Midwesternbillsfan
03-08-2010, 12:54 AM
... I have little doubt that Archie Manning would advise his son, Eli, to refuse to come play in Buffalo just like he advised- and followed through- with his son to do about San Diego and the Chargers.
Anyway, the Bills... what a bad, bad situation. And has been for some time. Mostly I'm not really bothered by it because I'm 28 years old and far removed from the impressionable days when I was a child and about each and every week in the fall was essentially determined by the Sunday result of the Bills. And the NFL is infinitely entertaining; there is a lot more to care about than even a beloved childhood team, and personally a strong affinity for the Colts (organic, not artificial) that started in 2003 when I began rooting for them in the postseason (the Bills aren't ever an option) that has carried over into the regular season has provided additional rooting interest separate from the Bills. Thank God. But what a bad, bad situation in Buffalo.
Those Chargers that Eli Manning refused to go to were in the midst of an eight-year, non-playoff producing season streak ('96-'03); the Bills have now gone an astounding DECADE with no playoff appearance. The Bills last made the playoffs, as stupefying as it sounds, when Bill Clinton (yes, our nation's 42nd president: Bill Clinton) was still in office. Cue VH1's "Remember the '90's?" You'd have to to remember the Bills last postseason appearance. The Bills and the Lions are the only two teams w/that dubious distinction of a decade-long streak of no playoffs. But yet until recently the Bills haven't been lumped into categories involving the top-three worst teams of the decade. But looks can be deceiving: aside from 2001, the Bills haven't in any season been one of the NFL's five worst teams. But if you don't isolate individual seasons and take the decade as a whole, there's no denying the Bills have been one of the NFL's very worst teams. The Bills have been able to evade the national attention as being as bad as the Lions, Raiders, Rams, etc., because Buffalo's been generally drafting out of the top-5- and before this year, even out of the top-10 (just out of the top-10; 12th in '07; 11th in '08 and '09). But Bills' fans are aware of what's been obscured until recently on the national stage: what a bad, bad situation. And as bad as anywhere, save for the possible exception of Detroit and Oakland. And even those Raiders played in Super Bowl XXXVII.
I just feel that the Bills are really up against it. Playing in the NFL's second smallest market, which has already caused an export of one game north of the border, and being owned by a 91-year man visibly deteriorating (as 91-year old people tend to do) who also has no succession plan other than that the Bills go to the highest bidder, underscoring the very real possibility that the Bills could move to southern California or even Canada... well, that's probably bad enough. But that doesn't even say anything about the product. Since the last CBA agreement passed in March of 2006, the Bills have deliberately operated under a constraining fiscal policy (no, it's true: they're not alone in this) known as 'Cash to the Cap.' And that means that there really isn't any margin for error. They don't own any margin for error- but the Bills have still been chocked-full of errors with A) their share of poor 1st-round draft selections (Mike Williams; J.P. Losman; John McCargo), B) their string of questionable 1st-round draft selections (Donte Whitner; Marshawn "Two Strikes" Lynch; Leodis McKelvin; Aaron Maybin), C) FA blunders (the useless '06 class: Robert Royal, Craig Nall, Larry Tripplett, Tuten Reyes, Melvin Fowler, etc; the $74 million spent of Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker in 2007), D) poorly choosing to extend players like Chris Kelsay (4 years/$23 million) and maintain the ineffective status quo at certain positions while letting productive- but supposedly aging and declining players like Pat Williams and London Fletcher- move on to what has ultimately amounted to much greener pastures for all involved except the Bills, and E) making horrible coaching selections for even probably even poorer reasons: Tom Donahoe seemingly hired Mike Mularkey because he knew he'd be subordinate to him and was resistant to hiring anyone that would challenge his power; Marv Levy hired Dick Jauron because he saw similarities in the direction of their coaching careers, and felt Jauron's second stint in coaching would go much the way that his own did. Obviously, it didn't.
If you've made it this far, thank you, first of all, and second of all you'll be relieved to hear that I'm just about done. I just wanted to say that there may actually be genuine reason for optimism. The braintrust of Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley, and Chan Gailey decisively trumps its predecessor: Russ Brandon, John Guy, and Dick Jauron, the de facto GM because the Bills owned no official general manages besides this nebulous, so-called "inner circle." Still, if things are going to change- and possibly if the Bills are even going to be able to stay in Buffalo with an increasingly disenchanted and disgusted fanbase on their hands- they're going to have to happen now. Things have to change now. The Bills have to hire the right coaches- and the coaches, the coaching staff- now. The Bills have to begin to draft well- top to bottom- now. The Bills have to rid themselves of the notion that trading a 27-year old, two-time Pro Bowl left tackle is a wise decision now. The Bills have to abandon marketing ploys that may generate ticket sales but only serve to mask the myriad of roster problems now. The Bills have to know when it's truly time to let go of a player- and when it's time to desperately hold onto him- now. And the Bills have to once again cultivate that 1990's environment that was inviting- instead of repelling- to free agents now. And about that, well, the Bills will also have to make very judicious- as opposed to wasteful- decisions on the free agent front now.
The Bills future is mired in mystery right about now. But the right answers- finally, the right answers- to all of these decades-long concerns and outright failures can finally provide a picture much brighter and perhaps even much more permanent. But yes, it's going to have to start.. now.
Anyway, the Bills... what a bad, bad situation. And has been for some time. Mostly I'm not really bothered by it because I'm 28 years old and far removed from the impressionable days when I was a child and about each and every week in the fall was essentially determined by the Sunday result of the Bills. And the NFL is infinitely entertaining; there is a lot more to care about than even a beloved childhood team, and personally a strong affinity for the Colts (organic, not artificial) that started in 2003 when I began rooting for them in the postseason (the Bills aren't ever an option) that has carried over into the regular season has provided additional rooting interest separate from the Bills. Thank God. But what a bad, bad situation in Buffalo.
Those Chargers that Eli Manning refused to go to were in the midst of an eight-year, non-playoff producing season streak ('96-'03); the Bills have now gone an astounding DECADE with no playoff appearance. The Bills last made the playoffs, as stupefying as it sounds, when Bill Clinton (yes, our nation's 42nd president: Bill Clinton) was still in office. Cue VH1's "Remember the '90's?" You'd have to to remember the Bills last postseason appearance. The Bills and the Lions are the only two teams w/that dubious distinction of a decade-long streak of no playoffs. But yet until recently the Bills haven't been lumped into categories involving the top-three worst teams of the decade. But looks can be deceiving: aside from 2001, the Bills haven't in any season been one of the NFL's five worst teams. But if you don't isolate individual seasons and take the decade as a whole, there's no denying the Bills have been one of the NFL's very worst teams. The Bills have been able to evade the national attention as being as bad as the Lions, Raiders, Rams, etc., because Buffalo's been generally drafting out of the top-5- and before this year, even out of the top-10 (just out of the top-10; 12th in '07; 11th in '08 and '09). But Bills' fans are aware of what's been obscured until recently on the national stage: what a bad, bad situation. And as bad as anywhere, save for the possible exception of Detroit and Oakland. And even those Raiders played in Super Bowl XXXVII.
I just feel that the Bills are really up against it. Playing in the NFL's second smallest market, which has already caused an export of one game north of the border, and being owned by a 91-year man visibly deteriorating (as 91-year old people tend to do) who also has no succession plan other than that the Bills go to the highest bidder, underscoring the very real possibility that the Bills could move to southern California or even Canada... well, that's probably bad enough. But that doesn't even say anything about the product. Since the last CBA agreement passed in March of 2006, the Bills have deliberately operated under a constraining fiscal policy (no, it's true: they're not alone in this) known as 'Cash to the Cap.' And that means that there really isn't any margin for error. They don't own any margin for error- but the Bills have still been chocked-full of errors with A) their share of poor 1st-round draft selections (Mike Williams; J.P. Losman; John McCargo), B) their string of questionable 1st-round draft selections (Donte Whitner; Marshawn "Two Strikes" Lynch; Leodis McKelvin; Aaron Maybin), C) FA blunders (the useless '06 class: Robert Royal, Craig Nall, Larry Tripplett, Tuten Reyes, Melvin Fowler, etc; the $74 million spent of Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker in 2007), D) poorly choosing to extend players like Chris Kelsay (4 years/$23 million) and maintain the ineffective status quo at certain positions while letting productive- but supposedly aging and declining players like Pat Williams and London Fletcher- move on to what has ultimately amounted to much greener pastures for all involved except the Bills, and E) making horrible coaching selections for even probably even poorer reasons: Tom Donahoe seemingly hired Mike Mularkey because he knew he'd be subordinate to him and was resistant to hiring anyone that would challenge his power; Marv Levy hired Dick Jauron because he saw similarities in the direction of their coaching careers, and felt Jauron's second stint in coaching would go much the way that his own did. Obviously, it didn't.
If you've made it this far, thank you, first of all, and second of all you'll be relieved to hear that I'm just about done. I just wanted to say that there may actually be genuine reason for optimism. The braintrust of Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley, and Chan Gailey decisively trumps its predecessor: Russ Brandon, John Guy, and Dick Jauron, the de facto GM because the Bills owned no official general manages besides this nebulous, so-called "inner circle." Still, if things are going to change- and possibly if the Bills are even going to be able to stay in Buffalo with an increasingly disenchanted and disgusted fanbase on their hands- they're going to have to happen now. Things have to change now. The Bills have to hire the right coaches- and the coaches, the coaching staff- now. The Bills have to begin to draft well- top to bottom- now. The Bills have to rid themselves of the notion that trading a 27-year old, two-time Pro Bowl left tackle is a wise decision now. The Bills have to abandon marketing ploys that may generate ticket sales but only serve to mask the myriad of roster problems now. The Bills have to know when it's truly time to let go of a player- and when it's time to desperately hold onto him- now. And the Bills have to once again cultivate that 1990's environment that was inviting- instead of repelling- to free agents now. And about that, well, the Bills will also have to make very judicious- as opposed to wasteful- decisions on the free agent front now.
The Bills future is mired in mystery right about now. But the right answers- finally, the right answers- to all of these decades-long concerns and outright failures can finally provide a picture much brighter and perhaps even much more permanent. But yes, it's going to have to start.. now.