Red

What was that thing?

I am a tad disappointed. For all of this ego that these 'Big Name' coaches tout, and parade around how they want say on personnel, etc...they sure do act like a cowardly lot when a real job like building a team from the bottom up becomes available. I would think that they would look at it like a challenge. Man, I love Parcells...

Just a thought: Maybe the Bills were taking the high road and allowing the coaches to have some sort of dignity when speaking with the press or when looking for future employment. I wasn't there, and neither was Glazer. They all certainly deserved it. I, too, am wondering what is taking Buddy so long to get rid of John Guy and Modrak.

I don't know. With a name like 'Joe the 6 pack' condoning rest is probably an oxymoron. It all depends on the type of training you are speaking of. Diet, anabolic drug use, etc all can impact the recovery time. I'm not sure what you are referencing as the 'public being sold on overtraining'. Can you be more specific? On a side note, I am indeed hoping that Allaire was included in the 'relieving of duties' that happened today. We need a clean sweep, and though I am not with you on your overtraining idea, it is clear that the sheer volume of injuries suffered within the past 3 seasons and the number of players on IR truly points to the training staff. As Buddy said, having someone get drafted it takes about 8 games for them to become sophomores. The players should be getting better, and growing into their positions, not constantly getting hurt. It's exciting. I think Guy needs to be next.

and air is...dry....

Doubt it. On the worst pre game show in the NFL (the CBS version), Cowher was asked point blank by James Brown (the sole bright spot) about the rumors swirling about potential teams. Sharpe held up a sign 'Not true'. Cowher held firm to his original stance that he gave the Bills of wanting to wait until the end of the season. I hope he does come to Buffalo. I just don't believe the hype at this point.

Not really. Gilbride has gone on to have success with the Giants. Martz has managed to get canned in his last 2 stops. As an offensive coordinator. As far as running the team into the ground, after Vermeil left, the Rams began to fall apart. And Martz certainly did not do anything to help improve the status of the team under his watch. He road the coattails of Vermeil. That, I get.

Martz inherited a team from Vermeil. Vermeil helped build the greatest show on turf, not Martz. As if often the case with sub-par coaches, they take an excellent product and eventually run it into the ground. The Rams also deteriorated under Martz's watch, and he was eventually chased out of St. Louis. As a coordinator in San Fran, he was also chased out of 'Frisco. He is known to be extremely arrogant, and does not mix well with alot of personalities. He was responsible for chasing both Bobby April and London Fletcher out of St. Louis, as well. Those 2 moves proved to be solid for the Bills, but I would not want that guy within 50 miles of OBD. Next....

Yes, you are mistaken. Modrak worked in Pittsburgh with Cowher, not Nix. And if Cowher is insistent on having final say, then I would move on. I'm not so sure why alot of people on this board are down on Nix. The guy only helped co-orchestrate the current Chargers roster. Oh, and that roster is actually IN the playoffs this year, and has a 1st round bye.

Thats a great point. Ultimately, they are available for a reason. Shanahan was running Denver into the Red with his turnstile roster. Gruden was fired for losing his team with his fiery tirades and inability to settle on a QB. Cowhers act may have grown stale in Pittsburgh. Now that we have a GM that gets it, I'm content to sit back and no longer need that big name coach.

Question: and is Billick really known as a teacher? Anyone know if that is part of his reputation? He strikes me as to arrogant to be patient enough to teach. He seems like the kind of incompetent instructor who briefs you on nuclear fusion once and expects you to know it cold after that single meeting.

No, he's been more productive than Maybin.

Meh. I like the look of the old jerseys and such, but would get tired of the standing Buffalo logo on the helmet if that was all we had. I like the current helmet logo better than the standing red buffalo.

Right on! I'm waiting on the white throwbacks to become permanent road jerseys (Now THERE is a hockey jersey I can see forking over some dough for).

Take is easy, hombre. As Nix indicated in his press conference, he plans to have meetings ONCE THE SEASON IS DONE with both Modrak and Guy. Rumors have swirled that he is somewhat pleased with the last 2 drafts (whereby Modrak had greater say), and that Modrak could possibly be retained but that he is most displeased with the horrible track record of John Guy and Guy will be saying goodbye sooner rather than later. And I am ok with that. I believe in Nix. We need someone better at mining the league for serviceable free agents, not the garbage Guy has been bringing in for the past decade.

I'd love to see: 1.) Cowher 2.) Marty 3.) Billick (if I have to) None of the others has experience (young Schotts, Rivera, Grimm).

Yeah, the younger Schotty has not proven much. Granted, you do have a rookie QB. The Jets have a pretty solid O-line. How are the Jets in the running game rankings?

Hey Rico, were practically neighbors, man. Yeah, I don't really care for his ego which can be associated with arrogance. He reminds me of Mike Martz in his ability to think he is greater than those around him. If there were 2 hires I would not be interested in, it would be Billick and Martz. Billick did write an interesting book though. It is called More Than A Game, and has some interesting anecdotes on today's NFL. I don't know. I guess that I'd be happier with Billick than with Martz.

Usually there is a shared degree of responsibility. Oftentimes, teams want a Chris Brown-type of reporting, and most often reporters allowed in the locker room are quick to comply. Atleast, as long as they still want to be ALLOWED into the locker room. Print something controversial or not with the party-line, and things could get ugly. Like banned ugly. This could stem from leaking stories that were meant to be private conversation and "not fit to print", publicly criticizing the team, and revealing sources that wished to remain anonymous. It could also come from just plain being retarded (which I think Schopp and the Bulldog are) and the Bills deciding that they can survive without giving those 2 hacks respect. I personally feel it is the latter.

I'm still not sold on Tebow. I agree with the halftime assessment made by Jimmy Johnson. I do like his fiery demeanor, and like his swagger. What I do not like is the type of offense Florida runs and how it is not suited well to the Pro game. Tebow has nice touch on some of those short to intermediate passes, but his ball looks weak and wobbly when throwing over 30 yards. And as Johnson stated, his wind-up from such a low position will need to be corrected if he even hopes of staying alive on an NFL field. There are questions of whether or not he can handle the transition coming from the offense he does and with the mechanics that he has. It will be interesting to see what we do. One things for sure: I sure am sick and tired of striking out on QB's....

Yes! I could not agree more with the approach. Letting guys that developed in Buffalo like Pat Williams and Antoine Winfield walk away was stupid. All those guys have gone on to do is have stellar careers with the Vikings. Fletcher too. He is still kickin' butt in DC. Clements was going to cost way too much, and as he has proven is overpaid. I think that the Bills have truly lacked a teaching staff from its coaching ranks. I liked it when the Bills had Sam Wyche as their QB coach. I don't know why Jauron did not believe in the idea of having a QB tutor to groom your young QB's. It's also exciting to hear that the concerns about the injuries and perhaps the role the strength coach plays in all of it is of concern. Ultimately, I don't need the TO free agent signing, or any Vick garbage. Build through the draft, and reinforce those draft picks with solid, scrappy veterans like a London Fletcher or a Drayton Florence. I've got to say, I'm excited again!

I actually don't see a transition being that difficult- particularly at LB. Mitchell can play one of the inside positions, Poz can be moved outside like he played at Penn State, and Maybin can be moved to the other OLB position. We just need 1 more LB to man the middle with Mitchell. The D Line is where trouble starts. Drafting Whitner instead of Ngata certainly applies in this case, as we could use a stout lane clogging NT if we do indeed switch to a 3-4. Nose Tackles are hard to come by these days too, as voiced recently by Belicheat. Our secondary appears to be set no matter what defense we use, as years of focus by Jauron seems to have left atleast 1 position in good standing.

Absolutely. There was a post here yesterday that he liked Modrak and thought that the last 2 Bills drafts were particularly strong (why he waited 9 years to have 2 good drafts I am not sure), but that he did not like the free agents brought in and thus John Guy will most likely be gone. I am ok with that. I have probably been one of the biggest proponents of losing Modrak and Guy, as I saw them as the key builders of our mediocrity. But now that we have a real football guy with experience building winning teams (Buffalo and San Diego), then I feel confident that the right decision will be made regarding both Modrak's and Guy's futures. Personally, I'd give Modrak 1 more season to prove himself, but I'd kick Guy out of town with a steel-toed boot.

I want to see how Cincy's Tony Pike fares in the Bowl game vs Tebow.

Thanks for the link. With the Nix hire, I am onboard and optimistic about this being our decade. Not to be too nostalgic, but I loved the comment by Jimbo that the former players are passionate about wanting to see the Bills be a winner again. It's too bad we have to age. I'd love to say "to he!!" with finding a new QB. I'd love to resurrect Kelly, Smith, Tasker, Thomas, Conlan, Reed, Hull, Wolford, Bennett, Beebe, Lofton, Davis and the rest of those guys to go out and smash up the league today. Larry Felser wrote an article sometime in the middle of the Bills Super Bowl runs. It spoke of how lucky, we the fans of the Bills are in having such a team as the Bills. He wrote that the collection of players, coaches, front office personnel and scouts are a once in a lifetime thing. The team was so good, we would never see the likes of them ever again. I loved reading Felser's articles during those Super Bowl years. And looking at this past decade, he was right. But starting with this new decade, now....here's to hoping he was WRONG! GO BILLS!