5 Signs Of The Bills Apocolypse

One big rumor around Buffalo was that Terrell Owens would be shipped out before the deadline in order to save on some of his contract and get a mid range pick in return.  What is astounding is that media outlets actually reported that this will be the first sign that the Bills have, in fact, given up on the season.  Did they not watch weeks 4, 5, and 6 at all?  Did they not report during the preseason at all?

The 7 signs of the Bills Apocalypse:

1. Dick Jauron was not fired after last season. -  The first sign that Buffalo had given up on the season can be traced back to last year when coach Dick Jauron was not fired and was allowed to continue as coach of the Buffalo Bills. Although he had an impressive start to the season, the Bills struggled to maintain that pace and subsequently went on a terrible losing skid.  What makes things even more odd is owner Ralph Wilson gave Jauron a contract extension midway through the season last year, while the Bills were playing well.  Why I find this odd is that Mr. Wilson will not fire someone during the season, he did see it fit to reward Jauron before being able to see how the rest of the season was to unfold.  Unfortunately for Jauron, his Matt Mllen-esq ability to avoid firing may finally be coming to an end, even though we may have to wait until the end of the year to see it.
2. The Offensive Line – Buffalo started off really well last year but faded mid way through last year.  What that would suggest to me is that it would be important to build on the pieces the team already in order to improve the outcome for this year.  Buffalo, in it’s infinite wisdom, decided that they were going to rebuild almost the entire offensive line.   They released Derrick Dockery and Melvin Fowler, traded Jason Peters, and before the start of the season released Langston Walker.  There are five offensive lineman on the field at one time, the Buffalo Bills released four of them.  To make matters worse, they lost starting right tackle Brad Butler in the beginning of this season.  They officially are running 5 players with very little to no playing experience at all.  Although it is up to the coaches to have a prepared unit, it is the General Manager’s job to give the coaches the best possible options to succeed.  Getting rid of 4/5 of an offensive line and replacing it with 2 rookies, 1 guy with no experience and another with minimal experience is not giving your coaching staff the right players to work with.  A player taken in the first round has something in common with the undrafted free agent; they are both rookies.  This team was doomed from the start having to line up these men on the offensive line at the same time.
3. Peace out Turk Schonert – Buffalo had decided in the off season to change up the offense and turn to the “no-huddle” offense.  Unfortunately for Turk, the offense never took off and actually looked abysmal at best.  Schonert game in and game out could not put together an effective game plan in order to have the offense move the ball consistently.  Turk was fired during the preseason.  The Bills decided to replace him with QB coach Alex Van Pelt.  The significance of Turk Schonert being tied into the Bills giving up on the season is not because he was fired.  Schonert changed the offense on Trent Edwards making him learn a new system.  He had to do this while getting acclimated to an entirely new offensive line and a new WR in Terrell Owens.  It’s amazing that the Buffalo Bills did as well as they did.  Experts have said that it typically takes 3 years to truly understand and execute the West Coast offense.  It takes roughly two years to get use to a playbook as well as to get use to a coordinator.  Although Schonert was here last year, by changing the offense completely he was dooming this team completely.  Can Edwards run the No-huddle, most likely.  But was Turk ignorant to the fact that it would take more than a preseason to have it work effectively.
4. Fred vs. Marshawn – With Marshawn Lynch suspended, the Buffalo Bills were forced to start Fred Jackson.  Jackson did not disappoint as he went on to be one of the all purpose yardage leaders through the first three weeks.  In Buffalo’s infinite wisdom they decided to let Marshawn split carries with Jackson upon his return to the lineup.  This allowed Jackson to become less effective and subsequently less productive.  Rather than gamble and see what Jackson could give Buffalo, Marshawn has been given the starting role again without earning.  Kind of like Paris Hilton and fame.  The Bills messed with the chemistry of the team and again did not seem to understand that it is important to go with the hot hand.  New England did it several years ago and that worked out pretty well, I think his name was Tom Brady.
5. Chris Kelsay – Yes he is off to a better start than ever.  But until he breaks his combined two year total of 4.5 sacks, I don’t have to pay him any respect.  Kelsay has been a high value underachiever throughout the duration of his contract.  Keeping guys like this but letting go of the Jabari Greer’s does not help a team win.  Kelsay should have been replaced a long time ago.  The good teams do not stand for poor performance to stay on the books.  Buffalo seems content to stock pile them.  Kelsay is a reminder that Buffalo is content with mediocrity.  It is not just Kelsay that is the problem, but it is what Kelsay represents.  Kelsay was a team captain a year ago and did not lead which is why he, above all other mediocre performers should have been held to a higher standard and accountable for his lack of performance.  Yes, Buffalo can cut Langston Walker.  Great Job in cutting someone you actually needed, but by not cutting a high value flop Buffalo has sent the wrong message to the locker room.  That message is, failure is an option.

There are so many other reasons that the Bills season was doomed from the start, but one thing is certain, media outlets have tried to use Terrell as a cop out to what the real problems have been.  Buffalo will continue to see this slide continue as long as the three headed monster stays in tact.  Ralph Wilson, Russ Brandon and Dick Jauron need to all go.   In order to fix the problems they all need to be gone.  Removing one or two will not suffice.

Tags: Alex Van Pelt, Buffalo Bills, Chris Kelsay, Dick Jauron, Fred Jackson, Jabari Greer, Langston Walker, Marshawn Lynch, Ralph Wilson, Russ Brandon, Terrell Owens, Tom Brady, Trent Edwards, Turk Schonert