Buddy Nix snoozes during start of free agency

[T-Long]

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post...on-free-agency

ORLANDO, Fla. -- At 12:01 a.m. on the opening day of free agency, the Miami Dolphins were arranging to meet with linebacker Karlos Dansby, the New York Jets were burning the phone lines and the New England Patriots were finalizing a deal to bring back a franchise nose tackle.

I asked Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix what he was doing at that moment.

"Sleep," he said Monday while taking a break from the NFL owners meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes. "They asked me if I was going to be there, I said 'Hell, no. I'm not doing that. I'm going to bed.'"

Bills fans probably won't like the sound of that strategy. While the rest of the division's personnel men were getting their heads around the free-agency market, Nix was getting his head around his pillow.

That wasn't laziness on his part. He merely was following the Bills' master plan of building through the draft and cautiously proceeding in free agency.

"I still think you build through the draft," Nix said, "but you can't fill every hole, especially if you haven't been very good.

"We don't get excited about the first week or being up there at midnight and 12:01, signing somebody. We let it play itself out and make sure that the guys we get fit what we need and fill a need."

The Bills have brought in three free agents: right tackle Cornell Green from the Oakland Raiders, inside linebacker Andra Davis from the Denver Broncos and defensive end Dwan Edwards from the Baltimore Ravens.

Nix said those types of acquisitions not only improve a roster, but also help a team draft more efficiently.

"If you do that, then you're going to get in trouble," Nix said. "It kills you two ways. You take a guy that may not play, and then you're stuck with him and it keeps you from having a guy you can develop that can help you.

"Every time we sign a free agent, it frees a spot in the draft. You don't have to take that position. You can at least have choices and take the best player, and that's what usually helps you."

The rest of the AFC East has made splashy moves.

The Jets traded for cornerback Antonio Cromartie, dealt safety Kerry Rhodes and signed running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The Dolphins signed Dansby and guard Richie Incognito and made a push for safety Ryan Clark. The Patriots concentrated on re-signing their own players.

"Everybody else in the division has been proactive and aggressive, trying to improve themselves," Nix said, "and I think most of them have in the offseason."

But he said he wasn't concerned with losing ground in the AFC East.

"We're looking to build something solid so we can win consistently," Nix said. "We're not just trying to do it this year and then start over every year. Winning consistently is our goal."

[psubills62]

I'm sorry Tim Graham...since when did "making a push for Ryan Clark" and signing a Buffalo cast-off make a team so much better? I'll give him Dansby for sure, but I don't see those other points at all.

[Beebe's Kid]

If any free-agent agrees at ten after midnight, in a normal year, not even in an extremely thin year where the FA's truly have the GM's by the short curly ones, you just paid too much.

I would prefer that our GM didn't show up at a player's door. What are you going to do? Leave with egg on your face, because you couldn't sign him? No. You write the check...guarantee a ton of money, and take it right in the chute.

Nix has a lot of work to do, so good for him on catching up on his Z's. I insist, Nix is dumb like a ****ing fox. He isn't concerned about losing ground in the AFC East for two reasons....1. We have no ground to lose. 2. We won't. The rebuilding is going rather well, and we haven't gotten to his forte yet, which is the draft.

Dumb like a fox, I tell ya, dumb like a fox.

[BertSquirtgum]

i'm fine with what nix did. that article or blog or whatever it is sucked.

[SquishDaFish]

I love it. Bout time we have a good GM who sees the long term goal.

[Jaybird]

have no problem with the way Nix has handled the situation. he was not gonna throw big bucks at the top free agents anyways, so why screw around

[SABURZFAN]

this team has been asleep for the last decade. another year is not going to kill us.

[justasportsfan]

Modrak was laying beside him and they were talking about FA through pillow talk.

[Thief]

'Hell, no. I'm not doing that. I'm going to bed.'"
I do not understand why you would not be calling FAs that may fill your needs right at midnight. Why are you letting other teams call them? Were we afraid Dansby would hurt?
"I still think you build through the draft," Nix said, "but you can't fill every hole, especially if you haven't been very good."That is why you can not rely entirely on the draft.


"Every time we sign a free agent, it frees a spot in the draft. You don't have to take that position. You can at least have choices and take the best player, and that's what usually helps you."
Isn't this a contradiction?


"If you do that, then you're going to get in trouble," Nix said. "It kills you two ways. You take a guy that may not play, and then you're stuck with him and it keeps you from having a guy you can develop that can help you. Wow. Thanks for playing not to lose. You don't sign free agents because you are afraid they will fail? WTF.

"Everybody else in the division has been proactive and aggressive, trying to improve themselves," Nix said, "and I think most of them have in the offseason."
...........While you were sleeping!

[BillsWin]

Good ole' Buddy.


Honestly though, if you have a problem with this you are nuts.

So Buddy doesn't like free agency. Let's judge after the draft!

[mchurchfie]

I hope he is good as he thinks he is at being able to fill most of our needs through the draft.

[JCBills]

I hope he is good as he thinks he is at being able to fill most of our needs through the draft.

Look at his draft record in 1 year with us and his time in San Diego, he probably gave us our best draft in a decade.

In 2004, three players Nix drafted were selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Pro_Bowl). In 2005, six players Nix drafted were selected to the 2006 Pro Bowl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Pro_Bowl). In 2006, eleven players Nix drafted were selected to the 2007 Pro Bowl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Pro_Bowl). In 2007, eight players Nix drafted were selected to the 2008 Pro Bowl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pro_Bowl).

[PECKERWOOD]

I like Nix, he is a smart old man, he won me over with the Dwan Edwards & Andra Davis signings, but the jury is still out on how well he drafts, in a month I'll be able to say for sure whether or not I like him. I truly hope he is a BPA kind of guy, year in and year out, I think that strategy is the best.

[TrEd FTW]

I ***** love Nix. He speaks his mind and couldn't care less what anyone thinks about it. Oh, and he knows football.

He's the best thing to happen to this joke of a franchise in a long while.

[JCBills]

I ***** love Nix. He speaks his mind and couldn't care less what anyone thinks about it. Oh, and he knows football.

He's the best thing to happen to this joke of a franchise in a long while.

So true. I think in two years we'll be a serious contender if he continues his drafting trends.

Nix don't take **** from nobody. He's a grown ass man.

[Thief]

Wow. You guys bought this BS?

[zone]

Ibut the jury is still out on how well he drafts

Really, how so? I think he has a proven record of drafting extremely well.

[TedMock]

You guys should read "The Packer Way." Ron Wolfe explained his approach was long term winning, not year-to-year. He stuck to his guns and traded for a QB he really liked, but everybody else soured on. Trusted his gut. He further explains that he never built through free agency and only made one "splash" there which occurred in its first year. Reggie White was the splash. Other than that he said you fill holes, but do not use free agency to build the team. Usually overpay big free agents, etc. Even late round guys should be drafted to eventually start. Never draft a "backup." etc, etc. Nix probably won't end up with Wolfe's resume, but I certainly appreciate his approach and philosophy being similar. I find it refreshing.

[dasaybz]

I like the fact that Nix's successor is on this team already in Whaley. For the first time in a very long time, it just seems like this team has a plan.

[ParanoidAndroid]

I'm sorry Tim Graham...since when did "making a push for Ryan Clark" and signing a Buffalo cast-off make a team so much better? I'll give him Dansby for sure, but I don't see those other points at all.

Don't forget, even though they added Dansby, they lost Porter.

[psubills62]

Don't forget, even though they added Dansby, they lost Porter.

You're right...and Jason Taylor.

[psubills62]

I do not understand why you would not be calling FAs that may fill your needs right at midnight. Why are you letting other teams call them? Were we afraid Dansby would hurt?That is why you can not rely entirely on the draft.

Isn't this a contradiction?

Wow. Thanks for playing not to lose. You don't sign free agents because you are afraid they will fail? WTF.
...........While you were sleeping!

You're right, it really sucks that they missed out on Andra Davis and Dwan Edwards. Oh wait...

Come on, you really think we would be in the running for Dansby? What would be the point of trying to woo Peppers or Dansby when we aren't going to pay them what they want?

[tomz]

Frankly, is Dansby all that great? I'm not so sure. He's good, not great in my book. No better than some of what we have. Paying top dollars for that seems to me to be wasting money. Overrated/overvalued assets are all that were out there early this year.

I am completely on board with Nix' approach. Substance, not style. After all, how many 'midnight signings' (or first flush of free agency) panned out in the past several years when there were much more robust crops of free agents?

Jeff Posey?
Dockery?

He told us what he was going to do and he is now executing it.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

Hey, if you don't have any plans on spending your money on Black Friday, do you get up at 3am and stand in line at Best Buy? Hell no. What would be the point? So far the approach to free agency has, for once, been methodical and effective. There has only been one guy I wanted to grab that we didn't make a push for, and that was Ben Watson. But I don't know if I would have paid him as much as the Browns did, so thats a moot point.

[justasportsfan]

The pats have built through the draft. THey've devloped the core of their team through the draft. Once these guys devloped, they dealt them for more draaft picks. It's hard to deal older players down the road for more draft picks. Once in a while they plugged in Moss and Welker but these were guys that fit what they were trying to do after they had their core team intact. I'm sure down the road Gailey will add guys like that to this team but not until the team is shaping up to what they want to do.

Why go elsewhere when Gailey hasn't taken a closer look at the guys we already have? Yeah, some of them suck, but a major reason was because we had Dick.

[jamze132]

I was asleep too. Can't blame him.

[SquishDaFish]

The pats have built through the draft. THey've devloped the core of their team through the draft. Once these guys devloped, they dealt them for more draaft picks. It's hard to deal older players down the road for more draft picks. Once in a while they plugged in Moss and Welker but these were guys that fit what they were trying to do after they had their core team intact. I'm sure down the road Gailey will add guys like that to this team but not until the team is shaping up to what they want to do.

Why go elsewhere when Gailey hasn't taken a closer look at the guys we already have? Yeah, some of them suck, but a major reason was because we had Dick.

I agree 110%

[Thief]

You're right, it really sucks that they missed out on Andra Davis and Dwan Edwards. Oh wait...

Come on, you really think we would be in the running for Dansby? What would be the point of trying to woo Peppers or Dansby when we aren't going to pay them what they want?Good thing we jumped on those two hot commodities early...... Oh wait.

The point we aren't going to pay first class FAs, without even bothering to ask what they want, is actually a double point. The fact we conceded he wouldn't be interested without asking is a third point. We waited for the desirables to get snatched up, and we sifted through the left overs. If we wanted these guys that bad.... why didn't we call them at midnight? Why did we wait for Edwards to fail two physicals? If he was such a desired, hot commodity, why didn't we call him a week earlier?

[feldspar]

C'mon, can't we finally get over this?

The Jets didn't really get any better through free-agency so far. They've lost Thomas Jones, Rhodes, and Lito Sheppard. They signed Cromartie and Tomlinson. That's a wash at best.

The Dolphins WAY overpaid for Dansby and lost Porter.

The Patriots didn't sign ANYBODY except for players that were on their own team, which doesn't exactly make them better.

The Bills picked up a few role players that will improve the team and cut away some dead-weight.

There is not a story here unless you want to invent things to put the Bills down.

[PECKERWOOD]

Yeah, it will be interesting to see who he cuts/trades as well. Will he keep guys like Kelsay, Lynch, Schobel, Stroud, Ellison, McCargo, Fitz & Edwards around? Who he cuts is just as important to me as anything else.

[psubills62]

Good thing we jumped on those two hot commodities early...... Oh wait.

The point we aren't going to pay first class FAs, without even bothering to ask what they want, is actually a double point. The fact we conceded he wouldn't be interested without asking is a third point. We waited for the desirables to get snatched up, and we sifted through the left overs. If we wanted these guys that bad.... why didn't we call them at midnight? Why did we wait for Edwards to fail two physicals? If he was such a desired, hot commodity, why didn't we call him a week earlier?

Why would we need to jump on them early? If we did, it would have only been to pay more than what we did. We signed them...so what's your problem?

Yes, you're right, what's the harm in seeing if Dansby would play for the veteran's minimum? Maybe we could create even more of an image of low-balling players who want to get paid, hm?

Maybe, just maybe, the Bills knew that they weren't going to be outbidding anyone, so they waited to see who was going to get snatched up and they just went after the players that were left. It might not seem like the best strategy to you, but it seems to have netted us a one-year starter/mentor for our ILB's, and a long-term starting DE.

[jamze132]

Well certain fans get pissed if we don't sign everyone at 1201.

[Thief]

Why would we need to jump on them early? If we did, it would have only been to pay more than what we did. We signed them...so what's your problem?

Yes, you're right, what's the harm in seeing if Dansby would play for the veteran's minimum? Maybe we could create even more of an image of low-balling players who want to get paid, hm?

Maybe, just maybe, the Bills knew that they weren't going to be outbidding anyone, so they waited to see who was going to get snatched up and they just went after the players that were left. It might not seem like the best strategy to you, but it seems to have netted us a one-year starter/mentor for our ILB's, and a long-term starting DE.Oh my PSU. It seems plain. If they wanted these guys so bad, if they fit the roles so bad, if they filled the needs, if they were our sought after targets.... they we wouldn't have waited until they were left overs. The simple fact they are "low-balling players", offering "veteran's minimum", and they now they "weren't going to be outbidding anyone" means you already see the problem, yet seem like you're in denial.

The "best stratagy" would to have been filling some holes prior to the draft and then had the ability to draft BPA. Gailey himself just said they are going into the draft with their hands tied. Tou don't lose draft picks if you sign a FA difference maker. It can only make you better.

.... Unless of course you are overly concerned with money.

[psubills62]

Oh my PSU. It seems plain. If they wanted these guys so bad, if they fit the roles so bad, if they filled the needs, if they were our sought after targets.... they we wouldn't have waited until they were left overs. The simple fact they are "low-balling players", offering "veteran's minimum", and they now they "weren't going to be outbidding anyone" means you already see the problem, yet seem like you're in denial.

The "best stratagy" would to have been filling some holes prior to the draft and then had the ability to draft BPA. Gailey himself just said they are going into the draft with their hands tied. Tou don't lose draft picks if you sign a FA difference maker. It can only make you better.

.... Unless of course you are overly concerned with money.

Hahaha what? Isn't that what we did?

Come on, how realistic was it that we'd be able to fill all our holes prior to the draft and not have to consider need at all, then draft BPA? With this roster (has talent, but still a LOT of holes) and the lack of talent in FA?

Free agency is not how you build a team. The core of teams are almost always built in the draft.

And yes, which teams aren't concerned with money? Just out of curiosity. It looks to me like pretty much every other team in the league is refraining from getting into bidding wars.

I still don't see what your problem is. We signed some free agents that can help us as starters this year, and in the case of Edwards, for several years. Who the heck cares if we signed them at midnight or if we signed them 2-3 weeks later?

[Thief]

Hahaha what? Isn't that what we did?

Come on, how realistic was it that we'd be able to fill all our holes prior to the draft and not have to consider need at all, then draft BPA? With this roster (has talent, but still a LOT of holes) and the lack of talent in FA?

Free agency is not how you build a team. The core of teams are almost always built in the draft.

And yes, which teams aren't concerned with money? Just out of curiosity. It looks to me like pretty much every other team in the league is refraining from getting into bidding wars.

I still don't see what your problem is. We signed some free agents that can help us as starters this year, and in the case of Edwards, for several years. Who the heck cares if we signed them at midnight or if we signed them 2-3 weeks later?The time that passed shows the Bills did not think as highly of them as you think. We have several positions in shambles. We signed the Ravens backup/rotational DE and you think that that signifies anything different then we've seen the past decade? Tack on a journeyman LB and we're all set!

If you take off those rose colored glasses you will see i'm the color of unimpressed.

I'm just thinking it would be nice to have someone on the roster who has actually played as a 3-4 nose tackle before. Or actually have an OT who wouldn't be considered the worst in the league. I don't think there is any doubt about the LT being the worst, but I hope your not going to try and say the shiny new RT is any good at all. He was the worst player on leagues second worst line last year. We have a combined career 30ish catches from all the wrs outside lee. Our TE can't block. One Rb is over 30, one is a thug, and there is no third. Top this off with the worst QB in the league and we're looking at a 1 win season and a lot of single digit scores.

This roster needed ALL the help it could get. Even if there wasn't a whole lot of FAs, they should be trying a trade or two in the very least.

No offense, just my :2cents: .

[psubills62]

The time that passed shows the Bills did not think as highly of them as you think. We have several positions in shambles. We signed the Ravens backup/rotational DE and you think that that signifies anything different then we've seen the past decade? Tack on a journeyman LB and we're all set!

If you take off those rose colored glasses you will see i'm the color of unimpressed.

I'm just thinking it would be nice to have someone on the roster who has actually played as a 3-4 nose tackle before. Or actually have an OT who wouldn't be considered the worst in the league. I don't think there is any doubt about the LT being the worst, but I hope your not going to try and say the shiny new RT is any good at all. He was the worst player on leagues second worst line last year. We have a combined career 30ish catches from all the wrs outside lee. Our TE can't block. One Rb is over 30, one is a thug, and there is no third. Top this off with the worst QB in the league and we're looking at a 1 win season and a lot of single digit scores.

This roster needed ALL the help it could get. Even if there wasn't a whole lot of FAs, they should be trying a trade or two in the very least.

No offense, just my :2cents: .

Actually, I'm not very impressed with Green, and I'd personally prefer that Bell develop as more of a swing tackle with Meredith at RT and a draft pick at LT. Although I'm not sure where you're getting that Green was the worst guy on Oakland's OL...they're all pretty equally bad, if you ask me.

Just FYI, Edwards became the starter this past year for the Ravens. And since linemen are rotated pretty heavily anyway in a 3-4...it's not like he's some horrible DE.

As for trades...yes, I've thought up a couple trades that would be pretty nice for the Bills. A few problems, though: 1) it usually takes overcompensation to trade, especially in this horrible FA market - teams who are open to trading players typically hold all the cards, 2) it also usually takes an extension, and depending on who it is, a pretty penny goes into that extension, and 3) there aren't many players out there worth trading for.

In the end, with a draft as deep as this one, it's almost always worth saving the draft pick to use on a young (and cheap) prospect than trying to trade.

Honestly, it makes me laugh when people bring up that Fred Jackson is 30. Just so you know, that number doesn't make much sense when he only has 425 career NFL rushing attempts. Lynch is fine as long as he doesn't get in trouble this offseason, which obviously isn't a given.

Our roster isn't all peaches and cream, but there was pretty much nobody available in free agency who could realistically join our team and help us. That's just the reality of it. Dansby, Peppers, Chester Taylor, Jamal Williams, Kevin Walter...none of these guys were actually going to come to Buffalo. And most of the other players available just weren't upgrades.

[BertSquirtgum]

The time that passed shows the Bills did not think as highly of them as you think. We have several positions in shambles. We signed the Ravens backup/rotational DE and you think that that signifies anything different then we've seen the past decade? Tack on a journeyman LB and we're all set!

If you take off those rose colored glasses you will see i'm the color of unimpressed.

I'm just thinking it would be nice to have someone on the roster who has actually played as a 3-4 nose tackle before. Or actually have an OT who wouldn't be considered the worst in the league. I don't think there is any doubt about the LT being the worst, but I hope your not going to try and say the shiny new RT is any good at all. He was the worst player on leagues second worst line last year. We have a combined career 30ish catches from all the wrs outside lee. Our TE can't block. One Rb is over 30, one is a thug, and there is no third. Top this off with the worst QB in the league and we're looking at a 1 win season and a lot of single digit scores.

This roster needed ALL the help it could get. Even if there wasn't a whole lot of FAs, they should be trying a trade or two in the very least.

No offense, just my :2cents: .
from all the recent posts i've read from you........you are one of those fans that would be "unimpressed" if we signed peppers, porter, davis, edwards and somehow drafted suh or okung. what exactly would make you happy?

[Mr. Pink]

from all the recent posts i've read from you........you are one of those fans that would be "unimpressed" if we signed peppers, porter, davis, edwards and somehow drafted suh or okung. what exactly would make you happy?


I love posts like this that blast people for not being happy with marginal player signings.

What is there to be happy about with the 3 "big" signings we made exactly?

We took marginal complimentary players from other teams and added them to our already marginal complimentary roster.

How is this an improvement?

When you're mediocre, making lateral moves is not improving, it's standing still. And when you're standing still in this league, you're getting worse.

[BertSquirtgum]

are you a browns fan or a bills fan?

blasting someone would have been to insult this person. i just wanted to know what would make him happy. every one of the recent posts have been booo who i am bills fan someone feel sorry for me.

the bills filled some holes through free agency and didn't break the bank. which i am happy about. now i can look towards the draft with a bit more excitement.

[Mr. Pink]

are you a browns fan or a bills fan?

blasting someone would have been to insult this person. i just wanted to know what would make him happy. every one of the recent posts have been booo who i am bills fan someone feel sorry for me.

the bills filled some holes through free agency and didn't break the bank. which i am happy about. now i can look towards the draft with a bit more excitement.


Both.

It's not really filling holes....

Maybe Dwan is on a rotational basis, I guess.

Andra Davis is equal to Kawika in the middle

And Green? who cares basically on the guy he's a roster filler.

[BertSquirtgum]

butler retired. green can start from day one. to me, that is a hole filled. dwan edwards? he will be starting from day number 1. hole number two filled. andra davis? whether he starts or not he is capable in the 3-4 defense and will make the transition a lot easier. i also considered that to be a hole filled because the linebacker corps was putrid prior to the signing. now it's decent.

[kernowboy]

Before being too judgemental, lets have some facts.

The Patriots have built Super Bowl winning teams signing rotational and journeymen players and turning them into genuinely effective starters.

It may also have escaped your attention but we are moving to a 3-4 base defence so signing a couple of guys who have a decade of experience between them in this alignment is a very wise step.

As for the players concerned, Edwards was a 3rd round pick who has started 22 of the last 32 games for the Ravens. He is also reguarded as a force against the run, something we will were painfully unable to prevent last year.

Andra Davis is also a guy who can provide veteran leadership and is a sand in the pants ILB, a force against the run, the sort of no name who can allow other guys to make plays.

Considering the lack of genuine UFAs in free agency, guys who don't have a tender against them which would cost the team draft picks, the signing of Edwards and Davis are excellent considering the new defence we are going to employ.

This is real NFL football, not Madden.

[Thief]

I simply expected a little more effort, rather then the guy sleeping. All possible avenues should have been explored. I wanted maximum effort.

[better days]

I simply expected a little more effort, rather then the guy sleeping. All possible avenues should have been explored. I wanted maximum effort.

Why should Nix have been awake at midnight? I'm sure all possible avenues that the Bills were willing to go down were explored.............before midnight of the 1st signing day. He knew who was available to be signed & there was nobody available that the Bills wanted to over pay for. I heard John Clayton say on his radio show that a number of teams wanted to sign Cornell Green.

[Thief]

Why should Nix have been awake at midnight? I'm sure all possible avenues that the Bills were willing to go down were explored.............before midnight of the 1st signing day. He knew who was available to be signed & there was nobody available that the Bills wanted to over pay for. I heard John Clayton say on his radio show that a number of teams wanted to sign Cornell Green.I guess he can do no wrong in your mind. That's cool. I guess he knows way more then any other teams GM's. He most know more then all the other GMs in our division too. Although, considering he himself admits he thinks free agency has made other teams in our division better, I fail to see how he is so convinced signing someone to this scheme-changing, shambles of a team would have been a step backwords. But whatever. I am glad you billieve.

[better days]

I guess he can do no wrong in your mind. That's cool. I guess he knows way more then any other teams GM's. He most know more then all the other GMs in our division too. Although, considering he himself admits he thinks free agency has made other teams in our division better, I fail to see how he is so convinced signing someone to this scheme-changing, shambles of a team would have been a step backwords. But whatever. I am glad you billieve.

I guess you have not been following the Bills. They have made some signings, they just did not do it at the stroke of midnight.

[kernowboy]

Instead of Green though, who is a career journeyman, I'd have gone for Ryan Cook of Minnesota, who wasn't tendered despite being a RFA. I think he has some potential and was part of a decent line unlike Green in Oakland.