Gailey believes Bills can pull off Dolphin like turnaround

[CosmicBills]

Thanks for posting this.

 

When Nix was hired I was willing to trust him. Trust in the front office and give them time to prove that trust misplaced. I wasn't a huge fan of the Chan hiring, but again, I was willing to give them faith.

 

Of course for me, the Spiller pick was a huge red flag that these guys are going to be just more of the same. As most know I was on a ranting and raving tirade after that pick -- not so much because I'm anti-Spiller. I'm not. I'm anti-taking a first round RB (again) and what that philosphy tells us about the new regime. That once again we are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to front office moves.

 

Then, watching this interview, and I know it's a fluff piece, but it makes me like Chan. And it restores a little bit of that hope and optimism I had before the draft (and will undoubtedly have moments before every kickoff this season). So thanks.

[CarolinaBill]

Thanks for posting this.

 

When Nix was hired I was willing to trust him. Trust in the front office and give them time to prove that trust misplaced. I wasn't a huge fan of the Chan hiring, but again, I was willing to give them faith.

 

Of course for me, the Spiller pick was a huge red flag that these guys are going to be just more of the same. As most know I was on a ranting and raving tirade after that pick -- not so much because I'm anti-Spiller. I'm not. I'm anti-taking a first round RB (again) and what that philosphy tells us about the new regime. That once again we are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to front office moves.

 

Then, watching this interview, and I know it's a fluff piece, but it makes me like Chan. And it restores a little bit of that hope and optimism I had before the draft (and will undoubtedly have moments before every kickoff this season). So thanks.

No problem sir, no problem at all.

 

the truth of the matter is that what we have done so far is improve 3 areas of our team, we have switched defenses and brought in the proper personnel to shore up our 30th ranked run defense, we just grabbed the most explosive playmaker in the draft which undoubtedly will help us on the scoreboard, and we brought in more strength and conditioning coaches to hopefully reduce the injuries, specifically to the oline.

 

those 3 things alone give me alot of hope for the coming season, let alone if we get better production from the QB position thats an added bonus.

 

think about it, with EVERYTHING that went wrong last yr we still won 6 games, improved in major areas and armed with a better gameplan week in and week out, there is no reason we shouldnt be able to improve.

[thewildrabbit]

We lost something like 5-6 games by a total of something like 20 points? We would have beat NE at home if not for a stupid turnover?

 

This team is NOT as bad as people make it. There is just as good a shot this team turns it around fast like Miami did as there is they do crappy.

I agree with the bolded

 

What Chan Gailey fails to realize is that the Bills played their hearts out Jauron, they played tough hard nosed football. It was just that the schemes were lousy and his coaching staff wasn't smart enough to out think the guy holding the first down marker.

 

My take from what I've read Gailey talk about is he is thinking he can get the team to be disciplined in the fundamentals, blocking, tackling etc. Even if the Bills do improve somewhat in that respect, it won't be by that much IMO.

 

Michael Lombardi stated on the NFL network..."the Bills are tough to play, but easy to beat".

 

That statement rang so true for a Dick Jauron led team, considering he was an Ivy League grad he didn't have the smarts to out game plan anyone.

 

What this team needs is a head coach who can teach the assistant coaches and players to make plays and out play, out think, out game plan the opponents and do it with schemes that actually work.

[CarolinaBill]

I agree with the bolded

 

What Chan Gailey fails to realize is that the Bills played their hearts out Jauron, they played tough hard nosed football. It was just that the schemes were lousy and his coaching staff wasn't smart enough to out think the guy holding the first down marker.

 

My take from what I've read Gailey talk about is he is thinking he can get the team to be disciplined in the fundamentals, blocking, tackling etc. Even if the Bills do improve somewhat in that respect, it won't be by that much IMO.

 

Michael Lombardi stated on the NFL network..."the Bills are tough to play, but easy to beat".

 

That statement rang so true for a Dick Jauron led team, considering he was an Ivy League grad he didn't have the smarts to out game plan anyone.

 

What this team needs is someone who can teach the players to make plays and out play, out think, out game plan the opponents and do it with schemes that actually work.

the fact remains that chans offensive mind is light years ahead of what DJ had us running, given that we lost so many games by such small margins, its not absurd to think that we will improve our offense from last yr and grab a few extra W's.

 

also, when the players believe in the plan, believe in what they are doing, that will be reflected on the field

[crazyDingo]

 

I used to live in Vegas and still have lots of relatives there so I usually make it out at least once a year. My nephew took me to a cool Bills bar. I can't recall the name but it was on Boulder Hwy past Sam's Town, same side, goin towards Henderson just past a strip joi....eh, mall. yea thats it. They put out free chili and wings. AND, they had labatts! Maybe you've been there, but if not I definitely recommend it. I'll never forget the game I watched there. It was the one a couple years ago against Denver when we lost as time expired with a field goal. grrrrr! I can get the name if you're interested.

Johhny Macs.

[Thurman#1]

Carucci's Bills Article

 

Hadn't seen this posted yet

 

QB camp battles--Bucky brooks

 

 

 

Gailey actually said ""So to say (dramatic improvement) hasn't been done would be a lie, ... It can be done."

 

Your paraphrase was "Gailey believes Bills can pull off Dolphin like turnaround."

 

You misrepresented him. All Gailey basically said was that anything was possible.

[Thurman#1]

Everybody starts the season undefeated and in first place.

We had New England beat last year, and when that thing blew up, the season was over. Jauron and company blew it. They changed OC's a minute before the opener and canned the LT. Ran the no-huddle, perhaps the worst idea Jauron ever had. Their conditioning was horrid. 20 guys out for the year.

 

Fresh start, offensive minded coach, new weapons, healthy people coming back. This team has the potential to make a lot of noise, and that's why I tune into this page every day of my life.

 

 

We didn't have New England* beat. If we had ... we'd have beaten them. They simply destroyed us in the fourth quarter. That wasn't bad luck. That's what good teams do to bad teams.

[thewildrabbit]

the fact remains that chans offensive mind is light years ahead of what DJ had us running, given that we lost so many games by such small margins, its not absurd to think that we will improve our offense from last yr and grab a few extra W's.

 

also, when the players believe in the plan, believe in what they are doing, that will be reflected on the field

It troubles me to think that this "brilliant" offensive mind is ok going into this season with basically the same O line that Jauron went into last season with, the trouble starts with the fact that whomever the QB is they will be unable to take a 5 step drop as the current tackles stink. I make that statement because I've seen them play, they may or may not improve with more playing experience. Big gamble if they don't.

 

Then the Bills have no second receiver as TO is gone, no TE deep threat.

 

The problem is in the fact that this 2010 draft was very deep in O line talent, 8 tackles went in the first two rounds and the Bills failed to draft any of them.

 

 

The Bills will improve to some degree on offense simply because Gailey knows offense, how much remains to be seen with so many holes not yet filled.

[Thurman#1]

We lost something like 5-6 games by a total of something like 20 points? We would have beat NE at home if not for a stupid turnover?

 

 

 

The reason we lost something like 5 - 6 games by a total of something like 20 points? We were bad. We were worse than the other teams.

 

The reason we didn't beat NE at home? We were bad, worse than NE*. In the fourth quarter, once they had a bit of film on us, they destroyed us. In the 4th:

 

The Pats* finished off an eleven play 66 yard drive with a field goal.

 

The Bills had a 14 play 62 yard drive for a TD. Which was their last gasp.

 

The Pats went through us like a hot ax through warm butter. 11 plays, all passes, and Brady went 9/11. 11 plays and 81 yards, TD, and I knew the Pats* were going to win.

 

McKelvin fumbles. The Bills still had a chance to hold them to a field goal. 3 plays, 3 passes, Brady goes 3/3, 31 yards and a touchdown.

 

The Bills last chance. A good team would still have had an excellent shot. They start the drive on the 21 and only need a field goal to win. 45 seconds left. Two timeouts left. Edwards to Owens for 19 yards to the 40 on the first play. Bills timeout. 37 seconds left. Bills have one timeout left. At that point, a tiny voice inside me lied to me, saying "We've got a chance here. Come on, it could happen." I tried to tell that little voice that we both knew what happens to this Bills team when they are still in the game late against better teams in the past few years. The voice ignored me, tripling my disappointment later.

 

And you know what happened next. The Bills need 30 yards and change to get into field goal range. It's first and ten and there is 37 seconds left and they have a time out. SACK. INCOMPLETE. SACK. DESPERATE MULTIPLE HOOK AND LADDER LEADING TO FAILURE. If we were a good team, we would have scored on that drive.

 

We were not a good team.

 

 

 

This team is NOT as bad as people make it. There is just as good a shot this team turns it around fast like Miami did as there is they do crappy.

 

 

Not as bad as people make it out to be? Are you kidding? The only way you can say that is if you say that we are actually worse.

 

Miami had Chad Pennington and the easiest schedule in the league that year. At QB we have .... I'll get back to you on that. And our schedule doesn't look horribly difficult, but all three teams in the AFC East are simply more talented than us this year.

[Thurman#1]

The thing that is maddening about this whole post-draft analysis BS is that pundits grade a draft based on their perception of your needs as opposed to the players you've acquired. Who cares if you just drafted the next offensive or defensive rookie of the year when you could have reached for a recognizable name to fill a hole with a player destined to fail. These are likely the same idiots who lauded the Jamarcus Russell pick. As for the draft and the QB postition in general, I still feel that a FO has to have an absolute conviction about a guy, and then has to have the stones to assure they acquire him, otherwise you spend the next 15 years trying to fill the void with projects. That is the one position I think you are justified in mortgaging the future on if you're convinced he'll succeed. I don't think there was a single QB in the draft this year who fit that description. I agree with Nix's assessment that the QBs available were essentially already on our roster. As for LT, I have a sneaking suspicion that aside from the top two, the Bills brass had the remainder ranked very similarly on their board, in which case why not wait until there are one or two left from that group before you pick one... it's called value. It seems like the concensus is that the Bills drafted high motor, high character, self motivated, value players that didn't fit their perceived needs... therefore their draft must have sucked.

 

 

 

You (and all the others making the same argument) are misquoting Nix. He never said that there were no good QBs in this draft. He said we never even looked seriously because we believe the guys we have will produce at least one good NFL QB. After all, they have all the physical attributes that an NFL QB needs.

 

If Clausen turns into a franchise guy, and none of our guys do, this will have been a terrible draft, plain and simple. On the other hand, if Clausen bombs and one of our guys turns into a franchise guy, we will be saying "Chan Gailey. Buddy Nix. We're not worthy!!" Frankly, I think the first scenario is more likely.

[Thurman#1]

No problem sir, no problem at all.

 

the truth of the matter is that what we have done so far is improve 3 areas of our team, we have switched defenses and brought in the proper personnel to shore up our 30th ranked run defense, we just grabbed the most explosive playmaker in the draft which undoubtedly will help us on the scoreboard, and we brought in more strength and conditioning coaches to hopefully reduce the injuries, specifically to the oline.

 

those 3 things alone give me alot of hope for the coming season, let alone if we get better production from the QB position thats an added bonus.

 

think about it, with EVERYTHING that went wrong last yr we still won 6 games, improved in major areas and armed with a better gameplan week in and week out, there is no reason we shouldnt be able to improve.

 

 

 

Yeah, no reason.

 

Except, you know, we're changing defensive systems so we have almost nobody in the front seven who is not a rookie or playing a position they have never played before. Except for that. And of course, except for the fact that we have no LT who is even vaguely NFL-capable. LT this year, unless we bring in somebody else, is going to make our center platoon of Melvin Fowler and Duke Preston in 2008 look extremely talented. And also, you know, the fact that we have no QB. And that our first three draft picks will all be part-time players at best.

 

Yeah, no reasons except for those.

[CarolinaBill]

Gailey actually said ""So to say (dramatic improvement) hasn't been done would be a lie, ... It can be done."

 

Your paraphrase was "Gailey believes Bills can pull off Dolphin like turnaround."

 

You misrepresented him. All Gailey basically said was that anything was possible.

No dude that was the title of the article. read the headline

[CarolinaBill]

Yeah, no reason.

 

Except, you know, we're changing defensive systems so we have almost nobody in the front seven who is not a rookie or playing a position they have never played before. Except for that. And of course, except for the fact that we have no LT who is even vaguely NFL-capable. LT this year, unless we bring in somebody else, is going to make our center platoon of Melvin Fowler and Duke Preston in 2008 look extremely talented. And also, you know, the fact that we have no QB. And that our first three draft picks will all be part-time players at best.

 

Yeah, no reasons except for those.

If you want to look at it that way you are certainly entitled to. I choose to be a tad bit more optimistic about the situation, in case you havent noticed.

[Thurman#1]

...given that we lost so many games by such small margins, its not absurd to think that ...

 

 

 

Will you guys puh-leez give up on this. Statistically speaking, if you look at any losing team, you will find that around 98% of them lost a lot of games by very small margins. That's just the way it works. It doesn't show you're almost good. It shows that you were genuinely bad, not good enough to win games that you were close in.

 

Week 2: lost by 2 points

Week 6: lost by 3 points

Week 10: lost to the Saints by 5 points

Week 11: lost to Arizona by 8 points

Week 15: lost by 3 points

 

There you have it. The Rams lost five games by a total of 21 points. Or four games by a total of 13 points. They weren't really a bad team at all. They were so close.

 

 

Week 4: lost by 3 points

Week 10: lost by 2 points

Week 12: lost by 3 points

 

See. Tampa Bay were really as good as we were.

 

I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but this is the way it generally works out. Parcells said it, and he was right. You are as good as your record says you are.

[Thurman#1]

If you want to look at it that way you are certainly entitled to. I choose to be a tad bit more optimistic about the situation, in case you havent noticed.

 

 

I have, I have.

[Thurman#1]

No dude that was the title of the article. read the headline

 

 

 

OK, fair enough. I was wrong in blaming you.

 

It wasn't you who misrepresented what Gailey said. It was some anonymous headline-writer at nfl.com. Writers don't write their own headlines, so you can't blame Vic. But whoever wrote that headline misrepresented what Gailey actually said.

[Búfalo Blanco]

Lest we forget that long before there was Polian and Dungy, there was Polian and Levy... a previous scout with no GM experience and a losing coach from KC... or that prior to Belichick and Pioli, there was Belichick in CLE who looked way out of his league as a head coach. Everyone has to start somewhere, and most successful coaches/GMs learn from failure somewhere along the way. Gailey has had success both as an OC, and head coach, and Nix's resume is nothing to sneeze at (not to mention he hails from the Polian tree, if you will). I agree with the wait and see, but I'm more optimistic than the DJ hire for two big reasons 1) We actually have a GM with what appears to be a vision, and not a figurehead ala Levy or Brandon 2) Gailey has had more than just a single season of production in any role he's filled, unlike DJ's one winning season.

 

I understand your point... However, as much as I hate to say this as a Bills fan, Polian and Levy didn't win a Super Bowl... They should have... At least one of them anyway... But then Ralph decided not to retain Polian, which IMO was poor judgement, and Polian went on to Indy and eventually got his ring. Gailey has had success as an OC, sure... As an NFL HC..? Meh... 18-14 in 2 seasons with the Cowboys (10-6, 8-8), winning the division once, 0-2 in the playoffs, disagreements with Aikman and living off of Jimmy Johnson's talent... I'd call that mediocre at best based off the players he had there. Now, again, this doesn't mean he can't be successful here... We don't know yet...

 

I've already stated in this thread and elsewhere that I have hope for Nix as a talent evaluator/draft guy etc. based off of his track record in SD, 70 years old and 1st time GM aside.. Time will tell with this year's draft... I believe Nix is looking at this as a 2-3 year rebuilding process starting with building a new defense and hoping Gailey's offensive experience can get the offense by till he can concentrate on it more, perhaps next offseason.

 

Having said that, we have had to endure some piss poor HC hirings over the last decade... This offseason, hope started to stir again when we learned of big interviews with Shanahan, Cowher and an intriguing coordinator in Leslie Frazier... There were other names floating around as interested like Schottenheimer and Billick... Ralph Wilson even proclaimed to be willing to spend 10 million a year... Then came the typical Ralph-like answer with his customary $3 million a year for an un inspiring WTF hire of Gailey... Now perhaps you were jumping for joy, brimming with optimism and thinking this was 3 steps above Jauron... Me? I was thinking "Here we go again..." Based on the track record, I have every right to be skeptical... This franchise has burned me at every turn when I entertain any semblance of hope... But, of course, there I'll be again in Sept. hoping against hope that Gailey can outcoach Belichick and Ryan... Time will tell... But my gut tells me regardless of how much talent Buddy Nix can bring in (assuming he can), Gailey is not the guy to challenge in this division... I honestly hope I'm wrong and will freely admit it if I am...

[mob16151]

I understand your point... However, as much as I hate to say this as a Bills fan, Polian and Levy didn't win a Super Bowl... They should have... At least one of them anyway... But then Ralph decided not to retain Polian, which IMO was poor judgement, and Polian went on to Indy and eventually got his ring. Gailey has had success as an OC, sure... As an NFL HC..? Meh... 18-14 in 2 seasons with the Cowboys (10-6, 8-8), winning the division once, 0-2 in the playoffs, disagreements with Aikman and living off of Jimmy Johnson's talent... I'd call that mediocre at best based off the players he had there. Now, again, this doesn't mean he can't be successful here... We don't know yet...

 

I've already stated in this thread and elsewhere that I have hope for Nix as a talent evaluator/draft guy etc. based off of his track record in SD, 70 years old and 1st time GM aside.. Time will tell with this year's draft... I believe Nix is looking at this as a 2-3 year rebuilding process starting with building a new defense and hoping Gailey's offensive experience can get the offense by till he can concentrate on it more, perhaps next offseason.

 

Having said that, we have had to endure some piss poor HC hirings over the last decade... This offseason, hope started to stir again when we learned of big interviews with Shanahan, Cowher and an intriguing coordinator in Leslie Frazier... There were other names floating around as interested like Schottenheimer and Billick... Ralph Wilson even proclaimed to be willing to spend 10 million a year... Then came the typical Ralph-like answer with his customary $3 million a year for an un inspiring WTF hire of Gailey... Now perhaps you were jumping for joy, brimming with optimism and thinking this was 3 steps above Jauron... Me? I was thinking "Here we go again..." Based on the track record, I have every right to be skeptical... This franchise has burned me at every turn when I entertain any semblance of hope... But, of course, there I'll be again in Sept. hoping against hope that Gailey can outcoach Belichick and Ryan... Time will tell... But my gut tells me regardless of how much talent Buddy Nix can bring in (assuming he can), Gailey is not the guy to challenge in this division... I honestly hope I'm wrong and will freely admit it if I am...

 

 

Apropos of nothing. I really wanna punch that monkey in your avatar right in the glasses. It's a strange,strange compulsion.

[Búfalo Blanco]

Apropos of nothing. I really wanna punch that monkey in your avatar right in the glasses. It's a strange,strange compulsion.

 

[thewildrabbit]

I understand your point... However, as much as I hate to say this as a Bills fan, Polian and Levy didn't win a Super Bowl... They should have... At least one of them anyway... But then Ralph decided not to retain Polian, which IMO was poor judgement, and Polian went on to Indy and eventually got his ring. Gailey has had success as an OC, sure... As an NFL HC..? Meh... 18-14 in 2 seasons with the Cowboys (10-6, 8-8), winning the division once, 0-2 in the playoffs, disagreements with Aikman and living off of Jimmy Johnson's talent... I'd call that mediocre at best based off the players he had there. Now, again, this doesn't mean he can't be successful here... We don't know yet...

 

I've already stated in this thread and elsewhere that I have hope for Nix as a talent evaluator/draft guy etc. based off of his track record in SD, 70 years old and 1st time GM aside.. Time will tell with this year's draft... I believe Nix is looking at this as a 2-3 year rebuilding process starting with building a new defense and hoping Gailey's offensive experience can get the offense by till he can concentrate on it more, perhaps next offseason.

 

Having said that, we have had to endure some piss poor HC hirings over the last decade... This offseason, hope started to stir again when we learned of big interviews with Shanahan, Cowher and an intriguing coordinator in Leslie Frazier... There were other names floating around as interested like Schottenheimer and Billick... Ralph Wilson even proclaimed to be willing to spend 10 million a year... Then came the typical Ralph-like answer with his customary $3 million a year for an un inspiring WTF hire of Gailey... Now perhaps you were jumping for joy, brimming with optimism and thinking this was 3 steps above Jauron... Me? I was thinking "Here we go again..." Based on the track record, I have every right to be skeptical... This franchise has burned me at every turn when I entertain any semblance of hope... But, of course, there I'll be again in Sept. hoping against hope that Gailey can outcoach Belichick and Ryan... Time will tell... But my gut tells me regardless of how much talent Buddy Nix can bring in (assuming he can), Gailey is not the guy to challenge in this division... I honestly hope I'm wrong and will freely admit it if I am...

You make some good points

 

The Bills could have retained Perry Fewell as HC and still hired Chan Gailey as OC, thats what Bill Cowher stated he would have done. Shoot, the guy was just fired as OC in KC and probably have taken the job as QB coach.

 

I can understand the Bills wanting an experienced offensive minded super bowl winning head coach like Shanahan, and even though he turned down Buffalo there were still guys like Steve Mariucci and Brian Billick and Marty Schottenheimer all looking for work, and the latter might have actually gotten the Bills into the playoffs pretty quickly.

 

Maybe its just me, but I can't see this proclaimed quick turn around... I see them competing alright, I see them competing for the #1 overall in next years draft.