September 2010 Chan Gailey Approval Poll

I think i’m really going to like the offense this year and the upgrade that it will be. But defense and special teams worry me greatly right now.

I approve because of his candor, his ability to get more out of his players (yes – we only have preseason to judge by) and his ability to change game plans in mid-game – you k now the word – adjustments. ya – that’s a word that you can now use as a Bills fan

voted approve -

i dont like his interaction with the hecklers. the qb naming doesn’t irk me or please me, it just is what it is. I am, however, very happy with the way he’s moved the qb around, called plays, and otherwise made use of players that haven’t seen much of it, like mcintyre, parrish, and nelson.

With the limited amount of information available, of course. I’m only saying that I approve of what he’s done so far-not saying I approve of him overall just yet-obviously that’ll take time.

The offense does look better, and early indications are that Trent looks a lot more comfortable with a guy who knows offense. Despite desperate needs at other positions, Spiller does look great as well. Have to give props there as well.

I do think calling James hardy a veteran is pushing it though. he played in all of, what, 3 games over the last three years? he’s just an old rookie now IMHO.

Mostly, though, I’m a big fan of how he seems to not pull punches with what he thinks. Seem to be getting much more direct quotes from him rather than DJ or MM or even GW.

Now that the regular season is upon us, let’s see if he can keep Trent confident.

I liked the way he has handled the players/depth chart. He made everyone earn their place on the roster.

I still dont get how 50% of people disapproved of Chan and 24% approved of him in the very first poll when we had absolutely nothing to approve or disapprove of.

This – I think, my memory could be wrong – is my first time changing my vote from “not sure” to “approve”. We can only judge a coach by the product on the field and even though it was pre-season we finally got to see our team in action. My decision is based solely on what I saw, which was:

- The offense looked smoother, more aggressive, more focused, and more rhythmic than at any time in the last 4 years.

- His offense used every single weapon at its disposal. We saw every man of consequence get a chance with the ball in his hands, another thing we haven’t seen in 4 years. Man, did we waste TO and Lee Evans last year or what?

- the secondary still looks as effective as ever despite the loss of secondary gurus Dick Jauron and Perry Fewell. Maybe that has more to do with George Catavolos than Chan Gailey but Gailey made the call to keep him as the secondary coach.

- Defensive and offensive underachievers began achieving, even if its just the preseason. Roscoe Parrish, Trent Edwards, John McCargo, Aaron Maybin, Leodis McKelvin, Chris Ellis and Donte Whitner have all looked more polished and played with more purpose than they did under the previous regime. This factor can not be stated enough. Guys whose careers were given up on by observers have made significant contributions, either Chan Gailey is one heck of a teacher or one heck of a motivator, or both. Or he’s just good in the preseason. Only time will tell but its strongly encouraging.

For those reasons I voted approved. Now lets see if that carries over to t

one foot is still unsure.

I like what I’ve seen out of the offense under Gailey in the preseason. Unfortunately, it was the preseason and he still needs to get his guys to produce starting this Sunday. We’ll see, but I like what he has done and has planned for his O. If we can see this carry over, I’ll solidly be in the Approve group.

On the other hand, the defense has looked terrible, and even though Gailey isn’t a defensive guy, he still needs to take some flak for how they have performed. Hopefully, it’s just a slow transition that isn’t being helped by the lack of quality players.

As we approach the season, I’m looking for Gailey’s team to be prepared, play tough and improve throughout the year. It’ll also be nice if they have an actual plan to follow instead of the ragamuffin “gameplans” that Jauron put together.

I was actually pretty pleased when Gailey was hired. He hasn’t done anything to indicate I should be against his judgement yet.

I also wasn’t really “anti-Jauron”, just felt he wore out his welcome.

I would vote “approve”, but I don’t like some of the personnel decisions. I can’t be clear who made them, but I have to beleive Gailey had a hand in these. I am not happy about our situation at LT, QB, and WR. It might have been Nix that decided not to address the LT, QB, and WR in the draft/FA, but I cannot be sure.

Ultimately Gailey’s approval for me will be how many “babies” he delivers versus how many “labor pains”. Wins are the easiest panacea for Bills fans like myself.

I like Gailey, I will wait to see how this team plays on game days till I “approve” of him.

I voted “approve”, and have since I read about the endorsements he got from such notables as Bill Cowher, Dan Reeves, and Jerry Jones.

The skepticism above is understandable given the past 10 years of forgettable Bills football. But I think from what I’ve seen thus far, that Gailey will prove his skeptics wrong. He has a GM that has given him lots of solid support, something that we haven’t seen in awhile in Buffalo. Plus I like his attention to the fundamentals. I have a feeling Chan will do alright.

The single biggest reason for this is that finally, Buffalo has a true captain at the head of the ship. Right, wrong or indifferent, this team will have an identity under Gailey’s leadership, and Gailey is the one voice that leads.

Some may not like the heckler incident. Gailey’s actions had nothing to do with crowd control. It had everything to do with instilling confidence in him from his team. Once a subordinate knows that you will fight for him, that subordinate’s effectiveness is enhanced. Think Trent Edwards won’t run through a wall for Gailey? Think the other Bills haven’t taken notice of Gailey’s defense of Edwards, and won’t run through a wall for Gailey too? If nothing else, this team will play hard for Gailey.

Also:

While I’ve read a bunch in the past about getting Leslie Frazier, someone I peronally wanted, I think it was very smart to bring in an offensive-minded head coach. George Edwards will bring the defense around just fine. Gailey, as head coach, sets the mindset of the team. Many defensive coaches want efficient offenses that don’t make mistakes and control the clock. Instead, Gailey is going to tailor the offense to the talent, with power running in mind. Gailey isn’t overlooking or misusing personnel because of any mindset that supports the defense.

And, that power running, stuff the run, tough edged mindset is going to create a difference in the type of type Buffalo develops.

The last point is that he is a teacher. We’ve read that in the past with past coaches, but it’s true with Gailey. Most of the young guys are actually getting better. The current Trent Edwards is starting to look like September 2008 Trent Edwards. He gets on the team when they perform poorly. All good indicators of a coach that’s going to develop players to be better than they currently are.

I tried hard to like Jauron (as a coach), but it became almost impossible. His handling of press conferences became almost unbareable. There was never anything wrong. The guys were playing hard, etc etc. It was obvious they were stuggling last preseason (certainly not all his fault), but he refused to acknowledge even the most obvious problem.

Gailey tells it like it is. I understand that coaches are not going to tip their hand on strategy and injuries, but it doesn’t hurt to give reasonably honest assessments. I have no doubt the players know where he stands. He verbalizes during practice. He “coaches”. Will it reult in more wins?? I don’t know, but I think the team will improve. I really do.

I like what I hear from him every time he opens his mouth. He instills confidence and pushes his players to expect more from themselves. I was very happy when he changed the strength and conditioning program and removed TVs from the training room. I haven’t seen him throw a challenge flag yet but I bet he’ll make sure the official can actually tell he threw it and it didn’t just fall out of his pocket. If he can “fix” Trent, then we are a lot closer to having a top tier team in the league.

contrary to what many people think……he has been an improvement…..so thats good.

Of course my biggest fear with Chan Gailey is that he’s a step up from Jauron……but not much else………..and for me…anything less than a Championship every year is a disappointment……

I know, I know, baby steps……but……damn if this baby shouldnt be running around after 10 years………….

Is considering a platoon along the offensive line to assist starters Demetrius Bell and Eric Wood

Platooning isn’t the right word. Spelling Bell & Wood occasionally may be the way to go early on in the season, however, Platooning in the traditional sense is what D-linemen do for various situations during the course of the game. I truly doubt that the O-linemen who will spell our recovering starters will get more than a series or two during the course of a game and even less as the year progresses (barring further injury).

By the way, I voted approve based on the fact that he has our offense looking exponentially better than anything I have seen in the past 4 years.

- I like the fact that Gailey is getting Roscoe Parrish involved more with the offense. Anybody with that kind of speed can be used in the offense.
- Gailey is a pretty good offensive mind and I hope that he can make the most out of a team that is considered having the 2nd worst talent in the league.
- It will take another 2-3 year’s, if the Bills draft correctly, to overcome the disastrous picks this team has made over the past ten years.

I’m not optimistic about this season, or our offensive line, or our linebackers, or that we’ll win as many games as we did last year. But I’m optimistic about the Bills, which I haven’t been in several years.

I think they’ll be more competitive than anyone (Tim Graham aside) expects. And I look forward to watching them this season.

Go Bills!

The poll is asking what you think of Chan to date? To date, I believe he’s done very well. If he gets more OL help I’d be happier. Chan can’t play the games though, so before we hold Chan accountable lets give him a chance to work some of his people into/on the team.

I like the training camp atmosphere. I like the production he got out of relatively the same offense that couldn’t score last year. As a coach, I think he’s done well with what he has to work with.

The proof is, as Gailey says, “When there are people in the stands and the scoreboard is on” — do I approve of this roster? Well, not much of it is actually Gailey’s or Nix’s… even with the numbers of turnovers given in these articles, its still a majority of players that they’ve inherited and are making the most of, and preseason is no true indication of anything. Yes, Trent played well for 12-15 minutes, but a full game, with half-time adjustments and constant pressure is a different story altogether.

I will say I approve of the way Gailey conducts himself with the media and the way he seems to conduct himself with the players. I really liked how he handled the Hardy situation, noting he was never that impressed and even when Hardy showed some improvement he still realized it wasn’t a full-enough package to keep him around. Its clear that performance in practice and on the field is all that matters, not draft round or even past performance/hype. But Gailey is the HC, not just the OC — if defense and special teams bomb out then he’s not worth the promotion we gave him.

a tempered approach is deserved for Gailey’s success in the polls… it’s not very difficult to approve of the job he’s done considering it would be very difficult for him to NOT improve a team in the condition he found it.