Turbosrrgood

<- You really want to see this on our sidelines?

Man I was thinking the same thing, I loved Harbaugh as a coach. Fox would have been perfect for our team as well. Oh well that's hindsight, I'm actually OK with Gailey so long as we replace Edwards at DC...

Your points aren't unreasonable, but you seem to be ignoring the big "coincidences" that joined the 7 straight loses. First and foremost losing Fred Jackson, who was leading the league in rushing and total yards, and on MVP pace. Losing our best OL and center Eric Wood, our tight end (and a top TD catcher), pro bowl NT, 2nd receiver on an already weak receiving core, heck even our kicker (the list goes on). We all knew this team didn't have the depth to deal with injuries... Nix and Modrak should get most of the credit for drafting Spiller (Modrak was fired shortly after I believe). I think Gailey had been the HC for all of a few months at that point, and Nix not too much longer. Sure he had input, but the GM/owner have final say in who gets drafted. Besides Spiller wasn't nearly as bad as the Troup pick IMO, lol (Spiller had ~160 total yards and a few TD's last week). In defense of them though, I thought this past draft was downright great. Personally, I can't put the second half of this season solely on Gailey, or Fitz for that matter. The team disintegrated around them, and the defensive coach is downright awful...He certainly can absorb much of the blame. 32 points allowed avg over the last 9 games I believe.

Exactly. Besides, I don't see any scenario happening which doesn't involve Gailey as our HC next year. Hopefully we do upgrade the DC position, but I'm not expecting the Bills to pay for a top "name" candidate.

Aren't you the one that said something like "F the Bills, me and my family are no longer fans..."? Still here?

With the exception of Edwards, those guys would require pay checks FAR out of the "budget" of the Bills. But holy hell, why is Edwards on that list to begin with? He is an awful coach, and just an idiot overall... I'd love the other 4, but don't see it happening. Fisher seems the most feasible, which would suit me just fine. I am not sure who Brain Bilicek is (some hybrid mutant offspring of Brian Billick and Bill Belichick?), but I personally think Billick is way overrated. Lets be perfectly honest here though, there is about ZERO chance that anyone other than Gailey is coaching this team next year...I am fine with that too, this season is far from being all his fault. We do need an upgrade at DC badly though, that better happen.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 He isn't quite a much of a d-bag as his brother is, but I despise the Ryan's as a family... Besides, we don't have WARE. Exactly, he may have the best pass rusher in the NFL...And other than him the D has just been mediocre at best. Plus they have a knack for blowing it late in games...

I'd like to him as well. He is raw, but seems to have a lot of upside. Smith is obviously not NFL WR quality, so I hope they give other guys a chance. Hagan seems to have some potential as well.

Wow, you see many different types of people on this site, but not too many spineless cowards. Guys like you don't fit in with Bill's fans anyway... I understand it's been hard to watch Fitz lately, mainly because he is forcing things, trying to carry the team (he has to, no one else can). Just to put it in perspective a little... Orton (obviously in fewer games) has a completion percentage of 61, 8 TDs 7 INTs, and a QB rating of 80 Fitz's completion percentage is 62.3, he has 22 TD's (we are used to 10-15 by bills QB's and we have 2 games to go) 19 INT's, and a QB rating of 80.8 My point is, Orton is the same QB as Fitz at best. Dude, look at who Fitz has to throw to. SJ, that's it. They have NO #2 receiver, and Nelson is ok as a slot guy. They have NO deep threat. They have NO Fred Jackson, a new center with next to no experience. And now that chandler, and several of his backups are hurt, we have no TE's either. I don't think Fitz is a star, but he was awesome early in the season when this team was healthy(ish). I'm ok with drafting a franchise prospect, but not picking up another mediocre or washed up QB.

First off, I do like Orton, he is still far better than Tebow. BUT, he is no more of a franchise QB than Fitz is, so no I don't want him as a Bill. Guys, seriously, get over the Fitzpatrick of the last 8 games. I know losing sucks, but ignoring the fact that Fitz lost his best weapons (not that he had many to begin with), his center, and a defense that couldn't stop a pop warner team is just crazy. You saw how good Fitz was with a healthy team, he doesn't deserve the credit for the failure of this team. There are few if any other QB's that could succeed with the talent level left on this offense. Even though I do like him, a mediocre QB like Orton would fair no better. Besides, we just signed Fitz and it's not even in the realm of possibility that they pay for another QB. The only possible replacement for him would be through the draft.

3-4, hands down IMO. While KW and Kelsay are arguably more suited to 4-3, the rest of the front 7 fit better into the 3-4 system IMO. Despite my previous statement, KW has proven that he not only can play 3-4, but can play it in pro bowl fashion. Dareus is a big man, and a good one at that, perfectly suited to the 3-4. Merriman if healthy is a purely 3-4 OLB, and Barnett (currently our best LB) has played in a 3-4 his entire career. We also have Edwards, a pure 3-4 defensive end, and Carrington another big DE who can play DE in that scheme. As far as a 4-3 "not putting as much pressure on your corners", I think you are referring to Jauron's tampa 2 scheme. Sure you can stop the pass, at the cost of the run...we've been there. It all comes down to pass rush, regardless of scheme. So far the big hole on our defense is the lack of a pass rush. Other than a possibly washed up Merriman, we don't have anyone that can rush the passer in either scheme. The 3-4 gives you so many tools as a defense, our real problem is that we don't have a DC that knows how to use them...

Agree about Merriman. With his new salary the Bill's would never keep Fitz as a backup...But you don't cut a guy unless you have someone better to replace him with. Love em or hate em he's the best QB we've had in a while.

I agree with your first sentence. I'm just trying to figure out the rest of the post. Sure no genius was required on Nix's part to take Dareus, but why so negative on it? There were plenty of other plays in discussion at the time, Green, Fairly, Quinn, Gabbert, ect... He made the right choice. Did you not like this draft? Dareus, Williams, Sheppard, Searcy, Hairston, and Rogers notably? They all have played, and played well. Personally, I'm not going to complain about a draft like that after the past 15 years or so of awful drafting...

As bad as Fitz has been recently, he is still far better than any other QB we have had since Bledsoe's one good year for us. Fitz is by no means a star, but he looked like one when this team was healthy. Once the Bills lost all of their best players on offense his play went downhill (Jackson, Wood, Chandler, Jones, even SJ was injured)...What a shock! Like I say about all players that get targeted by a "just cut 'em!" band wagon, get someone BETTER first. If the Bills get a better QB that proves themself, sure maybe you can cut Fitz. But what is your plan? Cut Fitz and start Thigpen? Levi Brown?

That sounds familiar... maybin

I'm liking your thinking (except the Barkley part). I'd love Blackmon or RG3 if available, if not we need a monster OLB (we need one regardless). If healthy our D-line has the potential to be dominant. If we got the right OLB, our D could all of the sudden become explosive. The only other part of that equation would be to actually get a DC that has some sort of a clue...Edwards is awful.

Drew Brees size... Personally I like RG3. When a guy takes a small, mostly unsuccessful football school and all of the sudden turns them into a strong football team, you know he is good. He has all the tools, and has looked impressive even against top schools. You know this isn't due to the system, or strong recruiting, it is HIM. Somewhat the same situation for Luck. Stanford is not exactly a powerhouse school, but Luck has turned them into one. It's tougher to judge guys like Landry Jones, and Barkley that have historically good coaching and recruiting.

I wouldn't mind keeping Merriman, we simply have no one else even resembling a starter at that position. I have no desire to see Roscoe in a Bills uniform. There is no place for a 160# WR in the NFL...

People love this guy...due to his stats and the system he plays in. Personally I think he is the weakest of the top QB prospects this year. My favorites are Luck and RG3, I am not as sold on Jones and Barkley. I watched almost all of his games the last 2 years, he is productive no doubt. But only when the system is working perfectly, mostly against crappy teams. Any bit of pressure, or good coverage and he seems to get confused. Pocket awareness is not great, and I see him doing a lot of things that won't likely work in the NFL. I don't see him making decisions or being able to read complex NFL defenses. He has an accurate arm, but I am not sold on the rest. I don't hate him by any stretch, he could be good. I'd be happy taking a chance on him in the 2nd.

Please stop giving credit for Nix and Gailey for drafting Troup. Ok Nix certainly had some input in it, but don't forget these guys were hired shortly before that draft. For that draft the Bills relied on Modrak, who provided the Bills with a decade of awful drafting. He was fired shortly thereafter. Look what Nix and Gailey did this year. Dareus, Williams, Sheppard, Searcy, Hairston in the first 5 rounds, all started and looked pretty good doing it. Dareus and Williams look like they could be stars.

Sorry man, thoughts like this are a little ridiculous to me. Maybe this is true for a QB, but all other positions should be producing good results in their 2nd year. Hopefully contributing and showing promise as a rookie. 3 years is almost the entire rookie contract for some players, if they suck all 3 years they won't be resigned, and therefore would have been a wasted draft pick. IMO, 2 years is reasonable, but you want to see real progress as a rookie and have them break out their second year at worst. At least for high draft picks. Troup has shown NOTHING. Actually that is not true, he has shown that he is NOT an NFL caliber DT...

Hardy ended up being a bust, but so did all of the other hyped up WR's in that draft (Thomas, Kelly, Sweed,...). He was projected to go in the 1st, the Bills got him in the 2nd. At least they didn't reach for him. Troup had no business being drafted where he was drafted. He is absolutely awful, even before the injuries. He plays with no leverage, and is worse at fighting off blocks than Aaron Maybin. He doesn't seem to have a strong motor, and doesn't show ANY signs that he could improve. This guy is bad. Wait what? Knowing that Troup has been a complete and utter bust his first 2 years, you would still Draft him anyway? Over the NFL record setter for TD's in a season? Troup was a gigantic reach in the 2nd round, turned out he probably wouldn't have been worth a 7th rounder. Thank god you are not our GM... I will agree with you on Gronkowski though. He may or may not be great, but with Brady and their offensive system every tight end that goes through there is "great". If he goes to the Bills in that draft, he could very well be just another no name tight end... Still, I would gladly take him, or any other successful player over Troup.

The sacks are great and everything, but his play overall has been amazing. He is the only one on our front seven that can consistently blow up the line of scrimmage, and is the ONLY reason we aren't the worst run defense again. To top it off, he is double teamed on virtually every play... The top 5 draft picks this year all looked good, but I don't think the Bills could have done better than Dareus. He gets lost in Dareus's shadow (literally), but our 2nd pick (practically a first rounder) Aaron Williams is looking like the real deal as well. He strong in every aspect of the game, physical, ball skills, and good coverage instincts. He is everything we wanted McKelvin to be. And our 3rd pick Sheppard, while still having some struggles, is looking promising as well. This is the best draft, at least regarding early picks, that I can remember in a long time... Troup is awful, before during and after his injuries. He makes John McCargo look like a stud. Troup is clueless, plays with no leverage, and gets blocked into oblivion on every play. He's obviously injury prone to top it off. I know I'm being harsh on the guy, just calling it like I see it. Luckily we don't need him, KW and Dareus are studs, and Edwards, Carrington, and Heard are all far better than Troup. If healthy, our D-line could be very solid.

I think were are closing in on agreement about some things...I definitely agree that our secondary and DL is decent, if not strong when healthy. Very clearly OLB is by far our biggest concern. My point was and still is that complaining about Kelsay is pointless unless we have someone better to take his place, which we don't. I've posted more details on his contract, his base salary is 2M for this year and would be shocked if he has hit any incentives. Roster bonuses make up a good chunk of that contract, and there is a decent chance you will get your wish and he will be cut before he ever gets those. The Bills hate to pay money they don't need to... http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2010/9/30/1722305/chris-kelsay-contract-details-lb-gets-10-raise +1

I agree with most of your post, OLB is an obvious weak spot. I just think the rest of the D is ok, possibly good, when healthy. I would point to Houston as an example of how big of a difference coaching makes. Houston took what is essentially the same roster as their awful defenses of previous years, and have now become a pretty solid defense with Wade Phillips. Similarly how the Saints defense went from one of the worst, to very solid with Gregg Williams. The fact that they were former Bills HC's was a coincidence, I wasn't going for that...But our defenses were top 10(5 even?) when they were coaching here. Coaching makes all the difference in the world.