LGB

It is not a stretch to say that the Bills are better at marketing than football operations. Jauron is not a winning coach and has been terrible at managing anything on game-day (managing time, play-calling and game-day adjustments) and has no clue how to formulate a plan to beat the AFC East NE Patriots. • What you have been trying has not worked - which is fine if the playoffs are not the goal. • What you have been trying will sell out the stadium, so that goal has been reached, but what about the football goal? • What you have been trying will only get you 7-9 and no playoffs. • Why not go out and get a proven coach and GM (at least that is something that has not been tried for many years). At the end of the day, you have to be able to beat NE and the other AFC East teams to advance to the playoffs. Is DJ your man for that? There is nobody the Bills can hire out there that is better than DJ? Sure the Bills would like to win, but for many years, they have been much better at marketing than winning enough games to advance to the playoffs.

The Bills are a product that you can choose to buy or not buy and Bills fans have always done their part and are on their way to another supportive season - already selling out the first few games. OBD is not stupid when it comes to marketing. But that is what this team is. It is a business. No different than the rest of Ralph Wilson Industries. Fans can wish till they are blue in the face that the Bills make the playoffs, but that does not seem to be the goal at OBD. Marketing is the goal – not football. The Bills are a well-marketed team and the only NFL team for miles around. The GM is not a football guy, but rather a marketing guy. The coach is not really a coach – not good enough to even beat one single AFC East team, but he is still the coach. Dare we expect more than just a team that happens to play in western NY? The owner has been a fixture in the NFL and after years and years of fan support, taxpayer installments and profit – is someone who feels that he has rewarded western NY merely by keeping the team here, but he has not gone as far as ensuring that this will be the case when he is gone. It is what it is. You can still attend games and can try to hold the Bills to a higher standard, but with what success and for how long? Is there any question Buffalo has great fans and might deserve a better effort on the field? Yes, but at the end of the day, it is just a business and one that we fans seem to enjoy - more than not enjoy.

Being out-scored 174-47 in three years by New England and going winless in the AFC East last year means that the Bills have to be doing everything better and faster than the other division teams or soon there will be a whole generation of fans that have not seen one playoff game in western NY. So far, there has been little evidence that the current crew at OBD will be able to prevent that from happening.

TO and Rhodes are stop-gap measures and are both on the downside of their careers. If you are TO and you want to sign a one year deal - do you come to Buffalo to do that? Why? So you can showcase your skills with a premier QB? Oh, maybe it is the well established and stellar OL or the fine Buffalo weather...or wait maybe it is because that is the best his agent could do. Here are the Bills problems as I see it...if in fact the goal at OBD is truly to achieve a playoff position: 1) After 3 straight seasons of 7-9 and 6 straight seasons of 25th or lower rated god-awful offense, the core coaching staff remains the same and the ghost of Fairchild lives. Mind-maddening playing not to lose, predictable one page play book play calling - with no game-time adjustments going 0 - 6 in the AFC East - only gets you at most 7 wins a year and zero post-season appearances. 2) okay, we all understand that Dick Jauron, the former DB and DB coach thinks DB is an important position, but he is borderline obsessed with DBs. In order to win in the NFL (according to Marv Levy), it does take defense, but it also takes offense and special teams. The waste of time with the Peters situation, when all he wanted was pay for performance that others have been given, must have meant to DJ that he would only be able to sign 8 DBs instead of 9 if he went ahead and signed Peters at the all important LT position. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT DBs!! LT helps your run game and your QB!! 3) Trent Edwards. This guy has never in his career been able to enjoy the benefit of a solid and well established OL. This year should be no different with cute position switching experiments and a couple of green rookies. This guy has been hit too hard - too many times wearing a football jersey and might be just one more Pat LaFontaine head-smacking concussion from ever playing again. Screwing around with the OL again will not help Trent this year. Maybe next year, but for a guy as shell-shocked as he is, all the TOs in the world will not be able to help him if the OL does not gel pretty damn fast. 4) Presumably, this is a make or break year for the DJ and going out and getting a proven GM and coaching staff should have taken place this year - but will now likely take place next year, delaying the improvement of the Bills at about the same pace as slow Chinese water-board torture.

Sounds like the Bills could use a little of that...maybe bring Frank Reich (Master of Divinity and Pastor) in an advisory role.

Sure it might take some divine intervention to reach the playoffs this year, but the fact is, there has been no sense of urgency with this coaching staff during their tenure. You do not see the fire that is required to attack the other team and the ability to adjust the game plan on game days to effectively put your players in a position to win and in some cases even compete. Playing not to lose, playing at or below the level of your opponent - or keeping the play book to one page has not worked. That will only get you seven wins and zero post-season appearances.

There will always be rookies and positions of need to fill and DJ, having the benefit of 3 drafts and FA pickups has not been able improve the team above .500 or even achieve one win over New England in his 3 years - being out-scored 174-47. Besides NE, DJ and company could not even post one win against any AFC East team last year. It is no wonder fans are disappointed.

Assuming the goal at OBD is to reach the playoffs and presumably a chance at a Championship, at the end of the day, the question that must be answered is: "Do you have enough of a talented and well coached team to beat New England or any of the other AFC East teams?"...Because the path through the AFC East must be won - if the playoffs are honestly the goal. So just how well did the Bills do against their AFC East foes last year? 0-6 in 2008! Yep, that’s right…no wins in the AFC East. If the real goal is to slop around through the motions and maintain enough fan interest to make a profit, that goal has been achieved a long time ago. Could it be that fans are either satisfied with mediocrity or just continue to buy into the annual OBD marketing plan, as evidenced by continuing to sell-out the stadium? Whatever the case, why not hold OBD accountable to a higher standard? We, the ticket holders are the people paying for performance and have proven our high standard of commitment year after year. But no better than 25th on offense for six years running seems to mean that OBD is not upholding their part of the deal and is it too much to think that the long-suffering season ticket holders and paying fans might demand better?

So let's fast forward to the end of the year and assume that there is some OL improvement, the core group of players look to be in place, but the Bills miss the playoffs for the 10th year straight year and finish at 7-9 for the 4th straight year. Do you part ways with DJ and go through another transitional period with a mediocre coach or does OBD go after a proven performer (e.g. Bill Cowher)?

With the shuffling on the OL last year thanks to the Peters holdout, the Bills did the right thing this year in an effort to stabilize the OL assignments by the start of the regular season. But with a total revamp of the OL, it will be a lot to ask for the offense to gel right away (maybe even tougher with green talent and the Bill's 2009 schedule). They have addressed most of the obvious positions of need and now the question becomes: will this staff be able to coach their way into keeping their jobs? To listen to Jim Kelly (like presumably he has spoken to RW), he stated this week that Mr. Wilson will not settle for anything less than a playoff birth this year. The Bills have not sunk to the level of the Lions yet because of their defense and special teams, but the offense has to step up and move the chains. So far, this coaching staff has not been able to improve the offense to any better than 25th place.

At the start of the NFL season last year, Bill’s fans probably started thinking that Steve Fairchild was just a bad dream. Presumably, Turk Schonert was the anti-Fairchild. He would finally take advantage of player’s strengths and put the offense in a position to win. But then after starting 5-1 in 2008, the Bills offense disappeared; failing to score any touchdowns during three of their last five games on their way to yet another 7-9 year. Was the great start a fluke against teams weaker than the Bills or did they just get lucky? Why is it that this organization has been unable to field a team capable of climbing out of the bottom of the league on offense (finishing no better than 25th) during the three years under Jauron and the three years before him? Six consecutive years where you just plain suck on offense and with no improvement? Instead of playing to win, the current staff plays not to lose and the result is a well-documented and tortured run of three straight years below .500. Equally puzzling is the inability to come up with a successful game plan and effectively adjust that plan during game days. So why stick with this coaching staff? As if this group, which is so conservative and predictable, will finally be able to come up with a plan to beat NE and the rest of the AFC East foes – if they are brought back for year 4? Why? Because Bill’s fans sell out the stadium…. loyal fans with no other game in town are seemingly content to be sheep for Russ Brandon’s marketing slaughter.

So here we have a player that leads the team in tackles four out of six years with the Rams, but they decide to cut him loose because smaller and faster does not work? So the question might be: what is the price of another tackling machine LB in the London Fletcher mold, since the Rams could not find a trading partner (Tinoisamoa was scheduled to earn $3.25 million this season) and they decided to cut him loose?

Maybe it makes sense to see if the Bills can finish higher than 25th on offense in the NFL this year (which is something they have not been able to do in the last six years) or maybe climb above .500 before these Bills are compared to previous winning teams? Special Teams have been the only thing close to special about the Bills of late and I agree that the coaching drop off from then to now is huge (less Bobby April). On a positive note: Bill's fans are still the best and comparable to the fans from the 90s.

If money is not an issue, and the goal is to win, nothing has really changed with the Bills for 10 years of failure in the standings and counting. Compare that to Miami who went through their own short rebuilding spurt which was bolstered by the hiring of proven GM in Parcells who has proven football ability. Who is Russ Brandon other than a marketing gimmick puppet who signed a 35 year old media queen WR to sell seats?

First, what makes you think there are OBD smarts and second, complete in the NFL? When was that...a decade ago? It almost seems like this bunch of zombies are just going through the motions until Ralph kicks it with no thought or determination to take care of business and compete in the AFC East. That should be the goal. DO what it takes to beat the Jets, Fins and Pats. Until OBD has a staff that can do that...proven winners in the NFL, it will be just more of the same; 7-9 (if lucky) until Ralph's lease expires.

no better than 25th in the NFL the last six seasons of offense means that from the front office - to coaching - to the players put on the field, the job has not been getting done. What does that mean? Does that mean awarding DJ another year will be the trick? The forth year is the year?!? Once Fairchild left, everyone thought the offense would be better and things would open up and put some points on the board. When you finish near last on offense in the NFL for six years straight, doesn't logic dictate what you have been trying has not been working and it might be time to try some other strategy like hiring someone who has proven that they can get the job done?

Wow, isn't that we heard last season: "this is the season"...and another 7-9 finish. With the Bill's 2009 schedule, 7-9 (or not finishing last again in the AFC East) might be a big accomplishment. 2009 Home: Miami, New England, New York Jets, Houston, Indianapolis, Cleveland, New Orleans, Tampa Bay Away: Miami, New England, New York Jets, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Kansas City, Atlanta, Carolina

Sure, the draft is coming up and everyone has their selections based on needs at different positions, but will Turk Schonert prove that he can guide an offense that builds on players strengths in order to suceed in moving the ball down field or is he really just another Steve Fairchild, who plays not to lose (a la Dick Jauron)...so conservative and predictable, that the Bills will stay near the bottom of the league on offense - no better than 25th in the NFL the last six seasons. Bills on Offense in the last six years: 25th in 2008 30th in 2007 30th in 2006 28th in 2005 25th in 2004 30th in 2003

TE seems like a need, but a new coaching staff might prove to be more important.

At least if they go to LA, the games will not be blacked-out (sigh)...and don't be surprised how easy a lease or contract can be broken, especially if there is a change in ownership.

so Bills fans gave their blessing for the move to Toronto?!? lol Ralph Wilson, has been crying poverty for years...and for years the Bills made a lot of money thanks to their rabid fans. But over the past few seasons the team's small market and antiquated stadium have placed the Bills in the bottom third of revenue of the NFL. The picture is not completely bleak for the Bills bean-counters. Revenue and value has steadily increased even though there hasn't been a whiff of the playoff in 9 years. During those years the Bills value has easily climbed to more than double...going from $326 million in 1999 to $885 million in 2008. Fan support and taxpayer money have been a big part of that, because as everyone knows, it has not been the product on the field.

haha, the Bills seemingly will do whatever they want, including moving...err...playing in Toronto and still get subsidized by over $800,000 a game by western NY taxpayers for each "home" game.

Look, this is a way to make the OBD more money and the franchise more attractive when it goes up for auction. Anyone who thinks that there is any loyalty in pro sports to the city where a team might be based, needs to wake up and realize that you are merely marketing sheep for slaughter. It is no different than any other business. Sure there might be a couple of players that call Buffalo home and might exhibit some level of devotion, but at the end of the day, it is show me the money...and for OBD, and if it isn't in B-lo, then let's try a different place. I am sure that OBD has already conducted a study to determine how much money they would expect to generate with merchandise sales - if they were to change the franchise name to the Toronto Bills. If you live in western NY and enjoy going to NFL games, the days when all the home games were played at home are gone and soon the Buffalo Bills might be as well.

McCargo is as big a bust as Mike Williams and Erick Flowers. He was fined at the beginning of camp last year for being overweight and out of shape. The only quick first step he displayed was at the all-you-can-eat buffet line. It was obvious during camp drills that he was the worst DT and would have easily been cut if he was not picked so high in the draft (and the Bills were hoping to save some face). He might as well have been cut when the Bills tried to savage something from their mistake and tried to trade him. The kid showed little interest or determination and that is why the coaches did not like him. Add to that a long history of injury problems and being a reach in the draft. Look, everyone makes mistakes, but the Bills have probably had more 1st round busts than most other teams, which equals no playoffs going on 10 years. It is what it is.

There was a time (way back when) on this site if you found a good article related to the Bills, you could expect it to be posted. I am sure many on this board have participated on that from the beginning and have watched this site grow. Most articles would be posted - including those that could be considered counter-productive to OBD marketing efforts. Now however, it appears that the site is under the direction of the bills beat/OBD marketing department and might have some monetary arrangement with RF365 which has evolved into about the same thing. Conner was a good writer with interesting articles, but now that whole site has been taken over by lawyers and marketing thugs. It is just a sign of the times to generate revenue. Bialy is okay, but should be writing about something other than football. He seems a little like Keith Oberman, who is over the top with dry humor and can be a fish out of water when trying to discuss football.