Your the GM...

[Beebe's Kid]

Amongst the 2.5 million "realist" arguments in the Zone, a common theme is that the FO didn't address our needs. Fair enough.

These arguments claim to be "based on facts" and if you dare say the FO did an admirable job, and we are better than advertised, you are the "ray rah go Bills" homer.

My question is what moves would you have done differently. I am not being a smartass, totally serious.

I know it will be hard to say you wouldn't have taken Spiller, but many said that in April. You can't say it now, he has shown glimpses of what he is, so you can be wrong.

I'd prefer not a lot of slamming but anshort explanation of what moves you may have made. It wod be nice if you want to defend/object any player movements made, if it could be a better argument than "he sucks."

Unfortunately I am on my phone, so this has been a challenge to type. I will offer my opinion when I get to my computer.

[Novacane]

Re: Your the GM...

I can't say I would have done anything differantly. We don't know how the moves they made/did not make are going to pan out.

[OpIv37]

Re: Your the GM...

Amongst the 2.5 million "realist" arguments in the Zone, a common theme is that the FO didn't address our needs. Fair enough.

These arguments claim to be "based on facts" and if you dare say the FO did an admirable job, and we are better than advertised, you are the "ray rah go Bills" homer.

My question is what moves would you have done differently. I am not being a smartass, totally serious.

I know it will be hard to say you wouldn't have taken Spiller, but many said that in April. You can't say it now, he has shown glimpses of what he is, so you can be wrong.

I'd prefer not a lot of slamming but anshort explanation of what moves you may have made. It wod be nice if you want to defend/object any player movements made, if it could be a better argument than "he sucks."

Unfortunately I am on my phone, so this has been a challenge to type. I will offer my opinion when I get to my computer.

Unfortunately, I am not an NFL GM. I have a full time job unrelated to football and other responsibilities in life. So I can't sit here and say what they should have done with any degree of certainty. But it is their job to know and their job to figure it out.

Think about this: our opponents never have problems filling holes. Yet, when it comes to the Bills, "there was no one available" always seems to be a legitimate excuse. Why is that? Going into this off-season, we had glaring holes at QB, WR, OT, NT, and 3-4 LB. Now, I already gave them a pass on QB because there truly was no one available. But that still leaves 4 major positions that were not addressed properly- we just added some aging vets with 3-4 experience as mentors.

You mean to tell me that there was no one available in ANY of those other 4 positions that would have improved this team? I'm not buying it. I know asking for filling all 5 of those positions satisfactorily in one off-season is too much, but we could have done better in at least one or two of them.

As of right now, we are better than last year at RB and.... RB. I know we're rebuilding and it's going to take time to plug all the holes, but we need to do it at a rate faster than one position a year.

[Ingtar33]

Re: Your the GM...

1) Hire a true personnel man... I probably would have paid Polian's kid, Chris Polian, whatever it took to get him out of Indy; you read that right... ANYTHING... there is no salary cap on personnel men... (He been groomed for years to take over for his father, is being paid like a gm, and basically is running the show for BP in Indy the last few years)

2) Hire a real football coach... I like Gailey as an OC; I’m not thrilled with him at HC. I might be wrong about this, but I don't see it as a significant upgrade over Fewell.

3) Trade or cut marshawn lynch

4) Draft OTs in rounds 1 and 2, then all defense the rest of the draft (front 7)...

5) Sign an OT & WR in free agency...

6) Trade for Donavan McNabb, or well... anyone... there were a number of stopgaps or vet QBs looking for work this past offseason... Hell Jeff Garcia would have been fine.

-> You have to lay a foundation with the disaster that was made of the team the past few years. In short you need to rebuild the front 7 and o-line... then grab serviceable NFL quality players to compete at QB and WR. The idea is you never stop competing. I don't advocate blowing up your roster for a high draft pick. High draft picks are not sure things, and the main problem we have in buffalo is we have a culture of losing here. They don't have the mindset of winners. As a result we underachieve. You need to bring in the Vet QB and name head coach with a record of some success, to help change the culture; as it all flows from there.

The biggest problem we'll struggle with and have struggled with this past decade is we've not got the mindset of winners. We’re accustomed to losing. Until that culture changes we won't see better records then 7-9.

[yomommabilly]

Re: Your the GM...

If I am the GM ? Buy a bottle of scotch, get a good cigar and dance the Irish Jig all the while singing ' Kawika the punk is finally gone" I would also wish he complains about being on IR, considers it unfair and in two weeks gets OKd to play by an outside Dr. then demands a trade. Lord, I would take an extra cheerleader for the man. Ding Dong Kawikas gone.

[Mr. Pink]

Re: Your the GM...

Couple different things...

One, RBs are a dime a dozen, it's been proven time and time again in the NFL. We as a franchise have drafted 3 RBs in the first round in the past 7 years. I draft Dez Bryant in Round 1. He's a playmaker and legitimate weapon opposite Lee Evans.

Round 2, instead of Troup, I take a risk that my coaching staff can motive Mt. Cody and keep him in game shape...to me, he's the perfect 3-4 NT.

I resign Josh Reed. So my WR corps looks like this Evans, Bryant, Reed, Johnson, Parrish.

I target Jason Campbell to play QB. I cut Edwards and Brohm. So I have Campbell, Fitz and a developmental prospect likely John Skelton.

For DE, I target Dwan Edwards and/or Cory Redding. My Dline likely looks like Williams/Cody/Edwards

LBers, I do whatever I can to lure Joey Porter. Veteran Leadership plus pass rush. Inside I likely go Poz/Mitchell. And then see if I can sign Jeanty to play the other outside spot. I hope Porter can tutor and motivate Maybin to become a force down the line.

Secondary? I make no changes.

O-line...Jamaal Brown went to the Skins for a 3rd. I see if the Saints give me the same deal. If not, I sign Flozell Adams as a stopgap and mentor to the younger guys. Oh yeah, I cut Kirk Chambers loose and resign Incognito.

RB...I'm fine with Jackson/Lynch. I take a late round flyer on Jonathan Dwyer.

TE...fine.

I feel all these moves are reasonable and well within the realm of possibility of being done. None of these moves are big and flashy, in fact my biggest move of the offseason is drafting Dez. I do however feel these moves better prepare me for the future and add some much needed toughness, grit and leadership.

[OpIv37]

Re: Your the GM...

Couple different things...

One, RBs are a dime a dozen, it's been proven time and time again in the NFL. We as a franchise have drafted 3 RBs in the first round in the past 7 years. I draft Dez Bryant in Round 1. He's a playmaker and legitimate weapon opposite Lee Evans.

Round 2, instead of Troup, I take a risk that my coaching staff can motive Mt. Cody and keep him in game shape...to me, he's the perfect 3-4 NT.

I resign Josh Reed. So my WR corps looks like this Evans, Bryant, Reed, Johnson, Parrish.

I target Jason Campbell to play QB. I cut Edwards and Brohm. So I have Campbell, Fitz and a developmental prospect likely John Skelton.

For DE, I target Dwan Edwards and/or Cory Redding. My Dline likely looks like Williams/Cody/Edwards

LBers, I do whatever I can to lure Joey Porter. Veteran Leadership plus pass rush. Inside I likely go Poz/Mitchell. And then see if I can sign Jeanty to play the other outside spot. I hope Porter can tutor and motivate Maybin to become a force down the line.

Secondary? I make no changes.

O-line...Jamaal Brown went to the Skins for a 3rd. I see if the Saints give me the same deal. If not, I sign Flozell Adams as a stopgap and mentor to the younger guys. Oh yeah, I cut Kirk Chambers loose and resign Incognito.

RB...I'm fine with Jackson/Lynch. I take a late round flyer on Jonathan Dwyer.

TE...fine.

I feel all these moves are reasonable and well within the realm of possibility of being done. None of these moves are big and flashy, in fact my biggest move of the offseason is drafting Dez. I do however feel these moves better prepare me for the future and add some much needed toughness, grit and leadership.

Don't like the Campbell part, but I like the rest of it.

Dez Bryant could have been had with a trade down as well, which isn't a bad thing.

[trapezeus]

Re: Your the GM...

Thanks Ingtar for your response. i liked it. my issues with some of them.

1. chris polian has been set up in Indy with everything he needs to succeed. his family has been there for like 10 years. i heard from a family friend close to the polians that Bill is staying on simply to get the team through the new CBA and then its chris' show to run.

While i would have loved to play the same move, i just don't know if there was a price that would have moved him. He'll always be Bill's kid until he wins it by himself. then he'll get respected as his own guy. it's best for him to do it with some of the pieces that are already set up for him.

2. it seemed like the bills had a hard time getting anyone to bite in January. college coachs and assistants were turning down the job. i think gailey was the best of what we could get. we have to wait and see how it pans out. luckily the bar was set so low that even with a worse WL record, we can still find good in him this year.

3. yep, i wish they took a 5th or whatever it was pre=draft. that could have been an extra lineman on the D or O. That's another body for injuries. i worry about the critical areas of this team when healthy. i'm too scared to even talk about if a major injury is there. all this knowing we took Bell and had a good simpson in the mix as well.

4. i buy nix' arguement that OL wasn't good at 9. the bills have done this for 9-10 years of picking positions we need instead of best players. and until spiller we had zero game changers. now we have 1. i would have liked more bodies to come in through free agency at OL and DL. not big names, but just bodies for depth.

5. housh seemed ideal at the cost when he was released. they did bring in jackson and he didn't make the cut. nelson seems to have stepped up.

6. mcnabb said he didn't want to come here, and garcia has only been good on good teams. when put on cleveland with no support, he almost got run out of the league. now he's well into his 30's. i'm fine with asking trent to play for his life. if he fails, we have a top pick in the draft. no use in getting an aged qb who wins enough to not let us get that QB we want.

conclusion - i think you are right. you need to have an OL and DL to win. but those positions from the braintrust just weren't there in the draft. and the trade up with a potentially bad season for a mcneill doesn't make sense. I think if your mindset that this season most likely won't be a good one, then what they did so far makes sense. if you want to win this year (and that being defined as just getting to the playoffs), then you had to follow Ingtar's
gameplan.

but rightfully i think the bills are taking a slower approach to try and build a contender. it's going to take some time to wash off the levy/brandon/jauron stank.

[BlackMetalNinja]

Re: Your the GM...

Seriously... how has this thread gone this many posts and nobody has said this:

You're

[Mr. Pink]

Re: Your the GM...

Don't like the Campbell part, but I like the rest of it.

Dez Bryant could have been had with a trade down as well, which isn't a bad thing.

Well, you could go with the veteran stopgap QB as well...Delhomme, Bulger or as Ingtar suggested, Garcia. However if you bring in Garcia then the coach better be willing to go to the west coast offense or else Garcia is wasted.

I'd try to move down a few spots and pick up some extra picks but if I have no takers, I have no issue taking Bryant where I sit.

[Ingtar33]

Re: Your the GM...

-I wasn't talking about value... personally I think need sets value.

If I have 5 NFL quality RBs, I have no need for one more, no matter how good. If your Team NEEDs an OT, and you have Payton Manning at QB, the best player on the board is a QB, you don't draft the ***** QB.

It's that simple.

Drafting BPA is how the lions ended up with 3 straight years taking WR no.1

We're the ***** Detroit Lions right now... 3 rbs in round 1 in the last decade? You’ve got to be kidding me. The best rb we've had in the last decade was grabbed in round 2.

How many round 1 OT’s in the last decade? 1
How many round 1 o-linemen total? 2
How many round 1 d-linemen? 1.5
How many round 1 linebackers? 0.5
How many round 1 quarterbacks? 1

(maybin is the classic tweener, and so i counted him as half a dl/ half a lb)

There is your problem, we've damn near drafted just as many rbs in round 1 over the last decade as we've drafted OL, QBs, DL, LB combined in round 1. You win in the trenches. And you win with a great qb. If you don't bother to try to draft any then you don't win.

It’s that simple.

[Mr. Pink]

Re: Your the GM...

-I wasn't talking about value... personally I think need sets value.

If I have 5 NFL quality RBs, I have no need for one more, no matter how good. If your Team NEEDs an OT, and you have Payton Manning at QB, the best player on the board is a QB, you don't draft the ***** QB.

It's that simple.

Drafting BPA is how the lions ended up with 3 straight years taking WR no.1

We're the ***** Detroit Lions right now... 3 rbs in round 1 in the last decade? You’ve got to be kidding me. The best rb we've had in the last decade was grabbed in round 2. How many round 1 OT’s in the last decade? 1 how many round 1 o-linemen, 2. How many round 1 d-linemen? 0. How many round 1 linebackers? 0. How many round 1 quarterbacks? 1. There is your problem, we've drafted just as many rbs in round 1 over the last decade as we've drafted OL, QBs, DL, LB combined in round 1. You win in the trenches. And you win with a great qb. If you don't bother to try to draft any then you don't win.

It’s that simple.

The problem was...where we were drafting the top 2 OTs were already off the board. So do you just go, well I can get the 3rd best OT in the draft here, so I might as well do it?

And then on the QB side...outside of Bradford there was no QB worth a round 1 pick. I don't care what Denver did, Tebow is not a 1st round caliber QB.

Or would you have preferred taking Jared Odrick to play the 5 technique?

[psubills62]

Re: Your the GM...

-I wasn't talking about value... personally I think need sets value.

If I have 5 NFL quality RBs, I have no need for one more, no matter how good. If your Team NEEDs an OT, and you have Payton Manning at QB, the best player on the board is a QB, you don't draft the ***** QB.

It's that simple.

Drafting BPA is how the lions ended up with 3 straight years taking WR no.1

We're the ***** Detroit Lions right now... 3 rbs in round 1 in the last decade? You’ve got to be kidding me. The best rb we've had in the last decade was grabbed in round 2.

How many round 1 OT’s in the last decade? 1
How many round 1 o-linemen total? 2
How many round 1 d-linemen? 0.5
How many round 1 linebackers? 0.5
How many round 1 quarterbacks? 1

(maybin is the classic tweener, and so i counted him as half a dl/ half a lb)

There is your problem, we've damn near drafted just as many rbs in round 1 over the last decade as we've drafted OL, QBs, DL, LB combined in round 1. You win in the trenches. And you win with a great qb. If you don't bother to try to draft any then you don't win.

It’s that simple.

Out of curiosity, are you not counting McCargo?

[Ingtar33]

Re: Your the GM...

The problem was...where we were drafting the top 2 OTs were already off the board. So do you just go, well I can get the 3rd best OT in the draft here, so I might as well do it?

And then on the QB side...outside of Bradford there was no QB worth a round 1 pick. I don't care what Denver did, Tebow is not a 1st round caliber QB.

Or would you have preferred taking Jared Odrick to play the 5 technique?

if you don't think any linemen on the board are worth the 9th pick over all you trade down... hell i promice you SD would have given up half their draft for spiller.

we didn't even talk to other teams about trading down... that pick was in almost as soon as goodell was done anouncing the raider's pick.

[Ingtar33]

Re: Your the GM...

Out of curiosity, are you not counting McCargo?

you're right... i forgot about mccargo/post editted