Bob Mathews D&C Column today

[Huuuge Bills]

What did we do to get worse? We had the same holes at LT and QB last year, didn't we? If we can avoid the injuries from last year, why would we be worse?

 

Better coaching staff, better players on defense, better at the RB position. Why in the world would we regress?

[DanInUticaTampa]

Better coaching staff, better players on defense, better at the RB position. Why in the world would we regress?

 

Because all the pundits say so.

[first_and_ten]

Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB

 

We addressed neither until rd. 5!

 

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Look at what the Rams did for cryin out loud....they have a defensive minded coach who must have had to contain himself not to take one of the two blue chip DT's.......he still did the right thing and went QB/LT.

 

We were in position to get both 1+2 and still get a damn good NT in 3...quality and depth beyond that.

 

I cannot believe how many satisfied kool aid drinkers there are the day after the draft ended and were heralding a 5th rounder and a 7th rounder as answers to our top 2 needs.

The rebuild is off to a great start because they didn't reach for a franchise QB that wasn't there. The rebuild is off to a great start because we'll probably draft high enough next year to get one of the two studs.

[The Big Cat]

Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB.

 

No point reading past this sentence.

[BillsfaninSixburgh]

I didn't say we got worse. But relative to the other three teams in our division we didn't get significantly better than any of them. Also, ask yourself how do we stack up against other playoff contending teams from last year that we would be in the wild card hunt with.

[JohnC]

8-8

 

Let's be fair minded and not let our home town bias blind us. The Bills will not be an 8-8 team this season. If they end up with a 6-10 record again they will be lucky. When Nix took over the GM role the Bills were a border line expansion caliber team. It is going to take Nix at least three years or more to deconstruct the roster he inherited and build the type of team that can reasonably compete within in its own division.

 

What does that entail? For one he is going to get away from the lunacy of the Jauron/Levy philosophy of the lighter and quicker defense. Nix's first draft demonstrated that he wants a bigger and stouter line to control the run. Watching the defensive linemen constantly being knocked back and twisted like pretzels was both comical and embarrassing.

 

Even our clueless and senile owner is able to admit that the Bills are not only bad but they are boring. One obvious reason for their unwatchable performances is because they have few playmakers on offense. Getting Spiller will certainly help in that department. Because he is such a big play threat his presence should help our woeful OL. It seems that this Nix/Gaily regime has a lot of confidence in Bell at the LT position. I don't understand ehere their confidence comes from.

 

All you can ask of a front office when drafting a player is whether the player they are drafting is worthy of their draft position. In general, I thought they did a good job in that area. Anyone can go back and say they should have drafted this player instead of that player. It is an unfair and unreasonable approach to take. The front office could have taken a variety of strategies and still have had a quality draft.

 

The Bills entered the draft with a lot of needs. Exiting this draft they still have a number of needs. It would have been impossible to meet all of our needs with this one draft. You can now see the framework this new regime is working from. This new regime wants this team to to get bigger and stronger. They made some strides in that area with this draft.

 

There are no quick fixes for this very damaged franchise. The Levy/Jauron tandem dug a very deep hole for this team. In my view they are at least moving in the right direction. If you are a fan and don't have patience you will be very disappointed.

[Mr_Blizzard]

Let's be fair minded and not let our home town bias blind us. The Bills will not be an 8-8 team this season. If they end up with a 6-10 record again they will be lucky. When Nix took over the GM role the Bills were a border line expansion caliber team. It is going to take Nix at least three years or more to deconstruct the roster he inherited and build the type of team that can reasonably compete within in its own division.

 

Good post and I have to agree. Been following the team since the mid 80's. The one constant in this league - it all begins at the lines; you have to be able to run and stop the run. Coming out of this draft, I think we made significant strides in that direction. Plus, the FA season isn't over yet. We could still meet some other needs before mini-camp.

[DanInSouthBuffalo]

Creating controversy sells papers; see Matthews & Jerry Sullivan

 

Look, I wasn't happy with day #3 of the draft (besides Levi Brown and Calloway) until I did some research. Maybe these guys will pan out. It's the "I've never heard of him so he can't be any good" argument. I'm tired of draft grades. The Titans got a "D" for drafting Chris Johnson last year.

 

Don't read the paper!

[tennesseeboy]

When Nix took over we were a 7-9 team, which just finished a season with a plethora of injuries. There was and is plenty of talent. We needed a qb and an two quality offensive tackles to go to the playoffs. We could have used a DE. We had two solid running backs (one of whom is a problem character wise.) We had a not bad receiving corps, (Josh Reed could have stayed and Hardy might have panned out). Come off it...Nix had no reason not to address the weaknesses and go to the playoffs this year. He's let some pretty good players go, and hasn't brought anyone particularaly good in. He didn't address the two biggest weak spots on the team, and committed to whole new defensive scheme that will probably result in our pro-bowl defensive end retiring (Phil Hansen with Gregg Williams redux?).

 

If Nix fails to get nine wins its on him, not on the talent this team has. He could have addressed the weaknesses, and so far he hasn't.

[tennesseeboy]

whoops six and ten...

[Mr. ChumChums]

Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB

 

We addressed neither until rd. 5!

 

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Look at what the Rams did for cryin out loud....they have a defensive minded coach who must have had to contain himself not to take one of the two blue chip DT's.......he still did the right thing and went QB/LT.

 

We were in position to get both 1+2 and still get a damn good NT in 3...quality and depth beyond that.

 

I cannot believe how many satisfied kool aid drinkers there are the day after the draft ended and were heralding a 5th rounder and a 7th rounder as answers to our top 2 needs.

 

So what if they didn't address 2 major needs in the 1'st couple of rounds? Does that really matter here? Our team was FAR away from needing JUST a LT and QB to be competitive. I hear what you're saying, and I understand it, but think about it from this perspective.

 

A few years ago, the Minnesota Vikings were in desperate need of O-Line help. They were stuck in their perpetual suckitude. And lo and behold, in the 2007 Draft, when it came time for them to pick, a few O-Linemen who were considered solid prospects (Ben Grubbs and Joe Staley) were on the board. However, taking them would have probably been reaches at their draft position (7). So instead, even though they had a very solid RB in Chester Taylor, they went to grab the best player available in the draft, Adrian Peterson. Grubbs and Staley both fell to 28 and 29 in the draft.

 

In fact, the Vikings further ignored their need for an O-Line int he 2nd round, and drafted Sidney Rice, WR.

 

As it turns out, that draft worked out pretty well for them didn't it? And it was because they drafted to build a solid foundation for their team, instead of reaching in the draft for needs.

 

Just be patient, and all will be well. Lets let everything play out for a few seasons before we start judging.

[DanInUticaTampa]

When Nix took over we were a 7-9 team, which just finished a season with a plethora of injuries. There was and is plenty of talent. We needed a qb and an two quality offensive tackles to go to the playoffs. We could have used a DE. We had two solid running backs (one of whom is a problem character wise.) We had a not bad receiving corps, (Josh Reed could have stayed and Hardy might have panned out). Come off it...Nix had no reason not to address the weaknesses and go to the playoffs this year. He's let some pretty good players go, and hasn't brought anyone particularaly good in. He didn't address the two biggest weak spots on the team, and committed to whole new defensive scheme that will probably result in our pro-bowl defensive end retiring (Phil Hansen with Gregg Williams redux?).

 

If Nix fails to get nine wins its on him, not on the talent this team has. He could have addressed the weaknesses, and so far he hasn't.

 

 

Well...... first off, who are these damn good players that Nix cut? Second.... I believe our two biggest weaknesses would have been LT and NT. You can argue QB, but there weren't really any in this draft that would be instant starters except maybe bradford. We got our NT in the second round. And as for LT, we didn't get a high pick at LT, but we did get a mid pick. Is that position fix? probably not. But it isn't like he ignored it and didn't address it.

 

And 3rd.... I don't think HE is the one who picked the 3-4 scheme. I believe it was the coaches. If this team sucks this year (probably) it isn't going to be all on Nix. It is going to be because the team has been screwed over by two regimes over a decade, we are in a tough division, we need at least one more year of rebuilding, and young players are still developing.