Bucky Gleason's article on Nix...Do you agree?

[JESSEFEFFER]

It's largely up to Mike Pettine Jr to redefine the Nix tenure. If he can do for a putrid Bills' defense what Wade Phillips did for a putrid Texans' defense then things will look much different. I do not think the Jets' D talent is that much better than what the Bills have so there should be a good chance to make a big improvement.

 

The QB position is another story and I think the rules for drafting/developing one are changing before our eyes. Rookies are performing at levels hitherto unseen. Patience used to be a necessary virtue but now it's likely to bring contempt. How can Gabbert get more development time when other rookies are playing like MVPs? I think they have pretty much liked most of the QBs they brought in for interviews which means that guys like Ponder, Wilson, Kaepernik and Cousins were on their radar but the old rules for determining their draft value are no longer valid.

Edited March 5, 2013 by JESSEFEFFER

[Mango]

So you see the Drafting of Spiller, with 2 Pro-Bowl caliber (and NFL Top 100) RB's currently on the Roster, as an undersold move? And it's nothing against Spiller who is clearly a dynamic RB...Are The Bills better off with Spiller and Jackson than they would be with Lynch, Jackson, and say...Anthony Davis, Earl Thomas, or JPP??? Set up for a very successful future? Maybe...But that is a massive leap of faith...Not one I could even imagine taking...

 

Bills would be better off with Lynch and Spiller

 

Fans know nothing.... how many here were still endorsing Chan Gailey right up until Nix fired him. Nix even gave Gailey his endorsement half way thru last season and stated Gailey will be the Bills HC for 2013 and probably longer...what happened? Nix also stated Gailey is one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL. Yea, that is why he is out of football. Even Jauron took a job right after he was canned, and Wannstedt already has a new job.

 

Buddy Nix should have been fired right along with the two morons he hired in Gailey and Wannstedt. Unless the Bills (Russ) were afraid that Nix would take all the knowledge he had garnered all season scouting to a different team. I'd say let him do just that, and screw up their drafts, and free agency.

 

How can fans forget statements like " I'm going to get some sleep" when the 2010 free agency opened. Then proceeded to bring in the worst player ever for 2 mill per in Cornell Green. CJ Spiller was all Chan Gailey who wanted his "water bug" months before the draft and then got him during draft day. Then who did Nix select with the #2, DT Torrell Troup when Rob Gonkowski was right there, and the Patriots got him with the very next pick.

 

That 2010 draft was almost a complete wash and so was the free agency period. So far Nix has been able to band aid the LBer corps, band aid the O line. Pay 100 million for a DE. Not find a QB for the last 3 years while other teams found 5 QB"S To take their teams to the playoffs.

 

The list of failures over the last 3 season surpasses the few players Nix has brought in to start, and make an impact! It scares me as a Bills fan to think that this idiot is going to be involved in the process of finding the next supposed franchise QB.

 

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/1/22/3892690/chan-gailey-sitting-out-2013

 

decided to take the year off before the playoffs ended, and was actually contacted by atleast 2 teams. i think you will find how terrible this offense can be with chan. bills where noted with the best screen game in the league. why? because we have an average at best o-line, and our receiving corp is garbage. was chan cut out to be our hc, nope deserved to be canned, but you can't just say he was awful in every facet.

 

ps tavaris jackson was the worst qb on his team and vince young hasnt had a job since September. soon to join them in unemployment is thigy

 

It ultimately comes down to not getting a QB AND making a mediocre hire as his first Head Coach.

 

I like Buddy as a person and supported his hiring.

 

However at this moment, he is lucky to still be GM of the Bills.

 

I betcha that more than 50% of the time, a GM who goes 16-32, and fails to find a quarterback and a Head Coach within 3 years is fired, all other considerations aside.

 

I think you have to take into consideration where this team is as far as the quality of coaching talent seeking us. 3 years ago we basically had to settle for chan. now Lovie is contacting us, Marrone from what I hear was highly sought after by a number of teams and very well respected in the NFL. Pettine left a team in the division to take the very same role with us. Remember what it was like when guys turned down our interview. The organization is now properly run and that has everything to do with the General Manager. I am not defending everything he has done. TJ Graham may actually be his worst decision by the end of his career. However people are asking to be apart of this organization which hasn't happened in a long long time.

[MarkKelso'sHelmet]

It's hard to win in the NFL.

Nix restructured the scouting department last off-season.

Let's see if it helps.

 

Dick? Dick "it's hard to win in this league" Jauron? It's hard to win in this league, so let's not expect the Bills to win for another ten years...

[NoName]

Most of you guys are so short sighted. The same stuff that you are saying about Nix could be applied to most of the GM"s in the league.

 

The dude has never left the Bills in a bad salary cap situation.

 

The guy made solid draft choices. Not the best but certainly not the worse.

 

And all this bitchin and crying about Fitzs' contract. Did you think about this??? When Fitz signed the extension, most of you on this board was HAPPY that Fitz was signed because at that point he earned the extension and the contract was not huge. Remember, Fitz was having a Pro Bowl caliber season at the point he signed the contract.

 

Everybody wants to throw the guy under the bus because Fitz hit a downward spiral, who would have forseen that???

 

He drafted C.J. Spiller one of the most dynamIrc players in the league

 

Urbik, Chandler and Barnett were good finds.

 

Getting Gilmore and glenn was a great 1 2 punch.

 

Not paying Bell the big money cutting Florence etc. This guy has done a solid job.

 

Of course there have been some blunders (no one is perfect) but he has been the best GM that we've had since who ever we had while Wade Phillips was coaching (I don't remember but I think it was Butler)

[Trader]

I originally voted yes but I am having second thoughts. I cannot believe that the Bills have as many holes to fill as they do. This team is going to have a lot of UDFA's and other teams castoffs playing key positions in next couple of years. The Bills franchise is the opposite of New England. It seems that the Bills are constantly scraping to fill holes and the good teams just reload with outstanding depth.

 

It reminds me of what a guy once told me that if you redistributed all the wealth in the world within a generation most of it would be concentrated in a few hands again.

[Mango]

I originally voted yes but I am having second thoughts. I cannot believe that the Bills have as many holes to fill as they do. This team is going to have a lot of UDFA's and other teams castoffs playing key positions in next couple of years. The Bills franchise is the opposite of New England. It seems that the Bills are constantly scraping to fill holes and the good teams just reload with outstanding depth.

 

It reminds me of what a guy once told me that if you redistributed all the wealth in the world within a generation most of it would be concentrated in a few hands again.

 

The Bills are scrapping by to fill holes because of how poorly this team was assembled 3 years ago. When was the last time we even franchised a guy or reigned one of our better players without letting them walk after their first contract. For this alone I am glad he is here, and changing that could be devastating.

 

Most list the Jets the past few years as what can be done quickly to fill holes. Tannenbaum is out of a job, Sexy Rexy is holding on by a thread in NJ. They are even considering trading the best defensive player in the league. Their Salary Cap is a mess. Meanwhile we Franchise one of our best player, hopefully sign our best OL, grab Mario, and have enough cash to make a splash in FA.

[JohnC]

Strangely enough, I have watched Dalton, and my eyes have told me what yours have told you - he doesn't look that good. But there's the complicating factor of his actual production. It's there, especially late in games. His game against the Bills in his rookie season encapsulates him. He looked like crap for much of the first half, but then he started to make plays. Before you knew it, he converted a crucial 3rd and 3 on a qb run that led to a game winning FG. This summary says it all: http://sportsillustr...444_recap.html.

 

I don't think he's a savior by any means, and it is the case that the Bengals offense is hardly what I'd call explosive. But I have to confess that I think he has a chance to be a pretty good QB. Guys who lead teams to winning seasons two years running build confidence in themselves, and if they improve their accuracy and ypa, that's a good sign for the future. The Bills haven't had "pretty good" in a long time.

 

What a lot of people don't account for when assessing Dalton is that he is a young qb. He started right from the start. Compare that to the bench warming grooming process of Rodgers. Most young qbs go through a tough learning period when they get their first chance to play. Brees is one of the best qbs in the game but his play in his fiirst few years was very ragged. Peyton Manning's first season was not very inspiring. Rookie qbs such as Luck and RGIII who are able to play from the start without the appearance of being overwhelmed is not the norm. Russell Wilson struggled in the first half of his rookie season. It wasn't until the second half of the season that he took off.

 

My main point with respect to Dalton is that he has done a very solid job in his first two years. He is not a scintillating type player like RGIII and Luck, and will never be. What he is is a legitimate franchise caliber of qb who you can win with. There is some chance as he gains more experience and the team around him improves that he can develop into a very good qb. A lot of people scoff at the notion of having a Dalton type qb as your franchise qb, not I. Dalton right now is better than any qb the Bills have had over the past generaton.

 

Buddy Nix has miserably failed this organization by not getting (or even attempting) to get a quality qb prospect in the pipeline. If you consider that there is a multi-year learning curve for most young qbs he has set back this franchise's chance to be a serious playoff competitor by a number of additional dispiriting years.

Edited March 5, 2013 by JohnC

[metzelaars_lives]

I don't disagree with the point of the article, which is to not feel like you're forced to take a QB in the first round this year just because you've blown it in previous years by passing on guys. But it sounds like- and forgive me if some else already mentioned this- Bucky simply isn't following the draft like nearly everyone on TBD is. He mentions Nassib and Glennon 4-5 times each and doesn't mention Tyler Wilson once, who at this point is pretty much the consensus #3 QB in the draft. Nor does he mention Tyler Bray who, despite his tattoo, will most likely be off the board before Nassib. At one point he talks about the possibility that Nassib may fall out of the first round. I'd be shocked if he went in the first round and probably even the second round for that matter. Does he do any research before writing his articles?

Edited March 5, 2013 by metzelaars_lives

[peterpan]

Blah Blah Blah this is the guy that took Torrell Troup over homestown superhuman Gronkowski, who went on to score 20 touchdowns in his second year. Then Nix proceeded to pass on coutless quality QB prospects while trotting out highschool level arm Fitzpatrick year after year.

 

The weinie that runs walterfootball.com could have done a better job than our entire scouting department. Id rather have tgreg and BuffaloBarbairen as a GM team. Short of maybe the Glenn pick, which still remains to be determined, the best move this team made under Nix was signing Urbik off of waivers. Think about that for a minute. Nix's tenure has been a total joke.

[machine gun kelly]

I agree with mango and no name. My guess is if we get just one good cover cb, and Pettine can install due to having the parts (you know they are going to pick up 1-2 cheaper LB's in free agency, not the expensive guys) and the defense will be significantly better. Our biggest problem on defense wasn't talent as much as poor coaching and scheme. I can't wait to see how we'll do with an attacking defense.

 

As far as Nix, he's a mixed bag. Even Polian whirred his last few years at Indy and I have always said he was our most regrettable Loss in the last 25 years. We know Nix missed on QB and I don't buy his argument he wanted to build a team around the QB first. I do like how he built a much more physical presence on both defense and offensive lines. He has to hit on this draft and I'm fine with his tenure. Remember we sucked eggs for thirteen years due to terrible front office decisions from coaching, to letting free agents go, to free agency acquisition, to the draft all before Nix. He was cleaning up probably the least talented team in the NFL.

 

Now get us a damn QB, CB, WR, and TE and all will be forgiven Buddy!

 

[Bufcomments]

I posted this elsewhere, but I think it's worth repeating. With regard to Dalton, he's on an upward trajectory in just about every category from his rookie season to last year: http://www.pro-footb.../D/DaltAn00.htm . Note that his advanced QB rating last year was 103, with 100 being average. His regular rating was solid last year too: 87.4. It's also worth mentioning that he not only had 27 passing TDs last season, he had 4 rushing TDs too (31 overall, which is better than any Bills QB in team history save for Jim Kelly's 1991 season.) Plus he's had seven game winning drives in two seasons. I do realize that the Bengals defense is good (6th and 8th in yards allowed the last two seasons) and that AJ Green is a stud. Still the 2012 numbers suggest that Dalton produces.

I agree with you.

 

The Bills just plain missed on Dalton. They needed to groom someone behind Fitz. At the very least they would have been in better shape than we are now. Think about it.

They would have not wasted good money on Vince Young and T. Jackson. Dalton would have outplayed Fitz for his job.

Fitz would have been a backup , like he should be IMO.

Fitz would not had been given the contract . They could have use the money saved on the contract and got a FA WR . or better still LB's.

 

By not addressing the QB when he had ample choices to choose from now we are stuck into a situation where no we have to pay Fitz a 3 million dollar bonus he doenst deserve and we still looking for a QB.

 

 

And don't even get me started on the Merriman episode....................

 

I agree with mango and no name. My guess is if we get just one good cover cb, and Pettine can install due to having the parts (you know they are going to pick up 1-2 cheaper LB's in free agency, not the expensive guys) and the defense will be significantly better. Our biggest problem on defense wasn't talent as much as poor coaching and scheme. I can't wait to see how we'll do with an attacking defense.

 

As far as Nix, he's a mixed bag. Even Polian whirred his last few years at Indy and I have always said he was our most regrettable Loss in the last 25 years. We know Nix missed on QB and I don't buy his argument he wanted to build a team around the QB first. I do like how he built a much more physical presence on both defense and offensive lines. He has to hit on this draft and I'm fine with his tenure. Remember we sucked eggs for thirteen years due to terrible front office decisions from coaching, to letting free agents go, to free agency acquisition, to the draft all before Nix. He was cleaning up probably the least talented team in the NFL.

 

Now get us a damn QB, CB, WR, and TE and all will be forgiven Buddy!

I disagree about the talent on D. The only player who played well all year was Byrd...and we franchise the guy ....go figure.

Kyle played hurt, was not 100 percent

Same for Mario but after the surgery he did play much better but he could have done more...

Darues...had family issues , plus he got near 350, dude needs to be better. Hope he gets his mojo back...

Anderson was hurt most of the year..... Merriman ALWALYS hurt.

Kelsey ...was Kelsey

Barnett lost it, Wilson let a couple of games slip out his hands.

Gilmore was ok but have to learn on the fly.

 

Dude we have talent issues on D. Wanny sucks but he didnt have want he thought he had.

We have to hope that McKelvin comes back and starts with Gilmore.

The scheme will be worth watching. It has to be better with this guy coaching it.

but we need D more than anything.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Bufcomments

[KOKBILLS]

The Bills are scrapping by to fill holes because of how poorly this team was assembled 3 years ago. When was the last time we even franchised a guy or reigned one of our better players without letting them walk after their first contract. For this alone I am glad he is here, and changing that could be devastating.

 

Most list the Jets the past few years as what can be done quickly to fill holes. Tannenbaum is out of a job, Sexy Rexy is holding on by a thread in NJ. They are even considering trading the best defensive player in the league. Their Salary Cap is a mess. Meanwhile we Franchise one of our best player, hopefully sign our best OL, grab Mario, and have enough cash to make a splash in FA.

 

So...The fact that Buddy drafted 15 players, signed Nick Barnett, and Shawne Merriman,...Anderson,and Mario last year...All to a Defense that still ended up being historically bad for not one, not two, but three consecutive years under his watch...That was not Buddy's fault because the team he took over was so bad? Is that what you're saying?

 

Ever consider it may have been Bush's fault?

[Mr. WEO]

Most of you guys are so short sighted. The same stuff that you are saying about Nix could be applied to most of the GM"s in the league.

 

The dude has never left the Bills in a bad salary cap situation.

 

The guy made solid draft choices. Not the best but certainly not the worse.

 

And all this bitchin and crying about Fitzs' contract. Did you think about this??? When Fitz signed the extension, most of you on this board was HAPPY that Fitz was signed because at that point he earned the extension and the contract was not huge. Remember, Fitz was having a Pro Bowl caliber season at the point he signed the contract.

 

Everybody wants to throw the guy under the bus because Fitz hit a downward spiral, who would have forseen that???

 

He drafted C.J. Spiller one of the most dynamIrc players in the league

 

Urbik, Chandler and Barnett were good finds.

 

Getting Gilmore and glenn was a great 1 2 punch.

 

Not paying Bell the big money cutting Florence etc. This guy has done a solid job.

 

Of course there have been some blunders (no one is perfect) but he has been the best GM that we've had since who ever we had while Wade Phillips was coaching (I don't remember but I think it was Butler)

 

Gilmore is OK. No impact on the defense yet. Glenn is a LT, so, limited impact possible there also.

 

Graham: less than zero impact (the opportunity cost of that pick has proven astronomical).

 

Aaron Williams was another CB we picked in the first or second round 2 years in a row and we are still looking to draft another starting CB.

 

6 LBs have been drafted in the 3 Buddy years and we still are in desperate need of quality starting LBs. (Barnett was cut, chief)

 

Buddy has drafted 15 defensive players, dug up Merriman (twice!), picked up and dumped Barnett, overpaid Anderson, overpaid Mario (who else would have come close to that price??), hired 2 awful DC's......and the result? A historically bad defense.

 

 

We have one solid starting WR. Buddy, in 3 seasons, has drafted exactly 1 (one) WR--and that kid is a total bust.

 

The 2011 draft has 1 legit starter.

 

The 2010 draft has 1 legit starter--and he's a RB who is used sparingly.

 

2 of his 3 2nd round picks were useless to this point. His 3 3rd round picks are depth guys on a bad team.

 

Most of the other decent starters were here when Buddy was hired.

 

And, as if these screw-ups were not enough to convince most sane fans, his bizarre inability to improve the QB position has been catastrophic.

 

I'd say his legacy is pretty much cemented at this point. Only the Buffalo Bills would reward such lame production with continued employment.

[metzelaars_lives]

Blah Blah Blah this is the guy that took Torrell Troup over homestown superhuman Gronkowski, who went on to score 20 touchdowns in his second year. Then Nix proceeded to pass on coutless quality QB prospects while trotting out highschool level arm Fitzpatrick year after year.

 

The weinie that runs walterfootball.com could have done a better job than our entire scouting department. Id rather have tgreg and BuffaloBarbairen as a GM team. Short of maybe the Glenn pick, which still remains to be determined, the best move this team made under Nix was signing Urbik off of waivers. Think about that for a minute. Nix's tenure has been a total joke.

 

Spiller was a great pick, Carrington looks like a pretty good pick, Dareus was certainly the right pick at the time by anyone's calculation, jury still out on Searcy, Sheppard looked like a steal at the time (although I don't think it's happening for him), Gilmore will be just fine and Glenn was a great pick. Don't forget picking up Chandler off waivers as well as Rinehart. He's actually been a pretty decent GM except for his three "cute" picks: Troup over Gronkowski, Williams over Kaepernick and Graham over Wilson. Which, don't get me wrong are GIANT-sized disaster picks. But you, peter pan, still think Tebow was worth a first-rounder, so it's always difficult to take your assessment seriously.

[JohnC]

I'd say his legacy is pretty much cemented at this point. Only the Buffalo Bills would reward such lame production with continued employment.

 

What a weird way to run a billion $$$ business! When it gets to the point that the argument for keeping Nix on the job for another year is that he has been castrated by the organization so others will be more influential in calling the shots (which is not necessarily true) then you know that the franchise is still in a troubled state. Expecting the person most responsible for screwing up the franchise to fix the mess he created is a continuation of the irrationality that this organization is well known for.

[KOKBILLS]

What a weird way to run a billion $$$ business! When it gets to the point that the argument for keeping Nix on the job for another year is that he has been castrated by the organization so others will be more influential in calling the shots (which is not necessarily true) then you know that the franchise is still in a troubled state. Expecting the person most responsible for screwing up the franchise to fix the mess he created is a continuation of the irrationality that this organization is well known for.

 

After the 1st five mins or so of Russ Brandon's presser announcing his promotion I wanted to cry I was so happy! Then he started to talk about Buddy, and heaped so much praise upon the good ol' scout I wanted to cry out of desperate sadness...

[ganesh]

 

As far as Nix, he's a mixed bag. Even Polian whirred his last few years at Indy and I have always said he was our most regrettable Loss in the last 25 years. We know Nix missed on QB and I don't buy his argument he wanted to build a team around the QB first. I do like how he built a much more physical presence on both defense and offensive lines. He has to hit on this draft and I'm fine with his tenure. Remember we sucked eggs for thirteen years due to terrible front office decisions from coaching, to letting free agents go, to free agency acquisition, to the draft all before Nix. He was cleaning up probably the least talented team in the NFL.

 

Now get us a damn QB, CB, WR, and TE and all will be forgiven Buddy!

 

Buddy has drafted One good player each for the two lines in three years (Glenn and Dareus). Wood, Levitre and Willaims were drafted by the previous regime. Urbik was a FA Waiver pickup. He has put one decent FA on the defensive line in Mario williams. Of course, none of Glenn, Dareus or Williams are yet to make the pro-bowl or voted as All-pro in their Bills uniforms. There is no physical presence on this DL. For god's sake, this same Defensive line ranked 32nd and 31st against the RUN in the last two seasons of the NFL.

 

In three seasons, Nix is yet to draft a player that has gone to the pro-bowl other than Spiller this year as an alternate!

 

After the 1st five mins or so of Russ Brandon's presser announcing his promotion I wanted to cry I was so happy! Then he started to talk about Buddy, and heaped so much praise upon the good ol' scout I wanted to cry out of desperate sadness...

 

Patting each others back and laughing all the way to the bank!!!!

[NoName]

Why are you guys judging him exclusively on the draft. What about cap position. That's a big part of his job as well. Do you remember the Donahoe error and how he left us in cap hell!!!! Heck Butler did to if I am remembering correctly. And lets not even look at the Jet's cap hell. Buddy always left this team in a healthy cap position. He had to over pay for Mario. It happens. And you know what, Mario did what he does 10 - 12 sacks but not dominant.

 

Also, what about judging him also on his ability to find hidden good players on the cheap. Like other posters mentioned. Chandler, Urbik, Moore, Barnett. Good finds on the cheap.

 

The draft wasn't the best but he drafted better than the other Bills GM's prior to him

 

Coaching was a complete failure. Dave Wanstedt was probably the worst D Coordinator I have ever seen walk the Bills sideline. Gailey was a recently fired offensive coordinator that no one wanted as a head coach and the Bills picked him up. so coaching was a flop so far but hopefully marrone can have something to say about that.

 

And as far as the meatheads who want to beat him up for passing over Dalton and Gronk. Look at the other 30 something GM's who past them up as well.

Edited March 14, 2013 by NoName

[Superb Owl]

Most of you guys are so short sighted. The same stuff that you are saying about Nix could be applied to most of the GM"s in the league.

 

The dude has never left the Bills in a bad salary cap situation.

 

The guy made solid draft choices. Not the best but certainly not the worse.

 

And all this bitchin and crying about Fitzs' contract. Did you think about this??? When Fitz signed the extension, most of you on this board was HAPPY that Fitz was signed because at that point he earned the extension and the contract was not huge. Remember, Fitz was having a Pro Bowl caliber season at the point he signed the contract.

 

Everybody wants to throw the guy under the bus because Fitz hit a downward spiral, who would have forseen that???

 

He drafted C.J. Spiller one of the most dynamIrc players in the league

 

Urbik, Chandler and Barnett were good finds.

 

Getting Gilmore and glenn was a great 1 2 punch.

 

Not paying Bell the big money cutting Florence etc. This guy has done a solid job.

 

Of course there have been some blunders (no one is perfect) but he has been the best GM that we've had since who ever we had while Wade Phillips was coaching (I don't remember but I think it was Butler)

Agree Nix is DEFINITELY our best since Butler. And his draft hit percentage has been going up. He has been tweaking the scouting staff the whole time which could be working.

[Simon]

Also, what about judging him also on his ability to find hidden good players on the cheap. Like other posters mentioned. Chandler, Urbik, Moore, Barnett. Good finds on the cheap.

 

Except those weren't his finds; they were the results of good work from the pro scouting dept.

Thank you Doug E. Fresh....