• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Buffalo Bills (official thread)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Dammit Buddy!

http://deadspin.com/pranksters-record-two-nfl-gms-discussing-free-agency-ov-452366184

It's a brilliant prank, and it never should've worked. How did a couple of 20-year-olds listen in on two NFL executives talking shop the day before free agency began? A little luck, great timing, and a 73-year old general manager who doesn't really understand how telephones work.
Click to expand...

Buffalo and TB GMs get catfished into a recorded conversation about players and free agency. So, then Nix finally cuts Fitzpatrick. Yay. Oh wait, Tarvaris who?

Quarterback at #8 seems awfully likely now.

And then of course Andy Levitre signs with Tennessee. Sure it's a lot of money for a guard, but he's yet another early-round pick that the Bills just can't keep past their rookie contract, in a line going back to Winfield and Clements.
 
Upvote 0
Reasonably happy with Buffalo's draft--and what self-respecting/hating lifelong fan of a cursed franchise could be otherwise in May of the football year?

I was on a beach and saw virtually nothing live, but my first response to seeing the Bills take EJ Manuel at #16 was basically a heart attack. So, following the normal, draft-surprise emotional trajectory, I have passed through the phases of denial and acceptance into inevitable optimism. There was almost no chance of Buffalo not taking a QB somewhere in the 1st, and I was fully prepared to deal with a top-10 Nassib reach. So to see #8 turn into a QB + #46 was an interesting turn of events.

So, Manuel. Let's see, he's huge, decently fast, a proven leader at a major program, with surprisingly solid passing numbers, and he's Bruce Smith's godson. Obviously Buddy & Co. liked him best among QBs, and the extra 2nd helps offset the reach. If nothing else Manuel seems like a solid young man and is really saying the right things as a new Bill. An extra QB prospect in the later rounds would have been nice though.

WR beyond Stevie Johnson has been an issue for awhile, so getting productive Robert Woods and super-fast Marquise Goodwin should help. Da'Rick Rogers was also signed as an UDFA and is talented if he can stay out of trouble. Small-school guy Brandon Kaufman is interesting too.

LB is another big need for new DC Mike Pettine, especially with more 3-4 to come, and Kiko Alonso seems well-regarded by scouts and a likely role-player at least. Also interesting to see a rare player-for-player trade for Jerry Hughes, a more versatile player than Kelvin Sheppard, hopefully he can regain some of his supposed potential.

Throw in a couple of DBs, and a big-legged kicker to maybe finally supplant Rian Lindell -- Dustin Hopkins actually set the FBS kick-scoring record for FSU, but is better known as a kickoff specialist, so there. Would have liked to see an OL in there somewhere, but they added a couple of UDFAs that Marrone knows from Syracuse. Buffalo has a seriously young OL group and needs to see good competition and development there.

Also, I notice it was not mentioned previously, so... Kevin Kolb. Go Bills.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Manuel's rise reminds me a lot of Ponder. Really off the radar until his performance at the Senior Bowl. I hope he works out...QBs with his skill set have done well at the next level, lets hope the same happens for him. I'm so glad we didn't take Geno Smith, that kid seems like a baby from all I heard post-draft.
 
Upvote 0
Good ol' Buddy Nix steps aside (to remain as "special assistant"), with his chosen heir apparent Doug Whaley likely to take over as GM.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/ar...th-Bills/6123eb70-3796-48bb-9783-6dd4c6009aff

It's hard to make much of an impact in free-agency with this era's Buffalo Bills, but Buddy did pretty well in the drafts. EJ Manuel (and the new WRs) is obviously still TBD, but his previous three 1sts have been good: CJ Spiller, Marcell Dareus, Stephon Gilmore. And he did a decent job adding depth at DB, OL, and LB in the later rounds. I'll give him a C+/B-.
 
Upvote 0
In a league where so many quarterbacks are taking over early, the young new leadership of the Bills is so forward-thinking as to maybe become the first team to start an undrafted true rookie in his first possible NFL game:

http://nfl.si.com/2013/08/26/jeff-tuel-buffalo-bills-rookie-qb-history/?sct=hp_t2_a10&eref=sihp

The funny thing is, there's a certain fanboy segment of the Bills message-board community that has been pro-Tuel from the first day he got good reports coming out of rookie camps. Hey, he's a pretty big guy, strong arm, seems to have good accuracy and a rapport with OC Hackett. Also funny to see Matt Leinart penciled in at #3 behind two rookies.
 
Upvote 0
WGR Status report for Bills D without Pettine:

--Losing Pettine would be a big loss for the Bills. But it's not fatal. He's a very good defensive coordinator. Yes, there was talent on the Bills when he arrived. But, that same talent (for the most part) was abysmal last year. And several of those same players have been here for the last 3-4 years. Also, abysmal. And they had three different coordinators running the unit over that span. So, he found a way to take much of the same talent and do a lot better with it than anyone else was unable to. He took a group that was 22nd in interceptions and 18th in sacks to 2nd in both categories - in one season. He can coach. That said, he's also laid a foundation for the group and there are a lot of really good, talented coaches out there who can also keep the unit near the top of those categories. Successful teams lose good coaches off their staffs every year, and many of them survive just fine. Successful coordinators are hired as head coaches and the groups they leave behind are often just as good, and sometimes even better. It doesn't have to be fatal. And it shouldn't be with the right person taking over (more on that in a moment).


For example, Ray Horton (a Bills head coach candidate in 2013) did a very nice job with the Cardinals defense in 2012. He left for Cleveland. The Cards had no drop-off this year, and in fact, got better in some areas. They went from 12th to 6th in yards allowed, had only two less interceptions, and increased their sacks total by nine. 

Gus Bradley was the Seahawks DC a year ago. His unit allowed the fewest points in the league. He left to be the head coach in Jacksonville. Under his replacement, Dan Quinn, Seattle was not only once again #1 in the league in points allowed, but also went from 4th to 1st in yards allowed, had eight more sacks, and ten more interceptions! Of course there are plenty of examples of coordinators leaving and units regressing, but the point is, it's very possible to maintain a high standard and even get better if the right replacement is hired.
Click to expand...

Suggests potential DC replacements in Donnie Henderson (DB coach), Jim O'Neil (LB coach who could follow Pettine to Cleveland), Wade Phillips, Pepper Johnson.
 
Upvote 0
Bills signed G Chris Williams to a four-year, $13.5 million contract with $5.5 million guaranteed.

HAHAHAHA Bills. Lose a top 2/3 S then go out and get the 75th best G and give him that kind of money. LOL LOL LOL. Fuck this team I am DONE.

LETS GO BUCKS!!
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top