Lofton80 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Great article by Sully, he is negative and right in this instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Tell that to Miami. or Atlanta. Define success. I hope that definition includes building a team that can consistantly win over a stretch of several years. To do that you need continuity. Switching coaches/schemes/philosophy every couple of years only insures mediocrity. The Bills were only a few plays from a 10 or 11 win season. Stay the course, add some talent at a few positions and expect the coaching staff to do a serious self examination. A few tweaks and this team could be really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Ray Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Define success. I hope that definition includes building a team that can consistantly win over a stretch of several years. To do that you need continuity. Switching coaches/schemes/philosophy every couple of years only insures mediocrity. The Bills were only a few plays from a 10 or 11 win season. Stay the course, add some talent at a few positions and expect the coaching staff to do a serious self examination. A few tweaks and this team could be really good. But that was the thinking after last season. They were moving to Schnoert who was going to keep the same system in place, but expand some more by utilizing fullbacks and moving Lee around and allowing Trent to audible more. Well, it seems like the offense either regressed or stayed pretty much the same. And the defense did seem to improve somewhat, but the bottom line is another 7-9 record, and that as a result of a total mid season collapse. Max997 hit it on the head in an earlier post - "if they actually hire a good coach for once maybe they wont have to make a change in two or three years". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offsides#76FredSmerlas Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Define success. I hope that definition includes building a team that can consistantly win over a stretch of several years. To do that you need continuity. Switching coaches/schemes/philosophy every couple of years only insures mediocrity. The Bills were only a few plays from a 10 or 11 win season. Stay the course, add some talent at a few positions and expect the coaching staff to do a serious self examination. A few tweaks and this team could be really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offsides#76FredSmerlas Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 3rdnlong Are you kidding me with that dumb statement about staying the course. We didn't win a damn divisional game, not one. We haven't made the playoffs in 3 years, not once. We haven't beat the Patriots in 11 games, not once. Dick has wasted more timeouts and has made more brutal erors in game day decisions than any coach I have ever viewed. This is the course you want to stay!!! Really, you must be joking! My guess is that Jauron is fired after 6 games next year and April becomes the interim. How much fun will that be to be switching gears in the middle of the season. You watch, mark my words. We will not win 7 games next year, no damn way!!! If it wasn't for the dumb ass extension Jauron would already be out of Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Define success. I hope that definition includes building a team that can consistantly win over a stretch of several years. To do that you need continuity. 7-9, 7-9, 7-9. Hooray for consistency! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Define success. I hope that definition includes building a team that can consistantly win over a stretch of several years. To do that you need continuity. Switching coaches/schemes/philosophy every couple of years only insures mediocrity. The Bills were only a few plays from a 10 or 11 win season. Stay the course, add some talent at a few positions and expect the coaching staff to do a serious self examination. A few tweaks and this team could be really good. Right now I would take a play-off appearance or maybe even just a winning season. Something to build on. Atlanta and Miami have more reasons for optimism than we do right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsObserver Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I enjoy reading Jerry Sullivan's articles. A lot of people have a problem with Jerry Sullivan and I'm not sure why. Some people just hate the fact that he's a Boston RedSox fan and not from around here. I could care less about that. Some folks can't stand when he's critical and forget when he praises the team. If you can't stand criticism of this team, why don't you just read the company line on BuffaloBills.com? And what are you doing reading this board? He's one of the very people who works for that paper that actually has an opinion. Bucky Gleason occasionally chimes in about the Bills. Bob Dicesare too. I understand why they limit the opinion columns on the Bills, but I can only tolerate so much of Mark Gaughn and Allen Wilson. They offer nothing of any significance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Right now the only voice us fans have are through Sully....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbringer Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Emerson said that, and as usual he was right. Just because he praised Jauron early in the year does not mean he can't look at new evidence and change his mind. In fact, changing your mind after hearing new evidence only proves you are open-minded, which is a hallfmark of intelligence. I have always been a big fan of Emerson. I thought he was at his best when he teamed up with Lake & Palmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 But that was the thinking after last season. They were moving to Schnoert who was going to keep the same system in place, but expand some more by utilizing fullbacks and moving Lee around and allowing Trent to audible more. Well, it seems like the offense either regressed or stayed pretty much the same. And the defense did seem to improve somewhat, but the bottom line is another 7-9 record, and that as a result of a total mid season collapse. Max997 hit it on the head in an earlier post - "if they actually hire a good coach for once maybe they wont have to make a change in two or three years". You make some intelligent points. Obviously the Bills started out well this season and their offense was considerably more diverse. Trent's injury and subsequent problems (still concussed?) along with J.P. playing like J.P., along with some questionable decisions by the coaching staff, put them in a tailspin. The coaching staff does not deserve a free pass, they have to get better. I think they have the ability to do that. That is why I don't want to start all over with a new staff and suffer the expected rebuilding process. I'm a Bills fan living in a household of Squeeler fans and get to watch that team play often. For all the praise Mike Tomlin gets I watched two consecutive games where the team made the same error of spiking the ball inside their oppponents 10 yard line after gaining a first down. There was enough time on the clock to get four plays off. Monumental mistakes. The Squeeler team is good enough to cover up for coaching mistakes. The Bills aren't there yet. All coaches screw up. It's only really noticed and remembered if the team loses in a relatively close game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Right now I would take a play-off appearance or maybe even just a winning season. Something to build on. Atlanta and Miami have more reasons for optimism than we do right now. I want to build for success for the long haul. I believe it was Mularky's last season when we went 9-7. How did you feel after that season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPDontletthedoorhityourars Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 usually i disagree with sullivan, as i'm a cup half full bills fan, but he nailed it today. I'm only 30, but in all my years as a bills fan i'd never gone into a season with as much disgust and revulsion towards a head coach. I'm just curious how this is going to be spun 1 year from now when we're 6-10. We won't be 6-10 next year, not with that road schedule. Those teams are perennial winners--4-12 will be more like it. The players especially the starters are happy because they know they can't lose their jobs to rookies/back-ups playing better than them. They get to practice indoors. They don't have an in-your-face coach...you are allowed to make the same mistake over and over again just like a Matt Cassell bootleg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I want to build for success for the long haul. I believe it was Mularky's last season when we went 9-7. How did you feel after that season? Good point but my fear is that with the current regime, the long haul may mean a streak of 7-9 seasons. I would rather build for the future with fresh coaching and a more aggressive approach than accept the current status quo. Consistancy in this case seems to mean accepting mediocrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskik11 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 BEST ARTICLE HE'S EVER WRITTEN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Good point but my fear is that with the current regime, the long haul may mean a streak of 7-9 seasons. I would rather build for the future with fresh coaching and a more aggressive approach than accept the current status quo. Consistancy in this case seems to mean accepting mediocrity. I'm sure we have the same goals for this team. I certainly don't want to accept mediocrity. I want to see a more aggressive approach also. When they self-scout themselves this offseason they should realize that is how they need to play. I think the quickest way for the Bills to become a perennial contender is to improve upon what we have, rather than blow things up and start over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Define success. I hope that definition includes building a team that can consistantly win over a stretch of several years. To do that you need continuity. Switching coaches/schemes/philosophy every couple of years only insures mediocrity. The Bills were only a few plays from a 10 or 11 win season. Stay the course, add some talent at a few positions and expect the coaching staff to do a serious self examination. A few tweaks and this team could be really good. The issue isn't switching coaches. The BILLS have to change coaches every few years because Ralph Wilson is a complete buffoon and pretty much always has been. Think the Ebenezer Scrooge version of an almost completely unsuccessful Jerry Jones. He's gotten what he's paid for, staff wise and it'd be his undoing in just about every other market in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santoro770 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I'm just curious how this is going to be spun 1 year from now when we're 6-10. Sadly, my crystal ball tells me that the Bills will start out 2 - 6 in the first eight games and just as fans are calling for Dick's head the team will go 5 - 3 down the stretch all while winning their last 3 of the season....Yeah you guessed it, that's 7 - 9 but is also Wilson's dream come true.... That way he can say that he'd be crazy for getting rid of a coach that won 5 of it's last eight and the last three in a row! Dicky J in 2010..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 The issue isn't switching coaches. The BILLS have to change coaches every few years because Ralph Wilson is a complete buffoon and pretty much always has been. Think the Ebenezer Scrooge version of an almost completely unsuccessful Jerry Jones. He's gotten what he's paid for, staff wise and it'd be his undoing in just about every other market in the NFL. I don't post much (obviously) but I do read a fair amount of the posts on this board. I've always thought that your opinions were pretty intelligent and well thought out. I don't have the same opinion of Ralph Wilson as you do. The Bills do not provide him with the vast resources that the Cowboys or Skins provide Jones and Snyder. He has kept the Bills franchise viable by running it as a business but keeping ticket prices low. He hasn't always made the right decisions football wise (Bill Polian for example) but I am pretty confident that he does want to win, and will spend the money to that as long as it fits into the budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Sadly, my crystal ball tells me that the Bills will start out 2 - 6 in the first eight games and just as fans are calling for Dick's head the team will go 5 - 3 down the stretch all while winning their last 3 of the season....Yeah you guessed it, that's 7 - 9 but is also Wilson's dream come true.... That way he can say that he'd be crazy for getting rid of a coach that won 5 of it's last eight and the last three in a row! Dicky J in 2010..... Bastard. That thought just made me punch my monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts