COMMENTARY
Bills coaches pay for errors by front office
Perhaps the problem isn’t Dick Jauron any more than it was Mike Mularkey, any more than it was Gregg Williams, any more than it was Wade Phillips. At some point you have to look at history repeating itself and wonder what it is that perpetuates the sad and exasperating status quo that drapes the Buffalo Bills.
Let’s start with the roster. Who are the impact players, those you would hate to lose because they’d be a challenge to replace? Brian Moorman’s there. Lee Evans, too. I’ll hang on to Aaron Schobel and, yes, Jason Peters, the latter because I’m willing to attribute his regression to circumstance. I want to see more of Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch, although I’m bound to neither. But after that? Who else is a can’t-do-without? Who would other teams salivate over if they became available in free agency?
Part of coaching is developing talent, but in today’s NFL it’s less of a necessity. Rookies and second- year players are more prominent than ever before. Teams are increasingly able to address their shortcomings and improve via the draft.
The Bills haven’t selected anyone who’s emerged as a true impact player since Evans in the first round of 2004. They haven’t had a draft where they’ve selected multiple impact players since Nate Clements, Schobel, Travis Henry and Jonas Jennings in 2001. That’s 68 draft picks spent on five difference-makers. Just because a team finds room for its draft picks on its roster doesn’t mean it has good players. It might even mean it has done nothing more than continue to churn mediocrity.
Let’s move on to the free agent market. London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes had an impact. Lawyer Milloy and Troy Vincent served a purpose. But we’re going back a few years deeper than yesterday. More recently? Kawika Mitchell has his days, but Langston Walker, Derrick Dockery and Melvin Fowler almost never do. Millions were spent on the offensive line and yet it remains the weakest part of the team. Is that coaching or is that misjudged talent?
What does that say about the personnel department and eight years with Tom Modrak and John Guy having major input?
Maybe better coaching would make a difference. Ever since Marv Levy was plucked out of the broadcast booth Ralph Wilson seems to have it in his head that quality head men are a dime a dozen (which is about what he budgets for the position). But looking through these last eight years I think coaching has become the convenient scapegoat.
Let me ask this: What is the organizational philosophy? Are the Bills a running or a passing team? What’s their bread and butter? Is there an answer?
This team hasn’t had an offensive identity since the 2002 season, when Drew Bledsoe threw for 4,300 yards and Eric Moulds and Peerless Price were 1,200-yard receivers. The pass set up the run game, with Henry going for 1,400 yards and 13 TDs. That could have been a big year, a playoff year, but the Bills finished 8-8 because their defense yielded 132 rushing yards per game.
Back to organizational philosophy. Are the Bills a team distinguished by their defense? Are they resolute, stubborn, hard-hitting, intimidating? When’s the last time you thought that the Bills went into a game as a lock because the other team couldn’t cope with their defense? (The answer: 2004, their last season with Pat Williams).
The typical Bills response to this year’s slide would be to dump a coach, a coordinator, to create an illusion of change. But almost a decade’s worth of knee-jerk reactions have gotten them nowhere. This is an organization that needs to assess itself from head to toe. What the Bills need more than anything is a sense of direction.
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