BillsVet

Three years ago the Bills entered the offseason fresh off a 5-11 record, the firing of a maniacal GM and an abrupt departure of their HC. In came Levy and Jauron to right the ship, but three 7-9 seasons later it would seem only the means to achieve mediocrity have changed. In 06, the Bills schedule included 8 games against eventual playoff teams. In those eight contests, Buffalo managed a 1-7 record, while going 6-2 against other opponents. The Bills entered the bye week 2-5, but finished 5-4. Beating the Jets 31-13 in the Meadowlands represented their lone victory versus a playoff-bound team. Buffalo's combined opponents winning percentage was .539. 06 Bills strength of schedule Fast forward to 08. Buffalo played the 31st ranked strength of schedule, finished 2-8 in their final 10 after starting 5-1. Individual player talent may be similar from 06 to 08, but the end results suggest that the sum isn't nearly greater than the parts. Upgrades are still required at a host of positions, namely C, TE, SLB, and DE. Contrast that with the varying and obvious needs this team has had after 06, 07, and 08 and it seems nothing changes in the end.

Ralph is content to offer his low-end product because he assumes (correctly) that people will attend games. He has no reason to change if fans do not demand it in huge numbers. I simply don't trust OBD to make the right moves, whether it be in the front office, hiring coaches, in UFA, on draft day, or gameday. They always seem to make the wrong move, or not enough good decisions to succeed. Ralph's a big part of that, yet he's savvy enough to give the fans one nugget to keep them interested.

This rationale to generalize success as demonstrated by amount of TD catches is absurd. But let's take it a step further: Jerry Rice had 3 TD catches his rookie season, so clearly Hardy is close to Rice's caliber as well. Their ascent to greatness has started from essentially the same point. Upon closer inspection, Rice caught 49 balls in 16 games while starting 4 in 1985. Hardy had flaws coming out of college. And some of those have not been worked out in one season. His route running is poor, no doubt the result of taking on undersized and slower DB's in college. At Indiana they did not change routes to adapt to different defenses. Additionally, Hardy had an issue beating the press and separating from defenders. Those issues haven't been ironed out yet.

First, congrats to RW for being elected into the HOF. But just because RW says these things means nothing to me. This is the same guy who was reportedly very upset about the Cleveland MNF debacle and the NYJ loss in December. Many of us thought he would do something. And in late December he ultimately did nothing. This franchise does not have the benefit of the doubt IMO. They need to act before I'll believe anything they say.

I'd say going ofer the decade in playoff appearances in pretty bad. Spin that any way you want, it's bad. The only difference between Buffalo and Detroit is we're not so awful in the regular season. The Bills have won 14 more games than Detroit since the 2004 season. Good GM's (at least teams that have them) succeed on draft day. No, they're not perfect, but I challenge anyone to find a guy who drafts poorly and can retain his job. Some of the best GM's out there like Polian, Newsome, Jerry Reese, AJ Smith, and the Belichick/Pioli hit on far more than the average the rest of the league hits on. Polian got the opportunity to start with HOF'ers because he drafted them. Let the record show that Polian could have taken other people first overall in 1985. And he could have taken Ryan Leaf in 1998.. If you researched where HOFers are selected, you'd know they're not all in the top 10 of the first round. Besides, it's not an absolute requirement to have HOF talent to win in the post-season. Outside of Brady, perhaps no other Patriette will be a guaranteed HOFer when their run is over.

Tarik Glenn was voted to have the worst physique in the NFL multiple times IIRC. But he was good enough to protect Peyton Manning's blindside from 98-06. If they can play football it's all that mattered.

Matt Bowen's take on Green Bay firing Sanders

Maybe Bill Kollar knew what he was doing after all. Chicago fans laugh at us every day for hiring DJ.

At this point, any coach willing to work for DJ must be questioned and desperate for work. Besides, any coach who signs on in Buffalo knows the coach has one season to prove himself. That's not a lot of job security.

I shouldn't assume, but by 2010, Whitner will be a bargain re-signing for Buffalo to show they're willing to keep their own.

Whitner's just not getting to the ball. When a guy doesn't defend passes, force turnovers, or make tackles at or behind the LOS it tells me their recognition skills are poor. Leonhard probably benefits from the front 7 (which oughta illustrate you need DL and LB's before DB's) but he seems to have better instincts in coverage as well. That's sad considering he's a UDFA and not the 8th overall pick.

And let's plan on taking Taylor Mays in 2010 when DJ goes at best goes 7-9 again. That way, we'll have first round picks at each secondary position: Whitner, Mays, McKelvin, and Jenkins. Oh happy days!

That goes down as the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen posted here. No matter what, cutting him would be a hit to the cap. It may be significant or not. C2C means nothing as far as the NFL is concerned relating to the salary cap.

Maybe I did, but there are several "fans" who read an article, watch a few games, and then call Whitner excellent. He did say Whitner was significantly worse, but I'm not sure it's that bad. It's closer than that. This thread just goes to show that most people don't realize how bad something is until it's obvious. We're supposed to give the benefit of the doubt until the bitter end on players and coaches. Whitner's 3 seasons have been unspectacular and there oughta be serious questions about his ability to make big plays. For a safety, if recognition skills are poor, that's not a good sign. The difference between guys like Whitner versus Polamalu, Sanders, Reed, et al is anticipating the play. Whitner's not diagnosing things as quickly. But to some he's not a bust and that's good enough. I think he's an average player who Buffalo thought was a safe pick, though ultimately he's never going to meet the expectations of an 8th overall pick.

I'd like to know what Lindell's cap hit would be. IIRC, he signed a new contract at the end of 2006. Even though it probably won't be a lot, tying money up in a kicker is not good. Parcells seems to find a kicker whenever he needs one. Plenty of teams get a UFDFA or street FA. I think it's funny this issue was raised on the day Norwood missed the kick in SB XXV.

Have you called Chris Mortensen with this breaking news story? I guarantee he'll report it.

I'm really not sure why anyone had faith in Schonert to create a good offense. First, four franchises hadn't seen fit to promote him to OC. It should not have come as any surprise when he had no answers for 3-4 defenses when it mattered most. TS' game plans changed dramatically after the Arizona loss, and I think DJ controls the offense more than we realize. Schonert's talk in the preseason about getting Evans involved was BS. The reason this team first used PA against Cleveland was the fact the Browns dropped 6+ into coverage and rushed no more than 3. I had read that Buffalo was afraid to run PA and allow their QB to turn his back to the LOS. No doubt having pushovers Preston and Fowler at center made this necessary. Schonert is no more than a QB coach who was elevated to a coordinator position when the HC had few options. I think his offenses are tailored to what DJ wants: ball control and a short to medium passing game. Trent had issues with his confidence going down field, particularly against Cleveland, but who was there to get him going again?

Just keeping DJ around so he can provide "input" for personnel this season will set the Bills back another 2 seasons. He's had far too little success drafting (Chicago 99-00) and Buffalo (06-08) to justify he has anything more than advice about whom to draft. I would hope Modrak will be making picks come April. Jauron should be relegated to taking notes and updating the draft board. Can anyone tell me who plays FS with Polamalu? Or how about Adrian Wilson. Bob Sanders? All of them play SS, yet none of them need a great FS to help them make plays. Whitner is not the star people thought he'd be after the 06 season. We have every excuse on the board about why he hasn't performed better: lack of a pass rush, injuries, lack of a complementary safety, coaches using him incorrectly or to shore up other areas. Just once I'd like to hear he succeeded despite not having fine players all around him.

He said Leonhard's a better safety than Whitner. It's easy to say that based on the playoff games being on TV recently, but they're about even. But for those who are fly-by-night casual fans and read the articles, this won't go over all too well. It's absurd to say Whitner's not able to make game changing plays solely because the pass rush is poor. He was billed as a run supporter and I'm not seeing the plays behind the line of scrimmage there either. I'm not even sure his recognition skills are there to be considered a legit FS. Ultimately, when it's all said and done, Fletcher was able to play the C2 defense. Buffalo didn't want to pay a guy over 30. We don't know his contract demands, but I recall him claiming he didn't get an offer, which wasn't true. Who knows what he was offered, but he went to Washington and seems to be playing well.

Daniels will be tendered at a 1st and a 3rd level. And, he'll command a huge contract from anyone who gives that up. Buffalo can't afford to give up that much in picks for a TE.

The one thing I would hope doesn't happen is Buffalo reaches for a TE because they need one. The Bills have giant needs at DE, TE, SLB, and C. For this team, using the 11th overall pick on anything but an impact DE or SLB would be bad. We can't tell how the draft will play out and who'll be available at 11. But if there's a legitimate opportunity to trade down and add another 2nd or 3rd, that could be the best option. Pettigrew has definite skill, but he's not worthy of the 11th overall pick. I'd love to see Buffalo drop down to around 20-25, add another 2nd, take Mack with their first (providing he's available) and use their second rounders on a BPA at a position of need-DE, SLB, or TE.

I'm positive that had Gruden made the playoffs, he'd still be employed (along with GM Bruce Allen). But the combination of self-destructing down the stretch, not being liked be several players, and fan animosity toward him were too much. Of course, that same situation (minus the players love affair) is playing out in Buffalo, yet no move is made to fire the coach and GM. In all seriousness, the Glazer's want to win, but they're also 35M+ beneath the cap, have an aging defense, with a QB situation which seems untenable. I'd like to see how they plan on addressing those problems in the off-season.

Best serious comment there was the one Graham made about depth. Buffalo makes a point of going C2C, but take it to extremes. Last season, they were somewhere between 20-22M beneath the cap but were victimized when injuries hit. Saving 20M on player salaries means nothing when the inevitable injuries occur. I can think of no better example than having to play 229 pound LB Keith Ellison on the strong side when Crowell went down. Say what you will about that situation, when your 4th LB is Ellison, you're just cheaping out and not trying to be financially conservative. Keeping Losman, not getting a veteran receiver, the list goes on. If you can't build depth with your drafts, which Buffalo hasn't done, then it's on the front office to spend a little for second tier FA's so mini-me LB's don't become your starters. Cash to the crap is what it should be called.

Cody declined to enter the 09 draft Bill. He's a boom or bust product, but the idea that it took 2 full seasons for DJ to admit he was wrong by pursuing Stroud ought to alarm even the most hard core proponents of OBD.

It's obvious economics will dictate how much people will pay to see games. Dallas is a huge market and home to plenty of large companies, but I'm sure well-off fans are re-thinking the idea of forking over 30k to buy a PSL and the cost of season tickets at Jerry's Palace. Look at the way PSL's were greeted for the Jets and Giants. It's no guarantee that we'll see as many sellouts in 09, because most clubs sold season tickets before things got bad in 08. Jerra Jones arrogantly assumed that he could name his price and it wouldn't matter. This economy will force people to make hard decisions to either hold on to their money, or pay big dollars for football tickets. I think fans in markets like Buffalo are better prepared, because we don't pay PSL's or feel as much of the bad economy and things already aren't good here. With low cost tickets, fans will still go to games, but how many is anyone's guess for 09. I suspect RW's increasingly bad product will eventually cause even the die-hards to rethink spending their hard earned money for a lackluster product. The NFL is quickly becoming a corporate league, and limited to the elite earners of society. I don't think the fans will walk away now, but teams that can't produce will see their fan base go a little more quickly as patience erodes. I for one see this as the biggest effect. Teams like Detroit, Buffalo, Oakland, and Cincy who make up the NFL Minor League will be hurt by playing during bad economic times and offering a bad product. My guess is season tickets sales will dip 10-15 percent in 09 for Buffalo. They'll naturally blame the economy, but the truth is RW hasn't given this fan base a legit product since the late 90s.