ax4782

From what he showed there and from what I've seen from him during the snippets of OTA that are available on the Bills' website, he looks like he could be pretty darn good. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I thought this was supposed to be about the 2009 draft, not a bunch of posts from people who want to say "I told you so" even though they didn't. Anyway, I think the Bills are finally in a position where they can draft like those better teams and take the best players available at both the OL, DL, LB and TE positions. I would not be surprised if the Bills drafted a top DE with their first round pick last year. I think Ellis and Schobel will be the starters by the fifth week of the season, and while they are good we need another DE in that rotation who is better than Denney and Kelsay. They can get one next year. I also would not be shocked if the Bills tried to get a C in the first round, provided we aren't drafting too early again. We need a better option at C than Melvin Fowler and next year has a couple of good prospects that can come in right away and replace him. We have had a hell of a time replacing KH. And lastly, I was one of those folks who thought that a WR would have been a fine pick in the first round. I didn't say there weren't other options, but I wouldn't have been unhappy with such a selection. Certain people on this board seem to think that every draft pick should be OL or DL and that the rest of the positions don't matter. The fact is, if you draft only the best linemen, and have no skill players behind them, your team is still going to suck. You have to also draft good skill players. That being said, I was happy with the Bills' draft this year, and look forward to a more line-focused draft next year, as those will be the positions we likely will need to bolster.

I don't think Kelsay has lived up to his potential. I think that is a statement that we can all agree with. I think that adding Ellis to the rotation will be a big help. That being said, I don't think resigning Kelsay was a waste of money. We need a proven veteran at the LE spot, opposite Schobel. Many of the other options out there the past two seasons have either been wash outs or super old veterans who can't hack it anymore. With the addition of Stroud and Johnson, I think Kelsay and Schobel will have more opportunities, and take advantage of those opportunities. Perhaps giving Kelsay as much as they did was a bad call, but at the same time, better to hold onto the known quantity you have, a decent player who contributes, than an unknown quantity in another team's veteran that you don't have a clue about. I understand the call to draft a first round DE or DT this year, but I think the Bills got a steal with Ellis and I think they appropriately addressed their other, more significant needs first.

I don't think looking objectively at the situation and realizing that Jauron hasn't had enough time with this team to make a determination about his coaching abilities makes me "silly about this." And for a guy that has a "balanced outlook regarding this team" you sure do put a lot of blame on an HC who has been operating in difficult quarters during his first two seasons with the Bills. I would say that if the Bills have a terrible year this season without a lot of injuries, then you have more significant grounds for pointing to Jauron. Particularly if the playcalling isn't any better and the D is the same or worse. Fine, then I'll happily say that Jauron has failed. But at this point there is nothing upon which to base such an argument. What he did in Chicago is not what he is doing now. Different team, different conference, different time. Looking at what he has done in his first two seasons in Buffalo he has really started to get this team on the right track. Many are suggesting that the Bills may be contenders for the playoffs this year, a preseaon prognostication that I haven't heard from anyone in a long time. Could we see where Jauron is with the roster he has helped build when the end of the season comes around before we start predicting doom and gloom and start running yet another coach out of town?

And I would say that getting as far as we did last year on a team with 12 guys on IR and a lineup filled with PS players on defense, that Jauron got the most out of the players he had left. No, it wasn't the outcome that we all wanted, but Jauron got the players to play their hearts out every week. IMO, if Buffalo had had all of its starters on the field on D, we win at least two more games last year. I'm not saying Jauron needs the perfect team to succeed, but one that isn't injury plagued and filled with PS players would be a start. Let's see how this season goes before we start judging whether or not he should get another year.

If there are two injuries on the O-Line this year, don't be surprised if Bell gets some playing time. He is big enough and talented enough to cover time at any of the positions on the line. I think he may be a year or two from becoming a full timer on the roster, but he will likely be pretty good. Johnson is likely to make the team. After Aiken was cut, that opened up a slot in the receiver corps. They filled that when they drafted Johnson. Buffalo lost two receivers after last season. Peerless Price left, opening what had been the #2 receiver position. Sam Aiken left, opening that 6 receiver spot and a position on special teams. I think they like Johnson enough such that if they had to choose between him and Jenkins, they would make Jenkins a full time STer and add Johnson as the fifth wide out. They lost a lot of experienced players on ST after last season and I think they are looking for veteran guys to step it up on that team.

Youboty has been working hard in the offseason and he did start to show some signs of coming on late last year. I think Buffalo is likely to keep him on and perhaps Cox gets a spot on the STs and as a reserve safety. I think there will be six CBs this year, mostly due to the fact that the Bills had a lot of injuries at the position last year and also at the safety position. Youboty hasn't had much of an opportunity to play, and I think the Bills give him a shot this year to play. If he doesn't pan out at that point, then he's toodles.

And every head coach had to work for someone else. So what? My point isn't to say that comparing them game for game and say oh, well they are the same. My point is that when Coughlin was coaching solid teams in J-Ville, he did fairly well, but when he has been in NY with crappy teams he hasn't done good. Then this year, lightning struck and now he's the "best coach ever" and our coach should be like him. The point is, if you give a coach decent players to put on the field, almost anyone can win ten games. Belicheat couldn't tell his ass from his elbow in Cleveland and the fans ran him out after two or three years. Also note that those winning seasons in J-Ville started in Coughlin's THIRD year in J-Ville, 1997. He had coached two mediocre teams in 1995 and 1996 their first two years in existence. And while Jacksonville had good regular seasons, they did not play well in the playoffs. I also like the fact the YOU continue to call Jauron's good campaign a fluke, but continue to credit Coughlin one hit wonder as something expected. Anyone in NY would have told you before last season that they wanted the guy gone, that he was wasting the talented team they had in NY and that he couldn't coach. What a difference a year can make for the overall perception of a coach and the job he does. And by the way, even the greatest coaches have a hard time winning when their team doesn't perform. Bill Parcells sure did a heck of job in coaching the Jets those three years. And Jimmy Johnson was fabulous with those Dolphins teams of the late 90's. And Herm Edwards has been a real hit down there in KC. Even Joe Gibbs had to give up because he couldn't get a less than mediocre Washington team to better than a 9-7 record in his coaching return. I guess those guys should have never been coaching either. DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT COMPARING JAURON TO ANY OF THESE COACHES. HE IS CLEARLY NOT (YET) EVEN CLOSE TO BEING THAT CALIBER OF A COACH. MY POINT IS ONLY THAT EVEN GOOD COACHES HAVE TROUBLE WINNING WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE TALENTED PLAYERS ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS COMMENT OUT OF CONTEXT.

Again, that's play calling. Now, when someone points out that the line did very well in pass protection, you just say well, they just never threw the ball. They threw it enough for us to see that they were good in pass protection. Even if you stretch the sack to pass ratio out, Buffalo was still one of the top pass blocking teams in the league. You're going to have to come up with a better argument than we didn't do it as much as the other guys. Every OL gets assistance from a TE and an RB. That is why teams teach their RBs to block. When the team blitzes eight against you, the OL can only stop five or six. That means someone has to be able to pick up the other two. Enter the TE and the RB. To say that Buffalo's TEs and RBs can block doesn't show that the line was bad. It means they had good blocking schemes that took into account the blitz on obvious passing downs, and tried to use the TE as an additional blocker, like every other good running team in the league. Not really a good argument for your side, but nice try. I'll give you that short yardage was not their best area. I would put a lot of the blame for that on three things. First, Fowler is undersized and on short yardage plays where leverage and weight are required in the middle to push the pile, he just can't get enough push to open those cracks and allow the back to get those yards. Second, using an H-Back is not effective in those situations. You need a big strong FB who can crack a hole in the line and spring the back for that necessary yard or two. Third, the playcalling was straight up the middle on the majority of those plays, right to where the line was weakest with Fowler blocking. Their success came when they ran left, towards the strength of the line with Dockery and Peters and TE on the outside. When they ran that way in short situations, they were much more likely to succeed. SF either didn't know or didn't care. If Fowler wasn't at center, this line would be All-Pro, but he is so the line is above average, and will likely be better this year. I agree with you second to last statement, but think that the problem is easily identifiable and remediable. Upgrade the C posiiton and the line will be REALLY good. Right now they get the job done. With the other additions on offense this season I believe that the Bills will be a much better offensive team, and the line will be that much better having had a year playing together.

The reason for the win/loss record IS disputed. You blame Jauron entirely, I think there are a lot of other factors that have contributed to it. The Fairchild playcalling fiasco, in your opinion is completely Jauron's fault. I believe that was a call made by the front office and Jauron was saddled with him. His comments last year indicated for the bulk of the season that he wasn't pleased with the playcalling, but nothing was done. Whose fault was it really? I don't know, maybe a bit of both, but not entirely Jauron's IMO. Clearly a dispute. The "all thumbs handling" that you describe is also up for debate. I thought Jauron did a very good job managing the situation. When JP got hurt, TE was put in and he played very well. He then got hurt, and JP came in for four weeks. TE may have been ready for J-Ville, but Jauron decided to wait and let him heal and to give JP his last chance at keeping the starting job. JP proved he couldn't cut it and the Bills put TE back in and stuck with him. They have since stated that TE is the starter for next year. I think they did a very effective job with the situation, working out three problems. One, seeing if TE could play, two finally seeing that JP could not cut it as a starter, and three making a solid decision on the future of the position by naming TE the starter and seeing if he could hack it last year. There are still questions, but at least we have a plan going forward. Seems like a sound decision IMO. Again, clearly a dispute. No matter how good a team is, I don't EXPECT us to win. On any given Sunday, one team can beat another. That's the parody problem in the league now. I will say that regardless of your position, whether we won games we weren't supposed to, Jauron has kept this team competitive against opponents that we weren't even supposed to be competitive against. NE being the exception, but ALMOST no one was competitive against them last year, so I would toss that one out. Buffalo was a good team last year and they are getting better by most accounts. Let's see where we are at the end of the season before we start trying to run another coach out of town.

No, I was thinking of the franchise record for least sacks given up in a season: 26. The fact that we couldn't throw the ball wasn't a product of Edwards/Losman not having time. The OL gave them time. Receivers weren't open and Losman couldn't throw. That hurt. Edwards was better, but receivers were still not open. I was also thinking the 5th highest rushing yards for a RB in the league last year. Yeah, those guys did a terrible job up front running the ball. Do I wish we could have been BETTER? Of course. All teams and players have room for improvement. The Bills OL is no exception. Yet, they aren't the reason the offense suffered. Much of the blame is on SF for terrible playcalling and for skill players not executing. The OL did a hell of a job last year, and the three players we grabbed in FA were the best on the field. Before you talk smack you should consider all of the factors and look at the numbers that matter most. The line is not responsible for the the failings of the offense as a unit. The blame goes elsewhere, but since you appear to be Line-Obsessed, that may be hard for you to see.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks there are too many whiners out there right now.

While I would love to have twelve world class OLs on the roster, no team in the NFL can afford to have that many OLs. The fact is that while Preston has not been great, he did play more center in college than guard and that is a more natural position for him. As for Walker, I don't think the TE play had anything to do with it. Walker surpassed all expectations last year and played tremendously at RT. The number speak for themselves. Kirk Chambers was NOT a turnstyle last year when he played in Peters's stead. He held his own against some of the best pass rushers in the league, including as the last poster noted, Osi Umanyura who is one of the better young pass rushers in the game. Whittle is completely healed from his injury and it seems the medical staff is satisifed that he is one hundred percent for the start of the season. For more, see the article discussing Whittle in today's Buffalo News. And if Whittle is well enough to start, he is more than capable of playing a solid backup role for either G position, and possibly RT where he has seen sporadic playing time in his career. Peters was out for an extended period of time last year, and his progress continued to the end of the season, not withstanding that Kirk Chambers was starting at LT. Sorry, but I think you underestimate the quality of our back ups, not to mention that Demetrius Bell, while young looks like he could be a good backup this year, as does our UDFA from Arkansas who would likely make due in a serious pinch. Have a little faith. The OL has received a lot of attention over the past two years in FA and those players are solid. Our backups are what they are, but they were able to do an adequate job last year when called upon.

I think you've hit on the point. It is not just Jim Kelly who has said he has the money to buy the team and keep it in Buffalo. He has said repeatedly that he has been working with Jack Kemp and they have put together a group of investors who are willing to keep the team in Buffalo. Further, while Golisano hasn't said he would outright buy the team, he has indicated that he will do everything in his power to keep them here. I take that to mean, he would be more than happy to be one among a number of investors who would be willing to purchase the team. I think the Bills will remain in Buffalo for at least another five years, until RCW passes away, assuming he lives five more years. By then, there will be enough people and money invested to buy the team and outbid Rogers.

No statement about the current affairs in the NFL is certain. I'll grant you that. But across the board, the AFC has better competition week in and week out. If the Giants had Tennessee's schedule from last year, they wouldn't have made the playoffs, IMO. I also think that a couple of very solid teams in the AFC had off years last year as well. I do, however, think I could say with some certainty, that if Buffalo had been in any NFC conference besides the NFC east last year, we could have won ten games and made it to the playoffs with the way the team played down the stretch. Just my opinion.

First, I completely agree that neither of these guys are starters. You are right on there. However, I also think that Roscoe is dangerous in the slot. The problem is, he is small and not a good target for those over the middle routes. I see them using Roscoe for burn routes or long fly routes on second and third downs. I think he can also be used in three set WR screen situations, where Reed is at #2 for his excellent blocking ability on the outside. Keep in mind that Roscoe AND Reed were extended, Reed for 4 yrs ten mil and the numbers above for Roscoe. Part of the problem is that neither of these guys were used to the best of their abilities by SF last year and thus both of them were hurting in terms of production. However, I do see them both on the team, though I wouldn't be surprised if the Bills had Evans and Hardy as the permanent top-two and used a rotation of four guys across the last three spots. Also, keeping all of them provides solid depth in case you have a Peerless Price situation like we did last year. You then have veteran talent that can fill a void if it becomes a necessity.

And ten years ago, the opposite was true. That's football, folks, the tide changes over time. Right now, the AFC East is down and dominated, but that seems to be changing. The NFC East is strong with three teams that could be in the playoffs again next year. But the fact is, the NFC is the far weaker conference, and if the Giants and Redskins were AFC teams, they would not have even made the playoffs last year.

Actually, yes. People have cited his W/L record to say that he is a bad coach, including yourself. As I stated to you before, W/L is not the only thing that demonstrates a good coach. You have to look at the reality behind that record. The fact that Jauron had no team in Chicago and did put together one very good coaching effort in the 13-3 season makes me question the reason he has that record. Oh, that's right, because he has been called in to take over teams that have been terrible. Jauron got the wheels back on the franchise in Chicago, and not too many years after he left they were in the SB. I'm NOT SAYING THAT IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO JAURON, so please don't say that I am. What I am insinuating is that perhaps part of his effort to turn the team around, played a partial role in the team's later success. Seeing as how you and Beerball are the only two on this page who seem to hate Jauron, and that you are now beating a dead horse with an argument that is clearly on unstable footing, yes, I think I can say that most everyone is tired of the pessimism on this board, and would much rather prefer to hear it when it can be based on more than a set of whining and crying facts that we don't have last years SB winning coach and wouldn't it be grand if we did. Funny how when Coughlin was in NY and terrible, everyone thought he was a joke of a coach. Then he wins the SB and he's suddenly the standard by which all other current coaches should be judged. Yeah, because his season this year couldn't possibly have been one based on magic-dust?

To be accurate, you did state that Jauron coached to lose games. However, I understand your point. I like how when Jauron has a season where his team was 8-0 in games decided by 7 points or less, that was a magic dust season, that could never have been attributed to his coaching ability. I also don't think that the team laid down against those opponents. The Patriots won all of their games last year and the only one that was close was the giants. They made a habit of crushing opponents by 20+ points almost week in and week out. Buffalo never quit in the Browns or Eagle's games either. They played hard to the end. Jauron got PS players to compete against the best in the business and I give him cudos for that. I also don't think their competitive fire is what needs motivation. Had Buffalo been playing with a full deck on D last year I think we win a number of those close games that we ended up losing. This year, I think, Buffalo will be much improved. Lastly, you statement that you don't give a crap about beating bad teams is oxymoronic. You would be horrified if we lost to one, for good reason. However, beating bad teams consistently demonstrates two things. One, that you aren't a sh-t team, but rather are at least mediocre. Better teams beat the teams they are supposed too. During the Mularkey and Williams eras, it was always a question whether the team would even beat the bottom feeders. Now, I don't have that concern. I am happy no matter who we beat. And he's only been a head coach for six total years. He has had stints as a coordinator during the interim. And for the record, most coaches don't have a great winning percentage their first six years in the league. Belicheat, Billick, Dungy, Gruden all of them took time to get their feet wet as a head coach. Jauron has started to turn this team around and the FO has done a very good job at getting him the talent he needs to succeed. Buffalo should stick with him for at least this season and maybe one more and I think that will pay dividends. By then, he will have more than enough talent for this team to be successful, and if we're not, then I'll agree that it's time to let him go. A coaching carousel is worse than a QB carousel and this franchise has been getting on and off that ride for too long.

Josh Reed was very productive last year playing out of his position. Josh Reed is likely to be the opening day starter at the #2 WR position. And if JR is mediocre, just based on his numbers, what does that make Parrish, a guy who had maybe 15 catches last year? He's been here for three years and hasn't done squat. If you want to argue that we should cut anyone, it should be Parrish. He's even expendable on in the punting game now with McKelvin coming onboard in the Draft. Josh Reed was clutch last season, but for soem reason people continue to hate on him. As for Hardy, I do expect that he will come in and participate in a big way this year. I think that 50-600-8 is a relatively realistic expectation, but his numbers could be even higher if our #3 and #4 step it up. Don't be surprised if our seventh round pick comes in and plays well in the four receiver set. He has shown good hands in camp and runs very good routes. He also has very good speed.

And I think that everyone here agrees that the second part of the statement I made, which you are quoting, covers the reasons you stated before.

Perhaps you should take another look at the roster. Whittle is a more than capable backup at both G positions and at RT. Duke Preston is not great, but he is adequate at C and as a third replacement at the G position. Kirk Chambers is an experienced NFL veteran and he demonstrated that he could play very well at the LT spot when Peters went down for a short time last season. Further, Buffalo has some younger talent on the PS who are all right if they need to be called. I also think two of our pickups this year in the draft have the potential to play well for us if they need to be called into action. You can't have twelve starters signed on the OL. We have three players who can play well enough to hold down the fort if an injury occurs.

And there are people who think that taking the position that the HC for any team is coaching to lose games is completely ridiculous. You have clearly stated that you don't like Jauron. Fine. You haven't really given a good reason why you took that position except to bluster and blow hot air with "facts" that are clearly in dispute. Over the last seven years Coughlin has a WORSE record as a head coach than Jauron. That's a fact. During those years, Coughlin has BETTER TALENT than Jauron. That's a fact. Perhaps before we judge that a guy is terrible, he should be given an opportunity to coach with players who are talented enough to make the playoffs. This year, Buffalo may finally have that kind of talent. Let's see how he does with a fully healed and talented roster before we make judgment calls and thrown the FO and the team into another three years of chaos by bringing in a new coach, new staff, and most significantly an entirely new system for them to have to learn. No coach turns an unbelievably crappy team around in two years. No one. It takes at least three years to get a team back to fighting shape. We are finally there and Jauron deserves his shot. Stop whining until you actually have something tangible to complain about.

Preach it. Some posters here think we should be getting a front line starter with every pick in the draft. Sorry, but that isn't how the NFL works. The fact is, our last two drafts, we have done a masterful job getting good solid talent in the later rounds. Particularly with Simpson, who will be starting at FS again this year, and will be part of what looks like a hell of a secondary. Good post.

Here's a novel idea. Do some research on the player before you suggest that he cannot have any success at the pro level. A number of players from smaller schools have done well on this team and others. Also, if you watched the film on the guy, he has good size and very good feet for a lineman that large. Jason Peters was a UDFA and he is now a top ten left tackle in the NFL. Just because a guy comes from a smaller program doesn't mean he won't be a success. Perhaps we should see how he plays first? Just a thought.