BillsVet

This is the same tired refrain used after every loss. Next loss will be, "did you think they'd go 14-2", etc. Today's loss was eerily similar to the Arizona one. A Bills staff very much out-coached by their opponent. I'd add that Sparano is 3-4 in his first season as a HC with what I believe is sub-par talent. Jauron's been a HC for 120 games and 7.5 seasons. Who today had his team prepared to play? Apparently, we'll use this "you were expecting" excuse until things get out of hand. Apparently you don't realize Buffalo lined up against a team one season removed from going 1-15.

It's now two out of three bad games for the team. 4-0 to start and 1-2 these past three games. I wouldn't call that once in awhile. It's more like a mini-trend. It will take a great deal to convince me that DJ is the coach of the future for this team. Unimaginative play-calling, no answers on defense, a resistance to playing rookies when veterans like McGee are hurt, etc, etc. It will also take a few more ugly losses to convince some that DJ isn't a very good HC. They can't afford to lose to the Jets, which is something most Bills fans didn't think was a must win a month ago.

Any credibility you have is lost with that post.

Who selects the coordinators? It's none other than DJ. Remember his OC's in Chicago-Shoop and Crowton? Neither are in the NFL anymore. Fairchild's back in the college ranks. Sense a theme here? DJ doesn't find quality coordinators, and never has. Fewell is as unimaginative as his boss is. That's all the evidence I need. Every DJ proponent needs to go back and review his Chicago years, one game at a time. For a guy with such a poor career record, he's convinced a lot that he's a capable HC. DJ will never make a good team excellent, but he can make a good team sub-par. Nearly 120 games as a HC have demonstrated that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Very poor result from a team with clearly more talent on both sides of the ball tha Miami. We're witnessing in Buffalo much of what happened in Chicago: two bad to mediocre rebuilding seasons in 99 and 00. In the third (2001) plenty of bounces allowed the Bears to go 13-3. So far so good? I know Buffalo had to give him a contract, you certainly don't want a lame duck HC this late in the season. So they made the deal. Today, little things finally showed up, as they did in the Arizona game. Soft zone coverage, unimaginative play-calling, lack of talent at positions like C and TE. Playing an injured an experienced vet CB when he was repeatedly victimized. As bad as Buffalo played today, their coaching was worse. Miami's rookie HC, along with Dan Henning at OC and Paul Pasqualoni at DC outcoached Jauron, Schonert, and Fewell. Just think about that for a moment.

With the offense stalling today, I'm starting to wonder whether it was Fairchild who was terrible, or a team effort between HC and OC. The defensive game plan was unimaginative, and victimized repeatedly by short routes that our soft zone is, well, soft defending.

It's too bad the he can't convert his preparation of the team into Sundays. We've seen it all too often than Jauron makes the safe call, and many times it hurts. In some ways, DJ is like Gregg Williams, minus the bombastic opinions. Gregg and DJ both wanted to do things their way, especially on defense. Last week, Baltimore blitzed the Wildcat when they lined up in it, but DJ went with his base 4-3 today. This trying to reinvent the wheel is what makes DJ the low caliber coach he is. I was waiting for a PA pass at the goal line, but alas, they went predictable. Surprise, surprise. You are absolutely right, this failire to depart from the gameplan when it clearly isn't working is alarming, and nothing different than DJ's prior seasons. .

I find it amusing that a rookie HC and former OL coach outcoached DJ. The latter gets his extension, and promptly goes out and lays an egg. Guess Parcells does know what he's doing with a HC. I can't get over running three plays near the goal line in the first half. So much for that imaginative WCO that Schonert talked about. How does the 27th ranked pass defense play that well against us? Or is it scheme? The (Edit: secondary) with all those draft picks and inheriting Greer and McGee, plain stunk. DJ obviously will not start rookies in Corner and McKelvin even with an injured CB in McGee. We draft a guy in the first and fourth, yet they're not ready to play half way through the season. Overall, the conservative gameplan mindset is alive and well. We've learned that no matter what, DJ will not adjust, but rather try to out-execute other teams. He lives and dies by it, and in his career it's proven more of the latter.

On offense, the team has struggled at tight end since 2006. The franchise has known what they have in Royal for more than two years. It's a theme in other areas as well, but DJ and the coaching staff has avoided playing rookies for much of this season. Unless absolutely necessary, only McKelvin and Hardy have played. They used a fourth on Fine, let's see him in there. He can't possibly be worse than fumbilitis Royal.

The difference between Jauron in 06 and 07 versus 08 is players. He just has more talent to work with. I don't think that after seven years as a NFL HC that the light has turned on and he's now Vince Lombardi or Bill Parcells. If the Bills are fine with extending him, so am I. Now that Buffalo is a contender for the post-season, the expectations will rise. There won't be anymore "I hope we get to 9-7" talk. The story of this season and future campaigns will be making and succeeding in the playoffs. The coach has to be even better in the playoffs, and it's not out of the question to ask more of the HC at the critical junctures Buffalo will reach down the road.

Probably 1615 the way CBS airs their commercials. Last year, Buffalo narrowly defeated Miami 13-10, and it seemed like some fans were upset that others weren't convinced by a 3 point win against a then winless Miami team. The Bills can show they've improved on the road by wiping out the Dolphins. Maybe then, they'll get some respect from the national media. Not that their opinions count for anything.

The beauty of having Whitner is he has the speed to stay with just about any WR in the NFL. I'm not the first guy to sing his praises, but seeing him in the slot tells me the coaching staff does not even worry with Whitner in coverage. I'm sure that's big reason why he was so highly coveted. Not many safeties in the league are capable of going man to man on someone. Here, Whitner helps the defense in two ways: 1. He keeps a less experienced or not as talented corner off the field in nickel situations. 2. Allows guys like George Wilson and Bryan Scott to play back and minimize their chance to get beat over the top.

I recall seeing that note regarding the FS job. It comes down to a FS/SS combo of Whitner/Scott being better than a Simpson/Whitner pairing. Safety play is difficult to gauge by amateurs like most of us are, but this move doesn't sound like a short term fix for a premier TE as Gates is. Wilson is a hard worker, and I believe a fan favorite. He along with Trent and Moorman routinely come to our corner of the tunnel side enzone for high-fives. I'm thinking he's more of a special teamer/depth guy. If Simpson is having a probably fending him, then going with Scott at SS and moving Whitner to FS is the best move.

I have to believe this move was made to maximize Whitner's skills in coverage, and put a bigger body in run support on the field. It's a win-win if Bryan Scott is not detrimental to the secondary, and I don't think he is. Meanwhile, Buffalo is forced to go with Ellison playing the strong side LB at 230 pounds. He made a few plays on Sunday, but if a TE gets their hands on him, it's going to be bad for the Bills. If Scott makes opposing offenses honest in the run game, it's almost a necessity Buffalo make this move. And it's telling about how Simpson has fallen. Either way, the team has to do what allows them to win, whether or not the guy playing is a draft pick, or in Scott's case, a street free agent.

The NFLN clip showed Preston really trying to motivate the troops during the SD game. He sounds like a great leader. Obviously, this means he's a stellar player.

Baltimore, upon seeing the formation, blitzed and kept on blitzing. From Tony Sparano: ''Really, what they did was they tried to disrupt the timing, I think, by pressuring it a little bit inside,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. 'They brought an inside linebacker a few times right into the `A' gap one way or another and I think that's probably what they did.'' Balitmore v. Wildcat You can bet Miami's OC Mr. Henning (!) will throw some new things in there. It will take the same level of ingenuity from Jauron and Fewell to combat this gimmick offense. I hope they adapt if their initial plan isn't sufficient, but I think they'll be prepared.

Ngata is not a just 3-4 player, and allegations supporting this are garbage. He's nimble enough to play the 1 tech in a classic C2 defense while offering the versatility to handle the NT spot in a 3-4. By the way, what does Baltimore run? It's a 4-3! Look, there's nothing going to change what happened two and a half years ago re: Whitner versus Ngata. We can say that Whitner talks and plays well and he's not going to bust. That's true. But instead of blindly supporting the front office at every opportunity, it's necessary to know that teams win at the LOS more often than in the secondary. Heck, look at Denver. They've got two excellent CB's, and they can't stop the pass to save their lives. They didn't do that well when John Lynch was a legit pro bowler either. All elements of a defense work in tandem, especially in a C2. The pass rush and run stuffers set up the DB's whether it's 1970, 1990 or 2008.

There's no question the Bills are more talented after three drafts, three FA periods, and two plus seasons later. Believe it or not, the easy part is going from bad, as they were in 05 to marginal in 07. Taking the next leap will require the front office to find plenty of value in the 2-4th rounds from here on out. Edwards may well prove the best example of the three new regime drafts. It will also allow them to let good but not great potential UFA's to leave without a huge drop off in play. Crowell will be the first example, and I suspect others will follow. There is simply no way, once a team becomes successful as the Bills are becoming, to retain every UFA. Having someone waiting in the wings is the key to maintaining a high level of play. McGee and Youboty are signed through 09. Greer, after this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bills sign one of those guys when their contracts are up, with the intent of McKelvin and Corner replacing them as a starter and nickel. That's how good teams stay good.

The tackle stat continues to be overrated. Especially for a DB who lines up off the LOS 10 yards most of the time. Whitner's open field tackle happened about fifty yards in front of me on Sunday. It was a great play made by an up and coming player. Without it, SD gets a first down and marches on. I've yet to see the pass coverage part of being a dominant safety. The Bills went after him because they believed he gave them great versatility in coverage and run support. Lining him up against Gates two years ago versus Sunday was a huge difference. In fact, many teams are using their best cover guy against those TE's like Gates who are so dominant because they combine size and speed. I'd like to see more game changing plays from Whitner before annointing him. I still believe that a dominant DT makes more of a difference regardless of era than does a dominant safety. The LOS is too important to put the phyiscally lacking players that Buffalo put out there in 06 and 07. It's kinda like putting a roof on the house when there are no doors, windows, and the basement is flooding.

No, it shows that we play a Cover 2 that predominantly removes the deep passing game. It works at times (San Diego) and other times it doesn't (Arizona) I will admit this is a non-issue if Simpson is back out there at FS (with Whitner at SS) against Miami and for the remainder of the season. However, if Bryan Scott is paired with Whitner more often each week, you have an answer by default about Ko Simpson. The team isn't going to come out and say a player is benched, that's just not Jauron's style and I respect that. However, the notion that Simpson didn't play because of a slight hammy issue combined with Scott being both stronger in coverage on Gates and in run support is one thing. I happen to think it's Simpson who's just not as good as some think. We'll just have to wait. EDIT: The D and C article points out that it was George Wilson who came in during nickel situations, with Whitner moving to the nickel, Scott at SS, and Wilson at FS. I understand the first two, but Wilson in for Simpson? Was the hammy worse than probable or is Wilson that good? At this point I'm not sure.

Despite what the Bills are saying, I don't think it was Simpson's hammy which prevented him from playing. Why else would he be listed as "probable" on the injury report and then only play on special teams? I could see him not getting as much PT if he were questionable. If Bryan Scott continues to get more PT, that tells me plenty about Simpson.

The point is, in passing situations, your starting FS is not on the field. And my question is, if Simpson is suiting up and not playing next week, is that an indication the staff feels a Scott/Whitner tandem is better than Simpson/Whitner.

Chris Brown notes that the Bills wanted to go big at SS in starting Bryan Scott, thus allowing Whitner to play FS. Given SD's size at TE with Gates and Manumaleuna, that's not surprising. I have to wonder why Simpson wasn't on the field more in spite of SD's lineup. Earlier in the off-season there were reports Buffalo wanted to find a way to get Whitner playing FS. That's become reality, if only temporary. Question is: Do the Bills continue going with Scott at SS and Whitner roaming at FS? And if so, are Simpson's starting days numbered?

No TV timeouts may have been the best thing. CBS claims it aired all its commercials, so I guess they made up for almost half the game not being televised. Still, there was a flow when the game was played. Not knowing the yards needed for a first was strange.

No one's said much about Fred Jackson's block on "physical" CB Quentin Jammer. The definition of pancake. On blitzing, it should be noted that the Bills relented. I've always thought DJ to be very stubborm, but they're admitting some things by changin since last game. Granted they blitzed Rivers on at least one questionable down, but at least the coaches understand that with or without Schobel they've got to change things up. Their DL cannot generate a pass rush on its own. Anyone who wants to say Lee Evans isn't worth the money is being obtuse. In camp he was repeatedly getting open. That hasn't changed in the regular season. Some need to face reality and admit the cost of doing business at every position is going up. Without LE, this offense isn't nearly as successful. 24 receptions, 521 yards, and 3 TD through 6 games. Lastly, when the Bills get turnovers, their C2 works. When they don't, it can be ugly. Mitchell's INT takes away everything and it turns into 3 points, in addition to a huge momentum shift.