BillsVet

I posted this last night. And I've come to the realization after these past few weeks with Jauron probably inking a contract extension that nothing will happen. For the Bills to avoid becoming that perennial mediocre franchise (which is now what they are) they'll need to get a quality GM with a personnel background, a new coach who doesn't burn timeouts, and begin drafting and acquiring physical players. They must instill a winner's mentality, which has been absent for years. The fact is, Ralph at 90 years of age isn't making long term plans. He has to have a HC locked up, and he has to spend money on players as mandated by the salary cap. But he doesn't need to do anything else. And not surprisingly he's not, with the promotion of Overdorf and (edit) Brandon. Keep this ship sailing straight without an objective is what we're witnessing. Unfortunately, to remain competitive, teams must plane deep into the future. Not having a plan is unacceptable.

Silly you. Buffalo didn't need a TE in 07, they already had Robert Royal. I don't have a problem with Ralph being in the war room, he's the owner after all. But are the Mara/Tisch families making any picks? How about Jim Irsay in Indy? Perhaps Dean Spanos in SD? Or how about Mark Murphy in GB? Bob Kraft sure as heck doesn't tell Pioli and Belichick what to do. Those guys are good owners because they let their football people make football decisions. Good franchises start with good owners. Buffalo's owner is a meddler, and cannot allow people to make decisions without his approval. It doesn't matter if it's marketing or football decisions, he's a micromanager, and people like Polian, AJ Smith, and the late John Butler couldn't work for the guy.

In all probability, the Bills will finish the season with 9 consecutive seasons absent a playoff appearance. Neither Buffalo nor Detroit has a NFL caliber HC. Jauron actually didn't get the permanent job in Detroit after Mariucci was fired. Marinelli was thereafter hired before 2006. Both the Lions and Bills draft high, with Detroit consistently in the top 10 and Buffalo in the 8-15 range each year because both never improve record wise. Like Detroit, Buffalo does not have a GM. Former Buffalo Bill Martin Mayhew is handling the GM role, and is currently the Senior Vice President. Our GM has been to the combine, and that's about it from a personnel standpoint. Detroit and Buffalo are the only teams without a post-season appearance since the 20th century (Houston excluded). Detroit hasn't had a playoff game since 1999, when Buffalo last made the post-season. Both teams have owners who will not make a change when the ship is sinking. It took William Clay Ford's son to publicly say if he was his father that he'd fire Millen. I don't see Russ Brandon do anything but play wet-nurse to Ralph. I'll freely admit that Buffalo isn't as bad as Detroit, but at least the Lions are doing something. Teams can be turned around in a year. Just ask Atlanta, Miami, and Baltimore fans. The question for Bills fans is: Would you rather have a perennially mediocre franchise or no franchise at all? That seems to be the path we're blazing in Buffalo. At least Detroit has more certainty their team will be around in five years. In that category, Detroit is far better than Buffalo.

For some strange reason, I think Ralph continues to go with a non-football guy as quasi GM in Brandon. I also can't see him getting rid of Jauron if there is a signed contract somewhere. If Jauron's getting 2M per, a 3 yr extension would mean Ralph eats 6M. I think he'd avoid that and take a hit on tickets anyday. Either way, the PR machine at OBD is going to work OT this off-season to make sure fans stay with this team. It will be their toughest challenge in years. They might make some player moves, but nothing significant other than bells and whistles. Ralph has no long term plan for this team, and neither do his heirs who don't want the team.

I feel bad for the guy they had make those calls. That makes being a telemarketer selling ginsu knives sound like a good job.

Spagnuolo will be a hot property in the off-season and will get big dollars. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, well, no it can't happen. He's in his second season as a DC with NYG. He was previously a DB coach for Philadelphia under Jim Johnson. It will be interesting, if DJ is let go.

They should have asked what you wanted for Christmas. 1. A new owner 2. A real GM 3. A NFL HC 3. OL and DL in UFA and the draft

As bad as Ralph is as owner, Mike Brown makes him look great. Can anyone here imagine Ralphie being the GM as well? Mike Brown is, as Stuck in Cincy knows. The Bills are a mess, but maybe having Russ Brandon as GM isn't worse the Cincinnati. Isn't it funny how teams with bad owners can't win anymore? Al Davis in Oakland. Mike Brown in Cincinnait. Ford's in Detroit. Wilson in Buffalo. Heck, even the Bidwell's in Arizona are at least going to the playoffs in the joke that is the NFCW.

The proof is in the pudding. 6-6 through 12 weks is eerily similar to where this team was in 2006 and 2007. It doesn't matter how much talent you have if it's not put to use properly. Please explain the virtues of burning 4 timeouts in one game. How does a player overcome having to call a TO when the play doesn't get in. Challenges this season, for a time, were horrible. Or what about lining up in the shotgun with short yardage or goal to go situations. We've done that in both the Cleveland and San Fran losses. This is the NFL. Takeo Spikes said they knew exactly what was coming when Buffalo lined up. The Bills may well have radioed in their play to Singletary. You could have had all-pros at each position and it would not have mattered. With parity the norm, you've got to out-plan your opponent. DJ has been taken to school by: Tony Sparano (rookie HC, along with Dan Henning and Paul Pasqualoni) Eric Mangini (3rd yr) Ken Whisenhunt (2nd yr) Mike Singletary (rookie interim HC) Romeo Crennel (3rd yr) Perhaps only the Jets had more talent. None of those other four had a more talent-laden roster. For the record, DJ has more "game experience" than those four combined. PNW, I'm hoping your post is sarcasm with the indicator. Quit while you're ahead kid.

There is no obvious answer here. No one around here seriously think Mike Tomlin could make the transition from Cowher that seamlessly. Mike Smith in ATL was a DC with Jacksonville. Tony Sparano was the OL coach in Dallas. Those three guys are either close to or sitting in a playoff spot. None were "name coaches" when they were hired. When we go for a "hot" assistant, we swing and miss. When Marv hires a coach with previous experience, we throw the bat into the stands. Baseball season can't come quick enough.

Good news is that players will find a way to enter the draft now that there's heated talk of a rookie salary cap in the next CBA talks. DE's: Michael Johnson, Greg Hardy, Everette Brown, and others. OL: Duke Robinson (G) Alex Mack © and a host of tackles. TE: Brandon Pettigrew, Jermaine Gresham. We've got less than five months until draft day!

SD- I hope you're kidding, but probably aren't. This team is in a greater mess than when Levy/Jauron received it from TD three years ago. The coaches are as poor, if not worse the Mularkey's crew, the front office has no GM, and the players lack drive and heart. We burn timeouts faster than an Iranian can light up the American flag, Schonert's still throwing from the shotgun at the 2 yard line, we're 20M+ below the cap, and we just lost two games to Cleveland and San Francisco. We've lost games on Monday night, Sunday night, and in all conditions on Sunday. Just when is this coach going to get it? By the way, when the HC is on the fast-track to his 7th losing season in eight years as a NFL HC, I find it hard to be optimistic he'll turn it around in his ninth! Even the delusional ones who cite Belichick in Cleveland can't top that. Please tell me you're being sarcastic. EDIT: Jauron played for 8 seasons in the NFL, was a position coach for 10, coordinator for 6, and a full-time HC for 8. Yet we need another season to see that he's capable of winning?

In all seriousness, why would Ralph invest money into something that he may not be around to see. And furthermore, not making a move to improve the front office is an admission that there is no "after Ralph" plan for the franchise to remain in Buffalo. In fact, those daughters of his will sell to the highest bidder and not even blink. That's why Ralph won't spend anything more than bare bones in the front office and coaching ranks. The NFL makes him spend about 88-90% of the cap, and if it weren't for that, he'd find a way to spend less.

Who would want to work in the Bills organization? At least the Lions finally fired Matt Millen after William Ford's son said the guy should be fired. Maybe DJ was the only one who was willing to take it. When the owner picks a guy who's out of football a year later, there are serious issues. I would like someone to name for me an owner who makes football personnel decisions that has a successful team? Jerry Jones' Cowgirls haven't won a playoff game in 12 years, and the times he did go to the playoffs he had Parcells coaching. Bob Kraft, Rooney, Dean Spanos, the Mara's/Tisch's, Arthur Blank, none of them interfere in football operations. They hire people who do that for them.

Well done Derrick Blutarsky for you, I mean Dockery. I couldn't believe DJ went with Schonert as OC. At the time (and it doesn't matter who was right) I figured Schonert couldn't get an OC job over 10+ years as a QB coach, why did he then earn the OC job. The problem was no one wanted to coach for DJ when the latter had no job certainty. It's why DJ can't find good coordinators, and the result is other teams figure Buffalo out so easily. Sure players make mistakes, but it's coaches that put the players into position. Let's face it, Lindell missed those kicks, Parrish dropped that ball, etc. But when your RZ offense is so predictable that the defense knows what's coming, then you can't put that on the players. The Buffalo Bills coaching staff is like someone playing Stratego with their pieces facing away from them. They telegraph every move they make, and wonder why it doesn't work. It's not execution, it's being out-coached. Whisenhunt, Sparano, Mangini, Crennel (!) and Singletary have all done it to Jauron, who has spent more time as a NFL HC than all of them.

Bill- Regarding Dockery, when he runs on the field he is extremely slow. I realize being able to move on the OL isn't about running the 40 fast, but he is slow. Walker runs faster. Dockery and Walker are both slow because they are indeed overweight. Dockery is listed at 330, and probably could stand to lose 15 pounds. Walker is about 30 pounds over where he should be. Not surprisingly, their agility is terrible. A longtime Raiders fan I know said Oakland let Walker go because his lateral movement was poor. Well, his run blocking isn't stellar either.

You cannot be serious. Are you?

SD-It's time to take Dan's line down from your posts. It's relevancy ended about three games ago. I'm glad to see you've come around. Many of those items in your original post are subjects everyone debated ad nauseam during the offseason. For the record, it's people like BADOL who pointed out the indecisiveness which you're now seeing. It's always been there. DJ's time in Chicago demonstrated that he wasn't a HC who could make good decisions quickly. That is his greatest shortcoming, and will never get better. Behind that is a reliance on drafting DB's and forgetting the OL and DL. There was a rumor after the Cleveland game that Ralph was extremely upset losing again like that on MNF. I don't think that went away at all after today, and the silver lining to this game is that now DJ's firing is more realistic. RW cannot ignore the way this team loses, especially in must-win games.

Never will I call Marv a bad person because he is an example of what the NFL should be. I'll always be disappointed he couldn't get that collection of talent a SB win, but that's ancient history. Polian is the best GM in modern NFL history. He knew talent far more often than not, and I don't think Levy ever thought he could be a GM like BP. I truly believe Levy reluctantly accepted Wilson's plea to become GM and knew he would need assistance. They operated in a team fashion, although without the elements present during the Bills glory days.

Nearly three years have passed since Levy replaced the fired Tom Donahoe as GM. Ultimately, I believe Levy's legacy as GM depends on the first three picks of the 2007 draft: Lynch, Posluszny, and Edwards. These decisions have all contributed to why the Bills are where they are: 1. Hiring Dick Jauron as HC, who in turn brought Fairchild, Schonert, and Fewell with him. None of the coordinators can be considered imaginative or successful. All are or were part of a problem. 2. The 2006 FA class, consisting of Tripplett, Royal, P. Price, Fowler, Reyes, Nall, A. Thomas, K. Thomas, Bowen, and Andre Davis, is nearly completely gone. Five are out of the NFL less than 3 seasons later. 3. Allowing Nate Clements to leave without any compensation. As GB did with Corey Williams last year, NC should have been franchised with the intent of having more time to sign or deal him. Getting nothing in return is inexcusable. 4. The 2006 draft has proven to be rather pedestrian. Whitner is not a playmaker, and McCargo is finished. Youboty is oft-injured, Simpson, Butler, and Williams are not great starters and should be replaced. Ellison is backup material. Trading a 2nd and 3rd for McCargo especially hurts. 5. The 07 FA class is overpaid and continues to be underachieving. Dockery and Walker were an example of throwing money at a lingering OL problem. Here, the difference between ML and TD was the amount was spent on lineman. Hiring Marv was lampooned in NFL circles, and while I think Levy took one for Ralph's team, he probably should not have. It was a public relations move designed to attract fans back to the team after five bad years of Donahoe. Ralph bought three seasons with it, but the gig is up. Levy's tenure as a HC was the high point of nearly 50 years of Bills football. His GM legacy was not, even if brief.

Buffalo is a laughingstock and will remain so until Ralph Wilson is no longer the owner. I do not wish anything bad happen to him, but only the Ford and Brown families in Detroit and Cincinnati respectively are worse owners. Since the firing of Polian in favor of Chief Financial Officer Jeff Littman in 1993, Ralph's legacy has slipped considerably. Nine seasons and counting without the playoffs should be enough for him to do something. It won't save his legacy, which in my mind is meddling in football operations and letting talented executives leave over petty differences, but I don't think fans will stand idly by and keep watching this franchise further devolve. Today's loss on their home field, coupled with MNF losses to Cleveland and Dallas these past two seasons should open Ralph's eyes and either make an investment into the team or exit stage left. There is no middle ground, and hanging onto the team without a plan for 2009 and beyond is negligent. It is time for yet another coach, and this time a proven NFL personnel man should hire that next coach. When those hirings are made, Ralph needs to leave football operations to football people. If he cannot do this, eventually attendance will slip to a level which cannot maintain the team. Maybe that's the plan to begin with.

Great post above Cynical. The delusional fans who do not demand accountability still amaze me. I guess you have to believe in everything the front office does or you're not a true fan. Buffalo has no GM, no legitimate NFL HC anyone wanted, over-spent on below average to average FA's, and last but not least, looking at missing the playoffs potentially 9 seasons in a row. I guess I'm not a true fan because I choose to be critical. Go figure.

I can't help but remember before the 07 season when according to Peter King, Ralph asked Dick and Marv if they could stop the run. Even RW knew how important it was. We all know they couldn't do it in 06, then followed it up in 07 with another dreadful performance. Buffalo is 20th against the run, and having played SEA, JAC, OAK, STL, ARI (who doesn't have a good ground game) SD, MIA, NE (with a 3rd stringer) that looks even worse.

Try telling that to Mr. Fancy Pants. He believes Guy and Guy alone talks to, and ultimately signs a free agent, regardless of what DJ thinks. Evidently no one else has responsibility when a UFA doesn't work out.

Do you believe then that John Guy has absolute player control in deciding to bring in a UFA or not? I think it's safe to assume that Guy, Brandon, and Jauron talk about whom to pursue and who not to.