Chan Gailey must overcome Jauron's demons

I think “yawns” are where I am with Gailey… I don’t really care for him or dispise him. Much like Jauron. My issues with Jauron was that he wore out his welcome… He had to go.

I think we have to remember our options were severly limited when filling our coaching vacancies… None of the big coaches were coming to one of the most unstable franchises that was left in shambles (lack of overall talent) from the previous regime. Furthermore add in a meddling owner (ok not as bad as Jerry and Al, but still “circle of trust” crap) and I think we should all be happy that a “respectable” coach like Gailey was willing to take the job.

I will give Gailey a chance, but he must show me the Baby. So far Nix (presumably with Gailey’s advice) has made some questionable offseason moves in my mind. I will let them play out. Simply put, we all love winners and mediocre (i.e. 7-9) no longer cuts it.

This team:
1) needs to beat the AFC East teams
2) be above .500
3) play competitivel with the best teams in the league (not win yet)
4) fill the QB and LT spots
5) develop a couple stars on offense/defense.

I have a “wait and see” attitude towards Gailey. I’m cautiously optimistic. Of course, I start every season this way.

I know it’s not a big thing but I really like the fact that he has brought one str and cond coach for skill players and one for the big guys. Hopefully this helps with some injury prevention.

Injuries, injuries, injuries. The bottom dropped out for Jauron because of the injury bug more than anything else. Some of the blame has to fall on him for not paying more attention to strength & conditioning, but some was just bad luck.

Gailey wisely took a hard look at the conditioning program and made improvements that hopefully should keep more players on the field than under Jauron. Also, Gailey has a better handle on how to build around the team’s QB’s than DJ did. I’m not expecting a playoff run, but at least I feel more confident of this team’s chances for success than I have for a couple of years. I think Coach Gailey understands how to put the team and the players in position where they can be successful, and I think the players instinctively know that, too. He’s not pandering to whiners, either, which the players respect him more for.

So while not much may change in the short term, I think Gailey’s got more upside for the long haul. I doesn’t hurt that he has a competent GM to help him get talent on the field, either. (DJ apparently had too much on his plate to be effective there)

Brian,

Not really a comment on the article itself, but just wanted to let you know that you’ve got a rather unfortunate (yet funny) link break in that headline. That, coupled with the window size I had my browser at, completely cut off the second line of the headline before I scrolled.

Since Gailey has been named HC, he has brought in assistants that have more credentials in the field of teaching young NFL players than young NFL Offenses. Result is no body on the offensive coaching staff to butt heads with. This offense will be all Gailey’s to run, just the way he wants it. This isn’t meant to be little any of the assistants as much as it is to have total control of what is going to be done. On top of this he has stated that he will concentrate on the running game which is something that was stagnant in 2009. The assistants will have much to do with Gailey’s offense so it is not like he drew names from a hat. He methodically made his selections to accommodate the youth and talent that is currently on the roster.

Defensively, he brought in and retained a more NFL ready group. Edwards is the 3-4 guru with Sanders focusing on the pass rushing duties of the OLB’s in addition to the experience with the entire front 7. Retaining Costanza in the secondary recognizes the fact that we are not fixing what is not broken. With these three men on the defensive side of the ball I feel more confident that our defense will make the necessary adjustments required for a defense to be successful.

Bruce DeHaven should explain itself.

To sum things up. I like the Gailey Hire and feel comfortable going forward with him and his group of assistants and Coordinators more than a Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher, that would demand more control of the entire operation. This maybe a little more than even they could chew. I like it more than a young up and comer because I see them bringing in Coordinators and assistants that would only rock the boat than work to move it forward.

Finally, I see a solid structure to take this team into the AFC east and compete long term. Bumps and Bruises can be expected, but Gailey and Nix represent this team to a “T” and I expect things to all come together before we can expect it.

Chans in a decent position that should allow him to be successful.

I honestly think that Nix is a good football guy with good drafting ability. I do beleive that wholeheartedly. As a result, I beleive Chan is going to be given good football players with certain abilities that can be groomed into productive NFL players. One can argue the positions of said players taken in this recent draft and probably next year as well – but I beleive they are selecting guys they feel have a high chance of success – instead of taking someone just to fill a hole.

This team is devoid of star power but it’s not a team in complete shambles like the Lions were 2 years ago or the Bucs last year. The Bills actually have some pretty decent young guys – the only things that this team are missing are playmakers or game changers. Obviously QB is the biggest issue but it’s not like we’re fielding a JV team although this year might have the feel of that based off of inexperience and scheme change (both offensive and defensive).

I still think the Bills special teams will keep them in games – I think people underestimate Brian Moormans ability to “flip” the field and put the ball inside the 20 to keep offenses from only having to go half the field. I am a firm beleiver that his leg has aided us in wins. Same with Lindell – he’s not a kicker that I have great confidence in 50+ yards or in certain situations – however, he’s pretty much money inside 50 yards and that’s something we can’t take for granted.

Chan also does have weapons on offense to work with. Since he’s seen as an offensive guy i’m sure he’s giddy about having guys like Evans, Lynch, Spiller, Jackson, Nelson and our tall but inexperienced WR’s. Its not like we’re fielding a team that as no talent – but we just need to grow and there are pieces there to keep me, at least, optimistic.

It’s funny to me how people say that the offensive line is a complete mess, but if we were to get a McNeill or Gaither that the line would instantly be more than respectable. This leads me to beleive that the o-line isn’t in a terrible hole but needs 1 key player to make it a dominant group – which should actually make us happy because if that’s the case then maybe it won’t be as bad as we all assume it’s going to be (barring injury). I think our current line with a solid LT would do much better than what a lot of us think – which is probably an understatement but I hope you know what i’m getting at.

I also applaud Chan’s decision to let the 3-4 come to Buffalo. He picked a good teacher by all accounts and is letting Edwards coach the defense that he knows. So he’s not going to be fitting a round peg into a square hole. This shows that chan is willing to adapt to things that aren’t comfortable to him but if they work then he’s on board. That is comforting knowing that right off the bat.

I know a few expect Chan to fail miserably, and it could entirely happen. Cower or Shanahan could have come here and failed as well – we obviously won’t know that – but it is indeed possible and as a result I feel we owe Chan our support until he shows us he’s incompetent.

A wise man once told me: You might not like your president, but he’s your president and you have to respect him and learn to live with him.

That’s pretty much were i’m at with Chan. I respect the fact he’s gotten this far in his coaching career, I have to live with him so I will give him my support until his 4 years are up and he’s proven he can’t do the job.

Don’t embarrass yourself, via blowout or choke-job, in nationally televised game?

Oh, and beat Cleveland.

Gailey replaces Dick Jauron, perhaps the most universally despised head coach in the history of this organization.

I wasn’t around, but Kay Stephenson went 10-26 inlcuding a 2-14 season. Harvey Johnson 2-23-1 in two fill in stints. John Rauch came off a 12-2 season in Oakland and went 7-20-1 in two years here. Dick Jauron was at least a mediocre coach, wasn’t he? These guys were putrid. I don’t get fans sometimes.

I know sometimes its just a matter of perception but for me Jauron’s biggest demon was his overall conservative coaching approach and poor game management that seemed to only get worse over time.

I think I’d rather go 3-13 getting beat soundly by “better” teams, then have another 7-9 or 6-10 record while to enduring another season of questionable play calling, poor gametime management, and game after game leaving points on the field or blowing late game leads.

What Gailey has accomplished to date has brought about, at absolute best, cautious, highly muted optimism regarding the future of this organization under his watch

‘I PUT MY BUFFALOZILLA NATION AGAINST THE DOLPHINS RT NOW’ and pretty much everything abayarde has said sorta blows that out of the water lol

Brian — I always love your dedication and thorough, thoughtful posts. My vote for most universally despised head coach has to go to Hank (They took the sails out of our wind) Bullough. Clueless + Ineffective = most despised in my grade book! Can’t wait to see Spiller in the open field…

I go back to the early 60’s so I remember most in fact the only one I don’t remember is Buster Ramsey.

I put Greg Williams at the top of my list, it started from day one when he introduced the Bull Horn and it went quickly down hill from there!!!

1) Greg Williams
2) John Rauch—any coach that would make OJ a flanker was an idiot
3) Kay Stephenson—-so vanilla, he could put you to sleep with his post game talk.
4) Bullough—-as a HC he was as dumb as a stump totally in over his head.

The absolute most despised person who ever worked for the Bills was by far former LT Stew Barber who became a scout then a GM. That man alienated players, coaches and the fans as a GM—-he was horrendous!
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was a concern with Jauron because he used machine weights instead of free weights and Gailey changed all that.

Gailey is also inheriting Dick’s tiny linebacking unit. Although he gets the benefit of all our talented DB’s