Forward Progress Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Buddy Nix has won over a lot of fans (myself included) by establishing what appears to be the foundation of a much more competitive football team. I became curious about the Charger's success in San Diego relative to the time that Buddy was making most of the draft-day decisions, so I did a little digging. The Chargers were pretty crappy when Buddy arrived, and continued to struggle for three more years. In Buddy's 4th year, the Chargers jumped from last to first in the AFC West and remained perennial AFC powerhouses for the next six years. Of the players that Buddy drafted in San Diego, 3 went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, 6 in 2006, 11 in 2007 and 8 in 2008 (source: Wikipedia). It feels like Buddy is taking us down the same path. I'm not sure if we're ready to leapfrog the Pats* this year, but the Bills are ready to make some noise. How cool would it be to have 11 Pro Bowlers on the Bill's roster? I've attached an image of the Charger's records relative to the Buddy's time with the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagon Circler Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Why do you say that he made most of the draft day decisions? The Bolts always had strong leadership: first John Butler, followed by A.J. Smith. Accounts vary as to how much power Nix had, as I recall. I thought he was just a superscout? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forward Progress Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Why do you say that he made most of the draft day decisions? The Bolts always had strong leadership: first John Butler, followed by A.J. Smith. Accounts vary as to how much power Nix had, as I recall. I thought he was just a superscout? Buddy was the Director of Pro Player Personnel for his first year with the Chargers, but after Butler died, Smith was promoted to General Manager, and Nix to Assistant General Manager. Your challenge is fair - I can't say that Buddy pulled the strings, as he reported to A.J. Smith. I did read that Nix was one of the major draft-day decision makers for the Chargers, which would imply that it was a team approach, rather than a one-man show. In any case, he has experience in a winning program in San Diego, and I would love to see similar results here in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 At an absolute minimum, Buddy SAW FIRSTHAND how to get it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAWNDO Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Buddy Nix has won over a lot of fans (myself included) by establishing what appears to be the foundation of a much more competitive football team. I became curious about the Charger's success in San Diego relative to the time that Buddy was making most of the draft-day decisions, so I did a little digging. The Chargers were pretty crappy when Buddy arrived, and continued to struggle for three more years. In Buddy's 4th year, the Chargers jumped from last to first in the AFC West and remained perennial AFC powerhouses for the next six years. Of the players that Buddy drafted in San Diego, 3 went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, 6 in 2006, 11 in 2007 and 8 in 2008 (source: Wikipedia). It feels like Buddy is taking us down the same path. I'm not sure if we're ready to leapfrog the Pats* this year, but the Bills are ready to make some noise. How cool would it be to have 11 Pro Bowlers on the Bill's roster? I've attached an image of the Charger's records relative to the Buddy's time with the team. How have the Chargers been drafting since Nix left? I think that will give the best indication. Buddy certainly has done his job to improve this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHILL3 Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Buddy was the Director of Pro Player Personnel for his first year with the Chargers, but after Butler died, Smith was promoted to General Manager, and Nix to Assistant General Manager. Your challenge is fair - I can't say that Buddy pulled the strings, as he reported to A.J. Smith. I did read that Nix was one of the major draft-day decision makers for the Chargers, which would imply that it was a team approach, rather than a one-man show. In any case, he has experience in a winning program in San Diego, and I would love to see similar results here in Buffalo. uhm.... he had experience with a winning program in Buffalo before San Diego. Just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 uhm.... he had experience with a winning program in Buffalo before San Diego. Just saying. And seems to be moving that way again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Buddy Nix has won over a lot of fans (myself included) by establishing what appears to be the foundation of a much more competitive football team. I became curious about the Charger's success in San Diego relative to the time that Buddy was making most of the draft-day decisions, so I did a little digging. The Chargers were pretty crappy when Buddy arrived, and continued to struggle for three more years. In Buddy's 4th year, the Chargers jumped from last to first in the AFC West and remained perennial AFC powerhouses for the next six years. Of the players that Buddy drafted in San Diego, 3 went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, 6 in 2006, 11 in 2007 and 8 in 2008 (source: Wikipedia). It feels like Buddy is taking us down the same path. I'm not sure if we're ready to leapfrog the Pats* this year, but the Bills are ready to make some noise. How cool would it be to have 11 Pro Bowlers on the Bill's roster? I've attached an image of the Charger's records relative to the Buddy's time with the team. Isn't that the year he drafted Rivers? Oh, wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Isn't that the year he drafted Rivers? Oh, wait... Yes, it is, and Rivers sat for two years before becoming the full-time starter in 2006. What's your point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllib olaffub Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 How have the Chargers been drafting since Nix left? I think that will give the best indication. Buddy certainly has done his job to improve this team. Yes - I was going to write, we can't know for sure just how much influence Nix had, but we do know what happened to the franchise when he arrived, it's climb, and what has happened to it since he left - a steady decline; conversely, we know that since Buddy arrived in Buffalo as the GM, the Bills have slowly risen, not as much in wins as in talent, and this team looks ready to win 10 games this year. If it does, he'll have had a 4, 6, and 10 win season climb in years 1-3, and one would assume the Bills, being a young, talented team, with a very nice structure in place, would be ready to get better still, and stay good, for a number of years. Nice job looking into that. I have nothing bad to say about what Nix has done. He simplifies football to making it played by big men who run fast and who are smart enough to learn, and who have decent characters. If the players play well they are rewarded. It's an easy approach that people can jump on board with. Now we just have to start really winning. I believe it is coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starrymessenger Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Buddy is putting a powerhouse team together in Buffalo. There are a few (not many) pieces missing. If they can be found the AFC East passes thru Buffalo in a couple of years. Buddy has just had a great run what with FA and the draft. But he is not doing it all by himself. Something has happened to the organization. We have better coaches. Better scouts. We have Whaley backing up Buddy. We are spending money and taking risks. We are doing things the right way for a change. It is pretty much a complete overhaul. After so many years of sucking I'm not sure I understand why or where the impetus is coming from. Nor do I understand why it took so long. I guess it must be Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Buddy is putting a powerhouse team together in Buffalo. There are a few (not many) pieces missing. If they can be found the AFC East passes thru Buffalo in a couple of years. Buddy has just had a great run what with FA and the draft. But he is not doing it all by himself. Something has happened to the organization. We have better coaches. Better scouts. We have Whaley backing up Buddy. We are spending money and taking risks. We are doing things the right way for a change. It is pretty much a complete overhaul. After so many years of sucking I'm not sure I understand why or where the impetus is coming from. Nor do I understand why it took so long. I guess it must be Ralph. And that one thing missing for a good long run is to have a Franchise QB. I hope the Bills will find that soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinElma Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I like that Buddy has targeted a lot of players who are big/prototype size for their position. Guys like Mario, Cordy Glenn, Aaron Williams, Gilmore, Carrington, Sheppard, Dareus. It's a big improvement over the Jauron era of Keith Ellison and Larry Tripplett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 At an absolute minimum, Buddy SAW FIRSTHAND how to get it done. What have the chargers "gotten done"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max997 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Shame buddy's first draft with Bills was as bad as it was That draft should hv been O-line heavy instead of small school heavy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williams+Williams+Williams Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 And that one thing missing for a good long run is to have a Franchise QB. I hope the Bills will find that soon. That would be really great. In the meantime, I like that he's building a solid team. The Bills have ruined some rookie qb careers over the years. A lot of the qbs that have become franchise guys, (rothlesberger, e manning, flacco) were drafted into teams with a great run game and a great defense. I am not saying JP or Trent have the talent of the afore mentioned, but it's hard to develop a qb when he's getting crushed or on the run most of the time. Edwards showed some flashes of being a good qb, but he got scared after taking some big hits and dumped the ball to marshawn every other pass play. If last year was Fitz' rookie year, would you feel any different about him? The guy has a lot of years left to play qb. This will be his make or break year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 What have the chargers "gotten done"? Well, for starters...they've been to the playoffs more than we have during the past decade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 What have the chargers "gotten done"? One team wins the Super Bowl each year. The goal is to give yourselves a shot at it each year. the Chargers are always playoff contenders and have arguably the best talent in the league many years. Just beacuse Norv Turner is an idiot doesnt mean thats not a good team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 One team wins the Super Bowl each year. The goal is to give yourselves a shot at it each year. the Chargers are always playoff contenders and have arguably the best talent in the league many years. Just beacuse Norv Turner is an idiot doesnt mean thats not a good team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Buddy Nix has won over a lot of fans (myself included) by establishing what appears to be the foundation of a much more competitive football team. I became curious about the Charger's success in San Diego relative to the time that Buddy was making most of the draft-day decisions, so I did a little digging. The Chargers were pretty crappy when Buddy arrived, and continued to struggle for three more years. In Buddy's 4th year, the Chargers jumped from last to first in the AFC West and remained perennial AFC powerhouses for the next six years. Of the players that Buddy drafted in San Diego, 3 went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, 6 in 2006, 11 in 2007 and 8 in 2008 (source: Wikipedia). It feels like Buddy is taking us down the same path. I'm not sure if we're ready to leapfrog the Pats* this year, but the Bills are ready to make some noise. How cool would it be to have 11 Pro Bowlers on the Bill's roster? I've attached an image of the Charger's records relative to the Buddy's time with the team. It's hard for us fans to know how much of San Diego's rise can be attributed to Buddy and how much to Butler, AJ, etc... But nice research. Reading this reinforces my optimism. I think the sun's finally coming out for Bills fans after a long winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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