All_Pro_Bills

The first thing they need to do is get rid of the no huddle. The only people getting fooled is the offensive line because they don't appear to know the snap count on half the plays. Watch what Miami did, learn. Try and run the wildcat with Lynch and Jackson against the Jets. They won't be prepared for it since the Bills never do anything creative so who'd expect it? Give Edwards a rest. Fitz might not be the answer but its obvious Edwards is regressing every week. He needs to sit. And if it hurts his confidence he needs his mommy to tell him its time to grow a pair. Show some maturity, and man-up. Since you are not allowed to score less than zero the offense might hit bottom this coming Sunday. Its been stated many times before, but move Maybin to LB, even if its for blitz packages on 3rd down. For one, we don't have many left, and second, get the guy on the field because he's not contributing riding the bench, and last he's done nothing at DE. Its rumored that he's been on the field this year. Unfortunately, I expect none of the above to happen because why take chances, you might lose......

Firing Dick now would mean nothing for the 2009 season. This season is lost, write it off. Realistically we're looking at a top 5-6 draft choice and something like a 3-13 record. Other than satisfying the emotional reaction to fire the coach this team is going nowhere as long as the current front office remains in place. Maybe a great coach could coax a handful of victories out of this bunch but without better front office management a championship run remains nothing more than wishful thinking. The good thing is that after a decade of mediocrity we're finally going to hit rock-bottom. Nowhere to go but up! Ralph said something last year about this team not having the talent to win. He was talking about talent on the field. While he was correct his focus was misplaced or too narrow. More importantly, better talent is needed in the front office in order to correctly evaluate and pursue players to perform on the field, and WIN, on Sunday's. Unless changing the head coach is coupled with sweeping changes in the front office, changes that bring in fresh and intelligent football people empowered to make football decisions in the best interest of the franchise and the fans, then a new coach is going to do little except create an illusion of progress. Without changes in the front office, a change of coaches is no change at all. The question the media and fans should be asking Ralph isn't are you going to fire the coach? It's when are you going to fire the management team that put this football team on the field and replace them with somebody(s) that know how to build a winner?

When losing impacts cash flow, season ticket renewals, and the value of the franchise, winning will matter. But as far as fans supporting or not supporting the team we're all aware of the catch-22 here.

I believe Marv had good intentions when he accepted the position. But as smart as he is, he should have told Wilson to go out and hire the best football guys he could to handle the front office and let them hire a competent coaching staff. In conclusion, Marv's tenure set us back 4 seasons with his biggest blunder being bringing in Juron. I saw 6-10 without all the injuries and now I hate to even think about it.

Watching on TV you don't get the same perspective as being in the stadium and I haven't had an opportunity to see any of the network analysis. But it was my suspicion. They both can't be doubled all the time especially when the defense brings 5 or 6 on the rush. It comes down to confidence and trust. Confidence in your ability as a QB to deliver the ball and trust in your receivers that they're going to make the play and the catch. As a QB you can't be careless but you also can't be afraid of making an occasional mistake because its going to happen. As far as what the defense is 'giving' I see the validity of this argument but at some point you've got to have the capacity to 'dictate' the play on the field. And if you've got superior weapons at your side you've got to utilize them and attack. I think Edwards has the smarts and the physical capacity to do this. What's holding him back is puzzling. Is he taking on the persona of his head coach as some suggest? I don't know. I suspect if you asked the great QB's if they worry about what the defense is going to 'give them' their answer would be something between laughter and a blank stare. On things is for sure. Bills need to win this Sunday and get to .500.

Scoring 40+ points in th NFL for 3 consecutive games is difficult. Brees has thrown for 400+ yards 4 times with the Saints. The team is 1-3 in those games. If he throws for 300+ yards and the team can muster close to 100 yards on the ground they should win. To win the Bills will need to stick to their script so far this season. Show balance on offense and shut down the run while limiting the number of big plays allowed on defense. Keep the crowd in the game. If its windy the weather will be a factor but otherwise it shouldn't matter.

Maybin appears to have the physical attributes of a great OLB in a 3-4 alignment. If he comes off as advertised and the next Bills coach commits to the 3-4 they might be able to build a defense around this guy.

1 USD = 1.12 CDN http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies/fxc.html When I take the trip up to Canada I typically go to a bank in Ft Erie or Niagara Falls and exchange my money. Banks usually have the best bid/ask.

I was actually trying a bit of satire to in an attempt to inject some humor here given the disposition to gloom and doom. I appoligize if it was not to your liking.

Interesting the Redskins are #1 in revenue. Why? Because the politicians in D.C. are using our tax money to buy tickets and luxury suites. Steelers were just above the Bills in operating income but won the Super Bowl. Shows a good and sound management team with a long standing workable strategy can outsmart a bunch of clueless big spenders. Unfortunately for us, Mr. Wilson does not possess such a management team or approach and does not appear to be in any great rush to acquire either.

I'd question the rationale for either party to make such a trade. If the Patriots believe Cassell is a talented and on the rise QB then they'd be hesitant to trade him to team in their division. If on the other hand, they'd entertain such a trade the Bills would be wise to run as fast as they can in the other direction. Recall trading Bledsoe to the Bills was not a problem for Mr. Bill because he felt Drew would be no threat to the Patriots supremacy, even going to a division rival. This proved to be correct. So what's changed since then? What's the saying about history? Those who ignore it are doomed to repeat it, or something like that.

At this point I'd rather have any other living, breathing NFL head coach. But I think Madden NFL 2009 is a better coach than Juron so I'm kind of sour on our current HQ......

Playing this season was JP’s opportunity to audition for a job with 1 of the other 31 teams in the league. In that respect, I have to say he failed miserably by not demonstrating any proficiency at the QB position. Whether the team around him contributed to this is something the 31 other NFL front offices need to figure out, not me. I’ve never been are ardent supporter but the guy has the ability to be a good QB. What he lacks is the mental awareness for the position. Can this be learned or is it genetic? IMO, he could be reasonably successful with a coaching staff that gets in his face and drills into him a sense of discipline and demands accountability from its players. I didn’t see that with the Bills passive, everybody’s got to love one another and be best friends, Juronism coaching philosophy. If you’ve played organized sports and experienced both what was more satisfying? Have a ‘good buddy’ coach and losing or having one that ‘rode your ass’ and winning?

It would be nice to know exactly what the team's long term plan is, if there is one. IMO, as long as we have a poor front office and lousy head coach, we will not sniff the playoffs no matter how many position upgrades are made. While a debate about the play of Edwards vs. Losman, or somebody else is interesting, it’s just an academic exercise because it’s not going to make much difference who plays the QB position. Payton Manning or Drew Brees couldn't get this team to the playoffs with the current front office and coaching staff running the show. Like in any business, you can take smart, motivated, and talented people and put them in a business that is run by inept and incompetent management and they will not succeed. Again IMO, I see this team as underachieving. Sure they need to upgrade at certain positions like DE, C, TE, but a better coach and motivator on the sidelines could have gotten 2 or 3 more wins out of this bunch. I try to maintain some level of optimism but it’s difficult. I think we'll be looking at a top 8 draft choice in '10.

The teams cited play a much more aggressive defense than the Bills. While I can't disagree with the desire to see more out of Whitner, I can at the same time look at any other secondary position and make unfavorable comparisions between the Bills and the teams cited above. So you can make the same argument about the Bills CB's and those of Pitt, Phil, etc. The Bills simply play too timid in defending the pass. Its a by-product of Juron's low risk, low reward system that only seems to succeed when the opponent makes mistakes not when the Bills make plays. Too many times during the season Bills defenders have played so far off the receiver that while watching the game on TV it wasn't clear for several seconds after the receiver caught the ball that there actually were defensive backs on the field.

My vote for post of the day. The Bills will make their standard effort to upgrade the roster through the draft and free agency. All part of the illusion of progress during the Juron regime. Hell, maybe I'll even get caught up in the optimisum that I lack at the moment. The fact is now matter how much the roster changes, we won't get a sniff of the playoffs until we get a coach that can go head to head with the other HC's in the division. Week after week the Bills never looked that well prepared and very rarely did the gameplan seem like it was 'tuned' with the specific oppponent in mind. The salary cap is a blessing and a curse. It provides small market teams like the Bills the opportunity to compete with the big boys. But it also inhibits the ability to assemble vastly superior talent. Vastly superior talent could overcome the incompetence of a guy like Juron. The level playing field created by the cap magnifies the impact of superior coaching and front office skills. We just don't have either right now. Sorry if I got a little off topic. Otherwise, Ryan might be an upgrade for the Jets but the only judge of that will be success or failure on the field.

One Jets fan I know said as long as Ryan bring Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and Ed Reed along with him they should be okay.

To Ralph: A few words of advice. Take the $5 million and go out and hire a real NFL head coach.

IMO the key to success is they've found a consistent approach to the game and have stuck with it. And people they bring in, whether front office, coaches, or players have to buy into the formula and play their parts in the scheme. Looking all the way back to the 70's it seems as if the Steelers have had the same approach. Tough defense, adaquate special teams, run first, ball control offense. Whether you like the franchise or not, you have to admire their results. And over the years they've done it by being smart, not overspending. You did hit the key factor too. Ownership. Be smart enough to hire the best people possible. Key an eye on things but stay out of their way and let them do their jobs. The Bills on the other hand have issues with the owner, the front office, and the coaching staff which are never going to get resolved until ownership changes hands.

Maybe my math is bad but to raise 425 million from a 3/8 of a cent tax levy it would take sales of around $11.3 trillion dollars. I had no idea the KC economy was that robust. 3/8 of a cent is $.00375 per $1. To get $425 million you have to generate sales of $11,333,000,000. My math skills are a little rusty but is this right?

I agree. I have friends and coworkers that are fans of many other teams. None of them say the Bills are a terrible team or a joke. In fact, most think they are the victim of some bad breaks and bounces. Many seeing them play only one or two games are year wonder why this team doesn't do better (e.g. 'does Lynch run like that every game? How did these guys lose that game?'). As I do, some do point to the HQ as a major source of the team's current futility and blunders. We know what the problem is, it starts at the top. The owner would rather take a few million more to the grave than go out a winner. The front office is over-matched by every team in the division. The coaching staff needs a skill upgrade. I don't blame the players on the field. Over time all businesses become a reflection of the inclinations and desires of the people at the top. Football is no exception. Some say they will continue to support the team no matter what. I envy you guys because I find it hard to continue doing that after all the years of rooting for this team and seeing what is no doubt mediocrity as the standard this owner aspires to meet. If anyone is viewed as a joke by the rest of the league it is not the city, not the fans, not the players. It is the owner.

The guy with no mortgage retains more of his income because his expenses are lower. Assuming the other guy has a 30 year mortgage at prevailing rates he spends roughly $108k per year servicing his mortgage. The guy making $100k is better off because of a much higher cash flow. Like a friend of mine says 'its not how much you make its how much you keep that counts'.

I'm trying to get over it for now because unfortunately we're stuck with coach Juron for 2009. Unless the season starts with some kind of a disaster, like 0-6, then Ralph is going to be content to let things play out. My problem is not the play calling issues, time management mistakes, misuse of challenges, game management or planning. The problem I see is no learning curve here. Sure people make mistakes. We all make mistakes at work and in personal dealings. But usually we learn from those errors, make corrections, and move forward. Looking through the 16 game season I don't see any of that. In the last month of the season you'd expect these blunders to be worked out, but that is not what we saw. Maybe Turk gets a pass but Juron has too much time as a head coach to use inexperience as an excuse. Rather the problem is incompetence. So can we expect anything to improve next season? As Bills fans we need to hope but when I look at it objectively I can't hold out much hope that all of a sudden Juron is going to match wits with Mr. Bill in New England.

Whatever they want to call the Bills defense it doesn't seem to be working. When watching on TV I sit and wonder, unclear why the receiver always seems to catch the ball with no defender in the picture. After he takes about 3 or 4 running steps with the ball the viewer then gets the idea that there actually are defensive backs on the field as they finally show up to make a tackle 20 yards downfield. Its time to dump this scheme....

I've got 30+ years of the same so I'm with you here. I can't recall a time when I've felt more hopeless for the future after a bad season. Usually there is some glimmer of hope to take away from the final few games but this year leaves me empty. With the status quo non-moves by Mr. Wilson I believe its going to take luck and a few miracles to turn this team into one that can contend for a wild card or division title. The front office simply lacks enough 'football people'. Donahoe was no shinning star in his time here but at least he had an idea of how to build a front office, coaching staff, and team on the field. The view I get of the Bills at present is they're being run like a Ma and Pa country store at a time the rest of the league has evolved to being run like Walmart. And Juron? We've said it all here already. For an Ivy League graduate there's just no learning curve here. The lights just never going to go 'on' with him.