thewildrabbit

First, with so many mistakes already made by this coaching staff that have resulted in another losing season, and no playoffs. I myself don't think its to early to cast judgement on them. Good coaching staffs don't make this many mistakes, and they actually win more games. Should the losing continue this season I would think that any other CEO, and his choice for HC would be looking for new jobs after the season. Considering the last 14 years of bad coaching staffs makes it easier for some of us to spot the bad from the good rather quickly. The 4-9 record along with how the team lost those 9 games also helps give us insight. Bottom line is, fans get discouraged when a player they had high hopes for is let go, and then goes on to have success with another team just makes it sting all the more. Perhaps if the team was 9-4, and in the playoffs this thread wouldn't even exist. But, alas...

I can see why some Bills fans are noticeably upset over this whole incident, rather then just another in a long line of eff ups. Probably because this kid looked around the NFL rosters and was smart enough to notice the Buffalo Bills weren't exactly overflowing with good receivers on the roster. More importantly tho, he wanted to be a Buffalo Bill...something that doesn't happen very often these days with ultra talented athletes...unless of course you pay them 100 mill.

"IF" Ifs and buts were candy and nuts...If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle... Seriously tho, the Bills would need to change their entire way of running the offense. They would need to have this new OC stop calling so many pass plays like he has a vet QB behind center. He would need to change the run blocking schemes to something other then "shotgun run up the middle" along with an occasional play action run up the middle. He also would need to make the O lineman more proficient at run blocking on 3rd and short so that they could actually control the line of scrimmage and clock by running. The defense has been up to the task all year as its the offense that can't make a first down and keeps giving the ball back to the opponents along with a short field. No defense ever designed was intended to spend most of the game on the field. EJ had a QB rating of 31.2 against the 3-9 Buc's. But a lot Bills players simply laid down against Tampa Bay, and that is not a good sign for things to come for HC Doug Marrone. Jacksonville has won 3 straight, and their players are putting out a great effort. The Jags QB has put up 10 TD's in the last 2 games ... but the Jags could be without MJD at RB, and their WR Cecil Shorts. So it is conceivable that even if the Bills try running the exact same offense their defense could step up and win this game for them as the Jags have the worst offense in the NFL, 25 in passing. I won't bet on the Bills at this point.

will it be a big deal should Rodgers become a star, top 15 player? yep, and the reason was all the character concerns, and he even admitted he was kicked off the Vols for smoking pot. The kid was also being compared to Chad Johnson talent wise, and there was talk he could still go as high as the 2nd round, even with all those character concerns. He chose to come to Buffalo as an un drafted free agent, he wanted to be a Buffalo Bill! But, alas, he was let down by another coaching staff of fools. http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2013/04/darick-rogers-tell-bills-fans-they-got-the-steal-of-the-draft.html Just know, the better Rodgers does with the Colts the more Bills fans are going to dislike the decision to let him go.

The Bills tried to trade for Alex Smith, and tried to acquire Josh Freeman. They did have the brittle Kevin Kolb in pre season until he tripped over himself and broke something. The point is the Bills entered the season with a rookie QB starting and no experienced depth, entirely their choice! No, Gus has scrubs at QB worse then rookies in Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne. Funny thing is, gotta wonder which team will win this Sunday.... Trestman is winning with his backup QB Josh McCown. McCoy just beat the best team in the AFC. Marrone is in a race with Chud to see who gets "worst" title this season. This!

The Cowboys have the leagues worst defense and leagues worst defensive coordinator in Monte Kiffin. This guy could give Dave Wannstedt a run for his money on who is the worst. "The Cowboys have surrendered 490 or more total yards five times in their last 10 games and have forced just six turnovers in their last five. They rank last in the NFL in passing yards allowed (3,880), second-last in touchdowns given up through the air (26), 28th in rushing yards surrendered (1,669), 25th in touchdowns yielded on the ground (14) and 30th in average rushing YPC (4.8)." "Bottom line: Don't even dream about putting the Cowboys DST in your (fantasy) lineups." http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/page/DAL/dallas-cowboys Not to mention the leagues worst owner / president / GM in Jerry Jones who fired DC Rob Ryan to hire DC Kiffin

So many posts that I agree with, along with so many great points. The San Diego Chargers just gave the Bills the blueprint to beat their biggest division rivals, the New England Patriots

So, how did the 6-7 Chargers manage to beat the best team in the AFC? Chargers vs. Broncos 2013 final score: San Diego controls clock in win, 27-20 Peyton Manning was kept off the field in a game the Chargers controlled offensively to keep their season alive. http://www.sbnation....3-results-score The lowly third place Chargers just knocked off the AFC West Division leaders that was the best team in the AFC at 11-2, and they manged to beat them in Denver! A new San Diego coaching staff with new HC Mike McCoy who just happens to be the ex OC of last years Broncos. I was rooting for the Broncos to win because I don't want the Patriots to get home field throughout the playoffs. Although, I just couldn't help but admire how the Chargers kept the ball away from Manning, and his high powered offense by playing ball control offense with the running game.

Which ones are the stupids? The coaches who can't teach or the players who don't get it right away? Again, since you missed it the first time. I'll reference CJ Spiller who had an amazing games in 2011, and an amazing season in 2012 with a 6.0 YPC average (2nd best in the entire NFL that year)once he became the focal point of the offense due to injuries to Fred Jackson. His talent is undeniable, and yet now this season he is being put in the wrong situations to utilize best his talents, and particular skills. CJ is currently back up to 4.6 YPC from an abysmal 2.8 YPC earlier in the year Recently against the NY Jets Spiller, 13 rushes for 6 yards screams at me that the run plays aren't working very well when the RB is being tackled before he can even get to the line of scrimmage, and yet the coaches kept running the same plays over and over trying to make it work. That game is simply a microcosm of the many problems with this new offensive scheme by the new coaching staff this year. If this was the Bills first mistake in talent evaluation I'd be taking your side in defending this coaching staff. But, its not their first mistake, as its one of many mistakes this year with both starters and backups. So, I'm done defending some of these coaches. This situation with Rodgers stings, and tends to elevate Bills fans animosity towards the team because of the lack of top play by the current receivers corps. SJ ranked 57th. Scott Chandler ranked #72. Robert Woods #96. Fred Jackson #130. TJ Graham #149. Marquise Goodwin #154. CJ Spiller #208. Chris Hogan #252 Frank Summers #274. Lee Smith #299. Chris Gragg #354. Marcus Easley #379. It doesn't matter if Rodgers never makes another play again for the colts. To me its more about the inability of this staff to get more production, and better play out of the players they chose to keep.

Isn't it up to the coaching staff to make sure the players know where to stand, to line up, and what assignments they have? To me this reeks of another bad assistant coach on this staff. NFN, in 2010 CJ Spiller was named the starter in the opener because both Lynch and Jackson had some minor injuries to overcome. That starting job lasted about 3 offensive plays, and he was promptly benched when Gailey saw he couldn't block for protections, couldn't run a route and couldn't find the hole. Fred Jackson came in for CJ and on the very next play he caught a pass with a cast on his hand. Spiller didn't play much that first season, and it was noted by many that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. That doesn't discount the incredible talent of that young man, and it shows me his coaching was very lacking if it took that long for him to learn his job in Gaileys offense. Gailey had hired a bunch of his pals from his college days at GT, and some had no NFL coaching experience. Now, look what happened to Gailey, and his coaching staff of tools I look at Rodgers and see his obvious talent that clearly went unnoticed by this team, and even if Rodgers doesn't make another play for the Colts this season he has already surpassed what 7/11, Easley have done. Even if Rodgers is cut by the Colts asap. I also look at some opening day players on the roster that have since been outright cut because they were so inept at their respective jobs. Isn't it the job of the coaching staff to find the best talent at each position, coach them and put them in position on the field to make plays? So many mistakes this first year by this HC, and staff lead me to believe the Bills have some bad hires on that staff. Now it will remain to be seen if any changes are made in the off season, or will it be another year of on the job training for some assistant coaches?

BTW, He is back in the NFL as Donahoe is currently a consultant with the Eagles. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/24/eagles-hire-tom-donahoe-shuffle-scouting-department/ All I can think is, there was a reason the very successful Steelers org jettisoned the guy.

Nobody else brought this up, and a very valid point. The sole reason as to why Donahoe was even available to hired was because he was let go by the Steelers as he did lose a power struggle to head coach Bill Cowher. This owner might have thought he was hiring another Bill Polian clone after firing then GM John Butler or perhaps it was simply to help get the team out of cap hell. Either way it really made no sense to hire a man who just fired as the GM of the Pittsburgh Steelers because he had fought with the head coach and lost. But then, this owner has a history of some really questionable hires for GM's & HC's in the history of the team. On a side note I do think that this owner really did want to hire Bill Cowher after he fired Jauron. I just happen to think they couldn't come to an mutual agreement. Man 0 man would this team be so different now if that had happened

To me this new Bills OC is so obsessed with the passing game and focusing all his energy on scheming his way out of all the different blitzes that teams do when his offense gets behind in points. He simply forgets that a good run game is a very strong deterrent to the pass rush. There is a reason the read option offense works so well recently in the NFL as it forces the QB to actually do something bedsides stand there and watch the play develop. Meaning that the QB counterpart can't just assault the runner, as he has to account for what the QB is going to do. If you are afraid EJ is going to get hurt, then allow Thad Lewis to run the option, or let Fred Jackson run it. I mean, do something besides letting your rookie QB drown so badly, and thus killing his confidence, ruining him.

I think you hit the nail directly on the head with this one. Although, Wilson supposedly stepped back and gave up the presidency to Donahoe. I have my doubts about how much power this owner actually relinquished. Also, I think he simply couldn't take a back seat for very long. Anyway, Donahoe made some very brilliant trades like the one to NE for QB Drew Bledsoe, and to Atlanta to trade away WR Peerless Price. Bringing in S Lawyer Milloy from the Patriots. That 2002-2003 staff was pretty darn good, the offense with OC Kevin Gilbride would have been better if not for all the injuries to that O line. Speaking of the O line, as I think that is where really Donahoe failed in providing adequate protection for statuesque Bledsoe. That 2003 team was a bit of an enigma to Donahoe in that Travis Henry rushed for over 1300 yards, Bledsoe threw for 2600, 11 TD's, 17 INT's. The offense ranked 30th in both points and yards while the defense was ranked #5 in points & #2 in yards. Had they given Bledsoe better protection and run it more that team would have been a playoff team for certain. HC Gregg Williams was fired and replaced by Mike Mularkey. Another series of GM's & coaching staffs trying to get by with some scrubs on the O line. It takes 5 good players to make a strong line....the weakest link in the chain and all that. Would the Bills have let Rodgers ride the bench for four years? And where is Brett Farve for him to understudy? Along with the learning of the west coast offense under Mike McCarthy. Rodgers would have been ruined under the coaching tools in Buffalo, Jauron the known moron, and his OC Turk Schonert would have seen to that. Trying to run a version of the Mike Martz offense

I think the problem is this OC is just like Chan Gailey in that he is damned and defiant about making the pass game work, regardless.To me, the best players by far on offense are Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller and if you find a creative way to get those two in space, well its game over for the opponents defense. So the Buc's have been a good run defense, then just concede the run game and force the rookie to pass more. So, if the pass game isn't working there is no plan B? Toss sweeps, end arounds, traps, whams, power runs, inside leads, weakside leads, power trey, counter trey, tight zone, stretch zone, draws, lead draw, or at least spread the offense out if your going to run it from the shotgun so often. It just seems to me that this OC basically calls the same runs up the middle over and over and if they don't work he makes the QB throw. EJ stated they had not seen the Tampa 2 defense very often, and therefor had not practiced against it very much. Well how the eff did they prepare to beat the Buc's D then? Coaching fails all over the freaking place!

Special Teams aside. Take a look at what prompted the debacle in Tampa. Bills defense gave up a quick score to the Buc's. 1st play, pass incomplete 2nd play, Spiller run, no gain 3rd play, EJ scramble for 8 yards 4th play punt...roughing the kicker 15 yard penalty 1st down 5th play, shotgun pass 4 yards 6th play, Jackson run 1 yard 7th play, pass incomplete 8th play, punt The run game got one yard that first series next series shotgun, pass Johnson 10 yards, penalty 15 yards Shotgun, run Spiller 2 yards shotgun, pass Chandler 15 yards shotgun, run Jackson 4 yards shotgun, pass EJ sacked shotgun, pass incomplete FG Run game got 2 carries, 6 yards Next series Pass, EJ sacked shotgun pass incomplete no huddle shotgun, pass EJ sacked punt run game 0 carries, 0 yards next series shotgun scramble 7 yards shotgun pass, Johnson 11 yards no huddle shotgun run Spiller 7 yards no huddle shotgun, pass intercepted run game, one carry for 7 yards next series shotgun run, Spiller. holding call -10 shotgun pass 7 yards no huddle shotgun pass intercepted run game, one carry 0 yards next series pass incomplete no huddle run Spiller -1 yard no huddle shotgun EJ sacked punt run game one carry -one yard next series Run Spiller no gain pass Johnson 7 yards pass incomplete shotgun run Jackson 4 yards shotgun pass incomplete punt run game 2 carries, 4 yards So the first half went, Punt, FG, Punt, INT,INT, Punt, Punt, end of half Buc's 24- Bills 3 28 plays, 8 carries for 14 yards rushing for the entire first half. The Bills couldn't run the ball (although they didn't try very much) so they force the rookie QB to try and win it. 22 rushes for 67 yards, and only one first down rushing all game So, there is no problem with the offense, or offensive play calling?

He had five years with the Chargers & five years with the Ravens. The Chargers went from 5-11 in 2001 under OC Norv Turner with Brees the backup to QB Doug Flutie. in 2002 from 8-8 with Brees starting to 14-2 with Phillip Rivers starting in his final year with the Chargers. In four years under Cameron, Brees threw for over 12,000 yards and 79 touchdowns, while Tomlinson rushed for over 1,300 yards each season. That 2006 Charger team offense was #1 in points, #4 in yards. The Chargers under Brian Billick were 5-11 in 2007 with QB's Kyle Boller & Steve McNair. To 11-5 with rookie Joe Flacco at QB with Cameron as OC. RB Ray Rice was also drafted that year in the 2nd round, and both were developed by Cameron. Most recently, Cameron helped develop Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco into one of the best at his position in the NFL. Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP after leading the Ravens to a 34-31 win over San Francisco in the Super Bowl. He also became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons, all of which came under Cameron's watch. http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=28715&SPID=2164&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=206414460&Q_SEASON=2013 I dunno if the man would even consider coming to Buffalo, or if this team could even afford him.

Good to see someone else stating that. When the run game doesn't work this new Bills OC then turns to the rookie QB to carry the team by passing. EJ was never rated as high as Andrew Luck, and rarely had more then two progressive reads in college. Expecting this rookie to play like a seasoned veteran is unrealistic at this point. The Bills need that run game to work in every game, all game and need it to be able to control the LoS & clock. The better talent is at RB with Spiller & Jackson, and 22 rushes for 67 yards doesn't cut it against the Buc's. Particularly with only ONE first down by rushing all game, unacceptable to me!

This may have more to do with Buddy Nix still being an adviser to the team. Just guessing here. But it stands to reason. Whaley gets on the phone with Nix to discuss who to cut and of course that WR Nix traded up for and drafted in the 3rd round is better then an un drafted free agent. Yea, that 7th rounder Nix thinks was worth a 3rd. I mean is Marrone really this inept in his player talent evaluation that he lets a stud WR leave. He doesn't fight like crazy to keep Andy Levitre. That he starts the likes of LG Colin Brown, has Sam Young as a backup guard. Has CB Justin Rodgers on the roster. Sad, and true. I'd rather see Marrone retained, and hire a decent NFL experienced OC who has tutored rookie QB's with some success, plus keep Pettine at DC. My vote for new OC is LSU's OC Cam Cameron who tutored Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Joe Flacco. This man also build some very dominate running attacks with LaDanian Tomlinson & Ray Rice. I would really like to see EJ developed properly, and by someone who knows what the eff they are doing. All our wants will probably be for naught as Russ Brandon still runs this team.

The defense has been a bright spot this year IMO. Their play has kept the Bills in many games, and is a primary reason why the Bills won some games. The Bills could have won the Falcons game if not for two offensive fumble in succession at the end of the game. The Bills could have won the Chiefs game if the QB doesn't throw a pick 6, and the WR holds onto the ball. Could have won the Bengals game if the Bills could make a first down by running when needed. Same thing against the Patriots if the Bills could run when they need to, to keep the ball away from Brady. This years offense is #3 in rushing attempts, #5 in yards, and #18 in yards per attempt. Yet they can't make a first down by running when they really need to, or control the line of scrimmage, or control the clock. So basically this OC is running it more often with less success. Because the offensive run game isn't always successful, then the Bills OC then tries to force the rookie QB to carry the offense. If and when the rookie QB fails, then the game falls apart quickly. Jets week 3, Browns week 5, that Browns game the Bills were winning until EJ went out and Jeff Tuel took over and the route was on, as the rest of the game went PUNT, PUNT, PUNT, PUNT, INTERCEPTION, DOWNS. Pittsburgh week 10, Tampa Bay week 14. The Bucs game was over before the first half ended. The offense was so inept it kept screwing the defense into bad field position punt after punt after punt. NFL football is a team game and when one aspect of the team fails, it effects the other areas of the team. Under Chan Gailey it was the defense that failed miserably most every game, and for three long years. Under Doug Marrone it is the special teams and offense that is mostly letting the team down. It didn't take 3 years for some of us to see the ineptitude in Chan Gailey's teams, and yet he got his three. We saw what happened when Gailey hired his inexperienced pals from his college days at GT, and his inept pals from his time with the Dallas Cowboys, his pal George Edwards, his pal Dave Wannstedt. Now we can already see the problems arising with this new coaching staff. Marrone hiring his pal Nathaniel Hackett to be both OC & QB coach. His pal Danny Crossman for special teams. Besides not understanding how to properly game plan, and effectively utilize their players every game. I've seen enough over the last 14 weeks to realize if things don't change over the next three games, then changes should be made in the coaching staff. Don't get me wrong as I like Doug Marrone. I just don't like his cronyism, and if this HC can't coach a team without his cronies...then find one who can.

It would surprise me if any changes were made this off season, as this will most likely be similar to DC George Edwards blunder under Chan Gailey and his giving that moron another year to prove how bad he was. As if the majority of the fans didn't already know he was a waste of space his first year, and wouldn't get better if given a decade. Special teams coach the same thing, these guys are buds to Marrone, so it might be three full more years of this inane crud. The only way I see any changes being made is if Whaley takes a stand with Russ Brandon and tells him he doesn't want to see his first round pick ruined by tools.

I voted OLB, OG, WR, OT, TE The Bills need like 5 #1 picks this year, or some really good pick ups in free agency

And yet TJ Graham starts every game.... To me this shows another failure of this coaching staff to evaluate and determine who the best players are on the team. This same coaching staff went into the season with Colin Brown at LG and an equally bad backup at guard in Sam Young. Both have been benched and cut after week five. The Bills now have scrubs right off the waiver wire as backups. They went into the season with a PS QB in Jeff Tuel as the primary backup QB... how moronic was this move? This HC keeps allowing his OC to repeatedly call the same running plays up the middle, and when they don't work they force the rookie QB to try and win the game. A bunch of games were lost this season just due to the stupidity of this new coaching staff. I don't know about you guys, but I've seen enough stupidity with Marrone to know we have another Jauron / Gailey coaching staff of tools.GM Doug Whaley needs to go to Brandon and say we can do better then these coaches. I find them talent and they are screwing them up. They are going to ruin EJ before he has a chance to become a decent player. I honestly wanted Marrone to be "the guy", a man who succeeds where the stupids the past 7 years failed. Now, I just don't see it with this many mistakes in their first year.

One team will be playing tough hard nosed football, and go into this game thinking if they falter in any area they will lose, and they can't let that happen because their HC won't let it. The other will think they should win this game automatically...

I agree, good honest points by the OP. I think the bolded is what has kept the fans buying season tickets every year, and that in turn retains the status quo. If the fans had stopped buying season tickets the past decade like they did in 76-77 / 84-85 then this owner might have hired another Chuck Knox, a Bill Cowher type at some point. That type of hire cost more then what the head coaches salary is, because they will want top assistants, and also want input into personnel decisions. But, since his team is making a nice profit every year....