Buddy Nix taking 'man of his word' to another level

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Bills general manager Buddy Nix is a different kind of dude. Right now, that's a good thing.

Make your quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick) the franchise guy by giving him a $59 million extension midway through only his second decent season despite him being 29 years old and a former seventh-round draft pick... "I’ve got no reservations about Ryan," Buddy says.

Have the confidence to lock up said quarterback's favorite target (Stevie Johnson) despite said target's questionable on-field decision-making that has borderline cost the team multiple wins... "You can count on him and you can depend on him," Nix says.

Bolster one of the NFL's most anemic pass rushes by inking one of the elite pass rushers in the league (Mario Williams) to a $100 million contract...  "He'll get us over the hump," Buddy assures.

Make sure the Bills' best player (Fred Jackson) is around long enough to give this whole taking-winning-seriously thing to another level... "I think it’s huge," Nix says. He's right about that one.

The Fitzpatrick extension was a little premature, and Fitzpatrick did struggle after signing the thing, but Nix didn't back down. He then locked up Johnson, who is a bit more of a sure thing in terms of talent, before signing Mario Williams, even more of a sure thing, only to finally extend the surest thing the Bills have had in quite some time -- Fred Jackson.

There's a pattern there. It went from gut instinct to risk-reward to common sense to straight up no-brainer. That's the way Nix has decided to build this team. And that's the way the players like it.

"It means a lot to us for someone like Buddy to step in and say, 'Look, Fred’s our best player. We’re going to get him signed up. Trust me on that,'" Fitzpatrick told reporters in May.

"For Buddy to go out and do what he’s done this offseason and for him to reward guys for playing well and put it out there even before it happens. You don’t see that a lot that if you play well you’re going to be rewarded. Fred Jackson’s played well and we’re going to get something done with him. For it to happen, that’s big in the locker room for guys to see that he’s a man of his word."

In a league filled with short-term love and empty promises, Nix has more or less shattered the mold.

The best part is we get to see if it works out. The Buffalo faithful thinks it will. And for the first time in a very, very long time, the rest of the NFL is taking a second look at the Bills.

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