bigskyfan Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 (edited) Bills coaches pay for errors by front office Bob DiCesare Updated: 12/10/08 6:36 AM Perhaps the problem isn’t Dick Jauron any more than it was Mike Mularkey, any more than it was Gregg Williams, any more than it was Wade Phillips. At some point you have to look at history repeating itself and wonder what it is that perpetuates the sad and exasperating status quo that drapes the Buffalo Bills. Let’s start with the roster. Who are the impact players, those you would hate to lose because they’d be a challenge to replace? Brian Moorman’s there. Lee Evans, too. I’ll hang on to Aaron Schobel and, yes, Jason Peters, the latter because I’m willing to attribute his regression to circumstance. I want to see more of Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch, although I’m bound to neither. But after that? Who else is a can’t-do-without? Who would other teams salivate over if they became available in free agency? (more at link) I think he hit the nail on the head. Edited December 11, 2008 by Lori copyrighted material Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 So which is it, Bob, the talent or the coaches? Two consecutive columns with different conclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddaryl Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 It's Ralph Wilson.. that is the only front office blunder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 But looking through these last eight years I think coaching has become the convenient scapegoat. Let me ask this: What is the organizational philosophy? Are the Bills a running or a passing team? What’s their bread and butter? Is there an answer? I only quote that part, as the salient demonstration of how convoluted his argument is. The "organizational philosophy" he describes comes from the COACHING. Coaching is "convenient" scapegoat because they establish the organizational philosophy of the team (a great example is right now: gutless mediocrity, like Jauron himself). He does a nice job of presenting the counter-argument to his thesis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigskyfan Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 nevertheless, the point is valid that the last true impact player the bills have brought in was Takeo Spikes. Evans is a good player, but not the game changer we need for whatever reason. This is more the fault of the front office (and wilson) than the coaches. Not defending DJ, but you have to go back to the Polian-Butler years to see a bills team with true talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Ray Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 nevertheless, the point is valid that the last true impact player the bills have brought in was Takeo Spikes. Evans is a good player, but not the game changer we need for whatever reason. This is more the fault of the front office (and wilson) than the coaches. Not defending DJ, but you have to go back to the Polian-Butler years to see a bills team with true talent. True, but......Can you say that outside of Joey Porter, the Dolphins have any gamechangers? Chad pennington? Ricky Williams (while doing well, he is past his prime)? These are not marquee players, yet the coaching staff and the philosophy and schemes they put these players in are yielding success. So while yes it would be nice to have better talent, I think it has been proven that better coaching can bring out the best in lesser talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 True, but......Can you say that outside of Joey Porter, the Dolphins have any gamechangers? Chad pennington? Ricky Williams (while doing well, he is past his prime)? These are not marquee players, yet the coaching staff and the philosophy and schemes they put these players in are yielding success. So while yes it would be nice to have better talent, I think it has been proven that better coaching can bring out the best in lesser talent. And, conversely, poor coaching can adversely effect better talent. I really don't know what talent the Bills have, I consider the coaching to be so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 The problem we all are having is that the Bills' problems are in just about every area: (a) poor execution by players; (b) poor coaching; © poor front office decisions; (d) poor ownership. Do we need to fix every area or just one? I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 So which is it, Bob, the talent or the coaches? Two consecutive columns with different conclusions. Blame everything because eventually you will be right. That is the principle at work all over this country and OBD is no exception Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 nevertheless, the point is valid that the last true impact player the bills have brought in was Takeo Spikes. Evans is a good player, but not the game changer we need for whatever reason. This is more the fault of the front office (and wilson) than the coaches. Not defending DJ, but you have to go back to the Polian-Butler years to see a bills team with true talent. The article is a joke. I had to read it twice just to figure out his angle. Yes, Bob may have a point, but the point is lost in his incoherent presentation. He throws out all these pieces of facts, but does little to connect those pieces together. In his attempt to blame Modrak and Guy, he mentions numerous "last times" (last FA impact player, last draft to produce multiple productive players, etc...), but then he fails to mention the obvious. All of those "last times" took place during the TD era, and all of them took place while Modrak and Guy were employed with the Bills. Is he trying to imply since TD has been let go, both Modrak and Guy now have full control over the personnel? Further, he talks about the organizational philosophy. As DC Tom pointed out, the philosophy of team (running team or passing team) is dictated by the coaching staff, and not by the scouting / personnel department. Then he throws Wade into mix. Wade never worked with Modrak, and Bob never mentions the connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 nevertheless, the point is valid that the last true impact player the bills have brought in was Takeo Spikes. Evans is a good player, but not the game changer we need for whatever reason. This is more the fault of the front office (and wilson) than the coaches. Not defending DJ, but you have to go back to the Polian-Butler years to see a bills team with true talent. So exactly how many impact Players does Tennessee have? How about Atlanta and Tampa Bay? More than the Bills? Maybe...But not considerably more... I completely disagree with this "bare cupboard" philosophy...Granted The Bills got some Schedule breaks early on, but these were still NFL Games, no forfeits, and they went 5-1...This Team has enough talent to Win...Do they have talent on par with the best Teams in The NFL?...No...But do they have enough talent to compete for a Playoff spot? Hell yes they do...Miami is doing it right now after a 1-15 Season...Please don't give Me this garbage that it can't be done...The ONLY reason it can't be done is because, hire after hire, Ralph has tried to get out on the cheap and none of these HC's is good enough... Dick Jauron is a proven loser in The NFL...The guy followed up His only winning Season with a 4-12 Season...This Team is so ill prepared for what opponents are doing to them week in and week out that they tend to look FAR worse than they really are...They lost 2 Home Games to Teams that are flat out average to below average...Again, I'm not saying The Bills are the most talented Team in The NFL...But they have enough talent to go 5-1...Enough talent to score 54 Points on the Road...Enough talent to stay in all these Games, regardless of how poor they play, well into the 2nd Half...Please for the love of God stop defending Jauron...He sucks! There is no excuse for a HC who cannot inspire His Team to more than 3 Points per Game AT HOME...No excuse for Coaches who cannot figure out how to attack a 3-4 Defense despite seeing one almost every week...No excuse for a HC who cannot get His team to understand the importance of Clock Management...No excuse for a Leader who can't come up with something...anything different in The Red Zone and Short Yardage situations even though it's a problem that dates back to when He arrived in Buffalo...No more freaking excuses!!! He's below average and the proof is there in black and white...One winning Season in 8 as an NFL HC...Any freaking questions? Want to pass out blame for a lack of talent? Start with Jauron...Why do Players like Trent Edwards seem to regress? Jauron has final say on personnel...It's part His fault...He was key in building this Team and making decisions like the Kelsay deal...Players do not seem to improve under His Coaching to become these impact Players Folks like to talk about...Why is Whitner not an impact Safety yet? Why is Dockery a shell of what He was in Washington? Why can't we find ONE DE that can Rush the Passer? Think Coaching has nothing to do with it? Right...Justin Tuck was a 3rd Round Pick...Tom Brady was a 5th Round Pick...Cortland Finnegan was a 7th round Pick...NFL Head Coaches develop Stars everyday...Does Dick? Dick Jauron IS NOT NFL Head Coaching material...Neither were Greggo and Mularkey...And certainly Ralph shares in the blame for that...But nonetheless, Dead Dick is a HUGE part of the problem in Buffalo...Will replacing him solve all The Bills woes?...Nope...Is it a start? Heck yes it is...Assuming the next Guy has a pulse that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Further evidence that our FO is inept.... We bring in the cover 2, and let Pat Willaims walk because he "doesn't fit the system".... He lands in Minn. where, they run....the cover 2. He has made 2 pro bowls since going to Minn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGimp Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Crappy owner, crappy front office, cheap and crappy coaches=mediocre to crappy players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Crappy owner, crappy front office, cheap and crappy coaches=mediocre to crappy players Right. The article really says the problem goes from the top all the way to the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Ray Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 So exactly how many impact Players does Tennessee have? How about Atlanta and Tampa Bay? More than the Bills? Maybe...But not considerably more... I completely disagree with this "bare cupboard" philosophy...Granted The Bills got some Schedule breaks early on, but these were still NFL Games, no forfeits, and they went 5-1...This Team has enough talent to Win...Do they have talent on par with the best Teams in The NFL?...No...But do they have enough talent to compete for a Playoff spot? Hell yes they do...Miami is doing it right now after a 1-15 Season...Please don't give Me this garbage that it can't be done...The ONLY reason it can't be done is because, hire after hire, Ralph has tried to get out on the cheap and none of these HC's is good enough... Dick Jauron is a proven loser in The NFL...The guy followed up His only winning Season with a 4-12 Season...This Team is so ill prepared for what opponents are doing to them week in and week out that they tend to look FAR worse than they really are...They lost 2 Home Games to Teams that are flat out average to below average...Again, I'm not saying The Bills are the most talented Team in The NFL...But they have enough talent to go 5-1...Enough talent to score 54 Points on the Road...Enough talent to stay in all these Games, regardless of how poor they play, well into the 2nd Half...Please for the love of God stop defending Jauron...He sucks! There is no excuse for a HC who cannot inspire His Team to more than 3 Points per Game AT HOME...No excuse for Coaches who cannot figure out how to attack a 3-4 Defense despite seeing one almost every week...No excuse for a HC who cannot get His team to understand the importance of Clock Management...No excuse for a Leader who can't come up with something...anything different in The Red Zone and Short Yardage situations even though it's a problem that dates back to when He arrived in Buffalo...No more freaking excuses!!! He's below average and the proof is there in black and white...One winning Season in 8 as an NFL HC...Any freaking questions? Want to pass out blame for a lack of talent? Start with Jauron...Why do Players like Trent Edwards seem to regress? Jauron has final say on personnel...It's part His fault...He was key in building this Team and making decisions like the Kelsay deal...Players do not seem to improve under His Coaching to become these impact Players Folks like to talk about...Why is Whitner not an impact Safety yet? Why is Dockery a shell of what He was in Washington? Why can't we find ONE DE that can Rush the Passer? Think Coaching has nothing to do with it? Right...Justin Tuck was a 3rd Round Pick...Tom Brady was a 5th Round Pick...Cortland Finnegan was a 7th round Pick...NFL Head Coaches develop Stars everyday...Does Dick? Dick Jauron IS NOT NFL Head Coaching material...Neither were Greggo and Mularkey...And certainly Ralph shares in the blame for that...But nonetheless, Dead Dick is a HUGE part of the problem in Buffalo...Will replacing him solve all The Bills woes?...Nope...Is it a start? Heck yes it is...Assuming the next Guy has a pulse that is... KOK, almost blurted out a "Hell freakin' yeah!!!" after reading your post, but had to restrain myself, being in the office. But you're spot on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poeticlaw Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 So which is it, Bob, the talent or the coaches? Two consecutive columns with different conclusions. Here is the Thing, think of it has a buisness. You have your ceos , marketing adminstration and such forth. The HEAD COACH is the Director of all players(employees) for the organiziation regardless of the talent the recruiters bring in and we know he has had his imput on those players The Head Coach is directly responisble for the play of their players Just as the MANAGER is responsible for their employees even though they dont do their work they are responsible for making sure the are ready, capable and able with minimum mistakes. Talent or not its a collasal failaur after a 5-1 start though I am one the the few who stated we didnt have talent at the 5-1 market either but they got thier and raised everyones exepctaions of them. I was hoping after 5-1 they would build confidence and endurce as they were starting to learn to win. But Just as trent had 2 4th qtr comebacks in a season so did JP in his full season of starting, the fact is the HC is just a responsible as the people above him why becuase for three years now this whole baord has been saying our receiving core sucks and we need improvement yet the QBS and the HC have defended their recieveing core and this is where it has gotten them. I also would like to know who is responsible for overlooking the need at center. To the HC credit this season he finally realized that fowler wasnt the guy so now that should be addressed in the off season. In conclusion Remove Ralph from everyday operations, BRING in a TRUE GM let him determine whether JAuron is right for the job which from past references Chicago said he wasnt I would throw in Deteroit but their GM was a Joke as well as so I would suspect he would be gone along with all the cordinators with the exception of april. Then bring in someone who is proven for instant respect among the players have a solid FA and Draft players that are going to have an impact on this team. I am not opposed to see trent one more year under center but give him the tools to succeed. My personal preference would be to see what Philly would be asking for Mcnabb and see if we would be benficiaries of a good trade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 True, but......Can you say that outside of Joey Porter, the Dolphins have any gamechangers? Chad pennington? Ricky Williams (while doing well, he is past his prime)? These are not marquee players, yet the coaching staff and the philosophy and schemes they put these players in are yielding success. So while yes it would be nice to have better talent, I think it has been proven that better coaching can bring out the best in lesser talent. Winning creates stars - tell me that Bruschi would get any notice on a losing team for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigskyfan Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 there is a lack of leadership in the front office, lack of coaching leadership and lack of leaders on the field,,,,, is there one bill (except possibly whitner when healthy) the rest of the team rallies around? The miami game showed this up,,,,,From Bill Parcells, to coaching staff to Joey Porter and Chad Pennington, Miami has organized leadership throughout the organization that we lack,,,,hence, they turn their team around in one year while we regress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofton80 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Great post KOK!! One of the best I have read. Jauron is responsible without question. Running the ball into the line three times to set up a long FG against Cleveland told me all I needed to know. He plays it safe. I think the players all love him wherever he goes because he is soft on them. The result is an unprepared team. Unprepared to run plays, unprepared on use of timeouts, unprepared to cover sidelines late in game (Dallas 2007), unprepared to snap a ball from shotgun formation, etc. etc. The only explanation for Ralph keeping Jauron is he doesn't want to pay him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 It all boils down to one person and one person only.......RALPH WILSON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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