person left on Earth that can't see these guys are clueless is the one person needed to make the decision.

The book of work on Flynn is pretty light given how few games he's played. He parlayed a 'showcase' performance with the Packers into a free agent contract during the offseason but now finds himself on the bench in favor of a rookie 3rd round pick. I would prefer the Bills 'find' their own franchise QB through the draft rather than sift over the scraps that other teams throw out there. Getting a guy that everybody else would want vs. a guy that nobody else wants would be a nice change of pace. IMO, they need to go into the draft next April with the intent and purpose of resolving the lack of production from the QB position and make it a strength rather than a weakness and restraining factor for the team. We've seen enough of this recycled leftovers from other teams routine since the Kelly era ended to know it is not likely to solve the problem here. And this management team has not instilled a lot of confidence in their ability to evaluate pro-level free agent talent on a consistent basis when pursuing and signing free agents or making trades. For example - the T. Jackson trade, while only costing a 7th rounder, made absolutely no sense given the fact the guy has not seen the field at all this season. Probably could have picked him up on waivers or free agency for nothing after March 1st next year if they wanted him so bad while letting him sit on the Seahawks roster for the 2012 season vs. paying him to do nothing.

I am not clear that injuries on special teams plays, specifically kick offs, occur more frequently than other plays. From what I've observed you get most of the injuries with lineman in tight at the line of scrimmage, with runners getting cut low, and receivers being hit hard where a player on either side of the ball might be injured. I think they've done enough to take kick offs out of the game. Many games have no returns regardless of how much scoring there is during the game. My idea would be to put the ball on the 20 on kick offs that get downed in the end zone and on the 30 for kick offs that land past the end line. A ball bouncing out of the back or side of the end zone would be put on the 20.

Statistics are one thing but to judge whether or not a QB is hit 'legally' you've got to make observations by reviewing the plays and using judgment and understanding of the rules to determine if the correct call (or non-call was made). Simply saying a QB draws a roughing penalty x percentage of the time proves nothing about the integrity of the officiating.

The fallacy of anyone arguing the point of better 'teaching' is that teaching can help turn potential into performance but it cannot increase potential ability. For example, I could use a personnal trainer to increase my strength and conditioning but not to a point that exceeds my genetic potential. If a QB is inaccurate with the ball, outside of improving mechanics which was reported in the preseason with QB coach Lee, there is little coaching can do here. The solution is to find/draft a QB that throws with greater accuracy.

You can always look at options to upgrade the O-line but the Bills have one of the highest yards per carry averages in the NFL this season and the pass offense is hampered more by a wildly inaccurate Quarterback and the lack of a legitimate #2 receiver than any offensive line issues. Signing Levitre and getting Wood healthy are key also and adding some veteran depth at the right price would be a good move too.

True, a random coin toss has a 50/50 chance of being heads or tails but someone that has developed, through skill and practice, a high level of proficiency at coin tossing can probably make the coin come out either heads or tails as they desire most of the time. The impact of several fundamental business and football flaws is the reason why the Bills miss the playoffs vs. any random chance. Still you've got to be really good at being bad to pull off swinging and missing for 13 seasons.

Yes, that was a great play, running down the defender, stripping the ball, and then recovering the fumble. The type of play a 'good' team would have taken advantage of to take that game away from the opponent. I also appreciate SJ's refreshing honesty in speaking up about the 'situation'.