2003Contenders

Bruce didn't take the flu shot because he reportedly had a phobia about needles. Ralph actually had a private plane ready in Buffalo to fly Bruce to the game in Pittsburgh in the event that he should recover in time, since he was too sick to even travel. The offense struggled through much of the first half. When Kelly went down with a shoulder/neck injury, AVP came in and actually helped the offense get back on track. Funny enough, AVP was only the #2 man that day because rookie Todd Collins had stunk it up so bad in the season finale against Houston, who also started a rookie QB by the name of Steve McNair. The trainers shot Jim up with some pain relief meds and he managed to trot back onto the field in time to finish off a drive that put the team within a score (I think it was like 25-21 or something) late in the 3rd quarter. I remember after that TD, one of the announcers joked that they expected to see Bruce come flying in any second! Bruce never showed up, the Steelers did a great job of converting 3rd downs and pretty much won going away from there on out.

Even those that really like Trent will concede that it is the sheer nature of the beast that a 2nd year QB still has a lot to learn. I think his biggest problem in recent weeks has been confidence. Partly in himself -- but even more so in his teammates. In the game against Cleveland, Jaws pointed out that Trent had no yet mastered the fine art of knowing when to throw a pass BEFORE the receiver came out of his break. Part of me has to wonder if at least some of that has to do with the youth at the WR and TE positions (especially when Reed was out). I also do not think that it is by accident that he has struggled almost exclusively with the 3-4 defenses. It seems that defenses have adjusted to him, but he has yet to adjust to them. Throwing out the Arizona game in which he didn't even play a full series, this year Trent is 5-1 against teams that have never seen him before. He is 0-4 against teams that have. Hopefully he will learn to adjust. I also have to blame the coaching staff for not doing a better job preparing him each week.

The Lions' situation is an odd one. And it is hard to put your finger on exactly why they have sucked so bad for so long. Unlike stingy Ralph, the Fords have been willing to shell out large sums of money for players and coaches. Think Ralph would have ever shelled out the $ it took to bring in Mooch? Also, although their drafts haven't reaped large rewards, I couldn't argue with many of Millen's picks at the time. Of course, I get my intel from magazines and the sort -- perhaps that's what Millen was doing too? LOL I think the biggest thing is that the culture of losing has left many of the better players longing to go elsewhere. So even when the Lions do bring up a good young player, he ultimately wants to be traded or sign with another team when he becomes a free agent.

How about an on sides kick to start the game, since we know that Dick will surely defer to the second half?

I can't say that I disagree with anything Mort said there.

Spagnolo would be my first choice, but he was offered the head coaching job in Washington but turned it down because he wanted full control in the personnel department. I don't see Ralph giving him that kind of control or paying what Danny was willing to pay last year. Don't laugh, but Schottenheimer could be an interesting choice.

I think this "conspiracy" was all fueled by the sideline reporter who initially reported that JP's coming into the game was a "coach's decision". She then later corrected herself and said that is was due to a groin injury. Folks, let's use some logic here: 1. Trent's erratic accuracy (hitting more than one intended receiver in the ankles) certainly could have been brought about by an injured groin. 2. The slippery conditions were probably not ideal for a QB with a groin injury. What if Trent had gone in to play the second half and severely aggravated it? As galling as that 49er loss was, if we were going to lose ONE of the remaining games on the schedule that was the one to lose, given the out of conference opponent. 3. The score was still close at the time -- and as sloppy as Trent was playing, he hadn't bee truly awful. He certainly played worse in each of the other losses. 4. Let's face it: JP is in the coaches' dog house. I have a feeling that Jauron wasn't especially excited about calling his number.

Or, it could be that the team hasn't made an announcement because nothing positive has happened since he signed the contract? Not discounting what your friend told you, but I have a feeling that if Buffalo had beaten Miami back in Week 7, there would have been a formal press conference announcing the extension at that time. It's all about PR, you know.

That was the year that Chris Brown was in the War Room. He said that the front office viewed the draft as a particularly weak one and did not, for example, have ANY player with a 4th round grade when that pick came up. With no other team willing to make a trade, there was not a consensus pick. Wright was one of the top players they had on their board at the time, which is why Wilson suggested it. So, while Silver is factually correct with what he says here, I believe that there is some hyperbole involved. In other words, Ralph probably didn't demand the Wright pick. He probably suggested it and Marv and the other guys in the room said "Why not?" Besides, picking up a player of need at a specific position in the 1st round, followed by the same position pick in the 4th seems to be the team's MO. Whitner and Simpson (Safety) in 2006. Lynch and Wright (RB) in 2007. McKelvin and Corner (CB) in 2008.

Actually there are quite a few explanations... 1. Questionable coaching decisions down in the red zone. The team got down there 4 times. If they score a TD each time, that is 28 points. If they score 2 TDs and 2 FGs that is 20 points. Heck, even 4 FGs is 12 points. It is almost unimaginable to come away with a total of 3 points in those 4 situations. They probably couldn't do that again if they tried! 2. The diagnosis of Trent's groin injury is consistent with his less than spectacular play in the first half. Remember against the Chiefs that Trent made some plays with his legs, including scoring two TDs. The groin injury prevented him from doing the same against the Niners. 3. JP was clearly less than properly prepared to come in off the bench in the 2nd half. That used to be a strong suit of his (the Jets game last year and the KC game in 2005), but he has failed when called upon both times this year. 4. The weather conditions certainly played a factor. 5. The Bills are 6-1 against 4-3 defenses this year and 0-5 against 3-4 defenses. The Chiefs ran a 4-3; the 49ers ran a 3-4. 6. There were plenty of near misses as well. Both of Lindell's missed FGs hit the upright. For all of the criticism about passing the ball on 2nd and 2, Trent had Fine wide open in the end zone. It was just a nice job by the defender to tip the ball at the line of scrimmage. 7. Special teams were a contributing factor. The team had excellent field position all day against the Chiefs. Against the 49ers, Morman lost the punting duel badly -- and Roscoe made an incredibly bone-headed decision to field a punt at the 1. 8. One play that I haven't seen anyone talk about is the Lee Evans sideline reception. When he caught that ball there wasn't a defender anywhere near him. But he completely STOPPED because he thought he had stepped out of bounds. I wonder if he may have been able to score on that play if he had just started running with the ball? 9. Penalties. I don't recall many flags being thrown in the KC game. In the SF game, there were plenty thrown at the most inopportune times, many of them quite questionable. I wonder how different that early stalled drive would have been if Hardy hadn't been flagged with the holding penalty on Jackson's 20+ yard run?

Sounds like some of the same excuses that were being made for Jauron's Chicago experience. I'll pass.

Speaking of which... If he gets fired at the end of the season, he would be an excellent OC to bring in.

Agreed. Add in how short-handed the defense has been too because of injuries. With a healthy Schobel, Greer and Whitner, I have a suspicion that this would be a top 10 defense.

Perhaps it is just coincidence, but injuries also seem to follow Jauron wherever he goes. I know that injuries are just part of the game, but for whatever reason Jauron has been saddled with more than his fair share. Obviously these last two seasons have been very tough. Also, recall that after going 13-3 back in 2001, he got something of a pass for his final two years in Chicago because the team was so riddled with injuries.

If Ralph can afford to overpay players like Kelsay and Dockery, he can afford to pay for a top coach.

Agreed. In Ralph's defense, I think that is what he tried to do a bit with Marv.

In a way, MM did get kind of a bum wrap. Recall that the team went 9-7 in his first season and darn near made the playoffs but for the collapse against the Steelers. Much like the Music City Miracle game caused a domino of events, I think that Pittsburgh loss did too. I find it hard to believe that either MM or TD really wanted to get rid of Bledsoe at the end of the season. There were certainly rumors at the time that Ralph was very angry with Bledsoe for the Pittsburgh meltdown and wanted him gone. Who knows? The bottom line is that, regardless of whose decision it was, the idea of handing the job to a very raw JP was foolish. At the very least, they should have let Bledsoe compete for the starting job, which he was willing to do. The Miami collapse that someone alluded to represents another critical em passe. JP was having a career game -- 3 TD passes to Evans. Moulds went into sulk mode, and the bone head interception that allowed the Dolphins to get back into the game pretty much sealed the deal. The critical thing here, though, is that MM wanted to suspend Moulds the league maximum 4 games. It was Ralph (not TD) that stepped in and castrated his head coach by insisting that Moulds only be suspended for 1 game. That is when the players essentially gave up on their head coach. I am not saying that MM was the answer. It is hard to say what would have happened if he had stayed on. The reason he gave for resigning is that he couldn't find competent assistants willing to sign on once Ralph forced him to fire his OC and DC. That, by the way, has always been Ralph's MO for provoking a coach to quit. He did it with Marv. He tried it with Wade. And he tried it with MM. Mularkey went along with the firings, but quit afterward. So, make no mistake about it: Ralph wanted MM gone. If the rumored extension was actually signed by Jauron, and the Bills finish 7-9 or worse, look for Ralph to call for Turk's (and possibly Fewell's) heads. That's how we'll know that he wants to be rid of Jauron.

One thing I will say about JP is that he has actually played pretty well against our next two opponents, the Dolphins and Jets, in his career.

Don't understand the love for Mariucci. He inherited a great 49er team and ran it into the ground and pooped the bed with the Lions.

How about the flag on Wilson then past Sunday, when he was pushed from behind by Gonzo into the ball carrier?

I will be very interested to see how Preston performs against those great NTs in the division the second time around. If he fails again, then I feel we will have no choice but to look elsewhere in the off-season. After all, we need to build this team to win in the division, right? Remember, years ago when Parcells was coaching the Jets he went out and got Mauwai for the sole purpose of combating our very own Ted Washington?

Yes, I know he got taken to task in the three division games against superior NTs. However, I thought he adjusted pretty well against Rogers after struggling early in the Browns game -- and he was very good yesterday against an admittedly awful KC front four. I like the chemistry that appears to be developing between him and Trent. And I LOVED the got-your-back shove he put on Pollard after he hit Marshawn late. Also. maybe there was something to Butler having been out. Notice that the team hasn't given up a sack in the last two weeks, since Butler returned.

What was the Jags' record in 2006? Remember, the Bills beat them thanks to Roscoe's punt return and the last-second catch that set up the winning FG.

I believe in the late 80s one of Elway's Broncos teams finished 11-5 and didn't get in. Meanwhile the Browns went 8-8 and won their crappy division. The NFL changed the Wild Card rules a year or two later, adding (I believe) 2 more spots. Since then, there has never been a team that finished better than 10-6 that DIDN'T make it.

You may be onto something there. I can't bring myself to defend TD, but we certainly do not know how many of the decisions that we blame him for may have been imposed on him by Ralph, possibly indirectly. As for the HC hires, take a look at the pool of candidates that TD did interview: John Fox, Sean Payton, Marvin Lewis, Lovie Smith, and Charlie Weiss. I have to surmise that TD's having hired the weakest candidate each time may have at least been partly due to restrictions placed upon him. Note also without comment that in the 2003 Patriots Super Bowl program on the NFL Network, Weiss said that word had leaked to him that the Bills were prepared to hire him as the head coach if they lost in the AFC Championship game and the team didn't have to wait an extra two weeks to hire him. Now, I have no idea what kind of NFL head coach Weiss would have been, but to base a decision of that magnitude on having to wait 2 weeks is unconscionable. After the 2000 season, TD made it a point to wait until after the Super Bowl to interview Lewis, Fox and Payton. Wonder why he couldn't wait in 2004.