My offseason wish list...

[ColdBlueNorth]

At the owners meeting Kraft loses a bet with Ralph and has to trade Bill for Dick for one season - the Patriots stuggle, but pull off 2 wins - the players love their new coach and want to keep him on in New England and beg Kraft to lock him up for another 3 years

 

Seriously,

 

I would like to see Russ pick up a solid veteran DE to compliment Aaron and jettison Kelsey and the wasted money. Denny did better when rotating in on the left side of the line and at least makes some noise now and then.

 

Pick up another DE or DT in the 1st round (defensive end would be my first choice, but a tackle that has speed to get to the passer could make the transition at the next level). I know some folks are looking for tightend here, and if the DE talent is a reach after Orakpo then maybe we go for Pettigrew here. I think that Fine is a passable tightend, and that what we need is more constistency from our 2nd WR position and the Offensive line in pass protection.

 

Next would be the best Center or Guard available at that position - Dockery either gets his act together on pass protection and moving the pile in short yardage or can his butt. Next pick Guard or Center which ever one was not addressed in the previous pick. We know what we have in Preston, he is still pretty young and may develop but needs to be more stout against the 3-4 nose tackles and simply needs to hold up better in pass protection. I did like what I saw from him in the second Jets game - it was a big test against a great nose tackle and he did a good job of steering him. Granted we did not pass all that much in that game...

 

Lock up Peters - Yes, he is a selfish contract-breaking SOB who underperformed this year, but he also has the rare physical tools to dominate the left tackle spot and those guys are simply hard to find and more than a few teams reach real hard in the 1st round to find his kind of talent and fail.

 

I am going to go out on a limb and say that I really liked what I see from our young receiver Steve Johnson - he is a bigger kid who uses his body well in space to get position over defenders. I like him as our number 2 with Reed/Parrish in the slot.

 

The team did a better job of stopping the run this year, and I like our interior defensive line (not love, but they're ok). I think that my biggest concern with Stroud was that he could not make it through the year - that his injury history would be repeated, but he made it though the whole year and will be better next year. Kyle Williams was a steal where we picked him up. I think everyone on this board knows we need to get some pressure from our ends. If we could generate pressure, considering that the Bills have probably the deepest core of yound DB talent in the league with Yobouty, Greer, McKelvin, Corner, and McGhee. We would see a lot more interceptions and turnovers.

 

I like what I have seen from Edwards when he is given the time - If Johnson develops and Jackson and Lynch get better at picking up the blitz I believe we can and should be able to take more shots down the field. Jury is still out on Hardy - he plays small and timid for his size. Too often he simply got outfought for position and the ball this year. He needs to grow a pair to compete at the NFL level.

 

Turk's first year produced a lot of mixed results and my sincere hope is that they will hire an assistant OC/quality control staffer that can actually do a better job of managing game-day sideline details. Too much confusion on that sideline and with as many young players that the Bills have, the coaches need to do a much better job preparing the players for what to do in different situations. Far too often the players were standing around waiting for someone to tell them what to do when they should already know what to do in the situation that they are in.

 

Great coaches make the best of the talent they have, they have solid systems that are easy for players to adapt to and that have a proven track record of success. We do not have a great coach, we have an coach who is alright, but will need all the talent he can muster to produce results on the field. I think in that regards we are close with the exception of a few missing pieces.

 

I went a lot longer than I intended, but I do see that the glass is half full. It should be interesting to see the off-season moves that Brandon makes to fill in those missing pieces and/or remove the pieces that are clearly under-performing.

 

My expectations were pretty low this year considering all the youth this team had and with so many unsettled questions surrounding Edwards, and both the offense under Turk, and the defense with the loss of Clements and Crowell that did nothing against the run last year.

 

The most frustrating thing about this team is that they have shown flashes that convince me that they do have the talent to win more games than they did. The coaching simply has to get better, and the execution by the players addressed. If the players really love their coach they need to start executing a hell of a lot better and with consistency - particularly the offensive line which took a step back from last year in regards to short yardage push and pass protection.

 

No, I am not trying to sell the Bills on ticket holders and those who they have clearly let down and yes, I am dismayed at some of the bone-headed coaching decisions that were made over the course of the year, but I am hopeful that they were simply the product of the growing pains of an OC in his first year learning the ropes.

[Tortured Soul]

Fair recap. I don't think you said anything controversial, other than DJ is "alright" as a head coach.

 

The one problem I have with the post is where are you going to find this veteran DE that's an upgrade over Kelsay? Great if he's out there, but I think we have to be prepared to move forward with Schobel, Denney, Ellis, and a rookie.

[ColdBlueNorth]

Fair recap. I don't think you said anything controversial, other than DJ is "alright" as a head coach.

 

The one problem I have with the post is where are you going to find this veteran DE that's an upgrade over Kelsay? Great if he's out there, but I think we have to be prepared to move forward with Schobel, Denney, Ellis, and a rookie.

There are worse head coaches out there. Dick's track record shows that he is clearly mediocre hovering just below the 500 mark hence I used the term "alright". Not a glowing endorsement, nor intended to be:)

 

I don't know if it would be that hard to find an improvement to Kelsay, as to the available free and restricted agents we will have to see who is allowed to leave and what players are locked up or franchised. Brandon pulled the trigger on Mitchell and that is the type of move I did not expect from this very historically frugal organization.

 

I am alright with a rookie working the left side of the defensive line in a rotation with Denny. I never expect much from that position and at least I could hope for some upside from a new DE. The money they are paying Kelsay and Dockery is insane considering their production this year. At least Dockery looked good in 07, he took a step backwards this year.

[keepthefaith]

There are worse head coaches out there. Dick's track record shows that he is clearly mediocre hovering just below the 500 mark hence I used the term "alright". Not a glowing endorsement, nor intended to be:)

 

I don't know if it would be that hard to find an improvement to Kelsay, as to the available free and restricted agents we will have to see who is allowed to leave and what players are locked up or franchised. Brandon pulled the trigger on Mitchell and that is the type of move I did not expect from this very historically frugal organization.

 

I am alright with a rookie working the left side of the defensive line in a rotation with Denny. I never expect much from that position and at least I could hope for some upside from a new DE. The money they are paying Kelsay and Dockery is insane considering their production this year. At least Dockery looked good in 07, he took a step backwards this year.

 

My wish list......

 

Jauron buys lottery ticket. Wins $20 million. Decides to retire immediately.

[BillsVet]

There are worse head coaches out there. Dick's track record shows that he is clearly mediocre hovering just below the 500 mark hence I used the term "alright". Not a glowing endorsement, nor intended to be:)

 

I don't know if it would be that hard to find an improvement to Kelsay, as to the available free and restricted agents we will have to see who is allowed to leave and what players are locked up or franchised. Brandon pulled the trigger on Mitchell and that is the type of move I did not expect from this very historically frugal organization.

 

I am alright with a rookie working the left side of the defensive line in a rotation with Denny. I never expect much from that position and at least I could hope for some upside from a new DE. The money they are paying Kelsay and Dockery is insane considering their production this year. At least Dockery looked good in 07, he took a step backwards this year.

 

Who do you think is a worse coach in the NFL? And feel free to include those who've been fired this season. Thanks.

 

BTW, Mitchell's acquisition was not a huge contract, at 17.5M over 5 yrs with a 3.5M SB, it's a moderate deal by NFL standards. Equally perplexing is why Buffalo would sign an OLB who excelled at blitzing, given their penchant for not doing that with their predominantly C2 defense.

[MikeSpeed]

Does any one else think our #2 WR is aleady on the team? His name Lee Evans.

[BuffaloBill]

Does any one else think our #2 WR is aleady on the team? His name Lee Evans.

 

 

Yes - see my post about Trent Edwards. This is a debated issue. I agree he is a #2. I would also add that Roscoe Parrish never needs to be on the field again as a wide receiver.

[bisonbrigade]

My wishlist is to draft the entire USC defense. They are real goooood.

[Tcali]

At the owners meeting Kraft loses a bet with Ralph and has to trade Bill for Dick for one season - the Patriots stuggle, but pull off 2 wins - the players love their new coach and want to keep him on in New England and beg Kraft to lock him up for another 3 years

 

Seriously,

 

I would like to see Russ pick up a solid veteran DE to compliment Aaron and jettison Kelsey and the wasted money. Denny did better when rotating in on the left side of the line and at least makes some noise now and then.

 

Pick up another DE or DT in the 1st round (defensive end would be my first choice, but a tackle that has speed to get to the passer could make the transition at the next level). I know some folks are looking for tightend here, and if the DE talent is a reach after Orakpo then maybe we go for Pettigrew here. I think that Fine is a passable tightend, and that what we need is more constistency from our 2nd WR position and the Offensive line in pass protection.

 

Next would be the best Center or Guard available at that position - Dockery either gets his act together on pass protection and moving the pile in short yardage or can his butt. Next pick Guard or Center which ever one was not addressed in the previous pick. We know what we have in Preston, he is still pretty young and may develop but needs to be more stout against the 3-4 nose tackles and simply needs to hold up better in pass protection. I did like what I saw from him in the second Jets game - it was a big test against a great nose tackle and he did a good job of steering him. Granted we did not pass all that much in that game...

 

Lock up Peters - Yes, he is a selfish contract-breaking SOB who underperformed this year, but he also has the rare physical tools to dominate the left tackle spot and those guys are simply hard to find and more than a few teams reach real hard in the 1st round to find his kind of talent and fail.

 

I am going to go out on a limb and say that I really liked what I see from our young receiver Steve Johnson - he is a bigger kid who uses his body well in space to get position over defenders. I like him as our number 2 with Reed/Parrish in the slot.

 

The team did a better job of stopping the run this year, and I like our interior defensive line (not love, but they're ok). I think that my biggest concern with Stroud was that he could not make it through the year - that his injury history would be repeated, but he made it though the whole year and will be better next year. Kyle Williams was a steal where we picked him up. I think everyone on this board knows we need to get some pressure from our ends. If we could generate pressure, considering that the Bills have probably the deepest core of yound DB talent in the league with Yobouty, Greer, McKelvin, Corner, and McGhee. We would see a lot more interceptions and turnovers.

 

I like what I have seen from Edwards when he is given the time - If Johnson develops and Jackson and Lynch get better at picking up the blitz I believe we can and should be able to take more shots down the field. Jury is still out on Hardy - he plays small and timid for his size. Too often he simply got outfought for position and the ball this year. He needs to grow a pair to compete at the NFL level.

 

Turk's first year produced a lot of mixed results and my sincere hope is that they will hire an assistant OC/quality control staffer that can actually do a better job of managing game-day sideline details. Too much confusion on that sideline and with as many young players that the Bills have, the coaches need to do a much better job preparing the players for what to do in different situations. Far too often the players were standing around waiting for someone to tell them what to do when they should already know what to do in the situation that they are in.

 

Great coaches make the best of the talent they have, they have solid systems that are easy for players to adapt to and that have a proven track record of success. We do not have a great coach, we have an coach who is alright, but will need all the talent he can muster to produce results on the field. I think in that regards we are close with the exception of a few missing pieces.

 

I went a lot longer than I intended, but I do see that the glass is half full. It should be interesting to see the off-season moves that Brandon makes to fill in those missing pieces and/or remove the pieces that are clearly under-performing.

 

My expectations were pretty low this year considering all the youth this team had and with so many unsettled questions surrounding Edwards, and both the offense under Turk, and the defense with the loss of Clements and Crowell that did nothing against the run last year.

 

The most frustrating thing about this team is that they have shown flashes that convince me that they do have the talent to win more games than they did. The coaching simply has to get better, and the execution by the players addressed. If the players really love their coach they need to start executing a hell of a lot better and with consistency - particularly the offensive line which took a step back from last year in regards to short yardage push and pass protection.

 

No, I am not trying to sell the Bills on ticket holders and those who they have clearly let down and yes, I am dismayed at some of the bone-headed coaching decisions that were made over the course of the year, but I am hopeful that they were simply the product of the growing pains of an OC in his first year learning the ropes.

He can compliment all he wants as long as Schobel is on the bench.-"Oh Aaron you have such a high motor!"

[B-L&hotwings]

At the owners meeting Kraft loses a bet with Ralph and has to trade Bill for Dick for one season - the Patriots stuggle, but pull off 2 wins - the players love their new coach and want to keep him on in New England and beg Kraft to lock him up for another 3 years

 

Seriously,

 

I would like to see Russ pick up a solid veteran DE to compliment Aaron and jettison Kelsey and the wasted money. Denny did better when rotating in on the left side of the line and at least makes some noise now and then.

 

Pick up another DE or DT in the 1st round (defensive end would be my first choice, but a tackle that has speed to get to the passer could make the transition at the next level). I know some folks are looking for tightend here, and if the DE talent is a reach after Orakpo then maybe we go for Pettigrew here. I think that Fine is a passable tightend, and that what we need is more constistency from our 2nd WR position and the Offensive line in pass protection.

 

Next would be the best Center or Guard available at that position - Dockery either gets his act together on pass protection and moving the pile in short yardage or can his butt. Next pick Guard or Center which ever one was not addressed in the previous pick. We know what we have in Preston, he is still pretty young and may develop but needs to be more stout against the 3-4 nose tackles and simply needs to hold up better in pass protection. I did like what I saw from him in the second Jets game - it was a big test against a great nose tackle and he did a good job of steering him. Granted we did not pass all that much in that game...

 

Lock up Peters - Yes, he is a selfish contract-breaking SOB who underperformed this year, but he also has the rare physical tools to dominate the left tackle spot and those guys are simply hard to find and more than a few teams reach real hard in the 1st round to find his kind of talent and fail.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that I really liked what I see from our young receiver Steve Johnson - he is a bigger kid who uses his body well in space to get position over defenders. I like him as our number 2 with Reed/Parrish in the slot.

 

The team did a better job of stopping the run this year, and I like our interior defensive line (not love, but they're ok). I think that my biggest concern with Stroud was that he could not make it through the year - that his injury history would be repeated, but he made it though the whole year and will be better next year. Kyle Williams was a steal where we picked him up. I think everyone on this board knows we need to get some pressure from our ends. If we could generate pressure, considering that the Bills have probably the deepest core of yound DB talent in the league with Yobouty, Greer, McKelvin, Corner, and McGhee. We would see a lot more interceptions and turnovers.

 

I like what I have seen from Edwards when he is given the time - If Johnson develops and Jackson and Lynch get better at picking up the blitz I believe we can and should be able to take more shots down the field. Jury is still out on Hardy - he plays small and timid for his size. Too often he simply got outfought for position and the ball this year. He needs to grow a pair to compete at the NFL level.

 

Turk's first year produced a lot of mixed results and my sincere hope is that they will hire an assistant OC/quality control staffer that can actually do a better job of managing game-day sideline details. Too much confusion on that sideline and with as many young players that the Bills have, the coaches need to do a much better job preparing the players for what to do in different situations. Far too often the players were standing around waiting for someone to tell them what to do when they should already know what to do in the situation that they are in.

 

Great coaches make the best of the talent they have, they have solid systems that are easy for players to adapt to and that have a proven track record of success. We do not have a great coach, we have an coach who is alright, but will need all the talent he can muster to produce results on the field. I think in that regards we are close with the exception of a few missing pieces.

 

I went a lot longer than I intended, but I do see that the glass is half full. It should be interesting to see the off-season moves that Brandon makes to fill in those missing pieces and/or remove the pieces that are clearly under-performing.

 

My expectations were pretty low this year considering all the youth this team had and with so many unsettled questions surrounding Edwards, and both the offense under Turk, and the defense with the loss of Clements and Crowell that did nothing against the run last year.

 

The most frustrating thing about this team is that they have shown flashes that convince me that they do have the talent to win more games than they did. The coaching simply has to get better, and the execution by the players addressed. If the players really love their coach they need to start executing a hell of a lot better and with consistency - particularly the offensive line which took a step back from last year in regards to short yardage push and pass protection.

 

No, I am not trying to sell the Bills on ticket holders and those who they have clearly let down and yes, I am dismayed at some of the bone-headed coaching decisions that were made over the course of the year, but I am hopeful that they were simply the product of the growing pains of an OC in his first year learning the ropes.

 

 

Like everything that you say except locking up Peters. I keep remembering what Dallas did with Herschel Walker. That is probably the one thing above all else that made them the team they were in the '90's.

 

Maybe we could work a similar trade and load up. Wishful thinking I know, but it's all we've got.

[ColdBlueNorth]

Who do you think is a worse coach in the NFL? And feel free to include those who've been fired this season. Thanks.

 

BTW, Mitchell's acquisition was not a huge contract, at 17.5M over 5 yrs with a 3.5M SB, it's a moderate deal by NFL standards. Equally perplexing is why Buffalo would sign an OLB who excelled at blitzing, given their penchant for not doing that with their predominantly C2 defense.

 

Thats a good question - sorry so late getting back to your question.

When I look at HC debacles I like to factor in not just the W/L percentage they have or had, but also how hard a team plays for that coach.

 

On my they don't win and they don't play for them list I have the following HCs that could be considered worse than Jauron.

 

Crennel

Kubiak

Zorn

Turner (I will have to change my vote if Norv's Chargers actually turn this around and go deep, it has been a while since he has had a lot of success). I think his career win/loss percentage is somewhere around 40%

Marinelli

Edwards

 

Honorable mentions: that boob Mularky and the other idiot that Ralphy hired Greg Williams

 

Yes, there are a lot of coaches with better records than Dick, but one solid season and he would have a much better record. He has never had a settled QB position as an HC, and it will be nice to see if Edwards can develop into the kind of player we all hope he can be.

[ColdBlueNorth]

My wishlist is to draft the entire USC defense. They are real goooood.

tell me about it - holy crap.

 

Pete's got a lot of talent that he's going to lose this year, maybe some of it goes our way.

[dubj04]

I think Johnson is going to develop into a good receiver. In a couple of years he will probably be considered one of the major stills of the draft. I saw him play in college and I never understood why he lasted so long on draft day.

[ColdBlueNorth]

Who do you think is a worse coach in the NFL? And feel free to include those who've been fired this season. Thanks.

 

BTW, Mitchell's acquisition was not a huge contract, at 17.5M over 5 yrs with a 3.5M SB, it's a moderate deal by NFL standards. Equally perplexing is why Buffalo would sign an OLB who excelled at blitzing, given their penchant for not doing that with their predominantly C2 defense.

As to the Mitchell signing I did feel like they got a steal with his leadership and talent - you are right though, they did not break the bank to bring him in.

 

I am not sure why they brought in a blitzing specialist when they do not do that much of it. I did notice that the few times early on in the year when we were playing with a lead Fewell set loose the dogs. He was much more conservative the rest of the year. Some of that may have been because we were dealing with injuries in the secondary, and some of that may have been because we were playing from behind so often.

[ColdBlueNorth]

I think Johnson is going to develop into a good receiver. In a couple of years he will probably be considered one of the major stills of the draft. I saw him play in college and I never understood why he lasted so long on draft day.

let us all hope he does, he definately does not look in over his head when he is on the field.

[R. Rich]

My wish list......

 

Jauron buys lottery ticket. Wins $20 million. Decides to retire immediately.

 

 

R. Rich buys lottery ticket. Wins $75 billion. Decides to retire immediately.

 

Then....

 

buys Buffalo Bills

buys and renames stadium (any ideas??)

fires everyone

[Chilly]

buys and renames stadium (any ideas??)

 

Chris Wilson stadium

[R. Rich]

Chris Wilson stadium

 

 

You think I'd get rid of one Wilson just to put another one up?

[CosmicBills]

R. Rich buys lottery ticket. Wins $75 billion. Decides to retire immediately.

 

Then....

 

buys Buffalo Bills

buys and renames stadium (any ideas??)

fires everyone

 

... And then with the 10th pick in the draft Rich takes a CB.

 

(just to watch Bill's head explode -- you know it would be worth it.)