Coach55

Agree - I just thought it was interesting commentary, however didn't feel it warranted a new topic.

Excellent Vick Commentary http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/20/mar...vick/index.html

You have to love blogs. It only takes a controversial subject and people are ready to throw down. We are all Bills fans here and are each entitled to your own opinion. If you are not a Bills fan, then you are entitled to nothing and can go root for a team that won't win Super Bowl 49.

I think Rae Carruth is available.

Throw in the fact he hasn't been in the league for 2 years, his ability would have clearly deteriorated even more.

Some Vick Career Passing Stats to chew on... W/L record - 38-28-1 - very respectable Cmp % - 53.8% - would have ranked 31st last year out of 33 QBs. Rating - 75.7 - 28th last year TD% - 4.1% - 12th last year INT% - 3% - 26th last year YPA - 6.7 - 22nd last year Sack% - 9.8 - 33rd last year If it wasn't for his running ability, he wouldn't be a starting NFL QB. He just isn't good enough.

There have been all of these postings and articles on the Bills pursuing Vick. Let's get down to brass tacs - Yes or No? I personally feel absolutely not. People constantly compare him to T.O. with respect to Public Relations. I feel that this is not valid. T.O. both off the field and on the field is stellar and HOF material. He is boisterous and obnoxious and gets on people's nerves, but he plays to win and is generally a star who, due to his high profile status, has everything blown out of proportion (both positive and negative). Love him or hate him you have to respect him. Vick on the other hand has been historically overrated. He is a great runner yes, but his QB skills are a serious question mark. In addition, he is a felon (who I admit served his time) that has been out of the game for 2 years and would be a political nightmare to bring in. Do you really want PETA protestors at the Ralph? Bottom line - he is controversial for all of the wrong reasons.

This blog states that Pisa is asking for "starter" money and that New Orleans currently is deep at the position. His asking price is too high for New Orleans, not necessarily the Bills (as he would be a starter)

Hear, hear

Here's the interesting thing about the running game - If the Bills open it up and throw more often and hopefully score points and win games by decisive margins (10+), our running game should flourish dramatically between 4th quarter mop up time and an increased ypc during the rest of the game due to the wide open offense. Take a look at the "wide open" K-gun offense the Bills ran in the early 90's - known for throwing deep and quick strikes, however in the 4 super bowl years they were 7, 1, 1, 8 in rushing yards...

One interesting note, "Mobile" quarterbacks seem to have a higher sack percentage than pocket passers (not all, but a lot)... mmm.. Cunningham - 166/178 - 10.14% Vick - 161/178 - 9.87% Culpepper - 133/178 - 8.54% Harbaugh - 131/178 - 8.44% Steve Young - 116/178 - 7.94%

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/lead...perc_career.htm Notable Bills who qualify Rob Johnson 178 out of 178 - 14.8% sack percentage JP Losman 163/178 - 9.87% Reich 80/178 - 6.8% Bledsoe 70/178 - 6.5% Ferguson 67/178 - 6.46% Kelly 63/178 - 6.33% Flutie 16/178 - 4.74%

If Fred Jackson goes off in the first 3 games (350+ yds), it is quite possible that we could have 2 thousand yard backs this year. Not likely but possible. If Lynch averages 77 ypg (vs. 69 in 08) and Jackson averages 50 yds (vs 36 in 08), they are there. If Jackson goes off and the addition of TO, theoretically the run game should improve (excluding the Rhodes factor) and they can get there.

Week 1 Mon, Sep 14 @ New England Patriots* - WIN Week 2 Sun, Sep 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - WIN Week 3 Sun, Sep 27 New Orleans Saints - WIN Week 4 Sun, Oct 04 @ Miami Dolphins - LOSS Week 5 Sun, Oct 11 Cleveland Browns - WIN Week 6 Sun, Oct 18 @ New York Jets - WIN Week 7 Sun, Oct 25 @ Carolina Panthers - LOSS Week 8 Sun, Nov 01 Houston Texans - WIN Week 9 Sun, Nov 08 BYE Week 10 Sun, Nov 15 @ Tennessee Titans - WIN Week 11 Sun, Nov 22 @ Jacksonville Jaguars - WIN Week 12 Sun, Nov 29 Miami Dolphins - WIN Week 13 Thu, Dec 03 New York Jets (Toronto) - WIN Week 14 Sun, Dec 13 @ Kansas City Chiefs - WIN Week 15 Sun, Dec 20 New England Patriots* - WIN Week 16 Sun, Dec 27 @ Atlanta Falcons - WIN Week 17 Sun, Jan 03 Indianapolis Colts - WIN 14-2

We can agree to disagree on this one.

This statistic is not causal. This is a great misnomer in the NFL. Assume the following - in the first half Team A (a power running team - say PIT) and Team B (a wide open offense - say NE). Lets say PIT runs 25 plays of which 15 are runs and NE runs 25 plays 15 of which are passes. They go into the half with NE leading by 14. In the 3rd quarter PIT and NE hold their gameplans and the lead stays the same. PIT running 13 plays (8 runs) and NE running 13 plays (5 runs). In the 4th quarter, PIT trying to claw back runs 12 plays (11 passes) and NE runs 12 plays (11 runs). In the end PIT has run the ball 24 times (48% runs) vs NE's 26 times (52% runs). Now NE has run the ball more and has more attempts, but this stat is a result of their winning not the cause of it. I am not stating that this is how it always plays out, but if you examine those statistics and take out the run only/pass only downs at the end of games, you will get a much different outlook on run/pass ideal ratio.

I completely disagree. Running and stopping the run is old school football mentality and although correlates to wins it does not produce wins (Stats get skewed at the ends of games when a team goes to run only mode in the 4th quarter after the game is in hand). Ultimately you would like a 50/50 pass/run mix, but in reality it should be more 65/35 with the evening coming out at the end. The stats in order of importance are 1. Turnover differential 2. % of negative plays (offense) 3. 3rd down % (both offense and defense) 4. Average drive start 5. Completion % (offense) 6. Yards against per play (defense) 7. Yards per play (offense) The problem is that these are typical stats that typical fans would look at. However, if you were looking at this from a pure statistician point of view, it would be looked at from a more granular perspective examining types of plays in various situations (i.e. how different runs perform in 2nd and 5 yds or less) or looking at individual performances (such as the stats KC Joyner has recently discussed in other posts).

That's right. They are going 14-2

I think one should take great heed in what that stats say. But they should be used as a tool as opposed to in baseball, where it has become entirely statistical. Certain items, such as how often you should throw vs. pass on 1st down is valid. However, if a team were to always throw on first down because statistics tell you, the opposing team with ultimately negate it since they will play the appropriate defense. Stats in football could be very dangerous. A team could learn how to exploit weaknesses in the opposing team when analyzing performance metrics. But it still comes down to who shows up that day and whether the players perform.

He was truly a "drive-stopper". Without Royal, I wonder if our record would have improved. He always had inopportune mistakes.

I can't argue #1, as for #2, the Bills fan base is a lot larger than people think. There are millions of people like myself who have moved away from Buffalo who remain diehard fans. Many of my friends from high school who weren't fans when they lived in Buffalo, now after they have moved away have become die hard fans. Its the bond that ties us together. Anywhere you go in the country, you can find a Buffalo Bills bar (I've been to many). You can't say that about almost every other team. For #3, winning the SB won't prevent a move 4. I disagree. The Cowboys were "America's Team".

1960 AFL Rundown - Conspiracy Potential Patriots - Have 3 recent Super Bowls - Super Bowl Favorite - not likely Oilers - Moved to Tennessee - good team - not likely Miami - 2 SB wins, 25th anniversary of undefeated season - likely Jets - 1 SB win - 1st AFL team to win SB - likely Bengals - 0 SB win - they suck. - not likely Chiefs - originally in Dallas - 1st AFL representative in SB - somewhat likely, but team sucks Denver - 2 Super Bowl Wins, rebuilding year - not likely San Diego - originally in LA - not likely Oakland - 2 SB wins - not good right now - not likely Bills - 4 SB losses - likely So you can expect 1 of the 3 likely teams to win the super bowl this year...

My father, along with many other football fans, are convinced that the refs call the games one sided in order for certain teams to win. A holding call here, an offensive pass interference penalty there, a "missed" block in the back non-call. The calls appear to be somewhat even, but some teams always have the crucial calls go there way at the right time. Perfect example is the Pittsburgh Steelers, more so in the Super Bowl with Seattle as opposed to Arizona, but arguably both games were officiated for Pittsburgh to win (I personally don't agree, but I digress)... So here is the thoughts - IF it is true that the refs fix games to help the NFL generate better profits, create better stories, legends, etc., one would have to think of the following: 1. The AFL and the Bills are celebrating their 50th Anniversary 2. Ralph Wilson is 90 years old and doesn't have many years left on this earth. 3. Ralph was a founding father of the AFL, instramental in its existence and merger including the $400K loan and Lamonica gift to the Raiders. 4. The Bills have yet to win a Super Bowl 5. If Wilson dies, the team may move to Toronto. 6. Terrell Owens, who hasn't won a Super Bowl, has come to Buffalo (Although controversial, generates a lot of Jersey sales for the league) 7. The Bills, on paper, are a playoff caliber team and thensome. Thinking about all of the above, the NFL may "help" the Bills win this Super Bowl as all the stars would align for a legendary story. It would be Ralph's swan song. Thoughts?

You clearly have no clue as offensive linemen are not called for off-sides - that's typically a defensive penalty (although can be offense, though extremely rare). It's false starts that you are thinking of. Take your negativity elsewhere.

A textbook "Lookout" Block.