Good lord, how far we’ve come…

[billsfan89]

The drought era Bills were just depressing to watch. Say what you will about Beane but even if you don't like his moves they at least make sense. 2022 this team was coming off having massive interior offensive line issues. They go out in 2023 and they sign Connor McGovern a starting caliber guard, they take a chance on David Edwards as a veteran reclamation project to add depth, and they draft what many consider to be the best pure guard in the draft in Torrence. The Bills in drought era would have signed two low end guards and drafted a player in round 5 and called it a day spending a 2nd round pick on a safety or some other lesser area of need. 

 

The Spiller pick and trading away Lynch is the most incomprehensible move of the drought. The whole 2010 draft set the Bills back 3-4 years because they could have in round 1 drafted an offensive linemen they were so desperate (Mike Iupati or Pouncey even Anthony Davis was productive for several seasons) and then taken Gronk in round 2 while still having Lynch in the backfield. The only draft that was worse was possibly 2006 where they could have had Ngata and Mangold and instead came up with Whitner and McCargo.

[QCity]

4 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:

Stupider than the Donte Whitner pick? Or the Aaron Maybin pick?

 

 

 

Well that wasn't Nix, that was the Marv/Jauron/Brandon era. But it would be close.

[Whites Bay]

15 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

The only draft that was worse was possibly DEFINITELY 2006 where they could have had Ngata and Mangold and instead came up with Whitner and McCargo.

Sorry.  Had to chime in there.  Still stings.  I practiced pronouncing "Ngata" (N-yata) for a month before the draft.  Just breathtakingly stupid.

[Breakout Squad]

17 hours ago, The Firebaugh Kid said:

Wow. That was so depressing and I only lasted like five minutes of it. 
RIP Mr. Wilson but hiring jokers like Nix was a huge part of the problem.

100%  That was painful to watch. Nix says he didn’t want the GM job but thought about it for a week and it grew on him?!  What a loser mentality this franchise had for 2 decades. 

[corta765]

48 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

The drought era Bills were just depressing to watch. Say what you will about Beane but even if you don't like his moves they at least make sense. 2022 this team was coming off having massive interior offensive line issues. They go out in 2023 and they sign Connor McGovern a starting caliber guard, they take a chance on David Edwards as a veteran reclamation project to add depth, and they draft what many consider to be the best pure guard in the draft in Torrence. The Bills in drought era would have signed two low end guards and drafted a player in round 5 and called it a day spending a 2nd round pick on a safety or some other lesser area of need. 

 

The Spiller pick and trading away Lynch is the most incomprehensible move of the drought. The whole 2010 draft set the Bills back 3-4 years because they could have in round 1 drafted an offensive linemen they were so desperate (Mike Iupati or Pouncey even Anthony Davis was productive for several seasons) and then taken Gronk in round 2 while still having Lynch in the backfield. The only draft that was worse was possibly 2006 where they could have had Ngata and Mangold and instead came up with Whitner and McCargo.

Bro they have like 7 different drafts during the drought you could say the same thing about lol The Bills drought is a lesson in bad asset mgmt to max and failing to build upon what you have.

[billsfan89]

17 minutes ago, Whites Bay said:

Sorry.  Had to chime in there.  Still stings.  I practiced pronouncing "Ngata" (N-yata) for a month before the draft.  Just breathtakingly stupid.

 

The Bills after letting Pat Williams foolishly walk and then Sam Adams getting washed the Bills had a massive need for a run stuffing DT and Ngata was right there. One of the top DT's in the draft who fit the mold of what the Bills needed. The Bills could have in 2006 stabilized the interior of both sides of the ball with Mangold and Ngata and instead wound up with a decent safety and a bust DT...

[Prospector]

Looking at some of those O-lines.... geez loweez

[Dan Darragh]

1 hour ago, QCity said:

 

Well that wasn't Nix, that was the Marv/Jauron/Brandon era. But it would be close.

At one time or another, we had 5 of the top 10 picks from the 2006 draft on our roster,including #1, #2 and #3. None of them contributed anything useful except for Mario Williams.

[SirAndrew]

5 hours ago, Logic said:

I know this isn't the point of this thread, but:

CJ Spiller was ahead of his time. He was also poorly used by the Bills.

Put him in the 2025 NFL with its increased space and speed and college influence, and give him to a creative offensive mind...that boy would EAT.

That said: Yeah. We've come a long way. From the Marv Levy nostalgia tour, to using the 9th pick on a "waterbug" and sleeping through the start of free agency, to the toxic dumpster fire that the Bills became under Russ Brandon and Doug Whaley. And who could forget the constant (and very real threats) of losing our team to another city?

And now look at the Bills: one of the most respected and well run franchises in the National Football League, perennial division winners and Super Bowl contenders, and 12 months out from the opening of a brand new stadium that should keep the Bills in Buffalo for decades to come.

What a long, strange trip its been.

 

I was mentally prepared to lose the team at that point, and was ok with it. Things were hopeless for this franchise, and I almost felt like Toronto can have them. I just remember being frustrated by Toronto being the potential city. Losing a team to a city that close would have been worse than moving across the country. We would have heard about them too much. 

[Sierra Foothills]

On 8/13/2025 at 3:40 PM, AlBUNDY4TDS said:

Not gonna lie, I was excited when we drafted Spiller. We don't seem to do well with Clemson players. Spiller, Watkins, Shaq Lawson.

 

23 hours ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

Don't forget Perry Tuttle!  Although, Jerry Butler was a major outlier to the poor run of Clemson players.

 

23 hours ago, K-9 said:

Jerry Butler says hold my beer.

 

21 hours ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Perry Tuttle

 

9 hours ago, JP51 said:

let us not forget Perry Tuttle... just sayin... lol 

 

7 hours ago, chris heff said:

You forgot Perry Tuttle.

 

Congratulations guys... you're all old. 😛

 

[JP51]

3 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations guys... you're all old. 😛

 

Just "vastly experienced" lol 

[tomur67]

The talent level on this years roster is so much better that we will be cutting players that we would have been happy to have only a few years ago.  Unfortunately, there are a few players that we really like that will have to be let go.  A nice problem  to have, but a couple players  will be cut that I would really like being on the final 53.

[corta765]

12 hours ago, tomur67 said:

The talent level on this years roster is so much better that we will be cutting players that we would have been happy to have only a few years ago.  Unfortunately, there are a few players that we really like that will have to be let go.  A nice problem  to have, but a couple players  will be cut that I would really like being on the final 53.

It is funny because the WR corp is probably a grade of B at best... but the floor is also decently high and someone is going to be cut who will go somewhere else and do relatively decent.

[corta765]

17 hours ago, SirAndrew said:

I was mentally prepared to lose the team at that point, and was ok with it. Things were hopeless for this franchise, and I almost felt like Toronto can have them. I just remember being frustrated by Toronto being the potential city. Losing a team to a city that close would have been worse than moving across the country. We would have heard about them too much. 

 

I never thought the NFL would leave Buffalo (at least at that time) given the leagues rules for owners to try everything to stay which included a city building a new stadium which per league rules meant the owner couldn't leave. Toronto sucked but LA always felt more like the real threat if they would go just given the open spot there. 

 

Ironically my view on the team leaving changed in 2014 even though Pegula had the team. If you read the details on St. Louis with the Rams they did everything by the book for the NFL to keep the team and was needed to block an owner from moving... and the NFL still let it happen. Chargers & Raiders never had real stadium plans so that wasn't a surprise that they would leave those markets, but St. Louis by the leagues own rules did it right and the NFL let em go regardless to the point the Rams & League are paying St. Louis back. Once that happened it open my eyes to the NFL not really giving a sh*t regardless of history market etc. People talk about Green Bay and how they wish more markets could do that, but the Packers are a complete pain the a$$ for the NFL because they do not have the goal of max money because they are community owned. The last thing the NFL ever desires now would be another market having that type of reach given the oodles of money Owner owed teams bring in and can get out of markets.