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NFL Week 10 ROY Power Rankings

Mike Farley — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:00:04 +0000

You’ve got Jairus Byrd on defense and Percy Harvin on offense leading the charge here, with a few others who might be considered supporting cast at this point.

1. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills—Byrd had another pick against the Titans to bring his league-leading total to 8. That was before Titans’ owner Bud Adams flipped the Bills a bird of his own. Sorry, I just couldn’t help it.

2. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings—Harvin may be the most exciting playmaker on the Vikings’ offense, and with you-know-who in the backfield, that’s saying something.

3. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles—6 catches for 76 yards and a score against the Chargers, and 72 return yards for good measure. This kid is special.

4. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos—He had 104 all-purpose yards against Albert Haynesworth’s Redskins last Sunday, albeit in a losing effort.

5. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—He just keeps making those tackles, now with 60 total (50 solo). Too bad he’s playing on a really bad team

Honorable mention: Hakeem Nicks, Giants; Johnny Knox, Bears; Ryan Succop, Chiefs; Michael Oher, Ravens; LeSean McCoy, Eagles; Beanie Wells, Cardinals

Shanahan to meet with Bills next week

Anthony Stalter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:10:40 +0000

According to a report by NFL.com, former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan will meet with the Bills next week to discuss possibly coaching in Buffalo in 2010.

Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher also is high on the Bills’ list of candidates, but at the moment, they are focused on Shanahan, who guided the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl championships in the late 1990s but was fired after last season.
There’s also strong speculation that the Redskins are pursuing Shanahan to replace Jim Zorn as their coach after the season. However, according to the source close to the Bills, Shanahan is intrigued by the “low-maintenance” situation he would have in Buffalo as opposed to Washington.

The Bills, the source said, are willing to offer whatever salary is necessary to land a high-end candidate such as Shanahan and would give him total control of the football operation, something Wilson has generally been opposed to doing in the past. Adding to the job’s attractiveness, according to the source, is the fact the team is in solid financial shape and not burdened by any dead salary-cap money.
“This is his (Wilson’s) last coach and (he) is going to do everything it takes to get it right,” the source said of the 91-year-old owner.

Shanahan would absolutely be the right choice for the Bills. They need someone to start over from scratch and blow up the roster and Shanahan has experience putting teams and coaching staffs together.

If the Bills hire another hotshot coordinator, they’ll likely need a new head coach again in 2-3 years. They need someone that can demolish the roster and start fresh. It may take a year or two before the Bills are competitive again, but Shanahan would eventually get them on the right track.

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Bills interested in Mike Shanahan

Anthony Stalter — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:30:55 +0000

According to a report by ESPN.com, the Bills are interested in hiring former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan to replace the recently fired Dick Jauron.

Buffalo has contacted and is in the process of arranging a meeting with former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, according to two NFL sources.

Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Broncos, is said to be willing to listen to the Bills. He has said in the past that he is determined to return to the NFL next season.

While Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Broncos, is viewed within the Bills organization as a desired candidate, there are other names at or near the top of the team’s wish list.

For now, the Bills have appointed defensive coordinator Perry Fewell as interim head coach. Fewell is well-respected within the organization and will be given every opportunity to earn the full-time job.

The Bills also will investigate options expected to include Florida Tuskers coach Jim Haslett and New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, both of whom has ties to the Bills.

Hiring Haslett would be a lateral move for the Bills. They need someone that will scout the players and coach them on the field; they don’t need another person like Haslett or Jauron that would be better suited for a coordinator role.

But someone like Shanahan is exactly the type of person the Bills should be thinking about because the team needs to be blown up from the coaching staff down to the players. They need to bring a bulldozer to that place and start over from scratch and Shanahan is the type of guy who could build a team from the ground up. If Shanahan wanted complete control, then the Bills should have no problem giving it to him.

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Bills fire head coach Dick Jauron

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:14:27 +0000

According to NFL.com, the Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Dick Jauron after starting the season 3-6.

Defensive coordinator Fewell Perry is expected to become the Bills’ interim head coach, a Bills source told NFL.com’s Vic Carucci.

In just short of four seasons with the Bills, Jauron compiled a record of 24-33 (.421 winning percentage). The Bills failed to make the playoffs in each season under Jauron. Buffalo has not made the playoffs since 1999, the longest active streak for a non-expansion team.
On Monday, defensive end Aaron Schobel questioned the Bills’ lack of direction with seven games remaining in their season.

“It’s embarrassing,” said Schobel, the longest-tenured player on the Bills roster, a day after a 41-17 loss at Tennessee dropped Buffalo’s record to 3-6. “I mean, we’re technically, mathematically still in it, I guess, but it’s like what … are we doing here?”

Speaking within earshot of several Bills officials near the entrance of the locker room, Schobel expressed his frustration, but stopped short in explaining what he thinks the franchise’s problems are by saying: “That’s about all I can say without saying what I want to say.”

Terrell Owens posted this on his Twitter page roughly about the same time the news broke:

Wassup everytweeter? It’s a beautiful day n the neighborhood here n good ‘ol Buffalo!

Now, that could be a genuine statement by T.O. but then again I don’t know how many beautiful days there are in Buffalo in the middle of November. So my guess is that Owens is a fan of this news.

Jauron did nothing to help the Bills succeed over the past couple years and it was painfully obviously that he wasn’t moving the team in the right direction. They got off to a hot start last year but fell apart shortly thereafter because opponents started to figure out ways to stop Trent Edwards (which isn’t hard) and Jauron and his coaching staff never made adjustments.

I’m sure he’ll catch on as a coordinator or assistant somewhere next year, but he’s likely done as a head coach at the NFL level.

The Bills are similar to the Browns in that they need a complete makeover, starting with the front office down to the players. I highly doubt Perry Fewell is the answer, which means Ralph Wilson needs to get to work on finding a permanent replacement in the offseason.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Chris Johnson is sick; T.O. is a turd

Anthony Stalter — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:44:16 +0000

Chris Johnson rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries on Sunday, while also adding nine receptions for 100 yards to help the Titans crush the Bills, 41-17.

Johnson turned simple screen and dump off passes into highlight reel plays and also gained 32 yards on an option pitch. Since Vince Young re-entered Tennessee’s starting lineup, Jeff Fisher’s coaching staff has done a nice job of finding creative ways to get Johnson the ball. He’s racked up 1,091 rushing yards on the season, which is tops in the NFL.

While Johnson was doing everything to help his team win, Terrell Owens was being a distraction to his. He did catch an eye-popping three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, but he also got into a screaming match with one of his coaches and apparently was slapping people high-fives to the crowd behind the Bills’ bench near the end of the game. What he was celebrating about and whom he was celebrating with are both unknown, although he did go to college in Tennessee so maybe he saw one of his old roommates.

Trent Edwards misfired on several passes to T.O. throughout the game and therefore Owens must have felt that because of that, he didn’t have to pursue Tennessee defenders on two separate interceptions in the second half. One of the interceptions was T.O.’s fault too, as he let the ball slip through his stone-hands.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported after the game that Owens might be trying to get cut. Hopefully the Bills keep him and make him rot in Buffalo for the rest of the season.

NFL Week 9 ROY Power Rankings

Mike Farley — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:00:23 +0000

The first three players on this list were on bye last week, so we have to hold their places. Other than that, there have been quite a few impressive rookie performances this year so far…

1. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills—Seven picks leads all rookies and earned Byrd NFL defensive rookie of the month for October. What does he do for an encore? Vince Young might find out this Sunday in Nashville.

2. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—He may have learned that the NFC West is not the Big Ten, but that hasn’t stopped Laurinaitis from making a lot of tackles. His 46 solo tackles leads all NFL rookies.

3. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings—One of the reasons Brad Childress is in line for coach of the year is that he foresaw Brett Favre and Percy Harvin making beautiful music together on the field, despite what all the critics were saying.

4. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles—His 115 all-purpose yards against Dallas was, dare we say it? Westbrook-esque.

5. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles—As if opposing defensive coordinators were having trouble sleeping while scheming for DeSean Jackson, now they have this kid to worry about too.

Honorable mention: Hakeem Nicks, Giants; Knowshon Moreno, Broncos; Johnny Knox, Bears; Ryan Succop, Chiefs; Michael Oher, Ravens; Mike Wallace, Steelers

NFL Week 8 ROY Power Rankings

Mike Farley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:00:36 +0000

The one guy we were neglecting so far was Minnesota’s Percy Harvin, who has slowly and quietly started to put up numbers and become a favorite target of Brett Favre. This is a guy Brad Childress took a big gamble on that so far is paying off. But Byrd and Laurinaitis are holding strong.

1. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills—Two more picks for this safety out of Oregon against the Texans, and now Byrd is tied with Darren Sharper for the NFL lead. That’s amazing in itself, but consider which team this guy plays for and it’s even more remarkable.

2. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—Seven more tackles against Detroit…okay, we know, it’s Detroit….still, what Byrd has done to this point is slightly more impressive.

3. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings—Becoming a favorite target of Brett Favre, caught 5 more passes for 84 yards and a score in Green Bay.

4. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles—Filled in quite admirably for Brian Westbrook Sunday, slicing through a suddenly sieve-like Giants’ defense.

5. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles—Everyone on the Eagles had a field day against the Giants, this rookie included (4 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD).

Honorable mention: Hakeem Nicks, Giants; Knowshon Moreno, Broncos; Johnny Knox, Bears; Ryan Succop, Chiefs; Michael Oher, Ravens; Mike Wallace, Steelers