BillsVet

FACT: Dick Jauron has had unprecedented personnel control over this team. Unless of course you think Marv or Russ Brandon overruled him, which is highly unlikely. FACT: .500 isn't enough to cut it in the NFL, especially after 2, maybe 3 seasons with this team.

Marty talked about having the energy to do be a NFL HC again, but didn't seem like he wanted to. Said he's owed some time to spend with his family. Can't blame him, given that he's devoted more than 30 years to coaching. He wasn't surprised by AJ Smith's move, but still has a bitter taste from the experience. He noted how San Diego's front office organization wasn't very good. Buffalo's may not have the internal strife, but it's still messed up. And that's why I don't see him going to Buffalo.

Ralph spends about the bare minimum on players. About 20M less than the salary cap, which is barely within the NFL mandated minimum. With areas he doesn't have to spend, like coaches and general managers, he's notoriously frugal. His income from the Toronto deal is and will not result in more being spent on players, coaches, or executives. It's just improving the bottom line.

Excellent job Scott.

You've been on this board for literally days. Show some civility and cut out the personal attacks. Everyone around here is free to express an opinion, to a certain degree. For the record, we're not Pats fans. You're talking to fans who've weathered 9 years of futility, and want the team to win one of these decades. We don't run when the team goes in the tank, like New England fans do.

It's been said that Martin Mayhew has already done more scouting in a month than MM did in his seven years as GM. Wow. I believe Ernie Sims suffers from an inferior DL, and being a WLB, his tackle stats aren't bad. Not that tackles says a player is good or bad. Mayhew traded Roy Williams for a first, third, and sixth. That deal really can't be analyzed. Harrington barely hangs on in the league, and both Williams and Rogers are gone. MM was horrible drafting, and that's obvious. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut, and Williams and Sims are above average players. I will agree their later picks have stunk up the joint. Buffalo's 2nd and beyond picks haven't been that good either, outside of Posluszny and Edwards: 04 Anderson, Euhus, D. McFarland, J. Smith 05 Parrish, Everett, Preston, King, Geisinger, Gates 06 Youboty, Simpson, Butler, Williams, Ellison, Pennington, Merz 07 Wright, Wendling, Schouman, Ah You

Thank you for your words. Obviously the Bills aren't as woeful as Detroit is. The Lions are the worst team in the NFL, and it doesn't take much for even a casual fan to see that. However, the Bills are fast becoming a slightly better version of the Lions. Buffalo's front office hasn't changed much in years, with Guy, Modrak, and Overdorf still holdovers from earlier this decade. Instead of improving, the Bills are flatlining. When you consider the teams Buffalo has beaten this year have combined for a 17-55 record, 6-6 doesn't seem all that hot. The record of opponents who beat Buffalo is 37-35, hardly impressive. Sure, Detroit is worse, and probably will be next season. But when the Bills remain mediocre and they don't change the people making the decisions, something is very wrong. I am tired of mediocrity. At least Lions fans know their team is bad, and respond accordingly. Buffalo fans get amped every season, and are consistently left like we are now.

Fixed. It's funny how non-football people get to run football teams and make decisions about things they know nothing about.

Is there any doubt the Bills have a broken front office? Brandon's not the chief decision maker in personnel, and I've got to believe Guy and Modrak simply gather information on personnel and present it to Jauron. Brandon knows he doesn't know anything about amateur and pro personnel, so he defers to Jauron. No one can say Brandon has done well, because he hasn't been around long enough. He's been "GM" for exactly one off-season, and that's not enough to say either way. Besides, his being the COO doesn't mean he makes personnel decisions anyway.

Bill Parcells, though he can be a jerk, is one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL. He surrounded himself with people like GM Jeff Ireland and HC Tony Sparano who are not surprisingly getting results. Meanwhile, Ralph privately fumes but does nothing. If he doesn't want to find someone to run football operations and hand over responsibility to a non-football person like Matt Millen was in Detroit, then fine. At least Wayne Huizenga (who may be selling the team in the near future) wants to win and is doing the right thing by hiring Parcells. Ralph bought himself time when Levy was GM. Now that Marv is gone, there is no personality in the front office that fans identify with. Combine that with having a mediocre record and you have the displeasure fans are showing.

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.