Browns Release David Nelson and Naaman Roosevelt

[transient]

Sooo... I thought Chan Gailey busted that myth about his offensive genius last year via wretched game management, over-reliance on one of the worst starting QB in football, and CJ was winded? Punting from the 35, anyone? No? Maybe it was just me.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Huh?

 

The Bills very clearly did NOT have their normal amount of draft picks. Are you misrepresenting the facts to attempt to defend your mistake?

 

They did give Seattle a pick for the right to have Tarvaris Jackson stand in street clothes on their sideline every single game last year. And, yes, he is back in Seattle and playing pretty well as their #2 QB.

 

Your post oozes hostility though I am not sure why. Did you think it was a wise decision to release Nelson, who was effectively a starter in Gailey's spread offense, and ultimately spend 2 draft picks on the position?

 

While I am personally glad that the Bills spent some draft capital on their passing game, it is against the odds and thus a reason to be tempered (if not critical) when it comes to hoping a rookie QB and rookie WRs will immediately turn into a productive NFL air attack.

 

Taking a step back, the Bills did clear the decks to some degree at both positions, forcing their own hand as to direction on draft day. This is something that they have done with some regularity and it has not always worked to their advantage or to improve the team as a whole. The cycle of rebuilding continues.

[1B4IDie]

I always loved David Nelson as a player, guy reminded me of a Joe Jurevicius type possession receiver not a dynamic type but a reliable guy that can make a lot of grabs to keep drives moving and alive. Sad to see he is kind of a marginal NFL player after that knee injury. Hopefully he lands somewhere or maybe he just takes a year to rehab his knee and try and catch on with a team next year.

Good pull. I think Jurevicius is a good comparison.

 

He was set up for a huge 2012 if he didn't blow out his knee.

 

Losing Nelson was a huge blow for Fitzy.

 

In the long run the Bills are better off but I feel bad for the long run of Nelson's career. Its going to take Chan catching on somewhere in order for him to get a job.

[BuffaloFan68]

"If" is the middle of Life! If only Nix would have done the right thing & kept Perry Fewell as haed coach and then broght in Chan as OC. Perry already knew that the Bills needed a QB more than anything & he has proven success against NE. The Bills would be about 4 years ahead of where we are now. We also wouldn't have switched defensive agenda around as much which has been another progression killer.

[billsfan89]

No he was a margainal NFL player before the injury.

 

I would have to disagree while he was never going to be a superstar or even a pro-bowler he was looking like a guy that could craft out a career in the NFL as a legit slot receiver. 61 receptions, 658 yards, and 5 TD's in 2011 is not a stat line to sneeze at esp with Fitz as your QB.

 

He seemed like a guy who could craft out that role in a similar manner Brandon Stokley has/did (Stokley only had 1 season better than Nelson had in 2011 and that was on a stacked Colts team with Manning). Just because you aren't a pro-bowler doesn't mean you are a marginal player.

[eball]

 

Chan's ability as an offensive coach is truly underappreciated. He simply had the wrong job here.

 

As for Jones and Nelson........Jones had to go due to the kidney problem and I was very critical of the release of Nelson because of the the relative low cost to retain him and lack of any receivers on the roster........but the Bills addressed that when they used their second and third round picks to replace them on the depth chart.

 

Unfortunately they only had their regular amount of draft picks and they had a lousy offseason up unitl draft day and there were just too many holes to fill at that point.

 

Going to need some extraordinary play from EJ this year.

 

Nice backpedal. Funny watching posters like you when moves you blasted are proven to be correct.

[BADOLBILZ]

Nice backpedal. Funny watching posters like you when moves you blasted are proven to be correct.

 

Actually, when it comes to batting average.....that's a sac fly on mine. I was right, pretty much as always, but I get no additional points.

 

I never said Nelson would repeat the numbers he had with the Bills. I knew a good deal of his production was courtesy of the fine offensive mind of Chan Gailey.

 

I was correct that they should have signed him because it would cost virtually nothing to bring him to camp, and as SYS put it...not force their hand on draft day... but they ultimately wouldn't have had room for Nelson because they very aggressively addressed the position using their second and third round picks on receivers. Stevie and Graham were assured spots so that makes 4 heavily invested WR's to start with and the fifth and sixth receivers gotta play special teams and Nelson wasn't going to be a gunner or return kicks.

 

Woods looks like a keeper to replace Stevie, Stevie replaces Nelson in the slot(which I also forecast in that Nelson thread) and Goodwin replaces Brad Smith as the guy that returns kicks and ultimately frustrates you with his inability to connect with the ball in the passing game.

 

Honestly, at the time it was happening I also assumed that Brad Smith wasn't going to be part of the equation at all......why he was retained thru camp when he has never been able to catch a pass cleanly to save his life.....effectively negating ALL of the the speed he brought to the game.....was beyond explanation, IMO.

 

And they came into the draft with needs at QB/OG/CB/WR/OT and possibly safety since we didn't know what Aaron Williams was. Leodis has always been a reach as the #2 CB and counting on a hobbled Erik Pears or Hairston was a leap of faith to say the least.

 

Ultimately, the DESPERATE need for receivers burned up two of their top picks and now the team is so thin at OG/CB and OT that they are an injury away from starting a guy who would make David Nelson look like a Pro Bowl wideout by positional comparison.

 

Last year's Bills team had enough talent to win a a few more games than they did. Combined with their feeble schedule, they should have been in the playoffs instead of Indy or Cinci.

 

Their quarterbacking was sub par and defensive coaching was bad. But there really wasn't a need for a reset the roster by letting valuable players like Levitre, Rhinehart, George Wilson go without replacing them and then cutting dead weight in McGee but not replacing him either. And let's not forget swapping out an NFL QB in Fitzpatrick for the laughingstock of the NFL, Kevin Kolb.

 

The Bills simply BLEW free agency. They drafted well, but THEY BLEW FREE AGENCY. The fact that free agent David Nelson hasn't stuck elsewhere means little because if the Bills had an OT or OG or CB who was as good at what they do as Nelson is as a receiver then that guy would be starting for the Bills.

[BADOLBILZ]

Huh?

 

The Bills very clearly did NOT have their normal amount of draft picks. Are you misrepresenting the facts to attempt to defend your mistake?

 

First of all, learn to count or stay on the porch hounddog.

 

Secondly, no matter how offended you get by me calling it like it is.......it's not going to bring back Colin Kaepernick or Russell Wilson......you can't give back the draft picks and get Marshawn and his 100 yards/game back.....NONE of the mistakes will be erased by hating on a fellow fan....you can't get the last 13 years of football back.

 

Be an educated fan and let the chips fall where they may.

 

I am not here to dog the Bills or fellow fans........this is just the state of the team. Too many mistakes to allow the good things to offset them.

 

When they do well, I praise those moves. When they repeat the same mistakes over and over for 13 years I am going to be critical. It's a product. Remember that. There is nothing wrong with being objective about it.....and yes, I am objective. There may be some people on here who just assume the worst and therefore have a permanently negative take, but I am not one of them. When they start putting more good on the field than bad I will be there to talk about why what is good is good and how it can be sustained. Success is not an accident.

[John from Riverside]

 

 

Actually, when it comes to batting average.....that's a sac fly on mine. I was right, pretty much as always, but I get no additional points.

 

I never said Nelson would repeat the numbers he had with the Bills. I knew a good deal of his production was courtesy of the fine offensive mind of Chan Gailey.

 

I was correct that they should have signed him because it would cost virtually nothing to bring him to camp, and as SYS put it...not force their hand on draft day... but they ultimately wouldn't have had room for Nelson because they very aggressively addressed the position using their second and third round picks on receivers. Stevie and Graham were assured spots so that makes 4 heavily invested WR's to start with and the fifth and sixth receivers gotta play special teams and Nelson wasn't going to be a gunner or return kicks.

 

Woods looks like a keeper to replace Stevie, Stevie replaces Nelson in the slot(which I also forecast in that Nelson thread) and Goodwin replaces Brad Smith as the guy that returns kicks and ultimately frustrates you with his inability to connect with the ball in the passing game.

 

Honestly, at the time it was happening I also assumed that Brad Smith wasn't going to be part of the equation at all......why he was retained thru camp when he has never been able to catch a pass cleanly to save his life.....effectively negating ALL of the the speed he brought to the game.....was beyond explanation, IMO.

 

And they came into the draft with needs at QB/OG/CB/WR/OT and possibly safety since we didn't know what Aaron Williams was. Leodis has always been a reach as the #2 CB and counting on a hobbled Erik Pears or Hairston was a leap of faith to say the least.

 

Ultimately, the DESPERATE need for receivers burned up two of their top picks and now the team is so thin at OG/CB and OT that they are an injury away from starting a guy who would make David Nelson look like a Pro Bowl wideout by positional comparison.

 

Last year's Bills team had enough talent to win a a few more games than they did. Combined with their feeble schedule, they should have been in the playoffs instead of Indy or Cinci.

 

Their quarterbacking was sub par and defensive coaching was bad. But there really wasn't a need for a reset the roster by letting valuable players like Levitre, Rhinehart, George Wilson go without replacing them and then cutting dead weight in McGee but not replacing him either. And let's not forget swapping out an NFL QB in Fitzpatrick for the laughingstock of the NFL, Kevin Kolb.

 

The Bills simply BLEW free agency. They drafted well, but THEY BLEW FREE AGENCY. The fact that free agent David Nelson hasn't stuck elsewhere means little because if the Bills had an OT or OG or CB who was as good at what they do as Nelson is as a receiver then that guy would be starting for the Bills.

 

They blew free agency?

[JohnC]

Actually, when it comes to batting average.....that's a sac fly on mine. I was right, pretty much as always, but I get no additional points.

 

I never said Nelson would repeat the numbers he had with the Bills. I knew a good deal of his production was courtesy of the fine offensive mind of Chan Gailey.

 

I was correct that they should have signed him because it would cost virtually nothing to bring him to camp, and as SYS put it...not force their hand on draft day... but they ultimately wouldn't have had room for Nelson because they very aggressively addressed the position using their second and third round picks on receivers. Stevie and Graham were assured spots so that makes 4 heavily invested WR's to start with and the fifth and sixth receivers gotta play special teams and Nelson wasn't going to be a gunner or return kicks.

 

Woods looks like a keeper to replace Stevie, Stevie replaces Nelson in the slot(which I also forecast in that Nelson thread) and Goodwin replaces Brad Smith as the guy that returns kicks and ultimately frustrates you with his inability to connect with the ball in the passing game.

 

Honestly, at the time it was happening I also assumed that Brad Smith wasn't going to be part of the equation at all......why he was retained thru camp when he has never been able to catch a pass cleanly to save his life.....effectively negating ALL of the the speed he brought to the game.....was beyond explanation, IMO.

 

And they came into the draft with needs at QB/OG/CB/WR/OT and possibly safety since we didn't know what Aaron Williams was. Leodis has always been a reach as the #2 CB and counting on a hobbled Erik Pears or Hairston was a leap of faith to say the least.

 

Ultimately, the DESPERATE need for receivers burned up two of their top picks and now the team is so thin at OG/CB and OT that they are an injury away from starting a guy who would make David Nelson look like a Pro Bowl wideout by positional comparison.

 

Last year's Bills team had enough talent to win a a few more games than they did. Combined with their feeble schedule, they should have been in the playoffs instead of Indy or Cinci.

 

Their quarterbacking was sub par and defensive coaching was bad. But there really wasn't a need for a reset the roster by letting valuable players like Levitre, Rhinehart, George Wilson go without replacing them and then cutting dead weight in McGee but not replacing him either. And let's not forget swapping out an NFL QB in Fitzpatrick for the laughingstock of the NFL, Kevin Kolb.

 

The Bills simply BLEW free agency. They drafted well, but THEY BLEW FREE AGENCY. The fact that free agent David Nelson hasn't stuck elsewhere means little because if the Bills had an OT or OG or CB who was as good at what they do as Nelson is as a receiver then that guy would be starting for the Bills.

 

I usually find your take on the Bills very reasonable and well thought out. However, on some of your posts on this thread I have a very much different view from your assessment of the roster. I get the impression (maybe I'm wrong) that you sincerely believed that the Bills were close to being a playoff team and that with a few more judicious moves this roster would be able to compete for a playoff spot. For me that is an absurd position to take. What the Bills have demonstrated over the tenures of Levy/Jauron/Brandon/Nix is that this roster is too flawed to compete with good teams. Their record against teams with winning records was in the 20% or lower range. Eking out wins against bad teams is not a sign that the roster is close to being a serious team.

 

There shouldn't be too much time spent on David Nelson for the reason that he is a marginal receiver. He can catch the ball but he can't go anywhere after that. The receivers who were drafted in his place are immensely better than he is, and they offer the offense a greater degree of flexibility in play than the limited Nelson has to offer. Nelson is a marginal talent who can't play beyond his physical limitations.

 

You lament that the Bills didn't act more forcefully in the free agent market. They did sign some mid-tier free agent players but they didn't go full throttle in the market for a very reason reason: They are in a full rebuilding mode. Players such as Rhinehart and Wilson are inconsequential players who have little impact on the quality of the roster. Levitre is a good player that this organization simply didn't want to pay a premium price for. There is a reason why the Bills are so much under the cap and not showing an urgency to spend money. This staff has objectively concluded that this roster is a few years away from completing the arduous task of rebuilding a Nix roster. So why spend so much money money in the embryonic stage of the rebuild process? Look at how much cap space that is unused.

 

Take a look at Seattle under their GM, Schneider, and take a look at the Redskins under their actual GM, Mike Shanahan, and see what they have accomplished in three years. They both reformulated their rosters and most importantly they both acquired their frachise qbs. Now both of them are serious SB contenders. What should be learned from both of those franchises is that if you know what you are doing you can take a flagging franchise and build a winner in a relatively short time.

 

There are some Nix suporters who stand by him and the job he did. I consider him to be one the standard Ralph Wilson weirdly incomprehenisible hires. The best thing that recently happened to this franchise is that the owner stepped aside and put Brandon in charge of the football operation. As a one year GM hired by the owner he was another one of his laughable hires. Who is crazy enough to put his marketing man in charge of the football operation? Do you laugh or cry?

 

As a GM Brandon was not equipped for the job. But as the head of the franchise I give him a lot of credit for establishing a credible staff on the football side of the business. I liked the dignified and diplomatic way that he moved Nix out and elevated Whaley. I like the Marrone hire and the staff he has assembled. This year's draft had a different feel to it compared to the prior years.

 

Be prepared for a very difficult season. There are problems with the starting line-up but that isn't going to be the major problem for this team. The core problem this year will be related to the thinness of the roster. The lack of depth is going to show once a few injuries happen. Then it's going to get ugly on the field. This year is mostly about EJ. If he demonstrates that he is a legitimate franchise qb then this franchise is moving forward. If he doesn't, then the rebuilding process will be a more extended and frustrating process.

[BADOLBILZ]

They blew free agency?

 

Yeah, they had holes to fill going into it.......it was arguably the best combination of buyers market and available talent in the last 15 years......and they still came into draft day with more holes than they started with......and prior to signing Eric Wood they were approximately $30M under the cap.

 

Does that sum it up for you?

 

The Bills free agent acquistions were Manny Lawson.....a player who was getting diminishing playing time in Cinci....Kevin Kolb......the laughingstock QB of the NFL who will never even hold a clipboard in Buffalo.......and Alan Branch, who really looked surprisingly bad in the preseason. Meanwhile they provided the Titans with our best OL, a backup QB(with an assist from the Buddy Nix cellphone debacle ), and George Wilson, who simply can't be as bad as D'Norris Searcy.

[jahnyc]

I still have no confidence in our front office. How can we expect to win with two rookie QBs, no starting caliber CBs after Gilmore, an offensive line with a below average LG and RT, a below average group of linebackers, no overall depth, and a very young group of wide receivers? I try to be optimistic, but this seems like way too much to overcome this year. Clearly, we are rebuilding again, not reloading. If EJ develops during the year and our draft picks show potential, that would at least be a start to a better future.

[BADOLBILZ]

I usually find your take on the Bills very reasonable and well thought out. However, on some of your posts on this thread I have a very much different view from your assessment of the roster. I get the impression (maybe I'm wrong) that you sincerely believed that the Bills were close to being a playoff team and that with a few more judicious moves this roster would be able to compete for a playoff spot. For me that is an absurd position to take. What the Bills have demonstrated over the tenures of Levy/Jauron/Brandon/Nix is that this roster is too flawed to compete with good teams. Their record against teams with winning records was in the 20% or lower range. Eking out wins against bad teams is not a sign that the roster is close to being a serious team.

 

There shouldn't be too much time spent on David Nelson for the reason that he is a marginal receiver. He can catch the ball but he can't go anywhere after that. The receivers who were drafted in his place are immensely better than he is, and they offer the offense a greater degree of flexibility in play than the limited Nelson has to offer. Nelson is a marginal talent who can't play beyond his physical limitations.

 

You lament that the Bills didn't act more forcefully in the free agent market. They did sign some mid-tier free agent players but they didn't go full throttle in the market for a very reason reason: They are in a full rebuilding mode. Players such as Rhinehart and Wilson are inconsequential players who have little impact on the quality of the roster. Levitre is a good player that this organization simply didn't want to pay a premium price for. There is a reason why the Bills are so much under the cap and not showing an urgency to spend money. This staff has objectively concluded that this roster is a few years away from completing the arduous task of rebuilding a Nix roster. So why spend so much money money in the embryonic stage of the rebuild process? Look at how much cap space that is unused.

 

Take a look at Seattle under their GM, Schneider, and take a look at the Redskins under their actual GM, Mike Shanahan, and see what they have accomplished in three years. They both reformulated their rosters and most importantly they both acquired their frachise qbs. Now both of them are serious SB contenders. What should be learned from both of those franchises is that if you know what you are doing you can take a flagging franchise and build a winner in a relatively short time.

 

There are some Nix suporters who stand by him and the job he did. I consider him to be one the standard Ralph Wilson weirdly incomprehenisible hires. The best thing that recently happened to this franchise is that the owner stepped aside and put Brandon in charge of the football operation. As a one year GM hired by the owner he was another one of his laughable hires. Who is crazy enough to put his marketing man in charge of the football operation? Do you laugh or cry?

 

As a GM Brandon was not equipped for the job. But as the head of the franchise I give him a lot of credit for establishing a credible staff on the football side of the business. I liked the dignified and diplomatic way that he moved Nix out and elevated Whaley. I like the Marrone hire and the staff he has assembled. This year's draft had a different feel to it compared to the prior years.

 

Be prepared for a very difficult season. There are problems with the starting line-up but that isn't going to be the major problem for this team. The core problem this year will be related to the thinness of the roster. The lack of depth is going to show once a few injuries happen. Then it's going to get ugly on the field. This year is mostly about EJ. If he demonstrates that he is a legitimate franchise qb then this franchise is moving forward. If he doesn't, then the rebuilding process will be a more extended and frustrating process.

 

Full rebuild blah, blah, blah..........heard this excuse many times in the past 13 years. That excuse was used in years one AND two of the Jauron/Levy era and in year one of the Gailey era.

 

Both times, it was BS. The only full re-build the Bills have been in was the first year of the Donahoe regime. I rarely agree with The Big Cat but he and others are right about one thing, the talent gap between good and bad NFL teams is not that significant. Unless of course, they allow their roster to take unnecessary steps backward.

 

Comparing what is going on here to what the Seahawks and Redskins ignores the enormous amount of personnel turnover they engaged in to get there. They have also been quite free with the checkbook. Maybe Jerry Hughes for Shep is OUR Marshawn for next to nothing trade.....but it's going to take more activity for me to see a comparison. Seattle went absolutely wild re-tooling that roster and took gambles on a whole bunch of guys like Brandon Browner that paid off big time.

 

I have been looking for something like that here. I am not seeing that, I see a more reserved, less urgent approach which really feels like same old same old.

 

Fortune favors the bold. I am not sure how bold a team can be when they have an expectation that they will only spend to the cap if they are one of the odds on favorites to compete for a SB championship....OR.....they must make the financial playoffs every year. That has been the Ralph Wilson way of doing business since day one. You aren't going to see that kind of hedged bet going on in Seattle or Washington.

[JohnC]

Full rebuild blah, blah, blah..........heard this excuse many times in the past 13 years. That excuse was used in years one AND two of the Jauron/Levy era and in year one of the Gailey era.

 

Both times, it was BS. The only full re-build the Bills have been in was the first year of the Donahoe regime. I rarely agree with The Big Cat but he and others are right about one thing, the talent gap between good and bad NFL teams is not that significant. Unless of course, they allow their roster to take unnecessary steps backward.

 

Comparing what is going on here to what the Seahawks and Redskins ignores the enormous amount of personnel turnover they engaged in to get there. They have also been quite free with the checkbook. Maybe Jerry Hughes for Shep is OUR Marshawn for next to nothing trade.....but it's going to take more activity for me to see a comparison. Seattle went absolutely wild re-tooling that roster and took gambles on a whole bunch of guys like Brandon Browner that paid off big time.

 

I have been looking for something like that here. I am not seeing that, I see a more reserved, less urgent approach which really feels like same old same old.

 

Fortune favors the bold. I am not sure how bold a team can be when they have an expectation that they will only spend to the cap if they are one of the odds on favorites to compete for a SB championship....OR.....they must make the financial playoffs every year. That has been the Ralph Wilson way of doing business since day one. You aren't going to see that kind of hedged bet going on in Seattle or Washington.

 

Because I live in the Md/DC area I'm more familiar with the Skins situation than I am with Seattle's approach. The owner, Dan Snyder, is not now interfering with the football operation and is allowing Mike Shanahan to have full control of the operation. What Shanahan did is the opposite of what you are suggesting. He didn't add to the payroll, he stripped it. He made a very concerted effort to get rid of the high priced and poor valued players for younger and cheaper players. Over the last two years he was working under a $36 M penalty cap hit, split over two years. The spending splurge for outside talent has dramatically been toned down.

 

His roster is now younger and cheaper than when he took over. How did he do it? He did it mostly with his own draft picks. He got his franchise qb by trading a boatload of picks for a dynamic qb that was the propellant for changing the fortunes of the franchise. He also did it by hitting on a number of lower round picks. Another way of looking at his process was that he was immensely more proficient in his player evaluations than the laggard Bills. When you have people such as Jauron/Levy/Brandon/Nix making the personnel selections you end up getting the output that one would expect from mediocre people making the selections.

 

Are the Bills one of the more frugal franchises in the league? Of course. This is a Ralph Wilson run business. Tell me something that I don't already know! The main problem that has crippled this franchise is that its buffoon owner hired incompetents to make hundreds of million $$$ worth of decisions on his behalf. How smart is that?

 

You advocated for boldness in remaking this franchise. We don't need bold maneuvers to get back to respectability, and then beyond. What this franchise desperately needs is not decisions made out of desperation but it needs to routinely act compentenly. It's not about hitting the big one. It is having an organization acting on a regular basis with intelligence.

 

There is no doubt that both Seattle and Washington elevated their rosters in general. But what made both of these franchises make the quantum leap was the acquisition of a talented qb. That in itself was the most essential ingredient that transformed those respective frachises.

 

You might not be receptive to what you consider to be the rebuilding blather but for the Bills it is a reality. Undoing the wretched work of the prior regimes is the start of the rebuilding process. Whether you like it or not that is what is going on right now. If EJ turns out to be a good qb then the process is accelerated. If not, then back to the drawing board.

 

.

[BADOLBILZ]

Because I live in the Md/DC area I'm more familiar with the Skins situation than I am with Seattle's approach. The owner, Dan Snyder, is not now interfering with the football operation and is allowing Mike Shanahan to have full control of the operation. What Shanahan did is the opposite of what you are suggesting. He didn't add to the payroll, he stripped it. He made a very concerted effort to get rid of the high priced and poor valued players for younger and cheaper players. Over the last two years he was working under a $36 M penalty cap hit, split over two years. The spending splurge for outside talent has dramatically been toned down.

 

His roster is now younger and cheaper than when he took over. How did he do it? He did it mostly with his own draft picks. He got his franchise qb by trading a boatload of picks for a dynamic qb that was the propellant for changing the fortunes of the franchise. He also did it by hitting on a number of lower round picks. Another way of looking at his process was that he was immensely more proficient in his player evaluations than the laggard Bills. When you have people such as Jauron/Levy/Brandon/Nix making the personnel selections you end up getting the output that one would expect from mediocre people making the selections.

 

Are the Bills one of the more frugal franchises in the league? Of course. This is a Ralph Wilson run business. Tell me something that I don't already know! The main problem that has crippled this franchise is that its buffoon owner hired incompetents to make hundreds of million $$$ worth of decisions on his behalf. How smart is that?

 

You advocated for boldness in remaking this franchise. We don't need bold maneuvers to get back to respectability, and then beyond. What this franchise desperately needs is not decisions made out of desperation but it needs to routinely act compentenly. It's not about hitting the big one. It is having an organization acting on a regular basis with intelligence.

 

There is no doubt that both Seattle and Washington elevated their rosters in general. But what made both of these franchises make the quantum leap was the acquisition of a talented qb. That in itself was the most essential ingredient that transformed those respective frachises.

 

You might not be receptive to what you consider to be the rebuilding blather but for the Bills it is a reality. Undoing the wretched work of the prior regimes is the start of the rebuilding process. Whether you like it or not that is what is going on right now. If EJ turns out to be a good qb then the process is accelerated. If not, then back to the drawing board.

 

.

 

You may not realize it......but when you are saying that losing Levitre, Rinehart and George Wilson and not replacing them was "undoing the wretched work of prior regimes"....and then replacing a QB who threw 50+ TD passes in the past two years with Kevin on the Kolb......the laughingstock QB of the NFL who has never even thrown 10 TD passes in a season.... then you are just buying the BS out of sheer HOPE. That's fine, but don't bother polishing it for me.

[JohnC]

You may not realize it......but when you are saying that losing Levitre, Rinehart and George Wilson and not replacing them was "undoing the wretched work of prior regimes"....and then replacing a QB who threw 50+ TD passes in the past two years with Kevin on the Kolb......the laughingstock QB of the NFL who has never even thrown 10 TD passes in a season.... then you are just buying the BS out of sheer HOPE. That's fine, but don't bother polishing it for me.

 

You are putting too much effort is discussing players such as Rinehart and Wilson. Both are inconsequential players who make little difference whether you have them on the roster or not. The Bills wanted to keep Fitz as a backup and at a lower salary. He said no. They went to the garbage heap to fill the gap. Kolb is what he is; the team got him not to be a starter but to be a backup. Assuming that he is healthy EJ is going to be the starter. That was the plan right after the pick was made.

 

You are characterizing the Bills as if the inherited roster was close to being a playoff team. It was not. It was a garbage roster that with a little boost could be a 7-9 and 8-8 caliber team. Improving to be merely mediocre is not my idea of having an ambitious goal.

 

Whether you want to accept the fact that the Bills are rebuilding or not is your prerogative. They simply are. If you want to inflate what the inherited roster contained with players such as Rhinehart and Wilson then you are the one being fooled. Although not obvious to you but to me what is happening now is undoing what the bumbling Nix and his predecessors did to this franchise. They badly maimed this franchise. Now the rehabilitation process is going on. The reality is that this team is closer to being an expansion team than they are being a playoff team. If you can't handle that reality now you will be forced to face it when the season is in play. It's going to take time whether you like it or not.

Edited September 2, 2013 by JohnC

[K-9]

If bullschit were music, this thread would be a marching band.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Bob in STL]

Sooo... I thought Chan Gailey busted that myth about his offensive genius last year via wretched game management, over-reliance on one of the worst starting QB in football, and CJ was winded? Punting from the 35, anyone? No? Maybe it was just me.

 

No you are right .. Chan's geniuswas merely myth made up by desperate fans. I mean, what is he doing these days?

[DDD]

Chan always could coach offense. It's the rest of what you need to do as a head coach that he failed at.

This

[BADOLBILZ]

You are putting too much effort is discussing players such as Rinehart and Wilson. Both are inconsequential players who make little difference whether you have them on the roster or not. The Bills wanted to keep Fitz as a backup and at a lower salary. He said no. They went to the garbage heap to fill the gap. Kolb is what he is; the team got him not to be a starter but to be a backup. Assuming that he is healthy EJ is going to be the starter. That was the plan right after the pick was made.

 

You are characterizing the Bills as if the inherited roster was close to being a playoff team. It was not. It was a garbage roster that with a little boost could be a 7-9 and 8-8 caliber team. Improving to be merely mediocre is not my idea of having an ambitious goal.

 

Whether you want to accept the fact that the Bills are rebuilding or not is your prerogative. They simply are. If you want to inflate what the inherited roster contained with players such as Rhinehart and Wilson then you are the one being fooled. Although not obvious to you but to me what is happening now is undoing what the bumbling Nix and his predecessors did to this franchise. They badly maimed this franchise. Now the rehabilitation process is going on. The reality is that this team is closer to being an expansion team than they are being a playoff team. If you can't handle that reality now you will be forced to face it when the season is in play. It's going to take time whether you like it or not.

 

Where is all this "undoing" John?

 

Seriously.......just point it out if it is so clear. Just some examples.

 

I see a new regime that lost ground in free agency and had the same amount of draft picks as everyone else.

 

I am a fan of the new coaching staff......and I have been harping on the wishy-washy commitment to get a franchise QB in here for seeminlgy ever.... so I am 100% behind the EJ selection.

 

But I expect a turnaround THE MINUTE our QB starts playing at a high level. This is still the roster that Brandon and Nix have built for the past 5 years......Mario Williams, CJ Spiller, Dareus, Gilmore, Stevie, Glenn, Wood, Byrd, Carrington......those moves did not need to be "undone".......this was not a re-build.