Gronkowski (5,566) needs 161 yards to move past Irving Fryar (5,726)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Not getting any younger and confident hes put in place a young foundation capable of turning the Buffalo Bills into a winner, Buddy Nix called this the right time to step down as general manager on Monday. "I think at some point, youve got to step aside and let young guys that are qualified have their shot," Nix said during a hastily called news conference shortly after Bills completed a voluntary minicamp practice. "I never put a timetable on it. I always felt like Id know when it was the right time. "And I think its the right time." The 73-year-old Nix will not be leaving the team entirely. Hell instead move into a newly created role as a special assistant. Nix steps down two weeks after overseeing his fourth draft with the Bills, which the team opened by selecting its quarterback of the future in Florida States EJ Manuel with the 16th pick. And his departure comes with Buffalo in the midst of yet another start-from-scratch overhaul under new coach Doug Marrone. "I feel strongly that the team is on the right course for success," Nix said. "I think the thing that probably Im the most proud of will be the next two or three years. I think weve got a really good young roster. I love our head coach. I think hes a guy whos going to win a lot of games here for a long time." Assistant GM Doug Whaley, entering his fourth season in Buffalo, is expected to take over. Though the Bills did not immediately announce Nixs replacement, the team has spent much of the past year grooming Whaley to succeed Nix. In signing Whaley to a long-term contract extension in February, both Nix and team president Russ Brandon referred to Whaley as someone who will "transition" into the top job "when the time comes." Whaley is a former scout and executive with the Steelers. He was heavily involved in scouting this past year, and also involved in the Bills coaching search in January. On Monday, Brandon declined to say whether Whaley will take over. Brandon would only say that a succession plan is in place, but refused to provide a timetable as to when a new GM would be appointed. The next general manager will become the teams fifth since John Butler was fired during the 2000 season. The lack of continuity has been blamed on the teams struggles. Buffalo has not enjoyed a winning season since going 9-7 in 2004. And it has not made the playoffs in 13 seasons -- the NFLs longest active drought Nixs departure is not regarded as a surprise. He had been sidestepping questions about his future in Buffalo for much of the past nine months. On Monday, Nix said he didnt make up his mind until recently. "I already had a flight and was scheduled to go to St. Pete to start on the 2014 draft," Nix said, referring to the teams annual scouting meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla. "And to be honest with you, my energy levels good as its ever been, but I wasnt all excited about that trip." Nix also intends to spend more time with his family, starting with attending his grandsons 9-year-old birthday party this weekend. Nix has 50-plus years of football experience as a coach, scout and executive at both the college and NFL levels. After serving as a Bills scout in the 1990s, he left Buffalo to spend the next seven seasons in the San Diego Chargers front office. Buffalo lured him out of retirement to work as a scout in 2009. The Bills then promoted Nix to the GMs job later that year. He took over for Brandon, who stepped down as general manager to devote more time to the teams business operations. Nix has had mixed results, with the team going 16-32 since he took over. That included consecutive 6-10 finishes the past two seasons, which led to coach Chan Gailey being fired on Dec. 31. Gaileys firing was a setback for Nix. Aside from hiring Gailey, Nix had voiced his support for the coach through much of last season. Nixs vision to rebuild through the draft has taken longer than he expected. Aside from Manuel, hes used first-round picks to select running back C.J. Spiller, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and cornerback Stephon Gilmore. And Nixs one major foray into free agency has yet to pay dividends. The Bills defensive struggles continued last season despite the high-priced addition of defensive end Mario Williams, who was signed to a six-year $100 million contract in March 2012. "I knew the first two (seasons) were going to be struggles. But we thought we had things in place to win more games (last season)," Nix said. "But we just didnt get it done for whatever reason." Before drafting Manuel last month, Nix had failed to address the teams most important need at quarterback. Nix put his faith in Ryan Fitzpatrick by signing the journeyman to a long-term contract extension after the Bills got off to a surprising 4-2 start in October 2011. Fitzpatrick failed to play to the expectations and was cut this off-season. Custom Soccer Jerseys Outlet . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Clearance Custom Soccer Jerseys . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. http://www.customjerseyssoccer.com/ . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Custom Soccer Jerseys China .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Custom Soccer Jerseys Store . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady wont return to an undefeated team after all.But following the Buffalo Bills surprise 16-0 shutout victory at New England Sunday, he will come back to an AFC East that is suddenly tighter a month into the season.Buffalos win was a continuation of an offensive turnaround that seemed improbable after a 0-2 start.The change in direction began with the firing of offensive coordinator Greg Roman and promotion of assistant Anthony Lynn. It is now in full bloom after back-to-back wins over Arizona and New England.For sure, were confident in coach Lynn, running back LeSean McCoy said. Each game, each time he has a shot he has to call a play, different situations, hes answering every time. ... We loved him already before he was an offensive coordinator, and now were just falling in love with the calls that hes making.And for a team that seemed to be going nowhere two weeks ago, getting just its second win in 16 visits to Foxborough is a very big deal.A big part of the reason is quarterback Tyrod Taylor. In his second year as a starter, he has found confidence with his throwing.He had trouble reading coverages and throwing the deep ball earlier in the season, but didnt exhibit those issues in picking apart a veteran New England defense that is having trouble defending the pass this season.Buffalos defense also took a big step by handing the Patriots their first shutout loss at Gillette Stadium.Even with Brady serving the final game of his four-game Deflategate ban, cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman said its something to build on.So was the camaraderie his teammates showed about an hour before the game, when Bills safety Robert Blanton and others were involved in a shoving match with Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett and receiver Malcolm Mitchell.Robey-Coleman said he and other Buffalo players felt disrespected when the Patriots players twice ran through their pregame warmups.Several punches were thrown when a shoving match erupted near the sideline. The altercation appeared to begin when Brissett was jogging along the field and was shoved by Bills safety Robert Blanton.Brissett didnt stop, and Mitchell retaliated by shoving Blanton. Blanton responded by punching Mitchell in the chest and head-butting him, which led to several other players and assistant coaches getting involved before it was broken up.When he didd that, it kind of put a fire up underneath us, Robey-Coleman said.dddddddddddd We came out there with some fire. And it was like, `Nah, we aint going to let nobody disrespect us no matter where were at.WELCOME BACK BRADY: As bad as things went for the Patriots on Sunday, Bradys return to the team on Monday is welcomed for several reasons. Not only do they get back the leader of their offense, but they get back a healthy player at the position with Jimmy Garoppolo still recovering from his shoulder injury and Brissett not 100 percent after tweaking his right thumb last week. Receiver Julian Edelman said his presence will help everyone refocus.Any time one of your best players isnt there, theres something missing, Edelman said. We handled a lot of it well. Today we just didnt. The Bills outplayed us, so thats that.A LITTLE MORE GRONK: After going without a catch in his season debut last week, Rob Gronkowski got his first reception of 2016 with an 11-yard reception in the fourth quarter. With it, he took over sole possession of 20th place among NFL tight ends. Gronkowski (5,566) needs 161 yards to move past Irving Fryar (5,726) into fourth place on the Patriots career receiving list.BOUNCING BACK: Following a 0-2 start, Ryan looked forward to Buffalos next two opponents.He said Arizona and New England would be a great test to see how his team responds. The Bills passed with flying colors in winning both games, starting with a 33-18 win over the Cardinals.Yeah, not one of the more brilliant statements Ive had, Ryan said with a self-deprecating laugh. Well, I feel a lot better.SACK ATTACK: The Bills had three sacks against the Patriots.Buffalo has 13 sacks in four games after managing just 21 last season -- a franchise low for a 16-game schedule. Last season, the Bills failed to record more than two sacks in one game. This season, the Bills have had three or more three times.More encouraging is the Bills defense prepares to welcome back star defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, who missed the first four games serving a suspension for violating the NFLs substance abuse policy.---AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower ' ' '