BigBuff423

One word: NO

I most likely missed it, but I don't understand why there isn't more discussion regarding Kyle Shanahan for HC...? Look at what he's done with that Redskins offense and he molded the offense to meet the demands and talents of his young QB, something the BILLS should be looking to do in the near future...and if he hired a good, respectable DC, that might be a really good fit. Cutting edge, young with good NFL genes and a good resume of his own, up and coming....something the BILLS haven't had in many years, if at all.....not the "solution", just a thought, and one I haven't seen bantered about much on this board.... Personally, I would love to see a Holmgren / Reid combo for this team, but that's a wet dream....

I give Nix and Ralph credit for making a hard push for an extremely talented man to come to Buffalo at their team's greatest area of need...it seemed to be a perfect fit and I was excited as anyone when Mario signed with Buffalo, and I'm still happy about the signing....the issue is Mario's approach to his lack of production and to a greater extent, and this is more the point, the coaching staff's use of his talent and experience....I completely disagree with your take on Fitz, as I loathed the extension hoping that Fitz was merely the stop-gap to a long-term solution at QB and that he could manage the game well enough for the BILLS to at least "make" the playoffs...now, I see even that low expectation was setting the standard's bar too high....as of now, this team has no identity, lacking in coaching leadership, little discipline, lack of heart, and has been mismanaged from the time the Off-season began last year (not due to Mario) as result of focusing on other areas AFTER Mario and Anderson were signed....after Mario, QB needed to be the one focal point on this team and it simply was not....It was not, because Chan loves Fitz and Nix has allowed Chan to make his call regarding the QB of Chan's choosing....at this point, Chan and his staff along with Fitz merely need to exit, tail between legs and only return to Buffalo as a fan or as an opponent....enough said

If Chan doesn't last, and Mike Holmgren would like to coach again, I'd like to see Buffalo interview both these gentlemen and would be perfectly fine with either as the next Head Coach...both have good resumes and both of built consistent winners...yes, Reid fell short of a Super Bowl, but how many of us fans would simply love to be in the discussion of relevant again...and with the Patriots seemingly to have hit their ceiling and returning back to the stratosphere of average, this division is ripe for the taking....talent is on this team, coaching insight and leadership - is not...

And the excuses keep coming....did Mario's wrist injury cover up for the terrible LBers? Or the continued blown coverage? Or Fitz's INTs?? No..? ok, then let's just chalk this up to an insignificant burp in the vomit-fest that has been the BILLS performance since Week 1....

My apologies, I cut and paste from Microsoft Word and didn't account for the change in font....and seriously, it's pathetic for a head coach to repeatedly make public statements about his confidence in a unit that is woefully under-performing....hard to believe Yes....and then THAT adopted kid turns out to have serious psychiatric problems and is damaged for life due to abuse or neglect and winds up betraying you only to inherit your entire estate....yup, that's the BILLS Thank you, a bit verbose, but I needed to vent....**big sigh**....next gulp of coffee and the day moves on....

I read the statement by Chan Gailey that says, “Everyone can do a little better.”, I read the statements made by the players blaming the players and NOT the coaches, and I read about how Fitzpatrick refers to this most recent loss as “This one stings.” These platitudes are sickening….I’m tired of hearing the same re-tread statements and while I applaud Chris Kelsay’s bravado for coming out and pointing fingers at the team for not playing hard on every single play, that’s not good enough….yes, it helps that there’s recognition that the most recent play has been horrendous. But when Chan defended Dave’s Defensive plan after the Patriots’ loss, it was maddening but when he defended Dave’s play calling and scheme after the 49ers loss it was sickening and now with mostly tacit acceptance of a miserable Defense, I find it - unacceptable. I have liked Chan, for the most part, and I’ve been willing to give him and Nix time to get it all together and to let this team rebuild the talent and implement new schemes, but this is simply – unacceptable. Furthermore, I find it disturbing that Nix has remained relatively quiet after this week’s poor showing, a game in all rights they “should” have won, not based upon score or even play on the field, but given the year in which this team is currently playing in as a part of their “re-build” and with the infusion of Defensive talent during the off-season, this should not have resulted in a loss. There needs to be a public statement made by Nix: Chan gets this team turned around, and quickly, or he will NOT be coaching in Buffalo next year. I really do like Nix overall, and I certainly think he’s done a good job in evaluating talent and I’m hopeful for Doug Whaley’s future with the BILLS as well and coming from the Steelers, that garners respect in my book. But I see Mike Holmgren talking about the itch to coach again and that after the season is over he may very well view the landscape of coaching and seriously considering returning to the NFL as a coach….THIS man, should at the very least be on the short list of candidates. And before we rail on Holmgren and Buffalo, realize one thing Holmgren has NOT been able to do, is put his stamp, to leave his personal mark, on an organization in disarray and leading them to a Super Bowl title. Yes, he’s had success but those didn’t come with taking an organization in an abyss of losing and relegated to a second-class citizenry of the NFL…Buffalo is just that these days and he could provide that leadership and insight to accomplish such a task…..IF Chan doesn’t get this ship corrected and quickly. But I’m sick of hearing the same promises, the same old lines….I want Nix to make the bold statement to everyone, mostly the fans, “We will make our only goal a Super Bowl title and if it starts with firing Chan and his staff, then so be it, but we are committed to making Buffalo a first class franchise.” And let us know, it won’t be status quo, we won’t have to accept losing year in and year out, and take the bull by the horns and make it clear, Buffalo deserves to be in the elite and the BILLS will do whatever is necessary to make that happen, regardless of our allegiance or loyalty to a single person….there is no such thing. Nix if you want to “see the baby”, then damn it, make sure you’re with a coach who can get you pregnant…otherwise, we’re all watching while you shoot blanks and know that the last miracle child minus sperm contribution, walked on water and then died too young….

Chan and Dave need to go....NOW!!!! And there needs to be a change at the QB position. TJax should be given the reigns for the rest of the season, no matter what!!! What's gonna happen....BILLS miss the playoffs?? Anyone really think they can make the playoffs with Fitz as the QB and the Defense as porous as they are??? You can't have a QB throw as many INTs as Fitz does AND have the D as terrible as it is and expect to win...you can do one or the other, but you can't do both and win in the NFL...Fitz is horrible and the Defense blows like an asthmatic hooker....

Nix needs to fire Chan and Dave....if he refuses, then HE needs to go...that simple. You can't put the entire roster on accountability watch and then dismiss the same level of accountability for your coaches. The game-planning on both sides of the ball has been terrible, altough much worse for the Defense, the QB sucks with Chan saying "He's our guy" and then turn your head and stick it in the sand.....demand change or change will come for you.

I'm not saying the BILLS should bring Polian back but there were some other truly good / great players such as, Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday, Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders, Brandon Stokely, Gary Brackett, Anthony Gonzalez (prior to injuries), Eggerin James (spelling?), and....this may be key, the man assembled a WINNING Super Bowl team and yes Manning was THE lynchpin in that season, and all other winning seasons, but it takes a good to great overall team to win a Super Bowl WITH talent at various places...and not for nothing, but how "easy" is it to Draft a true legendary QB?? Yes, they had the overall 1st pick, and yes they "should" have Drafted Peyton as a no-brainer, but we've seen a number of GMs fumble that pick before, so is it really a given that any team with an overall 1st pick should land a future Hall of Famer?? No, give the man the credit he is due...is he perfect?? Far from it, but is he an incredible evaluator of talent in general?? I'd say Yes given his resume....argue with it all you'd like, but you can argue with the guys he's either Drafted or brought in via Free Agency that have produced good careers....

I just bought a house and we moved in on Friday, and had DirectTv installed yesterday....love it!! And, of course being a new customer I got NFL Sunday Ticket for free....so far, their customer service has been great, the tech hook up guy was really nice and professional and sincerely accomodating, and as for price, compared to Time Warner is pheonmenal!! And while I am certainly biased against Time Warner and therefore happy to boot them to the curb and glad to give my hard earned money to their competitor, it seems as though you may be in the minority when it comes to the complaint for customer service. Someone else mentioned the unsightly dish on their house and that's certainly a personal preference but for one particular reason (international programming options) I have both Dish Network and DirectTv on my house....yeah, it'd be nice not to have it, but the way it's positioned, you can't really see it from the street, just the side yard facing no one....so for me, no complaints about the aesthetics....as for quality of signal, watching in HD and since I just bought an LED - this was important, is seriously high quality....thus far....so, I'm new and we'll see over the test of time, but I can't friggen wait to watch the BILLS at home on this network!! Psyched!! But to the OP, happy hunting and good luck...all of us BILLS fans are comrades in misery until they change the culture so anyone willing to stick it out for any reason gets my respect for that alone!

I understand your desire to see results before you lavish praise on Nix and Co. and I understand your long-term frustration with how this team has continuously under-achieved for more than a decade. But, I don't know that anyone I've read has given Nix a total pass yet or said that this team is ready to contend for a Super Bowl. Maybe they are...most likely not yet. But what many on this board and BILLS fans everywhere have done this off-season is seen a new approach to FA and another apparent strong Draft. Is the Draft still "on paper", well of course!! But does that diminish the seeming improvement this team has made?? There are other teams who believe they've done a great job of setting themselves up for good talent for the future and they're happy about it.....why not the BILLS? Why not the fans?? Because they're ineptitude for so long has jaded us against being optimistic and against hoping for great things. But what I believe we have seen is a transition in philosophy and more important in execution of said philosophy. Nix, Gailey, and Co. need to "show us the baby", no dispute or debate there whatsoever....but enjoying what the BILLS have done this FA period and how they addressed their needs and depth requirements in the Draft is not giving anyone a pass or assuming the BILLS are ready for football's greatest stage. What it truly IS, a recognition that the BILLS have most likely turned a corner. You're right in that only time will tell, but I can say this: this off-season has been more enjoyable to watch unfold because the BILLS have been active in addressing their most glaring needs and building depth in areas anyone who's watched them for more than 5 minutes could see was necessary. For the record, I do believe the BILLS are ready to be a playoff contender and at least be jockeying for a Wild Card spot come the last week or two of the season and that my pessimistic cohort IS a big step in the right direction. The NEXT step will be a legitimate threat to be the AFC representative in the Super Bowl. If you want Rome built in a day, play the SIMS game...if you want to be realistic about the process, just keep watching and take some encouragement from what we've seen thus far. Yes, you can b*tch and moan about how it's been so long already, but short of Drafting Superman, considering where this team was, it is just going to take time. Frustrating, I know...but patience at this point is all you have. And it's easier to be patient when you see the BILLS making the changes they've made over the last couple of seasons, i.e. FO personnel moves, and what they've done this FA and the last two Drafts. Take away from it what you will, but in the end, you can either whine and complain or take heart that true change has occurred and we wait to see if those changes pay off.

The statistics only validate exactly what I believed. Florence had moments when his INTs preserved his job, but overall he was just terrible in pass coverage. I for one, have no concern about this cut, and while I wish him the best moving forward, I truly believe the BILLS are better in the long-run for letting him go. It may be difficult to watch for a year or so given the new pressure created on the young secondary, but in the end, this will be a better Defense for it.

All I can say is: about time. Wish him the best as a person, but man was he horrible in coverage. Thank God Nix and Chan are going to give their young guys an opportunity to make a difference. There's going to be growing pains and some frustrating moments watching the young guys play but it's a necessary step for getting a much better secondary in the long-run.

Well done Sir....^^^ As for me, I just find suicide for a relatively young man to be truly unfortunate and sad. I realize he made the choice, but therin lies the sadness, he "chose" such an end that was utlimately unnecessary. I understand someone taking their own life when they've been given a hopeless prognosis due to a terminal illness or the pieces of sh*t that rape children and want to hang themselves in prison, by all means feel free and take your liberty....but for so many others that have much to live for and just don't realize it, I find it sad. Tragic may not be the word due to it being their "choice" but full grief for sure. I sincerely hope Junior's family can find some solace and strength during this horrible time for them.

Well, for one an Offense should be built on balance in as many phases as possible. So having all guys who are 6'3" and good possession type of guys is not what you should be aiming for and all DeSean Jackson look alikes are not what you're looking for either. You want a couple guys who, in Nix's words, "are open even when they're not open" and you want a couple guys who can leave a lightning streak down the field. As for why not Evans in lieu of Graham, age as mentioned before is part of it, but also as another poster stated, Graham can and has gone across the middle in the slot. I think the BILLS realized Evans didn't buy-in to the program and overall change and his unwillingness to go across the middle adversely affected his value. Graham may go straight down the seam or sidelines, or he might curl underneath, or he might do a double fake skinny post....either way, he poses a threat in both the middle of the field and on the outside, deep and underneath....that's the truest difference between the two. Also, as mentioned on ESPN when the BILLS drafted him, Graham offers a special teams return and Parrish is no longer here, so I think Gailey saw what Parrish could do in the Offense when he was healthy and wants another guy to supplant him. BTW, I have no ill feeling toward Evans, I think he did what the coaches asked of him up to Gailey and by that time, his NFL persona was deeply entrenched and too late to make major changes, also he was a good guy in the locker room and not causing problems and just showed up and played. So, I wish him well, just not in Buffalo.

I understand your frustration, I truly do...I think we are all sick of waiting for the BILLS to become a dominant team and certainly tired of waiting for the BILLS to be a team "feared" when the schedule comes out. So, in general I get it....and I'm not going to "rip" you for your frustration and disagreement with how the Draft was handled, to each his own and everyone's opinion is valid. However, I would like to point out that most of the really good teams, including the ones you mentioned, generally build through the Draft and do that by taking guys for depth in the mid to late rounds and sometimes, like the BILLS, stumble upon a great player and/or solid starter. Green Bay is an example of a team who flies under the radar every year during the Draft when not many Draft "experts" give them resounding praise, yet each year it's their Draft picks who make great plays and many times, not always by any stretch, these guys have spent some time learning the system and being either secondary or tierary players. Even the hallowed Rogers spent a season or two behind Favre and they drafted Rodgers knowing he wasn't going to be a starter from Day One. By the same logica you use, Rogers should not have been drafted because he wouldn't have been a Day One starter and they should have waited until Favre retired. There are a number of other players, too many to mention, that have followed a similar path into NFL stardom or at least being considered a valued asset to their team. Brady was initially intended to be backing up Bledsoe for a couple seasons, Mallet is doing that very thing now and he was drafted by the "they can't get it wront" Patsies....but again, you can look all over the NFL and the teams such as Philly Draft players in the mid (3rd) to late rounds for continual depth and knowing at any point that particular guy could start and therefore become your "starter". I'm not dismissing your point, I do understand you were hoping to get a couple to three guys who would be starters for Opening Day 2012, but I suppose I'm doing my best to mitigate your frustration by reminding you the BILLS did NOT get in this predicament over night and they are not going to get out of it overnight either and yes, I know it's been a decade. But to be honest, for me I'd rather it take a full three years to build a team that will compete for ten years then to grab guys who can play right now but in a couple years be on the other side of "re-building" mode again and then go through another playoff drought...and depth and talent in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string players - mostly due to inevitable injuries - is how you do it....just IMO....although, stay strong, look closely at what's happening and reserve judgment for this time next year.

One word: YUP!!!!!!^^

I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if there's a guy in the 1st or 2nd Round the BILLS draft for their future QB position. If Fitz sh*ts the bed next year, then he would probably be a Day One starter, and if he does well or "good enough" to make the playoffs then that aforementioned talented QB could sit for a year to glean not only information but experience and football perspective in the NFL....but, I for one am very glad to see how this Draft unfolded for the most part and am excited to see exactly how all the pieces fit together in the years to come...

You don't like Glenn, meh - ok, I disagree but hey, to each his own... A "nobody wide receiver", why? Because you never "heard" of him?? And before the Draft had you heard of Welker, or Stevie J, or Marques Colston, or....yeah, the list goes on. And what about Mike Williams the WR, you heard of him, how'd he turn out? Or Carl Rogers? Or Malcom Kelly? and the list goes on there as well....my point being, who gives a sh*t whether you "heard" of him or not, the BILLS FO believes the kid fills a need and one thing most "experts" agree on is that the kid has great speed and is most likely the prototypical slot receiver....and let's not forget the depth of the WR position in this Draft, Nix has said he wanted to add 2 more, maybe another, bigger WR in the 5th? Just let it play out, but the whole "I haven't heard of him" BS is exactly that....it smells like exactly that. And "glaring need" at QB....??????? Really????? I mean...REALLY????? I agree the BILLS should add a guy somewhere in the Draft, but "glaring need" is stretching it...another LB, most likely in the 4th, I agree with, but QB as a "glaring need" makes it sound like we had the head nun of Little Sisters of the Poor tossing the pigskin, come' on man....let's settle down just a bit

Perspective: it's a wonderful thing to have and a necessity when attmepting to be objective...in this case it just sounds like you're whining about not getting the guys you wanted. I have my questions, but willing to reserve some judgment about them until after at a MINIMUM this season is half over and then we can at least speculate as to their value toward the team. I admit, I do love the Gilmore and Glenn picks and scratching my head over the Graham pick, not b/c of some arbitrary assinged value by all the "experts" but b/c he doesn't seem to fit the model Nix and Co. say they're looking for....but in the end, only time will tell. And as of right now, I'm willing to wait to see who we get on the final day before I'm about to burn Nix in effigy. We have a roster with some very good players picked in the later rounds, Kyle W and Stevie J just to mention two...let's calm down and give it today before we start throwing chairs off the Titanic....

Generally speaking....TRUE!

If Glenn is still there, I would think he would be the best value and also versatile...moving to Tackle for the BILLS but able to play Guard already if needed...would love to see that happen, but....yeah, not sure it's truly possible....

I had a feeling Gilmore would be Nix's pick if he was still there, just because Nix talked about needing CBs and having good CBs deep on the roster...I think Nix also believed Gilmore was a good fit for where they were slotted at 10....I don't love it, I don't hate it....I understand the value of such a pick, and the fact that so many Draftniks liked Gilmore and had him so highly rated makes me also feel a little less like we just missed the prom by waiting for our ugly date to pack on more make-up, I didn't want Floyd either though or Martin at that spot either. I was hoping Kalil would slide and if not to trade back if at all possible, which based on all the other trades happening in front of the BILLS' pick doesn't look like it was going to happen. So, you take the BPA at your spot which just so happens to be a position where between head-case McKelvin, often injured McGee, and Florence's inability to cover his guy, Gilmore is a logical pick....and I would expect another in the 4th round, most likely after OT and WR are addressed, but not necessarily in that order....IF Nix were to be able to Draft Martin, Gleen, or Adams in the 2nd Round, that would seem to demand their attention, but not necessarily.....will be fun next two days to see how this continues to unfold.

Thanks....that was my intent, not to just fire away at what the Draft may or may not bring, but to put in perspective how important THIS particular Draft is to the BILLS and to the Front Office. Allowing the previous years to lead up to THIS Draft and understand its signficance, at least IMO... I agree with your statement, "There are no more excuses", and that is the underlying premise of my post. That today and this weekend is the time when we see what Nix and Co. are truly about and what all their preparation has really done for them, and therefore the BILLS...although we won't really know until the season starts, I think most of us will have a good idea as to what this organization is doing for itself and the fanbase. That's why I started this post to discuss what people's opinions are and will be leading up to, during, and after the Draft as to how they believe Nix has done in hindsight with THIS Draft as the back-drop....