Buffalo Bills Never Cease to Amaze Me

To try to describe a compounding and self-destructive cycle is difficult. I’ll try is so many words.

The Buffalo Bills traded away veteran WR Lee Evans today. There is no good reason why they should have.

1) So they might say Lee wasn’t a part of the Buffalo Bills future. Well who the heck is then? And how far in the future do we expect some success?
2) So they might say that he was overpriced. He’s still better than what else they have. Plus his salary isn’t bankrupting a team with one of the lowest payrolls!
3) So they might say that they want to part with players who were part of a losing culture. But they are perpetuating a losing culture by trading away a player who makes them more competitive NOW! So this cycle has been and will continue to be never ending!

Reports say they are getting a 4th round pick for him. What a steal! The way I see it, a 4th round pick is a gamble. With Lee, you know what you’re getting.

The blind is leading the blind. At some point the Bills need to stop “rebuilding” and start fielding a competitive team. Two steps forward, three steps back isn’t rebuilding. How are the younger guys we’re relying on for the future supposed to improve if veterans aren’t there to help them pave the way?

The Bills have one of the lowest (if not the lowest) salaries in the NFL right now. After 11+ seasons of losing, is it a surprise?

I don’t think this cycle of suck will ever end.

Hey Buddy Nix, what’s your plan? How many years do you need to turn this around?

Well, well, well Buddy Nix has been reading my letters

Buddy Nix finally crawled out from hiding yesterday and issued some statements. They are OBVIOUSLY in reply to my postings. 🙂

First, I’m finally happy to learn he’s not blind. He admitted that the team is an utter disaster.

He asked the fans be patient, that the rebuilding will take time.

See that’s what I still have an issue with. Buddy Nix was with the organization since January 2009. While it’s great that he’s finally doing SOMETHING in week 4 of 2010, more should have been done before the season started. A lot more.

His reasoning is that they wanted to evaluate things for themselves. Man o man. Did the man watch any game film whatsoever? I used to subscribe to the notion that “if fans were so smart, then why aren’t they GM?” Well this is one rare case where fans (and media alike) showed that they knew a lot more about the team than the “experts.”

So while we’re busy being patient while the team implodes, Buddy Nix is only now learning what he should have known long long ago.

He also addressed the Kelsay resigning. While he said that “no one is safe” on the roster, he defended his resigning of Kelsay to keep some veteran leadership. He went on to say that they realize that there is a culture of losing on the team and in the locker room, and they aim to fix it. He also alluded to knowing that Kelsay wasn’t any good!!!! Sooooooooooo. If you say no one is safe, you say you want to kill the losing culture, and you allude to the fact that Kelsay isn’t good, THEN WHY DO YOU RESIGN HIM? That action right there is what’s maintaining the losing culture.

I have a mix of emotions right now:

  • Should I be happy Buddy Nix finally “gets it”?
  • Should I be mad that it took Buddy Nix this long to get it?
  • Should I have faith that Buddy Nix will make the right moves? He oversaw the Maybin draft pick and extended Kelsay afterall.

Well, no I’m not happy and I have no faith in Nix. I still don’t think he realizes how terrible the team really is and he doesn’t have the skill to fix it.

Dear Buddy Nix

Dear Buddy,

Well, well, well. What did you think of the team’s performance yesterday? Are you surprised? I’m not. You did nothing at all to improve the team for 2 straight years. Yes two. Although you were GM for one, you were with the team for 2, correct? You and the rest of the imbeciles in the front office. Do you have any say in personnel matters, or is it all Ralph?

Funny thing happened this week. You gave a contract extension to Chris Kelsay. Granted he’s a super nice guy from everything I’ve read about him, but on the football field he is a liability. Don’t you see that? Don’t you watch the games? Doesn’t it bother you to see him futility try to cover rookie tight ends? Doesn’t it bother you to see running backs run right by him over and over again?

This tells me you have no clue. You are in over your head. You took two straight years off. You set the team back even further. With you in charge, I doubt we’ve even seen “rock-bottom.” Do yourself and Bills fans a favor and quit. Unless you enjoy being the laughing stock of professional sports.

Mad Bills Fan,

Matt Soreco

The Barfalo Bills

Who could have guessed that the Bills would stink again this year? Well me. Also hundreds of fans I chat with on  message boards, twitter, and in person. I seems even the diehard optimists are starting to throw in the towel.

Now, I don’t mean throw in the towel on being a fan. Rather just losing hope that this team will ever be good with the leadership they have in place.

I’ve written about this many times before.

What disturbs me most is the anger and how it’s channeled. I’ve listened to two straight days of Buffalo radio. I’ve read the message boards. I’ve scoured twitter. Fans are getting on the QB (who has since been benched) and the coaching (who seems to “get it”).

Personally I thought the team would stink again, only be slightly better coached. The first part is right, the second is up for debate.

Fans, heed this message! The garbage you are seeing is the product of an inept front office and ownership. No coaches or single player at this point will make a difference. What you are seeing is years of personnel mistakes magnified by two years of complete disregard of upgrading any talent through free agency.

Fellow fans, please. Buddy Nix, not Trent Edwards is to blame. Ralph Wilson is to blame, not Chan Gailey. Tom Modrak is to blame, not draft busts like Aaron Maybin and Paul Posluszny.

The clowns in the front office have the plan to “build through the draft.” That’s a pipe-dream. No other team today does it without the luxury of having a solid foundation to begin with. The team is filled with no better than average to below average talent. There is no foundation.

If you plan to “build through the draft” you can’t wiff on picks like Aaron Maybin. Or else it’ll set you back a few years, like we’re seeing now.

“Re-building” is another excuse you’ll hear out of One Bills Drive. So, how’s the decade worth of rebuilding coming along? Seems to be getting worse and worse, no?

Unless there is a complete overhaul on this ill-conceived strategy and the front office makes a serious commitment to bring in quality proven talent, the decade of fail will start entering the century of fail realm.

Judging how this front office has performed and how they’ve squandered recent trade opportunities, I don’t see this team improving anytime soon.

Dear Buddy Nix

Dear Buddy;

Did you read my last letter to you? Apparently not.

Listen, the Buffalo Bills are terrible, and you are to blame. Yes YOU! You did virtually nothing this off-season to make the team better (which marks the second straight year of doing nothing to improve the team). What did you expect to happen? Besides your promotion, the front office staff has stayed the same, right? The same staff that’s responsible for a decade of sub-mediocrity. What exactly are you doing there?

By the looks of it, the Bills can use at least 2 linebackers, 2 wide receivers, 3 offensive linemen, and a defensive end who can rush the passer. Oh, and a QB. Granted a gem of a QB is hard to find, but why ignore the other positions? Some of these guys would not even make the roster on most other teams.

The team is a joke.

I’m watching you Buddy Nix. Get your act together. You might be seeing a billboard calling for your firing before you know it. Surely based on what you’ve done so far (nothing), you deserve it.

Yours Truly,

Disgruntled Bills Fan Matt Soreco