BillsVet

He's a workout warrior. Reportedly benches 515, but then again Gholston did as many reps of 225 as Jake Long did, despite weighing 50 pounds less. Rushing the passer at the pro level is about craftiness, not pure strength. I'd rather a DE have great closing speed and a few moves above great strength.

I'd further add that TC found good coordinators in Gilbride(!) and Spaguolo. I think Coughlin let both of them do their thing without micromanagement. One consistency in the past 6 years DJ has HC'd is a lack of offense, spread across three separate coordinators for two franchises. This 2008 season proved that DJ will not deviate, and actually retreats into ultra-conservative mode when the slightest hint of problems occur. The offense was fairly healthy, so it wasn't a redux of the 2007 defense.

I mistakenly thought he would change a little this past year, when Buffalo named a new and supposedly more aggressive OC. Amazingly, the play-calling went into conservative mode down the stretch and we were right back where we started. Jauron's greatest problem is an inability to select good coordinators, particularly offensive. Gary Crowton, John Shoop, Steve Fairchild, and Turk Schonery aren't exactly guys who will be getting NFL HC jobs anytime soon, nor are/were that all that innovative. I don't think DJ changes, particularly with that tough schedule he's got in 2009

Lori mentioned that a long time ago, I remember having the same reaction. I think Guy probably made the recommendation to acquire RR, and Brandon knew it. Even a master marketer like RB couldn't help but admit it.

This is a John Guy thread, and I don't want to turn it into an anti-DJ one. But it's worth asking the question about who has more say on the final roster, DJ or the guy leading the front office without a speck of experience handling NFL personnel? John Guy's job, as a previous poster mentioned, is to develop reports on potential free agents, both restricted and unrestricted. In this role, he would ordinarily serve the GM and be the reference point for questions about free agents. He probably has input into acquiring which players, but not as much as a GM would. Someone has to carry the ball in the absence of a real GM. I would hope Brandon isn't trying to decide where this team is headed big-picture wise. So that leaves DJ making a lot of calls, when in fact his moves are probably questionable at best.

I think DJ has more say as a HC on the roster than do most NFL HC's. With an inexperienced marketing guy moonlighting as a GM, who else would decide on guys. Guy most likely has a list of street FA's, but DJ has final say. Lehman played for him in Detroit, so connect the dots.

I don't think Ralph cares about the marketing thing at all. He delegates (and pays) Russ Brandon to handle that regardless of who the coach or players are. It's a mistake to assume RW is concerned with this issue, although I'm sure RB raised the issue at the inner circle meetings last week. We all know his opinion counted for very little when it came to deciding the HC by now. I will not assume this team spends money on UFA's, primarily because RW has never been a big spender. The money spent on Dockery and Walker two years ago got the just above the minimum the team had to pay for players.

I think what Gaugan is saying is actually reasonable. Every bad acquisition in the draft can't be pinned to the amateur scouting director. Each bad UFA signing isn't the fault of the pro personnel director. But there are some, and there needs to be accountability. Still, I think DJ made some personnel decisions over and above what Guy and Modrak advocated. Modrak was clearly burned in making the McCargo. Every personnel guy in the NFL makes mistakes, even Polian, Newsome, and AJ Smith. One thing I've noticed about Buffalo's two-headed personnel monster: Neither of them are ever mentioned for jobs elsehwere in the NFL. With guys like Kokinis and Pioli reportedly heading elsewhere, I find it revealing about Buffalo's front office that none of them ever go to another team since they arrived earlier this decade.

Marks is a shorter 290 lb DT. He's probably a guy who plays the 3 technique in our defense. Stroud plays a little out of position for this defense as the 1 tech.

Leodis McKelvin probably plays more if it's not for Jabari Greer. McLovin made some game changing plays already this season, and he's one of the best kick returners in the league. Look at the replay of the INT he took back for a TD against KC. He made a great break on a ball thrown in a place he should not have been able to get to. He then fought his way into the EZ. He's a talent, and he'll get better. DRC and Cason aren't bad, but I'd take McLovin any day.

The OL came together because teams knew that dropping 6-7 guys into coverage was something the HC and OC never learned how to counter. It's why Buffalo ran for 186 versus CLE. They had a good day against NYJ, but playing the Broncos, they couldn't muster much on the ground. As a matter of fact, they couldn't gain more than 90 on the ground.

One common denominator from 07 to 08 was an inability to find dependable backups at a myriad of positions. Example 1 occurred when Crowell went down. Ellison immediately became the starter, and every knowledgeable Bills fan knew this was not very good based on his play in 06 and 07. He was a 225 lb SLB taking on TE's and FB's. Fortunately, neither Posluszny or Mitchell missed time, because near the end of the season Buffalo only had Costanzo, Corto, Buggs, and Teddy Lehman for depth. Corto weighs about 210, Buggs is an undersized WLB, Costanzo is a special teamer, and Lehman could never stay healthy. That's it, that was the depth at LB. No wonder they couldn't overcome one injury. 20-22M beneath the cap and they couldn't spend a little to provide depth at a position which sees plenty of injuries. Apparently the front office forgot what happened in 2007.

Jermaine Gresham at this early juncture. As problematic as the defense was at times, this offense needs to give Edwards more weapons in the passing game. Gresham is a leg up on Pettigrew, and gives our young QB an option.

There were reports that not everyone was on-board with retaining DJ for 2009. Just a guess, but I think it may have been marketer Brandon who wasn't keen on this idea. Brandon's escalation to COO was for show, and now his opinion doesn't even seem to matter. Ralph wants people around him who will tell him what he wants to hear. He pays Brandon to sell the team to the knuckle-draggers he assumes will show up next year, not make football decisions.

With RW at owner? Come on now. You are correct Bill. Chris Brown is and always will be the lead Propagandist for the Bills.

If you're not competing to win, then what good is it to have a team? I sense that RW would rather maintain than compete at this juncture, and that wouldn't be an issue if he didn't have such intense fan support. RW has underestimated the fans' animosity. He sold 8 games to Toronto, thus taking 5 regular season games from the fan base which has made this team. And he compounded that by keeping a HC with a 32-48 record in his last five seasons. I think RW assumes we'll be back because it's an NFL team. He's very mistaken I've been to the last 14 of 15 home games. That doesn't make me a super fan, but weathering this team and the elements, it's reasonable to expect success at some point. Instead, we're left with some of the most heartbreaking losses, aside from SB 25, that this team has ever experienced. RW himself was mad, but did absolutely nothing about it when he had the chance. I'm not one to demand we sign the top UFA, or a Cowher type coach. But reasonable expectations should be more than 7-9 every season with a joke HC who somehow keeps his job.

Thanks Bill. In another thread, someone posted about what is this team's vision. It's not to be confused with a short term goal, but where this team is headed. I personally do not believe this team has a vision of their future. Every year, the Bills go into the offseason with so many needs. This coming year is no different, but that doesn't have to be the case. Buffalo lacks no less than (in no particular order) a pass-rusher, center, outside LB, tight end, safety depth, backup QB, and linebacker depth over 240 lbs. Luxuries might be a RT, OL depth, and a DT. Either way, the Bills aren't closer to a playoff berth than they were before 2006 when Levy/Jauron arrived. I'd argue they're worse, given strength of schedule.

And accustomed to losing.

The most concerning fact to me is the lack of a GM to guide this team's vision of how they want to play football. Guy and Modrak oversee pro personnel and amateur scouting respectively but neither probably has much say over the other's department. That's where a GM comes into the picture. Modrak's presence within the "inner-circle" represents a half-hearted attempt to make up for Brandon's inexperience. I also think it's a shot at DJ for his failures to guide Levy in personnel. Regardless, Modrak wants to continue his role as chief scout and not get entagled with people like Littman, Bogdan, and Brandon telling him what to do. After three years with Jauron, I'm not clear on what this team wants to do. Beyond losing heartbreaking games, being unable to run the ball, and looking aimless when a team drops 7 into coverage, this team is a grab bag of ineptitude. It's a little late to be developing a vision. That should have been done in 2006, with improvements in these past two seasons. Obviously, that hasn't happened.

I meant McGee, who hits UFA after 09. I think they'll look to lock him up in advance of his final season. He's not Champ Bailey, but he's very good. I like Greer, but the Bills will have to choose between him and McGee. And I think they'll choose McGee first. With McKelvin and Corner there already, they've got depth at CB.

I'll leave that for clump, but with guys like Losman, McCargo, Crowell, and a few others coming off the roster, I'm sure they'll have be around 20-25M beneath the camp. I'd venture to say they'll re-sign Fred Jackson and Terrence McGee before signing UFA's.

NFL teams, per the CBA, must spend 84% of the salary cap of 123M or, 103.3M Salary Cap Minimum I could see the Bills having 25M entering the offseason, not including cuts. It's one thing to have money (as all NFL teams have had in recent years) but finding the right players to fit your system. No sense in spending for the sake of spending. And with RW aboard, I don't see it happening. They'll be right at the bottom of the NFL salary scale.

With this organization, you've gotta laugh sometimes.

The thing is, I know Buffalo wanted to throw more size closer to the LOS. That's not a disparaging comment toward Whitner, but IMO, they looked at a Whitner/Scott pairing as better than a Simpson/Whitner tandem. It was obvious they wanted this against better TE's, namely Antonio Gates. Scott isn't all-world, but he's probably better in the box than Whitner. And if they can get Simpson off the field, it's a no brainer. Ko is clearly not starting caliber.

If fans haven't learned by now that taking a safety before building the OL and DL isn't the path to success, we never will. Mays' measureables are off the charts. But unless he's going to be rushing the passer, protecting the QB, or clearing lanes for the RB, I'm not taking a guy who plays 10 yards off the ball. This team is consistently beat a the LOS, and drafting safeties, corners, receivers, and backs is not the answer for this team. Perhaps if Buffalo had a pass rush and could block like Tennessee or the Giants do, then maybe.