The Bills' dillema

[The Rev.Mattb74 ESQ.]

I flatly disagree with the premise that it was easier to start over back in the day than it is now. This is demonstrated by the factual happenings where even when teams like the 02 Bills improved from 3-13 to 8-8, this historic turnaround was actually second in the league in turnarounds that year. Here in the first decade of the 21st century it is much doable to go from worst to first than it was in old days of the 70s and 80s.

 

What you may be saying (though since the premise discussed above is contrary to the facts I am not sure what you are saying) that though it is in fact easier to turnaround your record from worst to adequate, what folks do not do well is actually taking the steps to move the shorter distance from marginally inadequate to adequacy.

 

Here I think the Bills problems are not anchored in any systematic difficulty in the task but in the fact that the owner Ralph has badly managed the teams slide down from the glory days.

 

Specifically he:

 

1. Handled the GM situation badly as he failed to get a long with Polian who played a critical role in rebuilding this team and in his next stop in Indy eventually oversaw them winning an SB. The move to Butler was not goshawful in that the team's SB appearances continued with not only a team that Polian helped build but with a team that contained Polian acquisitions but was mostly a Butler product. However, the relationship between Butler and Ralph ended up so badly (in any failed relationship my sense is both parties deserve a fair share of the blame even if one agrees that is not equal) that I think it is pretty clear the team has suffered from the bad with the good of Ralph's GM management and hiring.

 

When one add the TD debacle to the GM story, the first problem may be just an incident. The second problem may be a co-incidence if one tries to be charitable. However, the 3rd GM debacle represents a trend and the buck must stop with the owner.

 

2. Ralph deserves a good deal of praise for showing the commitment to keep the Bills here over the decades and his commitment to keep them here while he is alive. However, there are a series of events such as his vote against the CBA when all others except the Browns saw that the owners had to choose between making more money from the NFL than ever before or holding their breath til they turned blue over the fact the NFLPA was affirmed as the majority partner with 60.5% of the total gross receipts going to salary and that the good ol days when the owners simply kicked the Garvey led NFLPA's butt were over. His failure to get voted into the HOF is a fair indicator that Ralph has pissed off a substantial portion of the NFL somehow in his time (my bet is that it was him unilaterally violating the salary cap with his handshake deal with Jimbo). He deserves praise for honoring the Bills fans by keeping the team here, but the facts are he has whined in the Buff News publicly about fans not giving him sellouts in the early 90s, he ran a mid 20th century business style until TD got here (he sucked in some onfield decisions but ran a great business that finally moved into the 21st century) when Willcall tickets were still sorted in shoeboxes, and he has launched stupid tirades leading to insane actions like his grievance against Wade which he lost badly.

 

3. Ralph owns the team and thus in our society it is his right to meddle and play if he chooses. However, he has made some moves that simply did not produce for the Bills on the field such as his handshake agreement to reward Jimbo in a future contract (a contract which never happened because in the playoffs against Jax it became clear he was done as a player). In addition, he pulled rank and made the team go with RJ in the last playoff loss. The decisions is debatable but the results are what they were.

 

Its easier for a team to move from worst to first in the NFL these days if you do what it is possible to do smartly. Ralph deserves honest praise for what he has done, but also the fact simply is he also deserves an honest assessment that his decisions generally have not been very good throughout the 90s and the first part of this decade.

Always love to read your posts

[Buftex]

I really don't think just adding Stroud to the line, or 1 WR will fix things. WE need multiple DT's and multiple WR's to change things. Sure it is a beginning, but it can't be the finish.

 

 

Maybe not...but when you get the foundation stabalized (OL last year, DL this year), it is much easier for the rest of the team to function. Having some force in the middle, one player, especially one at such an important position, can make a big difference. If Stroud pans out, and McCargo builds on what he did last season, I think it could have a domino effect for the LB's and the defensive backfield. This team has sucked, on both sides of the ball, at the point of attack, for a number of years.

 

 

As for the WR's, I think guys like Reed and Parrish have a place on this team, but neither is a legit #2 guy. If Reed can go back to what he is best at (ie: being a slot possesion receiver), he is more than servicable. Parrish is not an every down guy, but he can certainly be worked into certain situational packages. He does need to improve his abilty to catch, however....having a legit #2 guy takes the pressure off of Evans, and consequently, Edwards/Losman or whoever is playing QB.

 

I agree it is not a "finish", but it seems the Bills are taking the right (baby) steps toward getting competitive. The need to have a little luck along the way too. They need to avoid the injury bug, and they need to have some of these FA's pan out. They still have other needs on the field, to be sure. We all know they need a pass catching tight end, and possibly another starting caliber corner...but, baby steps. If Stroud pans out, maybe we won't see our noble, but overmatched defense get gouged for huge chunks of yardage, whenever they are in a desperate situation.

[Fan in San Diego]

And actually, we were 7-9 in 1979 and won the divion in 1980. Might have won the Super Bowl that year had Fergie not broke his ankle out in San Diego. And BTW, that game should have been in Bufflo, we beat the Bolts that year already and had the same record

 

I was at that game ! Fergie was amazing being gimpy. Watching Fouts was a treat !