Before the game yesterday I had high hopes for the Bills. The Bills offense gained confidence against the Bucs last week with deep touchdowns to Lee Evans and Terrell Owens, and with Fred Jackson playing so great I thought they’d put up a hell of a fight against a very good Saints team that was playing above their heads a bit and due for a step back down to reality. I thought the Bills defense, crowd and the elements would help keep the Saints from scoring the 40-something points they’ve been averaging so far and we’d get a close game that could go our way. I hoped the Bills would be aggressive and act like they belonged among the league’s best instead of playing it close to the vest and hoping for good fortune and a good showing which is what it looks like they try to do in big games during the Dick Jauron era. Honestly, I didn’t think they’d win but I hoped they could pull it out.
The Bills fought and scrapped all day. They held the league’s top offense to 10 points for three quarters and as the game wound down they started to show the wear and fatigue that having to stop such a potent offense would likely cause. The defensive line started to break down. The linebackers were nowhere to be found and New Orleans was ripping off huge plays on the way to a 17-7 lead. It appeared the Bills’ window was closing. They held the Saints in check all day and all they had to do was score some points. You would think an NFL team could score 20 points at home on a regular basis especially with some of the high priced weapons this offense has.
What was wrong with the offense? Fred Jackson, while not as spectacular as a week ago was slashing forward for decent gains. On the other hand, Trent Edwards was playing in full coward mode. The Saints pass rush was very good and with blitzes coming from every possible direction. Combine this with how bad the Bills’ offensive line played and Edwards was more inclined to throw to 3rd string tight end Derek Fine than either of his great receiving options. He was more apt to dump a pass to Fred Jackson underneath than to throw anything to the sidelines or deep across the middle. When Edwards gets into this mode it’s like the football field shrinks. He’s not going to throw more than 10 yards downfield, especially up or across the middle and other than dumps into the flats he’s not going to throw to any receivers on the sidelines either. What happened to the guy who fearlessly threw a 31 yard laser over the middle to Josh Reed to set up the winning field goal against Washington in 2007? Nowadays when he gets Trentative there are no big risks and subsequently there are no big rewards. At these moments in the game I ask myself if Trent is trying to WIN the game or not lose it. Maybe he’s just taking on the personality of his head coach.
As frustrating as the game was, nothing could come close to the decision head coach Dick Jauron made with 7 minutes and 41 seconds left in the 4th quarter. In his classic play it safe, hope for the best style he decided to punt on 4th and 1 from the Bills 28, right after the Saints just manhandled the Bills defense for the first time all game to go up by 10 points. Now he was asking his worn down defense to get right back on the field after another 3 and out and get the ball back quickly when a simple QB sneak probably would have gotten the 1st down and kept the Bills offense on the field. For the fantastic effort the Bills defense provided, they deserved better.
Coach Jauron was hoping his defense which had out-performed all expectations for the duration of the game would come through with more improbable success despite the fact that the Saints’ last drive showed them to look increasingly tired and starting to break down. The Bills needed a long drive that produced points. Why take the control out of your hands? I realize that control is a relative term when you have the ball but you are down 10 points in the 4th quarter with almost 8 minutes left but do you know when you have less control? If you are down 10 and the other team has the ball with almost 8 minutes left. This is the difference between hoping to win and playing to win and I am all out of hope with this head coach other than to say I hope he gets fired.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Bills fire Schonert, should we be excited?
You had to think that Turk Schonert’s days were numbered as offensive coordinator with the anemic performances the Bills first team offense had been putting up this preseason. Trent Edwards looks not like the smart, savvy signal caller the Bills stole in the 3rd round a few drafts ago, but a man playing the most important position on the field with very little confidence. Is it Trent? Is it the coaching? Is it both? We may soon find out.
While I am surprised someone inside One Bills Drive pulled the trigger on Schonert the surprise comes not from the specific move but more from the shock of this team actually doing something. The surprise comes from the team making a move the vast majority of fans would have made. Now the level of surprise would have been catastrophic if the axe had fallen on head coach Dick Jauron but then that would have made Bills owner Ralph Wilson look very foolish instead of partially foolish like he looks right now.
Mr. Wilson comes off looking a little foolish because the big decision he made this past offseason was for continuity. In a town where it was nearly unanimous that Jauron had to go, Wilson decided another shake up would keep this team from winning that much longer. That’s not to mention the 3 year contract extension Wilson gave Jauron after the Bills hot start last year. Undoubtedly to remove him would have cost the Bills owner to have to eat millions. So this regime steeped in mediocrity would be given yet another chance to show any sign of improvement. Continuity is often boring and today's news was far from that.
A move like this just over a week from opening night is shoving continuity out the window. It remains to be seen if Alex Van Pelt can do a better job as offensive coordinator but it was certainly worth a try. I think Jauron must understand that a rotten start could very well force Ralph’s hand and all the optimism and warm feelings the uncharacteristic signing of Terrell Owens provided had melt away during this past month with each 3 and out the Bills offensive generated. With each 4 yard pass Trent Edwards would throw the groans grow just a little louder and the gallows inch a little closer.
Making this move temporarily deflects the blame from Jauron, Trent Edwards and paints Schonert as a scapegoat. If the offense looks improved, Jauron looks smart and the hot seat cools a bit. However if the offense continues to be offensive we have to wonder how much it will take for Ralph to lower the boom. Ralph hasn’t fired a head coach mid-season since Hank Bullough was shown the door in 1985 paving the way for new coach Marv Levy. Barring an 0-7 start or something that horrible, chances are he’ll give Dick Jauron the full year to turn it around. After all, it took Chicago 5 seasons to figure out that while Dick is a stellar individual, highly respected by his peers and players and well thought of as a defensive coach that he is not head coach material for a good team.
Wait, I need to be a little more supportive. The team has finally done something I’ve wanted them to do. We could be onto something here. Schonert was in over his head and Edwards was regressing. First T.O. and now this. Could these bold moves be the beginning of something wonderful? We have to be careful though. I realize that this is the Bills we are talking about. This is the same dull squad that has missed the playoffs the last 9 years. Each vanilla 7-9 season feels like torture. They show enough for many of us to think they can while they also show enough for most of us to know they can’t. With that in mind firing your offensive coordinator and replacing him with an unproven guy who has never done the job and is part of the same maligned coaching staff we’ve come to loathe seems like a bold move because of the stale act we’re accustomed to around here.
Can this move salvage a Bills season that is starting to look less exciting than the 7-9 campaign we’ve been watching for the last 3 years? Much like bringing back essentially the same lousy team from a year ago and then adding a shiny sparkly new toy in Owens is enough to satisfy beleaguered Bills fans looking for a sign of life; we’ll take any sign of life from this offense… even if it comes from off the field.
While I am surprised someone inside One Bills Drive pulled the trigger on Schonert the surprise comes not from the specific move but more from the shock of this team actually doing something. The surprise comes from the team making a move the vast majority of fans would have made. Now the level of surprise would have been catastrophic if the axe had fallen on head coach Dick Jauron but then that would have made Bills owner Ralph Wilson look very foolish instead of partially foolish like he looks right now.
Mr. Wilson comes off looking a little foolish because the big decision he made this past offseason was for continuity. In a town where it was nearly unanimous that Jauron had to go, Wilson decided another shake up would keep this team from winning that much longer. That’s not to mention the 3 year contract extension Wilson gave Jauron after the Bills hot start last year. Undoubtedly to remove him would have cost the Bills owner to have to eat millions. So this regime steeped in mediocrity would be given yet another chance to show any sign of improvement. Continuity is often boring and today's news was far from that.
A move like this just over a week from opening night is shoving continuity out the window. It remains to be seen if Alex Van Pelt can do a better job as offensive coordinator but it was certainly worth a try. I think Jauron must understand that a rotten start could very well force Ralph’s hand and all the optimism and warm feelings the uncharacteristic signing of Terrell Owens provided had melt away during this past month with each 3 and out the Bills offensive generated. With each 4 yard pass Trent Edwards would throw the groans grow just a little louder and the gallows inch a little closer.
Making this move temporarily deflects the blame from Jauron, Trent Edwards and paints Schonert as a scapegoat. If the offense looks improved, Jauron looks smart and the hot seat cools a bit. However if the offense continues to be offensive we have to wonder how much it will take for Ralph to lower the boom. Ralph hasn’t fired a head coach mid-season since Hank Bullough was shown the door in 1985 paving the way for new coach Marv Levy. Barring an 0-7 start or something that horrible, chances are he’ll give Dick Jauron the full year to turn it around. After all, it took Chicago 5 seasons to figure out that while Dick is a stellar individual, highly respected by his peers and players and well thought of as a defensive coach that he is not head coach material for a good team.
Wait, I need to be a little more supportive. The team has finally done something I’ve wanted them to do. We could be onto something here. Schonert was in over his head and Edwards was regressing. First T.O. and now this. Could these bold moves be the beginning of something wonderful? We have to be careful though. I realize that this is the Bills we are talking about. This is the same dull squad that has missed the playoffs the last 9 years. Each vanilla 7-9 season feels like torture. They show enough for many of us to think they can while they also show enough for most of us to know they can’t. With that in mind firing your offensive coordinator and replacing him with an unproven guy who has never done the job and is part of the same maligned coaching staff we’ve come to loathe seems like a bold move because of the stale act we’re accustomed to around here.
Can this move salvage a Bills season that is starting to look less exciting than the 7-9 campaign we’ve been watching for the last 3 years? Much like bringing back essentially the same lousy team from a year ago and then adding a shiny sparkly new toy in Owens is enough to satisfy beleaguered Bills fans looking for a sign of life; we’ll take any sign of life from this offense… even if it comes from off the field.
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