Nix/Gailey Era Begins

[symbiant]

Thoughts on the rebuilding philosophy:

1) Perhaps they didn't think that the offense woes were entirely the fault of the Quarterbacks, rather the lack of playmakers, poor scheme and poor conditioning and poor work ethic. Remember, all it takes is ONE big play per game to score... and for years (maybe a decade) we lacked that. Hopefully Spiller changes that.

2) All the picks were hard working with motors. If you listen to all their conference calls, they all seemed to have a similar attitude/work ethic. At minimum, it sends a message to the vets to show up for work, because there are hungry rooks coming in. At this level, the guys are like split seconds faster or one rep stronger than another... what's the difference maker? Apparently Nix believes its hard work. I LIKE THIS.

3) With a new defensive scheme coming in, it seems like everyone might be on even ground to learn the new defense. And apparently, we need some size/youth up front.

4) I believe these coaches believe that its actually their job to teach players to become great players, not to draft "great players" and magically hope they succeed.

5) I'm guessing Nix really only likes top QB's with high Wonderlic scores. (Rivers and Brees were above average, Clausen and Tebow were not). In fact, Nix "reached" for Rivers at 4th overall one year.

6) It seems like they targeted small schools, looking for overlooked players with a chip on their shoulder for being in a small program or competition concerns. The kinda attitude/camaraderie you're looking for in a turnaround in small market team eh?

 

Anyway, I too was surprised we didn't get an OT in 2, but not shocked at all by Spiller in round 1. Here's to the new face of our franchise.

[Malazan]

If you keep replacing suck with slightly less suck because you 'need' to replace that player then your team still sucks.

[Cash]

Rivers was definitely not considered a reach at the time. There was quite a bit of speculation that SD would draft him at #1 overall, since Eli famously did not want to play there. Instead, they drafted Eli, prompting the Giants to draft Rivers in order to facilitate a trade.

[Bronc24]

If you keep replacing suck with slightly less suck because you 'need' to replace that player then your team still sucks.

 

 

If you just suck generally, like I am learning your posts generally do, then I suppose you suck too. So yeah, I am saying you suck.

[billsfan_34]

Thoughts on the rebuilding philosophy:

1) Perhaps they didn't think that the offense woes were entirely the fault of the Quarterbacks, rather the lack of playmakers, poor scheme and poor conditioning and poor work ethic. Remember, all it takes is ONE big play per game to score... and for years (maybe a decade) we lacked that. Hopefully Spiller changes that.

2) All the picks were hard working with motors. If you listen to all their conference calls, they all seemed to have a similar attitude/work ethic. At minimum, it sends a message to the vets to show up for work, because there are hungry rooks coming in. At this level, the guys are like split seconds faster or one rep stronger than another... what's the difference maker? Apparently Nix believes its hard work. I LIKE THIS.

3) With a new defensive scheme coming in, it seems like everyone might be on even ground to learn the new defense. And apparently, we need some size/youth up front.

4) I believe these coaches believe that its actually their job to teach players to become great players, not to draft "great players" and magically hope they succeed.

5) I'm guessing Nix really only likes top QB's with high Wonderlic scores. (Rivers and Brees were above average, Clausen and Tebow were not). In fact, Nix "reached" for Rivers at 4th overall one year.

6) It seems like they targeted small schools, looking for overlooked players with a chip on their shoulder for being in a small program or competition concerns. The kinda attitude/camaraderie you're looking for in a turnaround in small market team eh?

 

Anyway, I too was surprised we didn't get an OT in 2, but not shocked at all by Spiller in round 1. Here's to the new face of our franchise.

Rivers definitely was not a reach, and San Diego drafted Eli that year. I do agree with much of this. Whats going to be interesting is to see what Vets get chopped. Now that the draft is out of the way, the culture in the locker room and on the field is drastically going to change. My guess is men like Whitner, Kelsay, and Lynch are on a very short leash. I said in a post sometime back, during a game when we were getting our butts kicked, Lynch was on the sideline laughing and joking. Dont get me wrong, I am all about the guys having fun. However, there is a time and place for it.

[Green Lightning]

If you keep replacing suck with slightly less suck because you 'need' to replace that player then your team still sucks.

 

 

I'm trying to read this but I'm distracted by the busy signal going off in my head that begins three to five words into your well thought out post.

[Mr_Blizzard]

Thoughts on the rebuilding philosophy:

1) Perhaps they didn't think that the offense woes were entirely the fault of the Quarterbacks, rather the lack of playmakers, poor scheme and poor conditioning and poor work ethic. Remember, all it takes is ONE big play per game to score... and for years (maybe a decade) we lacked that. Hopefully Spiller changes that.

2) All the picks were hard working with motors. If you listen to all their conference calls, they all seemed to have a similar attitude/work ethic. At minimum, it sends a message to the vets to show up for work, because there are hungry rooks coming in. At this level, the guys are like split seconds faster or one rep stronger than another... what's the difference maker? Apparently Nix believes its hard work. I LIKE THIS.

3) With a new defensive scheme coming in, it seems like everyone might be on even ground to learn the new defense. And apparently, we need some size/youth up front.

4) I believe these coaches believe that its actually their job to teach players to become great players, not to draft "great players" and magically hope they succeed.

5) I'm guessing Nix really only likes top QB's with high Wonderlic scores. (Rivers and Brees were above average, Clausen and Tebow were not). In fact, Nix "reached" for Rivers at 4th overall one year.

6) It seems like they targeted small schools, looking for overlooked players with a chip on their shoulder for being in a small program or competition concerns. The kinda attitude/camaraderie you're looking for in a turnaround in small market team eh?

 

Anyway, I too was surprised we didn't get an OT in 2, but not shocked at all by Spiller in round 1. Here's to the new face of our franchise.

 

I think 2010 will be an exciting year for the Bills.

[Wagon Circler]

Rivers definitely was not a reach, and San Diego drafted Eli that year. I do agree with much of this. Whats going to be interesting is to see what Vets get chopped. Now that the draft is out of the way, the culture in the locker room and on the field is drastically going to change. My guess is men like Whitner, Kelsay, and Lynch are on a very short leash. I said in a post sometime back, during a game when we were getting our butts kicked, Lynch was on the sideline laughing and joking. Dont get me wrong, I am all about the guys having fun. However, there is a time and place for it.

My favorite quote over the weekend was Gailey saying " I don't care about hurt feelings, I care about scoring points!"

It's hard to imagine the touchy- feely let's cut practice short Dick Jauron saying something like that.

Kick some ass Chan.

[mike oxhurtz]

If you keep replacing suck with slightly less suck because you 'need' to replace that player then your team still sucks.

 

This post sucks!!!

[vonwebs]

Rivers definitely was not a reach, and San Diego drafted Eli that year. I do agree with much of this. Whats going to be interesting is to see what Vets get chopped. Now that the draft is out of the way, the culture in the locker room and on the field is drastically going to change. My guess is men like Whitner, Kelsay, and Lynch are on a very short leash. I said in a post sometime back, during a game when we were getting our butts kicked, Lynch was on the sideline laughing and joking. Dont get me wrong, I am all about the guys having fun. However, there is a time and place for it.

 

I think your right on about Lynch and Kelsay, Buffalo would be wise to show them the door. Giving Kelsay the boot is tough because he has the attitude we need to win, just not talented enough to help us win especially moving up to a stand-up OLB. I disagree with Whitner, while he hasn't made enough big plays I think he is worth keeping for another year.

[billsfan_34]

My favorite quote over the weekend was Gailey saying " I don't care about hurt feelings, I care about scoring points!"

It's hard to imagine the touchy- feely let's cut practice short Dick Jauron saying something like that.

Kick some ass Chan.

I loved that quote too. I also like how chan and buddy are on the same sheet of music.

[billsfan_34]

I think your right on about Lynch and Kelsay, Buffalo would be wise to show them the door. Giving Kelsay the boot is tough because he has the attitude we need to win, just not talented enough to help us win especially moving up to a stand-up OLB. I disagree with Whitner, while he hasn't made enough big plays I think he is worth keeping for another year.

I appreciate your opinions and thoughts. Kelsay is a stand up guy and plays hard, just lacks the talent the other elite ends have in the league. Transitioning to OLB at this stage in his career will be a huge task for him. The problem with Whitner is he is all bark and no bite, he easily could be a statement cut.

[yungmack]

I've been following the Bills since they began and this might be the best seven rounds of a draft they've had in all those years. I say this because the FO seems to have a very, very definite and clear idea of the kind of team they want and know precisely the sorts of players they need right now to make that happen. They didn't hem or haw about why they chose this guy instead of that guy. They seemed to know each of their picks inside and out, as well as their competitors, and were supremely confident in their choices. What a change that is for the Bills!

 

One of the things that jumps out at me from reading all I can on each of these kids (and thank you to all of you who dug up the excerpts and links. Great job!) is that they all appear to be really good human beings as well as fine players. And pretty darned bright as well. Heck, Easley was on an academic scholarship when he walked on (I believe this kid is going to be special, FWIW).

 

Amazingly, Buddy Nix told us right from the beginning what he was going to do, then did exactly that. How rare that is these days. And I love that he didn't give a crap about what the pundits and the media had to say. And still doesn't. It was the critics who said the Bills "must have" an OT and a QB, not Nix. He said right along that he was happy with the QBs he had and would add one more, that he liked Marshawn and he wasn't going anywhere, that they'd draft an O tackle and a NT and a receiver. He's also said he really, really likes Kyle Williams, and that he wants Schobel in Buffalo if Schobel wants to be there, so I wouldn't expect either one to be shown the door. And he believes Maybin has a lot of upside. On the other hand, I can't recall that sort of endorsement for Kelsay, Stroud, Poz, Mitchell, Ellison and quite a few of the rest of the roster.

 

You can't remake the roster with one draft, but, as we well know, you can screw it up for years with a bad one. If this one turns out the way I believe it will, then the Bills are well on their way to much better days.

[4BillsintheBurgh]

My take after this draft is this. It seems like Nix/Chan looked at our offense and don't really know what they have. With the coaching/personnel changes last year Chan is ready to work with what he has on O and let Nix build up the defense. Next year hopefully they will know exactly what is going on offensively (esp the line) and will find some good players where needed. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

[notwoz]

My favorite quote over the weekend was Gailey saying " I don't care about hurt feelings, I care about scoring points!"

I didn't see that quote, but I like it. It sounds like something Bill Parcells would say.

[ganesh]

Anyway, I too was surprised we didn't get an OT in 2, but not shocked at all by Spiller in round 1. Here's to the new face of our franchise.

 

DT Nose Tackle was as big a need as LT for the Bills. They were dead last against the RUN last year. If you don't stop the Run and Run the ball effectively, you are not going to win in the AFC East. The Bills picked the best player for a need position in Rd 2. Time will tell, if we reached for the pick or made a wise decision.