BillsVet

Essentially you're marginalizing the Dolphins success because they haven't played more seasons. That has to be the lamest put down for a team going to the playoffs. Go ahead and downplay them all you want. They're still winners and Buffalo is still losers. For the second time, it doesn't matter what next year holds. Miami is in prime shape to be successful for the long term. They set a foundation this year, which ultimately was their goal. It just so happened they made the playoffs. Wayne Huizenga was looking for an 8-8 season, and that was realistic considering the money he spent. But think about that for a moment. 8-8 was his expectation with one year of Parcells. 8-8 is something DJ couldn't do in his last five seasons as a HC. You're not concerned with long term success as you are trying to bring down other franchises for their success. That river in Egypt is where you are right now.

Do I get a scooby snack for saying no flipping way does DJ get canned in-season by Ralphie? There's no way DJ is fired in-season, because that'd be an admission of how bush league this franchise has become. Only strong franchises like San Francisco, Oakland, and St. Louis fire their HC during the season. We're so far above them. Well, maybe not with a 90 year old owner who thinks he knows football. I say give DJ a lifetime contract, as long as RW remains owner. That way, they can drive season ticket sales down to nothing and have another excuse to move the team.

That's a fair list of what this organization needs, and prioritizes the needs. Not having DE's to put pressure on opposing QB's was glaring. In a C2/T2 defense you must generate pressure with the front four or you'll see DB's hung out to dry. A reliable TE with the hands to make catches down the seam would exponentially help Trent. We haven't seen that type of player in Buffalo for a long time. Gresham seems to be that guy, but we're a ways off. Having a center to control large NT's like Jenkins and Wilfork would give Trent more time to throw and a chance to run PA. Fowler and Preston have to be replaced. Unless Crowell is retained, Buffalo needs a better option than Ellison. Still, guys like Costanzo, Bowen, Buggs, DiGiorgio, Corto, et al are all small options to play SLB. They need a LB with some size, and none of the aforementioned are guys who can take on blockers in the phone booth. The backup QB was never more obvious than after JP started. They'll need to address that in UFA. Luxury picks, IMO, would be a G, OT, DT, and SS. But as with any Buffalo off-season there are too many holes and not enough resources to fill them.

Who do you think is a worse coach in the NFL? And feel free to include those who've been fired this season. Thanks. BTW, Mitchell's acquisition was not a huge contract, at 17.5M over 5 yrs with a 3.5M SB, it's a moderate deal by NFL standards. Equally perplexing is why Buffalo would sign an OLB who excelled at blitzing, given their penchant for not doing that with their predominantly C2 defense.

Can Mays play play OLB, C, and TE? Al Davis may as well be drafting if that's the case. Because if they take another DB, TSW may explode.

Don't forget calling elected leaders to ask for subsidies to add more luxury boxes and build a state of the art scoreboard.\ That and calling Schumer to ask for help in getting Goodell to manufacture a schedule which allows him to have more home games in warmer weather.

Miami is in the playoffs no matter what anyone says on this board. It doesn't matter how they did it, Parcells and crew outcoached, outplayed, and outsmarted their opponents, which remarkably was similar to Buffalo's schedule. You and VOR can make any excuse you want for why the Dolphins made it in. Miami won 4 more games than Buffalo did, and managed to go to NE and beat them. The Miami Dolphins are superior to the Buffalo Bills in every way. From owner, to GM, to HC, to assistants, to players' will to win. Buffalo does nothing better, and it's no coincidence that Miami is in the playoffs.

He's an injury waiting to happen. His numbers were down greatly this season. Philly franchised him after last season, but he's not durable enough to warrant a big contract. The Bills have eschewed a all-around good TE for too long now. Jermaine Gresham seems to be the type who can combine blocking and being a down field threat. 11th may be too early, but in order to maximize Edwards' talents, they need someone who can make defenses honest down the seam.

Yes he is. Here are some examples you may not recall: 1. Firing Bill Polian. Taking the side of bean counter extraordinaire Littman and his daughter was the wrong move. 2. Telling Wade Phillips to start Rob Johnson for the Tennessee playoff game. We know this move came from RW. 3. Running Lou Saban off twice in the span of 15 years. Under Saban, RW had all the success he would have from 1960-1979. 4. Running Chuck Knox out of town on account of bad personnel moves. Knox was responsible for the team's only two playoff appearances from 1975 through 1987. 5. Hiring Marv Levy as GM. There is no doubt now that Marv had no clue what he was doing. 6. Promoting Russ Brandon, a marketing guy, to quasi-GM and having no plan for the GM job after Marv retired again. 7. Selling 8 games to Toronto. No prospective HC would want to give up home field advantage once per season. 8. Running John Butler and AJ Smith out of town after the 2000 season. I sense a trend here. I will admit RW was right to not sign the recent CBA finalized in March 2006. But that's far outweighed by his blunders. I'm sure I missed a few, but if you've been around enough, other posters can add to this list. I know RW doesn't have his insurance business anymore, but I wish he offered insurance for Bills fans. He obviously wouldn't because they'd be there to collect each season he owned Buffalo.

The run blocking was an anomaly against NE. Running the ball against CLE when they dropped 8 into coverage is not something to brag about. KC was a terrible defense as well. For some reason the OL got a hair up their rear end playing the NYJ, who embarrassed them 6 weeks prior. But they couldn't run against MIA in TOR, and Denver's run defense was one of the worst in the NFL. No matter how you slice it, they were too inconsistent this season. Lynch was stuffed for no gain 26 times this season, most in the NFL. The run blocking stinks because their lineman are fat immobile types who can't move. I've watched Dockery run, and he's slow as molasses. Walker needs to lose a lot of weight, and I wouldn't be surprised if both were over their listed weights. Bigger isn't better on the OL. When I watch the Giants, Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee and McKenzie all can move. If Jim McNally couldn't coach this OL into respectability, no one will. The lack of talent was evident all too often, and with a tougher schedule, will be even more obvious next year. They need a center who can move in run blocking and hold their own in pass blocking. They need to sign Peters to a long term contract. They'll eventually need a better RT, tell Dockery to drop some weight because he's unable to be released, and probably add another guard.

Dockery and Walker inhibit more than help their QB and OC. Dockery and Walker are too of the most immobile OL I've seen on this team. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for their salaries. Walker is so slow, especially on the toss plays, that they can't call them. Preston and Fowler were barely NFL caliber, and it showed. Running up the middle with a power back like Lynch was a guaranteed loser. I read somewhere that Lynch was stopped for no gain 26 times this season, tops in the NFL. Yet after an infusion of 100M, this OL isn't much better than the one JPL lined up behind in 2006. Thanks again Marv, Dick, Russ, and of course Ralphie.

Wonderful perspective there. I think that sums up many of Bills fans' concerns with respect to this coaching staff. Today I went over the opponents next season, and it's plain scary. CAR, ATL, IND, TEN, and the AFCE teams twice. That's 10 tough games, with HOU, CLE, KC, JAC, NO, and TB. Even with a huge infusion of talent, this coaching staff has never proven the ability to beat good teams. It won't begin next season. You are correct re: DJ. He is so slow to recognize on gameday and has no presence to realize what is happening, This was on display at the end of the first half against NE. I watched from the front row in section 123 how Preston fell for the bait from the Patriots. And DJ sauntered onto the field to take to referee Gene Steratore when the clock expired. That single play was a microcosm of the entire season with Buffalo players unaware of the moment and a coach of the same mindset.

That's why he was given a 2 year contract prior to 2007. If they weren't serious about playing him, why would they have re-signed him? DJ and his defensive coaches didn't realize what they had in (EDIT: Greer). It's why they wasted a 3rd rounder on Youboty (who's can't stay healthy) and signed a guy who's out of the NFL in Jason Webster. Greer has been a good player, but DJ's coaches didn't know it. Kinda like they didn't know to play Fred Jackson over Anthony Thomas or bench Peerless Price when he couldn't play. DJ doesn't know his own personnel, which is just another in a litany of reasons why he's incompetent. Greer was better in 06 than Youboty.

The point remains that no one with half a brain would consider working for Ralph. BN in Houston is correct in that Ralph wants all the power for himself. The Bills are his dictatorship, and he revels in controlling this team. Sure, Littman, Brandon, and Bogged-Down join him, but is there any question RW makes the decisions with financial input from Littman? I am confident that people in league circles know what a train wreck the Bills have become. Guys like Casserly, Pioli, et al would not even think of coming here even if Wilson offered the kind of contract they'd want. Polian and AJ Smith have probably advised anyone who's up and coming not to go to Buffalo. That much I'm sure of.

You're missing the obvious. If you run a PA pass, it means the QB has to turn his back to the DL. And with Preston and Fowler acting as tissue paper to protect the QB, that was a turnover waiting to happen. It's why they rarely ran PA against teams with good DT's. The Jets, Patsies, and Brownies come to mind.

This league is about coaching and QB play. You know that. And Bill Parcells inherited Quincy freaking Carter at QB and took this team to the playoffs in 2003. But you don't research your posts and thus didn't realize that. He then acquired Bledsoe, though replaced him with Romo when he figured out the latter was better. I'd also point out that Parcells knew when to make the change to Romo, who Dallas signed as a UDFA in 2003. I'm sure Parcells had a hand in that acquisition. Romo isn't great, but give credit where credit is due before marginalizing Parcells work in Big D. He also had to put up with a prima donna owner who overruled him and signed locker room cancer Terrell Owens. Parcells was amazing considering what he had to contend with. At this point I'd rather barely beat a team than barely lose. Especially when Miami barely beat us twice this season. Winning by 1 is better than losing by 1. Even you know that. Let's all marginalize Miami because they're better than us. In essence, your posts are excuses, because you're upset the Dolphins are winners and everyone in our organization, save perhaps about 5 players and Bobby April are losers.

Excellent post. The decision to retain DJ is emblematic of where this franchise is going. I have to believe there was always a light at the end of the tunnel until this week. Whether it was during the late 60s when OJ came. Or when Saban returned and got the team to the playoffs in 74. Or hiring Knox before 1980. Or, my first experience when I was about 10 watching the team advance to the AFC Championship in 1988. Wilson snuffed out the light at the end of the tunnel by saying it wasn't hard to keep DJ. With that, there is no way out of this for Buffalo fans, aside from finding another team. Hoping this team gets better with the same retreads is non-sensical. For me, firing Polian in 93 was bad enough. But the fact that bean counter Littman and Bogdan had a hand in it makes the decision even more infuriating.

I wouldn't assume Miami will get throttled this weekend, especially with home field advantage. And even if they do, it won't because they're outcoached. Miami won't replicate the NYJ from 06 to 07, because their foundation is more sound. The Jets did not have the front office to sustain success, and bowed to Brett Favre to pull off a PR coup. Miami has no-nonsense guys like Sparano and Ireland who don't care about winning the PR battle, but winning football games. The incoming owner in MIA knows he has the right setup in the front office and won't change it. Meanwhile, Woody Johnson entrusted his success to Mike Tannenbaum who used to practice law. It's kinda like asking the marketing guy to be the de facto GM and expecting success. Get a real football man with an eye for talent, vision for the future, and you're almost guaranteed to win. Go against the grain and amazingly you don't win. It's that simple.

Buffalo drafted Jeff Burris and Thomas Smith after losing Odomes to UFA back in 93. Before then, they'd taken James Williams, who busted. So there was a method for taking those guys early. Besides, their OL and DL was already strong, a product of Bill Polian knowing what the hell to do and ignoring Linda Bogdan's worthless opinion. They were strong at the specialty positions as well, hence selecting DB's. Fast forward to 2006, and the Bills had Clements, McGee, and Greer. With a distinct weakness on the OL and DL, they decided to make luxury picks and take 3 DB's out of 4 picks. They followed that up with 4 more DB's in the next 2 drafts. I trust BP to make good picks. He's not batting 1.000, but he's usually right on. Can anyone say they trust the Bills front office to make good picks, especially with no one a decent record up there outside of perhaps Modrak calling the shots? It's fine to take DB's when your lines are strong. But if not, taking a DB is a luxury pick.

Thanks Astro. One thing though. Do you think Aaron Maybin is worth watching for Penn State?

I found it interesting that Modrak is being taken into the inner-circle. (I wonder if that means, "thank you sir may I have another" with RW administering the blows) I maintain that DJ had an overwhelming hand in who this team drafted. Taking 7 DB's with 26 picks clinched it for me. If it's true Modrak will have some power, I think it's a swipe more at DJ's personnel moves and even Brandon for being inexperienced. The personnel on this team isn't any better than it was in 2006. (Cue Dean)

Buffalo's payroll, if we're lucky, will be middle of the road this season. Suggs and Peppers, if they hit the open market, will command at least 8M+ per. Neither is coming to Buffalo, because RW knows that spending doesn't equate to winning either. His last two major investments of Dockery and Walker are failed attempts to buy an OL. I agree with BN in Houston. RW is content and will not make another major investment into this team. When people reach old age, their take on the world changes. By no means do I think RW is ready to depart, but he's not the same person he was when Wade was fired. He's accepted his place, made peace with the NFL, and moved on. He'll ride out the string with what he has and nothing more. There is no hope right now. The players would have to be so good to overcome a HC who single-handedly loses games. The only way I think it could improve is if the QB is allowed to make calls for himself. Same on defense. Because the HC, OC, and DC are so inept that they can't be counted on to do anything other than screw it all up.

I would agree and cite another example of his mindset. Apparently, RW negotiated the contract with DJ. OK whatever. But his unwillingness to pay coaches is well-known and not going to change. Ever. We're not sure what DJ is making, but I'm sure it's not in the top half of the NFL. As far as the front office, there won't be any changes as SB pointed out. Ralph knows the going rate for solid NFL GM's is high, and so he divides that responsibility among Brandon, Modrak, and Guy, with help from Overdorf. He cut his costs by promoting them and not having to hire a GM. We're just steering the ship straight until it eventually sinks. When fans don't return this coming year like they did in 08, the team will blame the economy without any admission that the product is so poor most fans have stepped away. GG's column, IMO, is what a lot of fans are thinking. Having been at each home game this year, the fans are just fed up-old and new. The decision to keep DJ will put many over the edge.

1. The Peters thing was handled poorly-on both ends. It didn't help that marketing guy RB was up against a savvy player agent. 2. Mitchell, Stroud, and Johnson were decent to good signings. 3. Turkey Schonert had been in the NFL as a QB coach for years. It's ironic that he wasn't good enough before to get an OC job, but now he is. He was under DJ's thumb and I don't think he knew what to do when the initial plan didn't work. 4. They should have let JPL go, and find a veteran QB. 5. To be fair to their top pick in 08, there weren't a host of options for DE at 11. Harvey had been taken. 6. The DJ extension was directly negotiated by Ralph. That's a 90 year old man making decisions which not surprisingly did not work out. I believe it was the decision to re-up DJ that forced RW's hand to retain him. Again, Ralph is the problem. No decent GM will ever work for this franchise again. Ralph has basically made it clear he is the one making decisions and I would not be surprised if Brandon leaves for greener pastures. No one can work for RW, and he pushes people out the door. Unless of course your name is Jeff Littman, chief bean counter.

Miami used to be a joke. Now they're a legit NFL franchise because they completely gutted their front office. There are four organizations I would consider minor league outfits: Detroit, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Saint Louis. Oakland isn't included because they at least spend money. KC and CLE at least will to hire a GM. San Fran has a coach. Buffalo, Detroit, Cincinnait, and St. Louis could begin the NFL minor league if they wanted.