Last March, Bills GM Buddy Nix joked with reporters about his inactivity
on the free agent market, while the front offices from other teams stayed up
well past midnight to work big money deals with agents.
"They asked me if I was going to be there," said Nix. "Hell no, I ain't going to be there. I'm
going to bed."
Of course, what Nix meant was that he believes in rebuilding a franchise through the draft, and not through free agency. But to frustrated sports fans that already question their team's commitment to winning, it was a certainly poor attempt at humor.
on the free agent market, while the front offices from other teams stayed up
well past midnight to work big money deals with agents.
"They asked me if I was going to be there," said Nix. "Hell no, I ain't going to be there. I'm
going to bed."
Of course, what Nix meant was that he believes in rebuilding a franchise through the draft, and not through free agency. But to frustrated sports fans that already question their team's commitment to winning, it was a certainly poor attempt at humor.
But still, it's hard not to look at this front office without sensing an attitude of apathy and laziness. Quite simply - nobody seems to be in a hurry for the Bills to get better.
Other teams (see New England, Philadelphia, Green Bay) are experts at managing every cent of the salary cap, stockpiling draft picks, getting maximum value on every single trade, aggressively pursuing the top free agents and exhausting all possibilities for
improving their rosters. It's a "win at all costs" mentality.
The Bills are constantly caught in the "wait for next year" mentality - refusing to
re-sign players for their market value (Paul Posluszny), relying on sub-par
talent at key positions (Ryan Fitzpatrick, Demetrius Bell) and hoping for big
contributions from unproven youngsters (Torrell Troup, Arthur Moats).
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