Good article by Gaughn on Buddy Nix Today

[CosmicBills]

Well, that's just your opinion man.

 

Yes, early to judge the draft, but one can also say the initial outlook is excellent.

1. Disappointing that he made little difference; next year is judgment year.

2. Better than expected, given he was behind an all-pro; still put up numbers equal to Pitt's Hampton.

3. Small school prospect who showed flashes of things to come. Could be a steal as a R3 pick.

4. Showed big play ability in practice before injury. Reminds me of Moulds. Could be a steal as a R4 pick.

5. Injuries hindered development. Hit or miss R5 pick.

6. R6 starter in first year--a steal; Injury made it difficult to judge Batten.

7. No harm no foul.

 

If you judge this draft solely on Spiller, then "the outlook is grim." Looking at the entire draft, I would argue they created the foundation for the turn around.

 

As for this draft, Would like to see Dareus or Fairley at 3, but would be very with the scenario of a trade down and pick up V.Miller.

Oh, it's totally my opinion. And it's one that I personally hope is wrong.

 

But my concerns with Nix extend far beyond the draft. Again, for me, he has not made one move that has made me confident in his abilities. The Spiller pick is concerning because what it represents more so than the actual player picked (a backwards, old school thinking that RBs are more valuable than really are). The rest of the draft I agree is far too early to judge. But factor in his poor handling of the Edwards situation, his mishandling of the Marshawn trade, his poor evaluation of Green ... and really, what successes did he have in 2010? Possibly hiring Chan. That's about it.

 

That's a lot of misses in year one.

[The Senator]

Yeah, sly fox. Running up to the podium in the first 30 seconds to make his selections.

If you know who you're picking and it's the guy you really want, I'm not sure I see any point to belabor the selection - especially if there's a nice bourbon and branch water waiting for you at the bar.

 

(Now if you're not completely sold on the player and want to 'shop' your pick for a possible trade, that's another story altogether - but otherwise, why stall?)

[BillsfaninFl]

I don't at all like the Bills tipping their hand at who or what they'll be drafting.

 

Not to worry. The Bills never tip their hand before the draft. In fact, they are so good at masking what they are going to do, that they then go ahead and make illogical picks to further throw off the opponents' ability to figure out the OBD staff. Actually, based on the Bills' recent drafting history, there are probably few (if any) members of the opposition who care what conclusions Buffalo front office personnel and coaches arrive at. It falls in the category of Football Follies with its ineptness.

Edited January 26, 2011 by BillsfaninFl

[DrDawkinstein]

Oh, it's totally my opinion. And it's one that I personally hope is wrong.

 

But my concerns with Nix extend far beyond the draft. Again, for me, he has not made one move that has made me confident in his abilities. The Spiller pick is concerning because what it represents more so than the actual player picked (a backwards, old school thinking that RBs are more valuable than really are). The rest of the draft I agree is far too early to judge. But factor in his poor handling of the Edwards situation, his mishandling of the Marshawn trade, his poor evaluation of Green ... and really, what successes did he have in 2010? Possibly hiring Chan. That's about it.

 

That's a lot of misses in year one.

 

 

How was Edwards "mishandled"? And how is that Nix's fault?

 

How did he mishandle the Lynch trade? Unless you are going off the RUMORS that the Saints spread after they got EMBARRASSED by Lynch and were trying to save face?

 

Green was what he was, the best available veteran OT in FA.

 

Again, I think your expectations for what the GM could do last year were unrealistic.

[Coach Tuesday]

How was Edwards "mishandled"? And how is that Nix's fault?

 

How did he mishandle the Lynch trade? Unless you are going off the RUMORS that the Saints spread after they got EMBARRASSED by Lynch and were trying to save face?

 

Green was what he was, the best available veteran OT in FA.

 

Again, I think your expectations for what the GM could do last year were unrealistic.

 

Come on man. I don't hate Nix but you're being a huge homer.

 

1) Edwards should never have been the guy on Day 1.

 

2) I disagree with the outlandish conspiracy theory about the Saints and Lynch - that is, that somehow Gregg Williams wanted to get the Bills back by making up a story about what the Saints were willing to offer. Please.

 

3) Green was NOT AT ALL the best RT available. Flozell Adams was available, as were Jamaal Brown and Stacy and Shawn Andrews.

[Billsguy]

The "smartest" thing Buddy Nix has said since he's been in Buffalo, "We gotta get bigger"

 

I agree 100%.

 

So why did you draft Spiller #1 last year?

[Gabe Northern]

I live down in Virginia, and there is a lot of chatter that the Redskins really want Newton bad. I can see Buddy trying to set up a trade down situation. I would love to see him pull off something to get us some more picks. We need all we can get.

 

A trade down so someone else can nab Newton would be very, very sweet. If a new rookie cap is in place, we could actually get quite a package.

 

With Tom Modrak in charge of scouting, you need more picks because the odds of him making a good selection are so low. We'd be better off with 2 picks in the 20s than the third overall selection because Modrak is not capable of evaluating which of those three players deserves to be taken first anyway.

 

Instead of a coin flip as to whether the guy we take at 3 will be any good, I'd rather get 2 lotto tickets.

[The Senator]

We had Tebow in for 2 days of interview and meetings, including dinner with Kelly at the Chop House, then drafted Spiller - so what Buddy says or does, two months prior to the draft, is no indication of what his true intentions are on draft day. JMO.

[LabattBlue]

If you know who you're picking and it's the guy you really want, I'm not sure I see any point to belabor the selection - especially if there's a nice bourbon and branch water waiting for you at the bar.

 

(Now if you're not completely sold on the player and want to 'shop' your pick for a possible trade, that's another story altogether - but otherwise, why stall?)

There is no downside to waiting the entire time allotment before making early round picks. Even if they just sit there and see if the phone rings. What if someone calls with a "blow your mind" offer for the pick? It's not like they had the #1 overall and were convinced that Bradford is the guy they want to build the franchise around.

[DrDawkinstein]

Come on man. I don't hate Nix but you're being a huge homer.

 

1) Edwards should never have been the guy on Day 1.

 

2) I disagree with the outlandish conspiracy theory about the Saints and Lynch - that is, that somehow Gregg Williams wanted to get the Bills back by making up a story about what the Saints were willing to offer. Please.

 

3) Green was NOT AT ALL the best RT available. Flozell Adams was available, as were Jamaal Brown and Stacy and Shawn Andrews.

 

Flozell Adams is not even starting over Jonathan Scott on the Steelers this year. There were NO good choices at OT in FA.

 

Saying Adams is better than Green is like saying "That's my hotter cousin".

 

I dont think the Saints thing has anything to do with Williams or whatever. I think their statements are ridiculous and only meant to save them face after Lynch embarassed them. "Wah! We wanted that guy, but the Bills never called us like we asked them to!" Then they should have called us with a serious offer. Obviously, they didnt do enough to get the player either.

 

And again, The starting QB choice was NOT up to Nix. Blame Gailey for that, but we all saw Edwards perform well enough in preseason to get the nod. He made it obvious he couldnt play in games, and Gailey/Nix moved on immediately.

[TPS]

Oh, it's totally my opinion. And it's one that I personally hope is wrong.

 

But my concerns with Nix extend far beyond the draft. Again, for me, he has not made one move that has made me confident in his abilities. The Spiller pick is concerning because what it represents more so than the actual player picked (a backwards, old school thinking that RBs are more valuable than really are). The rest of the draft I agree is far too early to judge. But factor in his poor handling of the Edwards situation, his mishandling of the Marshawn trade, his poor evaluation of Green ... and really, what successes did he have in 2010? Possibly hiring Chan. That's about it.

 

That's a lot of misses in year one.

While, Nix's expertise is in personnel, I would argue most of the issues you raise can be attributed to Chan. I would wager a lot of money that Chan talked everyone into taking Spiller given his familiarity with him and his offensive bias. Chan was also enamored with both Edwards and Lynch. It wasn't until he actually saw them under fire, that he realized he was wrong. If Chan wanted Lynch, Nix wasn't going to trade. And I don't know that Green was a poor evaluation; I think it was desperation after Butler's unexpected retirement--they had no one.

 

It will be very interesting if Fairley and Dareus are gone 1-2. Chan will be salivating over Green, but will Nix nix him this time?

[Gabe Northern]

How did he mishandle the Lynch trade? Unless you are going off the RUMORS that the Saints spread after they got EMBARRASSED by Lynch and were trying to save face?

 

Green was what he was, the best available veteran OT in FA.

 

 

Come on, guy. Really?

 

Green was replaced by an undrafted rookie free agent (Cordaro Howard) who was so unheralded he didn't even earn an invite to the combine. The result? Immediate upgrade at the position and instant success in a hostile environment (Baltimore) relative to RT performance to that point. Later, this position was filled with other cast-offs and PS players that, again, FAR outperformed Green.

 

Given these facts -- which, I don't think are in dispute -- how can you continue to believe that Green was the "best available veteran OT in FA"? He would have been lucky at his age to make any other roster in the NFL and has likely played his last football game.

 

You have taken an absurdly defensive stand on what was obviously a grotesque mistake in free agency. This suggests you either work for the front office, or are oddly subservient to them. Given this perspective, I am not surprised to learn that you don't believe Nix failed to get full value for Lynch. This is rumor. True. But the disaster of the Green signing was not and you're still willing to give the front office the benefit of the doubt that he was the best FA available and therefore the decision to sign him was beyond reproach.

 

Amazing.

[DrDawkinstein]

Come on, guy. Really?

 

Green was replaced by an undrafted rookie free agent (Cordaro Howard) who was so unheralded he didn't even earn an invite to the combine. The result? Immediate upgrade at the position and instant success in a hostile environment (Baltimore) relative to RT performance to that point. Later, this position was filled with other cast-offs and PS players that, again, FAR outperformed Green.

 

Given these facts -- which, I don't think are in dispute -- how can you continue to believe that Green was the "best available veteran OT in FA"? He would have been lucky at his age to make any other roster in the NFL and has likely played his last football game.

 

You have taken an absurdly defensive stand on what was obviously a grotesque mistake in free agency. This suggests you either work for the front office, or are oddly subservient to them. Given this perspective, I am not surprised to learn that you don't believe Nix failed to get full value for Lynch. This is rumor. True. But the disaster of the Green signing was not and you're still willing to give the front office the benefit of the doubt that he was the best FA available and therefore the decision to sign him was beyond reproach.

 

Amazing.

 

 

Which available FA would you have signed at OT that would have been better?

 

Here's the list from last year. MAYBE Andrews, but we have no idea what our chances were at landing him. Since he went from the Eagles to the Giants, probably pretty slim...

 

http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=OL&y=2010

 

I'll fully admit it turned out to be a bad signing. I'm just not sure what else they could have done. Not every FA is going to be a hit. And we all know we were desperate to get enough OTs on the roster to even start camp.

Edited January 26, 2011 by DrDankenstein

[Ozymandius]

We had Tebow in for 2 days of interview and meetings, including dinner with Kelly at the Chop House, then drafted Spiller - so what Buddy says or does, two months prior to the draft, is no indication of what his true intentions are on draft day. JMO.

 

If you watched the Tim Tebow special on ESPN (it was called like "Everything In Between"), the Bills absolutely was interested in Tebow. It was between Denver and the Bills, and Denver traded up to secure him.

[Captain Caveman]

You better believe that teams interested in Cam will hear this....

 

You better believe Buddy knows that.

[CosmicBills]

How was Edwards "mishandled"? And how is that Nix's fault?

 

How did he mishandle the Lynch trade? Unless you are going off the RUMORS that the Saints spread after they got EMBARRASSED by Lynch and were trying to save face?

 

Green was what he was, the best available veteran OT in FA.

 

Again, I think your expectations for what the GM could do last year were unrealistic.

Marshawn was not properly shopped. Between the Packers, Saints and Seattle there were ways to leverage a better deal. The local media reported that there wasn't an attempt to do so (could be BS of course). If true, that's criminal. Truth of the matter is, Marshawn's value was high during the draft and no attempt was made to move him. The Bills got lucky and his value actually increased during the season (despite not being utilized) and he was still not properly shopped.

 

Edwards was a disaster at QB -- something that was clear to see on tape. They claimed it was an open competition, but it never was. You can blame that on Chan of course as he's the coach. But if Buddy's personnel prowess is as good as some here believe, shouldn't he have been able to determine how bad Edwards was live based on tape study? Same with Green. He might have been the best OT in FA (I would argue he wasn't), but he was clearly over matched in Oakland time and time again. Based on Green and Edwards, what does that say about Nix's ability to judge talent?

 

Again, this is just my opinion ... and I hope I'm wrong. But Nix so far has wiffed more times than not in year one. Year two HAS to be better. But forgive me for not having much confidence. That has to be earned.

[bowery4]

Nix talks and everybody jumps on his **** for stuff he did last year. If he didn't talk people would be saying why isn't the FO doing or saying anything, other teams are.

 

I think taking BPA is fine (even a WR, then they might actually trade Lee to get more picks). I also think we could go after Mankins in FA if we slide Wood to center and yeah we have some ok depth players. Is Wrotto the answer at RT I doubt it but he wasn't looking bad either.

The Jets have a swing tackle available in FA. I wouldn't doubt some Dline is taken in the draft too.

 

The LBs, there are some out there in FA and the draft, it'd be cool if they got some in here too. I also think they might draft a good back up (and back up plan for Fitz).

I wish he would have talked about TE, we need a playmaker there!

[atlbillsfan1975]

Didn't see the article posted so here.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article323639.ece

 

 

I thought his comments on the offensive line were interesting. He almost seems satisfied with the offensive linemen we got. I don't know how much I like that...

I think the Oline is a RT away from being a solid unit. They also need some depth. Those guys could be on the staff and need developement.

They understand, like most football people, that Oline is a unit. You need to have a nucleus of atleast 3 guys on the unit. The bills have that in Bell, Wood, Levitre, and maybe Hangartner.

[KOKBILLS]

What is the big deal about knowing who you want?

 

Nothing...Assuming the guy you want is actually any good, or worth #9 overall...Admittedly that remains to be seen...But the early returns are not exactly favorable...Mr excitement was not exactly very exciting...Nix said on Draft Day "There's only one Spiller." Well good thing because two would be one too many at this point...

 

Meanwhile a MUCH maligned and criticized Brian Bulaga and his short arms is Starting at RT for the NFC's Super Bowl participants...He made Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie Team...But obviously we needed a RB and not a RT...Right? That's why the card was rushed up there...

[Orton's Arm]

Come on man. I don't hate Nix but you're being a huge homer.

 

1) Edwards should never have been the guy on Day 1.

 

2) I disagree with the outlandish conspiracy theory about the Saints and Lynch - that is, that somehow Gregg Williams wanted to get the Bills back by making up a story about what the Saints were willing to offer. Please.

 

3) Green was NOT AT ALL the best RT available. Flozell Adams was available, as were Jamaal Brown and Stacy and Shawn Andrews.

1) Edwards being the guy on day 1 was Gailey's call, not Nix's.

 

2) Let's suppose for the sake of argument that the rumors about the Saints are true, and they would have offered up a third round pick for Lynch. The Saints were defending Super Bowl champs, so it was reasonable to believe their pick would be toward the end of the third round. The deal Nix actually got for Lynch--a 4th and 6th rounder--isn't much worse than that. Plus, for all we know Nix held onto Lynch for a while after the draft in hopes someone would offer more than just a 3rd rounder for him. If that was the plan things obviously didn't work out that way. But Nix wouldn't exactly be the first GM to hold onto a player if he wasn't satisfied with what he was being offered for a trade. Belichick threatened to hold onto Bledsoe if no one offered a first rounder for him--which was clearly a lot more than Bledsoe was worth. Belichick looks like a genius because TD fell for his scam. But he'd look a lot less impressive if Bledsoe had remained on the Patriots' roster for years despite someone offering him a second round pick.

 

3) I agree Cornell Green was an embarrassing signing. But according to a football rankings site, his play while with Oakland was actually somewhat decent. Obviously that wasn't the case during his time in Buffalo. One possible reason I've seen thrown around for his dramatic drop-off in play was that he might have been playing hurt this year. The fact that he's getting on in years doesn't help anything either. Besides that, any given GM isn't necessarily going to be able to sign the best available free agent at a given position. There are 32 GMs in the league, and a lot of holes on a lot of teams. While the Green signing was a mistake, Nix recognized it quickly, moved on quickly, and didn't sacrifice much in the process.