Sisyphean Bills

Given his lack of a top gear, I wonder if St. Jauron is thinking of making him a FB?

For what? Actually, now that I have you two to answer all my questions, can I fire away? - When was Jauron hired as HC of the Bears? - When was Angelo hired as GM of the Bears? - Did Wannstedt have control of personnel before Jauron? - Was Jauron's contract structured differently than that of Wannstedt's? In what ways? - Who was GM of the Bears after Wannstedt was fired and before Angelo was hired? - Who was the Bears last GM before Jerry Angelo? - Can you post a copy of Jauron's contract? And Angelo's as well? - Is the Chicago Tribune worth reading? - When was Cade McNown drafted? - When was Rex Grossman drafted? - Do you have a link from a legit source that says Miller was the #1 going into the 2000 season? - When was McNown released? - Was the problem that McNown was not the "perfect QB" for Crowton's college offense brought up from the bayou or was it that Crowton's offense wasn't up to the task in the NFL? Who hired Crowton? - How many starts does a QB need to be declared a bust? - What is the definition of a bust? - Did the Bears have "nothing but garbage" at QB as some have said? Or was Jim Miller a special QB that was a victim of fate and injury, as Lori implied? - Was Dick a liar when he said McNown gave his team the best chance to win? - When McNown was benched, how prepared was Miller? - Did Chris Chandler start and win a playoff game? Did Chris Chandler start in a Super Bowl? Are QBs that start Super Bowls customarily categorized as busts or garbage? What does it take to be considered "not garbage"? - Did Chris Chandler make a Pro Bowl? How many? - If a guy plays in the NFL for 17 years, is he a bust? - Is having a QB with a history of concussions run a QB sneak a wise coaching move? - Did Kordell Stewart make a Pro Bowl? If so when and how far removed was that from his days in Chicago? - How many starts does it take to develop a "project" player? A project QB? How many starts for a #1 overall, blue chip QB? Is there any difference between a project and a blue chip QB, or more generally regardless of position? - When will Dick Jauron stop being a victim and emerge as the best coach ever? Thanks in advance. [Edit] PS: This is more of a philosophical question. - What is your definition of leadership? Does leadership entail authority, responsibility or accountability? If so, to what degree? Is it just a matter of convenience? Can leadership exist where there is no authority, responsibility or accountability?

Thank you for all the corrections. Apparently, I wasn't reading all the legit sources. There were no "QB switches often" and Jauron is just a helpless victim. I got it now.

I think you're wrong that another coach wouldn't have given his 1st round pick a chance. (You're definitely not thinking of Tom Coughlin.) I also think that you are wrong that this other coach wouldn't have given Stewart a chance after courting him in free agency to be his starter. No, the problem wasn't that Jauron was "too loyal", it was that Jauron pulled the trigger to bring in bad, brittle, and bust QBs to lead his team. He's not alone in that department. Wayne Fontes changed QBs more often than his boxers too. Jauron: 0.189 lifetime against playoff teams. [Edit] I don't buy the point about Miller either. Miller shouldn't be dismissed as "garbage", that I agree with. But, his career is one of a fairly pedestrian QB (a 75.2 rating). Beyond the brittleness, he just wasn't a big time QB.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyj/1999.htm

Here is a link after 10 seconds of looking. http://www.nfluk.com/features-display.php?id=3010

And, Bill Parcells had a team with Ray Lucas and Rick Mirer as the starting QBs and still did not have a losing season. Bill, don't sweat the divisive grand standing. The notion that real fans must be Polyannas doesn't hold any real weight. Besides, if nobody took the other side in any conversation, this place would be as boring as watching a cowpie dry in the field. Other fun facts. Dick Jauron had complete control of player personnel in Chicago. Look it up. Jauron's starting QBs by year: 1999: Miller 3, Matthews 7, and McNown 6 2000: Miller 2, Matthews 5, and McNown 9 2001: Matthews 3, and Miller 13 2002: Burris 1, Chandler 7, and Miller 8 2003: Grossman 3, Chandler 6, Stewart 7 2006: Losman 16 2007: Edwards 9, Losman 7 Now, to claim from this data that Jauron hasn't switched QBs often over the years seems a bit off. As I said previously, there are only 2 instances where a QB posted double digit starts. We can dissect this with various excuses though. Injuries (sounds familiar), bad offensive coordinators, Jauron not getting a chance, evil GMs without signing authority undermining Dick's masterful personnel moves (he was the one that pulled the trigger on both McNown and Grossman), bad hair days, black helicopters, ... And that's not hating on Teflon Dick. I want him to be successful and I want him to show that he can do it because the Buffalo Bills have hitched their wagon to him. But, the bottom line is he needs to put up more than a collection of excuses.

All I am really saying, K-9, is that I do not want to see Trent Edwards get pulled out of the line-up next year. Even if he has a paper cut. Even if he has a 4 game stretch where he sucks massive. If he is the starter, then by God, the Dickster needs to hitch his wagon to Trent and go for the damn ride.

The last player I remember getting paralyzed was a LB for the Lions. Forgot his name. I don't remember the Lions folding up the organization and forfeiting the rest of the season, though. I call red herring. Also, what's with the "and losing on a last second FG"? Can we add "born on a Friday under a full moon" to make sure we're arguing from a negative premise? It's easy to say a QB is a bust. It's easy to say that he had no talent to begin with because he didn't become the absolute best in his profession. That characterization fits the majority of people on the planet. It is easy because there is no proof to the contrary. In reality, it takes more than a fleeting chance to become successful.

Yes. Dick Jauron had total control of player personnel in Chicago. It was a major contention between Angelo and Jauron, because it meant that Angelo was nothing but a stuffed shirt.

BTW, how long did he stick with any of these guys before reaching for the next hot pocket? It's comical really. It's like taking a recipe for a cake that says "bake for 25 minutes at 350" and turning around after its been in the oven for 5 minutes and saying, "I can't wait that long. This cake isn't any good. Let's put another in the oven." WTF? No, really. WTF are some expecting? Not every QB is going to be good. Let's nip the gratuitous knee-jerk Losman bashing in the bud and just stipulate that "sure, he'll never be any good." That does nothing to explain the track record of Jauron and QBs. He's only ever stuck with Miller and Losman as "the guy" for any length of time. Setting aside the personal bitterness, does anybody really think it builds a team to yo-yo the starter and leadership figure in and out of the line-up? This is a !@#$ing team sport. This is also a sport where confidence is essential. Eroding confidence in the leadership, including the QB and coaching staff, should not be treated cavalierly. If it were that simple, you'd see coaches across the NFL declaring QBs busts after a couple of series and going to the next pitcher in the rotation without a second thought.

Wow, the positive vibe bit it fast.

What would be an acceptable level of performance from Hardy? When I read "bust" it makes me think the guy will be on the bench most of the time, out with a paper cut, and when he does see any action, he runs the wrong routes and drops every other pass. On the other hand, I think expecting Hardy (who according to many scouting reports has many defects to his game; correctable, yes, but he is a work in progress) to come in and become a starter, the #1B receiver, and post 100 catches; well, those aren't terribly realistic expectations either. One of the best WRs the Bills ever had, Eric Moulds, took several years to get on the field and deliver consistent production. Are people expecting Hardy, who is less polished than Moulds was, to do significantly better?

He has a lot of competition for that title. (Poor Karl, always in the mix but never getting a title.)

Exactly. The defense was just plain inferior at all levels last year. The Bills did not focus only on the DL. They went out and signed DL, LB, and DB in FA and then they drafted defense with picks at DL, LB, and DB. I know there is this urban myth that the "defense was fine", but it wasn't. It was ranked at the bottom. They couldn't stop the run or the pass.

Super Bowl!

Less is more.

Not only that, a dynasty is usually extremely dominant, even in the Super Bowl. They don't have to resort to clutch kicks as time runs off the clock, because they are a dynasty and have blown out the opponent before half time.

Some data: The Bills have drafted at least 1 DB in their first 4 picks in every draft for the last decade except for 2. (They should have drafted a CB instead of Losman. ) There have only been 4 drafts in the last 22 years where one of the top 4 picks was not a DB. With Jauron, the Bills have drafted 5/12 DBs in those prime team-building picks.

It makes no sense.

FWIW, I get the point that there are many ways to build a team. Polian (and Butler now Smith) is a BPA sort of guy, and he emphasizes getting good talent in the trenches and a set of triplets on offense. Parcells builds from the inside out, emphasizing strong lines and then plugging in the skills pieces around that foundation; he also seems to be able to find diamonds in the rough as far as QBs. (That's easier to do when you can physically dominate the LOS.) Belichick is a front 7 defensive guy -- strong DL and LBs are the core of his team and he's been fortunate enough to ride the HoF QB that fell out of the sky on his "genius" head. Focusing on the lines and QB in the draft makes sense because those positions are foundational and take up nearly 50% of your starting lineup. Finding very good WRs, RBs, and DBs in free agency or even off-the-street is not unreasonable. Finding a franchise QB or LT is impossible on the other hand. Our mastermind is Dick Jauron, a defensive secondary coach. It's not a total shock then that he has focused heavily on defense and particularly the secondary since taking control. While we know that the guys mentioned in the first paragraph have had success with their formulas, the jury is still out (being charitable) on Jauron. He's had 1 winning season, so it has not worked well so far; however, the optimists will say "give him time". We'll see. As it stands, I see this as Jauron rolling the dice that his very thin lines are going to hold up and that Edwards is his franchise QB that fell out of the sky on his head. On the other hand, the holes in the starting lineup do dictate what is essential to a degree. Fixing the passing game on offense and defense was an obvious major necessity.

Indeed. Cursed with a kid that looks every bit of a shutdown corner. Damn. And I thought the Bills would've tried to fix their pathetic pass defense.

While I appreciate the attempt at argumentum verbosium, the fact is that the Bills drafted 3 CBs in this draft. That's 30% of their picks on a position that accounts for less than 10% of their final roster positions. Not only that, but 50% of their top 4 picks were expended on the position. This is after they went out and signed a CB in free agency. It seems plenty clear that the Bills brass does not share the opinion that reloading the CB position on this roster is a "waste of resources". And, yeah, I think they understand the defensive scheme they use.

Now, those are some seriously cold hard facts. The Bills passing game is horrible. Fewest sacks or no.

Are you seriously trying to equate having a contrary opinion with stupidity and childishness? What of the converse? Is it not childish gullibility to believe absolutely everything someone in authority does as simply infallible? What sort of argumentative substantiation is blind Polyanna optimism? "They are the professionals and they've forgotten more about football than you tards could ever know" is a thought terminating cliche with a smack of general ad hominem tossed in for good measure. But, I actually thought the draft was pretty good. I'd have liked some more attention to the lines as a long term strategy, but realize this team has needs everywhere.