I lost track what part this is.
It’s no surprise to me that the Bills stink again this season. That’s what happens when you take a 7-9 team, downgrade significantly on the offensive line, and other than the addition of Terrell Owens, all other things stay the same—including the coaches (except for the offensive coordinator fired within a week of the season’s start).
I’ve broken down position by position in previous posts. A light bulb went off over the last few weeks. When I check out other games, I almost always see former Bills playing well for other teams. When considering the positions those players play, I realized something. The Bills constantly turn over good talent, while also trying to patch holes. What ends up happening is that it becomes a constant state of catch-up. At some point, the Bills are going to have to open up their wallet and pay for some of the proven talent to stay. Even it means “overpaying.”
“Overpaying” has been a theme as to the excuse the Bills use when players aren’t re-signed. It seems to have some validity when looking at it from one perspective. But the alternative to overpaying has a greater consequence. The focus should be to keep these guys, and cut the waste of spaces on the roster. And there are plenty of players that are a waste of space. They are perpetually injured even when barely stepping foot on the field during games, or utterly useless on offense or defense but are kept on for special teams (meaning they are a depth liability). I’m not going to name names, but the Bills are loaded with this kind of dead weight.
The draft is always a gamble. I think the Bills should try to build depth through the draft. Not replace proven talent. Major holes should be filled in FA, not just the draft.
The last game against Miami was a disaster. The only positive thing about Jauron I’ve noticed the last three years is that the players play hard for him. But they completely laid down last Saturday. I think the rest of the season is going to be ugly. I hope Ralph guts the entire football operation and brings in real talent evaluators and coaches. There are some premium coaches available. They better get one of them.