Adam

We are improving in various aspects of the game. Stats won't show it, but I believe that our special teams have not peaked yet. We may have the best kicking game in the league. As far as pursuit, other coaches in the NFL said that our defense is the best they've seen in that aspect. Various aspects of our offense have improved, although things have not come together yet. They are playing hard for Jauron- they gave up on Mularkey, big difference. As far as game planning, it will help when our coaches can stop needing to game plan around our talent level, and other coaches have to start. I don't blame our front office just yet, as I already cited many blunders by previous GM's that we still haven't recovered from. I think what people REALLY don't like about Jauron is that he isn't a dominant personality and doesn't yell or scream. Many coaches with his demeanor have won before- Bill Walsh and George Seifert as prime examples. He lets the team speak for him and he is a great delegator. If Schoenert pan out, the improvement will continue.

Hey, I understand the frustration, but you can't build a team on frree agency. It just won't work. Donahoe tried it and failed miserably. He gave us an offense with no defense, then gutted the offense and gave us a decent defense. Not to mention what we could have done with the draft picks given up for Johnson, Bledsoe and Losman. Tell me you wouldn't have taken a few seasons of Todd Collins or Doug Flutie if we could have gotten some good linemen. Then Mike Williams turned into our biggest bust since JD Williams and we also took a punt returner in the second round. Build up a core through the draft and don't break the bank for a free agent until they are one of the final pieces. We are making progress, we just need to get our young players experience. By the way, I am so happy that Fletcher and Clements are no longer on the team. On the coaching issue, what do you want out of a coach. The team plays hard for him, they are more disciplined than they have been in years- penalties are down most of the time. They have been in position to take the ball away. What else does a coach do? Guys have to make more plays than the other team and the coach can't really control that.

I agree Sisyphean Bills, it is spot on. whether it is sports, running a fortune 500 company or anything else, the guys on top have to identify strength, fit those strengths together and cover weaknesses. They give the company direction. And going from what we had in Mularkey's final season through last season, there has been improvement each year. There have been mistakes and setbacks every year, but the team is much better than it was. And there still is a long way to go

I agree too- but how much can you expect out of Edwards and Hardy at this stage of their career- they are two key players and both are bound to make mistakes that cost us games. I am more into how we play this season than how many W's. If I think we look like a better team than last year, thats good for me at this stage. We do have some talent, but it needs more experience.

It all depends. Were their injuries? Was their a surprise team (ie Miami or NY going 10-6- like NY did 2 seasons ago), did Edwards have growing pains? Same can be said the other way- what if Edwards has no growing pains or Hardy has a Randy Moss type rookie year and we go 11-5.....will that be totally attributed to the head coach's performance? I sure hope not. Maybe Jauron is similar to Chuck Knox and is just good at rebuilding teams and instilling discipline. Maybe he's better than that. Talking about changing coaches after just 2-3 seasons is ludicrous though unless they have been completely below the mark of where they should be. We have overachieved. We haven't been 2-14. To be honest, I have the Bills as a 6-10 team this year. Too many holes to be much better than that.

I think if the field judge blew the whistle and the game turned into a musical.....now that would be terrible. Seeing a bunch of 300 pounders sing and dance is just too terrible for words.

As it has been said many times in this post that W/L is one way to gauge the success of a team, but not the only way. I see this as a 6-7 win season if the team is well coached. I really think this 10-11 wins and playoffs people see out of the team is really a pipdream. The Bills just aren't that good yet.

Funny, I have come to the same conclusion about you. Jauron has made the most of what he has here, and that hasn't been much. For years, Butler and Donahoe fiddled with the QB situation, frittering away high draft picks while our offensive and defensive lines collapsed. Early in the decade, we had a wealth of offensive weapons, then Mr. smoke and mirrors (Donahoe) let them all go and changed the focus to defense. We had the continuity of Levy/Phillips for over a decade, now we are playing musical chairs with our coaching staff. With very few exceptions, every time you change coaches, you start over and are nothing more than an expansion team. Jauron has had two rough seasons in which their has been terrible offenses and defenses. He has squeezed everything he can out of the roster and then some in order to get 14 wins out of the team. If Wilson is smart, he will ignore the fans and Jauron won't even be on the hot seat. It is also stupidity that John Fox is on the hot seat in Carolina. Then again, it is easier to believe you have talent and fire the coach if you don't know how things work in reality.

It took Jimmy Johnson 3 years to take the Cowboys to the playoffs. If memory serves me, those were rough years. I don't see an Aikman, Irvin or Emmitt Smith on our roster and if you think Edwards, Evans or Lynch are close to those three, you are kidding yourself. WE don't have that type of offensive or defensive line either. If you think Jauron is the reason the Bills have stunk for nearly 10 years, you are really in denial. The Bills suck because they pander to the wants of the fans and have lacked the spine to stick with anything

Hey- you have what you have. Give Jauron Dallas 1993, and he would do pretty well. Give Helmet Hair Buffalo 2008, and he won't make playoffs

Brian Urlacher one of the best to ever play the game? I can't see that, He's one of the best right now. If I remember correctly, Thomas Jones did not go to Chicago until Lovie Smith was there, and he had little at WR. Still, I would take Jim Miller over either of our QB's......if he ever played on a team with a good offense, he could have been something

I have to disagree. Sure, you have to win, but you can't win consistently with a group of scrubs and a developing QB. We are still recovering from the Donahoe debacle, and that won't be fixed for a few more seasons. After Kelly retired, how many draft picks did we waste on QB's while we got soft at the line of scrimmage? How bad did the skill positions get? We are slowly building a team core, and we don't want to upset that by starting over. One of the biggest reasons that people jump all over Jauron's mistakes is because the team is not yet good enough to overcome those mistakes- all NFL coaches will make a couple game management errors each game, but the ones who have the talent to overcome those mistakes are considered good coaches. Jauron is a very organized coach- and you can tell how efficient that the practices he runs are by the improvement in penalty/talent ratio since he took over, as well as how guys play their assignments and have made plays that exceed their talent level. He also is a delegator, which is good- as not many NFL coaches can handle multiple hats. And don't forget- improvement is NOT gauged by improving on last year's record- the teams we are playing are not the same as last year's teams. I think Miami, New York, Cleveland and Oakland are all significantly better than last year. Denver is up in the air, based on how their young defensive line plays. I will gauge it by the improvement of our young returning players- particularly Greer, Crowell and Edwards.

I was bit by a flying ant the other day. Since when do ants fly?

If you fire someone, you BETTER have somebody better available. You don't change just to change. If they do that AGAIN, they can move to Toronto, Los Angeles or the Moon for all I care. Jauron is a good football coach who has been saddled with bad teams rebounding for terrible leadership

The bottom line is that we have fatal flaws on both lines- both are improves, no doubt, but very flawed. On top of that, the RB's don't help protect the passer- who is very inexperienced, and there is 1 quality target to throw to. Not a set up for a winning record or playoffs.

Edwards 21-35 215 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT Lynch 97 yards rushing, 23 receiving Evans 5 catches, 125 yards Reed 3 catches, 75 yards, TD Pozluzny 15 tackles, 2 forced fumbles Schobel 2 sacks, 1 recovered fumble Bills lose 14-13 on a late TD pass from Hassellbeck with 15 seconds remaning

Lynch and Jackson are both GARBAGE at picking up the blitz. There is more to playing running back in the NFL than what gets you points in a MINDLESS fantasy football league. Until they can pick up the blitz, they are not adequate, and will hinder the offense's production regardless of how many yards they pick up. Evans is a very good WR, but he is the only capable WR we have. He also is not a multi-dimensional WR. Schobel is a very good defensive end, but is the only end we have that is remotely close to that caliber- he is far from elite. I have stated numerous times that Peters may be the best OL in the league. I also like our guards, but we are below average at right tackle and horrible at center. Without an adequate center, our offense can't be efficient and will continue to be a weakness no matter who designs the offense. I couldn't care less what the fan's opinion on Edwards is. They don't know what it takes to play QB in the NFL, nor do they have the patience to wait for one to develop. They enjoy the stupidity of WGR55, watching American Idol, and playing fantasy football more than knowing the workings of an NFL team- a team that exists in reality. If you can find a post where I called our special teams garbage, please show it to me. Apparently this is just another fabrication. AS I have said before, we rely too much on our special teams, needing kick and punt returns to score. The talent level we have right now is closer to putting up a 6-10 season than a winning record. Sorry if you don't like it, but thats how it is. When you have a second year QB who has yet to experience growing pains, the last thing you need is a center who can't block, a RB who can't pick up the blitz and just one threat at WR. Oh wait, I forgot, we expect our rookie WR to post a 2,000 yard season with 15 touchdowns......relying on that will get you far. Our offense will improve but continue to be inconsistent. The main improvement of our offense will come from increased possessions and field position from our defense and special teams. By the way- Degeorgio and Wilson are just fine as backups. Neither can diagnose a play as quickly as you need to in the NFL. Our coaching staff helped put them in position to make plays utilizing what few skills they had. Thats the way things work in the NFL

What do you say to the argument that neither QB has been given a real shot yet. JP Losman was wrongly inserted in both his first and second years in the league, instead of developing behind a veteran like Bledsoe, while we aquire NFL caliber talent (which we still are looking for). Edwards was thrown in as a rookie, and now people think he can play like a veteran. Both have been set up to fail.

I fifth that.....go put on your Tom Brady jersey.....although I am sure you also have an Eli Manning Jersey as well now

Actually, McCain's 40 time was 150 years ago, and Obama just tells us it changes, despite he times the same each time

I agree with you. I see posts about the Dallas game- Jauron and the staff had our players in position to make plays, and that kept us in the game. Talent won out that day. Jauron had a GARBAGE team to work with last season- DeGieogio and Wilson will never be starters in this league. A 3-year QB split time with a rookie, and both had one legit threat to throw to and our best offensive play was having a rookie RB evade three unblocked defenders in the backfield for a breakaway touchdown. Our D-line was terrible and our O-line was vastly overrated despite having the single best lineman in football. Our secondary was terrible and we relied too heavily on running back kickoffs and punts. This is the type of team that Jauron has worked with.

Its not just about what the bills have done. Everyone other than New England has gotten better in the division. The entire AFC looks very tough as well. We will be on the fringe of wildcard contention in the final quarter or the season. Our defense will be better regardless of how Stroud plays. Our offense may be slightly better than last year, but I don't expect much out of a 2nd year QB or 1st year WR. My expectation is that Hardy will start the season in the slot and the punt returner will be opposite Evans early on

I guarantee a top 32 offense and defense!

If we didn't have to make the atomic bomb, could we have made it? Sometimes you have to be thrown into the fire.