What if the season takes a turn for the worse?

by Berg79 on Jul 9, 2008 10:00 AM EDT

Let me say, I am optimistic, probably too optimistic for the upcoming season as I have already stated I am predicting a 11-5 season and a wild card birth.

Yet I started thinking about who might be at fault if we do not win minimum 9 games. Let me re-fresh what everyone already knows. We were a 7 win team last year, and very few people will dispute the schedule should be easier this year. We will start with the offense.

O: QB are better b/c they have 1 more yr of exp; RB's are better b/c LYnch is going into yr 2 and Jackson will be the #2 from the beginning; TE's are virtually the same; O-line (assuming Peters is there) is better b/c they are all young or relatively young guys with a year together; WR added Hardy lost nothing of substance. Therefore, offense should be better.

D: DT Stroud and Johnson and a run stuffing and good depth DE to go with our young guys Williams/McCargo who should be getting better in year 3. LB's better our starters from last year our now the backups at weak and middle. CB's we added Will James and the 2 draft picks McKelvin and Corner so much more depth than last year, safety Ko comes back healthy.

S: Kicker/Punter same. Drafted lots of guys to play special teams, maybe have a slight fall off but shouldnt be substantial. Still have solid athletes such as Whedling, the WR (forgetting his name as I type) who is prob our #5 or 6 WR, Banks, Fine McGee, Parrish etc.

In addition, the schedule has a lot of advantages for the 2008 Bills. Look at the SD game for ex, we come off a bye get the Chargers at home right after they play the Pats right before they go to Europe. We get Oakland, Seattle, SF, and SD at home and have less travel to places such as St.L, Denver, KC & Zona as the 4 who travel to Blo have that long unwanted trip across the country. We get possibly our most even matchup, Cleveland at home on Monday night (Cant beat that). We get NE in Week 17 (if there is any chance a game would mean nothing to the Pats it would be in Week 17). For once the schedule maker did the Bills some favors...I cant believe I just typed that but I did and I actually meant it.

So a lot of you see what I am getting at. If the team has a repeat performance of 7-9 or even gets worst does that mean Jauran has got to go? I for one fear the idea of starting over, but what more can we provide him with in terms of talent. I suppose the season could theoretically get blamed on the QB but Jauron is suppose to be a Defensive guru and he now has the talent for a top 5 D. Therefore, no matter how bad the QB play ends up being (not saying it will just the possibility exists), the D should still bring us to 9 wins minimum.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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I forgot to add my line on DE

A typos in the above posts on D re our DT as DE. Line on DE was forgotten basically DE’s are the same if Ellis can replace Hargrove.

by Berg79 on Jul 9, 2008 10:04 AM EDT reply actions

I have no idea

how you can even speculate about how to fix problems that have not happened yet. We don’t know how it will shake out, let alone guess at who might be at fault. We will have to put this question on hold for a while.

by Joe P. on Jul 9, 2008 12:57 PM EDT reply actions

We had better have more wins!

For all the reasons you mentioned, with an upgraded defense and a more experienced offense in addition to the easiest schedule we’ve had in years, maybe all decade, we had better win and if we do not get the wild-card we had better pull of a Cleveland type season from this last year.

McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year

by poz on Jul 9, 2008 1:26 PM EDT reply actions

Healthy=Playoffs

That is what I think, especially because I think if we were healthy last year we would have been very close. A healthy team could have nine wins last year, and we are way better on paper. Love it!

This town needs an enema!

by killascript on Jul 9, 2008 3:06 PM EDT reply actions

Agree

I dont foresee many situations where I will not hold the coaching staff accountable for team failure. We have solid starters great depth so injuries really shouldn’t be as much of an issue as in years past. I applaud our front office for what appears to be a job well done in building a team since Levy took over.

by Berg79 on Jul 9, 2008 4:26 PM EDT reply actions

If the team struggles

I don’t see this team starting over in the traditional sense, unless the season turns out real bad (think 4 wins or less). If this team goes 7-9 again, Jauron could get canned, and they hire his replacement from within. (Fewell? April?) This front office seems to like the idea of “promoting from within”.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Jul 9, 2008 4:52 PM EDT reply actions

7-9 should equal unemployment

If Jauron can’t put together 9 wins against a weak slate of opponents he should be fired. Whether the team hires from within is another thing altogether. Year 3 should be a winning season for a head coach, even if there are injuries.

by Ron From NM on Jul 9, 2008 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

It’s do or die for Jauron. Win or see ya. He’s been able to get “his players” in here, picked his QB and brought in various FA’s. Time for him to win or find a new job.

by Kurupt on Jul 9, 2008 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Right on...

This is the best roster we have had since 99’, so I think we should be at least a 9 win team. It is unhealthy to contemplate more wins, but we’ll need them if the playoffs are a possibility.

This town needs an enema!

by killascript on Jul 9, 2008 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions

DJ goes if they don't hit 9 wins a minimum in my mind

I would be fine with promoting April to be HC. Thats the sort of outside the box thinking that might spark us to a better finish in the ‘09 season if we can DJ.

Fear the mighty helmet wearing gopher, he is coming for your soul....

by WABillsfan on Jul 11, 2008 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

agree here completely

9 wins minimum for Jauron and if not, give April a shot to avoid starting over. There are no more excuses for our timid head coach with the team and schedule he has in 2008. We can’t accept another September where the team starts out looking like they’ve never met each other. Simply gaining the traction to become competitive at midseason before a December collapse won’t cut it three years in a row with a hand-picked roster and coaching staff. There are no more excuses for an offense and defense both finishing 30th or below in the rankings. We can no longer blame Donahoe’s awful tenure for handicapping Jauron and his passive apoproach to running a team. Most likely, Evans, Crowell, and Losman will be the only players on the 53 man roster that weren’t either drafted or re-signed since Jauron took over (and frankly, they need to make sure Evans is off that list ASAP)...9 wins or April gets the steering wheel.

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 12, 2008 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think you guys are being fair

There are so many things that could happen that are out of Jauron’s control. Injuries for one. If Stroud, Peters, and Edwards get hurt and are lost for the season, what is an acceptable record? Add in Lynch and/or Hardy doing something else stupid and getting suspended, then what? None of these things are outside the realm of possibility. Now, if Jauron does a crappy job of coaching, then yes, fire him. But don’t praise him for building a young, high character team that plays hard every game and then say that he should be fired if the Bills don’t win some arbitrary number of games. We have not played one down of real football yet this season people. And yet, some of you can already tell whether Jauron should be fired by what our record might be. Well not me. I will wait and see what actually happens before I pass my meaningless judgment on Jauron. In the end, the only opinion that matters is Mr. Wilson’s, and that alone will determine if Jauron keeps his job.

by Joe P. on Jul 10, 2008 1:12 AM EDT reply actions

Unrealistic

I mean if injuries hit your top 5 players all at once of course Jauron gets another year. I mean if we lose Whitner, Stroud, Peters, Lynch and others for the season few if any coach can do much. However, that is unlikely. SUre injuries will happen but we have good depth and therefore unless the injuries are all to our stars and season ending they should be able to fill gaps. I am comfortable with Jackson for 2-3 games, same with Johnson/ANderson/McCargo replacing Stroud if he goes down. I think Losman is one of the top 5-7 backup QB’s in the league so if and when Edwards gets banged up I think Losman will be fine for 3-4 games. A loss of Peters will result in the bills using TE/FB/RB to double team the DE as he will be tough to replace. Even the combination of Scott and the backup FS can replace Whitner for a few games.

THerefore, unless there is some catastophic injury bug like last year expect to most of our stars I really think Jauron begins the year on the perverbial “hot seat”. WHile I agree that situations could potentially arise that give him some slack I just think the team needs 9-7 or better for him to maintain a job.

by Berg79 on Jul 10, 2008 9:03 AM EDT reply actions

Jauron has said playoffs or bust any number of times himself

He has set the bar high himself: He’s publicly stated that if the team does not perform well enough to earn the playoffs this year, he would consider the season a failure, or words to that effect. That means minimum 9, probably 10 wins to get in. He probably didn’t come up with that standard all by himself.
I think it’s a shame, although winning is the ultimate bar you have to pass in the NFL. Look at what he’s done the past two years, the kind of adversity he’s faced, and the tools he’s had to work with. Last year we were bringing guys in off the street and putting them on the roster just so we had 53 to suit up. Still won 7.
Read, ``The Education of a Coach,’’ David Haberstam on Bill Belicheck. It takes time to build a team and right a ship. Even legendary coaches like Belicheck and Parcells have horrible runs.

I think Jauron deserves credit for what he’s done. Imagine what he can accomplish if all the cards fall in his favor.

by Defensewinsgames on Jul 10, 2008 6:59 PM EDT reply actions