KeisterHollow

I almost posted this in another thread - the recent one about Nix claiming Fitz and Chan are safe - but, I decided it was a little too off topic. Nix has stated multiple times that he is determined to set up a foundation that will allow the Bills to be successful year after year, as opposed to just trying to throw together a "Philly Dream Team". Now, I'm in my thirties, so I try to think about things from the perspective of a 70 year old when I'm reading between Nix's lines. He might see three losing seasons as the neccessary steps towards building a solid foundation - and, he might see keeping Fitz around until he's assembled all the right parts to then insert a young QB to be successful. Anyway, I was watching the NY Giants vs Redskins last night, and I kept thinking about the state of the Skins last year, and the state of the Bills. The skins didn't really have a lot of talent. Now look at them - if they had a healthy team, they might very well be in the playoff picture. They're on the rise. I look at Buffalo, and this foundation that is already in year 3, and I see guys like Andy Levitre, Jairus Byrd, McKelvin - perhaps the most coveted FA's of their respected positions, G, S, and Special Teams, that we have to try to keep. My belabored point here is this - it seems to me in the NFL you are always working with windows of time - 4 or 5 years, maybe - before you have to really bring in new talent and let go of some aging talent. Now, there are cornerstone players a team can build around for 10 years - LT's, QB's, WR's, LB's, DE's. After 3 years we are still without a truly good leader at ILB, without a viable QB, and that necessary WR opposite Stevie - not to mention an explosive TE (Chandler is good, but he's no burner). So, at what point does building a foundation become more of a stagnation - a stuck in the mire, pointless enterprise? I say Nix has to find a QB this coming year, or at the very least totally solidify the rest of the team, so that we can go all in on a QB the following year. Otherwise we're just treading water, and that whole foundation idea becomes mute. In last nights game - Redskins vs Giants - Jon Gruden kept going over the pistol offense, and how good the Redskins running game was, etc. The Bills have a superior O-line, superior RB's, and equivalent WR's, IMO. You don't let that talent stagnate because you're too stubborn to get a QB who can win when it counts. In summation, the idea of a "foundation" is only valid if you're committed to aquiring the right talent at the right time - because if you're passive, and wait for a QB to come to you - in our case - the window on the other key players who are part of the foundation narrows. Does anyone agree, here? A foundation in today's NFL should be put together in 3 to 4 years, before you start having to replace key players.

I've been imagining what a new DC might do if he were to come to Buffalo. How could we better use our personnel? Obviously we need to draft a good LB or two, or maybe bring in a FA, but our front 4 looks good, and Nigel Bradham looks like he'll be a good LB in the years to come, and Bennett is serviceable. If we were to put Brooks and Gilmore out there as our 2 starting CB's, leave McKelvin or Rogers as Nickle, move A. Williams to safety, along with Byrd, we might have a very tough, dynamic secondary there. I like Brooks, and I think with his speed, and the blossoming of our front 4 pass rush, with a few improvements in the LB'er corps we could finally see a top 10 defense.

From an objective vantage (I know, impossible for people to actually be totally objective) I would say it needs to start at the top. That is an unfortunate opinion for we Bills fans, since when Ralph passes away the team might actually move. Yet, the fact that there is such uncertainty in ownership and team location, makes it just about impossible to attract any quality personnel men or coaches. The only way we could improve in coaching, for instance, is to bring in a young guy who is probably not as high on other team's radars. However, I get the impression Ralph has surrounded himself with a small circle of decision makers who are uncomfortable, or incapable, of knowing how to hire, let alone find, such a coach. Until we have new ownership, we can look to coaching - and, as I mentioned, the only choice there is probably low profile guys - maybe NFL assistants or college H.C.'s. I'm beginning to believe Nix, Wanny, and Chan will be back next year. So, if that is so, we'll need to bring in a promising young QB who can make ALL the throws, who has potential, and who can seriously challenge for a starting role. We need to imporve LB's, and get another star WR. If we can keep our F.A.'s, get a young, decent QB, another good WR, and maybe a LB or two, we should be able to compete for at least a wild card spot.

I really agree with a good amount of what you said. Ralph has meddled, and the result is this. He's refused to allow good football men to run the show. And, I really believe Nix is a good football minded coach. The problem, I believe, he has is this: he can't really bring in any excellent well known coaches because who would sign on to a job that might be gone in a year? Or, for that matter, coaching for an owner who might override his decisions at any moment (which is a well known fact about Ralph in the NFL). Nix's only chance at bringing in real talent at the coaching level is by bringing in youth - young coaches unknown to most but who have IT. The only problem? Nix is probably too old and out of touch to know those young men. I explained it this way to my son this morning - the Bills lose when they should win, win when they should lose. They can't get much better until the team is sold, and when the team is sold they might be gone. It's a lose lose with the Bills. I, as many of us have, have lost the belief that this thing can turn around. I've been saying I won't watch anymore games after this year if they don't bring in a new QB. Still, they need a new DC, too. And, I happen to strongly believe they need a new HC, too. I just don't see it all coming together for them, and it will take big changes for me to begin to have any faith again.

That's an interesting question. Some things come to mind when I think about it. How does it effect a player who is coming here from a very successful football program in college, to end up playing for a team as inept as the Bills are, and have been? I mean, I read a quote the other day from, I believe, George Wilson, saying the Bills players talked and agreed, like two weeks ago, that their playoffs started then. Well, that seems to be a theme in this neck of the woods - playoffs in November. Sitting home in January. Many would say these men are professionals, they shouldn't need to be motivated. My response, however, is that when they were in college I would bet they were giving it their all. You can't give more than your all. So, either their level of commitment will remain high as a pro, or it will decline - but they aren't going to all of a sudden find 110 percent. For some guys it is all about self motivation - and Kyle Williams comes to mind - but, most athletes respond to their coach, their scheme, their teammates. I believe Dareus will be very good for a long time, and I don't underestimate the value of DT's. I do, though, think he would be playing better still if he were in an organization like San Fran, or Seattle, or Pittsburgh. We've had some really good talent come through Buffalo and leave to shine elsewhere. This idea of who would have been better is less interesting to me than contemplating who we could bring in, coaching-wise, to maximize what we do have, before it, too, is gone. I don't know about the rest of you out there in Bills Nation, but I have to see a new DC next year, no matter what we look like from here out, and I hope it ends up being someone fresh, innovative, and able to maximize these players strengths.