All this talk of crow

[Guest BackInDaDay]

For the record, I don't recall anyone on this forum bashing Holcomb. So if the crow to be eaten is representitive of Kelly being discovered to be a fine, upstanding citizen and a pretty good NFL QB, some of you better check the menu.

 

Oh, there's crow, alright. It's been the 'house special' at One Bills Drive for way too many seasons, and by no fault of his own, JP Losman has become the latest incarnation of this undesirable fowl. Unfortunately, for the fans, Donahoe has developed quite a taste for it. Of course he dresses it up and swears it's better than a Butterball.

 

Listen.

 

Many of us believed that Bledsoe had brought us as far as his weaknesses allowed him, that he was too old a dog to learn new tricks, and therefore was expendable. With a promising young first rounder in the wings, we didn't fuss when Donahoe sent Drew packing. Conversely, the front office did everything but lay palms along the path to the field house upon JP's arrival. His 'unchallenged' status as starting QB had the faithful flocking to the Bills' ticket office, much to the delight of the club's front office.

 

Bolstered by the coaching staff's claims that they could mold and incorporate his raw talent into winning gameplans, the future was indeed bright. The pre-season was filled with hopeful stories of the young man, pious and eager to learn from his aging mentor. His preparations weren't those of a simple caretaker. They were the preparations of a champion.

 

Now JP wears his last three starts as a thorny crown. The faithful, anxious for the salvation that only a playoff game can bring, have no patience for false prophets and little memory of those who annoint them.

 

So this year's plans sit, black and dead, on a plate next to the prior years' plans on the GM's desk. You'll find them behind the plaque which reads,

 

"Winning isn't enough - Winning enough is enough!"

 

I want the Bills to win, always have, always will. I'd like to see them win that elusive NFL championship before I die, but lately this team has taken on the attributes of a box of laundry detergent. Every season it's packaged and sold as "new and improved" and I buy it, but nothing comes clean.

[DeeRay]

Amen bro. My contention that past 2 plus seasons has been that we Bills fans are being sold one thing and something else is being delivered. When a GM goes 3-13 in his first year, especially under the circumstances, I don't believe any fan, even me, has any problem giving the guy a mulligan. Happy to do so, especially in year two when the team goes 8-8. That's a quantum leap. Then, you expect no less than 8-8, but probably 10-6 in year 3 of this rebuilding program. What do you get? 6-10? and one of the most contentious seasons I recall as a Bills fan. Week in and week out the offensive coaching was as bad as it gets... but then again, was it what they had to work with? OK, the coach gets fired and deservedly so. Now, as a GM you have a few days to sort of take a look and evaluate where you are as a team, and where you want be as a team. Everyone has a bad taste in their mouth, but everyone wants to move forward. So, as GM of a team you've spent countless hours on re-constructing a team over the past 3 years. The next move you make is probably the single most important move you will make... and that is hiring a head coach that you can hand your reconstrucion project to and have this coach help you put the finishing touches on your masterpiece. What does the GM do? He hires a rookie HC, who brings in a rookie OC. It's not Mularkey or Clements fault that they fell into this. I am not going to say these two are bad coaches just yet... especailly after pulling off what they were able to do last season. But let's be real... rookie coaches have a learning curve to go through themselves, let alone coach a team of young players and make critical decisions. In a sort of way it was like taking another step backward after a couple of steps forward.

 

This season has been... well, certainly not what everyone thought it would be. We were sold that the o-line was squared away. The # 2 NFL defense returns 19 of the top 20 players and is better, We were sold on how JP is the real deal, how hard he worked. Life is good. Surely this team is destined for a 10-6 finish at a minimum. Not!!! After a 1-3 start, we know the offensive line is not squared away, the defense has taken a quantum leap in the wrong direction as they've allowed a runner to amass > 100 yds. in 3 of the last 4 games and 2 weeks ago Ronnie Brown only missed that mark by a measley 3 yards. We also know that JP is not ready for prime time yet. So... how far does Holcomb take the team? That's tough to say when you have a defense that's a sieve and an offensive line, already a problem, an injury or two away from really bad. I do know that if this team misses the playoffs again, the GM will have a diffcult, if not impossible, task of hitting 40K season tix... especially considering the economic peril of this region. And if the team were to finish below .500, Donahoe will definitely fall out of favor with most Bills fans. There would have to be at least 2 or 3 big names through Free agency and the draft... all of which would need to be plugged in as starters or major contributuors to move this team forward and win the fans back. Then... factor in the core of the team and their ages... Fletcher, Vincent, Milloy, Moulds, Adams... all on the wrong side of 30. Two years from now, they're not going to be performing at the level they are now... and I don't see adequate replacements on the horizon. There are just too many holes right now within the team and organization to belive that this team is ready to turn the corner and join the top 25 percentile of upper echelon NFL teams... and that's what we fans deserve.

[PromoTheRobot]

Buffalo Crow Wings with Bleu Cheese....mmmmmmm, bleu cheese.

 

PTR