Red

Giselle won't let him lose any hair.

I admit, I don't watch college football...(hmmm, come to think of it...I guess that I have that in common with Tom Modrak). Anyways, I just looked at 2...count 'em: dos....videos of this guy on YouTube. I'd pass. His cheap shot antics will handicap whatever team he goes on, no matter the skill level. I just saw him spear a QB, in the back, well after the ball was thrown.

Man, just looking at this guy he's a walking steroid....

C'mon. Comments like this.... Dude, living down here in DC I get all things Redskins by default. Along with the Ravens (whom I can't stand), the news here is that he has never shown up since his ridiculous contract landed him here from Tennessee. Back before they signed him, there was talk around the league about "is this the real Haynesworth that we saw in his last year in TN?" With history as evidence, we now know that Haynesworth played his rather large rump off for the benjamins. For the pay day. He is hopefully the last player of name-stature that the well-meaning but misguided Dan Snyder will ever attempt to pay for. Maybe a few of those "let's get the big name head coach" Bills fans will learn something, too.... Thank you, WAYNE! Somebody gets it. I understand that the Redskins are out of the Buffalo market, but trust me...as a resident of the DC metro area...Haynesworth has never shown up for the Redskins. He's always got an "owie" or has a "boo boo" and can't play. Or he feels wronged. He is an example of everything wrong with free agency, and why Buddy Nix's strategy of NOT entertaining names and building through the draft is a much more sensible way to build a team. You just don't know what you're getting.

That, my friend, has me baffled. How we can consistently strike out on high value, high dollar, impact players at the Top 3 rounds and obtain success and find solid players in the later rounds or even as college free agents does not seem to make sense. Shouldn't the same scouts who find those undrafted rookies (Jabari Greer, Jason Peters, Moorman, Jackson) also find gold in the first picks? I mean, I understand that not every 1st rounder will be gold. Remember J.D. Williams? He was terrible. But the Bills were going to Super Bowls, so his pick did not hurt. Besides, we were striking home runs on most of our 1st rounders, that an occasional lapse like a J.D. Williams did not hurt. John Fina, Ruben Brown...wasn't Moulds a 1st round pick? Now, Fina was no Wolford, but he steadied the LT position for several years. Ruben Brown was a solid LG, arguably better than Ritcher. Moulds was an awesome player. So, I don't know what is going wrong with those 1st couple of rounds. Maybe the higher picks have too many hands in the cookie jar? As the later rounds progress the scouting actually takes over? I don't know. All I see, is that in any other position, in any other industry or team, Modrak would have been shown the door a long, long time ago. He should have been forced to vacate OBD (oh wait, he lives in Jacksonville and phones it in) when Donahoe left. Or at worst, when Guy was finally relieved of his duties. I don't know why our "regime change" stopped short of losing Modrak. As far as I can tell, the Director of Scouting has had as much a hand in the decade of ineptitude as anyone else that has already been fired or quit.

When did Scott Pioli bolt for KC again?

A bright future.

OK. I don't know why Modrak keep escaping unharmed. What, John Guy was not responsible for the quality of free agents we signed? C'mon! But, let's play your thinking out. So it's draft day, and the new coaching staff comes in and states that they want a "waterbug" RB. Or they want the best Defensive lineman available. Or safety. Or QB. The coaches and GM take everything into account: contracts, current roster status, available and soon to be available free agents. Another factor: rookies. A plan is compiled. We will keep players A, B, & C on our roster. We will trade with Team 1 for player D. But we will then need to draft a player for position __________ to fill the gaps. The team then refers to its scouting staff for advice on who to pick. The team decides the direction, BUT THE SCOUTING STAFF COMPILES THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE COLLEGE PLAYERS SO THAT THE POWERS THAT BE CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION. Sure, I don't doubt that Mauron wanted Maybin. Or Levy wanted Whitner. But somebody compiled the information and said that Maybin was a better player than Orakpo. That Mike Williams was the best Tackle available. That Losman was worthy of a #1 pick, and that McCargo was worth trading back into the 1st round for. Somebody is scouting these players and giving their stamp of approval to the decision-makers. This information passes right through the hands of one Tom Modrak. These players are all getting his stamp of approval, regardless of who makes the decision.

DUDE, stop defending Modrak. His title is DIRECTOR OF SCOUTING. What does a scout do, if not compile reports on players at the college level? As DIRECTOR of scouting, he should be completely aware of all players coming out of college that have been assembled by his scouting team. He should be reviewing and having final approval on ALL players the scouts compile in their travels. And when "DJ and Co.", or Mularkey, or Levy, or Williams/ Donahoe made choices, THEY HAD TO GET THEIR INFORMATION ON WHO TO DRAFT FROM THEIR SCOUTING STAFF!!!!!! What don't you get about that? The information on whom to select has to come from somewhere!!!! That someone is the DIRECTOR OF FREAKIN SCOUTING!!!! Not only that, but he's been the only consistent at OBD this decade besides Littman, Overdorf, and Wilson himself. I personally feel that Wilson is too old to be involved. That's why he has entrusted Littman, Overdorf, Modrak, and the current GM with running the "brain trust". Now, I really trust Nix. He also is only in his 2nd year with us. So, I know he's not the problem. How many drafts, how many wasted 1st round picks do you want to have, before Modrak is let go? Evans is not a #1 receiver. Lynch is gone. McCargo was a terrible reach who will be gone after this season. Ngata should have been drafted over Whitner. Maybin is a joke. Bledsoe and Losman are not only not on the team any longer- they're no longer in the league! McKelvin is proving to be a surprising let-down. With the exception of Wood and Spiller (incidentally, this is also when Nix started- imagine that!) we have had a decade....a DECADE of poor picks. The only person in charge of scouting for the past decade is Modrak. What don't you get? More craziness. There is no overruling. There is no power struggle. What don't you get? The people making the draft picks are basing those picks on the information compiled by the scouting staff. I.E.: Poor scouting= POOR FREAKIN' PLAYERS! It's not that hard of a concept.

I'll second that. I watched one play yesterday where Maybin came in. At first, I was amazed at the initial burst. But as Maybin had to round the corner to get the QB, the LT adjusted to the initial burst, and blew Maybin back a couple of yards away from the QB. Maybin acted like he was going to get his first sack, and the play was called back on a penalty. I mean, the guy is such a douche. He's going to need some 4+ years to develop into NFL talent. And at his salary, we just don't have the time. Who scouted him, again?

As a Bills fan, and after not having been in the playoffs in several years, I built a list of teams in my Top 10. Not teams that are statistically anything special, but a ranking of teams that I like. I've always liked the CA teams. San Fran being my #2 behind the Bills. Raiders mystique is way cool. I also seem to like the teams in the AFC West, Denver being one of them. It might take them a long time to recover from those trades. Cutler, Hillis, and Marshall. Man, you don't trade guys like that...you BUILD around them. Kinda reminds me of letting Fletcher, Pat Williams, and Antoine Winfield walk for peanuts....

My first thought was "Watch out Fred! Bell is coming to tackle you!" Certainly looks like a busted play.

ahhhhh.....man, you had me on the floor with that one...140#....highschoolers....in underarmour....AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...lat spread....AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... "Hey numnuts...drop the luggage" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA aaaaaahhhh.....

What, the Director of Scouting is actually supposed to scout the players we draft BEFORE we draft them and not just phone it in from Jacksonville? Before you sour (oops, too late) on the Spiller pick, you need to sit back and revisit this pick in 3 years. It's all part of the strategy. Kind of like when San Diego selected LT..... Ralph himself is on record stating that we need some excitement on offense. As things have turned out, hiring Gailey seems to be doing more for creating exciting offense this year than Spiller. Patience....

That's exactly my point! Those dynasties always had a replacement waiting in the wings when the veteran retired or left via free agency. The Patriots were an amazing bunch. They kept losing receivers and defensive backs, running backs, and offensive lineman and simply plugged in free agents and rookies where needed. They never lost a step. Eventually ofcourse, it will wear out (as the Patriots are now showing consistent signs of their demise). The Colts also had this going for a few years, only to have free agency and retirement begin to take their effects on the roster. And that is even WITH Bill Polian as GM. All that money in Manning has sacrificed the defense. Heck, even the Bills had it nice for a few years. Wolford leaves, no problem we've got Fina. Ritcher retires? We've got Ruben Brown. Kelso and Smith retire and leave, we've got Henry Jones and Kurt Schulz. That is the reason why the Bills have really sucked this past decade: they make 1 step forward, then take 2-3 steps back. Example: Using 2 first round draft picks in 3 years for QB's that failed (Bledsoe and Losman). Trading back into the first round for John McCargo. Selecting Maybin instead of Oher or Orakpo. Drafting Whitner over Ngata. Allowing Fletcher, Williams, and Winfield to walk without grooming their replacements. I'll say it again. With shrewd drafting and some free agent signings, this would be an incredible defense: Not letting Cameron Wake go to Miami. Drafting Ngata. Drafting Orakpo. Keeping Fletcher, Pat Williams, and Antoine Winfield. Who could run on us with Big Pat and Ngata in the middle with Kyle Williams filling in? Winfield on the edge, and Fletcher sideline to sideline. Cameron Wake, Schobel, and Orakpo rushing the passer? We'd be a different team. The thing that really stings to me, is that those guys WANTED to stay, and the moves are so slight and were all in the realm of the possible.

As far as the talent goes, do you think that somehow we don't need those positions? My point is that Gailey is doing quite a remarkable job given what he inherited from the inept Modrak and Jauron era. We are finishing games. Something that has not happened in 10 years. We have offensive firepower, are moving the chains and keeping drives alive, and scoring when we get into the red zone (something other than field goals). As far as the second paragraph: what is past is past. I could care less why those guys would not allow themselves to be considered. Bottom line is Gailey is doing the job. What difference does it make if any of those guys turned us down, if we are improving? You also forgot to add Holmgren (who was pretty vocal about NOT coming to Buffalo- he chose Cleveland. Go figure), Shanahan, Cowher, and Gruden. The issue is that the ghost of Bill Walsh could have turned down the Bills coaching position, but if Gailey is doing the job and getting us moving in the right direction, who cares why the other names did not want to come to the Bills? Everybody seems to forget that when Jim Kelly was drafted, he did not come, and instead opted to be the QB of the high-powered USFL Houston Gamblers. It was only when that folded that he decided to come to Buffalo. Cornelius Bennett also balked. As did Bruce Smith. Buffalo was a poor team. A perennial punching bag. Nobody wanted to come to Buffalo. But man, did winning change everything. Now Kelly wants to buy the Bills and keep them in WNY once Ralph sells. Kelly and Thurman live in WNY. Reed and Tasker and Talley are regulars. So much for not wanting to come to the Bills. And why are you so certain that any of those names will translate into excellent head coaches? I'm not saying that they won't, but I would think that all of those people that you mentioned are greater unknowns at the HC position than Gailey. You seem to be indicating with no evidence that he is somehow inferior to the "hot" commodities that you listed. I don't see it. As to your third argument, I agree that our scouting under Modrak has been horrible. See: Aaron Maybin. Nix has also publicly come out several times in the media stating that the Bills will not be big players in free agency, will develop through the draft, etc. So, yes...we won't be making the big name splash in free agency, either. But here you go with names again. Most times, a free agent is somebody else's problem. You don't know how that player is going to perform for you, you are relying on other teams tape, input, and philosophy. One only need refer back to Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, Darwin Walker, Robert Royal, and Larry Triplett to understand what I am talking about. Who's to say a name is going to deliver. Look at Albert Haynesworth. Time has proven that his last year in Tennessee was all about the benjamins. He was unbeatable when he wanted to be. Now with the Redskins he is dead weight. Names don't guarantee success. Gailey is doing an excellent job with what he has, and IMO none of the names you are so covetous of could do a better job than what Chan and crew are doing right now.

Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but I don't think he has the talent to stage a show when his contract is due ala Albert "Fat Al" Haynesworth.

I don't understand the bashing of Gailey whatsoever. Sure, Harbaugh was a gutsy QB when he played for the Colts, and seems to be doing a very respectable job at Stanford. He most likely would succeed at the NFL level. But Gailey has basically taken the roster he got from Jauron, and gotten more offensive production out of the usual suspects. The offensive line, with credit to the offensive PHILOSOPHY, is not giving up sacks and having our QB be a target for opposing pass rushers. I'm not talking about stats here, but we are converting our 3rd and longs. We're even converting on 4th down. We're tops in the league with scoring in the red zone. What's not to like? I'm intrigued to see what Gailey can do with more talent. Does anyone miss Lynch? Hardly? Reed? Chambers? Peters (don't answer that one- just testing to see if anyone is reading this)? Our receiving corp is finally being utilized. Parrish is finally being used right. We also will have Easley coming in next year (hopefully), with a year of study under his belt and a need to prove himself. Parrish, Johnson, Evans, Easley, and Nelson? 5-wide sounds awesome. Heck, we might even have found some new TE's from this week. REAL TE's. Not this garbage we've been fed since Riemersma left for Pittsburgh. Does anyone know why Shawn Nelson is not being used more at TE? Is he injured again, or is he just not getting it done? Anyways, wanting to get rid of Gailey really makes no sense at this point. What he is preaching is working. I don't understand your point. All of those other candidates are done. Over with. History. Everyone has moved on. All Gailey has done since coming in is turn the offense around, bring in a solid strength program and coaching ranks, and get this team on the right track. Remember those frustrating losses under Jauron/ Mularkey/ Williams, where you would scratch your head, unable to put your finger on it, but having to deal with how could they lose that game? "We have to learn how to win" was the oft-used quote by the players. But something intangible was missing. A sort of competitive swagger. A seriousness. An intensity. An attitude. The Bills from 01-09 did not have it. This team does. Taking the Ravens to OT? Chiefs? Steelers? These are supposed to be "superior" teams. Beating the Lions and Bengals? The Bills had been winless, remember. The first 5 games they looked terrible. They have come out of the bye playing inspired, competitive, and exciting football again. Who's going to pull the carpet out from under Chan when he has reignited the competitive juices of the Buffalo Bills again? No, Gailey is turning the ship around back to respectability, and in a relatively short period of time. It's the difference between someone who knows what they are doing and those that don't. Mularkey, Jauron, and Williams didn't have a clue. They're good coordinators. Not head coaches. Gailey's got it. Besides...winning cures all ills. If things continue like they are and we lose Modrak or Nix takes over the draft, we will become more talented. I can only imagine how much better we will be with a few more talented players at key positions (DE, OLB, ILB, LT, RT, TE). Then those guys who dissed the Bills can sit back and be jealous.

Can I get an A-MEN!? You know, C-Zone, you are absolutely right. Bell, just looking at his body build reminds me of Jason Peters. Similar size and athleticism. I really wish the Bills the best, and hope that 90% of their draft picks would be home-runs. Bell seems to have really turned it around, or is finally getting better. He did not come from a football background, and I think he only played 2 seasons or so at the collegiate level prior to being brought in by Buffalo. But I've watched him for the past 5 games now, and he has looked really solid on his feet, immune to any power rush, and mobile. Man, I hope he comes of age and helps solidify the position.

I don't agree at all. Bottom line, this is entertainment. And this is the most entertaining and exciting 2-14 or 3-13 that I have ever seen. All of this garbage about wins and losses is nice; but if you look at the world that way than only 1 team every year is worth anything. The other 31 are just worthless. So therefore, an undefeated regular season means nothing to you unless you win the Super Bowl that year. There is nothing entertaining about that approach, because so many things can happen during the course of a season, that the chances of even dominant teams making it are not so good anymore. Who in this NFL is really dominant? Nobody. With today's parity and free agency, 8-8 can get you into the playoffs. And once in, a team can go deep if things go right. There have been so many improvements in this Bills team this year that would rank as better. How many dumb, drive-killing penalties are we committing this year? Turnovers? How is our conversion rate on 3rd down? 4th down? Red zone scoring percentage? Nix said improvements would be slow. I am seeing amazing changes where it matters. I finally see a competent team wearing Bills uniforms. From top to bottom- well, I still think that Modrak has outplayed his usefulness, but I digress... This team, since coming out of the bye has my interest again. I'm excited about these guys. They have not given up. And they easily could be 5-5 right now or 6-5. The Ravens and Steelers were supposed to destroy them, 41-6 style. Didn't happen. Both teams were lucky to get out with a win. Did I mention, both games went to OT? They are improving, and much more fun to watch. As long as they continue to improve, I'm happy.

But that's not the point of the argument. We're not talking about wins and losses. The issue is purely statistical. If you have 2 morons quoting stats and making claims that runs contrary to what the stats actually state (as was posted so well by the original writer), they are abusing their position and proving themselves to be biased and incompetent. Moving from 32nd to middle of the pack is a tremendous improvement. Now, if it was simply looking at wins, then yes, any baffoon could look at our record and claim that we are worse than last years squad. The numbers don't lie. But if your argument is that the offense has not improved, and the stats show otherwise, then you are incompetent and should be relieved of your duties. Making things up should not count as "news", or discussion. Leave the gossip to the ladies on The View. Amen to that, Promo. Amen to that!!

I totally agree. The lack of even an offer for 'Big Pat' was ridiculous. And that was far from alot of money. Same thing with Antoine Winfield and London Fletcher. The loss of these 3 sent out defense backwards several years. How long have we been trying to replace these guys? Especially Pat Williams. That one really hurt. Kyle Williams- who is awesome- is finally emerging as an NFL stud, but how long did it take for that to occur? The thing that I notice about championship teams, is that they are obviously loaded with talented players. But what sets them apart is they also have competent future starters in the wings, waiting to take over once the starter retires, is injured, or goes somewhere else. The Patriots and Colts were excellent examples of this; though both franchises are now showing signs of being hit by too many losses these past few years that they can't possibly replace all of their players. The Bills of this past decade allowed our own draft picks that turned into productive, Pro Bowl players walk away over chump change. Donahoe was such an @$$. When Big Pat left, what did we replace him with? Is Poz as good as Fletcher? Now, arguably McGee and MCKelvin are good replacements at CB, but how many high 1st round picks have we spent on the secondary? It's not a fair argument. I mean, with smarter free agent decisions (keeping Fletcher, Williams, and Winfield), drafting better (Orakpo or Oher over Maybin, Ngata instead of Whitner, drafting Gronkowski), and some more aggressive free agent dealings (offering Cameron Wake more money than Miami to come to Buffalo) we would be an amazingly different team. What kind of pass rush would we have with Orakpo, Fletcher, Poz at LB, Cameron Wake, Ngata, Big Pat, Kyle Williams in relief duty, and Schobel? Winfield, McGee, McKelvin, Byrd in the secondary? You wouldn't be able to run or pass on a defense that good. And to top it all off, it would be a relatively young defense. We could concentrate our efforts on building the offensive line. Gronkowski may have answered those TE issues. Our receiving and RB corps is now solid. Fitz is performing well. Special teams would be solid. We'd only need a couple of high caliber offensive tackles, and we'd be amazing. Ah...why did Donahoe have to "spill the milk"? I'm still crying over it.

Oh, c'mon! Have you even seen the game against the Ravens? Bears? Chiefs? Lions? Bengals? Steelers? "Laydown Bowl"?!?!? Man, get off of the dope smoking, and wake up. Since the bye week, these Bills are much improved. They are finally entertaining to watch. They don't shoot themselves in the foot anymore with ill-timed penalties, turnovers, etc. Heck, last week we got to see Jonathan Scott screw over the Steelers with several penalties in 1 game. Good riddance to him! Now he's Pittsburgh's problem. These Bills could have easily laid down after the loss to Green Bay, or the one against the Jets. They were 0-5 going into the bye, with no evidence of anything to get excited about. But they have turned it around. They are in every game. They have become competitive again. The Ravens were supposed to clean the field with them. Didn't happen. So were the Steelers. We beat them in OT, had Johnson held onto that perfect pass. Laydown Bowl. Please....

Nice link, knucklehead. Can't access it...

Well, let's keep this in perspective. The Bills also spent a 2nd round pick on James Hardy, and we know how that turned out.