SB Nation User Blog: Ono

"Well, I think they’ve had their share of plays on it, but it’s like anything else, if you’ve succe...

Ono — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:21:48 -0000

"Well, I think they’ve had their share of plays on it, but it’s like anything else, if you’ve successful with it, other teams in the league see that and set their defenses and keys to try to to take some of those plays away. But I think Buffalo’s been successful doing a lot of different things this year. and that’s what makes them hard to defend."

Bill Belichick on Buffalo Bills.com about the feared Bills

10 NFL Biggest Rip-Offs

Ono — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:05:25 -0000

10 NFL Biggest Rip-Offs

No Bills on the list.

Coaches on the Hot Seat

Ono — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:18:54 -0000

I had an interesting experience on Saturday. I was talking with a buddy of mine about football. He is a diehard Green Bay fan and I own Rodgers in my fantasy league so we talked about Green Bay. He then made the comment that I thought was so funny. He said, "MIke McCarthy is on the hot seat. There's no one right now whose seat is hotter." What struck me as funny was that that's probably the discussion that's going on in the Packers' community. Of course I had to issue a corrective: Dick Jauron is on the hot seat and Jim Zorn has no seat.

Also this got me thinking about the upcoming coaching carousel. I think it is fair to say that of Bills fan I am up there with the most optimistic and I think Jauron should get at least one more year. But that aside, for those who want Jauron gone, and they have as good an argument as any, things are not looking so good. The reason is that there are just too many teams that will be searching for coaches that the usual suspects will have their pickings and Buffalo will not be at the top of anyone's list.

More after the jump

The teams with hot seat coaches are:

Panthers

Bears

Brown

Bills

Green Bay

Houston

Jacksonville

Obviously, there is a lot of football left and some of these teams can redeem themsleves and their coaches. However, that's a lot of spots. One glaring issue with the Bills is Ralph Wilson's age. Clearly any established coach would want to be assured stability while they rebuild. With Mr. Wilson in his 90s, one can reasonably assume that his team will get sold in the next 5-10 years. Any coach that is looking to set down and do business will be scared away by the possibility of that instability. This is my chief reason for thinking that Jauron will return. DJ has a rebuilding project underway with many young key players. Mr. Wilson will probably decide to stick this one out and let the product bear fruit. As long as the team still plays hard and with passion, etc (Brian had the great post of how DJ could keep his job)

I hope he sticks with DJ for one more year. I just think there are too many pieces, players and relationships, that need time to grow (OC, QB, OLine, etc) and next year will be truly a make or break year because we should see the growth we've been waiting for and the depth that we've been building.

"It’s like going to the Super Bowl when the migraines go away," said Nelson.

Ono — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:08:52 -0000

"It’s like going to the Super Bowl when the migraines go away," said Nelson.

Buffalo Bills.com

George Wilson Crazy Basketball Shot

Ono — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:58:37 -0000

George Wilson Crazy Basketball Shot

This a Hanging 10 with Hamdan video of George Wilson making a crazy long basket.

(BTW--If Hamdan spent as much time preparing for his game as he did for these Hanging 10 videos, we'd be a contender--okay, just kidding)

Posluszny hopes to return against the Jets

Ono — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:19:06 -0000

Posluszny hopes to return against the Jets

Whitner may play too.

More Positive Spin

Ono — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:38:40 -0000

Yesterday's loss was as awful for me as anyone else, but this is what rebuilding looks like folks. We were not a good team when Jauron took over. In fact we were on the tail end of gamble and blunder. A new team had to be built from scratch including trying out and dumping a first round QB.

Jauron is a defensive guy. We all know that and he appears to be rebuilding this thing defense first. I think we can argue that we now have a sense of a Jauron defense and it's not actually bad--quite frankly, it is decent. Say what you will, but the defense has done well. They put up with a high calliber, possibly Super Bowl calliber New Orleans team. They've done a great job this season. They have cracked at the end of games, but they are built that way. This defense is built to be solid, smart, and dependable, but not a 40-45 minute time of possession defense. There is nothing wrong with that philosophy, especially if you expect your offense to give you17-21 points a game.

I think it is pretty impressive that with all the injuries we've had on the defense, we've had quality depth. One area of the team that we are not panicked with is the defense. We've seen growth and depth and there is a future on defense.

The issue now is the offense. The brass has decided to invest in the offense now and we've seen them divest themselves of bad players at great cost to themselves. Three new starters on the O-line takes guts, but it was a move they had to make for the future of the team and I think we can all agree that all three will be solid starters moving forward. We finally have the line we always wanted, but we have to wait for it to develop. The unfortunate aspect of all this is that we do have some talented pieces in other skill positions which depend on the Oline getting it's act together.

I feel like this rebuilding is actually working. The defense is where we want it to be and now the offense is getting there. We have good quality starters and now we need experience and quality depth. If you take a look at other hapless teams like the Lions of last few seasons or the Redskins, you couldn't look at them and see a path forward. With this Bills team, the issue is experience on the O-line and more offensive quality depth.

This may be crazy but I am not opposed to keeping DJ for one more year. (I can't believe I'm saying this.) But this team has come a very long way and we are certainly not Matt Millen's hapless Lions. Also, Tony Dungy was widley panned in Tampa Bay because he could not win with his extremely talented group. His demeanor was also an issue--he did not get fired up, or show emotion, etc. I'm not saying Jauron is Dungy, but I firmly believe we can get the same result if we are patient. If Jauron get's canned, I can live with it, but I think we'll see that who ever takes over will have a heck of a team to work with.

Rob Ryan calls out Trent Edwards: "He's no Palmer"

Ono — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:17:10 -0000

Rob Ryan calls out Trent Edwards: "He's no Palmer"

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan disses Bills QB Trent Edwards. Let's see if this fires anyone up.

NFL O-Line Confidential Video

Ono — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:18:05 -0000

NFL O-Line Confidential Video

Not sure if anyone posted this yet. This is a fun little piece/insight into the O-line folks at dinner.

The Grass is Always Greener

Ono — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:47:06 -0000

This playoff season has been nothing short of interesting with the Chargers, Ravens and Cards making things very interesting.

With all these teams we can make the case for why they did something right and why the Bills are not like them and are at home. But I really haven't seen anything in the playoffs to show that the Bills are off track. The teams that were supposed to win because they were built perfectly fell, Colts, Titans and most importantly Panters. Things always look great on the other side but then we see that it is all perception. The great teams now seem ordinary and the okay teams now look golden. The Ravens now seem like the perfect team, San Diego is how it should be done, and the Cards will now be the new blueprint.

In the past few playoff games, I've noted quite a few dumb calls that many of us suggest only Bills coaches are capable off. Not being in the Buffalo area any longer I get to watch many other teams and there is no shortage of head scratcher calls week in week out. The Bills coaches have not cornered the market on game day management issues. That is problem with every team. The key is having mature players who can collaborate or partner with the coaches and herd cats while on the field. We are slowly developing these leaders in Edwards, Poz, and Whitner.

I've been a supporter of Jauron and believe that this team as is, is actually very good, it's just a very young team and we have no depth. After watching the Cardinals today, I finally settled in to something I'd been thinking. You win with who you are and not by trying to be someone else. This is what I like about Jauron. You feel like there is a plan and he is molding a team to play a style of football and not trying to copy some other model somewhere.

The Cardinals are wining with their brand of football. They are winning by being who they are. The Ravens and Chargers are the same way. They play within themselves and utilize their strengths. The coaching has been good but not exceptional. These teams are simply not turning the ball over, limiting mistakes, and playing smart. Brian has mentioned that this team is not yet playing Dick Jauron football and I agree. I hope we can stop focusing on how everyone else has a great GM, or coach, or system, or anything, and how horrible our coaches are, etc, and focus on building on what we have.

We are very close and we should be encouraged that going into this draft and FA season, that we are talking about filling holes and upgrading and not about a team in complete disarraying and total rebuilding mode.

And how about Norv Turner. This is a guy with a 77-95 head coaching record. and has had an incredible season with the Chargers. I look at him and see DJ written all over him, stoic demeanour, great coordinator type with no success in multiple head coaching stops. Now, the Chargers have a legit shot at the Superbowl. This could be us soon. The San Diego crowd has had the same issues we've had with DJ, but, at least for a season, they have a lot to be happy about.

Anyway, the grass is always greener for winning teams. But the only way the grass gets green for us is if we stick with our thing and not try to be or want everything else. We have a formula in place and we just need to see it through.