And yet you still miss the point, maybe because you supported Whaley's strategy of collecting players as opposed to building a team. Each of those players, other than Shady has not lived up to the contract, and the holes you cite can be replaced by middle of the road players. It's not like Beane & McDermott tossed Kelly, Thurman, Reed & Smith in their primes.
Bills did not get appreciably worse by getting rid of Watkins, Darby, & Ragland, and getting rid of Dareus had to happen prior to the deadline because he wouldn't bring any assets in return if they held onto him through this season.