Bleacher Report - Articles by Richard Whitt

As Fans, Should We Let Vick Back In?

Richard Whitt — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:05:33 -0400

As far as the NFL is officially concerned, Michael Vick is allowed to resume his career as a professional football player. Roger Goodell has set the terms including a suspension and the assignment of a mentor (Tony Dungy). Teams are free to contact him, evaluate him, and ultimately sign him.

But as a fan—as a society—should we let Michael Vick back in? Should we support a franchise's decision to bring him into camp, or should we protest it?

Professional athletes are role models for our children and they are idolized in our society (justifiably or not). Do we want someone who has engaged in dog fighting, or any other serious criminal activity, to achieve such status?

But we can't forget: we live in a free and capitalist country. If an organization decides to invest in someone, and there is no restrictions placed on that person, it is free to do so. This is both under the NFL's terms and in terms of US law.

From Vick's perspective, "professional football player" is the only thing Vick has on his resume, so telling him he free to the pursuit of happiness and then telling him he is not, however, free to play professional football, would be a contradiction. We simply don't have a right to prevent him from playing football to earn a paycheck.

The NFL has this power—within it's closed-circuit socialist regime—by blacklisting him, but there are other professional football leagues (CFL, UFL) where he can make a living (albeit he won't make as much).

Losing Vick to another league isn't in the best interest of the NFL, and even with the special status sports leagues are given to rule over their constituents, it's gray whether the NFL would be violating Vick's constitutional rights by banning him after he had paid back his debt to society.

What it really comes down to is how NFL franchises forecast the local and national public reaction to a Vick signing but some organization is going to play the Guinea pig with this one.

In some places it will play better than others, but certainly the more teams show interest in Vick the more comfortable we'll all get with the idea. So time is in Vick's corner right now.

And what then? Do we turn our backs on a franchise we've supported all of our lives? Or do we stomach the national scorn that will persist for at least a couple of seasons, maybe longer—especially if he wins?

How would the average fan react?

If history serves us, this will not be a really big story in 2010 either way, and teams know that. Ultimately, we'll get used to the idea and this will lose it's relevance.

The Book on Jason Peters: From a Buffalo Bills Fan

Richard Whitt — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:36:39 -0400

Congratulations Eagles fans. You’ve got yourself one hell of an athletic tackle there. He moves very well (he was a TE when the Bills brought him into camp). He’s obviously ambitious (more on that later). He has tremendous upper body strength and he blows people up when he gets his hands on them.

On one play in 2007 against the Houston Texans he literally managed to get a triple-pancake. Now you might ask yourself how such a feat is even possible…

Well, the Bills had a QB by the name of J.P. Losman who was very fond of a little, oh I don’t know, we’ll call it “a play-action maneuver” where he would go on what I would like to describe as a rollout, but not really.

Anyway, Peters planted the same Texans lineman (I can’t recall his name so sue me) on his back three times on one play.

I was pretty much sold on Jason Peters at that moment.

I would have said going into the 2008 offseason that he was definitely a top five tackle, and worthy of top five tackle money.

Then he held out. He didn’t report to camp. He joined the team the week before the first game.

He then gave up 15 sacks in 2008—the most among LT’s in the NFL.

He was still physically dominant, he was just getting beat by the more experienced pass rushers like Joey Porter (on one play that cost the Bills a win). And he wasn’t getting to his block, he was lunging.

It was clear that missing camp affected his game.

Then came this offseason and well, to boil it down to a single theory I like to call “the truth”: He wanted to leave Buffalo!

He turned down the offers Buffalo already had on the table, which were not far from what Philadelphia finally offered and his firm demand of being the top earning offensive tackle in football was apparently only a condition for the Buffalo Bills, not the Philadelphia Eagles.

And what he said in that interview about having a RT contract while he was playing LT? According to Buffalo Bills.com’s Chris Brown, there was verbiage in his contract governing such a switch. Peters signed that contract, he should have had some idea of what was in it.

So, big deal if he’s typical when it comes to NFL players who want to get paid and are willing to use whatever leverage they have to get their way.

More power to them. Just don’t treat us like we’re ten year olds. We understand.

Enjoy!

2009 NFL Draft: Top Eleven Plus One

Richard Whitt — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:44:46 -0400

No. 1. Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia

No. 2. St. Louis Rams - Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech

No. 3. Kansas City Chiefs - Michael Oher, LT, Ole-Miss

No. 4. Seattle Seahawks – Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest

No. 5. Cleveland Browns - Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas

No. 6. Cincinnati Bengals – Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State

No. 7. Oakland Raiders – Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri

No. 8. Jacksonville Jaguars – Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland

No. 9. Green Bay Packers – B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College

No. 10. San Francisco 49ers – Everette Brown, DE, Florida State

No. 11. Buffalo Bills – The Bills have two first round picks after the Jason Peters trade but now there’s an obvious hole at tackle. Maybe not at left tackle because the Bills played Langston Walker there when Jason Peters was sucking wind and he played well enough to go into camp as the No. 1 candidate, regardless of who the Bills draft here.

This can be an opportunity for Buffalo to redistribute some of the talent they have on their team and they would be, in my humble opinion, foolish not to take the opportunity to address an area of their team that has been shamelessly neglected since Bruce Smith’s tenure. Of course I am talking about defensive end and not just any end, I mean an edge rusher with a great first step and great power.

But only if that kind of player is still available.

If Orakpo and Brown are gone, the argument is simplified to Robert Ayers and Aaron Maybin. From a production standpoint, Maybin had more sacks his senior season with 12 compared to only 3 sacks for Ayers, but Ayers had 15.5 tackles for loss. Maybin had 20 tackles for loss, so he has the edge there too, but from my standpoint they are both great athletes who can get to the passer.

Both were one-year starters.

The separator is how they stack up against the run and whether or not they are three down players. Here Ayers separates himself tremendously, and if you want some statistical support for that you’ve already read it. Ayers produced tackles for loss, not simply sacks. He attacked the line of scrimmage, he didn’t just take the A-Train to the QB.

I think the Bills select Robert Ayers, from Tennessee, here.

No. 28. Buffalo Bills – Honestly, it’s very hard to nail down who will be available at this spot. So what I am going to do it list their board at this point and you can hold me to the top spot (based on availability) if you’re keeping score.

If you run the Tampa-2 defense, you prefer linebackers that are natural fluid athletes but you prefer smarter ones even more. You get there sooner if you diagnose the play earlier. All of the speed in the world doesn’t help you if you are often out of position and take poor angles. If you can find a guy like Curry you don’t mess around. The Bills won’t get Curry, at 11 and obviously not at 28 either.

- Brian Cushing, LB - USC
- Clay Matthews Jr., LB – USC
- Eben Britton, T – Arizona
- Alex Mack, G/C - California

Terrell Owens Working Out in Buffalo

Richard Whitt — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:14:56 -0400

Bills.com Lead Reporter Chris Brown released a quick blog post Wednesday night simply stating, "Terrell Owens is in Buffalo and has been working out with his teammates at One Bills Drive."

And already the bloggers are suggesting it's little more than a media ploy cooked up by Drew Rosenhaus to keep Owens' name on ESPN tickers.

I'll grant you—as sleezy as it sounds to me—I can't discount Team Rosenhaus/Owens' love for press and I'll equally ackowledge that no matter what is to come of Buffalo's upcoming season, we're going to get our share of "T.O. being T.O."

But the simple fact is he is working out with his teammates. And that's now become the focus.

The media could—but definitely won't—let it be.

The blogosphere will light up again, and somehow (hard to predict these events) Owens will once again have proven himself a bad teammate. A loose cannon. A cancer.

All of this will happen because Owens Twittered in from the Buffalo locker room...and he probably won't even provide so much as a soundbyte for the duration of camp.

Bills fans are beginning to notice. Probably because they're not used to so much attention. The media has a serious, sleezy, obsession with Terrell Owens.

Even if it is self-inflicted—and there's definitely an element of that with him—it's a two-way street, and the media are definitely over-eager play-mates.

It should evoke sympathy.

Stroud Inks Two-Year Extension With Bills

Richard Whitt — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:10:53 -0400

ESPN's John Clayton reports that the Buffalo Bills have rewarded defensive tackle Marcus Stroud with a two-year extension worth $16.5 million. His total contract is now worth $29 million over the next four years.

Stroud, a massive interior disruptor, came to Buffalo last offseason and made an immediate impact on Buffalo's run defense. He's contributed 2.5 sacks.

Trading Jason Peters: Easier Said Than Done

Richard Whitt — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:50:56 -0400

So it looks more and more like the Bills and Jason Peters are not going to reach a contract agreement any time soon (and yes, I am tempting fate by saying so because I hope they do) which has led many to believe that a trade is now imminent.

It’s certain that the Bills want to avoid another lengthy holdout, which some speculate could last until week 10—unrealistic in my view because Peters would be shooting himself in the foot financially.

But the Bills are not alone in thinking that Jason Peters has not earned the right to be the top paid LT in the game. In fact, I suspect that the very reason Buffalo has been unable to sign Peters is going to be the very same reason they are going to have difficulty trading him:

Any team that trades for Jason Peters inherits his demands.

Nobody is going to trade away top picks for a guy who they believe will be difficult to sign to a long-term deal and will likely holdout.

Why would any team assume that once Peters leaves Buffalo, that he will have an epiphany and demand reasonable money—which Buffalo has already offered.

If the reality of the situation is that Jason Peters no longer wants to play in Buffalo, he should be forthcoming about that and stop making this a salary issue, because he’s becoming a turn-off for everyone, not just the Buffalo Bills.

Frankly, the Bills and Peters are losing leverage by the minute, and if he’s not moved well before the draft, you can expect the Bills to accept a lowball offer from a team willing to take the risk, and subsequently you can expect Peters to continue his holdout in another city.

Jason Peters is killing his career and costing himself millions. He needs to find another agent—one with a big-picture mentality.

Mr. Peters, I am at your service.

April Sleepers

Richard Whitt — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:02:53 -0400

April has finally arrived and it’s just about time for that annual rite of passage that is the NFL draft. By now, unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few months, names like Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Brian Orakpo are still ringing in your ears. And by now you’ve also no doubt heard that this guy or that that guy is shooting up or down the draft boards—and usually for no apparent reason. But one things for sure: every year there are surprises in the NFL draft and sometimes these surprises pass by without a second though until a year or so later when you realize that a particular star player was drafted in the sixth or seventh round—or maybe not even drafted at all! Consider guys like Marques Colston coming out of Hofstra, selected by New Orleans in the seventh round (a compensatory pick at that) or even Tom Brady who was a sixth round pick and it becomes pretty clear that projecting collegiate athletes to NFL standards is more of an art than a science. Not to mention all of the high drafts picks that will turn sour over the course of their rookie contracts. Odds are that this years draft will be no different; with its fair share of winners and losers. And once the first couple of rounds have been completed—and every mock draft you’ve read over the last couple of months is proven completely wrong—there will still be tons of NFL talent sitting there on the board. So let’s take this opportunity to shine some light on a few players that you might not have heard so much about, but you might very well be talking about next fall:

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Bills Skip Toronto, Move to Ottawa

Richard Whitt — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:51:24 -0400

TBS affiliates are reporting that the Bills—formerly of Buffalo, NY—have moved to Canada to expand their market.

Even more surprising? They’ve skipped Toronto and will move instead to Ottawa.

Asked about the move as he left his Orchard Park office, team owner Ralph Wilson responded:

“Look, the farther we get from Buffalo, the bigger our market becomes. Bills fans are still going to come to the games...I mean, what else is there to do on Sunday afternoons around here?”

When asked why Ottawa, Mr. Wilson seemed to get annoyed.

“We’re regionalizing...if we take Ottawa, we get Toronto, too. You can’t drive to Ottawa from Buffalo without going through Toronto.”

When asked why he didn’t just keep going and move the team to Montreal, Wilson paused, then said, “Montreal? That’s just stupid.”

Grilled on the sudden move, Head of Football Operations Russ Brandon later admitted, “Yeah, we thought Toronto was the capital of Canada. Turns out it’s Ottawa. Yeah, didn’t know that. Did you?”

The Bills do not have a stadium in Ottawa as of yet, so until one is built, they will keep playing home games in Buffalo and Toronto.

“Well, we’re hoping the people of Orchard Park and Buffalo proper won’t mind us coming over from time to time to pick up some clothes. Figuratively speaking, of course,” said Brandon with a wink.

Scouting the Buffalo Bills: Defense

Richard Whitt — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:10:51 -0400

I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath for the second installment of my Buffalo Bills scouting report (humor me), and this time we’re going to take a position-by-position look at Buffalo’s defense. The quick and dirty: Opposing QBs simply had too much time to pick apart Buffalo’s secondary in 2008, and it showed up on the scoreboard. Let’s take a position by position look:

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The Bills Can't Miss with a Deep Defensive Draft Class

Richard Whitt — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:32:05 -0400

After their third consecutive 7-9 record, including two seasons under coach Dick Jauron, it’s clear the Bills feel they are one or two pieces away from being a playoff contender. That rings loud and clear in the move to acquire cast-away star receiver Terrell Owens during free agency.

But with a desperate need to find legitimate 4-3 ends—a rare breed in this day of the 3-4 OLB/DE hybrid—the Bills may have to make some draft day moves to get their guy.

But there’s little doubt—and no excuse!—the answer for Buffalo’s lack of pass rush can be found in April.

Let’s look at some of their possible targets:

Texas DE Brian Orakpo

A freakish athlete in the mold of Julius Peppers—probably best suited for the 3-4—would almost certainly require the Bills to move up from the No. 11 spot to grab. That’s very unlikely considering the depth at DE in this draft, but not impossible because as the Bills have shown, it's "win-now" in Buffalo.

Florida State DE Everette Brown

A great “first-step” guy with good technique who projects as a prototype 4-3 defensive end—will likely be off the board before the Bills pick 11th. If Brown were to fall to 11, there’s little justification for the Bills not to bring him to Buffalo. Like Orakpo, don’t look for the Bills to move up to grab him.

Penn State OLB/DE Aaron Maybin

A bit of a raw talent with unmistakable upside who should be on the board when the Bills pick. Maybin’s raw talent and high motor make him a mock-draft favorite. But a raw talent may not be what the Bills are looking for in 2009—with a win-now mentality—and Maybin looks like a diamond in the rough. Maybin also projects better as a 3-4 OLB.

LSU DE Tyson Jackson

At 6-4, 296 Jackson lacks the burst off the edge that the others possess, but he would be a great strong-side compliment to Aaron Schobel. If the Bills feel Schobel is going to return to form, you can expect Buffalo to look in this direction. With Buffalo’s defensive front rotation, having a guy like Jackson who is stout enough to play inside is a huge plus.

Northern Illinois DE/OLB Larry English

Probably the most enigmatic of the possibilities because he had a lackluster combine with a 4.82 40 and overall lack of fluidity in drills. However, unlike most of the guys in this list, English was a four-year starter and there is a volume of game tape on him. For a 4-3 team like the Bills, the super-productive English could immediately solve Buffalo’s pass rush issues.

Tennessee DE Robert Ayers

A playmaker who showed up late in his college career which may scare some off. A bit of a sleeper in this draft, would be a reach at No. 11 but an absolute steal at #43. If the Bills decide to grab a Linebacker at No. 11 (a good possibility considering the quality at the position), the Bills could be watching Ayers in hopes he falls to them in the second.

Utah DE Paul Kruger

Like Ayers, too much of a reach at No. 11 (perhaps even more so) but a steal at 43, Kruger would be an intriguing possibility if the Bills decide to go with a LB like Brian Cushing at No. 11. This would be an economical way to fill two major holes in the Bills defense. With Kruger’s high-motor, he has Buffalo Bills written all over him.

If you consider all of the second-tier depth at DE—including some guys who have proven they can get to the QB—it’s not out of the question that the Bills would want to tap into a very talented pool at linebacker with No. 11, and maybe even move back into the first round (ala, John McCargo) to grab one of the second-tier pass rushers in Ayers, English or Kruger.

T.O. Shuffles Off To Buffalo? No Way!

Richard Whitt — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:00:28 -0500

Ask any Buffalo Bills fan if Terrell Owens is likely to end up in Buffalo and they’ll probably ask what planet you’ve been on for the past decade. First, ESPN’s Senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen has already listed the Bills as one of the 28 NFL teams NOT interested in Owens.

It’s really a no brainer, isn’t it?

As the gripe in Buffalo usually goes: Owner Ralph Wilson is unwilling to spend money for players who can help his team win.

But how much money do you think it would take? Consider that if Owens wants to finish his career on his terms—a virtual certainty with his ego—and not end it unceremoniously, T.O. and agent Drew Rosenhaus have just about zero leverage at this point.

Supply vs. demand is certainly at work unless Owens has his eyes on the CFL.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s deal with Seattle was five years and $40 million dollars, with $15 million guaranteed—that’s less money than Lee Evans’ deal, by the way—but, there were a host of players in the Houshmandzadeh sweepstakes and he had a deal from Cincinnati on the table to run back to.

If you want to take Mortensen’s insight to the bank, T.O. isn’t heading to his bank any time soon.

So much for the Ralph Wilson won’t spend camp. It would probably be the most economical talent to money ratio Wilson and co. would ever find.

So money clearly isn’t the only reason.

But you can count him out of Buffalo anyway.

First—as Dallas has miraculously realized—even though the player would produce on the field, with Owens, you run the risk of losing control of your locker room. That’s not just a bad thing in the world of an NFL front office, it’s the equivalent of plague.

Or at least that is the perception.

From Owens’ perspective—and apparently he’s pretty persuasive in that perspective—doing things his way is the route to winning. I really don’t think he intends to be a distraction quite as much as the media portrays he does.

But hard facts are hard to overcome. Owens has been productive everywhere he’s been, but zero championships have resulted. And there are now at least three NFL franchises with direct knowledge of T.O. —behind the scenes—who have handed him a pink slip.

There’s also a little, shall we say philosophical difference, between he and AFL holdover Ralph Wilson Jr.

Wilson Jr. has spent a very misunderstood career eschewing the very nature of Owens’ problem—Owens thinks the NFL is privileged to have him.

Scouting the Buffalo Bills: Offense

Richard Whitt — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:03:35 -0500

It would be an understatement to say that the Buffalo Bills disappointed in 2008, taking off like a rocket in the first five games, only to crash and burn the rest of the way. Along the way, players like Freddy Jackson and Leodis McKelvin shined with increasing roles as the season winded down while others, notably QB Trent Edwards, seemed to take a step back. Now that 2008 is over, the challenges facing the Buffalo Bills in 2009 look even more daunting than they did a year ago. Do the Buffalo Bills have what it takes to get to next level? Are they one or two pieces away from joining the elite teams? Or are they headed in the wrong direction? Lets take a position-by-position look at the Buffalo Bills as they navigate through the 2009 offseason. I’ll start with the offense and follow-up with the defense in the coming days:

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The Top Five NFL Front-Office Blunders of 2008

Richard Whitt — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:23:48 -0500

The 2008 NFL season was one of the most memorable—starting with the Brett Favre saga and ending with one of the most exciting Super Bowl's in NFL history. But just as in every NFL season, some franchises seemed to take big steps forward while others took big steps back. So I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the biggest front-office blunders of the 2008 season:

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Ventura Misses the Point on Steroid Scandal

Richard Whitt — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:22:15 -0500

Jesse Ventura’s remarks regarding the steroid scandal in baseball—calling for an indictment of Bud Selig—really highlights a double-standard that we hold regarding steroid use in the U.S.

Ventura, an admitted former steroid user, suggested that since professional wrestling isn’t truly a competitive sport and is instead merely ‘sports entertainment,’ Selig deserved at least the same indictment that WWF CEO Vince McMahon faced.

But if you ask me, this comment suggests that it is the act of cheating, and not the act of using illegal drugs, that is the crucial point here.

The act of using steroids to enhance performance is—right or wrong—a crime in the U.S., and those laws do not differentiate between ‘sports entertainment’ and 'athletic competition.'

So it really begs the question: are we more upset about cheating or about drug abuse itself? More importantly, how are we differentiating these two related points to our kids?

Ralph Wilson, Jr. Gets a Bum Rap

Richard Whitt — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:44:25 -0500

I’m not from Buffalo—or western New York for that matter—but I've been a die-hard Bills fan since the late 1980s. So it’s no wonder that I have a different perspective on Ralph Wilson, Jr. than most of you probably do.

As a businessman, I think Mr. Wilson is a little sentimental (not a compliment in those circles) in his attempt to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Frankly, his bottom line could have been best served by moving them to greener pastures long ago.

The fact that he has not done so speaks volumes about him.

Sure, it’s not so easy to move an NFL franchise, but it’s been done many times during Wilson’s tenure. Each time he has stood up for the fans in those markets that stood to lose their team, always voting in favor of keeping NFL franchises right where they were.

"Big deal" to you, but consider that under the terms of the NFL’s revenue sharing scheme, Wilson and all of the other owners are best served by having teams in the markets that are most fruitful.

Also consider that those other owners would love for the smaller markets, such as Buffalo, to concede their teams to the bigger markets, thus sweetening the revenue sharing pot.

It’s pretty clear that if Wilson chose to move the Bills, the other owners wouldn’t throw up much of a roadblock. After all, it’s not their market, but it is their money!

In fact, as I said, one of the biggest roadblocks to this sort of deal has been Wilson himself.

I suppose Wilson’s logic is that what’s best for the bottom line—today—may not be best for the league and the franchises themselves in the long-term. This is, after all, an AFL owner in Buffalo we’re talking about.

Maybe some of you concede my point but want to say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” because, as the hyperbole goes, "Ralph is cheap. He won’t spend money to field a competitive team.”

Well, let’s analyze that a bit, shall we?

It just so happens that by opening day 2007, the Bills ranked fourth in the NFL in team salary at roughly $108 million.

In that same year, the Giants won the Super Bowl with the lowest team salary in the NFL at roughly $75.8 million. That fact is kept way under the radar because it flies directly in the face of “ESPN wisdom,” which suggests that a bigger signing equals a bigger impact.

In 2008, the Bills ranked 16th in team salary at roughly $113 million. A paltry ranking, I'll admit—except that they ranked higher than San Diego ($111 million), Philadelphia ($109 million), Atlanta ($96 million), Indianapolis ($93 million), New England ($92 million), and Baltimore ($90 million).

With the exception of New England, who were left out only due to the NFL playoff structure, all of those teams made the playoffs in 2008.

(Note: Sort of makes you wonder what a franchise run by ESPN would look like, but one really has to look no further than Washington or Dallas to have some idea. How have they fared over the last 10 years?)

Yes, there is clearly something wrong with the Bills, but spending definitely does not seem to be it. In my opinion, if you want to fault Wilson, you’ll have to get beyond the dollars and cents and look at his hiring record. Here, Wilson has—unfortunately—not fared so well.

Of course, none of Wilson’s hirings have proven to be more damaging than that of Tom Donahoe. Here Wilson certainly, and by his own admission, dropped the proverbial ball.

To Wilson’s credit, Donahoe had—somehow—earned some credibility in Pittsburgh before single-handedly dismantling the Bills roster. Ahhh, Mr. Donahoe. What would the Buffalo Bills look like without your crafty stewardship?

Despite big-name ESPN style signings, the Bills managed a meager 31-49 record during Donahoe's tenure.

That probably had something to due with hiring quality coaches beginning with Gregg Williams and ending with Mike Mularkey. And while each of them deserves his share of the blame, they have one thing in common: Donahoe hired them.

Some notable Donahoe classics include:

gutting a top-ranked defense (particularly releasing Pat Williams, which depleted the Bills run defense for years)
releasing Drew Bledsoe without a capable replacement
drafting an injured Willis McGahee when you had a capable back in Travis Henry (note that this was before he self-destructed)
trading up for J.P. Losman
drafting Mike Williams No. 4 overall
spearheading the designation of Rob Johnson as the starter in ’98
…the list really goes on and on

While it’s true Wilson hired Donahoe, thus sharing the blame for all of this, it has nothing at all to do with Wilson’s overall spending.

Nor does it have anything to do with Wilson’s dedication to the Bills, to winning, or to the city of Buffalo. Really, at the end of the day, it’s been Wilson's underlings that have let him and all the rest of us down.

Perhaps this is just an outsider's view, but it definitely seems to me that Ralph Wilson, Jr. gets a bum rap in Buffalo.

Jauron Should Stay In Buffalo

Richard Whitt — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:13:24 -0500

I never thought Jauron’s job should be in question.

Some of us were asked to write on the topic, and my first thought was, “That’s ridiculous, what the hell has he done wrong? In the NFL, it’s hard to win games, especially if you are a piece or two short and the whole league knows it.”

But… the fact was, his job is going to be in jeopardy if they continue to struggle, and I know that most people are angry at the moment and are looking for a head to chop off, as counter-productive as that would be in this case.

But when questioning whether a certain coach should or should not be fired, it’s important to remember what an NFL head coach actually does—or more importantly, what he doesn’t do.

He isn’t the offensive coordinator. He usually doesn’t call the plays or design the offense. In Jauron’s case, he literally defers all of this to Turk Schonert. A big mistake? Possibly, but has there really been enough time to make that assessment?

Jauron is a defense guy, but he isn’t the defensive coordinator, either. He usually doesn’t design the defensive schemes or implement them on Sunday. In Jauron’s case, he provides input, guidance and feedback to Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell.

He isn’t the special teams coach either…

The best way to describe what he does is to compare it to a ship’s captain. He lays out a course, brings his senior people together, provides a platform for them to work together and come to an agreement on certain items, and he makes sure they follow-up and do the job. His amount of “hands-on” is much less than people make it out to be. In reality, he is more of a manager than a coach.

So the question becomes, does he recognize when one of his coordinators is failing? Does he make adjustments—i.e., does he get more hands-on when he sees something that one of his coordinators does not? More importantly, do the players feel like they are in a good boat, that might have a leak here or there, but that is generally sturdy enough to get them to where they want to go, collectively?

In this case, I think it’s premature to talk about firing Dick Jauron. He’s handled players well, they all want to play hard for him (or for themselves, who really cares), and we have a second year QB and first year OC.

The only thing I question with Jauron is whether or not he has too much loyalty to his coordinators, even when they fail repeatedly. Fairchild left on his own volition, but would Jauron have shown him the door anyway? I’m doubtful, and there’s the worry.

But keep in mind, when this crew first showed up they stripped the defense with this vision of “smaller-penetrating DT’s” and that was clearly not working—it’s just too difficult to find DT’s that are capable of holding up for four quarters and are also athletic enough to penetrate and be effective against the rush. They gave in, and Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams were the starters this year. A clear-cut, and impressive adjustment.

Without being on the inside, it’s impossible to know for sure what input was given and when, so all you can do is give it time and see if the quality of the product improves under his watch. Frankly, I was very optimistic about this season and now, understandably, we’re all very disappointed. Can they turn things around? Can they adjust?

Give Jauron more time. The Bills shouldn't shoot themselves in the foot because we’re all crushed at the moment.

Confidence Is Key for Trent Edwards Heading into Stretch

Richard Whitt — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:52:44 -0500

It's been a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for Trent Edwards, looking like a Pro-Bowler in September and a dumbfounded second-year quarterback for most of October and November.

And I'll admit, after looking at Matt Ryan play his rookie season, it's hard not to look at Edwards—who has more experience (albeit not much more)—and question his talent. But that's a convenient comparison for the naysayers at the moment.

Why not compare him instead to JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, or John Beck, all of whom were selected much higher than Edwards in the '07 draft and none of which have produced anything close to what Edwards has on the field? Things don't look so bleak then, do they?

But, in the NFL, it's what have you done for me lately, and while recent returns have been disappointing to say the least, ask yourself how you would view Edwards if those stretches in September and October/November were reversed.

This past Sunday, Edwards' performance—admittedly against a team that the Bills had no right to lose to—was a microcosm of Edwards' season to date: both awful and spectacular. But more importantly, it ENDED spectacularly and that's what really counts.

So what is the catalyst that transforms this Jekyll to Hyde and vice-versa? I think it can be summed up in one word, but it's certainly NOT simple: Confidence.

I wrote last week that Bills offensive coordinator Turk Schonert had to improve his playcalling, and that's exactly what we got. But more specifically, it was a gameplan that Edwards, in his own words, felt more comfortable with because it was "simplified" and it clearly helped Edwards get into a rhythm, particularly in the second half.

If Schonert can serve up more gameplans that Edwards feels confident he can execute, I believe we'll see much more Jekyll and much less Hyde.

Chiefs Ready-Made Opponent For Stubborn Bills Attack

Richard Whitt — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:59:01 -0500

There I was on Monday night, sitting in stiff-lipped frustration once again as the Bills seemed utterly incapable of moving the ball against yet another sub-par defense.

I'm a little more down-to-earth than most in my assessment of Trent Edwards, so rather than throwing my hands up looking for the Trent Edwards of September, I just shook my head as the second-year QB made mistake after mistake.

But wait, could it be? "They've actually made an adjustment, here?"

It became clear that first-year offensive coordinator Turk Schonert was giving Edwards more underneath options and, alas, more carries were going to Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.

And this certainly wasn't due to a lack of protection—his protection was more than adequate—but rather because the second-year QB's confidence was sinking faster my stock portfolio.

Although easy to overlook because they lost the game, this was the kind of in-game adjustment I didn't think Schonert & Co had in them. Frankly, to this point in the season, their offensive gameplan had seemed pretty stubborn.

Willing to bang their heads into the same wall over and over again, they believed that they were just one inside run or long out-route away from breaking through. In fact, I disagreed with one commentator's assessment that this team had not found it's identity, because their identity was clear: stubborn and predictable.

For this reason, I've held off on discounting Trent Edwards' early performance in light of the stinkers he's managed to string together since. This isn't rocket science, and defensive coordinators are quick to assess what you do well, and will try to take that away from you.

That's precisely what's been going on here for the past five weeks. There's no need to contact any sports psychologist (yet).

Well, here we go again. To borrow from Denny Green, the Chiefs "are who we [think] they [are]." Their inability to stop the rush is just what the doctor ordered for a team that desperately needs to find it's running attack and take pressure off it's struggling second-year QB.

Perhaps they will pick up where they left off in the second half on Monday night (except, the losing part) and pound KC on the ground from the first play to the last.

They'll need to take what the defense gives them underneath, [insert your favorite cliche here] or will continue to pound their heads into the wall and hand another victory to a team that is certainly NOT their superior talent-wise.

We'll see. I can't call DirecTV and get a refund on the rest of this season, so I might as well tune-in.