BillsVet

Forget it, he's rolling.

Definitely. And let's all remember who decided to retain DJ after last season's 2-8 finish. The man should not have been hired to be more than a secondary coach after what he did in Chicago from 99-03.

Where is the thread started which told the story of someone calling DJ on a talk show in Chicago calling him gutless? Maybe those Bears fans had it right in 2002.

What a cogent and well thought out response! Someone relatively new makes a point you disagree with and is swiftly attacked. Is it impossible to believe perhaps that the Bills might cut a moderately paid OT who was set up to fail by being asked to transition to LT? I don't think so. Heck, I'm sure most of the Bills fans on this board didn't think it was possible to go 7-9 three straight seasons either.

Is it Turk's offense in DJ's system or merely Turk's offense? I simply can't recall seeing a lot of those types of plays last season. He's not a "rookie" coordinator. After all, he'll remind us he knew Bill Walsh.

IIRC, the coaching staff was concerned about the interior of the OL and having the QB turn his back to the LOS. I can't remember many PA passes, but it is Turk Schonert we're talking about. Screens, slants, PA, none of it is necessary.

Yes, given that most who have been in combat know of people who died for that flag. I do. Disrespecting the flag is incendiary speech to me, although that perspective would never hold up in a court of law. If Sellers intentionally put the flag onto the ground, that's reprehensible. But if he made a mistake, I would hope that's the last time he's trusted with handling the American Flag.

Rookies historically do not make an impact in the NFL until their 2nd or 3rd season, with the exception perhaps of RB's. Therefore, expecting rookies to come in an make a positive difference is foolish. But because they're new and highly touted fans believe they can be counted on to play at a high level. Buffalo has been rebuilding off the TD regime for 4 off-seasons. Why did it take that long to figure out they actually needed to draft OL? I won't even go into the pass-rush issues. We have a front office that's not even average with a coaching staff which isn't good, and rookies OL are going to turn this thing around? No, not quite.

How long should a fanbase reasonably expect their team to take to rebuild? We've seen it done in as little as one season, and we've seen teams address it over the long haul. Atlanta and Miami rebuilt and won after completely nuking their on and off-field personnel. The AFC is much tougher than the NFC, which leaves bubble teams like Buffalo out in the cold. They may need to go 11-5 just to make the playoffs. Then again, after three seasons and four off-seasons, shouldn't they be there by now?

Mitchell was an upgrade, and he signed a relatively modest contract as well. Stroud has been the DT they felt wasn't needed from 06-07 when Buffalo thought they could get by without big mean DT's. It was a good move. I'm of the opinion that building a team must be done on the OL and DL after having the QB. The Bills have spent 11 of their 13 picks in rounds 1-4 of the 06, 07, and 08 drafts on skill positions. Stroud was a good trade, but they still have issues rushing the passer. And now we've seen the OL get blown up for the second time in a few years. I hope Bell works, but that's all it is: hope.

2008: 7-9 (0-6 in division play; 2-8 in final 10) Stroud and Mitchell were improvements, but they couldn't make up for poor coaching and inferior all-around play. Owens will help, but he plays a position which relies on OL and QB play. Rhodes will eventually become the 3rd string RB. Skill players without top notch OL and DL play aren't worth much.

This sort of nonsense: 1. Dockery-49M over 7 seasons. 2. Walker-25M over 5 3. Tripplett-18.5M over 5 4. Royal-12.5M over 5 5. P. Price-10M over 4 6. Fowler-7M over 3 7. Reyes-5M over 2 8. Kiwaukee Thomas 9. Matt Bowen 10. Anthony Thomas 11. Craig Nall 12. Andre Davis 13. Jason Webster 14. Jason Whittle 130M in contracts over 2 seasons. Granted not all of that was paid, but these UFA signings are typical of this front office: quantity over qualitiy. I don't expect them sign a marquee UFA each season, but wouldn't it be better to sign one or two solid UFA's then a bunch of bad ones?

How about the contracts those guys got. Surely no world beaters, but definitely money well spent, do you think high and mighty one?

Washington will struggle this season, but I can't believe that NE misses the playoffs two seasons in a row. I'm sure Belichick is especially motivated to beat up on some teams this season like they did in 2007. Week 1 will provide a significant test for the Bills and DJ doesn't historically beat playoff caliber teams. He's 13-43 career against teams making the post-season.

You've been backing up the front office for quite some time now. My point remains that the Bills traded Peters and intended to replace him with LW at almost the outset of the off-season. Now they're changing again. This is not merely about depth chart and making cosmetic changes. We're talking about starting a second guy at the most important OLine position in four months. How many teams change their starting LT out of camp? Not many teams do. Bumping a guy up at WR or LB is one thing. Potentially changing your LT to a guy who hasn't started an NFL game is another. This is, if it happens, major stuff. If Bell starts and Walker is benched or outright released, that's 14 failed FA's fro 2006-2007. That's how I know the front office is bad.

That's a lot of transition in four months. Potentially, Walker goes from RT to LT and back to RT. Butler from RG to RT and back. Bell becomes a starter and Wood from RG to LG. Sure this is speculation, but an OL cannot be forged by repeatedly shifting players to new positions. Granted these guys are bright, but asking them to move so often is not conducive to success. This line is still in transition.

Couldn't help but notice Bell played LT in GB for a series or two. Thing is, if he becomes the starter and displaces other players, how much does that speak of the front office for saying LW would be the starting LT? Makes me wonder who's judging the roster from the front office, especially considering they figured LW would be the starter and now that could be changing.

DJ is certainly trying to field a defense full of DB's. In four drafts with DJ as HC, they've used 2 1sts, 1 2nd, 1 3rd, and 2 4ths on DB's. The result is less spent in areas we still have question marks at: pass rushers and blockers.

Never mind that Dockery, Fowler, and Preston were sent packing after 08. Peters is directly responsible for their play as well.

I have a sinking suspicion that the defense will need to be better than hoped in 09. If the no-huddle offense can't sustain drives, it's the defense which will be spending a lot more time on the field. They've had issues holding up over the course of the season That DL is the most important part of the defense. They've been OK handling the run, but if teams see Buffalo demonstrating a distinct weakness generating a pass rush, they'll throw like GB did last week. All the DB's in the world do not make up for 2 or 3 guys who can rush the passer.

If I was criticizing a team like Pittsburgh, the Giants, or the Colts, that's one thing. Those teams more often than not make the right on and off field decisions. The Bills have defied logic, what with 30 other NFL teams having made the post-season since 2000. I go to the games to be with friends second and watch football first. Perhaps that's revolutionary, but I can't stand to lose. And lately all the team has done is find ways to lose. After 9 years, Bills fans deserve more than hope. They deserve results and doing things the same way may give hope before a season, but it won't produce results in-season. There is no substitute for victory. A wise man once said that.

Buffalo is 9 for 9 this decade in getting expectations up and dropping people by the end of the season. We should be able to go into at least one season expecting to win and not just hoping to win.

Look PTR, I hate to rain on your emotionally driven rant here, but ain't much different in 09 than there was in 08. Same coaching staff. Same starting defense. Same front office. Plenty of rookies, and a much harder schedule. I'd love to wax poetic that this season will be different, but let's be serious here. DJ still coaches this team. I go to the games on Sunday because I want to see the team win. But I don't have to stand idly by and mute my opinion when for the better part of the decade the same people in management are still running the show. Sorry.

If you don't know where this team is going, you're not paying attention. Rose colored glasses are to this board what Blublockers are to senior citizens. If a team regresses during the preseason when confronted with the very defense which decimated them last season, how can that be considered pessimistic? The offense is strong at the skill positions, but weak up front. Same with the defense, where they have the guys possibly in the secondary, but the front 7 isn't stellar. This will translate into serious problems, many of which were revelated in 2008. As the OP pointed out, the lines are the issue. Buffalo's spent 12 of their top 14 picks from 06-08 on skill positions. They tried to buy an OL and it didn't work. After three drafts, they finally admitted a need to draft linemen. Too little too late for DJ and the 09 Bills, but hopefully for the future.

IMO, Vince Lombardi is the greatest coach or manager in all of major professional sports. After losing his first playoff game with GB, he said that his teams would never lose a playoff game again. They didn't and GB won 9 straight on their way to 5 World Titles.