John in VA Beach Posted January 26, 2006 Posted January 26, 2006 Link This article is pretty much a swing from the fact that they were down on the organization for not hiring Sherman. I'm copying it below. "Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills revealed that their new offensive coordinator would be none other than former St. Louis Rams play-caller Steve Fairchild. The hire comes just two days after Dick Jauron was awarded the job as the Bills' head coach. Tuesday, Jauron hired former Rams defensive line coach Bill Kollar. Essentially, Jauron is raiding the former Rams' staff, and that's not a bad thing by any means. Both men are undoubtedly qualified to perform their duties. Fairchild spent the last three seasons calling plays for the Rams and was widely regarded as one of the best in the business. He constantly had the Rams' offense near the top of the charts in efficiency in the red zone, passing, and running. He believed in a balanced offensive attack, something that was often overshadowed by ex-Rams head coach Mike Martz--who seemingly did nothing but call for pass plays. During his tenure in St. Louis, Fairchild did a terrific job getting the best out of formerly unheralded quarterback Mark Bulger. In the Fairchild era, Bulger was a Pro Bowler and when healthy, consistently put up big-time stats week after week. The Bills are certainly hoping that Fairchild has the same type of success with young QB J.P. Losman. I'd expect Losman to reach highs under Fairchild that were never to be achieved under the miserable offensive regime of Mike Mularkey and Tom Clements. Overall, the Rams' passing attack ranked 4th in the NFL last season, despite the fact that Bulger was injured for most of the season. If Fairchild was able to experience success with the somewhat uninspiring duo of Jamie Martin and Ryan Fitzpatrick, imagine what he'll do with a talented youngster like Losman. The hiring of Fairchild will also be good for Bills running back Willis McGahee. In 2005 McGahee was never given enough opportunities or enough holes by his offensive line to fully succeed. Thus, he became unmotivated and his stats suffered because of it. With Fairchild's knowledge of the running back position combined with his ability to get the best out of his talent, expect McGahee to break out in 2006 and become the player that everyone came to know and love from the University of Miami back in 2004. Fairchild began his career in the NFL as the Bills' running backs coach in 2001 and 2002, while doing a fine job with ex-Bills back Travis Henry. In 2002 Henry made the Pro Bowl with a 1,438 yard season. Subsequent to that, Fairchild bolted for the Rams. Fairchild is the first proven Bills' offensive coordinator in quite some time. The Bills' offenses in the last eight years have endured ruinous offensive regimes by Clements, Mike Shepherd, Kevin Gilbride, and preceding those three, the ultra-conservative schemes of Joe Pendry, a Wade Phillips hire. Despite facing an extreme amount of early criticism, thus far, Jauron has risen to compile a solid coaching staff. His first two hires are accomplished coaches that have already proven themselves at the NFL level. Certainly, experienced, proven coaches are something Bills fans haven't been used to in nearly a decade. If Jauron can next get himself a proven defensive coordinator such as Jim Bates or Ted Cottrell, the Bills could potentially have one of the best staffs in the entire NFL next season. With the Bills' recent history of coaching problems, what an odd, unexpected twist of fate that would be." Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.
Rubes Posted January 26, 2006 Posted January 26, 2006 LinkFairchild spent the last three seasons calling plays for the Rams and was widely regarded as one of the best in the business. 584483[/snapback] I basically stopped reading right there.
Campy Posted January 26, 2006 Posted January 26, 2006 I basically stopped reading right there. 584501[/snapback] Me too. I've said it before, I'm sure the author's a cool dude. Probably fun to have a beer and shoot the bull with, too. But his articles leave a little something to be desired IMO.
Stevie Ray Posted January 26, 2006 Posted January 26, 2006 Another thing I disagree with is his calling Pendry's style ultra-conservative. True, he was mostly a run-oriented coach while at KC and other teams I cant recall, but when he came to Buffalo, he actually ran a more wide-open offense, especially when Flutie became QB. If anything I'd say he adapted more to the personnel on hand than any of the other coaches. But thats all in the past.
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