Sisyphean Bills

It is what Gailey and Nix have said it is. The offense was so badly conceived and coached that they have little idea if the players can actually get it done or not. I mean the moves they made last year alone on the offensive side of the ball were daffy and gelastic. Really, they cannot gut both a terrible and aged run defense and the offense as well, but at least with the offense most of these guys are young enough to be given a chance to demonstrate that they don't really, really suck.

There is no point in gambling when you are ahead at the end of a game. Most coaches are going to play the odds and let the clock work with them. If the players can't get it done, you need to get new players.

On the defense point, the Broncos replaced most of the starters on their defense last year, IIRC. The Bills still might do so as well, but there is also talk about deck chairs being rearranged. Green Bay hired one of the best 3-4 defensive coaches around. Sorry, but Edwards isn't that. Hopefully, he is competent and blossoms quickly, but he isn't a veteran NFL DC. And the Chiefs ... yawn. To throw in some other data. The Bucs dumped their Tampa-2 system last year after years of drafting players specifically for it. For the Bucs, it was a disaster. Jim Bates installed his own system and got demoted only a few months into the gig.

The question is whether you can.

What, no Brady Quinn?

Now that you mention it, they are indeed both football teams.

You clearly don't get it. A walk-over against the Colts by the Bills proves the Bills aren't that far away. A walk-over against the Colts by the Jets to get in the playoffs proves the Jets aren't really any good.

I like Trent's chances of beating Brady on the golf course.

The Giants sort of put a wooden stake through the heart. Still, the Patriots own the AFC East until someone else can consistently whip them.

Is Meredith outplaying Bell or is Bell still gimpy? If Bell is healthy and Meredith is outplaying him, just stands as testament to the absolute insanity that preceded last season's opener.

On the bright side, it might be a good year to suck. I mean, if there is a work stoppage and next season is a total loss, maybe we get a great draft spot for two classes in a row and only have to watch 1 season of bad football to get those 2 picks.

The defense will be top 10 this year? Really? Highly doubtful. Just switching from the Tampa-2 to a 3-4 and clicking your ruby slippers three times doesn't make a defense great. Kevin Williams is undersized for a NT. They are moving two DEs to OLB, moving former LBs back to DB, their best player wants special consideration where he only has to show up for games (and collect a check), the principles on pass defense are being turned upside down from lots of zone and off coverage to man. We could even throw in that our new defensive coordinator has held that post once before and was fired in favor of then recently fired Buffalo Bills head coach Gregg Williams. I do hope that the defense starts to gel a bit over the course of the season, but the chances are very good that it will get off to a mistake filled start as guys who are playing out of position are learning under fire.

Can this thread go epic?

Rightly or wrongly, it is more a story about production. The 1st round pick was obviously outplayed by a street free agent after his suspension by the league. Instead of motivating him to excel, the suspension seemed to have backfired and motivated him to sulk. Can the big block lettering be any more clear? He's going to have to prove to the new regime that he wants to play football and strive for his personal best. So far, he's acted utterly clueless.

Not only that, he is clearly certifiable. I mean he thinks the goal of the Bills is the win a Super Bowl and doesn't blame fans for having high expectations.

Johnson's other problem, IMO, was he was insanely brittle and couldn't stay on the field. Taking a lot of sacks isn't great, but when the QB gets hit often and each hit could mean he then misses a handful of games, it's a career ender.

Thank you, Dick Jauron. The "I only want guys that want to be here" philosophy was an unmitigated disaster. Let the inmates run the asylum and you have nothing but chaos. http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81888cac

That's what I've been saying all along. Show me the baby. Maybe SDS should screen all Bills fans so only the ones content to be fans of a laughingstock can post.

You could have added that Jauron ball worked in the Jets game. Despite totally owning the Bills physically on both sides of the ball, the Jets inexplicably kept lofting interception after interception. Jauron ball is all about keeping it close and making the other team pay for their mistakes. It worked great. On the other hand, if Schottenheimer Jr. had just stayed on the ground, the Bills lose.

It's the Jimmy Claussssen effect. Someone saw something in some draft rag that Meredith was super-fantastic and now that the Bills have him, he's going to be double super-fantastic!

Some of them may yet fly. I don't expect deus ex machina style miracles to happen and happen overnight however.

Dilfer has rightly or wrongly always tended to lead the defense of struggling NFL QBs. Not surprising in the least given his own experience and career in the NFL. It doesn't make him an idiot any more than any other die-hard homer. Who knows about the future, but Edwards has shown some flashes of ability to move a team between the 20s in the past.

But, it'll be tricky because Brady will never know which one of the two will be falling back into coverage in the middle of the field and trying to stay with Kevin Faulk. Better yet, maybe Kyle Williams can fall back into coverage since one doesn't want Maybin's "quick first step" talent wasted, might as well just send him straight up the field every play.

Expect Maybin to lead the team in sacks? The writer must really hate the Bills.