Bills have one of the worst offseasons

[BlackMetalNinja]

I know Clayton takes a beating in general and isn't very well liked or respected around here, and I generally agree when it comes to "inside info" that he's a little out of touch sometimes.

However, this assessment nails exactly what my concerns are heading into this season and why I've got very low expectations.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=5200777


1. Buffalo Bills: (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=buf) No team had a greener offensive line last season than the Bills, who had two rookies at guard and young veteran Demetrius Bell (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=11453) at left tackle. (Jonathan Scott (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=9727) also played guard after rookie Eric Wood (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=12627) was placed on injured reserve.) All the Bills did to help the line was sign 33-year-old tackle Cornell Green (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=2471).
The Bills averaged a horrible 16.1 points a game on offense and did nothing to upgrade a quarterback corps filled by Trent Edwards (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=10536) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=8664). The receiving corps lost 82 catches by not re-signing Terrell Owens (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=1056) and Josh Reed (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=3564). The only replacement was fourth-round choice Marcus Easley (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=13224), leaving Lee Evans (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=5538) with little around him.
Owner Ralph Wilson was willing to pay a high salary for his new coach, and ended up with nice guy Chan Gailey, hardly a headliner. To make things even more challenging, the Bills switched to a 3-4 defense even though they didn't have a legitimate 3-4 outside linebacker or a nose tackle. They drafted nose tackle Torell Troup (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=13301) in the second round and hope that Broncos castoff Andra Davis (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=3669) and seldom-used Aaron Maybin (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=12456) can handle the tough outside linebacking jobs.
Making matters worse, the Bills' three division rivals -- the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins -- had three of the best five offseasons. With those odds against them, the Bills won't need luck to be in position to draft either Jake Locker or Andrew Luck next year.


I absolutely see this season as a take one step back to take two forward type of deal, especially with the new regime and a change of defensive styles... but the offense was incredibly bad last year and has really not improved at all.

[DesertFox24]

John Clayton said something along these lines before the 2001 season.

"I would not be surprised if the New England pats go 0-16."

Thats all I am going to say about the "Professor"


Cough... my ARSE

[BlackMetalNinja]

John Clayton said something along these lines before the 2001 season.

"I would not be surprised if the New England pats go 0-16."

Thats all I am going to say about the "Professor"


Cough... my ARSEOk, that's fine if you don't like him or whatever... but are you going to honestly tell me the issues he mentions aren't legit concerns?

[better days]

Two points I disagree with. The 1st is I think Spiller will see a number of passes. the 2nd is the Pats did nothing in the offseason.

[psubills62]

It would be easier to respect him if he knew that Andra Davis was an ILB, not an OLB.

In general, I agree with him, but how can he do an offseason review and not mention our first round draft pick?

[BlackMetalNinja]

I think Spiller will clearly make an impact and help out the offense... I don't think he'll overcome all it's shortcomings however. Our O line is getting better with experience and hopefully health, but our QB and WR situations have only deteriorated. Eventually teams will focus on our running game and force us to throw the ball, and I have NO confidence in our ability to successfully do that at this point.

[trapezeus]

if someone wanted a turnaround this year, this offseason would leave you perplexed. if you bought into the idea that 2-3 offseasons of solid drafting and rolling off the bad players as they come due, then this was pretty good.

no reaches, no filling needs only on a bad team. they took the best players available, in their opinion at postitions that all needed to be upgraded.

Next year, hopefully those positions are taken care of and the next set of improvements can happen.

[Saratoga Slim]

if someone wanted a turnaround this year, this offseason would leave you perplexed. if you bought into the idea that 2-3 offseasons of solid drafting and rolling off the bad players as they come due, then this was pretty good.

no reaches, no filling needs only on a bad team. they took the best players available, in their opinion at postitions that all needed to be upgraded.

Next year, hopefully those positions are taken care of and the next set of improvements can happen.

That's exactly it. Nix's goal is to build a winning franchise. While I'm sure they'd like to win in 2010, that's secondary to the larger view of creating a stable competitor for years to come. This is year 1 of a rebuilding project.

If you look at our offseason through the limited prism of how we improved for 2010....I sorta agree with Clayton. We left question marks on the O-line and QB, and created more on defense by switching to the 3-4. The fact that he doesn't know that Andra Davis is an ILB underscores his superficial knowledge of what the Bills are trying to do, but it doesn't mean he's wrong about the 2010 outlook - there are indeed question marks around the OLB corps of Maybin/Schobel/Kelsay/Ellis/Batten etc.

I'm optimistic that the offense will perform somewhat better in 2010 simply by virtue of Gailey's offensive mind and a maturing of last year's OL rookies, but I think the defense will take a step back before moving forward. I'm expecting an offense that scores more points, but a team that loses about as many games as it did this year.

But in the long run, our offseason made me optimistic that we've finally got a GM with a good vision and that we're heading in the right direction.

[OpIv37]

if someone wanted a turnaround this year, this offseason would leave you perplexed. if you bought into the idea that 2-3 offseasons of solid drafting and rolling off the bad players as they come due, then this was pretty good.

no reaches, no filling needs only on a bad team. they took the best players available, in their opinion at postitions that all needed to be upgraded.

Next year, hopefully those positions are taken care of and the next set of improvements can happen.

This is my whole problem with this off-season:

I view the rebuilding process as an acknowledgment that the team has more issues than can be reasonably addressed in a single off-season. So, the goal is to improve incrementally each off-season for 2-3 off seasons, which means addressing 1-2 major holes each off-season.

So, what major holes did we address this off-season? QB? No. LT? No. Pass rush? No. WR? No. NT? No. The only clear-cut improvement over last season is RB, and that was probably our second best position.

What Clayton is saying is that the Bills addressed exactly ZERO of their biggest holes. No one in their right mind expected us to improve significantly at QB, LT, WR, DE/OLB, and NT in one off-season, but to get better in NONE of those positions is simply inexcusable.

[dasaybz]

If we get outplayed because we are giving young guys a chance, and we are not shooting ourselves in the foot, and not getting outcoached, I'm OK with that.

If we are turning the ball over left and right, taking stupid penalties, having idiotic coaching decisions, and playing veterans that are not any better than young guys, than I will be pissed off.

It's going to be very interesting seeing how this thing unfolds.

[trapezeus]

This is my whole problem with this off-season:

I view the rebuilding process as an acknowledgment that the team has more issues than can be reasonably addressed in a single off-season. So, the goal is to improve incrementally each off-season for 2-3 off seasons, which means addressing 1-2 major holes each off-season.

So, what major holes did we address this off-season? QB? No. LT? No. Pass rush? No. WR? No. NT? No. The only clear-cut improvement over last season is RB, and that was probably our second best position.

What Clayton is saying is that the Bills addressed exactly ZERO of their biggest holes. No one in their right mind expected us to improve significantly at QB, LT, WR, DE/OLB, and NT in one off-season, but to get better in NONE of those positions is simply inexcusable.

Run and stop the run. That's what they looked at and attemped to get better at. They got a playmaking running back and they took a bunch of Defensive players to make us be able to stop stuff on the inside that gashed us alive last year.

That's a good place to start. we've begging for those two things for a long time. they'll need more help, but like you agreed, you can't fill 52 bad players in one draft. we got those 52 players over 4-8 years of pure ineptness. give it some time. The next step is for gailey to prove that he's a real NFL coach and not some clapper.

If they had a pick earlier and could have taken a OT or bradford, they would have done it, but that's not how the cards played out.

Obviously, they could hvae gotten it wrong, but i think they hit on more than they missed.

[FlyingDutchman]

John Clayton has the worst face

[OpIv37]

Run and stop the run. That's what they looked at and attemped to get better at. They got a playmaking running back and they took a bunch of Defensive players to make us be able to stop stuff on the inside that gashed us alive last year.

That's a good place to start. we've begging for those two things for a long time. they'll need more help, but like you agreed, you can't fill 52 bad players in one draft. we got those 52 players over 4-8 years of pure ineptness. give it some time. The next step is for gailey to prove that he's a real NFL coach and not some clapper.

If they had a pick earlier and could have taken a OT or bradford, they would have done it, but that's not how the cards played out.

Obviously, they could hvae gotten it wrong, but i think they hit on more than they missed.

We added a better RB but did nothing to fix the OL. The Bills have pulled this garbage before: they attempt to cover up a weakness in one area by making another area a strength, but it usually backfires.

As far as stopping the run, we added 2 aging 3-4 vets and a rookie NT. Combine that with the 3-4 learning curve and the fact that the rookie NT is the only true one on the roster, I really don't see how we made any gains in terms of stopping the run.

[BertSquirtgum]

john clayton looks like a 70 year old penis

[trapezeus]

if you didn't add that rookie NT, you'd have zero people who fit the 3-4 nose tackle description. again, we have to be patient. that's all we are given.

if we want to be truly angry, we should go back to the jauron hire. we all knew the day it was announced that he was a failure and it was an uninspired choice. we paid dearly for that choice. but what's done is done.

[OpIv37]

if you didn't add that rookie NT, you'd have zero people who fit the 3-4 nose tackle description. again, we have to be patient. that's all we are given.

if we want to be truly angry, we should go back to the jauron hire. we all knew the day it was announced that he was a failure and it was an uninspired choice. we paid dearly for that choice. but what's done is done.

Unfortunately, we didn't all know. Some of us did, but on the day Jauron was hired I said that he would fail and in 3-4 years we'd be starting the rebuilding process over again, and got trashed for saying it. "Well, Bellicheck was awful in Cleveland then won SB's with the Pats, so Jauron can do the same thing! And it was the owner's fault in Chicago, not Jauron's!"

3-4 years later, look where we are...

[Forward_Lateral]

You can flip the argument the other way around, too. the Bills had one of the worst offenses in the league last year, so why keep guys like TO and Josh Reed? If they were that good, wouldn't they have helped the offense more than they did? Yes Wood and Levitre were rookies, but now they have a year under their belts, and they were far from the worst interior linemen in the NFL last year. Sure Left Tackle is a concern, but a good O-line coach and offensive play caller will do their best to keep teams from exploiting that weakness.
I'm not saying Buffalo is anywhere near ready to be a playoff team, but would spending big dollars and or draft picks to get a LT really improve the team that much? Was there really any viable QB options out there that were better than what Buffalo has? It's not like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees were all available. The Bills had guys like Jason Campbell, Marc Bulger to choose from, not to mention McNabb, who basically told Buffalo to go **** in their hats.

I really don't know what Nix and company could've done other than what they have done. Sure you could still trade for Gaither, or someone like that, but do you really want to give up a 1st or 2nd round pick in next years draft? Would a move like that really catapult Buffalo from bottom feeders to playoff contenders? Those are the things that idiots like Clayton don't look at. All they see is black and white, while Buffalo is clearly in the gray.

[trapezeus]

i think the belichik sucked in cleveland was just trying to make lemonade out of lemons. We knew by and large, we knew he was a failure waiting to happen.

gailey is an improvement solely from the fact that jauron was as low as you could go aside from giving the HC position through a fan lottery system. however, he's got to be much better than "better than jauron" to help this team. if he sucks, good drafts be damned, we'll be screwed.

[OpIv37]

You can flip the argument the other way around, too. the Bills had one of the worst offenses in the league last year, so why keep guys like TO and Josh Reed? If they were that good, wouldn't they have helped the offense more than they did? Yes Wood and Levitre were rookies, but now they have a year under their belts, and they were far from the worst interior linemen in the NFL last year. Sure Left Tackle is a concern, but a good O-line coach and offensive play caller will do their best to keep teams from exploiting that weakness.
I'm not saying Buffalo is anywhere near ready to be a playoff team, but would spending big dollars and or draft picks to get a LT really improve the team that much? Was there really any viable QB options out there that were better than what Buffalo has? It's not like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees were all available. The Bills had guys like Jason Campbell, Marc Bulger to choose from, not to mention McNabb, who basically told Buffalo to go **** in their hats.

I really don't know what Nix and company could've done other than what they have done. Sure you could still trade for Gaither, or someone like that, but do you really want to give up a 1st or 2nd round pick in next years draft? Would a move like that really catapult Buffalo from bottom feeders to playoff contenders? Those are the things that idiots like Clayton don't look at. All they see is black and white, while Buffalo is clearly in the gray.

Remember when we got McNally and his coaching was supposed to fix the OL? Remember Jauron's 2nd and 3rd years when were supposed to get better by "player improvement" from rookie year to 2nd year?

As far as Reed and TO, this team has been good at getting rid of players who aren't contributing. They've been absolutely terrible about replacing them with players who are equal or better. Think about what you just said: Reed and TO weren't very good, and now they're gone in favor of.... the players who weren't good enough to move ahead of Reed and TO on the depth chart. What?

This is all crap we've seen before. It didn't work in the past and there is no reason to expect it to work now.

[Forward_Lateral]

Who were options out there at the WR spot? And don't say trading for Brandon Marshall or Santonio Holmes, because Marshall is hurt, and Holmes is suspended for the first 4 games of the season.

[OpIv37]

Who were options out there at the WR spot? And don't say trading for Brandon Marshall or Santonio Holmes, because Marshall is hurt, and Holmes is suspended for the first 4 games of the season.

Lack of options doesn't make it any less of a hole for us. Maybe keeping TO and/or Read would have been the best option. At least those two are better than Parrish and more experienced than Johnson and Hardy.

[DesertFox24]

Ok, that's fine if you don't like him or whatever... but are you going to honestly tell me the issues he mentions aren't legit concerns?

I want to see us play before I say they are legit concerns. I guess players never get better or a new coaching staff that actually seems competent and will run something more complex than pee wee league can make this team better.

Look everyone of these guys says we lack impact players, so what do you we do.... We drafted the best offensive player in the draft and because we made Mel and McShay look bad by passing on Clausen, Bulaga, McCoy we are stupid and do not know any better. Spiller will make this team better in that he will move coverage from Evans, the other WRs, and our TEs. As well as make teams think twice about blitzing because we can just throw over the top to spiller for huge gains.

That being said this team is not going to be a playoff team, but to say we had the worst offseason is a joke. We signed probably the best run stuffing 5 technique available, a very good 34 ILB, and a vet OT that will show our young guys what to do. Was this the best off season, NO, but I would not call it the worst either.

[DesertFox24]

This is my whole problem with this off-season:

I view the rebuilding process as an acknowledgment that the team has more issues than can be reasonably addressed in a single off-season. So, the goal is to improve incrementally each off-season for 2-3 off seasons, which means addressing 1-2 major holes each off-season.

So, what major holes did we address this off-season? QB? No. LT? No. Pass rush? No. WR? No. NT? No. The only clear-cut improvement over last season is RB, and that was probably our second best position.

What Clayton is saying is that the Bills addressed exactly ZERO of their biggest holes. No one in their right mind expected us to improve significantly at QB, LT, WR, DE/OLB, and NT in one off-season, but to get better in NONE of those positions is simply inexcusable.

We addressed run defense, NT (troupe and Harvey), and got some young OL depth.

I also think our pass rush will be middle of the league.

[DesertFox24]

We added a better RB but did nothing to fix the OL. The Bills have pulled this garbage before: they attempt to cover up a weakness in one area by making another area a strength, but it usually backfires.

As far as stopping the run, we added 2 aging 3-4 vets and a rookie NT. Combine that with the 3-4 learning curve and the fact that the rookie NT is the only true one on the roster, I really don't see how we made any gains in terms of stopping the run.

Edwards is 28 years old about to hit the 5 year prime of his career, somehow he is old and aging??

[OpIv37]

We addressed run defense, NT (troupe and Harvey), and got some young OL depth.

I also think our pass rush will be middle of the league.

You don't address NT with a rookie and a retread and think it will be good enough. That's the typical Buffalo Bills "band-aid on cancer" crap that got us into this mess in the first place.

And how else did we address run D? Dwan Edwards, and... Dwan Edwards? Really?

[DesertFox24]

You don't address NT with a rookie and a retread and think it will be good enough. That's the typical Buffalo Bills "band-aid on cancer" crap that got us into this mess in the first place.

And how else did we address run D? Dwan Edwards, and... Dwan Edwards? Really?

Dwan Edwards, Troup, Carrington, Davis, Moats (dark horse to start). Yeah I think we got bigger, stronger, better up front. Not to mention you know have 250+ OLBs and 240+ ILBs, which is much bigger than what we have fielded the past 4 years. I think our Run D will be a lot better.

[OpIv37]

Dwan Edwards, Troup, Carrington, Davis, Moats (dark horse to start). Yeah I think we got bigger, stronger, better up front. Not to mention you know have 250+ OLBs and 240+ ILBs, which is much bigger than what we have fielded the past 4 years. I think our Run D will be a lot better.

hahahahaha 3 rookies? We had to get bigger up front because we switched to the 3-4. Edwards is still the only proven 3-4 DE on the team. None of our LB's have experience in the 3-4 and we still only have one NT on the roster- a rookie.

This run D is going to be as bad or worse than last years.

[DesertFox24]

hahahahaha 3 rookies? We had to get bigger up front because we switched to the 3-4. Edwards is still the only proven 3-4 DE on the team. None of our LB's have experience in the 3-4 and we still only have one NT on the roster- a rookie.

This run D is going to be as bad or worse than last years.
Jax started 3 rookies on Defense last year and played a bunch more through the season and they did ok.

I think you are severally undervaluing the impact a rookie can have, especially since all the rookies we drafted were 4th or 5th year players. Unlike previous years where Jauron took A LOT of Juniors.

I will agree that it is not optimal and they will have there mistakes, but like another poster said I expect to see Carrington and Troup a lot, and really want to see Moats beat out Mitchell and Davis by the end of the year as the other inside guy.

Poz already is a very good run stuffer and if troup is half as good and dominate as he was in college at occupying blocks and with the bigger guys on the line that we will have this year it should free out our LBs to make tackles.

That being said anyone that has illusions of us being a playoff team or doing with the dolphins or falcons did will more than likely be upset come november.

Personally I will be elated if the bills win 7 games, and by seasons end maybe get a surprise win against a playoff contending team.

Side note the one national televised game troup played last year was against Miami. In that game miami had 8 rushing yards in the first half and Troup dominated the line. Just watch the tape because he was destroying miamis interior line.

[OpIv37]

Jax started 3 rookies on Defense last year and played a bunch more through the season and they did ok.

I think you are severally undervaluing the impact a rookie can have, especially since all the rookies we drafted were 4th or 5th year players. Unlike previous years where Jauron took A LOT of Juniors.

I will agree that it is not optimal and they will have there mistakes, but like another poster said I expect to see Carrington and Troup a lot, and really want to see Moats beat out Mitchell and Davis by the end of the year as the other inside guy.

Poz already is a very good run stuffer and if troup is half as good and dominate as he was in college at occupying blocks and with the bigger guys on the line that we will have this year it should free out our LBs to make tackles.

That being said anyone that has illusions of us being a playoff team or doing with the dolphins or falcons did will more than likely be upset come november.

Personally I will be elated if the bills win 7 games, and by seasons end maybe get a surprise win against a playoff contending team.

If it were A rookie I'd be more likely to agree with you, but in order for this team to truly improve on run D, we need 2-3 rookies to step up, including Troup at NT, which is the most important position in the 3-4.

I do agree with the rest of your post though- 7 wins would be a huge accomplishment, and hopefully they can improve over the course of the season. And the 3-4 should help Poz, if he can stay healthy.

[trapezeus]

one factor that we can't forget is the jauron "suck the life out of the workforce" factor.

without proof, it just felt like guys gave up and were like, "might as well collect the paycheck. this place sucks." I feel like if the new group challenges them, you might just get a big upswing in the people already there.

[YardRat]

The off-season isn't over yet, so it's still too early to judge.

[better days]

hahahahaha 3 rookies? We had to get bigger up front because we switched to the 3-4. Edwards is still the only proven 3-4 DE on the team. None of our LB's have experience in the 3-4 and we still only have one NT on the roster- a rookie.

This run D is going to be as bad or worse than last years.

Isn't Harvey a NT?

[nateodoms'bff]

This is my whole problem with this off-season:

I view the rebuilding process as an acknowledgment that the team has more issues than can be reasonably addressed in a single off-season. So, the goal is to improve incrementally each off-season for 2-3 off seasons, which means addressing 1-2 major holes each off-season.

So, what major holes did we address this off-season? QB? No. LT? No. Pass rush? No. WR? No. NT? No. The only clear-cut improvement over last season is RB, and that was probably our second best position.

What Clayton is saying is that the Bills addressed exactly ZERO of their biggest holes. No one in their right mind expected us to improve significantly at QB, LT, WR, DE/OLB, and NT in one off-season, but to get better in NONE of those positions is simply inexcusable.

Correct me if Im wrong, but did they or did they not completely rebuild the font 7 of this defense in the draft? I could be mistaken, but Im pretty sure they drafted 2 D-lineman, and several OLB prospects. This team only gets a certain amount of picks, and Nix and company made them count.

[Mr. Pink]

Arizona easily had the worst offseason.

Lost their QB and big time possession receiver.

Watch Arizona go back to being a basement dweller for 20 years.

[billz83]

i dont get y when people keep mentioning our HORRIBLE QBZ, our PEE WEE OLINE, and our 4th string WRz..they are like but we got Spiller..i know hes good no one doubts this..the problem is we STILL never fixed our OLINE..ignored the WRz, and ignored the QB situation completely..This team needed a QB thas a leader and a winner we DONT have that on this roster. we have had a HORRIBLE offseason..

[OpIv37]

Correct me if Im wrong, but did they or did they not completely rebuild the font 7 of this defense in the draft? I could be mistaken, but Im pretty sure they drafted 2 D-lineman, and several OLB prospects. This team only gets a certain amount of picks, and Nix and company made them count.

You can't count on 4-5 rookies to come in and revamp the front 7. Even if all of them turn out to be good picks, which is unlikely, we are 2-3 years from seeing results. There is a learning curve for rookies, moreso at DL than LB.

[Jan Reimers]

Clayton is simply regurgitating the standard media line concerning the Bills. Who cares? Any one of us could have written this report.

I actually think better coaching, an emphasis on the running game, and at least a plan on defense will make us better. Plus, we get some key injured players back, and some guys who might thrive at new positions in the 3-4. If a few of our rookies contribute, we may be a better team than the pessimists think.

[OpIv37]

Clayton is simply regurgitating the standard media line concerning the Bills. Who cares? Any one of us could have written this report.

I actually think better coaching, an emphasis on the running game, and at least a plan on defense will make us better. Plus, we get some key injured players back, and some guys who might thrive at new positions in the 3-4. If a few of our rookies contribute, we may be a better team than the pessimists think.

You can emphasize the running game all you want- it won't make a lick of difference with our **** OL. And there's a reason why it's the "standard media line concerning the Bills." Anyone who can step back and look at this team objectively can see HUGE holes. If the Dolphins or the Patriots were in the same situation we are right now, we'd be pointing and laughing. But since it's the Bills, well, it's just a media line and there are plenty of reasons for confidence in this team. What?

And this is the same drill we go through every year:
IF the coaching is better and
IF the injured players return, stay healthy and play well and
IF there is a functional plan on D and
IF some of our defenders benefit from the 3-4 and
IF some of our rookies contribute,
then we MIGHT not be that bad.

So basically, if this team lucks out in 5 or 6 key areas, they might not completely suck. What? Look, I'm sure some of those things will work out in Buffalo's favor, but I highly doubt all of them will, and I highly doubt enough of them will to make this season into a decent one.

I know everyone wants to be positive this time of year. I know everyone wants to buy into this "Every team is 0-0" bag of horse ****, and I know there is no possible way to know exactly what will happen once the season starts. But the reality of the situation is that this team has a lot of huge question marks and the chances of a successful season are very slim. We can accept that reality, or we can try to focus on the few positives while ignoring the 800 lb gorilla in the room.

I choose to accept that reality.

[better days]

You can emphasize the running game all you want- it won't make a lick of difference with our **** OL. And there's a reason why it's the "standard media line concerning the Bills." Anyone who can step back and look at this team objectively can see HUGE holes. If the Dolphins or the Patriots were in the same situation we are right now, we'd be pointing and laughing. But since it's the Bills, well, it's just a media line and there are plenty of reasons for confidence in this team. What?

And this is the same drill we go through every year:
IF the coaching is better and
IF the injured players return, stay healthy and play well and
IF there is a functional plan on D and
IF some of our defenders benefit from the 3-4 and
IF some of our rookies contribute,
then we MIGHT not be that bad.

So basically, if this team lucks out in 5 or 6 key areas, they might not completely suck. What? Look, I'm sure some of those things will work out in Buffalo's favor, but I highly doubt all of them will, and I highly doubt enough of them will to make this season into a decent one.

I know everyone wants to be positive this time of year. I know everyone wants to buy into this "Every team is 0-0" bag of horse ****, and I know there is no possible way to know exactly what will happen once the season starts. But the reality of the situation is that this team has a lot of huge question marks and the chances of a successful season are very slim. We can accept that reality, or we can try to focus on the few positives while ignoring the 800 lb gorilla in the room.

I choose to accept that reality.

You can both accept reality & focus on the positives. The worse this teams record is next year the more likely they are to get a GOOD QB in the draft. That is a positive.

At the same time I expect them to be more entertaining & fun to watch than they have been in a long time.

[Philagape]

Jax started 3 rookies on Defense last year and played a bunch more through the season and they did ok.

How do you define OK?

The Jags were.....
27th in passing defense
19th in rushing defense
24th in scoring defense
28th in third-down conversions allowed
31st in completion percentage allowed
19th in takeaways
32nd in sacks

If by OK you mean below average in every aspect of the game and awful at some, you're right.

[OpIv37]

You can both accept reality & focus on the positives. The worse this teams record is next year the more likely they are to get a GOOD QB in the draft. That is a positive.

At the same time I expect them to be more entertaining & fun to watch than they have been in a long time.

Really? I think it's going to be more of the same. We still have no QB's and no WR's. The only strength on our O is our RB's, so despite the lack of an OL, I see a lot of attempts to run and a lot of Run-Run-Pass-Punt.

On D, our secondary is still the strength, while the DL is weak and the LB's are questionable at best, so opponents will most likely try to run on us more than pass.

The only things I'm really looking forward to this season:
1. Spiller
2. Seeing if guys like Poz and Maybin can benefit from the 3-4
3. Improvement over the course of the season.

[Jan Reimers]

You can try to focus on the few positives while ignoring the 800 lb gorilla in the room.

I choose to accept that reality.

I know all of our weaknesses as well as you. I understand the reality of our situation.

But as a fan, I choose to look for positives, rather than dwelling on negatives. I have hope and I have optimism every year that things will turn around. As a fan, I refuse to give up.

[better days]

Really? I think it's going to be more of the same. We still have no QB's and no WR's. The only strength on our O is our RB's, so despite the lack of an OL, I see a lot of attempts to run and a lot of Run-Run-Pass-Punt.

On D, our secondary is still the strength, while the DL is weak and the LB's are questionable at best, so opponents will most likely try to run on us more than pass.

The only things I'm really looking forward to this season:
1. Spiller
2. Seeing if guys like Poz and Maybin can benefit from the 3-4
3. Improvement over the course of the season.

I think it will be totally different this year. You will not hear "well it's tough to win in the NFL". If nothing else the postgame PR's should be more entertaining.

The D line & LBs are much bigger than in the past & I expect the Bills to be much tougher to run against. I think they will however give up more big plays.

I agree, I don't expect much out of the offense.

[OpIv37]

I know all of our weaknesses as well as you. I understand the reality of our situation.

But as a fan, I choose to look for positives, rather than dwelling on negatives. I have hope and I have optimism every year that things will turn around. As a fan, I refuse to give up.

When there are so many more negatives than positives, it will be the negatives that define our season. So it's not "dwelling on the negatives." It's accepting reality.

And who said anything about giving up? I'm on this website, aren't I? I'm wearing a Bills shirt right now. I pay for Sunday Ticket every year and watch every second of every game. Last season was the first time in about 7 years that I didn't make it to at least one game live, and I live 400 miles from Buffalo.

I still HOPE the team does well, just like any fan. But as a rational person, I can't EXPECT them to do well. If that's what you consider "giving up" then you are sorely mistaken.

[Forward_Lateral]

I know all of our weaknesses as well as you. I understand the reality of our situation.

But as a fan, I choose to look for positives, rather than dwelling on negatives. I have hope and I have optimism every year that things will turn around. As a fan, I refuse to give up.

I'm the same way. Every season I go in expecting the best. I try not to, but I can't help it. I fully expect a win every week. Call me stupid, call me whatever, but I can't change the way I root for the Bills. Every season I say that I will try not to care as much, and try not to expect much, but it always ends up the same. Me screaming at my tv every Sunday, and at the end of most of them, me ending up pissed off.

[OpIv37]

I'm the same way. Every season I go in expecting the best. I try not to, but I can't help it. I fully expect a win every week. Call me stupid, call me whatever, but I can't change the way I root for the Bills. Every season I say that I will try not to care as much, and try not to expect much, but it always ends up the same. Me screaming at my tv every Sunday, and at the end of most of them, me ending up pissed off.

I used to be very similar- even when I expected a loss, I'd be pissed and yelling at the TV when it actually happened. I flipped when we blew that MNF game to the Cowboys. I punched a wall when we lost the '04 season opener on the last play of the game. But the last few seasons have just beaten the emotion out of me. When we lost the opener to the Pats in the same manner that we lost the Cowboys game, I just sat there numb. I fully expected it to happen and barely reacted at all.

It took nearly a decade, but this team has sucked all the fun out of football.

[Jan Reimers]

I'm the same way. Every season I go in expecting the best. I try not to, but I can't help it. I fully expect a win every week. Call me stupid, call me whatever, but I can't change the way I root for the Bills. Every season I say that I will try not to care as much, and try not to expect much, but it always ends up the same. Me screaming at my tv every Sunday, and at the end of most of them, me ending up pissed off.
Me too. I am probably the world's worst loser. I have smashed things, hurt myself, and done about every other irrational thing anyone can do during and after Bills' losses.

That's why I try to be happy and optimistic this time of year, knowing I'll spend the season in a blind rage.

[Buffalogic]

Where's Sean Salisbury when you need him?

Crypt Keeper getting a little coffin fever it looks like.

[Jan Reimers]

I used to be very similar- even when I expected a loss, I'd be pissed and yelling at the TV when it actually happened. I flipped when we blew that MNF game to the Cowboys. I punched a wall when we lost the '04 season opener on the last play of the game. But the last few seasons have just beaten the emotion out of me. When we lost the opener to the Pats in the same manner that we lost the Cowboys game, I just sat there numb. I fully expected it to happen and barely reacted at all.

It took nearly a decade, but this team has sucked all the fun out of football.
That's why I'm optimistic this time of year, because I don't want all of the fun sucked out of football for me year round. I have fun in the offseason, trying to find reasons for hope. It's actually more challenging to find things to be optimistic about, so it's way more pleasant than listing our myriad of problems, which we all know by heart.

I know I'll likely be miserable during the season, so why not try to make it enjoyable now, by at fantasizing about all the good things that might happen.

[DesertFox24]

I'm the same way. Every season I go in expecting the best. I try not to, but I can't help it. I fully expect a win every week. Call me stupid, call me whatever, but I can't change the way I root for the Bills. Every season I say that I will try not to care as much, and try not to expect much, but it always ends up the same. Me screaming at my tv every Sunday, and at the end of most of them, me ending up pissed off.
Sent this to my wife and she said the following:

"You told me this the other day why did you write you it down."

Same way bro I tell her I am going to be calmer now that I have a 14 month old boy, and that I will not scare my dogs anymore by celebrating or screaming.

Actually I forgot the game but I got so mad that I threw a coach pillow that hit the chandelier over the kitchen table and almost knocked it out of the ceiling. Good times soon followed... (Threats of going to "see someone for help")

Funny thing is I have Sunday ticket and we used to invite people over to watch their teams in other rooms. However, my wife has sinced asked that I not invite anyone anymore out of embarrassment, I am not sure what she means. lol

[DesertFox24]

That's why I'm optimistic this time of year, because I don't want all of the fun sucked out of football for me year round. I have fun in the offseason, trying to find reasons for hope. It's actually more challenging to find things to be optimistic about, so it's way more pleasant than listing our myriad of problems, which we all know by heart.

I know I'll likely be miserable during the season, so why not try to make it enjoyable now, by at fantasizing about all the good things that might happen.
Maybe it is just the fact that this past decade was constant losing and we grew up in the 90s with 8 playoff appearances, but I agree I am so Fing mad after losses that my family usually just goes for a long walk while I calm down or cry it out.

[ZAZusmc03]

Haha, I hear ya fox. I used to have people over to watch football on Sundays while I watched the game on my laptop. After people seeing the way I act during games, my wife has made it known that she no longer wants people over until after the bills game is over. Its nonsense.

[DesertFox24]

Haha, I hear ya fox. I used to have people over to watch football on Sundays while I watched the game on my laptop. After people seeing the way I act during games, my wife has made it known that she no longer wants people over until after the bills game is over. Its nonsense.

Yeah totally agree.

In all serious I tell everyone that the NFL draft is my Christmas, and ever since my little man was born it is actually true.

Well before the draft I wanted to the bills to draft Spiller, McClain, or one of the pass rushers, I was not real high on Bulaga because I think he is a great RT average LT, and I think Davis is going to Mike Williams himself out of the league because I have read where his own ex teammates called him lazy.

Anyway I am sitting with a bunch of jags fans that wanted Spiller to, and before our pic after the raiders took McClain they were asking what I thought and I was like if this was last year call Bulaga up, but I would take Spiller or Morgan. When they announced Spiller I lost it, I have not celebrated like that since the Giants beat the pats.

Best Xmas ever, and a nice feeling that the bills will finally be a winning organization soon who have good leadership up top. Also loved Modrak's comments about if you want to go big you gotta go in the first three rounds. Look for the bills to draft OL and DL early in the years to come.

[better days]

Yeah totally agree.

In all serious I tell everyone that the NFL draft is my Christmas, and ever since my little man was born it is actually true.

Well before the draft I wanted to the bills to draft Spiller, McClain, or one of the pass rushers, I was not real high on Bulaga because I think he is a great RT average LT, and I think Davis is going to Mike Williams himself out of the league because I have read where his own ex teammates called him lazy.

Anyway I am sitting with a bunch of jags fans that wanted Spiller to, and before our pic after the raiders took McClain they were asking what I thought and I was like if this was last year call Bulaga up, but I would take Spiller or Morgan. When they announced Spiller I lost it, I have not celebrated like that since the Giants beat the pats.

Best Xmas ever, and a nice feeling that the bills will finally be a winning organization soon who have good leadership up top. Also loved Modrak's comments about if you want to go big you gotta go in the first three rounds. Look for the bills to draft OL and DL early in the years to come.

I also wanted Spiller before the draft. So what did your Jag buddies have to say about the Bills taking him & their draft pick?

They must have felt the way I did a couple years ago when the 49ers picked Willis ahead of us.

[Griff]

There is a reason why he is apart of the media and not employed by an NFL team.

[OpIv37]

There is a reason why he is apart of the media and not employed by an NFL team.

yes, because simply being employed by an NFL team means you are competent and know what you are doing. That's why the Bills have sucked for 10 straight years...

[billz83]

i dont like john clayton i think he belongs on south park hes got the look..with that said hes right..this teams offseason is PATHETIC..beyond pathetic..we DID NOTHING not a SINGLE THING except draft spiller..like 1 person is going to get us into the playoffs..with no OLINE blocking for him..i used to always be optimistic about this team but for the last FEWWW years really since Jauron has come around i started really paying attention to how this organization is being run..and simply itz being run INTO THE GROUND..the owner is worthless..he is single handly responsible for all the GARBAGE..if he wanted to he could dish out the money to THE RIGHT PLAYERS AND COACHES to get this organization respectable again..but he CHOSES to be CHEAP AS HELL..and therefore we are where we are..one of the WORST TEAMS in the NFL..and if u think this is going to change because we drafted CJ spiller hahaha yall are definitely delusional..

[better days]

i dont like john clayton i think he belongs on south park hes got the look..with that said hes right..this teams offseason is PATHETIC..beyond pathetic..we DID NOTHING not a SINGLE THING except draft spiller..like 1 person is going to get us into the playoffs..with no OLINE blocking for him..i used to always be optimistic about this team but for the last FEWWW years really since Jauron has come around i started really paying attention to how this organization is being run..and simply itz being run INTO THE GROUND..the owner is worthless..he is single handly responsible for all the GARBAGE..if he wanted to he could dish out the money to THE RIGHT PLAYERS AND COACHES to get this organization respectable again..but he CHOSES to be CHEAP AS HELL..and therefore we are where we are..one of the WORST TEAMS in the NFL..and if u think this is going to change because we drafted CJ spiller hahaha yall are definitely delusional..

If you think just throwing money around will get a team to the Super Bowl then you are the one that is delusional.

Dan Snyder has been doing that in Washington for years, paying top dollar for both Coaches & players. Where has it gotten him?

You never know, the Bills may make the playoffs before the Redskins do.

Ralph Wilson could have moved the team years ago like Irsay, Modell, Rosenbloom, Davis & Adams have done with their teams, yet he chose to keep them in Buffalo.

I think he deserves our thanks, not insults from so called fans.

[OpIv37]

If you think just throwing money around will get a team to the Super Bowl then you are the one that is delusional.

Dan Snyder has been doing that in Washington for years, paying top dollar for both Coaches & players. Where has it gotten him?

You never know, the Bills may make the playoffs before the Redskins do.

Ralph Wilson could have moved the team years ago like Irsay, Modell, Rosenbloom, Davis & Adams have done with their teams, yet he chose to keep them in Buffalo.

I think he deserves our thanks, not insults from so called fans.

There is a happy medium between throwing money around like Dan Snyder and sitting on your hands like the Buffalo Bills.

As far as Ralph, I am so ****ing sick of him getting credit for simply keeping the team in town. That's exactly what I mean when I talk about Bills fans accepting mediocrity. Ralph brought football to Buffalo and for that he deserves credit, but that was 50 ****ing years ago. What has he done since? A couple of AFL championships in the mid-60's that most Bills fans are too young to remember, and 4 straight SB losses and a pretty good decade in the 1990's. This team has been good for 10, maybe 12, out of 50 ****ing seasons. The one constant through all of those bad seasons: Ralph. I wish I could get my job right 24% of the time and still have people heaping credit on me. From now on, I'll work hard on Monday and maybe an hour or so on Tuesday, then slack for the rest of the week and wait for the kudos, promotions and raises to be heaped upon me.

The game evolved and Ralph never evolved with it. He'd rather sit there and play the "small market" victim than try to adapt to the realities of the NFL in the 21st century. And it's about time that we held him accountable for that instead of praising him for simply not dicking us over.

[better days]

There is a happy medium between throwing money around like Dan Snyder and sitting on your hands like the Buffalo Bills.

As far as Ralph, I am so ****ing sick of him getting credit for simply keeping the team in town. That's exactly what I mean when I talk about Bills fans accepting mediocrity. Ralph brought football to Buffalo and for that he deserves credit, but that was 50 ****ing years ago. What has he done since? A couple of AFL championships in the mid-60's that most Bills fans are too young to remember, and 4 straight SB losses and a pretty good decade in the 1990's. This team has been good for 10, maybe 12, out of 50 ****ing seasons. The one constant through all of those bad seasons: Ralph. I wish I could get my job right 24% of the time and still have people heaping credit on me. From now on, I'll work hard on Monday and maybe an hour or so on Tuesday, then slack for the rest of the week and wait for the kudos, promotions and raises to be heaped upon me.

The game evolved and Ralph never evolved with it. He'd rather sit there and play the "small market" victim than try to adapt to the realities of the NFL in the 21st century. And it's about time that we held him accountable for that instead of praising him for simply not dicking us over.

Ralph brought the Bills to Buffalo about 50 years ago as you said. I will tell you what he has done since then, he has kept them in Buffalo over those 50 years while the City of Buffalo declined & many people including myself moved.

You are no doubt right, the game has passed Ralph by. He is an old man now. He still deserves our thanks not ridicule. Hopefully Buddy & Chan can get the Bills back on top before he passes.

[OpIv37]

Ralph brought the Bills to Buffalo about 50 years ago as you said. I will tell you what he has done since then, he has kept them in Buffalo over those 50 years while the City of Buffalo declined & many people including myself moved.

You are no doubt right, the game has passed Ralph by. He is an old man now. He still deserves our thanks not ridicule. Hopefully Buddy & Chan can get the Bills back on top before he passes.

"Ridicule" may be too far but he certainly deserves criticism for the way he's handled the team over the last decade, and, in fact, for most of the team's existence. While we should appreciate the fact that he kept the team in town, we shouldn't overlook his shortcomings.

[Griff]

yes, because simply being employed by an NFL team means you are competent and know what you are doing. That's why the Bills have sucked for 10 straight years...

You're right, being turned down for a job at McDees means you're a better fry cook then the person they actually hired.

[Nublar7]

Who were options out there at the WR spot? And don't say trading for Brandon Marshall or Santonio Holmes, because Marshall is hurt, and Holmes is suspended for the first 4 games of the season.Marshall is recovering from MINOR hip surgery that will only keep him out of mini camp and OTA days. He will be 100% by TC, so it has no effect on the 2010 season since he will be healthy.

[tat2dmike77]

All this talk about upgrading the QB which i agree with. But nobody has mentioned what QB option was out there? Is the Bills QB of the future on the roster i highly doubt it. But like my dad said "You need to pick a QB and stick with him for the WHOLE season. None of this QB by comittee crap" and he is right.

If Edwards is the starter in game one then he should be the starter in game 16 barring a season ending injury of course. Same goes for Brohm and Fitzy.

[SABURZFAN]

john clayton looks like a 70 year old penis


i'm not going to ask how you know but i'll take your word for it.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

You're right, being turned down for a job at McDees means you're a better fry cook then the person they actually hired. If you seriously believe that the best candidate always gets hired, you should tune into your local TV station and watch the weathergirls that they throw out there and their horrible forecasts. Corruption in hiring practices is rampant in all industries, especially in this recession.

[Night Train]

OMG ! It's May.

We're DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED !!!!!

[DesertFox24]

I also wanted Spiller before the draft. So what did your Jag buddies have to say about the Bills taking him & their draft pick?

They must have felt the way I did a couple years ago when the 49ers picked Willis ahead of us.

Well they were upset, and were not all that happy that was OVERLY excited.