This teams biggest problem is...

[YardRat]

Go ahead and elaborate...

[YardRat]

'Biggiest' is much bigger than 'biggest', just for clarification.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

QUARTERBACK

[Cntrygal]

IMO,

It starts with ownership.

I have to get to work, or I'd eleborate further

[X-Era]

Linebacking. The flat, short throws, and running up the middle. Better linebacking talent would change this story on defense.

Fitz is #2 on my list. Our belief is still true. He won't usually lose games for you but eh also won't usually carry the team to a win either. But, he's now showing he can't make throws beyond 20 yards and when he does throws picks. That is an offensive limitation that we should not have.

Too bad there isn't an "all of the above" option.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Morale.

[don137]

The coaching on the defensive side is awful. However, this team will never go anywhere with Fitzpatrick at QB.

[coastal]

Decision making and accountability

[Historian]

Administration.

Fire Brandon now!

[THE END OF ALL DAYS]

it starts and ends with qb

[mjt328]

There is no single PROBLEM.

We have tried pretty much everything over the last 15 years - not to mention our 50+ year history - and still have nothing to show for it. Even when we had half a dozen Hall of Famers on our team in the early 90's, we still couldn't pull off a Super Bowl win.

It's easy for the fans to blame Ralph, simply because he's the only consistent piece in this organization.
Well guess what? He opened his wallet this offseason to sign the most expensive contract ever given to a defensive player.
And somehow... our defense GOT WORSE.
Wait. Not just worse. Record-breaking bad. Possibly the worst defensive play in NFL history.

Go ahead. Blame coaching.
But it's the players who are getting pushed around, missing tackles, turning the ball over, getting beat in coverage and just destroyed on the football field.
I hate the defensive scheme that Wannstedt is running, just like everyone else. But how is it EVEN POSSIBLE for an NFL defensive line to go full games at a time generating ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE?
Even the worst players in the league, using the worst gameplan in the league - should be able to beat blocks once in awhile.

This team has talent. Lots of it, actually.
But in Buffalo, that doesn't really matter. Do you think adding a quarterback will really make the difference?

It's been 10 years since we added a quarterback named Drew Bledsoe. At the time, he was a 3x Pro-Bowler, 2x All Pro and one of the best passers in the league. He was surrounded by a very strong running game (Travis Henry, Willis McGahee) and good receivers (Eric Moulds, Peerless Price). Our defense featured the likes of Pat Williams, Sam Adams, Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher, Aaron Schobel, Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield, Troy Vincent, Lawyer Milloy.

We still couldn't make the playoffs.

Blowing up this team and starting over isn't going to work.
- If we hire an awesome head coach like Bill Cowher, he will suddenly forget how to coach
- If we draft the top QB in college, they will be a bust
- If we sign a veteran like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, they will inexplicably regress

[Generalissimus Gibby]

I clicked coaching, but I think its culture. Morale is part of it, but that's part of culture. You have Mario Williams who we paid 100 million to and he hasn't shown up all season. Its a team that just gives up in the face of the slightest adversity. Its a defense that doesn't play and an offense that doesn't care. The youth on this team show flashes of what they could be, but they are buying into the culture of fail and mediocrity that has plagued this team for over a decade. Really I don't know how to fix it, but this team is the KC Royals of the NFL and quite honestly the Royals current playoff drought (27 years) could end before the Bills get into the post season. This team is rudderless, has no morale, and has a culture that buys into failure and that can only be blamed on Ralph Wilson. Some will call him cheap, and others will say he pays a guy 100 million to do nothing. The way I see it Mario Williams was like the TO signing of a few years ago.

[elltrain22]

Very easy answer to this, it's gotta be coaching. We have talent on this team, but to give up 550+ yards two weeks in a row, is, IMO, largely attributed to poor coaching. Either way, it's pretty sorry to be a Bills fan today!

[chernobylwraiths]

Combination of many things.
Quarterback play is subpar. You can't miss that many deep balls and open receivers. I like Fitz as a competator, but he is a backup/journeyman QB at best.
put a more competant starting caliber QB in the offense, and it should be fine with a healthy offensive line and the players at the skill positions
Would like to see a little more push at times from the defensive line, but that isn't the problem with the defense IMO. We need a big upgrade in the linebacking corps. Barnett is an adequate journeyman LB and he is our best one right now. There is a possibility that our linebackers could be better than they are because our defensive scheme seems attrocious. I thought Williams was a decent corner last year in a limited role, but this year he is consistantly getting beat. Receivers are roaming our secondary no fear of being hit or disrupted at any time. It is like Lindy Ruff is coaching our secondary to just keep the guys in your sights but do NOT engage. It also seems like the linebackers job is to react to what the offense is doing and not even trying to dictate the action. I don't see any linebackers shooting the gaps to take down running backs, they seem to wait to see where the back is going first. Good linebacking make or break a defense, and we don't have good enough linebacking.

[bf1]

#1a: Bumbling Buddy Nix is a horrendous GM
#1: Linebackers. I don't think any of these guys even make the team on a lot of teams.
#2: Fitz is sub-average.
#3: WR talent as a unit below average. I think Stevie is a solid #2, but no #1. The rest are #3 at bests--wouldn't even make other teams' rosters.
#4: DBs as a unit stink.
#5: Mario Williams is a lemon. Are there lemon laws?
#6: Darius isn't playing at at first round level at all.

[OpIv37]

There is no single PROBLEM.

We have tried pretty much everything over the last 15 years - not to mention our 50+ year history - and still have nothing to show for it. Even when we had half a dozen Hall of Famers on our team in the early 90's, we still couldn't pull off a Super Bowl win.

It's easy for the fans to blame Ralph, simply because he's the only consistent piece in this organization.
Well guess what? He opened his wallet this offseason to sign the most expensive contract ever given to a defensive player.
And somehow... our defense GOT WORSE.
Wait. Not just worse. Record-breaking bad. Possibly the worst defensive play in NFL history.


Here is where you're wrong.

Ralph is the problem.

Yes, he chose to open his wallet this year. But guess what? When he hired Nix and Gailey and most of the rest of the staff, he went cheap. So, when he decides to open his wallet, he has the cheap morons that HE hired deciding how to spend the money.

This is why it didn't work when they went big and traded for Bledsoe. This is why it didn't work when they signed Dockery and Walker. This is why it isn't working now when they signed Williams and Anderson.

You can't just spend money. It has to be spent wisely, and then you have to have the brains to use what you purchase correctly.

We don't have the FO to choose players wisely and we don't have the coaching to use what we do have correctly. Why? Because Ralph is cheap and makes poor decisions. And it will never change.

[Historian]

OP is right...Ralph will not pay market value for an HC, and never paid for top-flight assistants.

[X-Era]

Here is where you're wrong.

Ralph is the problem.

Yes, he chose to open his wallet this year. But guess what? When he hired Nix and Gailey and most of the rest of the staff, he went cheap. So, when he decides to open his wallet, he has the cheap morons that HE hired deciding how to spend the money.

This is why it didn't work when they went big and traded for Bledsoe. This is why it didn't work when they signed Dockery and Walker. This is why it isn't working now when they signed Williams and Anderson.

You can't just spend money. It has to be spent wisely, and then you have to have the brains to use what you purchase correctly.

We don't have the FO to choose players wisely and we don't have the coaching to use what we do have correctly. Why? Because Ralph is cheap and makes poor decisions. And it will never change.I really don't have an issue with Nix or Gailey. I have an issue with specific areas on this team. LB is my main problem.

If we make some solid choices this next off-season I think we may see a real reversal of our fortunes. I don't want Gailey or Nix fired at this point. I'm tired of rebuilding every three years and then two years later supposedly being close to having the right pieces. I feel like we should just stick with Nix and Gailey and most of the talent we have and continue to add through free agency and the draft for at least one more year after this one. But, I do want a young legit challenger for the QB spot.

[Night Train]

Absentee ownership and ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Playing chess with a checkers mentality.

[MikeInRoch]

It's even worse than has been said above. Even if tomorrow Ralph brought in someone who would draft/spend wisely and good coaches, it doesn't matter any more. Buffalo will still be a place where players need to be paid well above market value to come. The Bills will continue to pay for the sins of the past for a long, long time.

[X-Era]

It's even worse than has been said above. Even if tomorrow Ralph brought in someone who would draft/spend wisely and good coaches, it doesn't matter any more. Buffalo will still be a place where players need to be paid well above market value to come. The Bills will continue to pay for the sins of the past for a long, long time.
Why then can a few historically bad teams turn it around? Cinnci sticks out in my mind. I mean Marvin Lewis was almost run out of town yet they stuck with him and now have a decent squad that went to the playoffs last year.

[OpIv37]

I really don't have an issue with Nix or Gailey. I have an issue with specific areas on this team. LB is my main problem.

If we make some solid choices this next off-season I think we may see a real reversal of our fortunes. I don't want Gailey or Nix fired at this point. I'm tired of rebuilding every three years and then two years later supposedly being close to having the right pieces. I feel like we should just stick with Nix and Gailey and most of the talent we have and continue to add through free agency and the draft for at least one more year after this one. But, I do want a young legit challenger for the QB spot.

I'm tired of the constant rebuilding too. But here's the problem: Nix and Gailey were bad choices. We can stick it out with them for 3, 4, 5, 10 more years and it will never get better. You can't do the job with the wrong tools.

[MikeInRoch]

Because you can get lucky with a few picks from time to time - but it's not sustainable.

[trapezeus]

I really don't have an issue with Nix or Gailey. I have an issue with specific areas on this team. LB is my main problem.

If we make some solid choices this next off-season I think we may see a real reversal of our fortunes. I don't want Gailey or Nix fired at this point. I'm tired of rebuilding every three years and then two years later supposedly being close to having the right pieces. I feel like we should just stick with Nix and Gailey and most of the talent we have and continue to add through free agency and the draft for at least one more year after this one. But, I do want a young legit challenger for the QB spot.


Really?

2010 draft - CJ Spiller is the only starter. Troup(out) Carrington (backup), Easley (not a down in NFL and only made practice squad on a team in need of receivers), wang (cut that YEAR), Moats (without injuring favre, never hear from him), danny batten (cut), levi brown(cut), and kyle Calloway (cut that YEAR)

2011 draft - Marcell Dareus, Hairston, Aaron Williams only starters. Williams struggles a lot. Sheppard (not living up to expecations), Searcy (not much more than fodder), john white (drafted, and then cut and brought back only due to injury), Chris white (on team, but hardly ever used), Justin Rodgers (ST), Jasper (cut)

2012 - Gilmore, Glen, Graham, Potter (though not a full time kicker) look servicable but first year. Nigel Bradham was meaningless in the SF game. Ron Brooks (hardly used), Zebri Sanders (not starter), Tank Carder (Cut that YEAR)


to me that shows a lot of cuts and not difference makers on the roster.
3 guys cut before the first year? That's absurd.

Nix's draft is worse. we just give him credit because he isn't blowing first rounders now.

[chernobylwraiths]

OP is right...Ralph will not pay market value for an HC, and never paid for top-flight assistants.

Except when he tried to hire Shanahan and Cowher, but don't let facts get in the way.

[X-Era]

Really?

2010 draft - CJ Spiller is the only starter. Troup(out) Carrington (backup), Easley (not a down in NFL and only made practice squad on a team in need of receivers), wang (cut that YEAR), Moats (without injuring favre, never hear from him), danny batten (cut), levi brown(cut), and kyle Calloway (cut that YEAR)

2011 draft - Marcell Dareus, Hairston, Aaron Williams only starters. Williams struggles a lot. Sheppard (not living up to expecations), Searcy (not much more than fodder), john white (drafted, and then cut and brought back only due to injury), Chris white (on team, but hardly ever used), Justin Rodgers (ST), Jasper (cut)

2012 - Gilmore, Glen, Graham, Potter (though not a full time kicker) look servicable but first year. Nigel Bradham was meaningless in the SF game. Ron Brooks (hardly used), Zebri Sanders (not starter), Tank Carder (Cut that YEAR)


to me that shows a lot of cuts and not difference makers on the roster.
3 guys cut before the first year? That's absurd.

Nix's draft is worse. we just give him credit because he isn't blowing first rounders now.Take a look at the Pats drafts. You'd like to hit on picks but you usually don't IMO. I would have liked to have hit on more but this is only one angle of Nix's job. Theres good looking prospects from all these drafts. But they are prospects who may never develop. Troup and Carrington were really the only prospects I shook my head on. Sheppard was another but I just was never a fan. Outside of that I had no real quarrel with who we took or where.

[trapezeus]

troup...one slot ahead of grownkowski!!!

i don't think any successful team cuts a player before their first season. why even draft them. And he's got 3-4. all at positions of need at the time.

the sad thing is that this constant futile drafting and trying to get guys to do things they aren't good at has created a situation where this year might not be the worst of it. next year and the year after are going to be problematic if we don't shore up the dearth of depth

[mjt328]

Here is where you're wrong.

Ralph is the problem.

Yes, he chose to open his wallet this year. But guess what? When he hired Nix and Gailey and most of the rest of the staff, he went cheap. So, when he decides to open his wallet, he has the cheap morons that HE hired deciding how to spend the money.

This is why it didn't work when they went big and traded for Bledsoe. This is why it didn't work when they signed Dockery and Walker. This is why it isn't working now when they signed Williams and Anderson.

You can't just spend money. It has to be spent wisely, and then you have to have the brains to use what you purchase correctly.

We don't have the FO to choose players wisely and we don't have the coaching to use what we do have correctly. Why? Because Ralph is cheap and makes poor decisions. And it will never change.

Ralph doesn't play football, and he doesn't let up 600 yards of offense in one game.

And even if he went cheap with the front office/coaching, Nix and Gailey have been competent enough to assemble a pretty good team on paper. Even the people who normally mock us in the media could see the potential of this defensive squad.

Watching this team baffles the mind.

Even if Wannstedt predictably rushes 4 average defensive linemen from the same spots EVERY SINGLE PLAY with no blitzes, what are the odds that NONE of them will create pressure for 3 out of the first 5 games? And these aren't average players. Mario Williams is a 2x All Pro and former #1 pick. Many considered Marcel Dareus the best overall player in last year's draft. Kyle Williams is also a former Pro Bowler.

Another poster pointed out - there were times yesterday that Buffalo had 7 in coverage against 2 receivers, yet BOTH were able to get open. How is that even possible?


This is not a problem that can simply be resolved by bringing in a top head coach like Bill Cowher, Jim Harbaugh or even Bill Belichik.
When players and coaches come to Buffalo, it is almost like they lose their talent and/or mental edge. There is no simple explanation.

[BLeonard]

Here is where you're wrong.

Ralph is the problem.

Yes, he chose to open his wallet this year. But guess what? When he hired Nix and Gailey and most of the rest of the staff, he went cheap. So, when he decides to open his wallet, he has the cheap morons that HE hired deciding how to spend the money.

This is why it didn't work when they went big and traded for Bledsoe. This is why it didn't work when they signed Dockery and Walker. This is why it isn't working now when they signed Williams and Anderson.

You can't just spend money. It has to be spent wisely, and then you have to have the brains to use what you purchase correctly.

We don't have the FO to choose players wisely and we don't have the coaching to use what we do have correctly. Why? Because Ralph is cheap and makes poor decisions. And it will never change.

Pretty much agree 100% with this. Ralph is, and has been, the problem for quite a while.

Even Bill Polian was promoted from within as GM simply because Terry Bledsoe, the GM at the time, had a heart attack. John Butler was a promotion from within when Ralph ran Polian out of town.

You notice how often Ralph talks about "getting lucky"? The reason he does that is because, the best days in Buffalo Bills history were only jumpstarted by a GM having a heart attack. How sad is that?


Except when he tried to hire Shanahan and Cowher, but don't let facts get in the way.

I honestly think that this was 95% BS from the Bills Front Office. I don't think that there was a chance in hell that Ralph was gonna pay $10 million for a head coach, no matter who it was.

Look at it this way: If you're really going after Shanahan and Cowher and you don't get them, is the third guy on your "wish list" gonna be Chan Gailey...? A guy that wasn't even in football the year before, has only had one winning season as a Head Coach and has never won a playoff game?

-Bill

[X-Era]

troup...one slot ahead of grownkowski!!!

i don't think any successful team cuts a player before their first season. why even draft them. And he's got 3-4. all at positions of need at the time.

the sad thing is that this constant futile drafting and trying to get guys to do things they aren't good at has created a situation where this year might not be the worst of it. next year and the year after are going to be problematic if we don't shore up the dearth of depth
The Pats released Jeremy Ebert (2nd 7th rounder) who was drafted this year. The ended up with 1 starter out of each of the 07 and 08 drafts (Meriweather and Mayo), and two out of the 2011 draft (Solder and Ridley).

I agree on the depth as I've said already. And every year there are plenty of players who can add depth that we ignore for rookies. Our method is to add a few free agents fill in the rest of the roster with rookies or undrafted's which means we are counting on rookies and undrafted's to be at least backups year one.

Add a few more quality vets as backups at positions like CB, OT, LB.

[jimmifli]

I think the biggest problem is the lack of an apostrophe.

[Jeff1220]

Fitz

[Thief]

The defense is filled w quitters and our QB sucks ass. Its a tie.