Here’s a question.  If pro is opposite of con, then what is the opposite of progress?

The answer?  Dick Jauron

We’re officially at the mid point of another Buffalo Bills season, and all signs point towards a fourth annual Jauron-led run to 7-9.

Talk about a lack of progress.

To assess the Bills offense midway through, just insert your  favorite singular negative adjective.  Terrible…  Awful…  Dreadful..  Appalling..  Horrendous.. Feel free to come up with one on your own.

The Bills don’t have a running back on pace for more than 900 yards or a receiver for more than 670. They’re converting less than 37% of their third downs.  They’ve been held to less than 10 first downs in consecutive games for the first time since 1971.

The defense has been notably better.  Despite getting left at the alter time and time again by an atrocious (yet another adjective!) offense, the defense has fared much better.  They’re forcing turnovers in bucket fills, and they’re getting to the quarterback far more often than last year. In fact, they’ve produced as many defensive touchdowns (2) this year as the Bills have rushing scores.

But they aren’t completely off the hook either.  The bend but don’t break defense has been broken in the running game far too often.  They’re on pace to give up nearly 2,800 yards on the ground.

Here’s a positional breakdown via  report card format for the Bills as they enter the bye week half way through the season.

QUARTERBACK (Grade: D-)

Trent Edwards had a promising start to the season.  He completed 15 of 25 passes and two touchdowns opening night at New England and followed it by looking even better against Tampa Bay.  But it went entirely downhill from there.  Edwards threw five interceptions with only one touchdown pass over his next three-plus games.  More alarmingly, his unwillingness to take more chances throwing the ball downfield has been utterly cowardice.

He checks down all the time.  He holds the ball for too long.  He takes too many sacks and far too many hits.  It caught up to him against the Jets in week six when he suffered a concussion.

It was imperative for Edwards in his year third season to take a leap towards proving his worth as a franchise quarterback. Instead, he’s regressed to the point of flirting with the same ineptness that eventually sent his predecessor J.P. Losman packing.

Ryan Fitpatrick is little more than an adequate backup.  The Bills won twice with him behind center, but don’t fool yourself;  the wins were based more on the defense producing big plays than him being any better than Edwards.

At this rate, finding a quarterback next season via free agency, trade or the draft will be the Bills’ top priority once the season ends in January.

RUNNING BACK (Grade: C-)

There’s few tandems in the league more talented than the combo of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  Unfortunately it hasn’t translated to much success on the field.

Jackson leads the Bills with 445 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry, but 291 of them came in the first three weeks while Lynch served a three-game suspension.  Since Lynch returned, the Bills haven’t found a way to keep Jackson effective offensively.  Still, his early success and added value returning kicks has made him a candidate alongside Jairus Byrd as the team’s most valuable player.

Lynch has quietly evolved into a major disappointment.  He only has one touchdown on 70 carries and is averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per touch. His longest carry has went for just 14 yards and he’s on pace for  434 rushing yards this year

His performance on a  second half drive against Houston yesterday has been indicative of his play season.  He had a weak four yard run, followed by a holding penalty and  a dropped pass on third down that would’ve easily went for a first.

Of course, to be effective on the ground you need to have the threat of a passing game and good run blocking, and the Bills have had neither.

Jauron has the arduous task of  finding a way to get the running game going while keeping both backs involved and happy.

WIDE RECEIVER (Grade: D)

Terrell Owens told the fans of Buffalo upon his arrival to get their popcorn ready.  Since T.O is so enamored with popcorn, perhaps someone should’ve advised him to lay off the buttered flavor. Butter fingers has dropped pass after pass, and that’s when he’s involved in the passing game at all.

Owens has 23 catches for 281 yards at the halfway point of the season.  That’s typically numbers he’d put up at the quarter-point mark. He hasn’t been able to get on the same page with Edwards or Fitpatrick and when they do get him the ball it’s ended up on the carpet far too often.  With the exception of two big plays; the 43-yard bomb against Tampa and the 29-yard he’s been primarily irrelevant.

It’s not just his fault.  The staff has done a horrible job overall in finding creative ways to get him involved even when teams are keying on him.  Owens has hinted countless times in recent press conferences that previous coordinators moved him around more and lined him all over the place to get him in favorable match ups.  Apparently that doesn’t fly in Jauron’s Pop Warner style of coaching.

Lee Evans hasn’t been much better.  He’s on pace for all of 46 catches and 662 yards, not exactly bang for the buck when considering his $9.0 million-plus average salary.  There’s been games when you hardly notice he’s on the field, and that’s not acceptable for a number one receiver.

Again, it’s a manifestation of the coaching staff failing at  finding ways to better utilize him.

A wide out is also only as good as the person throwing them the ball.  Edwards and Fitpatrick have equally missed opportunities with the pair and an end doesn’t appear to be in sight.

Josh Reed became an afterthought when Owens arrived, but he’s put together a decent half-season. He’s caught 17 balls and many of them have been for important first downs.

Steve Johnson and Roscoe Parrish have been useless at wide receiver, and James Hardy has yet to come off the PUP list.  The way things are going in the passing game, he won’t make a difference.

TIGHT END (Grade: D)

Derek Schouman was off to a great start in catching nine passes for 103 yards.  But he tore his knee in the second game and is done for the season.

Shawn Nelson showed early promise with six catches including a touchdown, but has missed the past two weeks with migraine problems.

Derek Fine and Jonathan Stupar have combined to basically be non existent..  Without Schouman and Nelson on the field, the Bills tight ends produce no fear in the passing game.  They’re not exactly world beaters at run blocking either.

OFFENSIVE LINE (Grade: Colossal Fail)

It’s no secret the Bills’ offensive line is in complete shambles.  They can’t run block and they’re not very good at protecting the quarterback either.  They commit too many penalties and make far too many mistakes.

It’s hardly their fault. Dick Jauron and the front office made one horrible decision after another in regards to personnel since the day last season ended, particularly at tackle.  They traded a Pro Bowl tackle (Jason Peters) and didn’t replace him with a free agent or rookie in the draft.

They moved Langston Walker from the right to the left side, and then cut him just a week before the season started.  They replaced him by bringing back a woeful Kirk Chambers, who the team had cut three days earlier.

They handed a starting job to Demetrius Bell, who may have long term potential but isn’t close to being NFL starting caliber at the present time.

Of at the injuries the ravaged ridden Bills have suffered, none has proven more eminent than when Brad Butler went down.  Instead of finding a veteran to replace him, the Bills simply plucked Jamon Meredith from the Packers practice squad and opted to rely on a very unreliable Jonathan Scott.

It backfired. Scott injured his ankle and Meredith struggled before suffering an injury (knee) of his own Sunday.  Even when they’re healthy neither should be starting, nor should Bell.

Buffalo decided to draft a pair of guards early in the draft in Eric Wood and Andy Levitre, then handed them starting jobs in July.  Both have had the typical up-and-down seasons you’d expect from a first year starter.  Of the two, Levitre looks a little more seasoned right now.

At best, Geoff Hangartner is a slightly better version of Melvin Fowler and Duke Preston. At worst, he’s a slightly better version of Melvin Fowler and Duke Preston.  He is what he is.

The effort has been there, the results have not.  This unit may someday blossom into a successful group.  For now, we’ll label them as severely overmatched.

DEFENSIVE LINE (Grade: C+)

Assuming the groin injury suffered Sunday by Aaron Schobel doesn’t linger long term, you can call his first half performance this season one of the team’s biggest bright spots.  Schobel is half way to a double digit sack total and had a big interception return for a touchdown against New England.  He’s also forced a fumble.

Chris Kelsay’s play has been dramatically improved from a year ago.  He has three sacks and has been a consistent disruption in the backfield.

Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams have been above average at the tackle position.  Stroud has 2.5 sacks and batted down a number of passes.  Williams is a high-effort guy and has made his share of plays.

What prevents them from scoring a higher grade is their weakness in stopping the run.  Teams have shredded Buffalo in the running game all season and a lot of those yards have come right up the middle.  Opponents have averaged over five yards per rush on the defense, and at times they’ve had holes bigger than the Grand Canyon to run through.

First round pick Aaron Maybin has been a complete non factor .  Expect his snap count to increase in the second half as the team attempts to gage what kind of player he’ll turn out to be.  Let’s put it the way..  He’s looked a lot more like Erik Flowers than Bruce Smith thus far.

Spencer Johnson has been useful,, while John McCargo has been the polar opposite.  Chris Ellis has barely seen the field.

LINEBACKER (Grade: C)

Losing their best blitzing linebacker in Kawika Mitchell for the season hurt.  But the Bills linebackers weren’t a model for big plays even when he was in the lineup.  Buffalo has gotten a steady stream of workmanlike efforts from the unit, but its rarely resulted in game changing plays.

Paul Posluszny broke his foreman (again) in the opener and missed the next month before returning against the Jets in week six.  He’s forced a fumble, had an interception and has generally improved each week. He won’t be mistaken for Brian Urlacher anytime soon.  He still has a habit of over pursuing the run and is below average in pass coverage, but he’s rounding into a solid quarterback for the defense.

The injuries to Mitchell and Posluszny forced the team into a potpourri of linebackers seeing time in their place, including Marcus Buggs, Ashlee Palmer, Nic Harris and Chris Draft. Draft has turned out to be a good pickup. Harris and Palmer both have talent but are still extremely raw.

Keith Ellison is near the top of the league’s leader board in tackles  (68 according to the team’s official site).  As is the norm with this team, he left the game Sunday with a quad injury.  I never thought I’d say this, but if he’s out for a long period of time he’ll be missed.  Ellison has exceeded most people’s extremely modest expectations.

Overall the Bills have gotten steady but unspectacular play from their linebackers.  There’s certainly bigger problems to worry about.

SECONDARY (Grade: A+)

If there’s one thing about this team I consider remarkable, it’s how well the secondary has played despite the rash of injuries to their starters.   Leodis McKelvin (leg) was lost for the season just three weeks in.  Donte Whitner (thumb, ankle) and Bryan Scott (ankle) have missed more time than they’ve played. That’s three fourths of the starting unit that has seen little time together on the field.

Yet the secondary has far and away been the biggest strength of the team.  Buffalo has picked off 15 passes this season, and the secondary has accounted for 13 of them.

Jairus Byrd isn’t just the clear cut choice for first half team MVP, he’s rapidly emerging as a defensive Player of the Year candidate.  He has seven interceptions on the season already, and they’ve all come in the past four weeks.  He’s picked of two passes in each of the last three games;  a feat only previously done twice in league history and not since 1960.

George Wilson has done an admirable job filling in.  He has two interceptions in the past three weeks.

One of the more under the radar performances this season has been the steady play of cornerback Drayton Florence.  Stepping in as the starter after McKelvin went down, Florence has mostly blanketed opposing receivers.  He’s also the most physical defensive back on the team.

Terrence McGee has been his typical reliable self on the other side.  Reggie Corner is progressing in his nickel spot role just fine.

Without question, the play of Byrd specifically and the secondary in general has been the lone shining star on a mostly cloudy half -season.

SPECIAL TEAMS (Grade: D+)

While the unit overall hasn’t been THAT bad, a higher standard is put on a team that’s dominated special teams regularly in recent years.

That hasn’t been the case in 2009.  In fact, the special teams have directly been heavily involved in two Bills’ losses.  McKelvin had a crucial fumble on a kick return against New England, and Parrish botched a punt that proved costly versus Cleveland.

Yellow flags have also been an issue.  After six weeks the Bills led the league in special team’s penalties.

Brian Moorman saves the unit from a failing grade.  He’s averaged 46.7 yards per punt and has put seven inside the 20.  Toss in a touchdown pass on a fake field goal and Moorman has had a great season.

Rian Lindell had made 13 of his 15 field goal attempts and the two misses have both from at least 45 yards.

Still, overall the special teams has been far below the team’s lofty standards.

COACHING (Grade: EPIC FAIL)

We’re well past our allotted word count, and it would take a post longer than the “War and Peace” novel to navigate through all the coaching staff and organizational blunders. It’s ad nauseam discussing Jauron.

The cliff notes version is Jauron and his staff indirectly threw in the towel on the 2009 season before it  began.  By trading your left tackle and handing the job to a 2008 seventh rounder with zero playing experience, by drafting and starting two rookies guards from day one of training camp, by cutting your veteran right tackle one week before the season began, and by firing your offensive coordinator just 10 days  prior to opening kickoff, the Bills were bringing a knife to a gun fight before they took the field.

Jauron’s vanilla brand of coaching is matched only by his emotionless weekly press comments, and the disdain felt by most fans supporting the team.  His approval rating in the weekly ESPN.com poll bottomed out at three percent.  Fans erected a billboard calling for Ralph Wilson to send him packing.

The Bills have lost eight of their last nine home games, and that’s a direct reflection on the pitiful job Jauron does in getting this team ready to play.  It’s a direct reflection on his predictably scared game day coaching strategies.

But mostly it’s a direct reflection on his lack of assessing talent,—and a failure, epically, at appropriately managing and taking advantage of what he does have in uniform.

Jauron has become a dirty diaper, and he needs to be changed.