BillsVet

Got it BB! PS: the poster of Bills fame, not the evil diabolical coach

If Levy was as successful as some made him out to be, the team would be better now. But they're not, and the front office's bad decisions from 04-08 are why this team is back to square one. I don't know who should coach this team in 2010, but there's a huge attitude adjustment necessary in that locker room. I would not object to Marty, as long as he had a successor on the coaching staff. Marty's probably able to build a foundation, and that's what this organization needs. Not some emotionless, conservative, and uninspiring shell on the sideline.

Where in my posts have I indicated I'm for the status quo? There needs to be a complete rebuild, beginning from the front office on down to the roster. I'm not betting it's going to happen, given the ownership being what it is. There are so many issues to consider that aren't obvious to dealing TO. How does marketing recover, the accusation that it could be (and I'm not sure of this) a cost cutting move, RW's permission, the idea that it could signal a giving up on the season, and so on. If this team had a plan for the future it would be a wise move. But I'm not so sure they do, aside from maximizing profitability for the sale down the road.

Look at the big picture for a moment. In all probability, they'll need to soothe fans' concerns for 2010 and I'm sure most ticket buyers will remember this team dealt their biggest name early in 2009 if TO were traded. Brandon et al will need to market this team next season and I'm sure he's anticipating (as any good manager does) the challenges ahead. Trading TO will leave a bad taste in fans' minds because it indicates the team wasn't serious about winning and more concerned with saving money.

No, the firestorm is unavoidable at this point. The PR people are taking additional measures with each week to disguise their inept team and coach. Although they've got TO, who is like the center attraction in a three ring circus. People watch him while the clown act continues to perform out of the spotlight. If they want to re-sign the guy, well fine. But the novelty effect will eventually wear off and the PR department will need another act to draw fans in for 2010. The gimmicks have sold tickets since Marv arrived. With disgusted fans increasing each week, gimmicks aren't going to get it done for next season.

The black hole in the front office is going to get more scrutiny as this season progresses. Yeah, TO deflects the blame, but I don't see the Bills trading him because their entire marketing campaign was built on the guy. A firestorm would erupt among fans who want to come see TO if he were traded.

The next CBA may have a lot to do with players coming out in 2010, whether they want to or not. It's a long ways off, but the next agreement could have a rookie cap, similar to the NBA rookie pay system.

The Bills won't trade TO because he's the only big ticket player they have, and the team signed him to make up for DJ. Without TO, the focus will be on the coach and front office even more than it is now. RW made the call to sign TO, and it'll take his blessing to trade the guy. I highly doubt he acquiesces and permits their only big name player to go for a draft pick, even if it's best for the future of the franchise.

The worst part is that it took the casual uninformed fans more than 3 seasons to realize Levy had no business being a GM in this league, regardless of whether he was just the consensus builder or actually responsible. I give credit to those fans who came back and admitted they were wrong about Levy. Personally, a lot of fans could not admit Levy was wrong because they had too much personally invested in the guy's success. One TBD'er with many posts was a big Levy fan and hasn't been heard from very much lately.

I'm sorry, but I don't have my sarcasm detector on tonight and trust you're joking. The answer is, teams that are trying to win do not trade outstanding LT's. People can malign Peters and say he was lazy, money-hungry, et al, but every time someone leaves Buffalo, there's something from the Bills PR folks to explain why that player had to go. Ask Langston Walker. OT depth, as Sisyphean points out, was razor thin in camp. And the crap being fed to Bills fans about Walker and now Bell is being exposed as propaganda. If I want kool-aid, I'll call this guy. The Philadelphia Eagles are a team built with good OL play, with HC Andy Reid making the call to trade for Peters. Am I supposed to believe a team with success nearly every season this decade are foolish and the misunderstood and naive Bills know something we don't? Doubtful.

My opinion of DJ would not change based on this one game, especially when you consider the debilitating losses over the past 3+ seasons. Bills fans are experiencing the same nauseating type of losses as Bears fans did from 99-03, save for the miracle 01 season. No one should expect anything different from the HC, because his track record is too long to believe he'll ever change. I anticipate seeing the same conservative play not to lose game-plan DJ is famous for. And given that DJ has missed the playoffs in 7 of 8 years, I won't even consider the post-season. At a minimum, Buffalo needs to go 9-2 in their final 11 to even think of a playoff berth.

When all else fails for some TBD'ers, fall back on how they are in pro football and individual posters aren't. It's a woeful attempt at argument suppression in the face of facts and logic. When you begin a rebuild project in 2006 and aren't on track to make the playoffs in 2009, it's called failure. Nothing less than absolute failure. Levy is a big part of it.

And would it surprise anyone that Brandon remains the GM after this season is over? I guess they like continuity without accountability. When was the last time a LT in his prime was traded? Leave it to the Bills to be the first ones because they seem to know better than the other 31 teams in the NFL.

Well, the past two seasons the Bills haven't played well when the temperature drops, which obviously isn't relevant this season. They plain stink when the weather is good, which I didn't explain well. They need a physical football team that out-muscles opponents, and they don't have it. IIRC, Jim Schwartz and Tony Sparano are two coaches who insisted (the latter with Parcells input) that off-season workouts feature heavy weight lifting and less on other stuff. I know the Cover 2 can work, but it absolutely must have the right personnel to run it. The Bills don't have those players and consistently wear down. I'm thinking the next first round pick for the Bills is either a OT or DL. And yet we used 3 top picks on OL and DL this past season, though Maybin was a project and not big enough.

I also remember RB saying the Bills had offered Peters the largest contract in team history. That's somewhat misleading, as NFL deals aren't guaranteed. But I don't think it'd be out of the question to say the contract was 6 yrs and 9M per. At 54M total, it's less (in total dollars) than what Peters received in Philadelphia but more than Schobel received 2 years ago. Peters may not singlehandedly win games for his new team, but he's a far cry from losing them. Even factoring the cost, his being on this team would mean the line wouldn't change like it did, and the need to draft a LT (Bell is nowhere near ready) wouldn't be there either.

I'm tired of hearing how the defense played well, but broke down in the fourth quarter of games. This has been a major problem of DJ era teams, particularly when the weather turns bad, as you've indicated repeatedly. The Bills show 3 DLineman who are under contract for 2010 that will be 30 or older. There's still much to do there. Meanwhile, the OT's are collectively very poor and lacking talent. Again, this team will need to go big early, and I wouldn't mind seeing seeing a DT or LT. Buffalo needs to win when the temps dip. They haven't done that against quality competition (remember the home Giants game in 07) in a long time.

Bill, the joke is that people think this team is competing for the playoffs. Anyone with half a brain knew when the Bills retained their HC and dismantled the OL that it was not going anywhere. I've only been a season ticket holder for three seasons now since I got off active duty. Short of revamping the front office and hiring a proven HC (there is no requirement they need one of the name coaches) I can't see myself dealing with the same stuff we've witnessed since TD was fired. If the first pick in next years draft isn't an OT, something's dreadfully wrong. Not that you didn't know already.

You cannot be serious. McCargo with the Ravens coaching and their scheme (even if they needed a 3 technique DT, which they don't use) would fail. Haloti Ngata is one of the league's best DT's, and he can play in a 4-3 or 3-4. Coaching cannot inspire unmotivated players, and cannot make up for a lack of talent. McCargo can't get on the field in an average DT rotation, while Ngata is dominating. Marv's coaching resume pales in comparison to his time as GM, or consensus-maker. Either way, he led an organization that failed twice on draft day 06, UFA 06-07, and his HC. That's why this team is in the doldrums.

Marv was set up to fail when he came aboard as quasi-GM. And he predictably did for a number of reasons. He and RW hired the wrong HC who convinced them to build this team with small players and inferior lineman. And they spent valuable resources chasing bad UFA's in 06-07. At the same time, Marv's failures as a GM demonstrate beyond belief that Bill Polian had more to do with the glory years successes. For the record, I did not expect him to admit his failures on WGR yesterday, but it's obvious he's in complete denial. Or he doesn't want to speak badly about his friend Wilson's team and lose whatever position he has with the team. He is not an impartial commentator on the sorry state of the Buffalo Bills.

JH and the organization he works for are in a class by themselves. The fact they've allegedly got a HC who hit an assistant makes the Bills look minor league. Nine (going on 10) seasons without the playoffs, DJ's mere presence, Toronto, and the owner refusing to talk about the team spells fan discontent. I still say this could get worse than TD's final year in Buffalo. I agree, their response to controversy has been amateurish. The Ring ceremony last week, questions about no-huddle, Schonert's firing, Jason Peters, et al. It all shows that the Bills are getting desperate to avoid answering all the legitimate questions about what's going on as they crash and burn in 2009.

Is John Herrera from the Raiders advising the Bills PR folks? I think it's funny all the different PR miscues which happened in just the past week.

Don't forget his two Chicago OC's: Gary Crowton and John Shoop who are not in the NFL anymore. 5 OC's in 9 seasons and four of them do not cash a NFL paycheck.

I suppose if there's a collection of say, Polian, Butler, and AJ Smith then consensus isn't bad. But with Marv, Brandon, Guy, and Modrak, it's not a coincidence they've struggled to build a roster. Either way, they'll need to revamp the front office to have a chance next season. It's going to take a rebuild, which no one wants to admit. There's a certain degree of cooperation required between the GM, personnel guys, and head coach. So there ought to be some coordination in UFA and on draft day. But when all is said and done, I expect a strong GM to make the final decision and not hope to satisfy everyone by taking the safe route. But this is Ralphie's team, and the only strong decision maker is him, and it's a pipe dream to think he'll allow anyone to do this.

Consensus is not how teams are built. All it does is attempt to appease multiple opinions and personalities and gets you average type players. From what I've read, Bill Polian fought hard to make the trade for Cornelius Bennett, while Marv Levy wasn't crazy about it at first. If consensus was used, perhaps Bennett does not wind up in Buffalo. I'm sure guys like Jerry Reese (NYG) Polian, Tom Dimitroff (ATL), and AJ Smith aren't worried about building consensus. They're too busy running the personnel for a NFL team. A leader takes the recommendations from their advisors and makes the best decision for the team. Donahoe may not have worked, but it's no reason to avoid finding someone who knows what they're doing for fear they could alienate others in the front office. It's not a popularity contest, it's the NFL.

The breaking point between fans and the team is a lot closer, IMO, than most people think. Keeping Dick Jauron, trading Peters, firing Schonert just before the season (he did need to go), not firing DJ after the recent games, and the owner postponing his HOF ring ceremony are examples of the dysfunction. One or two of these moves might not be enough, but these things happened in one off-season. It'll only get worse as this debacle of a season continues. The franchise is being exposed with each passing day as amateurish, insecure, and ultimately avoiding the truth. Fans are seeing that the team is not being honest and aren't interested in having a winner, unless of course they happen to luck into one. In order to get this team back on track, the team needs to start making long term decisions. But with a 91 year old owner, moves like hiring a real GM, hiring a proven HC, and building for the long haul probably aren't going to happen. Nice post.