All_Pro_Bills

Watching on TV you don't get the same perspective as being in the stadium and I haven't had an opportunity to see any of the network analysis. But it was my suspicion. They both can't be doubled all the time especially when the defense brings 5 or 6 on the rush. It comes down to confidence and trust. Confidence in your ability as a QB to deliver the ball and trust in your receivers that they're going to make the play and the catch. As a QB you can't be careless but you also can't be afraid of making an occasional mistake because its going to happen. As far as what the defense is 'giving' I see the validity of this argument but at some point you've got to have the capacity to 'dictate' the play on the field. And if you've got superior weapons at your side you've got to utilize them and attack. I think Edwards has the smarts and the physical capacity to do this. What's holding him back is puzzling. Is he taking on the persona of his head coach as some suggest? I don't know. I suspect if you asked the great QB's if they worry about what the defense is going to 'give them' their answer would be something between laughter and a blank stare. On things is for sure. Bills need to win this Sunday and get to .500.

Scoring 40+ points in th NFL for 3 consecutive games is difficult. Brees has thrown for 400+ yards 4 times with the Saints. The team is 1-3 in those games. If he throws for 300+ yards and the team can muster close to 100 yards on the ground they should win. To win the Bills will need to stick to their script so far this season. Show balance on offense and shut down the run while limiting the number of big plays allowed on defense. Keep the crowd in the game. If its windy the weather will be a factor but otherwise it shouldn't matter.

Maybin appears to have the physical attributes of a great OLB in a 3-4 alignment. If he comes off as advertised and the next Bills coach commits to the 3-4 they might be able to build a defense around this guy.

1 USD = 1.12 CDN http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies/fxc.html When I take the trip up to Canada I typically go to a bank in Ft Erie or Niagara Falls and exchange my money. Banks usually have the best bid/ask.

I was actually trying a bit of satire to in an attempt to inject some humor here given the disposition to gloom and doom. I appoligize if it was not to your liking.

Interesting the Redskins are #1 in revenue. Why? Because the politicians in D.C. are using our tax money to buy tickets and luxury suites. Steelers were just above the Bills in operating income but won the Super Bowl. Shows a good and sound management team with a long standing workable strategy can outsmart a bunch of clueless big spenders. Unfortunately for us, Mr. Wilson does not possess such a management team or approach and does not appear to be in any great rush to acquire either.

I'd question the rationale for either party to make such a trade. If the Patriots believe Cassell is a talented and on the rise QB then they'd be hesitant to trade him to team in their division. If on the other hand, they'd entertain such a trade the Bills would be wise to run as fast as they can in the other direction. Recall trading Bledsoe to the Bills was not a problem for Mr. Bill because he felt Drew would be no threat to the Patriots supremacy, even going to a division rival. This proved to be correct. So what's changed since then? What's the saying about history? Those who ignore it are doomed to repeat it, or something like that.

At this point I'd rather have any other living, breathing NFL head coach. But I think Madden NFL 2009 is a better coach than Juron so I'm kind of sour on our current HQ......

Playing this season was JP’s opportunity to audition for a job with 1 of the other 31 teams in the league. In that respect, I have to say he failed miserably by not demonstrating any proficiency at the QB position. Whether the team around him contributed to this is something the 31 other NFL front offices need to figure out, not me. I’ve never been are ardent supporter but the guy has the ability to be a good QB. What he lacks is the mental awareness for the position. Can this be learned or is it genetic? IMO, he could be reasonably successful with a coaching staff that gets in his face and drills into him a sense of discipline and demands accountability from its players. I didn’t see that with the Bills passive, everybody’s got to love one another and be best friends, Juronism coaching philosophy. If you’ve played organized sports and experienced both what was more satisfying? Have a ‘good buddy’ coach and losing or having one that ‘rode your ass’ and winning?

It would be nice to know exactly what the team's long term plan is, if there is one. IMO, as long as we have a poor front office and lousy head coach, we will not sniff the playoffs no matter how many position upgrades are made. While a debate about the play of Edwards vs. Losman, or somebody else is interesting, it’s just an academic exercise because it’s not going to make much difference who plays the QB position. Payton Manning or Drew Brees couldn't get this team to the playoffs with the current front office and coaching staff running the show. Like in any business, you can take smart, motivated, and talented people and put them in a business that is run by inept and incompetent management and they will not succeed. Again IMO, I see this team as underachieving. Sure they need to upgrade at certain positions like DE, C, TE, but a better coach and motivator on the sidelines could have gotten 2 or 3 more wins out of this bunch. I try to maintain some level of optimism but it’s difficult. I think we'll be looking at a top 8 draft choice in '10.

The teams cited play a much more aggressive defense than the Bills. While I can't disagree with the desire to see more out of Whitner, I can at the same time look at any other secondary position and make unfavorable comparisions between the Bills and the teams cited above. So you can make the same argument about the Bills CB's and those of Pitt, Phil, etc. The Bills simply play too timid in defending the pass. Its a by-product of Juron's low risk, low reward system that only seems to succeed when the opponent makes mistakes not when the Bills make plays. Too many times during the season Bills defenders have played so far off the receiver that while watching the game on TV it wasn't clear for several seconds after the receiver caught the ball that there actually were defensive backs on the field.

My vote for post of the day. The Bills will make their standard effort to upgrade the roster through the draft and free agency. All part of the illusion of progress during the Juron regime. Hell, maybe I'll even get caught up in the optimisum that I lack at the moment. The fact is now matter how much the roster changes, we won't get a sniff of the playoffs until we get a coach that can go head to head with the other HC's in the division. Week after week the Bills never looked that well prepared and very rarely did the gameplan seem like it was 'tuned' with the specific oppponent in mind. The salary cap is a blessing and a curse. It provides small market teams like the Bills the opportunity to compete with the big boys. But it also inhibits the ability to assemble vastly superior talent. Vastly superior talent could overcome the incompetence of a guy like Juron. The level playing field created by the cap magnifies the impact of superior coaching and front office skills. We just don't have either right now. Sorry if I got a little off topic. Otherwise, Ryan might be an upgrade for the Jets but the only judge of that will be success or failure on the field.

One Jets fan I know said as long as Ryan bring Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and Ed Reed along with him they should be okay.

To Ralph: A few words of advice. Take the $5 million and go out and hire a real NFL head coach.

IMO the key to success is they've found a consistent approach to the game and have stuck with it. And people they bring in, whether front office, coaches, or players have to buy into the formula and play their parts in the scheme. Looking all the way back to the 70's it seems as if the Steelers have had the same approach. Tough defense, adaquate special teams, run first, ball control offense. Whether you like the franchise or not, you have to admire their results. And over the years they've done it by being smart, not overspending. You did hit the key factor too. Ownership. Be smart enough to hire the best people possible. Key an eye on things but stay out of their way and let them do their jobs. The Bills on the other hand have issues with the owner, the front office, and the coaching staff which are never going to get resolved until ownership changes hands.

Maybe my math is bad but to raise 425 million from a 3/8 of a cent tax levy it would take sales of around $11.3 trillion dollars. I had no idea the KC economy was that robust. 3/8 of a cent is $.00375 per $1. To get $425 million you have to generate sales of $11,333,000,000. My math skills are a little rusty but is this right?

I agree. I have friends and coworkers that are fans of many other teams. None of them say the Bills are a terrible team or a joke. In fact, most think they are the victim of some bad breaks and bounces. Many seeing them play only one or two games are year wonder why this team doesn't do better (e.g. 'does Lynch run like that every game? How did these guys lose that game?'). As I do, some do point to the HQ as a major source of the team's current futility and blunders. We know what the problem is, it starts at the top. The owner would rather take a few million more to the grave than go out a winner. The front office is over-matched by every team in the division. The coaching staff needs a skill upgrade. I don't blame the players on the field. Over time all businesses become a reflection of the inclinations and desires of the people at the top. Football is no exception. Some say they will continue to support the team no matter what. I envy you guys because I find it hard to continue doing that after all the years of rooting for this team and seeing what is no doubt mediocrity as the standard this owner aspires to meet. If anyone is viewed as a joke by the rest of the league it is not the city, not the fans, not the players. It is the owner.

The guy with no mortgage retains more of his income because his expenses are lower. Assuming the other guy has a 30 year mortgage at prevailing rates he spends roughly $108k per year servicing his mortgage. The guy making $100k is better off because of a much higher cash flow. Like a friend of mine says 'its not how much you make its how much you keep that counts'.

I'm trying to get over it for now because unfortunately we're stuck with coach Juron for 2009. Unless the season starts with some kind of a disaster, like 0-6, then Ralph is going to be content to let things play out. My problem is not the play calling issues, time management mistakes, misuse of challenges, game management or planning. The problem I see is no learning curve here. Sure people make mistakes. We all make mistakes at work and in personal dealings. But usually we learn from those errors, make corrections, and move forward. Looking through the 16 game season I don't see any of that. In the last month of the season you'd expect these blunders to be worked out, but that is not what we saw. Maybe Turk gets a pass but Juron has too much time as a head coach to use inexperience as an excuse. Rather the problem is incompetence. So can we expect anything to improve next season? As Bills fans we need to hope but when I look at it objectively I can't hold out much hope that all of a sudden Juron is going to match wits with Mr. Bill in New England.

Whatever they want to call the Bills defense it doesn't seem to be working. When watching on TV I sit and wonder, unclear why the receiver always seems to catch the ball with no defender in the picture. After he takes about 3 or 4 running steps with the ball the viewer then gets the idea that there actually are defensive backs on the field as they finally show up to make a tackle 20 yards downfield. Its time to dump this scheme....

I've got 30+ years of the same so I'm with you here. I can't recall a time when I've felt more hopeless for the future after a bad season. Usually there is some glimmer of hope to take away from the final few games but this year leaves me empty. With the status quo non-moves by Mr. Wilson I believe its going to take luck and a few miracles to turn this team into one that can contend for a wild card or division title. The front office simply lacks enough 'football people'. Donahoe was no shinning star in his time here but at least he had an idea of how to build a front office, coaching staff, and team on the field. The view I get of the Bills at present is they're being run like a Ma and Pa country store at a time the rest of the league has evolved to being run like Walmart. And Juron? We've said it all here already. For an Ivy League graduate there's just no learning curve here. The lights just never going to go 'on' with him.

I always felt Buffalo could be a prosperous place once again if the politicians could do more than keep raising personal and business taxes. Instead of constant talking they need to do something to attract and retain businesses like develop a credible growth plan and execute it. Cities like Baltimore used to be real dumps (some parts still are) until they got it together and developed a master plan that contained things like developing the harbor area. There's no reason Buffalo cannot do something similar. The area has abundant natural resources (e.g. lots of fresh water, wind farm potential) and open space, a relatively low cost of living, hard working people, good colleges, proximity to Canada, and except for a little snow (which if its 2 feet is handled better than an inch where I live now), a very low likelihood of natural disaster. If only local and state officials would start thinking about making the small market a bigger market. Longer term this would solve the problem of supporting the team and keeping it in Buffalo. If I'm a little off-topic I apologize. That said, I expect the Bills to sign a couple free agents but I wouldn't expect any of the marquee players to be among them. We're going to need an exceptional draft and immediate contributions because of the brutal schedule next year.

Notice how they blitz. Typically outnumbering the offense to the left, right, or center. Maybe our esteemed coaching staff is watching today's game and will pick up some strategy for next season?

The fact is the NFL is a monopoly that doesn't have to worry about competition and the marketplace. And no matter how much the small market owners cry about the revenue sharing system the fact is no NFL franchise is losing money. The Bills are easily cash flow positive and while they do not make a profit at the level of some of the larger market teams , Mr. Wilson is certainly not losing money each season. The growing perception is he simply does not care about winning. If it happens fine, if not, oh well he's still making multi-millions per year on his initial investment of around $35,000 (I think it was this amount to buy the original franchise). And he's content to play on the loyalties of Bills fans. Counting on them to continue to 'buy' his product, regardless of the results on the field. Betting the sting of the decision to bring back an extremely unpopular and ineffective coach will be forgotten once the draft, training camp, and the season begins. And the results on the field start in the front office before the season even begins. Look at his 'inner circle'. The treasurer, a marketing guy elevated to psuedo-GM, and a part time personnel guy who won't even live in Buffalo when the position would seem to require a 24 by 7 mentality. I'm sure they are all competent in their perspective nitches but are they up to the task of running an NFL front office, finding players, and coaches to build a winner? So far the results say a big no on this one. So while I agree money isn't eveything having top notch football people is. That is what we need - a front office team that can go punch-for-punch with NE, NY, and Miami. Its clear we don't have that and the owner seems content with that situation. As a 30+ year loyal Bills fan that is what disturbs me, much more than the results on the field for 2008. I cannot see how 2009 will not be a repeat of 2008 if nothing changes at the top where it counts the most.

The article is good. It sums up the problem and it has nothing to do with the player on the field or what happens on Sunday. Ownership does not have a commitment to winning. Fact is it never did and never will. My only hope is ownership will pass to a group with the foresight (and money) to keep the team in Buffalo and do what it takes to bring a championship to this deserving city. With the commissioner and several political and business heavyweights in our corner I'm hopeful this scenario will play out. That will be a day to celebrate. But until then.....