BillsVet

I sit in the front row of one of the tunnel side endzones. After TO signed, I thought about having him catching TD's in our corner, and I think that'll influence it. His signing isn't a cure-all, and the Bills need help on the OL and rushing the passer. But yes, they're relevant again. I hope he's used correctly and Schonert doesn't get pass happy to placate TO. But it makes the decision a little easier.

I think he'll be off the board in the second, but Shawn Nelson seems to be a late riser. He had a fine Senior Bowl, and pancaked Maualuga in drills. Casey will be a 25 year old rookie, and doesn't seem to have the blocking ability Buffalo might want. He had great production, but it was Rice. Ingram put on 15 pounds and is coming off the ACL tear, but he's the type who if recovered, has the speed to stretch the field. I still believe any receivers coming out of UF need to prove they're capable of playing in a NFL offense and not the spread.

Unless Owens can be a pass rusher, I think they've got to look defense in the first round, especially on the DL.

Give you a lot of credit for coming back and saying this. I've been thinking about giving up my season ticket, but I'm leaning toward going back now.

Tim, I've heard in separate articles that Dick Jauron either did or didn't have much say in the decision to sign. What do you know about his role in all of this. In all honestly, I can't see DJ wanting TO, despite this being a make or break season for the HC. I've said it before, if DJ doesn't like this move then I love it.

SB, I've got to believe DJ wasn't thrilled with this move. But if DJ doesn't like it, then I love it. TO will be the antithesis of what DJ does: say nothing, publicly don't accept responsibility for screwing up on gameday, and giving PC's which are brutally boring. TO changes the entire dynamic, and the coaching staff should be concerned because he's going to make them accountable. Perhaps not in the most professional way, but he's someone who will say something when things go bad. And that's a far cry from what they've done between 06-08.

What makes you think Dead Dick was in favor of signing one of the biggest personalities in the NFL? If I had to guess, it was not DJ who gave the go-ahead to get TO. Frankly speaking those two are about as different as oil and water. This move was made when RW and Brandon had the chance to improve their team, at their price, and increase the team's visibility. Selling tickets probably went up, but it wasn't DJ who made this call.

I can't imagine Jauron liked this move and in all probability it was Wilson and Brandon who gave the green light to sign Owens. Therefore, if DJ doesn't like it then I'm all for it. I had zero faith in Jauron getting this team into the playoffs with the talent on the roster prior to the Owens signing. DJ had his chance from 06-08 to get this team into the playoffs his way. I believe DJ lost some of his personnel control after the 2-8 finish last year.

This sort of move has a huge domino effect throughout the team and division. TO obviously gives Evans more breathing room, but Reed as a true slot receiver should excel in 3 receiver sets. I imagine Schonert will use more of these in the offense. One thing that fans can't forget is that NE, NYJ, and MIA aren't strong in the secondary. They've all been putting resources into their secondaries, and this sort of move can expose weaknesses real fast.

I'd love to know who green-lighted this move. Probably Brandon over DJ's objections. Wouldn't it be funny to see Owens and Schonert sniping at each other. TS: "I knew Bill Walsh" TO: "Who's that? I don't care anyway, I'm a HOF'er!"

Isn't that amazing...and they're doing hockey pregame Ridiculous.

I think plenty of the optimists come from one of two categories: 1. Younger fans who've only started watching in the past few years and haven't witnessed the ways of RW. Or 2. Fans who would be classified as casual fans, and don't understand when the hard-core fans complain. They're on a different wavelength and if the team loses, no big deal. There aren't many places where the fans are more loyal, yet have less results-wise. I don't care for the mentality of "we have a team, better support it because they could move." Most of the teams who haven't done well in recent years have made changes, i.e. Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City, even Cleveland. But Buffalo keeps chugging along with the same cast of characters. If more Bills fans looked around the league at what's happening, they'd realize the Bills are in a small minority of losers. I would hope fans demand more, but I'm not a casual fan who doesn't care about W's and L's.

A lot of fans, myself included, complain about DJ and Fewell's handling of the defense. It's clear all they know is T2, yet don't have the horses to run it. For two years we heard about lighter, quicker, and faster DLineman. After allowing 140 rypg in 06 and 125 rypg in 07, they finally acquired Stroud. They should know the weakness to playing T2 is yielding yards in the running game and wearing it down. That happened for two seasons before they admitted Tripplett and Williams weren't good enough and made a change. DJ is going to sink or swim with this defense. Yet they don't have the pass rushers like Indy has in Mathis and Freeney or TB had about 6-8 years ago. It doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon, but getting to the QB is the most important aspect of this defense. You can have a secondary of All-Pro's, and they'll be lit up without constant pressure. Drafting secondary and skilled players is nice, but it's been the undoing of TD and the Levy/Brandon era. As long as DJ has any say in personnel, he's going to go with what he knows. And that's not much.

Good old Chris Brown, lead cheerleader for the minor league Buffalo Bills . Even he must go home at night convinced he's a sell-out. After all, it's gotta be pretty tough to spin this team. And after DJ's presser back at the combine, CB wrote that he gave the HC a lot of credit. Credit for what? Losing 2 out of 10 and wiping out a 5-1 start in less than a four weeks? Brown specializes in puff pieces and hype.

Deuce's knees are not good. 2 ACL tears in the last four years IIRC. He's a high character player, but I haven't heard his name mentioned in a long time.

This thread has 31 posts in it including this one. And 12 of them are from Bravofrog. Talk about arrogance. I'd like to complain that Bravofrog is posting way too much. But I didn't see that as an option to select.

Babin was, "limited due to playing time opportunities?" Amazing spin work there from Chris Brown. I'll translate and say he was a first round bust looking for his fourth team in 7 seasons. Have to give CB some credit there.

Evidently nine straight seasons without a playoff appearance is appealing to you. As are: 13 seasons since the last playoff win. 1 winning record in 9 seasons. Having a HC with 1 winning record in 9 seasons Going 2-8 in their last 10 games of 2008 Couple that with the other NFL franchises in the same boat-Detroit-and if you're still optimistic, you're probably thinking the stock market will turn around any day now. The schedule will be harder in 09 than it was in 08. Unless the Bills have the easiest schedule next year, which is highly doubtful. But keep going on being optimistic. The others will read the writing on the wall from the team.

And in 2009, the Bills schedule won't be a bunch of pushovers they found a way to lose to as in 08. They'll face off against their division rivals, along with the AFC and NFC South. If that's not sobering, I don't know what is. Being at the Cleveland and SF games, Buffalo was handed the game many times and could not find a way to score. I have a feeling the team will see a lot of people walk away, especially with the combination of keeping DJ and doing practically nothing in free agency. Can't wait to hype the draft that they're depending on.

Great post. I feel the same way. I check for free agent news and look forward to the draft (probably too much) but I have no belief whatsoever that this team will improve in 2009 and make the playoffs. Maybe this is management's exit strategy for leaving the Buffalo area when RW eventually passes. I don't know, but it's clear the attempt to win now isn't there. If it were, RW would have fired DJ (he's fired coaches before for lesser reasons) and hired a real GM. As it stands, neither came to fruition and free agency hasn't inspired much.

Leave it to the Bills to hype draft day as a time to find players (other than RB's) who will make an immediate impact. Rookies usually struggle, especially those taken after the first round. The Bills have one first round pick, and if they're lucky will get some production there. Truth is, DJ won't play rookies if he can find a way. Case in point was McKelvin not playing for McGee at Miami. But guys like Lynch and Posluszny will play when there's absolutely no one else on the depth chart. Those rookies should be expected to be contributors in 2-3 years, not immediately. It was unbelievable that Buffalo thought Hardy would come in as a second rounder and make plays. He wasn't ready, and it showed later in the season.

I've been a fan since the late eighties/early nineties as well. And IMO, what we're seeing is the final goodbye to this franchise. I didn't expect to see Haynesworth or Houshmandzadeh signed, but I didn't think they'd sign the three they have. The Bills are coasting along until Mr. Wilson passes and the team is sold. The priority since TD was canned is to keep the books in good shape for the inevitable sale. Everything fits nicely: keeping DJ, selling games to Toronto, not spending in UFA, and relying on hype that never is fulfilled. I've only had seasons for two years, and in the words of a good friend who I went to games with, "I'm just tired of losing." After what I've seen in UFA, I don't think the turnaround is coming this season. Some will wait until the absolute last minute to see that there isn't a light at the end of the tunnel. Others are reading the writing on the wall.

Frankly speaking, the Bills aren't much better as a team today than they were on the final weekend of the regular season. Someone will chime in with the, "we don't play games until September" speech, but there are two principal ways to acquire players. One is free agency and the other is the draft and both take place in the March-April timeframe. For all the talk there is of players who are released, that's not a viable way to build a winner. Ralph Wilson did say the Bills were under-talented, and yet his handpicked front office has responded in underwhelming fashion since UFA opened on 2/27. The coach who arguably lost games this season with poor clock management and personnel decisions is still on board. Millions of cap room will be on the books only to be wiped away unused. You almost have to wonder if they know this is the exit the strategy. Three straight 7-9 seasons and nine years without a playoff appearance wear down a fan base, and rightly so. For the time being, they're putting a team on the field they hope can compete. If they don't, no big deal, as long as people show up to watch. If they don't attend, they can blame the economy even though fans find ways to go to sporting events.

We won't know which team's will be good or bad for awhile. But I don't think most fans are confident that DJ and his staff can out-maneuver most opposing coaching staffs, no matter which team. DJ's been beaten by everyone from the likes of Belichick, to rookie coaches like Sparano, to in-season replacements such as Singletary and bad coaches like Crennel. Going 7-9 against the league's second easiest schedule was a major failing after three years of rebuilding. Now with potentially a strong list of opponents, it will be a major challenge to hit .500. And it looks like they'll head into the season with few difference makers from FA and rookies. It's the same thing they've tried before. And unlike ATL and MIA, Buffalo doesn't have the coaching staff to make up for it.

I don't think anyone expects a rookie to grab 50 passes for 800 yards. But that showing last year was horrible for any rookie WR. 9 catches for 87 yards and 2 TD's. I understand the Bills wanted to bring him along slowly, but that's not a good sign when a 7th rounder surpasses him on the depth chart. The injury obviously will make him hurry to catch up. It's surprising that he was their answer to addressing the WR position opposite Evans. Entrusting a rookie to produce from the outset is mindless. And that's something the Bills have done for many years now.