How disposed to change are these Bills?

It’s a solid point but the same “cap casualty” guys could get cut just for the upside a guy like Ellis brings. We know what we have in both of them now but one has maxed out, give the new kid a shot. It’s the way of the salary cap NFL regardless of who is coaching and how long they will be around.

Because the front office shouldn’t let the future get mismanaged because Jauron needs to keep some guys around to go for another 7-9 season. If they do, they can take the same train out of town.

Nowhere in the article does it say he will be replaced. :-) I think patience around here is wearing pretty thin, don’t you?

Schonert was a bad hire from the get go. The Bills were simply not at a point that they could give someone with zero coordinator experience the necessary time to grow into this position. We’ve all heard the pros and cons about hiring internally, but we’re witnessing the biggest “con” right now. Had he shown himself to be significantly better than Fairchild would there be a shift to the no huddle? Not likely. The change to no-huddle IMO was essentially done to cover the basic mistake of hiring Turk in the first place. Ooops! Time to dance with the one that brought you

They know what they have to fix and how to go about doing it.

Not sure I agree with the second part of this statement. No evidence to suggest they know how.

Particularly if you are not already an “entrenched” starter, seeing a lot of playing time in the preseason games does not necessarily mean that you are in good standing with the team (especially this late in the preseason). The Bills starting receivers are already known to be TO, Evans and Reed. TO’s “injury” has given the Bills not only a chance to keep other teams from seeing what the Bills’ offense with TO in it looks like, but it has also given the coaching staff a chance to see how some other receivers look when mixed in with the starting offense. Roscoe has not looked particularly good although I would still argue that the coaching staff doesn’t design plays that take advantage of Parrish’s skill set. They need to hit Parrish in the flats where he has room to pull his moves and turn a short gain into a long gain. Pitch outs to the side clearly don’t work, neither does tight coverage down the sideline due to his size.

Guys like Ko Simpson who saw a lot of 1st team action on Saturday but don’t usually, should be worried. I think Jenkins has also received undue positive attention from the press. Jenkins has made some really critical errors in addition to the several nice catches he has made. The extended action he has seen may very well be a reflection of the team trying to see if those mistakes were flukes or not.

The Players a team is comfortable with really don’t need to play much in the preseason.

“The thing I know for sure is that I am still fully behind Trent Edwards as a decent QB in this league. Cause if he can’t cut it, I really don’t want to think of going through the maturation process of another QB at this point..”

Unfortunatley, we may have too.

This is Jauron’s last chance. He, at least, is definitely in win now mode.

Who’s to say that keeping Walker in the lineup gives us the best chance to win now? If he can’t handle the job, how would he be helping?

Not all QBs need the Maturation process most Bills fans are accustomed to (or more accurately are STILL waiting to see develop). Look at some recent examples: Roethlisberger (yeah, thanks Jacksonville), Ryan, and Flacco.

Shawn Nelson is a liability in the running game. He will see significant playing time. Don’t worry.

The old way just isn’t working. I hate to cut veteran leadership (especially because we barely have any to begin with), but keeping people whose ceiling is reached like Denney and Kelsay for another year and letting go of a potential gem like Ellis and Bryan does not make sense.

I would say the same thing with TE, but this would be the first year starting for Schouman— this may be too quick of a judgement to say that Nelson should start, but in a position like DE where we’ve seen the best and worst of those two, let’s give someone else a shot!

Kelly would have started coaching a long time ago….and he clearly isn’t going to

Yessir. Agreed pretty much on all counts.

I strongly agree on point #4…. STRONGLY.

5.) Whitner plays a Polamalu/Sanders type role. I put him everywhere. If Byrd’s ready, Whitner plays SS on passing downs. On other downs, Scott plays the traditional SS.

Haven’t we already done that with Whitner? He’s played all over the field, and there still have been no plays out of him.

I strongly agree with all your points…especially your last sentence of point #6: “It’s the pre-season”. Under normal circumstances, fans shouldn’t set all worked up with what they see before the games that count. Of course, these are not normal circumstances. We have a completely overhauled offensive line and we are seeing the same problems that troubled the team last year continue to plague the team during this pre-season. Being smart football fans, we easily connect the dots and see a pretty ugly picture of the future. But it still is only the pre-season so I can’t be overly worried about what I see on the field.

What worries me is the issue with Walker. I agree that he didn’t look really terrible, but if they yank him from the starting LT spot, then it means that the Bills coaches misjudged the capabilities of a guy they know pretty well. If so, then what other misjudgments have they made? Can Levitre handle the starting guard responsibilities as a rookie? Is Hangartner stout enough against the NT’s he’ll face? Can Butler handle a position he hasn’t played at since college. To me, if you start making big personnel adjustments based upon weaknesses (instead of Bell winning the job based upon his performance), then you have to seriously question the judgment of the coaches…which opens up criticism across the board.

He has experience in this O, if we get Feeley or O’Connell we are back to square one training our 3rd QB. Hamdan can get the job done in short stretches, but I wouldn’t rely on him for the long haul, much like Feeley proved in Miami several years ago, there is a reason he went back to Philly as the backup….

After having a say or so to settle down after the Pittsburgh debacle, I would have to say that I agree on most fronts as well. I’m still confused what to do with Whitner. I honestly think the only thing keeping him in the starting role is his high draft position. As a Buckeye fan, I watched him quite a bit in college. Honestly I didn’t think he was all that but he was definitely a better as a SS due to his hard hitting style. He never did make a lot of big plays in college either, so I think playing him in space (FS) is a mistake. Scott is showing to be just as good as Whitner at SS, Byrd isn’t ready yet at FS, so who knows? I think we stand pat at the QB position just because I don’t think there is a better solution out there right now that can learn the system quick enough. Love the idea of Johnson in the slot. We make these subtle changes you suggested, hang on for the ride & see what happens. Worst case scenario is we go 7-9 or worse and the majority get there wish and we start over again. I’d love nothing more than for DJ & Trent to prove everyone wrong and turn this thing around.

Nate Washington would be our savior?!?! He’s a better choice than TO was? Whaaaaa? He signed a 6 year $27M deal, so it’s not like he’s that cheap. He’s never returned a punt in the NFL, so I’m not sure where you’re getting that from….

And in case you haven’t noticed, he’s injured too, and likely to miss regular season games!

If you’re talking about signing him in addition to TO, then ok, it makes a little more sense. Although it was highly unlikely the team would have brought in 2 FA WR’s….

is that after 4 pre-season games, the OL is the least of the concerns. I just do not understand Turk Schonert. The impression I get from Schonert is that he just pounds square pegs into round holes. And refuses to stop. The whole “Trent never throws downfield” argument is blow out of proportion but he DOES need to take chances down the field to keep the defense OFF-BALANCED. There is no rythym to this offense, the timing with the WR’s looks sluggish. Bottom line is Trent never throws the ball into tight windows. I think the COMBO of SCHONERT/EDWARDS is terrible, and Schonert is slowly ruining any chance Edwards has of becoming the Franchise QB in Buffalo…..ARG!!!!! BUt I keep telling myself it’s just Pre-Season!

you must have a plan to succeed, and constantly make changes to adapt to the situation and never be afraid to admit when you’re wrong, correct the error and move on. TEAM, TEAM, TEAM. The Bills have tied their wagon to Edwards, feeling that T.O., a reshuffled OL and a no-huddle offense will make it all better. but you can’t cover up Edwards and his tenative nature, and inability to make significant plays in the passing game thus far this pre-season. God be with us when we go into New England

If you want to talk about the Bills’ identity, for better or worse, it is personified – top to bottom – by Dick Jauron. Even Special Teams, despite April’s best efforts, seem Jauronified.

I think the main problem with the Bills right now is they don’t have an identity. And since they don’t have an identity they can’t bring in the correct coaches, the correct personnel to make things work. Sure we have some good players but when you put everything togethor the Bills just don’t make it work.

The Bills have the best scouting staff in the NFL. How we aren’t good is beyond me. And really, this is why.

A quick example is the progression that has been made with Jason Cambell with the Redskins – Jim Zorn is a QB coach, and I have seen Cambell really progress from prior seasons.

You’re going to use a QB the Redskins tried to replace as an example of what to do?

The Bills haven’t had an identity since Jauron/Levy came on board. There has been too much trying to fit square pegs in round holes instead of taking one approach and running with it.

There is not going to be a DE upgrade on the waiver wire. It’s why we drafted Maybin.

I think the Bills offense needs someone that understands offense. Hire Mike Shannan as a special consultant. He does not make good decisions as a coach, look at his record after Elway but he understands how to build an offense and how to get a offensive line ready to play.

We’re putting the pieces together!

Though Shanahan as coach with Brandon as the COO is the way I’d go. Brandon seems to be accurate with his assessment of the team’s personnel, and it’s been showing the past couple drafts and off-seasons.

How do you edit your own post?

just remember that nugget.

Great coaches aren’t just great in their own right. They consistently develop younger coaches to take their place.

Belichick runs through coordinators every year or two, but develops new replacements as he goes. It’s interesting that Pepper Johnson is coaching the Patriot defensive line, though he played as a linebacker. Sounds like the future DC once Pees gets his shot at the big time.

The only guy on the staff who anyone could even think about replacing Schonert is AVP.

Also, the more I read comments by the players the past two years, the more I get the distinct feeling that the players feel the issues are with the offensive coaches.

“There is area for concern,” he (Edwards) said. “There is plenty of things we need to fix pretty quickly. But I feel like we have a good group of guys who want to go in the right direction who want to be coached, and that’s the bottom line.”

Buffalo is tailor-made for a great coach to win. We don’t have a GM, but have an up-and-comer in Russ Brandon, and a great scouting staff. A coach who likes more than normal HC-responsibilities would do well here. In order from those I like most to least:

Shanahan- Best choice. Belichick-like organizer and brilliant offensive mind. He knows how to beat New England. Needs a great front office… not a great personnel decision maker. I think Shanahan and Brandon would be great.

Cowher- Next best. Great motivator and would bring a Buffalo-tough identity to the team. Would do well with Brandon. Not a fan of the 3-4 though.

Gruden- iffy. Devisive as a coach. Inherited a great defense. Offense was never really special, though with the Bills front office, he could get some really good building blocks. How he would work with Brandon would be a question. But he likes Tebow- a plus in my book. ; )

Mariucci- Maybe. Also inherited a good SF team, but couldn’t do much with Detriot.

Billick- smart but hasn’t been able to develop offense as a HC.

Reed is an excellent possession receiver. Don’t take that away from him. He has performed admirably over the past two years in a role not designed for his talents.