kbuckley9091 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 My days of giving Dicky the benefit of the doubt are drawing to a close. In his first two seasons, the one intangible characteristic that Jauron brought on Sundays was having his team amped up and disciplined. Very few penalties, and only as many mistakes as one would expect with Losman at the helm. I remember thinking to myself, "wow, we may be small, we may be young and devoid of NFL talent, but man on MAN do these guys play hard." Something happened to this team. I don't know if it was the injury to Schobel, Trent's concussion, or daylight savings time, but it seems like they bring increasingly less zeal each and every Sunday. For us fans, this is infuriating for a TON of reasons, but most importantly, they're lack of passion is cause for even greater outrage considering the team seems to have less pop the more important the game is! It seems that since the fourth quarter meltdown in the first Miami game SIX FuuCKING WEEKS AGO, players on both sides of the ball (with few exceptions) are playing without accountability, like they're waiting for the next guy to get the job done. Really, the only bright spots over the last seven weeks to come to mind include Kyle Williams (in all his undersized glory), Josh Reed, Bryon Scott, Stroud, and Leodis. I don't think Evans has gotten a fair shake, and Marshawn seems to excel at all the wrong times. The offensive line has been manageable, but again, they don't get the job done when it MATTERS. Kelsay is miserable, and I'm finally ready to hop on board with the popular notion that his lucrative extension was the worst move this front-office has made to date. Denney at least makes plays, but it's all or none with that guy. Man, I miss Anthony Hargrove. Him and a healthy Schobel might have actually made the difference this year. What does THAT tell you? The point is, since 2005 this team hasn't had ANY stars on its roster and I credited Jauron for getting this group of guys to play beyond themselves. He lost them somewhere, and I don't know how or why. May be it was Levy's departure. May be he was more involved on game day than we think. Certainly he wasn't calling plays, but he might have been the emotional spark this team seems to be missing. I've said before that I don't think it's a coach's job to cheer lead out there, and I still think the players have to step up and grow a pair at one point or another. But if you're going to assemble a young, undersized team, and you have hopes of being at ALL competitive, you have to have all your guys playing at an 11. Our guys have been at a 4 since mid-October. Someone stopped instilling a sense of urgency and it's been our downfall. I don't want to bring in a new coach, I really don't. I think we're one or two playmakers away from having a very very strong squad, but they need some fire out there. At this point I truly think that Bobby April is due a promotion. He's creative, he's passionate, he's smart, and he's been here. He knows our guys, he won't gut the roster and start from scratch, and he'd likely keep the coordinators. The playcalling hasn't killed us- the execution has. IMO, they can stay. So, Dick, I love ya, everyone seems to think you're a great guy, but you're just not a leader of men. If you stay, you better turn it around. If you leave, I'll be sad to see you go, until we start winning again. BUMP!!! Agree 100%!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 I used to think this, but I am now having strong doubts. Have you ever watched Chris Snee or Logan Mankins? These guys are strong, AND they can move. Dockery probably makes as much as both of them combined. Dockery is better than Jerry Ostroski was; he doesn't flat out suck. He is huge and sometimes he is able to smother rushers on passing downs. Still, he obviously doesn't move well. Perhaps he should lose 30 pounds and try his luck at RG. I don't know, but the Bills have good running backs, and these guys would be that much better with more space to run through. Also, when there is an injury, we are seeing either Chambers (a backup OT)< or Preston. who is awful. In other words, we need an improvement at OG. How do you like the chances of Jauron improving the personnel on the OL, let alone the OG position? Perhaps Dockery is paid too much, but wouldn't' you agree that bringing him in when we did was an absolute necessity? From what I can tell, he's good more often than he's bad. I'll agree that depth is certainly and issue, though, but wouldn't the excessive lengths to get Dockery/Walker signal at least a willingness in the FO to address the OL? Chambers had one very very bad play on Sunday, but again, I think he's solid out there 80% of the time. Butler is also very solid for us, and compared to some of the disasters we've had out there the past (Gandy comes to mind), it's tough to complain about either of the T's. I understand that I'm stetting the bar low, but it was already pretty f'ing low when Jauron and Co. took over. Rome wasn't built in a day- and we're trying to build Rome while simultaneously building Athens, Constantinople, and Babylon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I think Chris Ellis actually looked pretty tenacious in pass rush when he was in there. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 The real question -- who still loves Dick ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 The real question -- who still loves Dick ? There is a handful still left. To them, it's all about the continuity. If we just have some more patience, we will continue to suck until eventually we magically become good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 There is a handful still left. To them, it's all about the continuity. If we just have some more patience, we will continue to suck until eventually we magically become good. As a recovering spokesperson for the aforementioned I can tell you that's exactly where my feelings were until I witnessed this team play flatter than piss on a platter not one, not two, not three, or even FOUR weeks in a row. With the exception of the KC game, their lack of passion has been a six week epidemic. Six weeks in the NFL informs an entire year's worth of practice, planning and preparation. If you don't have the passion (the FOURTH p in this equation) it's all for naught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 As a recovering spokesperson for the aforementioned I can tell you that's exactly where my feelings were until I witnessed this team play flatter than piss on a platter not one, not two, not three, or even FOUR weeks in a row. With the exception of the KC game, their lack of passion has been a six week epidemic. Six weeks in the NFL informs an entire year's worth of practice, planning and preparation. If you don't have the passion (the FOURTH p in this equation) it's all for naught. Agreed ... the thing that is so odd is that last year (the medical ward season) the team played inspired football and were at least competitive. This season over the past eight weeks they are neither. Having realized this caused me to turn against Jauron. I guess the other "hindsight" 20/20 thing is that in an effort to maintain continuity there was a real mistake staying inside for an offensive coordinator. Same players - built off the same system = same (i.e. putrid) results. Perhaps equally as glaring - the failure to bring in an experienced QB to play behind Edwards was also a significant mistake. I understand not switching back and forth but Frankly the season may have been salvaged if there was another QB option to go to in the Cleveland game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Gosh darn it- the more I think about it, the more I realize that this whole collapse might have been averted with the right QB. Even average QB play would have won us the BOTH Miami games, plus the SF and Cleveland games- putting us at 10-3. This makes me want a tested, established, savvy veteran QB very very very badly. Otherwise it'll be an uphill test of patience while the already concussed TE figures it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 There is a handful still left. To them, it's all about the continuity. If we just have some more patience, we will continue to suck until eventually we magically become good. Hey look, it's my arch enemy who often chastised me when I was in the small (yet vocal) handful of fans who wanted our joke of a head coach fired after last season. You wanted me banned for this view a few months ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Hey look, it's my arch enemy who often chastised me when I was in the small (yet vocal) handful of fans who wanted our joke of a head coach fired after last season. You wanted me banned for this view a few months ago! I think you got me confused with somebody else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 I think you got me confused with somebody else. Sorry, I probably got you mixed up with someone else (I think I know who now). I do remember that there was more than a smattering of fans here who grew tired to the point of wanting me banned because of my wish for Jauron's immediate departure after last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts