jethro_tull

Interesting and factual take on Mr. Polian. We've been so starved for a quality GM I guess he was on the pedestal. I know Marv Levy was adamant about hiring Jauron having cited that his relative lack of success at Chicago was due to bad personnel. While true, the fault behind that logic is a need to see someone demonstrate success regardless of circumstances- do whatever it takes to field a winner. No more hiring people with excuses. So Polian wanted Jauron, a guy with no clue about offense, a guy who was 35 and 45 over (4) years at Chicago including finishing up with back to back 4 and 12 seasons- and a fluke winning season that resulted in a horrible showing at a one-and-done playoff? Polian is clearly off the pedestal. Absolutely agree with this. I'm betting that conditions at Miami may not have been to his liking.

Bill Polian endorsed Marrone to any team that would listen. Polian has been following Marrone since his high school days in the Bronx. Polian is an alum of the Academy Marronne attended. Agreed for the most part. Levy was good if not very good. Keeping that team focused enough to see four straight title games says it all. In hindsight he probably delegated too much and lacked the capability to draw elite game plans- also not a rigid enough disciplinarian.

How many college coaches that bombed in the NFL had prior NFL coaching experience? I believe the odds of success increase when a successful college coach comes to the NFL having coached there before in some capacity. Seems like there is no substitute for experience (for the most part) when it comes to repeatably successful NFL coaches and especially coaches who have won championships.

But- How many fired coaches have won a championship- answer- relatively few. Of the (28) head coaches to win a Suoer Bowl, only (6) were fired as head coach by a previous NFL team 6 out of 28 is ~ 21 percent, or only (1) out of (5). Which means the nearly EIGHTY PERCENT of coaches were not fired by a team before they won a championship.

don't disagree. however, for every (1) fired coach that goes on to be a success, how many do not? The point is that except for Marv and Wade the Bills coahes during the last 31 years have proven to be unacceptable by NFL standards.

Wow! Did it say in the article that being fired is proof that they are bad coaches? It does say that the rest of the Bills coaches were proven to not be head coaching material by the NFL judge and jury.

Not since 1982 when Chuck Knox could not negotiate a new contract with the Bills and left to become the Seahawk's head coach have the Bills had a head coach who was not fired by previous teams or proven not to be NFL head coaching material. It could possibly be argued that Mike Mularkey is NFL head coaching material- clinging to his position with the Jaguars- but with a .333 career record and coming off a 2 and 14 season- he is in the margin. That's 31 years since such a hire. 1983- 1985 Kay Stephenson. Did not return as an NFL head coach. 1985- 1986 Hank Bullough. Did not return as an NFL head coach. 1986- 1997 Marv Levy. Fired by Kansas City before joining the Bills. 1998- 2000 Wade Phillips. Fired by Denver before joining the Bills. 2001- 2003 Greg Williams. Did not return as an NFL head coach. 2004- 2005 Mike Mularkey. Did not re-sign with the Bills, poor head coaching record. 2006- 2009 Dick Jauron. Fired by Chicago before joining the Bills. 2010- 2012 Chan Gailey. Fired by Dallas and Georgia Tech en route to the Bills. Granted Marv and Wade are very good NFL coaches but an argument could be made that they underachieved with the player talent they had available to them and miss out on the highest level of NFL coaching hierarchy. But the rest clearly were poor NFL head coaches. Also granted that there is no guarantee that Doug Marrone will prove to be a successful NFL head coach. However, it is refreshing and encouraging for the Bills to be off to a new start with a successful college level head coach with NFL experience who has written his own ticket to date.

If I were SJ I would be looking over my shoulder (no pun intended). Granted he did have over 1K last season but was unimpressive in key areas- example coming back on underthrown passes, positioning for the ball when in close with the defender as well as weak defending against an interception. The new staff are not beholden to him. Woods and Day Rick Rogers both have no. 1 potential.

no rage whatsoever- just lame attempts at satire that should just fade into the sunset like on those old wild wild west movies. when is the first preseason game?

two wongs don't make a wite. the university of illinois teams (fighting illini, named after an indian tribe) had a native american as their mascot (chief illiniwek) since the late 20's. it was basically an exhibit of native american culture yet was banned recently. what on earth is the BFD? (despite the fact that the last mascot was an anglo grad student). we are slowly becomming a nation of homogen-ohs. bland creme colored people with no identity or distinction. BTW, are they referred to as native canadians north of the border? or native north americans that eat kraft north american cheese? has anyone ever been to a modern day reservation? matbe they should change the name to the washington liquored up looters. should they change the name of people that sell tickets higher than face value?

Gullibility? Man you are way off the mark. We don't follow this team because we were the sucker born on the minute- we follow this team because it is a part of life- good and bad. We have the benefit of hindsight which makes many of the Bill's past decisions look poor- however they do not rest and have not given up. That's enough for me.

Having a QB that the team (especially the defense) has faith in will work miracles as a motivator, spark and catalyst for this thing called synergy, where the capabilities of the team collective are much greater than the sum of its individual parts. The Bills have not had this for many years- they were a collection of struggling individuals with an occasional bright spot. If they truly have that guy- and I believe they do- then great achievements are soon to follow.

how about improved with a chance to surprise? fundamentals trending in the positive direction- *A credible second wideout target. You cannot underestimate how fundamentally important this is and will be. *A quarterback who can hit first down targets. Moving the chains will be the best defense. *A fresh, imaginative book of offensive plays. Hackett has been a scholar of the game since his youth. *A proven defensive coordinator and a head coach who will not settle for mediocrity. The defense grossly underachieved with respect to their collecive talent level.

i just dont see manuel being a bust- not even close. i kept thinking about people being high on nassib and barkley and their games often did not look good. manuel had issues against quality teams with good defenses- that will happen and will be part of his developmental process. but when you look at his skill set, his athleticism yet without the fragility- the quick release, the often excellent long ball accuracy and the ability to run- i just don't see the limit for him and this team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYRCkpnnlIs absolutely. the guy has instincts, knows how to get to the ball, helps out his QB big time and runs like no tomorrow.

good pick. he was a projected 4-5th rounder

worst pick of an unbelievably great draft. probably could have gotten this guy with their last pick or as an UDFA. many other rated players available.

stanford's levine toilolo- ..................................sold

he had limited opportunity. if you watch the goodwin highlights he often made his QB look good by coming back on short throws and knowing just where to go to get the ball- outsanding instincts- that i often do not see even in our own number one receiver. absolutely. he helped barkley along- especially their junior years.

this is turning out to be possibly the best bills draf in their history. manuel and woods- these are indisputable consensus picks. but these guys are scary good too- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je7sPrc4RnQ i love this draft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i really like this pick too- was on my short list of available safeties. this is turning out to possibly be one of the best drafts in bills history. buddy's hitting the nail on the head with his (possible) swan song.

and I'll take his receiver robert woods in the second. what a draft that would be!

absolutely right on. the NFL DBs will eat this guy for lunch. plus his tall slender build and upright running style and he's dead meat.

woods is my absolute no. 1 WR pick for the bills- even ahead of coradelle patterson who's tall thin frame and upright running stance will be ground to a pulp by NFL DBs. watch the tape. woods is a gamer with attitude and runs like a train when he catches the ball. watch some of barkley's highlights- woods will be right there. i'll be doing cartwheels too.

every time i post on this board i axe myself why. did you bother to read any of the positives or did you just reflexively snip the negative comments and post up a disagrement flame without one shred of open minded intelligent consideration?

absolutely. 'been following PFW's draft coverage for years and their player evaluations have built a rep that I trust more than any other.