Sisyphean Bills

See: Mike Mamula. The correlation between the combine numbers and actual ability to excel as a pro in the NFL isn't really all that. I'm not saying there isn't anything positive about the kid, but the people running around with the rags and polish for his bust in Canton are wearing some tight fitting blinkers.

Winfield is undersized and his body is starting to fall apart. Top 5? No.

Re: Jamon Meredith. There actually are reasons this kid fell in the draft to the 5th round and ended up on the practice squad of a team riddled with injuries on their OL. He is not one of those long armed, big butt, natural knee-benders. He didn't dominate in the SEC and took plays off. People aren't sure if he's really a LT because he's not quick. They aren't sure if he is a RT because of his lack of size and strength. They aren't sure he's a guard and can play at the wheel, either. He's not terribly nibble, aggressive, nor strong. He's more of a lanky, hip-bending, better than average athlete that has a lot of work to do before being a solid pro lineman. He's a more passive Brad Butler with maybe a dash more athleticism. Not that rounding out the OL like this is unusual for Buffalo. The Bills have been trying to roll with the Brad Butler types filling out the OL, which is half of any football offense, for a long time.

It's hard to win in the NFL.

Let's get the timeline right. Mularkey had already fired several assistants. He wasn't falling on his sword for them; they had already been dumped. Now, why would I choose to not believe what the man said himself versus your take? He said he realized that the organization was headed in the wrong direction, that it wasn't being put together in such a way that he could compete, and thus he decided to quit. Mike Mularkey said this himself. That trumps internet rumor and innuendo about his kid maybe getting a swirly at school so he had to tuck his tail between his legs and leave Buffalo. Why did he say that? It was obviously directed at Ralph and Marv who had a few weeks prior installed themselves as the President and "GM of Football". In 20/20 hindsight, Coach Mularkey called a spade a spade and was dead nuts right on target. Marv and Ralph weren't up to the task. That's just objectively obvious at this point.

Ah, classic indeed. "Non-linear post-concussion syndrome" is (was now that I've used the new term as well) a 3 word googlewhack.

I don't expect lots of forward progress with this trip on the coaching staff merry-go-round. Some replacements may be slight improvements and some may not. The Bills spent the last 4 years training some young assistants that have gone on to new gigs with other teams. The biggest areas of improvement are hopefully in the head coach and offensive coordinator, which are now the same person. The other big change is having a "Football GM" that appears to be focused on putting a team on the field rather than keeping everyone wanting to be here.

The one guy fires up the entire team before every game and the other is performing omphaloskepsis at the end of the bench. I can see the parallels.

So change is improvement. Guess the Bills should cut the 4 remaining starters from last year and get even better.

On the other hand, not every rookie is identical. Go figure.

Eddie Robinson was actually an OLB, although he had, ahem, lost a few steps by that time. This year we have a bunch of guys that have played DE being asked to switch to OLB. I don't know about anyone else, but if the underneath pass defense is anything more than all out suckitude, I'll be happily surprised.

The Bills did get a box of tape for him.

Don't tread on your Wang, now!

You missed the point entirely. Maybe he isn't as abrasive because he doesn't need to be. Does Irsay micromanage him? Does Irsay's personal attorney keep an eagle eye on spending vs. return? Is the financial side of the Colts swinging the hammer? Does Irsay have a daughter working in the scouting department that is threatening to go over Bill's head because she has a different opinion? I see. So the key to building a franchise is having the 1st overall pick. The Colts did have that 13 seasons ago.

If you think Polian is any less opinionated than he used to be then you think wrong. He's the President of the Colts; he's the top guy in the organization, so it is obvious that the structure and process is transparent to him. It would be ridiculous to assume he didn't have a say in the budget. The Bills were also the worst team in the league when Polian, et.al. arrived in Buffalo. So what?

You're either joking or the Synchronized Swimming coach is ignorant of history. No one that knew Georgia Tech football history would put Gailey ahead of Heisman (yes, that Heisman) or Dodd. His record is behind those of Johnson, O'Leary, and Alexander. He was a better coach than Lewis though.

An organization that is interested in getting better can't continue to cast aside talent for chicken scratch. It hurts both the short-term and long-term.

Ah. So, you are going with the personal attacks and name calling argument. Check mate. My work is done.

As far as his stint at Georgia Tech (which is not Georgia, btw), he did well but short of spectacular there. He had some great talents, like Calvin Johnson, but just couldn't get over the hump to compete toe-to-toe with the big boys on the block. (Reggie Ball was infuriating; he always seemed to step down in the moment.) I wasn't disappointed to see Paul Johnson come to Atlanta. http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-foot...ley_chan00.html

They'll compete.

Pretty much.

Let me connect the dots for you slowly then. You laid all the credit for the salary cap situation at the feet of John Butler, even going so far as to repeatedly state that A.J. Smith was "the real brains" as some sort of posthumous coup de grace. In other words, you are stating that John Butler should not have allowed the player contracts that happened while he was in charge of the football operation. The natural consequence of not making those contracts would obviously be that players would not have been signed, they would not play for the Bills, they would have gone elsewhere and earlier. Slowly: the only way one doesn't pay big contracts to star players in their prime is to get rid of the star players. Further, your argument dismisses the obvious; John Butler had bosses. It's splitting hairs to claim "it was all that idiot Butler's idea" but apparently you can't see that either. Your defense of Ralph Wilson is as predictable as it is unflagging.

Bills get ranked #1 in NFL...

Interesting that you lay it all at the feet of Butler. Ralph could have stepped up at any point and said, "No, I don't want to keep these bums together. I don't want to give it another go. They can't do it, it's obvious. I don't want to pay these players, the core of the most successful stint in my entire ownership. I want to blow it up and start over." Did you know that Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas are still closely associated with the team? Perhaps Ralph likes having them around? After Butler was escorted from the building, Ralph made it plain that he felt Butler was nothing but a scout, unqualified for his job and deserved to be fired. Kind of interesting that it was "Butler's fault" and yet most of the scouting department, including one Buddy Nix, packed up their bags and followed Butler to San Diego, refusing to stay on and be promoted from within. Hell, a fair number of players followed Butler to San Diego as well. It's unlikely that Ralph's low opinion of Butler changed from one of high esteem instantly. More likely, that there was a tension between the bean counters, which it should be pointed out remained with Ralph, and the football side of the business, which left enmasse. Butler was, compared to his contemporaries, underpaid and apparently, given the aforementioned comments, not thought of very highly by the other executives in the Inner Circle. The surest way to get rid of an employee that doesn't really suck is to underpay them and disrespect their efforts. Works like a charm. It's funny that Butler gets dumped on for not really doing anything to turn around a dysfunctional Chargers organization, largely because he dared to die before the turnaround story was complete. Another word for it is bizarre. Why continue to regurgitate the company spew that was meant to marginalize Butler as a stark contrast to Donahoe and make the upheaval appear an absolute necessity? The curtain was pulled back on Donahoe half a decade ago already. There is no need to justify him or Marv Levy any longer. They failed.

Did you say "Jake Locker for starter"?