SB Nation User Blog: Brian Galliford

Five ways Dick Jauron can save his job

Brian Galliford — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:20:54 -0000

Before the 2008 NFL regular season ended - which, for the Buffalo Bills and even-then-embattled coach Dick Jauron, came in particularly brutal fashion - Bills fans across the nation began calling for a change at head coach. When their wish was not granted in late December of 2008, the countdown was officially on. Jauron's 2009 coaching seat was hot from the moment owner Ralph Wilson chose to keep him days after the close of the 2008 season, and after a 3-5 start in '09, Jauron's seat remains one of the hottest in the NFL.

There are websites, billboards and petitions dedicated to Jauron's ouster. As with any lingering desire, aspects of the campaign have reached irrational levels in some circles. No matter what happens over the second half of this season, selling Jauron and the current regime of decision-makers at One Bills Drive to an understandably impatient fan base next season could prove difficult. Still, fans are only part of the rationale behind any given football decision, and even with all of the angst directed towards Jauron from every angle, there are ways that he can survive the 2009 season in Buffalo.

With the Bills set to embark on an eight-game path to either success or mediocrity-with-a-side-of-regime-change, I thought it would be prudent to lay out the ways in which Jauron can save his job as Bills head coach. (And yes, I understand, though certainly don't condone, that many of you will be visited by the temptation to bypass the article entirely and drop some form of "he needs to go no matter what" or "i hope none of these happen" in the comments section. Hooray, redundancy!)

1. Make the playoffs. This is the only sure-fire way Jauron survives the season, and it's been that way since the '08 season ended. Right now, the Bills are 3-5 and rank 12 of 16 in the AFC. They're only two games behind the 5-3 San Diego Chargers, who, if the playoffs started today, would be the No. 6 seed in the conference. A record of 6-2 over the second half of the season would put the Bills at 9-7 on the season, which very likely won't be enough to secure a Wild Card berth. A 7-1 or even an 8-0 finish might be required to pull a slot in the playoffs. Given the difficulty of Buffalo's remaining opponents, that's going to be a tremendously hard task to achieve.

2. Hope more than one of the next three criteria occurs. As mentioned above, the playoffs are the only guaranteed, single-shot way that Jauron will keep his job. If he doesn't achieve that, he'll need a combination of the next three items on the list to stick beyond 2009. No single item from Nos. 3 to 5 will save him, and even if all three occur, it's not a lock, either.

3. Get hot and/or end hot. Let's say, for argument's sake, that the Bills go between 4-4 and 6-2 to end the season. Neither finish is likely to garner a playoff berth, but depending on how the finish occurs, it could buy Jauron a semi-reasonable argument in Ralph Wilson's mind. A strong finish to the season - whether it be winning four of five, six of eight, or even 3-4 wins to close the season - could, at least to Wilson, be perceived as an indication that the team can improve in 2010 under Jauron. The continuity argument won't help Jauron in this regard as it did last year, unless it comes with a streak of wins at some point over the next eight games.

It should be noted, however, that this didn't help Jauron in his final season with Chicago, in 2003. That season, Chicago started 1-5, then rattled off two straight wins to get to 3-5. (Sound familiar?) After losing their next two to drop to 3-7, Chicago won four of their next five to get to 7-8, before bowing out with another loss to finish 7-9. Jerry Angelo fired him anyway, and that might apply to Wilson and Russ Brandon, given that Jauron was Marv Levy's choice as head coach.

4. Turn the offense around. A scenario could play out in which Buffalo's injury-depleted and beleaguered defense peters out over the second half of the season. Given the sheer amount of injuries they've incurred and the amount of time they've been on the field, that would hardly be surprising. If, however, the Bills are somehow able to turn their ridiculously incompetent offensive unit into something resembling a pro attack, again, an argument for continued improvement can be made. Continuity, again, won't hold as an argument unless improvement comes with it, and even if a faltering defense leads to a near-.500 finish over the next eight games, improvement offensively could garner Jauron some votes.

5. Don't lose the team. This isn't stated in the typical "the guys still play hard for him" fashion. This is stated in the "don't roll over like puppies" fashion. Already this season, the Bills have three embarrassing losses to their resume - one of those in blowout fashion - and another two in which the Bills played tough opponents closely, only to be completely dominated in the fourth quarter.

Just because of the honorable type of man he is, Jauron will always have the respect of his players. That obviously counts for something, but it's certainly not enough to save one's job. But the types of losses we've seen in the New Orleans, Miami and Houston games need to stop. (I'd mention Cleveland, too, but I think that one kind of goes without mentioning.) Every time the team is completely dominated late in a close game, it's an exhibition of a lack of confidence. It doesn't need to be a lack of confidence in any individual, including Jauron, but it's a lack of confidence as a team. They have reason to lack confidence, obviously, but those types of defeats do as much harm to Jauron's future job status as two or three straight wins. They can't happen. Jauron's troops are and will remain on board, but they need to believe they can save their coach's job, or it probably won't happen.

Y'all feel free to rank the likelihood of each point coming to fruition if you so wish. I'd imagine that many of you will come to the same conclusion - and with that conclusion in mind, patience might be the best practice for the next eight weeks.

Scott's return could glue Bills' D back together

Brian Galliford — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:54:51 -0000

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The Buffalo Bills face a curious problem at the safety position right now. Opening day starters Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott have each missed at least four starts this season, and while they've been down, rookie Jairus Byrd has established himself as one of the elite young players at his position. Now that Whitner and Scott are close returning to the lineup, the Bills have three legitimate starting safeties, but only two starting spots to occupy.

Luckily for the Bills, Bryan Scott is a multi-faceted weapon. He's also a team player and a genuinely good guy, which makes removing him from the "starting" lineup all the easier. Byrd is a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year and the team's best defensive playmaker by miles, so he's not going anywhere. Whitner won't sit, either, considering his versatility in coverage and the level of play he exhibited prior to his various injuries.

Even if Scott doesn't start - and if both Byrd and Whitner are healthy, he won't (not at safety, anyway) - you're going to see a lot of him. He might just be Buffalo's best run defender, and given the fact that the Bills sport the No. 32-ranked run defense in the NFL, Scott's return to the lineup may be of critical importance, even if he's not technically a starter.

Scott's presence makes a difference defending run
Scott has only played in part of three games this season. He got hurt mid-way through the Bills' Week 3 loss to undefeated New Orleans, meaning he's been available to Perry Fewell for roughly ten quarters this season. In those ten quarters, Buffalo surrendered 219 rushing yards to New England (the NFL's No. 16-ranked rush offense), Tampa Bay (No. 25, thanks to a lot of late-game passing) and New Orleans (No. 5). Since his departure from the lineup, the Bills have surrendered 1,170 rushing yards in 22 quarters. That stat jumps from 22 yards per quarter to 53 yards per quarter with Scott out of the lineup.

That's not to say that Scott is the key to Buffalo's run defense. The flood gates have certainly opened since he's been out of the lineup, but in all fairness to his teammates, they've faced four of the top five rushing offenses in the entire league (New York, Carolina, Miami and the second half of that New Orleans game) without him. That certainly won't help your statistical cause. (The Bills face the league's No. 2-ranked rushing offense this week in Tennessee, and the No. 6-ranked attack the following week in Jacksonville, by the way.)

But let's not pretend that Scott's absence wasn't a blow, either. He racked up 27 tackles in less than three games. Even with all the time he's missed, he's still third on the team in tackles at the safety position, behind fill-in George Wilson (54) and Byrd (32). Unlike Byrd and Wilson, Scott is technically sound, makes an impact in the box, and has the ability to make plays in the backfield consistently. You can't take that type of player off the field and not expect to see a decline in play.

Potential roles
As mentioned, Byrd will continue to start at free safety, and Whitner will probably still see the lion's share of his work at strong safety. Fewell has, however, found ways to incorporate three safeties into his defensive packages in years past, with Whitner playing a rover position or lining up in the slot. In those cases, Scott could line up at strong safety.

More likely, you'll see Byrd and Whitner take coverage responsibilities, allowing Scott to take the majority of his reps in the box - because let's face it, the run defense can use all the help it can get. Scott has been taking reps at linebacker for the past two weeks, and it's possible he could see time in that role as well, particularly if either starting outside linebacker, Chris Draft or Nic Harris (if Keith Ellison can't go), is injured or fails to live up to the task.

That versatility has been sorely missed - not just from Scott, mind you, but from Whitner as well. Byrd and Wilson have made more than their fair share of plays while Scott and Whitner sat out, but those two players are limited schematically. Byrd is strictly a free safety at this point, and Wilson is a severe liability defending the run. Whitner's versatility allows the Bills to play more matchup coverage in their defensive backfield and, more importantly, get better players in position to make plays against the run.

But as important as Whitner is - even against the run - it's Scott's return that could prove to be the most important to a potential Bills playoff run. Buffalo's chances are slim at best, but they become non-existent if they can't improve against the run, particularly with run-heavy teams coming up on the schedule. Scott isn't a dynamic enough player to turn the league's worst run defense into anything more than an average run defense. But if he can get Buffalo to average - and if the defense finally gets a little help from Buffalo's offense - anything can happen.

Bills getting healthier with streaking Titans looming

Brian Galliford — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:38:36 -0000

The Buffalo Bills returned to the practice field on Monday after their weekend of rest, relaxation, and with any luck, dramatically increased football skill. The week's hiatus appears to have done some good for the team's overall health, as a report from WGR 550 this morning indicates. Here's a quick glance at where the Bills are getting healthy, and where they're still hurting.

+ Trent Edwards practiced fully today and, according to the WGR report, it's looking like he'll be ready to resume starting duties next Sunday in Tennessee. Edwards practiced fully last week, but it appears he got through the weekend unscathed and is ready to get back into the lineup.

+ BuffaloBills.com reports that Shawn Nelson returned to the practice field on Monday as well.

+ Jonathan Scott practiced fully and also appears ready to return to the lineup, according to BuffaloBills.com - which is good timing, really, as fill-in Jamon Meredith missed practiced Monday and is expected to miss another week or two. Scott would, as usual, start at right tackle against a still-feisty Titans pass rush.

+ Aaron Schobel and Kyle Williams missed practice on Monday. Schobel is dealing with a groin injury, while Williams' knee injury was expected to keep him out 2-3 weeks. It's quite early in the week, so there's still a (strong?) chance that both will play this weekend, but clearly the defensive line as a whole is a situation worth monitoring.

+ Keith Ellison also missed practice Monday. Buffalo's leading tackler has a lingering quad issue. If he can't play, Paul Posluszny will likely be flanked by Chris Draft and Nic Harris on Sunday. Yikes.

+ The defensive backfield is getting quite healthy. Terrence McGee, as we mentioned early last week, had his knee scoped and is not yet ready to return to the practice field. There's an outside shot that he plays this weekend, but it's more likely that he returns on November 22 in Jacksonville. If he can't play, Reggie Corner and Ashton Youboty would see increased playing time. The health is coming at safety, where Jairus Byrd, Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott all practiced fully. With the emergence of Byrd, that's as solid a trio of safeties as you'll find in the NFL.

Dungy: Buffalo a 'dark horse' landing spot for Vick

Brian Galliford — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:42:07 -0000

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Happy Monday morning, Rumblers. By now, I'm sure most of you are aware that former Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, on last night's telecast of Football Night in America on NBC, named the Buffalo Bills as a potential landing spot for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick should the Eagles see fit to move him next off-season. First, the quote, in its entirety, courtesy Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com:

"If they want him back, he has to stay there. If they don't, there are some teams looking for quarterbacks - Cleveland, St. Louis and Washington. But I think a dark horse is Buffalo... They talked originally. There was some communication there. I think that could be a good spot."

Obviously, "they" are the Eagles, and all forms of the word "he" is referring to Vick. Before y'all get into a big row in the comments section - which, I realize, is inevitable, given that Michael Vick is the topic of conversation here - there are a few important points to make.

"They talked originally." This isn't completely irrelevant, because the implication that Dungy brings to the table - that Buffalo talked about bringing Vick into the fold as recently as this past August, when Philadelphia signed him to a two-year deal - is interesting in and of itself. Bills COO/GM Russ Brandon denied any such talks taking place when rumors swirled of exactly that notion during training camp, but if Dungy's words are true, Brandon obviously hid it from the press. Which isn't surprising, of course, but it is interesting, because contradictions are always interesting.

Dick Jauron is a key figure here as well. It might end up being his ultimate downfall, but Jauron has a lot of say when it comes to personnel decisions. (Chalk that up to not really having a GM.) Jauron drafted Edwards, and while he isn't endlessly loyal to him like regimes are loyal to first-round picks at quarterback, the most logical source of overall organizational faith in Edwards as the starting quarterback is Jauron. He brought him into the league. He lobbied to sign Ryan Fitzpatrick as the backup so as to solidify Edwards as the sure-fire starter. He installed a no-huddle to try to play to Edwards' strengths.

If there were talks about Vick earlier this season - and again, we only have Dungy's speculation to go on there, so it might not be true - the least likely person doing that lobbying, in my opinion, was Jauron. That could mean that one of his coaches wanted Vick (and for the record, Turk Schonert was still with the team at the time), or it could mean that a member of VP of Pro Personnel John Guy's staff wanted Vick, or it could mean that Brandon himself wanted him. Either way, it doesn't matter, because if Buffalo's catastrophe of a front office structure ensures one thing, it's that opinions about certain players don't die because of a regime change, because everyone has a little input. Even if an entirely new coaching staff comes to town, Buffalo's supposed interest in Vick could survive that change. That's an important factor to consider.

"Dark horse." That's a key phrase to point out. Dungy phrased it exactly that way, and in general use, "dark horse" implies a sleeper entity, and not a front-runner. The fact that Dungy used that phrase could mean either two things: he reached into the wrong part of his brain and picked the wrong phrase, or he was attempting to convey his interest in Buffalo's being a potential landing spot for Vick while maintaining that they aren't, in fact, anything more than an equally-speculative-as-those-other-teams contender for his services. That, too, is important - if the Eagles do decide to move Vick (more on that in a minute), Dungy's opinion on where Vick should play is completely irrelevant, because Vick would go to the highest bidder. That is, if there's a trade market for Vick.

Can Philly trade Vick? Florio points it out well enough in his article, so we'll just use his point to further our discussion:

The problem Vick now faces is that his market value can only be sinking. Will any team be interested in him as a potential starter? Vick's speed looks significantly diminished and he won't get a chance to show off any passing skills in Philadelphia. Ultimately, Vick's sinking stock could make it a lot tougher for the Eagles to finding a trading partner in the offseason.

This, too, is an extremely important point. Philadelphia has three NFL-caliber quarterbacks, but ultimately, only two of them might be worth trading for - Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb. Considering the fact that Vick has seen little field opportunity this season - and that's not likely to change - Vick could be looking to change teams next off-season while still carrying the stigma of a rusty, highly unproven commodity. Any NFL team willing to trade for that, no matter the talent of the individual in question, is flat-out dumb.

Buffalo should not trade for Vick. Draft picks of any round are valuable commodities. Yes, they might reach a desperate point in their likely search for a quarterback next off-season, but that doesn't mean they need to be unintelligent about possibly making a move for Vick. As Florio notes, the market isn't likely to be high. If Buffalo is desperate, nothing more than a fifth-round pick should suffice. Otherwise, it's highway robbery on Philly's part, and the Bills still have questions at quarterback regardless.

Can Vick even play? That's the big question, and for us, it's really the only question worth considering right now, because we have nothing to do with acquiring him. As Florio noted above, Vick's not the dominant athlete he was pre-prison. In six games in Philadelphia, Vick has completed 2 of 6 passes for 6 yards, and he's got 12 carries for 27 yards. His quarterback skills were questionable before his hiatus from football - no one is drooling over his 53.7% career completion percentage or his career 6.6 yards-per-attempt average - but Atlanta was 38-28-1 with Vick as their quarterback. That's a record most Bills fans would accept at this point, but that record is likely to dwindle if Vick's athletic prowess is diminished.

Forget the "Dungy to Buffalo" argument. Many will speculate that Vick coming to Buffalo could mean Dungy follows him. Many will continue to speculate that even after I say, right here, right now, that that is extremely unlikely. Dungy will be 55 next October, and while that's still almost exactly five years younger than Jauron (Jauron: 10/7/50; Dungy: 10/6/55), Dungy has reached the top of his profession. He's won a championship. He has nothing left to prove. If he still has the itch to coach, Buffalo might obviously be an option, but Ralph Wilson has never paid top dollar for a coach, and Dungy might not be comfortable inserting himself into a mess of a front office with an aging owner and an organization that might not stay in Buffalo. If he does get that itch, there are far more appealing options, and Vick is just as likely to end up in one of those locations as he is in Buffalo.

In the end, this is all just a bunch of speculation about a guy who may or may not be able to play from a coach who seems to be asserting more opinion than fact. Still, it's certainly interesting to discuss. The poll and the comments section are all yours.

Poll

Would you like to see Michael Vick as Buffalo's starting QB in 2010?

Bills three games out in division after bye

Brian Galliford — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:46:12 -0000

No matter what happened on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills - enjoying their bye week this week - would have technically remained in last place. So, even though the New England Patriots held home field advantage and handed the Miami Dolphins their first division loss 27-17, the Dolphins' 3-5 record bests the Bills' 3-5 record because of Miami's 38-10 walloping of Buffalo in Week 4.

The Dolphins did, however, flex their muscles at Gillette Stadium, imposing their will for stretches and playing the Patriots as tough as expected. In a quarterbacks' league, however, Tom Brady will always trump Chad Henne, particularly when New England's passing weapons are much better than Miami's. Brady made a few big throws, Henne didn't, and the rest is history.

The New York Jets (4-4) joined Buffalo on the bye this week. New England now has a two-game lead over the Jets in the division, with the Bills and Dolphins three games out. Only the Patriots (2-1) and Dolphins (3-2) have multiple wins in the division, with the Bills (1-2) and Jets (1-3) bringing up the rear. The standings as the second half of the season commences:

#	Team	Rec.	Div.
1	Patriots	6-2	2-1
2	Jets	4-4	1-3
3	Dolphins	3-5	3-1
4	Bills	3-5	1-2

NFL Week 9: Buffalo Rumblings Authors Picks

Brian Galliford — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:03:13 -0000

Week 9 of the 2009 NFL regular season is set to kick off at 1:00 PM ET today, and the authors of Buffalo Rumblings are back to provide our picks for all 13 games on the docket. Nine of us are participating, and once again, we encourage you to leave your own picks in the comments section. All of our picks are after the jump. The standings after eight weeks of NFL action:

#1: Brian Galliford (82-34)
#2: poz (80-36)
#3: krytime (79-37)
#4: Ron From NM (77-39)
#5: Kurupt (76-40)
#6: MattRichWarren (75-41)
#7: MARVelous (74-42)
#8: sireric (72-44)
#9: WABillsfan (70-46)

Game	Brian	poz	krytime	Ron	Kurupt	MRW	MARV	sireric	WA
BAL at CIN
ARI at CHI
WAS at ATL
GB at TB
MIA at NE
KC at JAC
Game	Brian	poz	krytime	Ron	Kurupt	MRW	MARV	sireric	WA
HOU at IND
CAR at NO
DET at SEA
TEN at SF
SD at NYG
DAL at PHI
PIT at DEN

Taking a peek at Buffalo's remaining schedule

Brian Galliford — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:12:08 -0000

It's the bye week for the Buffalo Bills, and no matter how comforting the fact that the Bills cannot lose this weekend is, a weekend without Bills football is still kind of a drag. We'll equip you for the weekend ahead with prediction and open game threads for Week 9 football, but as it's still only Saturday (the first week of a two-week layoff is always the longest), we'll table that for the day and instead focus on taking a peek at the rest of the Bills' schedule this season. The short version: as usual, the Bills have some very tough matchups.

November 15: at Tennessee Titans (1-6)
- Chris Johnson has firmly established himself as one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL. The second-year running back out of East Carolina is averaging a whopping 6.9 yards per rush this season, and currently leads the NFL with 824 rushing yards. He is one of only a handful of offensive weapons in the league capable of scoring whenever he touches the football. The Titans are just 1-6 on the season thanks to horrendous play from their defense and a very difficult schedule (their opponents are a combined 29-15), but as long as Johnson is on the field and their defense limits big plays, this team is still talented enough to compete with anyone out there.

November 22: at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)
- Jacksonville's got a case of the same affliction the Bills haven't been able to shake off for years: they're only capable of beating bad teams. True, their win over Houston in Week 3 was impressive, but Houston has only just started to realize their immense potential in recent weeks. Jacksonville's wins over Tennessee (who wiped the floor with them last week) and mighty St. Louis are hardly illustrious, and they've been crushed by Arizona and Seattle, as well. Still - Buffalo isn't exactly tremendous competition, and given the way Maurice Jones-Drew is running this season (5.5 yards per attempt, 10 TD), this game should be a struggle for the Bills, even while the Jags are very much a beatable opponent.

November 29: vs Miami Dolphins (3-4)
- This will be the first time the Bills play Miami at Ralph Wilson Stadium since a 38-17 drubbing of the Fish in 2007. The Dolphins have since beaten Buffalo in three straight, and even though they'll be on the road, they are perhaps the biggest challenge facing these Bills left on the schedule. Their offensive line is the most dominant unit in the league, and their defense has given Trent Edwards fits for two straight seasons. Given the way Miami physically dominated Buffalo in Week 4, and the style of football they play, a Bills upset win over a much better team would be delightfully surprising.

December 6: vs New York Jets, in Toronto (4-4)
- Look, I'm going to be honest: I despise the Jets and Rex Ryan, but I also respect their style of play. They dominated Buffalo in Week 6, but Mark Sanchez was feeling quite generous on that afternoon, and allowed the Bills to escape with an overtime win. Buffalo flat-out sucked in Toronto last year, losing to Miami 16-3, and the Jets, if you recall, ran for 318 yards against the Bills even in defeat. If the running game keeps it up and Sanchez doesn't, I don't see how Buffalo ekes out a win in a game that you can bet Ryan will hype up all week as a revenge game.

December 13: at Kansas City Chiefs (1-6)
- Set aside the fact that this game will be played in Arrowhead for a moment. We've finally reached a team on our schedule that compares favorably to us - offensively, at least. Matt Cassel is struggling in Todd Haley's offense, the offensive line is a work in progress, and the team lacks skill position playmakers. Defensively, the Chiefs are slightly worse than Buffalo as well (overall), though they're obviously better at stopping the run, as <i>every</i> NFL team is better at stopping the run than the Bills. I realize that playing against a statistically comparable team in Week 5 didn't help (the Bills lost 6-3 to Cleveland <i>at home</i>), but this is the most winnable game left on the schedule, even if it's in a notoriously tricky stadium.

December 20: vs New England Patriots (5-2)
- The winning streak is up to 12. That's six seasons' worth of the Patriots beating down the Bills, no matter the venue. Buffalo nearly got them in Week 1 this season, but something tells me Bill Belichick will have a better game plan (more film to go on, after all), and Tom Brady has almost completely knocked off the rust from his year-long layoff. Let's just say it would be mind-blowing if the Bills ended their losing streak.

December 27: at Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
- How lucky are the Falcons? They take Michael Vick No. 1 overall, and even with all of the turmoil that ultimately created for the franchise, they still got to see some astonishing plays and some playoff wins under his "leadership." Vick does his thing, they're down and out for a year, and then bam - they go out and get Matt Ryan. He still struggles with consistency some, but the guy just oozes leadership and potential. He looks like the next great NFL quarterback. The Falcons team around him, by the way, is young, physical and getting better. This will be a tremendously difficult challenge for the Bills.

January 3, 2010: vs Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
- Right now, the three best teams in football (arguably) are New Orleans, Indianapolis and Minnesota. It figures that Buffalo would get two of those teams on their schedule. The big ray of hope in this game right now is the getting-tired "Indy could be resting its starters" argument. Even if that's the case, the Colts are a deep, talented football team. Obviously, if Peyton Manning is on the sidelines, that's a tremendous boost to Buffalo's chances, but this will still be a difficult game for the Bills to win. They haven't displayed the ability to overpower a team with their running game, and that's where Indy is most vulnerable at this point.

Bills' major area of regression in 2009: penalties

Brian Galliford — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:37:17 -0000

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It's fairly easy to blame coaching for every little problem with a given NFL team, and just as easy to ignore giving credit where credit is due to a coach for team strengths. For Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron, credit is hard to come by these days - his Bills are currently 3-5, and as they're also on the heels of three straight 7-9 seasons, consternation surrounding the coach and his team is at an all-time high.

For all of Jauron's faults and virtues, one fact was continually glossed over throughout Jauron's first three years in Buffalo: his Bills teams were some of the most disciplined and technically sound in the game. Jauron got little credit for that. This season, thanks to the Bills taking the youth route at key positions - admittedly, decisions that Jauron had heavy influence in - the Bills are uncharacteristically mistake-prone. Here's a quick history of Buffalo's discipline (or lack thereof) under Jauron.

In 2006, Jauron's first season in Buffalo, the Bills committed 87 penalties on the season - between 5 and 6 per game. That total was tied for the eighth-lowest in the NFL.

In 2007, the Bills improved in the penalty department under Jauron, committing just 78 on the season (4.9 per game). That total was tied for the seventh-lowest total in the league, and the Bills shared that honor with Bill Belichick's 16-0 New England team.

In 2008, the Bills once again improved in this area, dropping their penalty total to 71 on the season - 4.4 per game, and good for the second-lowest total in the NFL (tied with New England again, and behind Atlanta).

In 2009, we've seen a complete regression, thanks mostly to the youth issues along the offensive line. Through just eight games, Buffalo has committed 59 penalties - the highest total in the league at 7.4 per game, or three more penalties per game than they averaged a year ago.

The lack of discipline has undoubtedly been a key factor in the Bills' struggles this season. (Buffalo's opponents have been helpful, committing 36 penalties to the Bills' 18 in their three wins.) Jauron's decisions to make wholesale, youthful changes along the offensive line and in other key areas have led to these issues, and it may ultimately cost him his job. To his credit, however, the penalty issue has gotten slightly better as the season has worn on; after committing 28 penalties in Weeks 1-3, the Bills have totaled 31 penalties in their last five games, a difference of 3 per game. In addition, in their last two games, the Bills have committed just 7 penalties while going 1-1.

Your chance to have a voice in HOF voting

Brian Galliford — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:19:35 -0000

Fans of the NFL do not have a vote when it comes to placing players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Thanks to an NFL partnership with Van Heusen and JC Penney, however, NFL fans now have a voice and public acknowledgment in the Hall of Fame voting process. The Van Heusen Fan's Choice vote is the result of that partnership, and gives fans some (unofficial) say in the Hall of Fame voting process.

The Buffalo Bills have been fortunate enough to place key members of the organization into the Hall of Fame in recent years, including Marv Levy, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith and team owner Ralph Wilson. There are, however, still players deserving of that honor - Andre Reed, Steve Tasker, Darryl Talley, Kent Hull and Cornelius Bennett, as examples - that aren't being hyped up enough. In the Fan's Choice vote, for example, Reed is the highest-voted former Bill, but he's approximately 10,000 votes behind leading vote-getter Jerry Rice. I urge everyone to head on over to the voting page and make that change a little.

Again, even though the fan vote does not officially count towards the actual Hall of Fame voting process, the results of this vote will be announced by NFL Network shortly before the official results are announced early next year. Go vote! And, if you've never seen this video... well, let's just say that I've been looking for an excuse to post it for a couple of weeks now, and this is the perfect spot for it.

First-half defensive rookie of the year -- Bills S Jairus Byrd: Buffalo knew something other teams...

Brian Galliford — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:07:02 -0000

First-half defensive rookie of the year -- Bills S Jairus Byrd: Buffalo knew something other teams didn't when it used the 42nd overall pick on a cornerback who is playing better than any top pick.

Adam Schefter