BillsVet

As much as I'd like to decry the recent players Buffalo has re-signed or are now interested in, we've got to wait until after the first week of UFA. If at that point they've failed to address some of their distinct needs then the torches and pitchforks can come out. Washington is a straight ST'er. He's 30 in August and according to ESPN: The biggest knock on him is his inconsistent play. He doesn't have great hands and is considered as an unreliable receiver who never progressed with his route running and understanding of coverages. He is not a physical player for his size and hasn't played well through injures. I don't think he's the big WR threat to take attention away from Evans. He'll merit a look at ST if signed. That seems to be the only thing this team does right over the past few years.

The NFL is a copycat league, as evidenced by how teams are now using the tag. Using it on kickers and a second time on other players is becoming the norm as teams are averse to inking several larger contracts or letting players walk out the door without compensation. With NFL careers able to be ended or reduced in an instant (either off or on the field), giving large contracts with guaranteed money is a huge gamble. When NC left, it was anti-climactic because the Bills tagged NC without ever intending to sign him long term. That to me is the worst personnel move made during the past three seasons. Allowing him to leave without compensation was what a front office behind the curve does. Franchising players without an intention to re-sign or trade them is non-sensical.

Getting a first round pick is almost necessary. But finding starting grade players in later rounds is imperative for small market teams. SD has been doing that for a few years and always finds guys in the mid rounds. Since TD took over, there haven't been a great deal of middle round (3rd-5th) guys who are good NFL starters. TD had Jennings, McGee, Crowell to show for from 5 drafts. Levy/Jauron/Brandon show Edwards, K. Williams, and Butler. I won't grade the 08 picks yet, but that's not good enough. SD doesn't usually have huge holes to fill in the draft and free agency. I'm sure Nix' work was a big reason why.

When was the last time Buffalo ever had a coordinator up for a potential HC job? Or the last time a position coach became a coordinator? I can't recall one. The story on DJ is the people he hires. He's been through 2 DC's and 4 OC's through 8 seasons of being a NFL HC. None of them are or ever will be considered great legacies in NFL circles. Buffalo certainly needs upgrades at C, TE, DE, and OLB, but with that schedule last year finishing 7-9 is like going 5-11 against a tough schedule.

Hiring Nix was a good move for the front office. They lacked talent evaluators and he adds a wealth of experience in that area. I'm a big critic of the front office, but there's no way anyone can complain about hiring someone with a solid track record. IMO, this move, along with involving Modrak in personnel decisions is a demonstration that DJ's decisions were poor ones. Hiring Nix is also somewhat of a compromise to not having a real GM. Sure, Brandon is the "COO" but he has no power as evidenced by DJ's retention. All in all, Nix is better than not having him.

Not this year. Even optimistic fans have been down that road before. Before 07, this team spent money on Walker and Dockery while adding Lynch and Posluszny. The result was another 7-9 season. Before 08, they made the big move (for Buffalo) in acquiring Stroud and signing Mitchell. The took a top CB and tall WR. The result was another 7-9. IMO, it's going to take a whole lot in UFA for the fan base to get excited. When all the smoke clears, DJ is still the coach of the team. It'll be hard for the marketing folks to overcome that one little fact.

Thing is, this team went 7-9 in 07 with a young team and injuries. Fast forward to 08, and with ultimately the league's second easiest scheduled only managed to duplicate their previous season's final record. 2009 already looks like an uphill challenge. ATL, NO, CAR, TB, HOU, IND, JAC, and TEN. Then NE, MIA, and NYJ 2x. About the only games I'm somewhat confident are CLE and KC. It's a long ways off, but they won't have a simple schedule in 09. I like Trent, but he needs to stand and deliver. Well, maybe not the stand part (hopefully he learned from the Wilson hit) but start making plays. And the Bills need to find players who make plays, not hard workers who are physically limited.

I recall the signings of Dockery and Walker two years ago and thinking that Buffalo was working toward being a playoff team again. The previous off-season saw the likes of Fowler, Royal, Reyes, Tripplett, and others who couldn't cut it. I was wrong. Looking back, throwing money around in UFA isn't the right way to do things. Unless of course a front office knows what it's doing. That year, I believe NE signed Adalius Thomas and traded for both Wes Welker and Randy Moss. I hate the Pats, but their front office is top notch. I've haven't had the feeling Buffalo's front office has been cutting edge in a long time. I will expect the worse and hope for the best until they prove they're capable. Hiring Levy, retaining the same crew from TD's era, making Brandon COO with no power has worn me down. I'll root for the team as well, but my expectations aren't very high.

It's simple to believe in conspiracy theories. They appeal to lower educated people and explain all the problems in the world when rational thought isn't exciting enough. Conspiracy theorists disregard anything which does not support their their opinion as too simple. Indeed, Lynch is innocent until proven guilty. But early reports suggest something illegal was happening. Of course, conspiracy theorists believe the police randomly selected a vehicle because minorities were in the vehicle. Then again, the vehicle had incorrect plates on it, was running, and isolated. That is suspicious in my book. Go ahead and marginalize the use of marijuana. It is still illegal to use. But the fact that a fan favorite was at least with people who possessed a loaded and unlicensed firearm is too much for some to bear. The natural defense mechanism of conspiracy theorists is to marginalize, criticize, and demonize. So far, this board has done a fine job of that.

I'm sorry, it took 15 minutes for the conspiracy theorists to show up on a thread from a respected ESPN personality.

Conspiracy theorists attack in 3 2 1... Thanks Tim for your research into this story.

Something tells me winning games might be bad if this is the person we need a cut-out of. Should we invest in voodoo dolls right now considering how the last few months have gone?

Tim Graham has hit the nail on the head again with this article. He makes a fine point about how the Bills deal with events surrouding the team. Peters' holdout, DJ's contract extension, Lynch's latest brush were all handled poorly. "Wilson never has been more out of favor. His preference to operate without a traditional general manager has frustrated the fan base, but not nearly as much as his decision to sell home games to a Toronto promoter." Attack him for being critical, but nothing what he says is less than the truth.

Boldin isn't coming here, regardless of how upset the fans are. Right now he's a fine WR that might be the most physical in the league. But his attitude in not getting a new contract multiple years before his current one ends sounds very familiar to another player I know. Any GM worth their salt (and this franchise doesn't have one) knows by now that making the splashy move during the off-season rarely translates into more wins during the regular season. Besides, no one seemed concerned with the fans when DJ was retained. If his firing resulted in a pay-out of 10M to fire him and his coaches, what makes anyone think the team would give away picks and give a guy a new contract with 15-20M guaranteed? Boldin will be 29 next season, and while he's got plenty of mileage left, I'm not sure he's the answer to making this team better. Having a solid front 7 and an OL which holds up are priorities, not satisfying the masses. They'll be happy if this team makes the playoffs with or without Boldin. EDIT: We know Russ Brandon has not power after the DJ non-firing. He's taking orders from Ralph and Littman when the day is over.

I don't think DJ had any choice for OC. At the time, he was in the final year of his contract and coming off a second 7-9 season. It was assumed (wrongly by many of us, including myself) that DJ needed to make the playoffs in 08 to retain his job. IIRC, there weren't any others considered for the OC job when Fairchild walked out the door. The Jenkins signing is merely the retention of a hard working ST type player. He'll never be a huge contributor on offense, but fits with what they're looking for.

Can't wait for someone to say the Jenkins signing is good on ST and people shouldn't mock the Bills for doing this. Last year, some fans were worried about ST sinking because guys like Haggan, Stamer, and Aiken left via UFA. A year later, the Bills are still the top ranked ST unit in the league. Signing Jenkins is nice for continuity (there I said it) but Bobby April is the one person you can't lose. Everyone else on the kick coverage units are replaceable.

The key is how McGee fits into this defense. He's not asked to be a shut-down 7 INT per season CB. Buffalo predominantly plays the C2 and CB's are responsible for their zone as well as being good against the run. McGee was banged up a little last year, but when the pass rush can't pressure the QB, the DB's are going to be hung out to dry. As an example, people are raving about Maualuga and his ability to play the run. Unfortunately, his cover skills aren't consistent with playing MLB in a C2. Greer entered the league at about 170 lbs. He's now listed at about 180, and durability will be an issue for him because he's maxed out his frame. I like his caliber of play, but if I had to choose, I'd take McGee.

Plenty of posters fit nicely into that category, particularly lately. Offeseasonitis or something. I think it's funny these armchair GM's just expect that putting McGee out there is an automatic trade waiting to happen. What they don't realize is if someone is available for trade, there must be a reason. I could see McGee re-signed before or during the 09 season. McGee fits the C2 better than Greer. The latter seems more suited to a man to man scheme.

Bogdan is listed as a VP and assistant director of college scouting on the Bills webpage. Aside from being the owner's daughter, I'm not sure she qualifies for anything more than being a family member. There's plenty of nepotism to go around in the NFL. But normally those family members are not in personnel positions which should be earned by working up from the scouting ranks. Perhaps the only exception is Chris Polian in Indianapolis who has not been allowed to speak with other teams about executive positions. It angers me that 16 years ago, Linda Bogdan had a hand in BP's firing. Regardless of whether Trader Bill was crude, it remains one of the darkest moments in team history. BP may not be the nicest guy, but his teams win while the Bills have been stuck in neutral since the last of his picks left in the late 90s.

Something must be in the water. Because there's no way McGee's not the best CB on this team right now. He may not lead the league in INT's or return kicks anymore, but he's a solid corner. Go ahead and refer to the game at Miami where an injured McGee had issues covering Ted Ginn. That wasn't his fault, it was the .430 career winning percentage of a HC who didn't have the courage to play his top pick. McGee will never be an All-Pro, but he's dependable. Considering the money, he's a good value as a CB. I recall McGee struggling to learn the C2 back in 06 and the game against Detroit instantly comes to mind. But in those two years since, he hasn't been victimized in coverage, and is above average playing the run. BTW, I love that term "trade bait." You can't expect to fetch any more than a 4th round pick in a trade, which means McGee is worth more than what you'll get in exchange for him.

Buffalo needs a lot of things right now. Mack is the popular pick because he's received a lot of attention, especially with excellent play at the Senior Bowl. Of all the years to add a good center, this may be the best one in a while. In UFA there's Brown, Birk, and Saturday. All three will command a large contract which makes me think Buffalo will look to the draft. The front runners there are of course Mack, but also Eric Wood, Max Unger, and A.Q. Shipley. Unger seems best suited to a dedicated zone blocking scheme, but I think Mack fits best for the Bills in the long run. I believe Buffalo looks to the draft for a center because they've got so much money wrapped up in the OL. They've thrown money at their problems and it doesn't work. I would hope by now they've learned their lesson.

I'm sure deep down Brett Favre still thinks he can play. Many of these professional athletes are competitors, and have a hard time facing the realty that they're not capable of playing at a high level. Garcia, Brad Johnson, Favre, and others stick around for too long. And they look even worse the longer they try to play.

I'd definitely agree there is a serious need at center. Yes, those big NT's are frequently handled by two blockers. The 3-4 looks for a pass rush from the OLB's. A front line is there to tie up blockers as you've pointed out. Hence, the larger DL in a 3-4.

Beg to differ here. A good center can hold his own against big interior defensive lineman. Guys like Saturday, Birk, Mangold, Olin Kreutz, J. Brown, and others hold up very well no matter which alignment they face. There's no hiding a bad center. The reason Buffalo ran well late in the season can be directly attributed to defenses saturating the secondary with defenders. And it wasn't like those defenses were any good. Unless you count Cleveland, KC, Denver, San Fran, and Miami. I'll admit, Buffalo ran well against NYJ, but it was clear the Jets weren't the team which beat Tennessee earlier in the season. Besides, the quickest way to the QB is through the middle of the line. It's one of the reasons the Bills were apprehensive about running the PA and having the QB turn his back to the LOS.

Your head was permanently lodged in your fourth point of contact for about four months leading up to draft day 08.