Sisyphean Bills

Really? Showcasing his "skills" for his pending free agency is in the best interest of whom?

Historically speaking, Bills: .465 Eagles: .483 Chargers: .503 Browns: .541

Fewell could have been a very solid choice in retrospect. He most likely wouldn't have wanted to blow up the defense, but continue to work with what he had going. That would have freed up the draft to focus more on offense instead of switching to a 3-4. He had already turned the page on Trent Edwards and wouldn't have been inclined to waste an entire off-season dreaming about salvaging Capt. Checkdown's career. A lot is contingent on what he'd have done on the offensive side of the ball, but it is not out of the question that he wouldn't have hired someone with experience (like Chan) for that position. Fewell being a creative, young, energetic coach couldn't have hurt things all that much... instead we end up with a coach that gets us acquainted with the 1950 NY Yanks struggle of futility records.

Well, if there was a lock-out for 4 or 5 months before the next game, I'd like the chances of Chan pulling another 4-1 run out of his hat a whole lot more.

Well, it's true that if Brady can beat our "good on paper" team every time, regardless of circumstances, and not even have to work up a sweat, then we're not really making forward progress.

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This doesn't add up of course. Jauron won more games with worse talent and was an equally bad coach? It may be true that the team is better on paper, but it doesn't add up on the field. The coaching of the defense was indescribably bad to begin the season and, while better now, there are still inexcusable break downs all too frequently. It is much inferior to the defense Fewell ran. The LBs were better as was the secondary, which certainly had more depth. The offensive scheme should be better, but it has been exposed. With Trent Edwards all the Bills could do was run check downs. With Ryan Fitzpatrick and friends, the same is true and defensive coordinators have figured out how to make Gailey go to his weaknesses more and more. Were Lee Evans and Terrell Owens, even in decline, really much worse than Stevie Johnson and a cast of nobodies? Lynch and Jackson weren't a bad duo -- what's more they were actually used. Special teams has taken a step back as well; Bobby April did a very good job there. So, you can say the talent is much, much better but without the execution it is just bits on a screen.

The notion is that he might be good with the blackboard aspects, but he needs a strong leader to set a direction and reign in his overthinking the details on game day. Letting the other team dictate your offense to play to your weaknesses being the classic example.

There is no question selling it before he dies would be an epic financial blunder. He has already stated publicly that it's not going to happen, so the argument is inert and moot. I believe Ralph's wife is in good health, and there will be no inheritance tax and the stepped up cost basis will allow her to sell the team with minimal capital gains as well. In the meantime, he and a few family members draw a nice salary as executives of the team. Simply put: he's not going to sell the team now.

It's not how many pretzels are thrown, but the accuracy that's important.

Here's a guess: Chan never wanted Jackson here in the first place and Jackson only has 5 games left on his contract. His project is and has been Fitzpatrick in whom he has spent all his time and energy.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/06/chris-polian-catching-more-blame-for-the-state-of-the-colts/

Wasn't he drafted after TJ Graham?

Has JP Losman been out of the league long enough to be re-drafted?

Fitzpatrick has never had a winning record in his career. Maybe it is time to look behind the curtain on the notion that he's going to lead some team to the playoffs soon. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FitzRy00.htm

You're expecting leadership? WTF.

Seriously though, I'm not convinced he'd even take the call. The gig in LA gets him more face time.

Are the 49ers remotely interested in dumping him? Is there a single football reason to believe Alex Smith would be an upgrade in Chan Gailey's system?

Jim Caldwell.

Yep. Something is rotten in Denmark. No dispute.

The defensive secondary still left acres of open space in their zones. I guess they are all in different libraries back there.

What are the odds now?

Send the check to SDS. Thanks.

Not sure who you are arguing with as I've made all these points myself. But back to the original argument, there is not fault in trying to upgrade the most important position in the game. The faults were the scouting and choice itself. Unless you believe JP Losman is a Super Bowl winning caliber QB, that point is indisputable. The difference being not that Donahoe did not try, but that he and Modrak !@#$ed it up royally like many of their 1st round picks. Furthermore, the pick has crippled the franchise unless you believe the Bills have continued to make bold moves to address the lack of talent at the QB position. Somehow, drafting Edwards in the 3rd round and picking up Fitzpatrick and Thigpen, both of whom were next to being at the end of their NFL careers, does not seem like "trying to improve" all that hard. It's a nice soundbite to say that there was nothing that could be done and nobody they really liked or wanted to spend time on to develop, but when one really looks at it objectively it is nothing but a loser's excuse. Dalton, Kaepernick, etc. ... an organization doesn't miss the playoffs for 13 straight seasons in a league built for parity because they are well run.

I don't fault them for trying to get a QB. That isn't the point at all, since I think they need to try again. The issue was that they were incorrect in their evaluation of Losman and their development of Losman was poorly executed. It took them five years of vacillating to decide Losman wasn't the option, helped by Trent Edwards looking somewhat better, before they cut the string with Losman. It only took 3 years and a couple games to do the same with Edwards, by comparison. And, since Losman, the front office has invested 0 top draft picks at the most important position on the field. They've reinvested in a guy that never beat out Trent Edwards for the job, brought in a 7th rounder, junk off the scrap heap, a disinterested Vince Young, and traded for a guy that the coach will never put on the field. Of course, we don't know that the Bills are gun shy, but they certainly aren't making any big moves and this next draft will be nearly a decade since JP was taken. (The Bills seem more interested in buoying Fitzpatrick's confidence than anything.)