How did Buffalo win 4 games in a row and miss the playoffs?

[Dan]

I disagree in that the coaches are certainly key and an essential part that one can and should fault for performance. However, fish start rotting from the head down. As deserving of fault as Jauron and the crew are for the results achieved the buck starts (and stops if one insists on blaming one person though the reality is that the only way to win is as a TEAM so one loses as a team as well) with Ralph.

 

Ralph deserves great credit or keeping the Bills here when he likely could have cashed in big time if he sold them team at several points he could have. However, it simply defies reality not to give both the deserved credit for the early 90s not to also plant the deserved blame for our 0-roughly a decade playoff drought.

The current drought for success by the Bills links pretty directly to:

 

1. Ralph could not maintain a good relationship with Bill Polian who clearly deserves tons of credit for building the 90s team and led Indy to an SB win eventually.

2. Ralph did well in surviving the Polian chop by promoting Butler to the helm, but the fateful choice he and Butler made to wait a year in getting a replacement for Jimbo (leading to the rules violating and my guess HOF honor for Ralph delaying handshake deal with Kelly and even worse for the Bills reaching for TC and then rushing him along as a replacement for Kelly) leading to a series of QB debacles which still plague us.

3. Ralph and Butler ended up with a toxic relationship that forced us into the deal with TD.

4. Ralph was so pleased to get TD he gave him the keys to the car without the needed checks and balances. TD was so abused by getting run out of dodge in Pitts that he made a number of bad decisions here which proved fatal for many

5. Ralph has mismanaged completely HC relationships post Marv (Ralph completely bollicksed the parting of ways with Wade Phillips, then let TD hire GW as HC when what GW really offered was that he was a beatable administrative assistant to TD rather than a true HC, letting TD hire MM and then badly managing the canning of TD and the forcing out of MM,and finally seeming to settle for mediocrity with the Jauron and Brandon leadership to a mediocre result.

 

I thank Ralph for all he has done, but the simple fact is that the current Bills mediocrity started before Jauron got here so claiming it starts with him is simply a misread. If you want to claim it starts with Jauron then how do you explain the playoffless streak being composed of a majority of misses before the guy you say it starts with was even here?

So you're saying we sucked it up in 2009 because Ralph let Polian go some 15 years ago?

[Tcali]

I don't think there's any other way to explain it but that they were playing some pretty weak teams - teams that went a combined 16-48 - that's terrible.

 

One of those games (Seattle) was the home opener, and we beat a team that ultimately went 4-12. The next week we barely beat a team that finished 5-11 (beat Jacksonville by 4). We squeaked out a 1 point win at home against the 5-win Raiders, then pounded St. Louis, the worst team in football after Detroit (2 wins on the season).

 

The best teams we beat last season finished 8-8 (Denver and San Diego).

 

I don't think the data could be more clear - Buffalo simply wasn't in the same class as the better teams in the league. You can argue about why that is (coaching, lack of talent, etc.) but explaining why they beat 4 bad teams early in the season is easy. Even with that momentum the Bills couldn't stand up to average/above average teams on the schedule, which I think speaks volumes out where this team and organization currently find themselves.

glad you said it..i was too lazy to...but spot on!

[West End Stench]

The Avenger answered this question as well as just about anybody could. The schedule was weak and we weren't able to hang with the upper half of the league.

 

Also, this talk that Trent Edwards "Returned too early from his concussion" is absolutely unbelievable. After the concussion, he had a week off and then returned to action against San Diego at home, where he turned out one of his best performances of the season (QB rating 114, his 3rd highest of the year) in the Bills' best win of the season. If TE still was "concussed" at this point, how do you explain this?

 

I suppose by this logic we can assume that since Trent didn't perform well again until we crushed KC, that his concussion must have gotten cleared up on his trip to Arrowhead? Or could it be that because went Trent went up against the best competition he would face all year (NYJ, MIA, NE, save Arizona), he simply didn't have the skills to keep up with the big boys?

 

If TE sucks in the opener against NE, will we still make the claim that his head is in the clouds?

[DrFishfinder]

I think a lot of the off-season decisions were made with this in mind. Jim Kelly, during the season last year, said that he couldn't tell, by looking at our team's attitude after games, whether they won or loss. That's a huge problem. Teams are supposed to be fired up after wins, and angry after losses. TO, IMO, was a big acquisition, not only because of his game-breaking ability, but because he is a loud voice in the locker room. He'll be very angry after losses...something that I want the rest of the team to see and realize.

 

Other moves, like the Peters trade, got rid of a dissenting member of the team. Peters was not a member of the TEAM, and consequently, was replaced. Our new o-line is touted to be (by Chris Brown, for what its worth) nasty and intelligent. It's a general attitude shift for the team that we don't want players being soft.

 

JMO, if that means anything.

Agreed with one addition:

 

Leadership from the Head Coach. If you have any doubts, look at any game film with DJ as HC and then look at any film with Marv as HC.

[DazedandConfused]

So you're saying we sucked it up in 2009 because Ralph let Polian go some 15 years ago?

No. It would be silly and illogical to try to draw some direct cause and effect connection between an event which happened last year and an event that happened 15 years ago.

 

However, though attempting to draw a simple cause and effect relationship would be silly, the post responds to a claim that a fuller explanation of the Bills deficits starts with a look at the coaching staff problems.

 

My post states that if one is trying to identify where the problems embodied in an 0-9 playoff run start one needs to start start at a point prior to coaches who have led us to 3 consecutive mediocre seasons.

 

My simple point is that the definite poore results of the last three season can in no way be a starting point for a record of mediocrity and struggle which dates back 6 years prior to the current coaching staff time in charge.

 

Do you disagree or do you somehow maintain that the current coaches are to blame for the previous 5 years or failure or that we should ignore the previous 6 years reults when assessing the 3 years of demonstrable mediocrity.

 

Which is it or is there something I am missing in my math?

[Zona]

The best teams we beat last season finished 8-8 (Denver and San Diego).

 

 

So, just to re-cap. Dick douchebag couldn't beat a team with a winning record. ok. got it.

[Dan]

No. It would be silly and illogical to try to draw some direct cause and effect connection between an event which happened last year and an event that happened 15 years ago.

 

However, though attempting to draw a simple cause and effect relationship would be silly, the post responds to a claim that a fuller explanation of the Bills deficits starts with a look at the coaching staff problems.

 

My post states that if one is trying to identify where the problems embodied in an 0-9 playoff run start one needs to start start at a point prior to coaches who have led us to 3 consecutive mediocre seasons.

 

My simple point is that the definite poore results of the last three season can in no way be a starting point for a record of mediocrity and struggle which dates back 6 years prior to the current coaching staff time in charge.

 

Do you disagree or do you somehow maintain that the current coaches are to blame for the previous 5 years or failure or that we should ignore the previous 6 years reults when assessing the 3 years of demonstrable mediocrity.

 

Which is it or is there something I am missing in my math?

I was just pointing out that the thread posed a few questions about the past season and what happened. I'm not sure that we need to go all historical as to why the Bills sucked up the last half of last year. Yes, I agree, there have been a string of bad decision's that half led to a string of bad seasons. But, Polian, Butler, TD, Marv have little to do with last year's failure. IMO.

 

Do the Bills trouble start and end with Ralph? Perhaps. Jauron is by all accounts an inadequate coach in this league. His teams have largely under performed. I would wager that a new coach could keep this exact team in tact and be in the playoffs. If that were to be the case, does that have any bearing on the past 10-15 years? Or does it reflect a single bad decision right now to keep Jauron.

 

To get back to the original post, why did our season tank? For me its simple. Our players are not being put in positions to win. And that lies on the coaches. All teams seem to get a few wins on luck and I would argue that's what we got early on. But when the level of competition got tougher, our coaching staff had no answer. They could not inspire our players nor could they come up with the right decisions to match our opponents. As the season progressed, it became more and more clear each week that the Bills just weren't prepared for the team they were facing.

[DazedandConfused]

I was just pointing out that the thread posed a few questions about the past season and what happened. I'm not sure that we need to go all historical as to why the Bills sucked up the last half of last year. Yes, I agree, there have been a string of bad decision's that half led to a string of bad seasons. But, Polian, Butler, TD, Marv have little to do with last year's failure. IMO.

 

Do the Bills trouble start and end with Ralph? Perhaps. Jauron is by all accounts an inadequate coach in this league. His teams have largely under performed. I would wager that a new coach could keep this exact team in tact and be in the playoffs. If that were to be the case, does that have any bearing on the past 10-15 years? Or does it reflect a single bad decision right now to keep Jauron.

 

To get back to the original post, why did our season tank? For me its simple. Our players are not being put in positions to win. And that lies on the coaches. All teams seem to get a few wins on luck and I would argue that's what we got early on. But when the level of competition got tougher, our coaching staff had no answer. They could not inspire our players nor could they come up with the right decisions to match our opponents. As the season progressed, it became more and more clear each week that the Bills just weren't prepared for the team they were facing.

I think as far as specific analysis of the failings of last season and what can we do this season to make it better, it is trying to find a real answer to this question which reduces the thought that the current coaches are the problem to the same level as an analysis which points out that our trail of tears ia at least 9 and probably 15 years old.

 

Will we change the decisions made 15 years ago?

 

No.

 

However, will we change HCs or make major changes in the Bills' coaching staff this year that delivered us 3 straight 7-9 seasons?

 

No.

 

Worrying about the need for changes in the HC or the coaching staff is only somewhat more likely to happen than changing the decisions made 15 years ago.

 

While it is physically impossible to change the past and it is physically and legally possible to can Jauron or make major coaching changes, the likelihood of this happening is so negligibly small as to make this proposal easily ignorable.

 

Perhaps there is some rhetorical benefit to pointing the finger at the current coaches. I do not think so as if one wants to simply rely on rhetoric rather than reality then changes the HC when the team owner has a record of repeatedly making bad decisions since he canned Polian indicates pretty clearly that the Bills outcomes will not improve.

 

The sad fact is that Bills fans face a paradox. The Bills will have great difficulty building a winner as long as Ralph keeps making the horrendous decicsons he has consistently made for the past 15 years.. however, when Ralph dies there is a not unreasonable chance we may lose the team.

 

We fans may well be damned if Ralph dies but also damned to live with a loser if Ralph lives.

 

Changing the coaching staff is simply not going to happen and if it did it likely would not produce a result other than Ralph screwing up the hiring as he has consistently done since Marv produced such a bad result he deserved the boot.

 

Rather than the problem allegedly starting with the current coaches this is my analysis.

 

If you disagree then I think we simply agree to disagree.

 

If you agree that the problems really start with Ralph but neither Rallph nor the current coaches are going any place this season then the question is what do the Bills do to get better this season. My sense is:

 

1. Get lucky. Given the sometimes sudden changes in who is worst and who is first schedule weakness is difficult to determine with full accuracy based on last years (and sometimes even ear;y season results. Add the unpredictability of injuries and there is a big time MY Lotto aspect to all this (which the deadlock certain predictions prominent on TSW show all the time. Luck is simply a large determining factor in ultimate results.

 

2. Run an attacking offense with 3 WRs. Is this Jauron's inclination? No. Has Schoenert demonstrated success at doing this? No.

 

Why is this even a reasonable hope then?

 

Because it is pretty obviously a good thing to do given the surprising acquisition of TO and the lameness of the talent we have at FB and youth at TE. The personnel on the roster just screams heavy pass pressure and the possibility of going smashmouth just does not look possible with a lame FB, TEs with little pro experience as pass blockers and a young OL which actually would be greatly helped by a 3WR set that forces the opposing D to go zone rather than put 8 in the box and pass rushes using complex stunts.

 

The early word we hear of more no huddle lends itself to a pressure O even though that is not Jauron's style or Turk's demonstrated expertise. I hope after 3 mediocre seasons the braintrust is desperate enough to do something different than the slow plodding style we went for with the largest OL in the NFL.

 

3. Increase the sack pressure from our Tamps 2 Base D. We spent our 1st rounder on a sack master and then loaded up on CBs. I think what we may be doing is the obvious of get more sacks and the Jauron style of cover your bases. I think we went heavily for CBs (not only the draft but also FA Florence). While its hard for me to see the Bills giving up on a version of the Cover 2 as our base D, they seem to be loading up on CBs capable of covering downfield rather than the traditional Cover 2 which has the CBs looking to pinch the run first and only doing pass coverage in the underneath zone.

 

Though its hard to teach and old dog new tricks as I think it is incredibly unlikely we are going to get new dogs to coach this team and with three mediocre seasons under his belt, perhaps Jauron will be desperate enough to try something different. If Ralph is being good old Ralph and promising Jauron a job for life as long as he does not mouth off it is unlikely we will change coaches much less require the coach to change.

[iinii]

did Buffalo do anything in the off season to prevent this from happening again?

i hope so. I have never cared for TO but if he hates losing like i do and can bring some of that accountability to the squad then he will be a great acquistion. If he implodes the team while doing it, not so great. Finally addressing our offensive line issues, by both dumping Peters (a malcontent) and getting a couple of young nasty men up front, should pay dividends where we need it most. SHORT YARDAGE! I ask, "Are you ready for some football?"

[iinii]

To get back to the original post, why did our season tank? For me its simple. Our players are not being put in positions to win. And that lies on the coaches. All teams seem to get a few wins on luck and I would argue that's what we got early on. But when the level of competition got tougher, our coaching staff had no answer. They could not inspire our players nor could they come up with the right decisions to match our opponents. As the season progressed, it became more and more clear each week that the Bills just weren't prepared for the team they were facing.

this is so true and very much in evidence in the fourth quarter against N.E. when they took all fifteen minutes to have their way with us. One can only hope this has stuck in the craw of the defense all off-season.

[Mickey]

I attended a Buffalo Bills backer meeting this week and this subject caused a lot of controversy.

 

I believe the subject is becoming old,yet some fans believe it very easily happen again.

 

Seems like everyone has an opinion.

 

Some claim the hit on Edwards, others blame injuries, but a lot of people believe a total loss of confidence and a poor coaching staff were the main factors.

 

There is a large group of fans that believe the 4 wins were over average or below teams.

 

Here is were nobody seems to agree......

 

Did Buffalo do anything in the off season to prevent this from happening again?

 

Somehow the Bills began to slide, and it seems nobody could right the ship.

 

Some claim it was nothing more then a young team looking for leadership and the Bills came up short.

I don't think there is anything specific you do in the offseason to avoid this particular outcome. You try to improve your team so you can win as many games as possible. I don't think you come up with a plan to win games 7 through 10 or something like that.

 

Overall, we did have some injuries but so did other teams. We had an average defense and a less than average offense which in, the language of numbers, translates to 7-9. I think some coaches can elevate their team's play with excellent week to week game planning, clever schemes and unpredictable play calling. Other coaches can bring their team's play down a notch or two with poor game plans, etc. If actual wins and losses matter more than post game coach-player love fests, it is pretty clear what kind of head coach we have.

[JohnC]

DazedandConfused, You cited the glory years of the 90s. The GM who built those SB teams was Bill Polian. Our grumpy owner fired him because of the constant battles behind the scene of the GM, who was committed to winning, and Ralph's finance people in the organization who were heroic in their efforts to tighten the purse strings. Tight fisted Ralph sided with the finance staff because those extra squeezed ducats went into his tight pockets.

 

Without a doubt Bill Polian is a very brash person who has a bull in the china shop approach. He can be difficult to deal with, especially if winning is not a serious consideration to certain sectors in the organization. It is not surprising that while the Colts under Bill Polian have consistently made the playoffs (with a SB trophy) while the Bills have not made the playoffs in nine consecutive years and still counting.

 

When an owner is mediocre when he is in his 70s, then he will be more incompetent when he is in his 80s. When an owner is mediocre in his 80s, then he will be more incompetent when he is in his 90s. The fast fading owner does not have the urgency to have a team that is not ridiculed by the rest of the league. It is sad. So sad. .

[AJ1]

Because we have a passive/soft vs. an agressive/tough coach. Nothing will change until Mr. Softy is replaced by someone with an attacking-the-weaknesses-of-the-opposing-team mentality, not some vanilla puke gameplaning week after week.

[billsfreak]

The big questions was how did they start out 4-0 and 5-1 and miss the playoffs? This is why-they sucked pretty much. They started out on a weak schedule and obviously weren't nowhere near as good as they looked against bad teams. I think the butt whooping by the Cardinals took more of their confidence that hurt than the Edwards hit did.

[Sisyphean Bills]

They had no talent, of course.

[reddogblitz]

And the middling teams we hang with, hoping that we can sneak a win and that a jauron blunder doesn't give us the loss.

 

Not to be too technical, but the correct term in these circumstances is "to steal a win".

[reddogblitz]

Trent Edwards who never completely recovered from a severe concussion.

 

CLASSIC ANSWER ALERT:

 

Did you see the KC and Denver games? (Which of course were after the severe concussion Trent never completely recovered from.)

[generaLee83]

I attended a Buffalo Bills backer meeting this week and this subject caused a lot of controversy.

 

I believe the subject is becoming old,yet some fans believe it very easily happen again.

 

Seems like everyone has an opinion.

 

Some claim the hit on Edwards, others blame injuries, but a lot of people believe a total loss of confidence and a poor coaching staff were the main factors.

 

There is a large group of fans that believe the 4 wins were over average or below teams.

 

Here is were nobody seems to agree......

 

Did Buffalo do anything in the off season to prevent this from happening again?

 

Somehow the Bills began to slide, and it seems nobody could right the ship.

 

Some claim it was nothing more then a young team looking for leadership and the Bills came up short.

 

My unconfirmed notion is that Dick Jauron got comfortable at 4-0 and then 5-1 and had his coordinators scale everything back.

 

How he handled the season is directly related to how he handles games.

Whenever the Bills have built a solid lead Dickface goes conservative.

The Bills built a comfortable record and Dick went conservative.

 

I don't even want to hear about Trent's concussion, his first game back after the injury against San Diego he was absolutely stellar, one of the finest games of his career.

 

Dick is a vagina.