silvermike

I'd rather spend my weekends during the prime of my life watching a losing team miss the playoffs for a decade than be a Dolphins fan!

The 3-4 isn't magic. It happens to be run by some teams with great talent, and it whups our ass up and down the street. The Tampa-2 is perfectly capable of being effective, and we're much closer to having a good Tampa-2 defense than a good 3-4 defense. And remember this: a 3-4 defense requires BETTER defensive linemen than a 4-3. Those three guys have to do most of the work of four, or else you just have a linebacker being blocked instead of a defensive lineman. If we had three linemen who could stand their own against NFL offensive lines - say, Bruce Smith, Ted Washington, and Phil Hansen or Ty Warren, Richard Seymour, and Vincent Cheapshot, we should think about it. Right now, let's stick with the defense we've built and not have to rebuild it alongside our sad-sack offense. Our defense is 14th in points against and 12th in yards against, and that's despite some major injuries. We can fix it, we don't need a new one.

I'd be very interested in getting behind Raheem Morris as HC of the Bills next year. Of all the non-Cowher options, I think he gives us the best chance to win a Super Bowl. However, it's gotten to the point where I don't even care about the Super Bowl. I just want the team to not be a f-ing joke for the next three or four years. I'd be shocked if Marty Schottenheimer couldn't get us to 10-6 with a playoff berth and a first round exit, which sounds like the glory days compared to what we've had lately. But he's an intensely frustrating coach, and we would unquestionably be outcoached in big games. But it'd just be nice to play in one first before looking to a replacement.

Trading down? Because I think we should trade down most seasons. There's not another way of getting the #32 pick, right?

I'd be shocked if the NFL would black out the game in Buffalo because they couldn't sell it out at a neutral site. Anybody have a link one way or another?

You're blaming this one on Donahoe almost six years ago? We knew Fowler was a problem after last season, and Faine was a free agent as of February.

I think those make sense. Except for the Bills, who I think will go cover-2 if they take a new coach this year and bring in Ron Meeks from Indy.

I'd rather draft in that 10-15 range than the 1-9 range. It's bust city up there, and you have to pay so much for the rookie contract, plus you get hemmed in a bit with the conventional wisdom.

Lovie Smith won't be available, and the rest of that list is really, really ugly.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't mind seeing a zone-blitz approach here. It might be one way to get decent production out of our crummy, small, but at least marginally quick high motor defensive ends.

I understand that it takes a lot of personnel changes to turn our cover-2 into a successful 3-4: we'd need three excellent down lineman, and we barely have one. But how would our current players perform in a conventional 4-3 or a zone blitz system? Are our linebackers too small and speedy to be relied upon for pass rush and run support? Mitchell did fine in a 4-3 in New York. What about the cornerbacks - we heard all this crap about how the cover-2 made cornerbacks expendable, and do we have CBs that couldn't cover without the zone?

The worst part is - we wouldn't be a better team at 8-4. We would have just gotten luckier in the kicking game. What'd probably happen is that they'd still lose the last four games, finish 8-8, and miss the playoffs. The downside is that the odds of DJ getting fired would be much lower.

Del Rio isn't exactly guaranteed to coach after this season.

It's gonna be Dave Wannestadt. Take it to the bank.

Here's an idea of who's out there to be had if we go with an experienced coach. I'm splitting this up into 'retired' coaches - those who aren't currently coaching at any level, and 'former' coaches, who are assistants or college coaches. I'm also limiting to eliminate anyone who hasn't coached pro football since 2000, or doesn't have any playoff experience. RETIRED COACHES (not currently employed as coaches): Bill Cowher Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers 1992-2006. 149-90-1. 1 Super Bowl win, two appearances. 12-9 in the playoffs. Currently works for CBS. Marty Schottenheimer Head Coach, Cleveland Browns 1984-1988, Kansas City Chiefs 1989-1998, Washington Redskins 2001, San Diego Chargers 2002-2006. 200-126-1. 5-13 in the playoffs, 8 division titles. Age 65. Currently works for ESPN. Dan Reeves Head Coach, Denver Broncos 1981-1992, New York Giants 1993-1996, Atlanta Falcons 1997-2003. 190-165-2. 11-9 in the playoffs, four Super Bowl appearances, no wins. Age 64, has shown no interest in returning to coaching. Currently working as a colorman for Westwood One's radio coverage. Jim Mora Head Coach, New Orleans Saints 1986-1996, Indianapolis Colts 1998-2001. 125-106. 0-6 in the playoffs. Age 73, currently working for the NFL Network. Dick Vermeil Head Coach, Philadelphia Eagles 1976-1982, St. Louis Rams 1997-1999, Kansas City Chiefs 2001-2005. 120-109 lifetime, 1 Super Bowl win in two showings. 6-5 in the playoffs. Age 72, works for the NFL Network. Dennis Green Head Coach, Minnesota Vikings 1992-2001, Arizona Cardinals 2004-2006. 113-94, 4-8 in the playoffs. No Super Bowls. Works for radio broadcasts on Westwood One. Is who you thought he is. Brian Billick Head Coach, Baltimore Ravens 1999-2007. 80-64, 5-3 in the playoffs. One Super Bowl win. Works for Fox. Steve Maricucci Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers 1997-2002, Detroit Lions 2003-2005. 72-67, 3-4 in the playoffs. Currently works for the NFL network. Jim Fassel Head Coach, New York Giants 1997-2003. 58-53, 2-3 in the playoffs with one Super Bowl appearance. Art Shell I'm not looking up Art Shell. FORMER HEAD COACHES (currently working in coaching, not as an NFL head coach) Dave Wannestadt Head Coach, Chicago Bears 1993-1998, Miami Dolphins 2000-2004. 82-87, 2-3 in the playoffs. Head coach of the Pitt Panthers, 24-22 overall. Mike Sherman Head Coach, Green Bay Packers 2000-2005, 57-39, 2-4 in the playoffs. Currently head coach of Texas A&M (4-8) Mike Martz Head Coach, St. Louis Rams 2000-2005. 53-32, 3-4 in the playoffs. One Super Bowl berth. OC, Detroit lions 2006-07, San Francisco 49ers 2008. 14-31 since leaving STL. Dom Capers Head Coach, Carolina Panthers 1995-98, Houston Texans 2002-05. 48-80, 1-1 in the playoffs. DC, Miami Dolphins 2006-07, Special assistant/DBs, New England Patriots 2008. 14-30 as an assistant. Mike Tice Head Coach, Minnesota Vikings 2001-2005. 32-33, 1-1 in the playoffs. Assistant with the Jaguars. And those, are pretty much, the options. EDIT: Looks like I actually bailed on this list too soon. Butch Davis and Bill Callahan techinically count here. We don't want them.

You mean those first three years when he went to the playoffs twice and won the division once?

I don't think we have a problem of our players not giving enough effort. They're simply poorly coached or just not talented enough. I don't hold either against them.

After 12 games, the Giants were 8-4 last year. If they had finished 0-4, they still could have made the playoffs on tiebreakers last year.

A deranged Bills fan might murder every player on the Jets, Patriots, and Dolphins. Then we'd get a home playoff game.

It's not a graveyard, it's a slaughterhouse. Once they're dead they get shipped off to be buried - Collins in KC/WAS, Johnson in Tampa, Flutie in San Diego, and Losman and Edwards, I'm sure, will find new homes one day.

Does Perry Fewell deserve any credit here? They came out ugly, but after that first drive, Buffalo shut the door. 123 yards allowed after the first TD. And they did it without Schobel, Greer, Whitner, etc. With a healthy team, that's a 3-3 game.

It's gotten to the point where I just want the Bills to be vaguely relevant. We're the most miscellaneous team in the league. There's absolutely nothing to talk about. Schottenheimer, well, at least if we choke in the playoffs, we'll be in a playoff game.

I really believe that Lindell decided to take this on his own shoulders and shank those FGs to get Jauron fired and April put in charge. It's a coup!

Do they have any other quarterbacks on the roster?

NFL?