BillsVet

Brandon is not making decisions, RW is. He doesn't have any experience as a scout of personnel director like every other NFL GM has. Brandon could not fire DJ, or he would have. No one seems to understand that Brandon isn't qualified even if he had the power to do anything. The failure is RW's for elevating a non-football man into the most critical football position in the front office. And RW has assumed the role himself, despite the fact he is nearly 91. Brandon just seems like a face they trot out their during the off-season moves this team makes which don't translate to winning on Sundays.

The team is built to make money, especially when the owner won't fire a HC with that terrible record against winning teams for fear of paying him not to work. RW is making the decisions, and if that's not sobering, we're in a division with Parcells, Belichick, and the big money Jets. The only way to win in Buffalo is if the team invested in talent evaluators and a real GM who knew his business. Unfortunately, RW is under no pressure to field stellar management. He's also afraid of another Donahoe who had so much control it scared RW into never letting that happen again. Ralph is 91 in about three weeks and he's not making long term plans for anything. He wants to go out his way, and if that means the team is profitable and bad on the field, so be it.

Why should the thinking change? No one's going to alter anything which sells out every game and 55k season tickets for the 08 and 09 seasons. The team remains a business first and strives to win about 5th in the order of importance.

Did anyone say, "it's just a NFC game" last year when Buffalo defeated the terrible Rams early last year? Did anyone say "it's just a NFC game" when SF beat Buffalo 10-3 last year? The answers are no and no respectively. Win the games. Or have DJ coach your team and lost to AFCE games, AFC games, and NFC games.

Forget it around here. You make valid points about management and direction they've taken this team. There is no GM, and the owner makes the big decisions. They've made so many personnel mistakes, it shows they're not going full-tilt to find the best talent. For the record, Ozzie Newsome is pretty good at evaluating talent. By comparison, the Bills have a marketing guy as their supposed GM.

Remember this thread? Coward-gate The more things change, the more they stay the same. TBC was a proponent back then of DJ, and it's amazing an actual football fan continues spouting off about something so obvious.

9 years without a playoff appearance. 13 years without a playoff win. Some of the most debilitating losses in team history since 2006. HC who has no guts. HC, as Jerry Sullivan points out, is 2-21 against winning teams since 2006. If you'd like to be optimistic, keep living in fantasy world. Nothing has changed.

I was at the game today, and man did it remind me of late last season when the team self-destructed in the final ten games. Fans can say TD set this franchise back, and he did. The 04 and 05 drafts were a disaster aside from Evans. But Marv and DJ followed those up with drafts which focused on smaller players. When they did take a lineman, it was McCargo who is a complete bust and on this team because they're thin at DT. The Bills are 22-29 since Levy's hiring. Just like TD's era hurt the current, so too did the 06-current era when we effectively had no true GM.

There's only one thing that matters at Miami next week... Tony Sparano versus Dick Jauron TS out-coached DJ twice last season, and it should be noted that DJ was in his eighth full NFL season as a HC. Sparano is already a better coach than DJ ever will be, and makes the most out of a roster with severe issues.

Edwards is completely lost at sea without a life jacket. He's had only one HC in his career, and that guy is a loser. That's not to say TE is completely without fault. Today's game shows he doesn't trust his receivers to be where they're supposed to. And the slightest mistake will cause him to retreat into a shell. DJ's play conservatively has permeated the entire team. Now, all we've got to look forward to is TO blowing up, because DJ ain't going anywhere until at the earliest after the season. It'd be against RW's philosophy.

Some things take time to hash out. This board was crazy about the 2006 draft...until recently. Really 2 decent players in Whitner and Williams. Aside from that is pretty much garbage. Smart educated fans knew when DJ was hired in early 2006 that he was bad. And nearly four years later he's confirmed what smart people already knew. But we're supposed to give it time before we can draw a conclusion. Yeah, whatever.

Rucker was dumped by possibly the worst team in the NFL and you'd recommend signing him? What will Parrish bring after this game? Probably a late round pick. Who on the veteran street free agent list would you sign? No one has taken a shot on Runyan, and I've got to believe he's not up to it. And yes, Buffalo needs to use TO more. And while we're at it, how about Lee Evans as well. Those two are the highest paid decoys in the league.

Where are the fans who thought DJ would change when he kept his job about 9 months ago? Hmm? He is what he's always been and does anyone want to admit they figured DJ would improve in his 9th NFL season? He has not nor will he change...EVER.

Who can possibly believe this man will be fired after last season? He finished 2-8 and could not get the axe! This man is so utterly incapable of winning, either with lots of talent or not. He is an absolute perfect match for Ralph's franchise. He'll work for less and the team demands little of him. Meanwhile, the real goal of this team is to sell tickets, and they did that sufficiently.

John, it's abundantly clear that DJ is a very good man. The stories of him in HS illustrate this, let alone his complete inability to throw players and coaches (Turk) under the bus for any reason. But it's hard to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who's recorded 1 winning season in 8 and cannot beat playoff teams in the regular season. I think most Bills fans realize this, but it's painfully obvious he needs a lot of talent and breaks to go his way. He's not inspiring, and I'm not referring to being a Cowher type who yells. Just someone who anticipates, makes good decisions, and doesn't draft DB's early and often in the NFL Draft. BTW, thanks for returning. I look forward to more discussions on football and other interesting topics.

A LOT can happen in 14 games. This team has already incurred two injuries to starters and no one knows how this will affect them. DJ is the same coach, regardless of who the OC and #1 WR are. The defense made some nice plays on Sunday, but also allowed TB to throw when the run was removed later in the second half. Edwards needs to continue improving and learn to trust Owens and Evans. The lack of passes thrown to Evans was a little bothersome, but I'm interested to see how or if the Bills can stay ahead of opposing defenses. Adapting is the key in the NFL, and Turkey Schonert couldn't do it last year after the 5-1 start.

I do too, but it's still way too early to tell. Pass rushers are not found in abundance, and the Bills took the one they felt was best. Problem is, most fans expect a first round pick to be instant impact and when they're not, they look for someone playing better at the moment. Vince Young vs. Mario Williams is a perfect example. NFL rookies generally need 1-2 years to develop, other than perhaps RB's who rely on instincts and physical ability. Most other positions, including DE, need to build strength and learn how to beat blockers with more than just speed.

No question Brees and the offense can light it up, while their defense is not especially strong. OTOH, Buffalo runs a no-huddle offense which may result in some quick 3 and outs, although their coach is a defense first run the ball type coach. Buffalo's run defense has been good, but their pass defense not so much.

I think McIntyre gets the axe when Lynch returns. He's not featured in the offense, and I don't think he's such a ST demon that they need him. Maybe there's a tackle out there with talent, but who knows if they're ready. This is where Pro Personnel needs to have a plan, and I'm not confident those guys are that great. A WGR reporter made a point of asking why does Jim Overdorf participate in meetings regarding street free agents. I thought it was noteworthy, considering JO's job is to basically sign people and manage the cap. I can't imagine anyone off the street is going to break the bank and put the team near the cap. Then again, it's the Bills we're talkig about.

Passer rating is built heavily on the most useless stat for a QB: completion percentage. Neither statistic provides a good way to judge a QB.

I read on PFT not long ago that ESPN employees no less than 23 former NFL players. And Schlereth does what all of them do: make obvious predictions. Aside from maybe their pre-game show, I could care less about their group of analysts. Rock Hoover can't act either.

Rex Ryan hasn't done anything in the NFL. Mike Tomlin is a SB winning HC that seems like one of the brightest young minds in the NFL. Ryan also wasn't considered for a lot of HC jobs because of his emotions and affinity for talking.

Glad Jay Glazer informed Posluszny his arm was broken. It's those kind of insider reports that keep me logging onto the internet at work. But I still hope he doesn't suffer an MCL tear in 2011.

If this were the NHL or MLB, I wouldn't get worked up long term about one debilitating blown loss. But in an extremely tough AFC where one team went 11-5 last season and didn't make the playoffs, one game looms large. The margin for error in the AFC is extremely thin. Good teams that make the playoffs win those types of games at some point. NFL teams cannot afford to give games away and get into the post-season. This was a division loss to boot, which puts Buffalo in an early hole there as well.

Even of draft day and UFA the Bills have become a DJ team. Instead of being the NYG and drafting pass rushers early and often, DJ chooses to take DB's who sit in zone coverage and wait for the pass to be thrown. All real football fans know the first and best way to stop a passing game is by having 2-3 guys who can get to the QB. We know Schobel still has some ability, but neither Kelsay nor Denney will ever be threats that other teams will plan for. Maybin has a long way to go, but depending on him to improve a pass rush was not realistic. We draft DB's and successful teams take pass rushers. No wonder the pass defense has worsened every year since DJ took over. At least we've got 11 DB's on the roster that can watch Brees on 9/27.