thewildrabbit

What stinks about losing Lori and Tim is that us Bills fans lose some terrific insight into the goings on of the team as both have access to people in the know in and around OBD and would fill us in from time to time. If I could tell them one thing to think about is ...the fact that not just Bills fans visit this forum. In the time I've been posting here I've come across very distinct non Bills fans and even some so bold that they make fun of the team, fans and posters here in outrageous fashion. Others on the other hand are subversive about it and just like to stir things up again and again. So take what you read here with a grain of salt, these are very frustrating times for us fans with no playoffs for a decade and the bottom of the division year after year. I miss Lori already, who is going to correct me when I make mistakes about Bills time lines, stats and stuff.

What if....pigs could fly I'm more concerned about the coaches getting the O line to play better at this point, because until they do that it won't matter who they field at QB.

I wonder if it will still be a classy move if he gets picked up by the Patriots...

Simply because this team is in to much transition by completely changing the offensive and defensive schemes. Plus most of the coaches have college experience and not NFL experience, so the coaches need to learn as well as the players. The DC is the LB coach from the Dolphins, last year that team had some serious issues with stopping teams in the red zone. also stopping big plays. The Miami Dolphins went 1-15 mostly because the starting QB Trent Green went out for the year and his back up was Cleo Lemon, plus their new D tanked. Although I like some of the moves the Bills made this off season, I have to question other moves. Most seem to think the Bills failed to upgrade several key positions on the team. Guess we will find out very soon if that is true or not.

Nobody in the FO is panicking about season ticket sales, some games are already sold out... Why waste the money on an older DE in a rebuilding year, at least that appears to be the attitude.

I disagree, Sam Bradford was and is rated head and shoulders above anyone coming out of next years draft, and had a higher rating then last years draft #1, Matthew Stafford. The only thing that teams were afraid of with him was his injured shoulder, once he proved that his arm strength was fine at his pro day he was a lock at #1. The guy got a six year deal worth 78 million, with 50 million guaranteed...plus the fact that the Bills would have had to give up more draft picks then they wanted to give up to trade up with the Rams to select him. Bradford was the only QB the Bills had a high rating on, so there was no way the Bills were looking at QB's early in this years draft.

He turned down the jobs offered to him, and told them he didn't care to coach ever again as he stated he was enjoying his retirement. My guess is that he was still upset the way the Chargers and SJ Smith treated him and just wanted time away form the game. I'll bet he regained his desire to coach again after being idle for so long, Dick Vermiel returned after a long time away from coaching to win a SB, heck even Marv Levy wanted to coach the Bills again. His playoff record does stink, but then it sure would be nice to even see the Bills in the playoffs again... or even finish a season with a winning record.

Prove it!!! You blow so much smoke around and then don't stand by what you post. Show me a link to where anything was written RW was willing to pay any amount to them at all. You call names and then can't back up what you say...

Must I link everything for you to believe me...The Ravens 2x, Falcons, Dolphins all wanted to hire Marty after he was fired from SD, I'm sure there were more that we didn't hear about. If you read thru the lines most of the Charger players as well as most of the world was shocked to see the guy get fired at SD, I know I was. I like the guy and was pulling for him and the Chargers to finally win a SB. Ravens | Team talks with M. Schottenheimer Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:29:22 -0500 Harvey Fialkov, of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, reports the Baltimore Ravens have talked with former San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer about their head coaching vacancy, according to Schottenheimer's agent. Read more: http://www.kffl.com/player/1980/nfl#ixzz0vY1MD4Hp How many games did John Elway win and how many times did he lose the Super Bowl before he hooked up with the right coach and eventually won 2 SB's, sometimes all it takes is the right chemistry. The way I see it Marty has a terrific winning record and has a penchant for rebuilding bad teams into playoff teams. Like Thurman stated in an eariler post that perhaps his teams simply over achieved getting to the playoffs as the guy is a supreme motivator, with the right assistants he could easily win a SB IMHO.

Not to me, I'll more then likely start rooting for another team if they move away from Buffalo...

Still, look at the division...basically 3 rookie head coaches in Denver-Kansas City-Oakland. I still contend that the Chargers could have already won a super bowl or two if Marty S stays at SD. okie, I will link the story by ESPN so you believe me. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/...anted-bills-gig ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Contrary to the diplomatic comments he made on his radio show, Marty Schottenheimer actually did want the Buffalo Bills head-coaching job. Badly.

Mr Dithers... I respect and admire what he has accomplished in his lifetime and have come to applaud him for his accomplishments. Yet at the same time... am a very frustrated fan because I realize he will never step up and hire another Chuck Knox when he easily could have this past year, and ended his legacy with a winning team!

The man might cherish the fans and realize without them he has nothing and owns nothing, it still doesn't justify his thinking past and present about his head coach choices. He has to know that Chuck Knox took his team from horrid to really good in a few short years, even with Stew Barber as GM. He also has to know that hiring another really good coach could propel the team to the playoffs, and give the fans what they really want... a winning team they can be proud of again. This is after all 2010 and no longer the 60's, 80's or 90's, it will soon be 2 decades since their last super bowl appearance and a decade since the last playoff appearance.

If the fans wise up and stop paying for as inferior product, the stadium stops selling out, fans start wearing bags on their heads...who knows. I'm pretty sure Cam Cameron had a 3-5 year plan in Miami before his team went 15-1

Gailey knows how to talk the talk, lets see if he can walk the walk... Should the Bills go 3-13 or worse this season it just might open up the door again for Marty or Cowher, at least I hope it will.

Marty had just gotten Drew Brees to start playing well before he was fired, Brees openly stated that Marty benching him made him evaluate himself and made him a better player. Think of that Charger offense if Brees had stayed in SD, or even if he hadn't and Rivers played for Martys son who is the OC of the Jets. My take is they could have conceivably won a SB by now. Anyway, Turner didn't build anything from what I see, except open up the passing game with Rivers. The running game isn't anywhere close to the way it was under Marty, O line isn't as good, the defense isn't as good. Like I said, look at the teams Turner faced in the division last season as all three had new coaches learning to do their jobs. I would have been surprised if the Chargers hadn't gone to the playoffs. That road to the SB might start getting tougher now as these new head coaches gain experience. I stated in that post that Marty had several job offers after getting fired in SD and turned them all down because he was enjoying his retirement(more then likely still upset at losing his chance with SD after posting a 14-2 record), plus he was still getting paid by the Chargers. This year he must have regained interest in becoming a head coach again because he openly stated he wanted the Buffalo job. To the OP of this thread, AJ Smith is a great talent evaluator in the mold of Bill Polian, but he is unlike Bill Polian as a GM. Like some head coaches that should have stayed assistants as they overshot their abilities, AJ Smith should be VP / director of scouting and let someone who is more even tempered be the GM. I don't see his teams winning a SB, just my take.

Ralph was cheap before Polian, and all during Polians tenure as the man had to fight tooth fang and claw to pay players like Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, et al, and for stadium upgrades. He was cheap after Polian as evidenced by him not coming to terms with John Butler, and recently he continues to refuse to pay for a top coach / GM / president. A decade of not being in the playoffs isn't good enough reason to hire a top name, oh wait, the games are still sold out aren't they... All you Bills homies out there that think the guy who was fired in his last job as OC because his offense went 2-14 is going to resurrect this team anytime soon are delusional. His QB put up decent numbers because his team was always behind, and always playing catchup, opposing teams were dropping deep to stop the big play. What is truly a shame is that none of you see this now, but you will definitely see it once the season starts. If the team is willing to pay losers like Maybin-Dockery-Walker big money, then why not hire the very best coach / GM out there. I have a tough time believing that a 10 million dollar a year head coach like Shanahan or Cowher that takes the team to the playoffs or super bowl would be unaffordable and cost prohibitive. A great head coach would fill the luxury boxes, and fill every seat in the stadium, the seats would be sold out game after game...merchandise selling so fast they can't keep stocking quickly enough. What stinks is that fans are so blinded by the thought that this team can win in its current condition that games are still being sold out...and so sadly the status quo will remain the same until the demise of the franchise in Buffalo.

Let me refer back to my point about the team Norv Turner inherited, you know the one that Marty built along with John Butler. Norv Turner got the Chargers to the AFCCG going through the AFC West, but then look at the division last season, Bronco's without Shanny and a rookie HC, the Chiefs stunk with a rookie HC and then the Raiders with a guy who was interim HC in 08 and coached a full year last season, so a partial rookie HC. I have my reservations about Norv Turner being anywhere near as good as Marty, just my opinion. Marty S didn't want to coach again and stated so many times, even turned down several offers from what I've read, until the Bills opening. He did want the Buffalo Bills job badly and openly stated so, RW said he wasn't comfortable with hiring him. I'm thinking it was because of his hiring of Buddy Nix, who was in San Diego at the time when Marty had a power struggle with AJ Smith.

I'll say, even after taking the team outta the toilet and building them into a playoff team they lowballed Knox also...so he left. When Knox first arrived in Buffalo they were so horribly bad they couldn't host pre season games because nobody would buy tickets, the man completely turned around the franchise and got treated like crap for his effort. Is it any wonder why Jim Kelly didn't want to play in Buffalo. After he left Buffalo he called it a coaches graveyard, and people wonder why us old time fans call RW cheap.

Stew Barber, Ralph Wilson... This story could go right next to the thread about how Wilson isn't cheap. They invite a guy to dinner and then don't show up or even call, real class. From what I can recall the difference between the team and TC was only 20k, the bigger problem was that Stew Barber had no business being a GM and was a total jerk to players as he thought he was better then them, he was an ex player himself. The thing is... I think the guy would have been a much better LB had he come to Buffalo and learned the pro's from Knox and his staff.

I don't, pure speculation on my part, but then Drew Brees just won a SB with the Saints. Imagine a Bills QB getting traded away and then takes that team to a SB, meanwhile the Chargers are still languishing in the playoffs. Lets not forget that Norv Turner also inherited a 14-2 team and hasn't gotten them back to that record yet, much less a SB. Consider this, where would Marv Levy be if he hadn't hired Ted Marchibroda? In my view ole Ted is the main reason that the Bills late 80's-early 90's offense was so potent. Marv tried to run the wing-t at KC at his first NFL HC gig and was laughed out of town, he was also a special teams assistant at Washington under George Allen, he had no offensive coordinator background. I think Marty Schottenheimer is a terrific head coach and a winner, its just that he has been snake bitten in the playoffs. I think a lot has to do with simply bad luck and perhaps the wrong chemistry for his assistant coaches. I have no Idea why Ralph Wilson would hire a Dick Jauron / Chan Gailey and not hire a proven winner like Marty S, a man who really wanted the HC job in Buffalo this time around. Shoot the guy is even an ex Buffalo Bill player. If I'm an NFL owner I'd hire the guy in a heartbeat.

If he doesn't win a super bowl soon things will come back to haunt him...some already have. First, he had a huge problem with Marty Schottenheimer wanting to hire his son to replace Cam Cameron as OC after Cameron left for Baltimore, the result was Marty getting fired after his team posting an astounding 14-2 record. Then last season the Jets go on to knock the Chargers out of the playoffs with Martys son calling plays as the Jets OC, how Ironic huh. Not to mention that Rex Ryan the HC of the Jets sent Marty the game ball from that playoff win! Seems to me that AJ Smith screwed himself and the team by firing Marty and not letting his son become the offensive coordinator as they could have already won a super bowl or two by now. Second, he was responsible for choosing Phillip Rivers to replace Drew Brees as he thought Brees was to short to be competitive and win a championship. So he shipped Drew Brees out to New Orleans where he goes on to win a super bowl for the Saints. After Schottenheimer was fired the owner of the Chargers supported AJ Smith by publicly stating that the team had a policy about hiring family members. Someone go tell that to the president of the Colts Bill Polian and his son the GM. Now granted Drew Brees was injured at the time he was traded and Rivers is now a top QB... guess we will never know what could have been had Schottenheimer and / or Brees stayed at San Diego. Needless to say AJ Smith could easily be ridiculed for some of his past decisions, now he is playing hard ball with his best O tackle and WR and could end up needing to trade them because of his negotiation tactics. Losing those two will diminish the teams chances to reach the playoffs this year. The guy might have an eye for talent but has questionable management skills. If I'm a Charger fan I'd be bald from pulling my hair out PS, need to fix that link as it just takes you to the SI home page http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writ...gers/index.html

We were about to cancel direct TV and go to a package from Time Warner or Frontier, before we did we called direct TV and complained...They gave us the NFL package for more then 1/2 off. BTW, it comes with the super fan pack included now so you can re-watch every game in 1/2 hour each on Mon-Tues.

Really, all we can do is hope...that all the new coaches, players, schemes turn out to be good ones. The reality is the Bills will be a bad team this year, perhaps the worst in the NFL. I'm going with that outlook and IF they win more then 2 games then my expectations have been exceeded.

Amen! There have been numerous threads about the O line the last few years, and I think the problem with the Bills O line will continue to exist because same head scout has been with the team since 2002. Previous to Wood and Levitre the Bills have had one decent player drafted for the line since 02 and that was Brad Butler, not saying much for an 7 year span. Who really knows at this point if Wood and Levitre can become top players at their positions as the Bills did spend a #1 & #2 draft picks on them. Those two had better become really good as those early picks are usually reserved for tackles, unless the team thinks they will become pro bowlers.. Considering that the O line stayed basically the same this off season as last years O line and the Bills failed to address the LT position until round five leads me to believe they(coaches-scouts-GM) think the current players can get the job done. I've witnessed them play and I don't think any of the tackles currently on the Bills roster are going to get the job done this year. Frankly IMO the Bills are lacking a head scout that knows how to do his job concerning O linemen and defensive ends. Plus they are lacking a veteran experienced O line coach to help all these young players develop. I don't have much faith in this new HC and GM because of the current O line situation.