BillsVet

Did you watch the SB last year? The Giants didn't have any all-pro DB's back there, and it didn't matter.

Roster talent means nothing when the coaching is so bad and the results stink to high heaven. It's a cop out to say the talent is better. That's like saying they have potential. It all means nothing and avoids addressing the central theme from this year: the players have no heart. A talented roster with no desire is worse than a bad roster with heart and determination. The only thing that matters is the final record. Not yards allowed or gained, turnover difference, penalties, nothing. Only record. I'd argue Buffalo has more "roster talent" than Miami. Yet one team couldn't do anything in the final 10 games of the season and self-destructed. The other made the playoffs with glaring weaknesses all over the place.

TD's final season was an abject disaster. 2008, especially with that start, was also a failure. Levy/Jauron moved this team from plain bad to mediocre, and it only took about 1-2 seasons. Now Buffalo is in the mediocre lane on the highway to ten straight non-playoff seasons. I really don't see what they've done so well. Unless there is a four year rebuild plan, which I doubt was the initial plan, they Levy and ultimately the front office failed. All they've done is changed the roster over, but the results are strangely similar. TDs last three years were 20-28. The Jauron era is 21-27. The more things change...

It's convenient that you selected 2005 as a comparison to this year for an illustration of "progress." Starting with a low point in Bills history certainly makes the case that 2008 wasn't that bad. A closer inspection shows huge issues with that theory. Buffalo's strength of schedule was 31st in the NFL in 08, and lost to the team with the easiest schedule: SF. They finished the season 2-8, which is probably on par with how bad 2005 was. I personally don't care for how the team ranks in yards gained or allowed if the record stinks. To think a team could start 5-1 and finish 7-9 is a catastrophic collapse. It's no better than the 5-11 from Donahoe's last season. I recall after 2006 that this board was talking about "progress." There has been zero progress since 2005, and I daresay the fans are at a point where they were a little over three years ago.

I wonder if Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll, Bill Parcells, Paul Brown, Bill Walsh, and Bill Belichick thought about Tuckman before each season? Most certainly they did not. Applying these theories to football is completely ridiculous. Have a head coach who knows what they're doing, always play to win, and don't be afraid to take calculated risks. Oh, and have a GM who can find talented players. None of those characteristics or people are in Buffalo, so of course that's a problem.

With 2 1sts, a 3rd, 2 4ths, and a 6th used on the secondary in 3 drafts, they should have depth. DJ inherited McGee, Greer, and inked Scott to boot. Depth shouldn't be something to praise, it should be demanded on the roster. I would rather have depth on the DL like the Giants have, than depth in the secondary. DB's have much less chance of affecting the outcome of a game than the DL does on defense. The secondary will always rely on the pass rush. But ultimately it's about affirming what this front office does as opposed to critiquing what they do wrong. BTW, which games did the secondary keep Buffalo in?

Ralph will spend where he must, and in areas where he isn't required to, won't. There is no salary cap for coaches and front office personnel. As much as Danny Snyder struck out when he tried to assemble coaching staffs who made big dollars, RW accomplishes the same thing by spending less. If he could humble himself and admit he has no idea how to find a good football man, it'd be monumental. Unfortunately, he's acting as GM and negotiating contracts with poor HC's who show their stripes. That one move put this franchise back at least one more season from competing. If RW had a real GM with personnel control, that issue with DJ doesn't happen. It's true that RW is mandated by the cap to pay a certain amount for players. IIRC, the salary cap floor will be 86.4% of 123M for next season. This has nothing to do with C2C, which the NFL doesn't care about.

Bill from NYC has mentioned that he heard Levy on Sirius after or during the draft admith they had an offer to trade down. Ultimately they refused, and selected Whitner. Apparently, they thought Detroit would select him, which I don't think was likely. The 2006 draft was a poor attempt at rebuilding, given that the Bills addressed the secondary before having a solid OL and DL. The draft is all about being savvy. DJ and Marv have a lot of book smarts, but they're the type who don't have the street smarts to fool other front offices. And those two guys were running the draft that year.

Wasn't sure there KFBD. Eleven isn't super high where you have to hand out the mammoth contract. And it's not insane either, considering what players are making. Agree completely on Gresham or Mack along with a DE or LB. Drafting one of them and adding a 2nd to get a slightly under the radar DE. I keep reading about Connor Barwin or Matt Shaughnessey. Still have some research to go there. I do think McKelvin has the ability to become that defensive player teams watch out for. The break he had on the pick 6 from Thigpen was pure instinct. I think he'll be a very good pick for Buffalo.

In a less boisterous way, DJ wanted to be the smartest guy on the block with his smaller and quicker DT's. Ultimately many of the savvy football fans here were right in declaring this wouldn't work, particularly in the bad weather. Being at the NYG game last season was at least some vindication. Some HC's want to reinvent the wheel, especially those who were unsuccessful in a previous job or used to be coordinators. It's been said many times, but the C2/T2 depends on opponents making mistakes. When they don't, it has issues. Certainly it's vulnerable to a strong power running game. We saw that in the Cleveland game in 07.

Ralph can't compete because he doesn't spend money where he should, not because he doesn't have enough. If he would stop playing GM and putting or retaining people in positions they have no business being in, he'd find success. Forbes NFL Revenue 2007 According to this list 10 of the top 16 teams failed to make the playoffs. Arguably the best team in the NFL, the NYG, were 17th. Three teams below Buffalo made the playoffs, so overall revenue isn't that much of a hinderance to being a good team. The difference between winners and losers is having personnel executives who know what they're doing. Buffalo doesn't have a GM, and their owner is trying to be the GM. That's why this team isn't successful. Period.

You and I both know it's complete luck that the 11th pick produced those players. It's far too coincidental that those drafts lined up to reflect those players. I'll go out on a limb and guess that NFL GM's (for those teams that have them) aren't using this logic as a guide about which pick to trade up to. As for the money, it's not as beneficial as you say it is. McKelvin signed a 5 yr 19.4M agreement which I don't see as cheap. Besides, if you're concerned with cap room, Buffalo's got plenty of it this coming off-season. A low first and a second rounder probably wouldn't receive contracts which combine to surpass the 11th overall selection anyway. If Buffalo finds a willing trade partner for 11 and can pick up a 2nd in the process, I think it's a good move. But much of that rides on how the draft plays out. Buffalo needs options, and can't afford to isolate on one player with as many needs as they have.

Daniels seems to have good but not great size at 6'3 245. His stats suggest he can play, especially considering Houston's sporadic QB play. As a RFA, Houston can tender him at a place which would make him untouchable if another teams signs him. In 2008, a player with a 1st and 3rd compensation received a 1 year deal for 2.562M. A first round tender was 2.017M, 2nd round 1.417M, and a tender of 927k was equal to the round the player was drafted in. Last year, Indy allowed Ben Utecht to sign with Cincy at no compensation because Utecht was a UDFA. I think Houston will give Daniels the highest tender, regardless of the 2009 salary. No team would give a first and third for Michael Turner, and no one will for Daniels.

The spin doctors have just begun. Wait'll we hit season ticket renew time and the marketing folks go into full-on spin mode. This reminds me of the time the Jets went 1-15 and NFL Films had to do a season retrospective. Watching that made you think they went to the playoffs.

Great point about the prevailing winds blowing in the NFL wrt to defenses. The 3-4 is making a comeback, primarily because teams see PIT playing it and want to duplicate it. I'll take it a step further and note that there aren't all that many great coaches or coordinators. People like Dick LeBeau have and are writing the book on how to exectute their defenses. I don't think there are that many great coordinators out there, especially because many of them want a HC job. People like LeBeau and Tom Moore, OC for Indy, don't want a HC job. They're great and want to remain coordinators. The 3-4 needs a massive NT for it to succeed, along with LB's who can rush the passer. It's tough to make it work without those players. Those guys aren't necessarily in abundance and a reason why teams might switch to the 3-4, but not succeed with it like NE or PIT does. Players like BJ Raji will be in high demand, and plenty of teams will jump all over themselves trying to get them. Meanwhile, there are a host of good DT's that don't fit the 3-4 who may be available.

We're back again to the argument of whether the scheme should be adapted to the players or vice-versa. But to some DC's who have experience in one defense, it's not as easy. Mike Nolan will probably get the GB DC job, and he's accustomed to running any type of defense. Nolan perhaps to GB I do disagree with one of your points. The T2 doesn't need great shutdown CB's, but rather guys who with quickness to break on the ball in zone coverage. They're essential to run defense, and must be bigger than M2M cover guys.

I think the T2/C2 defenses depend on specialized personnel so much, that unless you have them it's tough to run that defense effectively. A 3-4 or standard 4-3 isn't as dependent on specialized players, particularly LB's who can go into zone defense, yet be fast enough to attack the LOS. The old Tampa Bay teams had great players with DT's Booger McFarland and Warren Sapp, WLB Derrick Brooks, SS John Lynch, MLB Shelton Quarles, and DE Simeon Rice. Those guys fit their scheme perfectly, and were acquired with the T2 in mind. Pittsburgh did the same thing with DT Joe Greene, DE L.C. Greenwood, MLB Lambert, WLB Ham, SLB Andy Russell, and SS Mike Wagner. Mel Blount was an excellent CB, and probably would fit into a C2 today. The point is, player specialization is greater in the C2. Buffalo doesn't have the top personnel, and so it makes it hard to adapt the players to the scheme. I think the hardest positions to find for a C2 defense is a 3 tech DT and a WLB. Their skill set is very rare.

Astro, if the Bills ended up with Gresham, Greg Hardy, and Alex Mack that'd be amazing. But I think it's too good to be true. Mack will go late first/early second, although trading down for Gresham and going DE in RD 2 would be ideal. Extra picks is something this team needs more than ever. With distinct needs all over the field, more options is better. I hope DJ has learned his lesson from 2006 and refusing to trade down. Not to mention trading up when the team was in rebuilding mode.

I'll bite here. First, let me say that RW is not some evil man hell-bent on world domination, as some may think. Wilson did several things in the 60s to keep the AFL alive and for that, he should (and has) be(en) commended. This undoubtedly made the AFL survive some tough times. However, I have not seen anything in the past 25 years to demonstrate he is worthy of HOF induction. Being a HOF'er as an owner means lifetime contributions, and aside from about an 8 year period in the 60s and the Polian years, his contributions have been sparse. It should be questioned why he jettisoned or pushed away so many talented GM's and HC's, including Lou Saban (twice), Chuck Knox, Bill Polian, John Butler, and AJ Smith. Moreover, his teams are only 283-315-2 since the merger in 1970. Besides the six year period from 1988-1993, Wilson's teams have only 7 playoff appearances (74, 80, 81, 95, 96, 98, and 99) in the other 33 years since the merger. With the Polian influence, it amounts to 13 post-season berths in 39 seasons. Wilson's contributions are limited to only a few years, and success of the franchise should be one item an owner should demonstrate beyond question. I don't believe he's sufficiently done that.

I was surprised to hear Bruce talk about Buffalo having the best DE in NFL history when his name went up on the wall of fame this year. Humility isn't his strongest suit, but he certainly was a great in the long history of professional football. Reggie White was flat out great. I'll never forget him bull-rushing Patriots RT Max Lane in SB XXXV and sacking Bledsoe. It almost seemed like he was playing against college players. And this was when he was in his mid-thirties. Both Bruce and Reggie had long careers with consistently high performance. But there are guys like Deacon Jones who played their entire career before sacks were an official stat.

Drafting at 11 can be no man's land. Not good enough for a lower first round pick, and too good for a "lottery" pick. But sitting at 11 can be used to a team's advantage, as in a trade. Guys like Mack will be selected below 15, most likely. Here are the last seven 11th overall picks: Leodis McKelvin (08), Patrick Willis (07), Jay Cutler (06), DeMarcus Ware (05), Ben Roethlisberger (04), Marcus Trufant (03), and Dwight Freeney (02). I'd take any one of those guys. We know Marv/Dick were completely petrified of trading down when Whitner was on the board, and while I hope they've learned their lesson I don't think they have. Still, if the Bills can find a trade partner and add a 2nd or 3rd while getting their guy, it'd be a minor coup for a front office which has no GM. That is, if Ralph allows it in his dictatorship.

Ralph does not belong in the HOF. And this isn't because he wouldn't fire his most recent HC. It's for consistently making the wrong move or pushing people out the door. It seems like everytime RW finds a competent coach or GM, he finds way to alienate them to the point they want to leave. Or he just fires them, so they move to another organization and find success. Ralph's teams are 283-315-2 since the AFL/NFL merger. It's nice that he kept the AFL alive, but an owner should demonstrate a contribution to the game over their entire time in the position. Aside from 88-93, Buffalo has done very little.

What would Frank Stallone do?

You made a post about DJ's positives and his work. I simply answered and rebutted your opinion with my opinion. If you don't like people answering you, don't post. Regardless, Baltimore had 17 guys on IR this year, a rookie HC, and a rookie QB. They went 11-5. I'd say right now that Tony Sparano, John Harbaugh, and Mike Smith are just plain better HC's than DJ, who has coached in more than 130. Keeping continuity on the coaching staff is an excuse and merely a talking point for the OBD spin doctors. Fans are demanding results, and the coaches clearly are not good enough. When RW had the chance to make changes after repeated failures, he declined. And cited bad offensive performance, yet the team scored 84 more points in 08 than 07. That was a copout and as some have said, way to distance DJ from the team failures. Yet it's clear DJ has his hands all around the offense. I've watched this team lose for nine straight seasons. My last memory of a playoff game is the Tennessee debacle. So I think any Bills fan who has weathered the past 9 years has a right to complain. I am demanding some accountability (new GM, HC) in the wake of going 7-9 again. But then again, I'm just "whining."

Your defense of DJ is without any logical foundation. Dick Jauron has overwhelmingly had a hand in assembling this roster, yet bears no responsibility when it falters according to you. But because our front office is a complete and utter mess, no one person gets blamed when players don't work out. I still maintain that DJ has made personnel decisions that are placed at Guy and Modrak's feet. But he gets from fans like you who can't bring themselves to blame a HC with a 57-77 career record. He's done absolutely nothing to demonstrate he's even an average HC in the NFL.