jahnyc

It seems that change is in order, but I don't think that this will be an attractive situation to prospective candidates. Small market, older owner and no easy fixes.

What now is exactly the right question. But I am very concerned about the current situation. I would feel better if Ralph was not in his late 80s. There are major decisions on the horizon (gm, coaches and players), and who will be making them? If TD goes, then how do you keep Modrak and MM? Can MM coach? Does he have the respect of the players? If there are so many internal issues, why would you think that things would be different next year? It seems to me that if RW fires TD he must also fire MM. A new gm should have his choice of coach. It may be unfair, but I am having hard time figuring out what went wrong and who is to blame. This is not a good situation and I have no confidence that things will turn around. No easy answers here.

I would really like to know what is going with the team. Adams and Moulds have issues, and I have to assume the issues are with MM. I wonder how many other players are having difficulties with MM and/or some of the other coaches. RW needs to look at the entire situation. He can't focus only on TD.

A couple of thoughts about the Gaughan's piece in todays Buffalo News: 1. Would Modrak take the GM position if TD is pushed out? I thought TD and Modrak were very close. If that is the case, I can't see this happening, unless TD remains as president. 2. If a change is to be made, maybe there is a better candidate than Modrak? I think after 5 years, the Bills could use a fresh start. I am not going to start listing possible candidates (although Ron Wolff would be great), but TD's record is poor (and he was a known guy) and I am sure that there are well qualified candidates out there, even if I have never heard of them. 3. RW likes MM. I think MM is being outcoached every week. I wonder if where TD really went wrong was in his choices for HC. Any new GM from outside of the organization would want to choose his own HC, just like TD did. Another question: would MM stay with the Bills if TD was fired? I assume so. 4. Whether TD is fired/replaced or not, this is going to be a rough offseason. Many decisions (Moulds, Williams, etc.) and possibly a great deal of upheval. I like Moulds and Clements. I hope they can find a way to keep them. Williams should go. 5. If Clements, Moulds, Adams and others depart, are we in for another major rebuilding effort? Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes.

Yes, TD made a great move in getting a number one pick for P. Price. I also think that WM is a very good rb. What I am trying to point out is that if he plays for the Bills for a long period of time and plays well during that time, then he is a great pick. If he wants out of Buffalo, or if he demands a new deal, then combining that with his first year of not playing, he may not be a great pick. I like the Clements pick because he has excelled for five years. I also liked Steinbach.

Not sure that McGahee will turn out to be such a great pick. He was inactive his first year and I have a feeling that he will want a new contract or out of Buffalo next year. I would like to see how good he can be with a better oline. I think Clements was a great pick.

I don't agree that TD did the best he could under the circumstances. Anderson and Gandy are better suited as back-ups and I am not sure whether Villarail has performed as expected. There are team over the past few years that have made signficant improvements to various positions, including the o-line. For example, the NY Giants have upgraded their line through draft picks (Snee) and free agent acquisitions (O'Hara and McKenzie). I don't think we have devoted the resources necessary to upgrade this position. What frustrated me last offseason was watching two solid players depart without acquiring suitable replacements. I did not believe that we had replacements on the roster, and this now seems to the case. Maybe there were no adequate replacements available through the draft or free agency, but this offseason we face the prospect of losing Clements, Teague and Moulds. As with last year, I don't think we have adequate replacements for these players on the current roster.

Not sure that they will not be re-signed before free agency begins, but Bentley and/or Hutchinson would be a start.

Assuming TD and MM stay, which I believe is more than likely, then I am expecting that the Bills will be active in the free agent market. With the possibility of losing players to free agency (Clements and Denney) and waiving other players (Moulds, Williams and Adams), it is imperative that the owner and GM of this team provide us with hope that the team can and will be improved. As a fan, this is the bare minimum that will be acceptable this offseason. I want to see the team acquire free agents that can contribute immediately and be upgrades over the players that are currently playing these positions. I also want draft picks that are healthy and can contribute next year. This offseason, I don't want flash and splash. I want production and results in free agent acquisitions, draft picks and assistant coaching changes. Fix the oline, find some talented DTs, and find some young safety talent. Just do it.

It is depressing to think about the offseason needs of this team, since those needs will be greater than they were during the season. We will lose Clements, Teague and Adams (and possibly Moulds). That, on top of our poor play this season, makes me feel like we are very far away from being competitive.

I think really strong coaching could overcome some of the deficiencies on this team, although I am not absolving TD of blame. I still don't understand why (i) TD picked a head coach with no prior head coaching experience if he believed that the team was playoff caliber in terms of talent and (ii) the team was inactive in free agency in the offseason. Most of us thought that the team had obvious weaknesses that needed to be addressed last offseason. None were.

I thought MM was brought in to fix the offense. Our offense is boring and predicatble. They continue to perform poorly. Playing at home and no touchdown(s). JP is under 200 yards again (even though his play seems to be improving). It is either the o-line, the play calling or a combination of the two. There is enough talent at the skill positions on this team to have at least an average offense, even with a below average oline and JP at qb (a virtual rookie). MM is being outcoached. No scoring, no adjustments and no creativity. I understand that the defense also has problems, but our offense has been consistent in its inability to make big plays and score touchdowns.

I think some of the problems with the team are coaching related. But if TD really thought that he had assembled enough talent for a playoff caliber team, then why did he hire another coach with no head coaching experience? That makes no sense to me. I do think there are current coaches in the NFL who are getting more out of their teams, with less overall talent. I could not point to any one coaching aspect/situation in which MM seems to excel or be superior to other head coaches (or even equivalent to some of the better head coaches). There are issues with the defensive line, offensive line and qb. I do not want to minimize these problems, because competency at these positions is critical. Yet I still believe our team could be performing better with the current personnel.

What I should have added was that each of these items listed represent miscalculations of a sort. I am not sure how anyone could have concluded that you start the season with a qb with no starting experience behind this kind of an o-line.

1. Unsucessfully replacing P. Williams, Tucker and J. Jennings with R. Edwards, B. Anderson and Gandy. 2. Believing that JP was ready to start. 3. Believing that M. Williams and the o-line had talent and would improve. 4. No impact free agents (see #1 above). 5. No impact draft picks (at least this year). 6. Inability to win on the road or against quality teams. 7. A coach and OC in over their heads. Much to fix.

Initially I thought it was the injury issue as well, but some of the statements by McNally and the other stuff that is out there seems to suggest otherwise (i.e., rumours MW will be cut, Bills want him to take a pay cut, etc.). Seems that someone in the Bills organization is talking to the media about MW, and it is not positive.

I don't blame for drafting M. Williams or trading a number one pick for Drew. I thought that M. Williams was the right pick and many agreed. Same for the trade for Drew. What I don't like is the misinformation that comes from OBD. Strong support for players and their performance suddenly evapporates and they become the scapegoats. Based on what OBD has said about M. Williams, I really thought he was coming along. I had my doubts, but it is shocking now to see him as a back-up behind B. Anderson. Any why did OBD feel the need to put out information about the poor play of B. McKinnie (I think some of the sports columnists noted this)? I know some of the stuff from OBD is to prop up the egos of the players and to sell tickets, but some realistic statements/evaluations would be appreciated. I am particularly tired of hearing how the o-line is not the problem or how much talent there is on the o-line.

I don't see a Bannan/Anderson combo being particularly effective. I would like to see how Peters performs tomorrow. I hope he plays well so that there is at least some optimism about the future of one of our o-line starters.

Thank you sactobillsfan, you are correct.

Sorry. For many reasons, I hope that we don't draft in the top 5 this year, including the crazy compensation/bonuses paid to unproven players (e.g., Mike Williams).

Good, we will have two third round picks in the top 5.

It is about wins, losses and making the playoffs. I don't like or dislike the guy, I just want the team to play well and make the playoffs. That is the measure of sucess from the perspective of a fan. From the perspective of an owner, the analysis is more complex. But I am a fan, and this is what I care about. Making the playoffs is not an unreasonable expectation after five years (or least to make the playoffs once during that period).

I think the Bills were misguided in relying on Edwards to replace P. Williams. Even in the beginning of the year, with Spikes in the line-up, the defense was having trouble stopping the run. I believe that Edwards started his rookie year, and teams ran well against the Bills that year. The Bills signed Adams, and the entire defense improved, particularly in stopping the run. So now people are concluding that Adams is the problem. I don't think that is the case, just like I don't think Pat Williams was the problem when Edwards started and the Bills could not stop the run.

TD has not used any high draft picks on DTs. I believe Anderson was a 3rd round pick and Edwards was a 3rd or 4th. Anderson has not yet developed (and probably will not develop) and Edwards seemed more suited as part of a DT rotation on passing downs. After five drafts, one would think that a 1st or 2nd round pick would be used on a DT, particularly if you only sign one free agent (Adams) during the period. This is a position that needs to be addressed in the offseason. If Adams becomes the scapegoat, we will need two new quality starters. That seems a tall order when the Bills did not adequately replace Williams this year. At DE, we have used three 2nd round picks. Kelsay seems to have regressed and Denney seems like a decent back-up. I know that all teams have holes, but I am tired of TD claiming that it is not the personnel. We have talent deficiencies at DT and on the OL. I wish he would acknowledge the problems.

Can we afford McGee's new deal and a top market deal for Clements? I hope so, but I have my doubts that the team will do it. I have a feeling the plan is to trade Clements (if franchised) and try to pick up a cb in the draft with one of our early picks. I believe that the salary cap will be significantly higher next year, but I doubt that will matter in this situation.