BillsVet

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.

The offseason has been spent undoing much of what Levy/Jauron did in 06-07. Dockery, Royal, and Fowler are out the door. If Lynch is gone, it fits a convenient message that seems to be out there. And it is simply that they feel is necessary to cut out the weeds and grow newer, less controversial players. They may think Jackson is good enough to be a starter, and he's an intriguing option. Jackson's wear and tear isn't nearly as significant as most 28 year old backs. He played Arena ball, in NFL Europe, and other leagues. It's not as though he's got 300+ carries on those legs for the past 6 seasons. All of the backs brought to Buffalo are experienced in sharing carries. That's very noteworthy.

I'm amazed that fans believe it's a benefit to save money when there's upward of 20M left in cap space. Will this be highlighted IF the team struggles in 2009? I highly doubt it. Most fans forget that the first LB off the bench in 08 was Keith Ellison, as he was in 07 and 06. It's looking increasingly likely that he'll fill that role again. So there's savings there, but it doesn't translate onto the field of play. Depth on the OL, depth at TE, etc, is the casualty of not using the cap space. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

June is a weakside LB who is not adept at shedding blocks. WLB's operate in space and should have good speed in pursuit. He may have some tread left on the proverbial tires, but Mitchell is best suited to WLB, as he played in NY and Buffalo. Adding June would probably force Buffalo to move Mitchell, and that's sort of an unknown. Either way, it's still a potential signing and one that many fans thought would happen 2 seasons ago.

All important points and IMO a logical conclusion. Ultimately, I believe most of the financial dealings stem from Littman. He's steering this ship more than most want to realize and has for many years. Maximizing profits and keeping their operating costs down seems to be the priority. The only barrier RW has from spending less on players is the mandate to spend 86.4% of the 127M salary cap per the CBA. As long as that's spent, there is no mandate to do anything else. Not spending on coaches, a GM, selling the stadium naming rights, nothing. There is a reason to all of this, and any business potentially up for sale wants the least amount of debt to value ratio. The Bills have that, and benefit from the NFL's TV contract. It makes them even more attractive for an outside buyer to take them elsewhere. Not much is holding them back.

Royal will be with Cleveland when they play Buffalo this season. He'll probably catch a TD and go for 100 yards.