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You really can't look into the future and see who's going to get suspened or not. The Bills problems go back further then drafting Lynch. They self create holes, and end up in dire need of filling them. Instead of adding onto a core, the Bills develop no core, rarely if ever hold onto a player, and draft based on holes that were created due to inability to keep anyone. I mean really other then Eric Moulds, and Lee Evans, and Schobel who's the last really good player we held onto for a 2nd contract in the past decade? Instead we get rid of guys like Pat Williams, London Fletcher, Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements, Jabari Greer. The Bills are still looking to replace the average production that Jay Reimersma gave us at tight end. Still adjusting their offensive line, after Mike Williams busted. Still looking for a center, and guards and have a interesting situation developing at LT. We still need defensive linemen, and lb's, while the front office seems to focus it's attention on the secondary and special teams depth. Yeah it's nice to have football character, realize right from wrong. Have a young highly paid man avoid bad situations. It would be great, to draft for people who can flat out play football, who are additions to starters. Not filling holes, for the sake of replacing players.

Ah yes, the 2003 game at the Swamp. I remember attending that debacle. I think that was the game Nate gave Coles a seven yard cushion all the way into the end zone for a TD. Gee I really miss him. In the numerous games attended in that Stadium, I'm sad to say the highlight was that freezing cold day in 2001; the 3-13 Bills, actually playing like they cared about winning the game.

JP played as poorly yesterday as I've ever seen him play- still, the blame doesn't fall mainly on him. We were manhandled at the line of scrimmage- I think we can agree on that. You can win once in awhile when that happens, but we don't have the playmakers to do that. On his endzone interception, I was furious at Lee Evans on that one- sure, it goes on JP's stats, but Evand HAS to break that up. On Jauron, I'm past the point of caring. I think he's an ok coach, but that doesn't matter at this point....this team flat out lacks talent. Rich Kotite could be the coach for all I care right now. Langston Walker takes 10 minutes to get out of his stance....I'm surprised he can get off the field when the defense is out there. If they fire Jauron, they will bring in a retread who will come on the cheap....who cares. Wilson chased Polian, Butler and Donahoe out. Apparently even Levy didn't like working with him. For all the fire directed at Butler- look at his work in building a team from scratch in San Diego- Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Nate Kaeding, Ladanian Tomlinson............

Okay, I've gone back over the drafts from the post-playoff era, and broken our first day draft picks down into three categories: 1.) Successes. Not much explanation needed. (S) 2.) Priorities failure. The Bills drafted a guy whose position and talents did not match the team's needs. (PF) 3.) Scouting failure. The Bills drafted a guy who wasn't the best available player on the board at his position. Player is compared to the next picked player at his position. (SF) I know comparing players only to the next drafted is simple, but I don't have a ton of time now; I'll refine this later. Let me know what you think about these evaluations: 2001: 1st round: Nate Clements. Anticipated departure of Antoine Winfield and the inadequacy of Kenny Irvin. S. 2nd round: Aaron Schobel. Maybe not a superstar, but a reliable choice in the 2nd. S. Travis Henry. Sammy Morris has proven worthwhile in his later career, but this seemed to be a clear need. And a very good pick. S. 3rd round: Ron Edwards. Bills were scary thin up the middle, but Edwards was a marginal pro most of his career. However, the next three DTs off the board were Kenny Smith, Marcus Blade, and Willie Bell. I'd take Edwards in that lot. S. Jonas Jennings. Solid LT, late in the draft for one. Ryan Diem was one of the next three T's drafted, but the next one was Kenyatta Jones, who is worse. S. Whitey started off so strong - 5/5. 2002: 1st round: Mike Williams. Uberbust. However, it's undeniable we needed a great tackle. There is the LT/RT issue, but I'm sure that if he was really a top-5 talent, we'd either be thrilled to have him at RT or would have been able to move him to LT. SF. 2nd round: Josh Reed. With Price on the way out, we needed another receiver, and Reed was a great prospect. He's been a marginal pro, but better than Tim Carter,the next WR taken. S Ryan Denney. Role player at best, this seems like a bust. But again - at least DE was a clear need (the Bills had started Schobel across from a retiring Phil Hansen). And the next few DEs were total crap - Denney's career has at least exceeded Will Overstreet, though injuries may give him a pass, so we'll go on to Dennis Johnson, next on the board, who has been awful and bouced out of the league. I'm starting to question my system here, but this is an S. 3rd round: Coy Wire. Was Strong Safety a need here ? The team had been starting Raion Hill, in his only few pro football games. Can't fault them for trying, but you certainly can fault them for getting nothing more than a special teams player. Nothing special on the board, but if you're picking betweeen crap and crap, pick another position, it's not like this team didn't have plenty of needs. SF. down to 2/4, and those aren't a great 2. 2003: 1st round: Willis McGahee. Huge priority failure, and he has clearly been outmatched by Larry Johnson, next RB gone. SF AND PF. 2nd round: Chris Kelsay. Definitely needed a DE, as Denney was not establishing himself too well, so you can't fault the priorities. Next DE taken? Osi Umenyora. SF. 3rd round: Angelo Crowell. Can't complain - the LBs needed someone and he's performed well. THis is a hit. S so, 1/3, including a double-fail. 2004: 1st round: Lee Evans. No complaints in any way. S. JP Losman. Ow, my brains. Can't complain about the fact we needed a QB, but the next one up was Schaub. SF. 3rd round: Tim Anderson. Can't complain about choosing a DT, just this bum? Isaac Sopoaga was next. SF. 1/3 2005: 2nd round: Roscoe Parrish. Priority failure clearly, with Evans and Moulds holding down the fort, but the next guy wasn't anything better. PF. 3rd round: Kevin Everett. Not going to grade this one. 0/1, bringing our total for TD up to 9/16, though a more unimpressive 4/9 after a brilliant '01 draft. 2006: 1st round: Donte Whitner. Obvious and painful priority failure (what's so wrong with Lawyer Milloy?) though he is better than Jason Allen, I think. PF. John McCargo. Right idea, wrong execution. Total washout, and though Claude Wroten is nothing special, he's still playing football. SF. 3rd round: Ashton Youboty. Needed a CB with Nate threatening to leave, and the replacement was clearly worse here. Still some promise, so I'll say this is an S. 1/3 under Marv's first season. 2007: 1st round: Marshawn Lynch. Great pick: S 2nd round: Paul Posluszny: Solid pick, anyway, but I gotta say that our trading up for him - rather than 'settling' for David Harris, shows that we really scout well here. SF. 3rd round: Trent Edwards: Needed a QB pretty badly, as we can tell now. And plus, he's had his ups and downs, but would you really rather have Isaiah Stanbeck? 2/3 So we're running .500 with Marv, 3/6. I think it's too early to judge Brandonball, but I will say that each of our picks hit a priority. Whether they did it well, well, we'll see. But I think the thing here isn't that the Bills often whiff terribly - from '01 to '07, they were 12/22, which is at least above 50-50. The problem is that so few of those hits earn extra-bases. We draft narrow not-busts rather than dynamite stars.

Maybe, just maybe, by the time he's old enough to actually follow the game the way we do, Ralph will be gone and the Bills will be a respectable franchise again. Maybe he will get to see and root for an assembly of players like we were able to watch in the late 80's and early 90's. It was a thing of beauty to watch Bruce, Thurman, Jim, Andre, Darryl, Shane, Cornelius, Don, Leon, Pete, James, Nate, Henry, and the rest of those guys in action.

Bills-Dolphins inactives By Chris Brown - Posted December 7th, 2008 Buffalo Bills 17-Justin Jenkins 25-Xavier Omon 33-Jabari Greer 65-Jason Whittle 77-Demetrius Bell 87-Jonathan Stupar 94-Aaron Schobel 5-Trent Edwards - 3rd QB Miami Dolphins 14-Chris Hannon 41-Joey Thomas 61-Shawn Murphy 71-Lionel Dotson 75-Nate Garner 81-Joey Haynos 90-Rodrique Wright 9-John Beck - 3rd QB Lineup changes for the Bills No. 7 J.P. Losman will start at quarterback No. 92 Ryan Denney will start at defensive end No. 28 Leodis McKelvin will start at cornerback

Buffalo Bills 17-Justin Jenkins 25-Xavier Omon 33-Jabari Greer 65-Jason Whittle 77-Demetrius Bell 87-Jonathan Stupar 94-Aaron Schobel 5-Trent Edwards - 3rd QB Miami Dolphins 14-Chris Hannon 41-Joey Thomas 61-Shawn Murphy 71-Lionel Dotson 75-Nate Garner 81-Joey Haynos 90-Rodrique Wright 9-John Beck - 3rd QB Lineup changes for the Bills No. 7 J.P. Losman will start at quarterback No. 92 Ryan Denney will start at defensive end No. 28 Leodis McKelvin will start at cornerback

Well, I'll certainly admit to wearing beer (or Bills) goggles. I can't help it. Regarding the salaries... name one player the FO didn't sign because of money restrictions (minus Nate, perhaps). Despite all the talk of cash 2 cap, they seem to get who they go after. Granted, we can argue about who they're going after, but lack of money doesn't appear to be a deal beaker in any of their discussions. Dockery, for all I remember, was one of the top 3 FA Guards that year. It was debatable what their order was (although few would argue he was the #1 FA). If the Bills hadn't' paid him top dollar, almost certainly someone else would have. I, agree, the Bills probably overpaid for him. But, not many players are coming to Buffalo at a discount. Like it or not, we're not the Pats*. They can name a price and often a lower price and players will go because they know they're playing for a Super Bowl contender. So the Bills almost certainly have to over pay a little. The problem I have with so many of the knocks on Kelsay is that he gets zero credit for the good plays he makes. Is he the best DE? Is he above average? No. But, is he solid? Yes. He makes just about as many good plays as bad, IMO. But, of course, this ship has sailed. Too many people have decided he sucks ass and will never acknowledge when he has a good play or game. I'll agree completely with the McCargo paragraph. I would have much rather had Mangold that year. But, like I said, the FO isn't perfect. Poz, I disagree with. He seems to be the player they wanted and needed. Why not get him? I just don't buy into all this draft talk of value and such. You do realize Poz has almost twice the number of tackles as Harris this year, right? What makes shim so much better? I, too, agree the team is better off now. Although, I'm not ready to sau its because of Trent. If anything, he's regressed and still has a lot to prove. I's say we're better off because we're full of young talent that's steadily improving at almost every critical position - QB, RB, LT, WR, LB, DB. Are there still problems? Yes. But, what gives me confidence is that each offseason the FO has addressed the team's needs. We needed Oline help - they signed FAs. We needed Dline help - the signed Stroud. We needed LB - they got Poz, now Mitchell. We needed a RB - Lynch. And so on. I rarely saw that with TD.

Let's take a look at Marv's bad moves as GM. 1. Extending Chris Kelsay to a big money deal. If you think that was a good move, stop reading here. You are hopeless. 2. Extending Schobel with 3 years remaining on his deal. Now we have $50M in guarantees devoted to a DE corps in need of an upgrade. 3. Signing Peerless Price to a multi-year deal. He was clearly washed up. He was a bust in Atlanta. He was cut midseason by Dallas. We signed him to a multi-year deal at $2M per when he was worth the vet minimum. 4. Signing Triplett. He received a big, multi-million dollar deal and sucked. 5. Drafting McCargo and trading picks to get him. It was obviously a bad move then, moreso now. 6. Trading up to draft Poz. Gave up a high 3rd to move up 9 slots when he could have stayed put and taken David Harris. While Poz sells jerseys in Buffalo, he hasn't done much else and the price to get him was awfully steep. 7. Signing Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker to $100M in combined deals. Dockery wasn't even the best guard available that year in free agency, yet he was paid like the best -- Hutchinson and Steinbach received identical contracts, but they are WAY better. 8. Failing to get anything in return for Clements. He franchised Clements and could have traded him and gotten something in return, probably a 1st or 2nd round pick. Marv stayed put. The 49ers approached the Bills about a trade and the Bills refused to give them permission to speak with Nate... absolutely ludicrous to allow one of your most prized assets to walk away with no compensation in return. Marv drafted Trent Edwards, which I still believe was a great, great pick. He also immediately got rid of Willis McGahee, realizing he was a punk -- VERY shrewd move. But the negatives far outweigh the positives... and moves like this are typically grounds for a firing. Good GMs do not make mistakes like this.

I'm here to eat crow, so I don't look like a kitty. CONGRATS UB! However, I have a house full of people and one computer in my house, so I have to leave a message. Funny as this is, all the people around my season tickets from the Bills are here from Buffalo and just about killed me tonight. Talk about eating crow and being pissed off in my own house. I like GILL. The refs hosed us. The non TD was horseshit that would have put UB in a pretty big hole. Nate Davis was bad. I'll rehash this on Monday when everyone leaves here......but Gill is the epitomy of calm on the sidelines with a mean streak of quiet confidence. He's like what Dick Jauron should be, except Gill and his staff HAVE SOME FUGGIN BALLS. Nice job again, UB ruined BSU's dream season. So, let er rip, I made fun of UB for two weeks, and just like true Buffalo form, they fugged the MAC indirectly by knocking off BSU. However, a great win for them. OK, now back to the Bills. UB

Just out of curiousity, he're the all-active, all-Bills-drafted team. Let me know if you have any thoughts: QB: Trent Edwards, JP Losman, Todd Collins RB: Marshawn Lynch, Willis McGahee, Shawn Bryson (I'm assuming Travis still gets suspended) FB: Sammy Morris WR: Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish, Josh Reed, James Hardy, Stevie Johnson (look familiar?) OT: Jason Peters, Jonas Jennings, Demetrius Bell OG: Brad Butler, Mike Pucillo, Aaron Merz C: Duke Preston (only center drafted since 1995. This may be why we suck at this position) DE: Aaron Schobel, Ryan Denney, Chris Ellis, Chris Kelsay DT: Kyle Williams, John McCargo, Marcus Stroud (trades are fine), Tim Anderson LB: Keith Ellison, Paul Posluszny, John DiGiorgio, Mario Haggan CB: Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield, Terrence McGee, Jabari Greer, Leodis McKelvin (our clear strength) SS: Donte Whitner, George Wilson FS: Ko Simpson, John Wendling

Hindsight is 20/20, and every fan of every team can do this. But since you brought up the Bills draft since the non-playoffs steak began in 2000, take a look at just some of the offensive linemen, still starting today, that were on the board at the time the Bills drafted other players in the first round - in or out of the top 10 picks: 2000: Bills drafted Eric Flowers, DE #26 Overall: Still on the Board: #38 Marvel Smith LT - Steelers #44 Chad Clifton LT - Packers 2001: Bills drafted Nate Clements, CB #21 Overall: Quality Pick, no complaints. 2002: Bills drafted Mike Williams, OT #4 Overall: Still on the Board: #7 Bryant McKinnie LT - Vikings #10 Levi Jones LT - Bengals #29 Marc Colombo - RT - Bears (Starting now for the Cowboys) 2003: Bills drafted Willis McGahee, RB #23 Overall: Still on the Board: #26 Kwame Harris RT - 49ers - (Starting now for the Raiders) #33 Eric Steinbach LG - Bengals - (Starting now for the Browns) #37 Jonathan Stinchcomb RT - Saints 2004: Bills drafted Lee Evans WR #13: Quality Pick, no complaints 2004: Bills drafted J.P. Losman QB #22: Still on the Board: #34 Chris Snee RG - Giants 2005: Bills drafted Roscoe Parrish #55 Overall (No 1st round pick): Still on the Board: #64 Adam Terry RT - Ravens #81 Richie Incognito RG - Rams 2006: Bills drafted Donte Whitner SS # 8 Overall (Quality Pick?..not yet) Still on the Board: #23 Davin Joseph RG - Bucs (Taking Joseph at #8 would have been a major reach, but was paying Dockery 7 Million a year a few months before this draft any less crazy for Levy??) 2007: Bills drafted Marshawn Lynch RB#12 Quality Pick, no complaints 2008: Bills drafted Leodis McKelvin #11 CB (Quality Pick?.. probably, but not ready to start), Still on the Board: #12 Ryan Clady LT - Broncos - starting left tackle as a rookie. #15 Branden Albert G - Chiefs - Made the switch to left tackle, starting as a rookie. #21 Sam Baker LT - Falcons - starting left tackle as a rookie. Too bad the Bills never made the OL a priority. Obviously there were plenty of starters sitting there just waiting to be drafted by Buffalo these past 8 years!

Coaching is the biggest issue. But I agree that there is too little talent on the team considering the wealth of high draft picks at the Bills disposal in the past 9 years. The reason is obvious. The reason for the dearth of talent has been letting quality players walk. I don't know how many times I've said this, but losing Lawyer Milloy, Willis McGahee, London Fletcher and Nate Clements meant the team had to use 3 first round picks and a 2nd round pick on replacements Donte Whitner, Marshawn Lynch, Paul Posluszny and Leodis McKelvin. The net result is NO TALENT GAIN to show for three years worth of premium picks. The only player out of that group who would have otherwise needed to be replaced in that span was Milloy. That is PRECISELY why this team has not made strides in terms of personnel. Additionally, they had to deal a 3 and a 5 last offseason for Marcus Stroud. Because after 3 years of horrendous run defense, they finally made a move to repair the damage done Donahoe let Pat Williams walk. The same Pat Williams who has played at a Pro Bowl level for a 4 seasons since he left. Think of all the OL/DL/LB/TE talent that was left on the table on draft day. Opportunity lost. Meanwhile, the Bills are some $20M under the cap. I do not understand the philosophy behind continually letting productive players walk when YOU DON'T HAVE ADEQUATE REPLACEMENTS ON THE ROSTER. It's absolutely idiotic.

You cannot prove a single statement. You don't know what Nix is being paid. The Bills are always middle of the pack in player payroll in the NFL. And you can't prove Ralph is lying about spending what it takes to win now. You, like so many others here, fixate on a couple of players leaving like Peters or Nate Clements and accuse Ralph of being cheap. Yet you ignore all the large contracts the Bills have given to players. Lee Evans is a recent example. Repeat any lie long enough and people will assume it's the truth. Ralph has made some bad decisions and he has run the Bills on a budget until now, but to say he's cheap is a lie. PTR

Teams didn't need to throw the ball when they could run for 150+ yards rushing yards per game and 4.7 YPC against the Bills. In some ways, 2009 was a lot like 2006 when Nate Clements and crew were statistically good against the pass, but the run defense yielded 140+.

First, I agree you can't run an organization by committee. That's just ridiculous. But if you're going to have one person be the head guy, the onus is on that guy to make the right decisions. Let's look at how TD used his first round draft picks: 2001: Nate Clements. Result: first contract and out. 2002: Mike Williams. Result: bust. 2003 a. Traded for Drew Bledsoe. Result: Bledsoe was released after three years. 2003 b: Willis McGahee. Result: failed to provide a significant upgrade over Travis Henry. After a few years, he was traded for two third round picks. 2004 a: Lee Evans. Result: a good WR, but not necessarily as good as you'd expect from a guy picked 13th overall. 2004 b: You know who. Result: bust. 2005: none. There's only one success story on that list: the Lee Evans pick. Is TD really the guy you want running your franchise? And look at the team he built (or tried to build, at any rate). Marv inherited a team with no starting-quality offensive linemen other than Jason Peters. Even Peters was more a case of good luck than good decision-making. TD initially signed Peters as an UDFA. And later released him. Then re-signed him. Within two or three years, all the starting offensive linemen from the TD era had been released. Again except for Peters, who was traded away. Then look at the quarterback situation Marv inherited: the Losman/Holcomb controversy. Just what every head coach and general manager dreams of! Finally, look at the defensive line: other than Aaron Schobel, what players were there? In the three most critical areas--OL, DL, and QB--TD found just two players (Schobel and Peters). The team Marv inherited also had holes at #2 WR, TE, LB, and elsewhere. I'll grant that Marv also did a lousy job as GM, but that's a subject for another post.

Hi everyone, lifelong Cowboys fan here who requested to join your forum today because of the Gailey hiring. I see that a lot of Bills fans are feeling a spectrum of emotions ranging from frustrated to disgusted over this move, and believe me, I would say that about 60% of Cowboys fans weren't thrilled with Gailey's tenure in Dallas from what I've read on our own message boards over the years. That being said, I was always in that 40% that thought he was great for Dallas. In fact, I was happy to see Jerry Jones own up to the mistake he made when he fired Chan, even if he just finally came out with his admission in the last year. You guys have gotten a solid coach who I am convinced will be much better in his 2nd NFL HC stint, and I'm saying that while thinking he did just fine in his 1st one as well. One thing Gailey is is a very rational guy who tries to learn from past mistakes. You guys heard it for yourself in today's PC when he went right back to the January '99 Wild Card game the Cowboys lost to the Cardinals and stated that in retrospect, he may have let the team get overconfident. He seemed to have that answer and memory right at the forefront of his mind, as if he actively gives his past shortcomings the proper amount of attention in order to avoid repeating them. Gailey rescued a Dallas team that had fallen under significant disorganization under Barry Switzer and really turned them around. He instituted post-practice penalty laps for any pre-snap penalties that occurred in practice, got Nate Newton to drop close to 100 pounds when had ballooned up close to 400 during the offseason leading into the '98 campaign, and succeeded in getting a team that had gotten very fat and happy so to speak, to refocus and make the playoffs. Skeptics always point to the fact that he inherited a team with all of these future HOFers, but that is misleading on a few fronts. To begin with, he had a very difficult proposition as a rookie HC in inheriting that type of team, because of the sense of entitlement from the veterans and the "I have 3 Super Bowl rings, why are you coming in here to change the offense we won those championships with" type of attitude he had to endure. During Chan's 2 years, all 3 future HOFers also suffered key injuries that caused them to miss stretches of games and in Michael Irvin's case, it was 12+games in '99, an injury he never returned from. Emmit Smith was also said to be on his last legs after the '97 season, and he had the last 2 great seasons of his stellar career under Chan (1,332 yards in '98 and 1,397 in '99 in 13 1/2 games). One thing that is often forgotten is that Gailey had the '99 Cowboys headed to 4-0 when Michael Irvin suffered his injury in Veteran's Stadium. He also suffered subsequent other injuries at the WR position that year, until it got to the point that he had a 5th string rookie starting in the Wild Card game that year against the Vikings. Aikman also missed time that season (as he had during Gailey's first year), and Emmit Smith even missed 2 1/2 games with a broken hand. The 8-8 record and Wild Card berth the Cowboys managed that season was actually an accomplishment considering all of the changing personnel on offense he had to deal with. Gailey is an adaptable and very creative offensive mind. He may have tried to force things a bit in Dallas as a rookie HC-- he had Michael Irvin lining up in the backfield and even out of the game on some 3rd downs back in '98 for example--, but I think he long ago learned from those mistakes. To be fair, he also had some great offensive wrinkles that he introduced, such as running the option with Emmit Smith and Ernie Mills and direct snaps to halfback Chris Warren waaaay before the Wildcat was in vogue, that opposing defenses never saw coming that year. Look for Chan to really do some creative things with guys like Fred Jackson, who is very quick in space and can do multiple things well. If Marshawn Lynch does end up being retained by the team, look for Gailey to do good things with him as well. There's no denying Gailey has a solid track record with running backs, be they mediocre ones or Hall of Famers. For example, Emmit Smith has credited Gailey in the past with having resurrected his career, and Lamar Smith, never anything to write home about before or after his time with Chan in Miami, had his most productive years when Gailey worked with him. Finally, I've seen a few challenging the idea that Gailey has developed QBs. I agree to an extent, I think the better description for what he's done is maximize a few of these guys' abilities when he's had them. I.E. Fiedler, Stewart, and Tomczak had their best seasons under Chan's tutelage. Sorry for the long post and for stepping into the Bills discussion here, but I thought I would add my .02. I am looking forward to watching your team with unprecedented interest this season and to rooting for Chan and your team to do well.

Jets MVP today was Nate Kaeding

Wrong-o fella. The DB or Corner position is one of the highest salary wise positions in football. Second highest on D. The second highest paid player in the NFL on defense is a cornerback. Good ol Nate Clements. But i guess facts are overrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gal.../5/11/index.htm Your statements are not only false but ludicris and lack any kind of backing as well. Can you back them up. Im tired of this sh*t being thrown aorund and no one providing factual evidence that any of this is happening. Drafting a bust on purpose? C'mon man maybe it's you who has to get a clue.

I wonder how Nate Kaeding feels?

Nate Kaeding is gonna need a security escort to get out of the stadium after this game!!

I'd like you to elaborate on the bolded statement. Let's compare Schottenheimer and Gailey across the dimensions most important for head coaches: 1. Quality of offensive scheme/coaching. I remember that Schottenheimer's teams were considered unimaginative and predictable on offense while he was in KC. Gailey is a very solid and creative offensive coordinator. Gailey wins this one, unless there's some favorable aspect to Schottenheimer's offenses I'm missing. 2. Quality of defensive scheme/coaching. I'm guessing that the advantage here goes to Schottenheimer, but could be wrong. 3. Quality of special teams schemes/coaching. Unknown. 4. Ability to motivate players, create a disciplined environment, etc. Schottenheimer seems like he's strong in that area. I've heard good things about Gailey in that respect, from a Dallas fan. (That fan pointed out Gailey got Nate Newton to lose 100 pounds, and did a lot of other good things.) This could be a wash, but more information is needed. 5. Quality of game day decisions. I think that both coaches are decent, but not great, in that area. Looking at the above list, I don't see what specific aspects of the head coaching responsibilities Schottenheimer would execute "infinitely better" than Gailey will. If Gailey can get his hands on a good defensive coordinator to implement the switch to a 3-4, this could be a well-coached team! Edit: In 2001, the Chargers drafted Drew Brees. Schottenheimer became the coach in 2002. By 2004, the Chargers had seen enough of Drew Brees to have become convinced he was not the answer. They ended up using the fourth overall pick on Philip Rivers (via trade). While Drew Brees was languishing under a Schottenheimer-coached team, Gailey was off making guys like Kordell Stewart, Tyler Thigpen, and Jay Fielder look good. Tyler Thigpen averaged 6.2 yards per pass attempt under Gailey's coaching in 2007, as compared to 5.9 yards per pass attempt for Drew Brees in 2003 on a Schottenheimer-coached team. Which coach do you think is more likely to fix the Bills' offense: the one who convinced his GM that Drew Brees was not the answer, or the one who whose coaching convinced at least some people that Tyler Thigpen was?

OFFENSE Quarterback: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis. Running Backs: Chris Johnson, Tennessee; Adrian Peterson, Minnesota. Fullback: Leonard Weaver, Philadelphia. Tight End: Dallas Clark, Indianapolis. Wide Receivers: Andre Johnson, Houston; Wes Welker, New England. Tackles: Ryan Clady, Denver; Joe Thomas, Cleveland. Guards: Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota; Jahri Evans, New Orleans. Center: Nick Mangold, New York Jets. Placekicker: Nate Kaeding, San Diego. Kick Returner: Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland. DEFENSE Ends: Jared Allen, Minnesota; Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis. Tackles: Jay Ratliff, Dallas; Kevin Williams, Minnesota. Outside Linebackers: Elvis Dumervil, Denver; DeMarcus Ware, Dallas. Inside Linebacker: Patrick Willis, San Francisco; Ray Lewis, Baltimore. Cornerbacks: Charles Woodson, Green Bay; Darrelle Revis, New York Jets. Safeties: Darren Sharper, New Orleans; Adrian Wilson, Arizona. Punter: Shane Lechler, Oakland. SECOND TEAM OFFENSE Quarterback: Drew Brees, New Orleans. Running Backs: Ray Rice, Baltimore; Steven Jackson, St. Louis. Fullback: Le'Ron McClain, Baltimore. Tight End: Antonio Gates, San Diego. Wide Receivers: Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis; Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona. Tackles: Michael Roos, Tennessee; Jake Long, Miami. Guards: Logan Mankins, New England; Kris Dielman, San Diego. Center: Andre Gurode, Dallas. Placekicker: David Akers, Philadelphia. Kick Returner: DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia. DEFENSE Ends: Trent Cole, Philadelphia; Julius Peppers, Carolina. Tackles: Darnell Dockett, Arizona; Haloti Ngata, Baltimore. Outside Linebackers: Brian Cushing, Houston; LaMarr Woodley, Pittsburgh. Inside Linebackers: David Harris, New York Jets; Jon Beason, Carolina. Cornerbacks: Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland; Asante Samuel, Philadelphia, and Leon Hall, Cincinnati (tie). Safeties: Brian Dawkins, Denver; Ed Reed, Baltimore, and Nick Collins, Green Bay (tie). Punter: Andy Lee, San Francisco, and Donnie Jones, St. Louis (tie). http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...9-all-pro-team/

Levy not only had Kelly on those Bills teams, he also had: Thurman Thomas, Kenneth Davis, Andre Reed, James Lofton, Pete Metz, Kent Hull, Jim Richter, Bruce Smith, Darryl Talley, Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan, Henry Jones, Nate Odomes, and Steve Tasker. Give that core to Bill Parcells or Jimmy Johnson at that time, and that's at least 2 Super Bowl wins. Don't want to start a war with all die-hard Levy fans out there, but that's the truth, IMO. Levy did a great job managing all of these players egoes, which shouldn't be ignored, but failed to utilize the teams overwhelming edge in talent many times. Bottom line: Bill Polian deserves more credit for the success of the Buffalo teams of this era than Marv Levy. Polian put an incredible amount of talent together at that time, the rest of the organization simply never fully capitalized on that level of talent. Just my quick rant for the day.

Maybe one of our resident statisticians can tell us how likely (or unlikely) it would be to draw names out of a hat and generate fewer hits. Of course, there's some interdependencies at play - i.e. Mularkey, Jauron and their respective discount staffs influence production (or lack thereof), but to think the majority of these gems would've been stars had they played for, say - the Hoodie - seems like a pretty big stretch. ---------------------------------- 2008: (1) Leodis McKelvin, (2) James Hardy, (3) Chris Ellis, (4) Reggie Corner, (4) Derek Fine, (5) Alvin Bowen, (6) Xavier Omon, (7) Demetrius Bell, (7) Steve Johnson, (7) Kennard Cox 2007: (1) Marshawn Lynch, (2) Paul Posluszny, (3) Trent Edwards, (4) Dwayne Wright, (6) John Wendling, (7) Derek Schouman, (7) C.J. Ah You 2006: (1) Donte Whitner, (1) John McCargo, (3) Ashton Youboty, (4) Ko Simpson, (5) Kyle Williams, (5) Brad Butler, (6) Keith Ellison, (7) Terrance Pennington, (7) Aaron Merz 2005: (2) Roscoe Parrish, (3) Kevin Everett, (4) Duke Preston, (5) Eric King, (6) Justin Geisinger, (7) Lionel Gates 2004: (1) Lee Evans, (1) J.P. Losman, (3) Tim Anderson, (4) Tim Euhus, (7) Dylan McFarland, (7) Jonathan Smith 2003: (1) Willis McGahee, (2) Chris Kelsay, (3) Angelo Crowell, (4) Terrence McGee, (4) Sam Aiken, (5) Ben Sobieski, (6) Lauvale Sape, (7) Mario Haggan 2002: (1) Mike Williams, (2) Josh Reed, (2) Ryan Denney, (3) Coy Wire, (5) Justin Bannan, (6) Kevin Thomas, (7) Mike Pucillo, (7) Rodney Wright, (7) Jarrett Ferguson, (7) Dominique Stevenson 2001: (1) Nate Clements, (2) Aaron Schobel, (2) Travis Henry, (3) Ron Edwards, (3) Jonas Jennings, (4) Brandon Spoon, (5) Marques Sullivan, (6) Tony Driver, (6) Dan O'Leary, (6) Jimmy Williams, (7) Reggie Germany, (7) Tyrone Robertson.