BillsVet

Thurman had an OL and diversified offense to work within. Buffalo has none of that.

Hit the nail on the head. Haven't we learned by now in Bills nation that drafting skill players has produced nothing? Chris Johnson is only good because he's got a real OL blocking for him. TEN's OL is far and away better than Buffalo's. Nix-Gailey are starting out like Levy-Jauron did. We know how the latter story ended.

Dick Jauron still drafting with Marv Levy? Skill players won't make this team a winner. Dick Levy taught us that, but Chan Nix thinks it will. Mindless.

Absolutely stupid

Zoltan Mesko will be in demand. Rumor has it Al Davis likes his leg-a lot. It's why no less than 5 OT's will go in the 1st. The starting caliber rookies aren't found in the 2nd and beyond.

Buffalo's franchise reputation is a few eyelashes above Oakland's. The reason for this and why they won't get Roethlisberger are the same: he's too costly. Assuming his big contract goes against the Bills plan of maximizing revenue and not committing to any more than they have to salary wise. Roethlisberger needs to grow up, but his talent is unmistakable on a team with a middling OL. Pittsburgh is overreacting and panicking right now, but I still wouldn't offer any more than a 2nd and perhaps a 5th.

And there it is. The dollar amount would have been far too much given his current contract. I wouldn't surrender anything more than a 2nd, but I can say it wasn't Doug Whaley that said no. Because of the money involved, this was a decision made by RW, Overdorf, and Littman.

Textbook response to a person calling a spade a spade. You hit all of the talking points from the Bills optimists: 1. Say Nix/Gailey are better qualified than us to make decisions. We have to trust them, like we did Levy, Jauron and Smithers. 2. Tell poster they're miserable, and shouldn't be. Besides, optimism is better because reality bites, man. 3. Talk about the future, draft, great free agency despite no "names." This being the second rebuild since 2006, why not? 4. Demonstrate addition by subtraction (DJ) People said the same thing about TD four years ago. The point is, the people picking the actual football GM and HC are still the same. Wilson, Smithers, Overdorf, et al still control who the face of the franchise is at GM and HC. Except this time when it dawned on them to hire an actual GM (of football I might add) they realized they had irreparably harmed their reputation. It's going to be a long road back, assuming the team remains beyond the lease running out after the 2012 season. Plenty of time to rebuild, even with a likely lockout.

More than ever, it's the event and less what the Bills for me now. It's pretty much a guarantee that the Bills will do something outlandish, perhaps trade up, only to take someone not loved. I mean, after all, only the Raiders or Raiders East would hire Chan freaking Gailey.

McClain is an ILB strictly, and Buffalo has three guys there in Posluszny, Mitchell, and Andra Davis. Taking another ILB at 9 is not decent draft value, even considering the player himself. If they can't find their OT, option 2 is trade down. Should that not work, I'd go with a pass-rushing OLB. The pass rush in Buffalo has been talked about, but rarely shows up. Taking a RB, WR, or QB is not going to work behind that OL and they may as well beef up their defense with some OLB's.

What's really amazing is that NBC sees fit to plop his rear end down in front of our sets every Sunday night. As far as I'm concerned, his credibility has his negative numbers.

Mankins is a LG and a Pro Bowl one at that. Staley is a solid LOT with San Francisco, who the 49ers picked up at the end of the first in 2008. Each OT does indeed have flaws, but that's why talent evaluators get paid. It's the college scouting folks decision to find the right guy for their team. Draft value being what it is, history shows you can find decent NT's later in the draft, but instant starters at OT aren't normally found out of the first.

In the fall of 2007, I saw Vernon Gholston beat up on Jake Long in the OSU-Michigan game. Two years later, Gholston is perhaps the biggest bust of the past 5 years and Long is closing in on being a top notch LOT. Heck, Bryant McKinnie was outstanding in college, but he's never been a Walter Jones or Orlando Pace type LOT. The point is, college production is nice, but this team needs to determine who'll succeed in the pros.

Buddy Nix is GM (of Football I might add) and Brandon is Chief Executive Officer, reporting directly to Ralph. Nix and Gailey may do their thing in the 1st, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them use a pick on a guy they can hype in the second. Either way, Mr. Smithers runs the entire football team. The figures don't come out for awhile, but it's not crazy to think ticket sales will suffer after what's transpired this off-season combined with bad to mediocre seasons for 10 years running. I don't think RW wants to hear season tickets sales are at 40k after being at 55k+ the past 2 seasons, even though there's a good reason fans aren't buying as many tickets.

The best part of this post is that you didn't resort to personal insults to make your point.

Like your thinking here H2o. There will be trades, and HOU needs to find a back, while PHI is short in the secondary (though they have the world's foremost DB expert). Buffalo hasn't traded down since 2001 when they dropped and picked up an extra 2nd, using their first on Nate Clements. If there's no clear man at 9, one would think PHI would be a natural partner provided Berry is available.

For me, it's hard to be a fan when the team you've supported for years can't tell you if they're is sticking around or not. We're all entitled to our opinions, but I can't get past the point that their future is cloudy at best. Discussing who the Bills may draft, current players, etcetera is nice, but the bigger picture is more prevalent than people care to admit. If they had good news, it would have been shared with their fan base who supports them beyond what most teams would receive. This is a tough division with teams who unquestionably devote more resources and have better reputations than Buffalo does. For this reason, the Bills must climb Mount Everest and not a lesser mountain to get out of the basement in the AFCE. Aside from Oakland, no team in the NFL has a more challenging road to respectability.

Marv Levy, Dick Jauron, and Mr. Smithers left this team in a tremendous hole. None of them were qualified to be in their former positions, and this roster demonstrates that. In talking about the on-field product, every Bills fans should recall what's happening off the field. When people talk about rebuilding, one might assume there will be enough time to do it. Not so with the Bills, who will need 3 full seasons for a complete rebuild, assuming they have the HC and they find the players. That's where my demand for success now comes from. No one can say what's going to happen after 2012, whereas there are probably 29 teams (excluding JAC and MIN) that are certain to be in their current market in 3 seasons. Rebuilding would be somewhat acceptable if it weren't for this situation Buffalo finds itself in.

Reading this thread, some fans gave the Bills another 3 years merely because they hired a new GM and HC. It wasn't who they hired, but simply that they hired someone different than DJ and replaced Mr. Smithers with a guy who had actually worked around NFL personnel departments. Perish the thought. The standard in Buffalo is low, and the front office keys on this. I mean, in most markets people would demand a winner and not a rebuilding after 10 years. The Bills know they don't need to win much next year, because some fans accept mere change as sufficient. The front office isn't that much different either. Sure, Guy is gone, but Modrak is still the principal draft guy, along with VP of Football Jim Overdorf who most don't realize makes more decisions than he gets credit (blame) for. The point is, just making changes isn't enough. They must be the right changes, and history shows there aren't many coaches who are out of the HC job for a decade and succeed. Neither are there many 70 year old first time GM's. This wasn't a house-cleaning like many of us wanted, but a matter of rearranging some chairs. And then there is the roster, which lacks an quality QB, is woefully thin at OT, lacks a true NT, has no proven pass rushing OLB's, and a #2 WR. That, and their backup RB will most likely be dealt for a late round pick. The coaching staff is extremely inexperienced, and the HC (despite having a heart attack a few years ago) believes he can handle the play-calling duties. I differ with many here when I say this is not an optimal situation.

Donahoe drafted busts, and Mike Williams was about as big as they come. But his track record in his first four years was better than Dick Levy Smithers who whiffed more often than not as well. TD 01-04: Clements, Schobel, McGahee, Kelsay, Crowell, McGee, Evans DLS 06-09: Whitner, McCargo, K. Williams, Lynch, Posluszny, Edwards, McKelvin, Hardy, Ellis, Maybin, Wood, Byrd, Levitre The 09 class needs time, but drafting good guards and safeties isn't hard. TD found a couple of decent starters at hard to find positions like DE, CB, and WR.

Tennessee has used some resources on OL -Michael Roos (2nd) was drafted and re-signed, Eugene Amano was re-signed, Mawae has been more than serviceable, David Stewart was 2nd team all-pro in 08, and Jake Scott is a decent guard. Buffalo has next to nothing at OT (Tennesee's strength) and their interior line has issues with Hangartner being subpar. No way Spiller comes on board and becomes a Johnson like player for Buffalo.

When previous GM's like Levy and Smithers took skill players, they were heralded for such wise picks. Now we see after a few years how much the lines were neglected. But I know there will be plenty here who will approve of another skill player from the Buddy Gailey regime if it in fact happens. I wouldn't rule out Dez Bryant either. Right now, all skill positions are a luxury, OL and DL are a necessity.

Playoff potential? What the h is that? Remember one inconvenient fact: that every GM (who selects a HC) has been picked by the owner. His track records stink frankly, but now we're told the new GM and HC are worlds better than their predecessors? Ralph makes bad football decisions. And now it's gotten so bad that most competent people who've been a GM or HC in the last 5 years won't even interview for their jobs. There's doom and gloom for you.

Nix has a way with words, as evidenced by his comments at the Gailey hiring PC. He talked about how even the Raiders get calls about their HC jobs. He seems more the blunt than the savvy type front office executive. They can't deny there are serious issues at OT and NT. And as much as they may not want to admit it, they'll probably take their 4th rated OT or be faced with a NT. Going with Spiller, or an OLB would be nice, but ignores their biggest roster issues.

I'm fine with subterfuge, but don't insult my intelligence by saying the job was wildly in demand. We all know it wasn't, and neither was the GM job for that matter. This time of year no one should be trusted as the league heads toward draft day. I get that, but Nix has laid out some whoppers.