Sisyphean Bills

Clodd has a lot of character.

What?! Can I call now for my season tickets?!?

According to this http://profootballfocus.com/by_position.ph...&numgames=1 you are right about LG. Dockery was -3.8 while Levitre is a -11.0. At RG, Wood is -5.0 and Butler was a -18.7. At C, we have the worst C in football at -18.9. Hangartner is 45 out of 45 Cs to make a snap this year. Despite that, he is an upgrade over IQ Prestion, who rated a dismal -20.1 last year. Fowler? -14.1. To round out the picture, Peters was a -8.7 and Walker was a horrific -23.7. This year, Tinker Bell is the worst T in the NFL at -24.1 and the other side has been manned by a revolving door but Scott is -10.7 and Chambers is -8. So, we have from left to right last year: -8.7, -3.8, -20.1, -18.7, -23.7. This year: -24.1, -11.0, -18.9, -5, -10.7. So, we are far worse on the left side, a smidgen better at C, and improved on the right side. Ironically, the Bills front office blew up the left side of the offensive line from last year and wanted to push both players on the right side into more difficult positions. Like Belichick said, it takes continued bad decisions to plumb the depths...

Everybody wanted Jamon Meredith. Honestly, this weekend has been the best our line has looked in a long time. (I know it is the "bye" week.)

40% of the Redskins line is made up of guys the Bills thought were talent they could burn a #4 overall pick and then the biggest contract in franchise history. I think I need to go throw up now.

The irony is that Jauron has won 3 games with this roster and by playing Dickeradoo ball. When you look at the lack of depth and injuries, that's no small feat. On the other hand, Jauron has had 4 years and a big hand in "developing" the current roster of, ahem, "less than overwhelming" talent and sticking with the "continuity" anthem. On the third hand, even the Oakland Raiders have won 2 games and they stink it up bad as well. Really though, without Jairus Byrd - who has shown some amazing ball hawking talent - getting some playing time (primarily due to those aforementioned injuries) this steaming pile of a team most likely isn't even 3-5.

Jauron could go as badly as 5-21 over the last 26 games, which would be a .192. Hmm. Maybe the Bills should keep him a few more years and see if he figures it out.

There was a great interview with Jim Schwartz yesterday and he addressed several things that come up in discussions about Jauron. 1) "Hope is not a plan." He is always hoping that players will step up, but his plan is to build a team that wins football games consistently. Replacing people that aren't getting the job done is a fact of life in the NFL. 2) "Injuries are a fact of life." Injuries will happen in the NFL and talking about how good you'd be if you were healthy is nonsense. In order to build a winning football team, your plan has to be to build a complete team that has depth and has guys that are ready to step up when injuries can and do occur. 3) "Take your shots." You have to have a QB that is a leader and who is willing to experience some failure before greatness and has the right mentality to deal with it. He's totally convinced Stafford has the mental acuity, toughness, and work ethic to be a great QB. 4) "It's not about systems." As the head coach, he has to figure out what works best for the guys he has and put them in the right schemes and situations. He specifically targeted assistants with tons of NFL experience so that they could adapt to the players they had and continue to adapt to the new players they bring in.

Come at that from the opposite direction. If Tom Brady arrived today to QB this team, how much different would the team look with this O line, with this system, with these coaches and front office jokes, and with these players on offense, defense, and special teams?

Actually, it is worse than that. If you list all OT in the NFL, Tinker Bell is dead last at #105. http://profootballfocus.com/by_position.ph...&numgames=1 OTOH, Langston Walker was rated #110 last year. Peters? He was 80th. So, it looks like the wishes that he tanks this season as much as last aren't going so well (at least from this data). Aaron Maybin is ranked 103rd at DE. Oher? 12th among all OTs.

Miller was a 6th round pick by the Steelers. He landed in Chicago after short stints and cuts by the Steelers, Jaguars, Falcons, and Lions. He backed up Erik Kramer and then Jauron came in and immediately drafted Cade McNown who they felt was going to be the franchise guy in Crowton's "Razzle Dazzle" spread offense. Crowton was fired/quit in the middle of his second season, McNown tanked with his legendary and infamous lack of preparation and professionalism, and the Bears QB coach, John Shoop decided he could install the West Coast offense in mid-stride. Jim Miller turned out to be adapt in that offense but was ridiculously injury prone. The "Run and Shoop" offense crashed and burned and Jauron insisted no changes were needed with his staff until he himself was canned.

I'm definitely curious to see how that "good OL" does against the Packers. Fortunately Cutler is mobile and gets rid of it...

They sent me a "stadium kit" complete with a blindfold, ear plugs, and a clothespin.

Yes. Chris Mortensen said when Marv resigned from his GM role that it wouldn't change things all that much in Buffalo because Marv was little more than a figurehead anyway. Most here wrote this statement off as Mortensen having a crush on Tom Donahoe; but, by Marv's own admission, he preferred to delegate and let the coaching staff have their say on things, since he enjoyed such an environment more himself when he was the head coach. In his words, he was just around to help out where he could on the football side. He joked that he had no interest in "fixing potholes" and that sort of general day-to-day business.

Using a fag? Seems like the anti-smoking contingent is getting a little overzealous. If LJ wants to smoke a cigarette, who cares? He's just a dumbass.

He's been playing on a bad ankle according to the injury reports.

Take him, shove him in a barrel, and send him over the Falls.

There are a lot of defensive backs to evaluate for next year's draft.

They have to work within their own cash-to-cap restrictions. Occam's Razor: Nic Harris is a rookie and they don't trust him enough to play him.

Nothing. Never. If we ran a 3-4 and actually used a rush LB, he might fit that role. Though his versatility, not to mention comfort in that system, is at best questionable. Other than that, you got that he is a tiny NFL DE, so he must be a LB.

Of course, the S positions have been overly healthy this year, like usual.

In his weekly call, Dick pretty squarely put the offense in the cross-hairs of blame this week. Summary: "We just need to do better on 3rd down." The Bills 3rd down conversion rate was 2-10 and their longest was a 3rd and 8.

The best the offense has looked was week #1, which happens to be the only gameplan this season that Turk may have had any true input into. (Edit: I understand they were good against Tampa in week #2, but Tampa is hideously bad.) Take away the smoke screens and the truth remains. This is Dick Jauron's football team. He said so himself.

As far as defending Jauron and his work, I defend your right to do so. I think you are preaching to an empty room at this point, but by all means, that is your prerogative. My criticism of him the past 3.5 seasons and the way he "re-built" this team has been more than amply supported by his record and the regression of this team in all phases. I totally disagree with you that you cannot tell if a coach is performing well or not as his record and the progress of the team under his leadership are publicly displayed. Jauron has been a head coach in the NFL almost as long as Vince Lombardi was. The difference is overtly obvious, and any hopes that he'll "turn it around" are pinned on eventual disappointment.

Actually, it does make you a hypocrite. You've been dogging around behind my posts for over a year now trying to counter my football arguments with ad hominem attacks, straw men, incorrect over generalizations, and by making **** up out of thin air -- "you likely didn't play sports". WTF? You don't know me from Adam. Posting nonsense like that says a lot more about you as a person than it does me, especially since it is factually ignorant. As a fan that's been on this board since the beginning, I have every right to be critical of management, coaching, and players. I have every right to applaud when things work out. And, I believe you do to. But, going around trying to lecture other fans about how to be a "true fan" is assholic. Especially, when you are a hypocrite and make criticisms yourself. WTF makes you so self-important that you are allowed to criticize this team whereas you tell others they cannot and even grant yourself the authority to tell other fans that they cannot be critical? I strive to talk about football and this post is an exception to the rule. I avoid these puerile exchanges of misplaced and misdirected anger. If you want to be pissed off at something, be pissed off that your team sucks and put a cork in it rather than pissing on other fans. Look, I assume you are a nice person and a die-hard Bills fan. Applaud or criticize the team as much or as little as you want. Capiche?