Wild Sunday caps 2007 season for Bills

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, December 31, 2007  |  Comments( 71 )

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Buffalo's season-ending Sunday was both predictable and unpredictable for a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 1999.

Predictably, the Bills were bested 17-9 in Philadelphia. Buffalo entered the game with a 7-8 record, which was the same mark the Eagles possessed, but the Bills had lost two straight games in ugly fashion and were clearly headed in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the Eagles regained their confidence entering Sunday by beating both Dallas and New Orleans in the weeks previous.

The Bills, whose 31st-ranked offense reached new lows in Week 17 by strongly resembling a high school-level attack, mustered just 133 passing yards and no touchdowns against Philadelphia's aggressive defense. On the opposite end, Buffalo's inferior 'D' surrendered 345 aerial yards to Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who many believed was washed up as recently as a few weeks ago.

Though poor execution ultimately did the Bills in, their painfully conservative game plan greatly contributed to the team's ninth and final defeat of 2007. Considering the Bills had absolutely nothing to play for but pride, it had to be disheartening for their fans to watch head coach Dick Jauron and his staff take as few risks as possible en route to an eight-point loss. It is bad enough when a coaching staff seems to be afraid of the end zone when the games actually matter; it is perhaps worse when said staff refuses to take risks -- instead settling for field goals -- when the postseason is out of reach.

The good news for Bills fans is that Jauron and his staff might not be around in 2008, and that is where Sunday's unpredictably comes into play.

After the game ended in Philadelphia, word trickled down that Bills general manager Marv Levy -- who was named to the position in January 2006 and oversaw two offseasons as the front-office leader -- was set to resign his post.

Levy took over for Tom Donahoe, who failed miserably between 2001 and '05 in Buffalo, and didn't really fare much better than his predecessor. In 32 regular-season games, the Levy-constructed Bills won just 14 times and failed to reach the playoffs. Levy's era as the G.M. was far different than his first stint in Buffalo in the 1980s and '90s, when he coached the Bills to four Super Bowl appearances and eventually reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

At 82 years old, though, Levy obviously no longer had what it took to continue running a pro franchise, which is certainly arduous, draining work.

Prior to Levy's abrupt departure, the Bills' organization was already in for a busy, critical offseason. Depending on owner Ralph Wilson's choice to succeed Levy, the Bills might have to start from square one with not only their player personnel but their coaching staff, too.

The Bills presently have an average-at-best roster, a dead-end head coach and a seemingly subpar staff molded in his image, so starting anew might actually be a blessing for a franchise that hasn't been relevant since the '90s.

But only if the 89-year-old Wilson handles the situation correctly.

*E-mail: cbyrne@realfootball365.com

RealFootball365.com: Where there is never an offseason for the Buffalo Bills.
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CommentsComments: 71  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Nate		09:31 AM
12/31/2007
I won't comment on yesterday's loss because there is little new worth saying about a game that resembled so many others for the...
No.2
Bob F		09:38 AM
12/31/2007
With the exception of Connor, everyone seems to be assuming that Dick Jauron is going to remain head coach of the Bills, but I...
No.3
bflobob8		09:42 AM
12/31/2007
Yesterdays "coaching" was a travesty. Connor hit it on the head. Even with nothing to play for they play not to lose. I love Marv...
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