BillsVet

Two wins is a sign of turning around? I though this was about the baby, not the labor pains?

Where did I mention the GM or who that happens to be, or insinuated that he's an idiot? This issue goes straight to the highest level and what their priority is. Perhaps we should revisit the SD rebuild earlier this decade that homers credit to Nix. They signed free agents, drafted possibly 2 HOFers with their fist two picks, and it still took them 4 off seasons and 3 regular seasons to be a good team. And that was a team that had Butler, AJ Smith, and Buddy. Guess what, it's not easy filling a roster with enough talent to win. Some teams do it, some perennially can't. UFA isn't the basis for rebuilding, it's a means if augmenting and accelerating the process. No one in sports speaks their mind all the time this side of Ozzie Guillen. I certainly didn't expect Buddy to come out and say he'd been denied multiple times to interview HC candidates in January. But that's not the point here. Buddy does not run this franchise, he's the GM. He works within a budget set up by the top people in the franchise, to include the treasurer, COO, and RW himself. And, he was hired into an organization low on the credibility meter the result of hiring people like Marv and Mr. Smithers-Brandon as GM. That'll get you noticed negatively in the league I guarantee you. Do I trust Buddy to speak the truth? Heck no and that's fine. No GM ever reveals everything, which is the way it should be. Then again, this is a guy who said they got 35 calls a day for the HC vacancy and continued by saying they weren't that far away. So whom do you trust, the guy who says the franchise may not be committed to winning, or a guy who said their phones were jammed while many respected assistants were saying no to even interviewing. It goes both ways. Subterfuge happens and is accepted, but blatant exaggeration in the face of overwhelming evidence shouldn't. It insults fans' intelligence.

This is not a pro or anti Gailey argument. A HC does not operate in a vacuum, but exists as a part of a bigger entity. Gailey can't sign UFA's nor has all the power in the draft room. Gailey merely coaches what he's given with some input but not final say on personnel. This is a bigger problem than you seem to comprehend. Building a roster is an organizational endeavor and if the front office is unwilling to commit the resources to sign quality free agents and draft the best players, HC's aren't going to your team. Plain and simple. No self-respecting coach wants to work in an environment where he has anything less than full support from the front office and a budget to back it up. Unless he can't find a job elsewhere. If you don't openly wonder why people declined Buffalo's request to interview for their HC position, your hand is stuck in the sand. This is about giving the HC the resources to succeed or not. And if the Bills elect to pass on signing quality free agents, it tells me they're not committed to winning as quickly as possible. And I'm not talking about paying for head-cases like Haynesworth or signing mega deals like Peppers. Some quality free agents can be had for less, and the HC would absolutely want someone who can help now as opposed to a bunch of street free agents or unproven (but hyped) rookies. You can't teach experience, and HC's know this.

The more I see of Demaurice Smith and his trial lawyer tactics the less impressed I am. The players cant absorb what the owners can. These negotiations arent going to be Tagliabue and Upshaw friendly.

You list 6 positions featuring at least 7 players the team needs more talent at to be successful. That's almost a third of the starting roster, including 2 of the 3 most difficult to find: LT and 2x OLB. Finding players like this takes a couple years and isn't a slam dunk with Buffalo's recent draft history. Then again, Buffalo's mastered the ability to perpetually rebuild while creating hype to make it appear progress is actually happening. The point isn't Gailey being hired. The point is why Russ Grimm, Ron Rivera, Leslie Frazier, Brian Schottenheimer, and Jim Harbaugh declined an interview or pulled their name from consideration before Gailey's hiring. Five name candidates turning the job down tells me that a lot of people know the organization isn't going to do its utmost to help a HC win. It cannot be assumed this franchise will expedite the rebuilding process via free agency either. And if not, why? The fans have been waiting 11 seasons for a playoff team and Gailey himself can't do it (that's win) without help from the front office.

The issue isn't whether fans should give Chan a chance. It's whether or not the front office gives Chan a chance to succeed. This point is why so many candidates avoided Buffalo like the plague this past off-season. A HC wants to work in a place he'll have a reasonable opportunity to succeed. In Chan's case, he was hired because he was willing to take the job, whereas Ron Rivera, Jim Harbaugh, Brian Schottenheimer, Leslie Frazier, and Russ Grimm weren't for unknown reasons. It's very likely that respected coaching candidates know something's amiss in Buffalo and have reacted accordingly.

Better for insurance to pay them than the team. This is a business after all people.

What comes around goes around. More money for the Tom Condon's, Ben Dogra's, Eugene Parker's, et al of the NFL agent world. That article will have a lasting effect on the sports agent world for some time to come.

Agent Gary Wichard was suspended for 9 months by the NFLPA for contacting non draft eligible players through intermediaries. Agent suspended per PFT Wichard also represents Dwight Freeney, Terrell Suggs, Chris Cooley, and Jason Taylor among others.

If they're not active in free agency, it tells the story. Teams can spend efficiently in UFA, but eschewing it completely is no longer an option for this franchise.

"I'll have a couple of eggs, over easy. And some sausage, is that link or patty?" "Cheesburga?" I frankly don't care about offensive rankings or defensive rankings, although it provides a window into how the team is doing. W-L record is all that matters. Bill Parcells said you are what you're record says you are. To quote the esteemed southern gentleman Buddy Nix, "Show me the baby."

Most of the Bucs' offensive talent at the skill positions was acquired in 2009-10. Winslow came via trade, but TB is proof you can rebuild after one bottoming out season. Anyone who says rebuilding takes more than that has a bad front office or simply isn't interested in ever being a playoff team looking to win the big one. Raheem Morris hasn't won a whole lot yet considering he's a 2nd year HC, but rebuilds don't begin until a team has their franchise QB. And both the Bucs and Rams probably have their guys, both of whom can make all the throws.

And yet DJ and PF won four games 11 games into the season. This year's team has 2 wins against 2 of the NFL's worst teams. The only thing that matters is W-L record, and while they're offensively improved, the defense is among the NFL's worst.

How does a team with a 2-9 record establish a winning culture? Don't you have to win some games first before moving from a losing culture to a new one? The reality is, winning happens when you've got more talent than the opponent and they're coached well. Even lesser talented teams can win with solid coaching and a "culture" is overrated. Heck, look at Tampa Bay and Saint Louis? Both teams have been bad for a long time, but now that they've added more talent, they're winning. Both HC's seem to be doing yeoman's work. Emotions, playing hard, and feeling good aren't important when you don't win. Gailey knows that and the team know that. It's guys like Kyle Williams who admit that moral victories don't count. How some fans don't know this is beyond me. Win games and things change. Losing, even by a handful of points, is worthless.

You can never go wrong when you follow the money trail. Yeah, they came to a quick decision on this matter. This seems to indicate the NCAA knows there are widespread violations, but too numerous for them to control.

It's guys like Rucker and Chase Coffman who put up huge numbers at TE's at Missouri that just dont' translate into the NFL. Worth a look, but it's more proof that college numbers typically aren't indicative of success in the NFL. The spread offenses skew a lot.

Andrew Luck still has 45 days before he decides on entering the draft, but if he does he's the top QB available. And if I have the top pick, I'm not worried about whether he's better than Fitzpatrick now-he's going to be better and this is a rebuilding team after all. I'd argue that a rebuild doesn't begin until a team gets their franchise guy, which Fitz is not. (Sorry to go there in this thread) Bill Polian didn't keep Harbaugh when Peyton Manning was available. But yeah, if Luck isn't available, then defensive front 7 is the way to go. That is, unless RW needs AJ Green that bad.

This team doesn't have a need at WR. And even if they did, there are more important positions to upgrade, like say pass rushing OLB, perhaps a ILB, RT, and a better all-around TE that. A good QB makes his receivers better and you don't always need names at WR. Granted, the position is one where guys coming from college need time to acclimate, but I think Buffalo's OK at WR.

My avatar is a WWII poster. I think you can figure out what the connotation is there, but if not I'll read between the lines for you: victory was the only option back then. And while I'll readily admit this isn't life or death like war, the goal remains to win as frequently as possible. Trying hard in the NFL isn't enough nor even a replacement for losing.

Being an unabashed homer who swoons every time someone delivers a feel-good sound bite must get old, doesn't it? Unfortunately for you and the other homers, this team comes up short when it counts most and some people actually prefer real wins to the moral ones you homers crave. The nerve of results oriented people. They suck.

The Bills have been a few players short for about 6 years now. Most teams have a few stars, surrounded by blue collar types and fill the bottom 20% of the roster with low round picks and UDFA's. Buffalo doesn't have a star and is playing a lot of low round picks and street free agents. If they can win with that, fine. But to get elite talent you either A) overpay for it in UFA or B) draft really well, particularly at the top. The Bills aren't players in UFA and haven't proven they're experts on draft day either.

A smart Super Bowl winning HC once said: "You are what your record says you are." They are a 2-9 team with wins against two other 2-9 clubs. Admittedly they've played a tough schedule, but they haven't had a signature win in more than 2 seasons, particularly late in the season. They may not be a boring DJ team anymore, but they're not winning any more games than when Jauron was standing still on the sidelines.

And as bad as it is losing every year in every conceivable way, we Bills fans have to contend with selling a home game each year and the possibility this team won't exist after RW passes. There is no more dedicated fan base that is forced to deal with more on and off field failures.

It's God's fault now? Boy oh boy.

We need to resurrect the thread that lists each miserable loss this team and its fan base has endured going back to the late nineties. This one surely goes down among some of the all time kick in the groin losses.