John Wawrow's Interview on WGR

[drhockey]

Holy god. Listening to that literally made my blood boil and head explode. So, let me get this straight, the following will be the recipe for success next year:

 

1) Keep Jauron in place based largely on an "emotional" win in Denver and the love from his players.

 

2) Elevate Modrak into "inner circle." This must mean that Modrak will move from Florida to North Carolina. Maybe if we make him GM he will uproot his family to Pennsylvania. And, why was he not in the inner circle before if he was running the previous few drafts?? Arrgh.

 

I still can't believe that the TD experiment has forever tainted Ralph's mind. Meanwhile, the Miami's and Atlanta's of the world simply flip their organization upside down in one year and make the playoffs and could potentially win their division. We, on the other hand, will most likely go 0-6 in our division this year after going 2-0 against both the Jets and Fins last year.

 

That is what i call good ol Buffalo progress. Super duper. If getting crushed on Sunday helps in any way sway Ralph the other direction, then let the slaughter begin. We will never get it apparently. Stuck in the dredges forever. Not to mention our schedule next year (at this point) does not look so forgiving.

 

I starting my march to the golden gate bridge now.

[BillsWatch]

Holy god. Listening to that literally made my blood boil and head explode.

 

I starting my march to the golden gate bridge now.

 

Can I have a picture of your head exploded before the march?

[Stussy109]

Jauron and CO have a chance to redeem themselves vs the Devil or I mean Belicheck and the Pats. IF he wins, he deserves to stay, if not, I say its 50/50.

[Cugalabanza]

Can I have a picture of your head exploded before the march?

You really have to try to not let it get to you.

[Kgun5]

Can I have a picture of your head exploded before the march?

 

When did the word "literally" become synonymous with "figuratively?"

 

At any rate, I agree that this is a path to nowhere. Being scared to hire someone with ideas, fire someone you like, or to even admit that we need to rebuild again..This is not the way organizations become successful.

 

Aggression wins, being passive loses. Ralph needs to play a little poker.

[Fewell733]

Holy god. Listening to that literally made my blood boil and head explode. So, let me get this straight, the following will be the recipe for success next year:

 

1) Keep Jauron in place based largely on an "emotional" win in Denver and the love from his players.

 

2) Elevate Modrak into "inner circle." This must mean that Modrak will move from Florida to North Carolina. Maybe if we make him GM he will uproot his family to Pennsylvania. And, why was he not in the inner circle before if he was running the previous few drafts?? Arrgh.

 

I still can't believe that the TD experiment has forever tainted Ralph's mind. Meanwhile, the Miami's and Atlanta's of the world simply flip their organization upside down in one year and make the playoffs and could potentially win their division. We, on the other hand, will most likely go 0-6 in our division this year after going 2-0 against both the Jets and Fins last year.

 

That is what i call good ol Buffalo progress. Super duper. If getting crushed on Sunday helps in any way sway Ralph the other direction, then let the slaughter begin. We will never get it apparently. Stuck in the dredges forever. Not to mention our schedule next year (at this point) does not look so forgiving.

 

I starting my march to the golden gate bridge now.

 

keep in mind that Atlanta and Miami are more the exception than the rule. Generally flipping your organization results in at least a year or two of rebuilding and learning new systems - at which point we likely will be calling for another firing if we don't light it up that third year.

 

The Dolphins turned it around for 2 major reasons - replacing total incompetence in their coaching staff and front office (say what you will about our current guys but they put the 1-15 Dolphins staff to shame); and bringing in a top 10 veteran QB replacing absolute ineptitude at that position, heck they were starting John Beck and Cleo Lemon last year - are either in the NFL anymore?

 

The Falcons success is much more extraordinary. Matt Ryan has proved me completely wrong about him - I thought he made too many stupid throws in college. We'll see if they can sustain this for more than a year or if they're a flash in the pan.

 

The difference between 6-10 and 9-7 or even 10-6 is basically within the margin of error in the NFL. A missed kick here, or a bad bounce there is often the difference between a successful season and a failed season. Think also of teams we were envying just last year - Jacksonville, Green Bay, Seattle even Washington - all we assumed were perennial powers with organizations to envy. Even the endlessly deep pockets of the Cowboys may not be enough to even get them into the playoffs, let alone go anywhere once there. They are stuck in the middle like most everyone else, regardless of what ESPN says.

 

There is a lot to be said for our coaching staff putting a competitive product on the field week in and week out and being even in a position to win virtually every game we've played this year. I can't stand some of the playcalls - and think our defense plays too conservative a lot of the time. But I can't blame them for JP Losman's near unfathomable ineptitude that probably cost us the game against the 49ers, Dolphins and Jets (and Lindell with the Browns). To me, Losman is the talent that Ralph may have meant isn't good enough to win with - and even then we were in clear position to win those games.

[reddogblitz]

Not to mention our schedule next year (at this point) does not look so forgiving.

 

At the end of the season last year, the Bills schedule this year looked pretty hard. 3 teams that won playoff games last year in the first 6 weeks. Not to mention 10-6 rising Cleveland. Brutal but with easy wins over the Fish and Jets again. Didn't quite turn out that way.

 

Who knows what next year will bring?

[Adam]

Holy god. Listening to that literally made my blood boil and head explode. So, let me get this straight, the following will be the recipe for success next year:

 

1) Keep Jauron in place based largely on an "emotional" win in Denver and the love from his players.

 

2) Elevate Modrak into "inner circle." This must mean that Modrak will move from Florida to North Carolina. Maybe if we make him GM he will uproot his family to Pennsylvania. And, why was he not in the inner circle before if he was running the previous few drafts?? Arrgh.

 

I still can't believe that the TD experiment has forever tainted Ralph's mind. Meanwhile, the Miami's and Atlanta's of the world simply flip their organization upside down in one year and make the playoffs and could potentially win their division. We, on the other hand, will most likely go 0-6 in our division this year after going 2-0 against both the Jets and Fins last year.

 

That is what i call good ol Buffalo progress. Super duper. If getting crushed on Sunday helps in any way sway Ralph the other direction, then let the slaughter begin. We will never get it apparently. Stuck in the dredges forever. Not to mention our schedule next year (at this point) does not look so forgiving.

 

I starting my march to the golden gate bridge now.

Yep....Miami and Atlanta did it in one year....Miami didn't take a few years to put that OL together and Atlanta didnt put one together either- along with a bunch of good WR which were concealed b Cick's poor play

 

Keep telling yourself it was just one year- instead of bouncing back from a bad year

[Lori]

Miami didn't take a few years to put that OL together

Actually, they didn't, unless you consider "a few years" to equal two. The Fins' OL starters this season:

 

LT: Long (2008 draft)

LG: Smiley (2008 FA), Alleman (2007 draft, waivers-Saints 8/31/2008)

C: Satele (2007 draft)

RG: Thomas (2008 draft), Ndukwe (2007 UDFA, signed from BAL practice squad 12/26/07)

RT: Carey (2004 draft)

 

Vernon Carey is the only O-lineman on the current Dolphins roster who was on the team before the 2007 draft, and he and Satele were the only two on the list to suit up in that gag-inducing aqua-and-orange last season.

 

I should probably note that Long (1st overall), Carey (1st round), and Satele (2nd round) were all first-day Miami picks, and Smiley was a second-rounder in San Fran. Hmm ... I sense a trend developing ...

[JDG]

Actually, they didn't, unless you consider "a few years" to equal two. The Fins' OL starters this season:

 

LT: Long (2008 draft)

LG: Smiley (2008 FA), Alleman (2007 draft, waivers-Saints 8/31/2008)

C: Satele (2007 draft)

RG: Thomas (2008 draft), Ndukwe (2007 UDFA, signed from BAL practice squad 12/26/07)

RT: Carey (2004 draft)

 

Vernon Carey is the only O-lineman on the current Dolphins roster who was on the team before the 2007 draft, and he and Satele were the only two on the list to suit up in that gag-inducing aqua-and-orange last season.

 

I should probably note that Long (1st overall), Carey (1st round), and Satele (2nd round) were all first-day Miami picks, and Smiley was a second-rounder in San Fran. Hmm ... I sense a trend developing ...

 

O.k., so the recipe for success is to hit on a Left Tackle with the 1st overall pick in the Draft, and have one of the savviest Veteran QB's in the League come free and sign with your teams.

 

I'd also note that Miami has used the ninth-overall pick on a WR (Ted Ginn) and the second-overall pick on an RB (Ronnie Brown.) They've also used two second-round picks on QB's in the last two years alone, in addition to signing Pennington. They also have former high first-rounder Ricky Williams on the roster due to bizarre circumstances as well.

 

JDG

[NicholasCal1]

keep in mind that Atlanta and Miami are more the exception than the rule. Generally flipping your organization results in at least a year of two of rebuilding and learning new systems - at which point we likely will be calling for another firing if we don't light it up that third year.

 

The Dolphins turned it around for 2 major reasons - replacing total incompetence in their coaching staff and front office (say what you will about our current guys but they put the 1-15 Dolphins staff to shame); and bringing in a top 10 veteran QB replacing absolute ineptitude at that position, heck they were starting John Beck and Cleo Lemon last year - are either in the NFL anymore?

 

The Falcons success is much more extraordinary. Matt Ryan has proved me completely wrong about him - I thought he made too many stupid throws in college. We'll see if they can sustain this for more than a year or if they're a flash in the pan.

 

The difference between 6-10 and 9-7 or even 10-6 is basically within the margin of error in the NFL. A missed kick here, or a bad bounce there is often the difference between a successful season and a failed season. Think also of teams we were envying just last year - Jacksonville, Green Bay, Seattle even Washington - all we assumed were perennial powers with organizations to envy. Even the endlessly deep pockets of the Cowboys may not be enough to even get them into the playoffs, let alone go anywhere in them. They are stuck in the middle like most everyone else, regardless of what ESPN says.

 

There is a lot to be said for our coaching staff putting a competitive product on the field week in and week out and being even in a position to win virtually every game we've played this year. I can't stand some of the playcalls - and think our defense plays too conservative a lot of the time. But I can't blame them for JP Losman's near unfathomable ineptitude that probably cost us the game against the 49ers, Dolphins and Jets (and Lindell with the Browns). To me, Losman is the talent that Ralph may have meant isn't good enough to win with - and even then we were in clear position to win those games.

well said

[Sisyphean Bills]

I'd also note that Miami has used the ninth-overall pick on a WR (Ted Ginn) and the second-overall pick on an RB (Ronnie Brown.) They've also used two second-round picks on QB's in the last two years alone, in addition to signing Pennington. They also have former high first-rounder Ricky Williams on the roster due to bizarre circumstances as well.

All of this data clearly supports the notion that Bill Parcells always builds winning teams by chasing skills position players as the core of his teams.

[The Avenger]

keep in mind that Atlanta and Miami are more the exception than the rule. Generally flipping your organization results in at least a year of two of rebuilding and learning new systems - at which point we likely will be calling for another firing if we don't light it up that third year.

 

I'd take a year or 2 or rebuilding at this point if it meant that we'd have some real change (hell - we've been rebuilding for damn near a decade now - what's another year or two?).

 

Unfortunately, I see the same old mediocrity in the next two years - some hit and miss draft picks, a coach that can't seem to get the team to win more than 8 games, and a quarterback that shows some signs but ultimately isn't the answer.

 

2 years from now we'll be gladly waving goodbye to Trent knowing he's not the guy, we'll have some excitement about the next kid who's looked decent in a few games, we'll be excited about some of the young players on our teams, and we'll watch our star players reach the end of their contracts and sign with other teams, all while wondering why we can't get to double digit wins - it's a frickin' broken record - the same story we've had for 9 years.

[Fewell733]

I'd take a year or 2 or rebuilding at this point if it meant that we'd have some real change (hell - we've been rebuilding for damn near a decade now - what's another year or two?).

 

Unfortunately, I see the same old mediocrity in the next two years - some hit and miss draft picks, a coach that can't seem to get the team to win more than 8 games, and a quarterback that shows some signs but ultimately isn't the answer.

 

2 years from now we'll be gladly waving goodbye to Trent knowing he's not the guy, we'll have some excitement about the next kid who's looked decent in a few games, we'll be excited about some of the young players on our teams, and we'll watch our star players reach the end of their contracts and sign with other teams, all while wondering why we can't get to double digit wins - it's a frickin' broken record - the same story we've had for 9 years.

 

actually what you're are suggesting - blow things up and rebuild - is what we've been doing over and over again over the past 10 years. What we haven't done is stuck with anything (granted Donahoe's style at team building wasn't building anything but hype)

[Lori]

O.k., so the recipe for success is to hit on a Left Tackle with the 1st overall pick in the Draft, and have one of the savviest Veteran QB's in the League come free and sign with your teams.

Doesn't hurt.

 

I'd also note that Miami has used the ninth-overall pick on a WR (Ted Ginn) and the second-overall pick on an RB (Ronnie Brown.) They've also used two second-round picks on QB's in the last two years alone, in addition to signing Pennington. They also have former high first-rounder Ricky Williams on the roster due to bizarre circumstances as well.

 

JDG

All right, I'll admit my confusion here: I'm not quite sure what this has to do with my response to Adam, which was meant solely to rebut his contention that the Miami o-line has been a years-long work in progress. In my view, Parcells/Ireland did three important things when they took over: hired a competent coach, got rid of the captains from last year's team (an effort to change the mindset in that locker room), and blew up the OL.

 

Oh, and lucked into getting Pennington. They're not 10-5 with any combination of McCown/Beck/Henne.

[BillsVet]

O.k., so the recipe for success is to hit on a Left Tackle with the 1st overall pick in the Draft, and have one of the savviest Veteran QB's in the League come free and sign with your teams.

 

I'd also note that Miami has used the ninth-overall pick on a WR (Ted Ginn) and the second-overall pick on an RB (Ronnie Brown.) They've also used two second-round picks on QB's in the last two years alone, in addition to signing Pennington. They also have former high first-rounder Ricky Williams on the roster due to bizarre circumstances as well.

 

JDG

 

You're including the choices made by Randy Mueller and Bill Parcells to demonstrate a single point is ridiculous. Parcells entrance brought with it a completely different mindset. I seriously doubt that Parcells would have drafted a WR ninth overall. Hence, why Randy Mueller was fired by BP shortly after the (EDIT: latter) took over football operations.

 

Parcells drafted Henne, but he used his first two picks on a LOT and DE in Long and Merling last season before taking a QB.

 

The recipe for success is finding a competent football mind with a clear vision and understanding of what makes people tick. Tom Dimitroff has done the same thing in Atlanta. Both found QB's (with Ryan outplaying expectations) and put an OL in front of them.

 

Most importantly, both Parcells and Dimitroff have instilled a winning atmosphere in areas where that attitude hasn't existed in quite some time.

[Beerball]

keep in mind that Atlanta and Miami are more the exception than the rule.

For the last few years the winner of the NFC South was in last place the year before. Not as exceptional as you think. There is a reason the Bills and Lions have the longest playoff drought.

[BADOLBILZ]

Doesn't hurt.

 

 

All right, I'll admit my confusion here: I'm not quite sure what this has to do with my response to Adam, which was meant solely to rebut his contention that the Miami o-line has been a years-long work in progress. In my view, Parcells/Ireland did three important things when they took over: hired a competent coach, got rid of the captains from last year's team (an effort to change the mindset in that locker room), and blew up the OL.

 

Oh, and lucked into getting Pennington. They're not 10-5 with any combination of McCown/Beck/Henne.

 

You have to love the excuses these guys come up with for why the Dolphins and Falcons turned it around so fast. Let's not forget the Ravens either. Continuity is only important if there is reason to expect future success. Not hope for...expect. That's not the case with a coach like Jauron who has had 1 winning season in 8 tries. Continuity is rendered meaningless by good coaching and players motivated to prove themselves to a new regime.