thewildrabbit

Forcing a limited backup QB to constantly try and win games wasn't a very smart idea. A good defense will cause more 3 downs and out for opponents, and give your offense more chances with the ball. A stout running game will not only help the offense control the clock and keep the opposing offense off the field. It also tires that opposing defense and makes it easier for your offense to move the ball in the 4th QTR

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I look at Fitz and see a backup QB with a limited arm, I think most people do also. I think we agree that when Chan Gailey looked at Fitz, and he saw another Tom Brady, and then went about making him the focal point of his offense. While Gailey was very smart in utilizing Fitz in his "spread offense", as his ability to get the ball out to the open receiver in usually under 3 seconds will give opposing defenses fits. (quick / short passes, Is a key component to successfully running the spread) The problem was with Gailey, and his 4-5 WR shotgun sets, was that he only had one decent 7th round WR on the field while running those plays. Kinda why now, with a better HC all those other WR's besides SJ are now gone. So, those 4-5 WR sets didn't really fool opposing defenses (like the Patriots offensive schemes did) into really worrying about covering anyone not named Stevie Johnson. See, Tom Brady not only had Wes Welker as his possession WR. He had one of the very best TE's tandems in Gronk / Hernandez. He also had SB MVP Dion Branch, and all pro Brandon Loyd at WR, RB Danny Woodhead as his 3rd down back. Then you had the legend at QB, Brady himself, who has no limitations on his arm. So the NE Patriots didn't need smoke and mirrors to try and fool opposing defenses, as they were the real deal. I think what most fans see is... that Instead of Fitz and the passing game being the focal point of Gaileys offense, it should have been the two RB's in Spiller and Jackson. Utilizing arguably the very best RB tandem in the NFL should have been far more productive then a one dimensional QB as the focal point of the offense. Just my opinion.

If you go back to 2010, and read what SI's Peter King had written about the Gailey hire... "And the list of guys who turned down the chance to even talk about the job ... it's so long that the only conclusion you can logically draw is the Bills are turning into the Raiders. No coach wants the job. So the team has to find a guy who wouldn't be a candidate elsewhere -- and Gailey, after clashing with Todd Haley in Kansas City last year, had nowhere to go." ....and then kinda get the idea of exactly why Gailey stuck with Fitz for 3 years. "Last point: I can guarantee you one of the things that the Bills loved was Gailey's attitude about how you can win without stars in the NFL. In fact, that's the kind of team he prefers. More than once in his career, he's told coaches he worked with: "You can win the World Series without Babe Ruth.'' In Buffalo, he's going to get that chance." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/01/19/mailbag/index.html SB, as for some of Gaileys staunch defenders here. Some people have their minds made up, and no matter how articulate your argument is. You can lead a horse to water, show them the water, splash around in it, and yet....

Some Bills fans amaze me with their thinking.... So, the feature back that the Bills OC stated before the season started would get the ball until he threw up is being keyed on by opposing teams by stacking the box to stop him. Now because two teams were pretty successful in shutting down Spiller the Bills should bench arguably their best offensive player? What about # one WR Stevie Johnson with one catch for -1 yard last game. Should the Bills bench him also? Could it be that teams might be thinking if we stop the feature back it will force the rookie to throw and make that team one dimensional. Their thinking, thus putting our team in a better position for the defense to pin their ears back and disrupt that rookie QB. Maybe he throws a bunch of INT's, or we get a ton of sacks. Never mind the fact that the guy who replaced the best O lineman from last year is stinking it up big time. How bad is he? LG Colin Brown through the first three games has a (-26.0) grade for the year, worst on the team. CB Justin "toast" Rodgers allowed 75% of the Jets passing game and two TD's and Colin Brown was worse!! yea, that's right, a negative 26.0 This last game against the Ravens he still stunk it up, only not so bad with only a (-1.7) grade. The Bills have nobody on their roster to replace Brown so they can't bench him, so he stays and hopefully starts playing better. Also, this last game the Bills OC finally decided to build a dedicated running attack and had multiple TE's in to block along with a fullback. It worked as the Bills had over 200 yards rushing against that Ravens defense. Still, the Bills went with Spiller five times when one or two yards needed and failed to get those first downs. They should just bench him, right? Hrmmm, what to do...what to do?

Me also. I gotta think he might just play better with Tenn because he won't be forced to shoulder the offense, and his new team should have a better defense then Gailey / Wannstooge fielded. Man, what a difference coaching makes. Gotta love the Bills new DC Mike Pettine & Kiko Browns 2-2 Bengals 2-2 Dolphins 3-1 Saints 4-0 Chiefs 4-0 Steelers 0-4 Jets 2-2 Falcons 1-3 Bucs 0-4 rookie QB Gennon starting Jags 0-4 Dolphins 3-1 Patriots 4-0 Doesn't look like the playoffs to me. But then, that defense is getting McKelvin, Byrd, Gilmore back...holy cow!! Yea, how could you not love a QB with so much grit that it rubbed off on the players around him. Even SJ played hurt when he saw what Fitz was going thru. If only Gailey had utilized him as a game manager instead of forcing him to carry the team. 3rd down and short, 5 wides with an empty backfield. It will be interesting to see how he plays in a different offense, and under a different HC / OC. I almost wonder if it will be as extreme a difference as between Wannstache vs Pettine

Ok you lured me back with that line. How on gods green earth do you equate the DC being responsible for Mr butt fumble Mark Sanchez? The Jets defense was #8 in yards allowed last year, the offense was 30th They went 6-10 because somewhere along the lines Big Mouth Rex forgot what got him to the AFC Championship game, and that was ground and pound with LT at RB. Not having Sanchez throwing 40 times a game who ended the year with 13 TD's, 18 INT's Like I mentioned above, Chan Gailey had a shot at OC with KC in 2008. His offense was 26th in points and 24th in yards while his QB Tyler Thigpen, put up some decent numbers, the team went 2-14. I might also mention that a lot of those decent numbers were in garbage time when the game was already lost. Sums it up nicely.

There was a reason Gailey was FIRED!! Oh yea, 16 games won out of 32=.333 and last in the AFC East every year!! Oh, but you want him for OC. His last stint as OC his KC team went 2-14...no thank you! Because even if EJ fails as being a good starting QB, at least they tried to develop a rookie. Gailey hitched his wagon to a bad QB and rode him into the ground. Who cares about 1600 yards if you don't win games!! Doug Marrone & Nathaniel Hackett are now 2-2. If Spiller finishes the year with 600 yards and the TEAM goes 8-8 it will be more successful then Gailey. I agreed before that Chan was good at getting good production out of average players. Its not about stats, get over the stats willya, its about winning games. As I think back on the 2010 season Gailey was lucky as heck Fitz was even on the roster!! If not I doubt the Bills win a game that year. Let's not forget that when QB coach David Lee was hired last season Fitz spoke about how nobody had ever worked with him on his footwork or mechanics before Lee. This tells me that Gailey did absolutely nothing to improve Fitzpatrick as a QB. Gailey failed to improve Trent Edwards, failed with Brian Brohm, failed with a rookie QB he drafted in Levi Brown, failed with Tavaris Jackson, failed with Vince Young, failed with Brad Smith as a QB, failed with Tyler Thigpen who he coached at KC in 2008. Jeez, one lone QB out of eight able play decently in his offense, and never won more then six games at that. You can polish a turd eight ways to Sunday, and in the end... it is still a turd! Dunno why you are so enamored with a bad HC, bad OC, but so be it. You can have the last word on this.

You bet! Now some of you know why I've been so critical of Jauron and his staff of clowns on offense for ruining two young QB's. So critical of Gailey early on, of Wannstooge. To me coaching is everything! Great to finally have a DC who knows what he is doing, and an OC who can change things up effectively. I have to wonder if Marrone helped Hackett with this weeks game plan against the Ravens, considering all the criticism and heat the young OC took for last week against the Jets. Colin Brown did play better this game, and even better then CB Justin "toast" Rodgers, but that's not saying much. My offensive MVP, C Eric Wood, Haloti who? Defensive MVP, Kiko. Looking like Doug Whaley knows his stuff. On another note which almost defies belief, 204 yards rushing for Buffalo, Baltimore with Ray Rice playing, 9 rushes for 24 yards? Joe Flacco throwing 50 passes in one game, along with 5 INT's....did the universe just split in two this Sunday? Did the Bills just beat up on last years super bowl winners?

Great stuff, thanks for posting!

this, or perhaps there was another problem that fans aren't aware of yet. The Browns trade their star RB, start the backup QB and start to win games. Cleveland just held the Bengals to 6 pts, and has the #6 defense in allowed yardage. I don't see them dumping any other players

You are correct, his own ineptitude counts towards his ineptitude. So, now Gailey was the GM and drafted all those players the last three years...good for him !! Yea I agree, Chan was very good at getting decent production out of some average players. But who cares about stats if he doesn't know how to win games!

Good to see most posts in here that the fans are not spewing the usual h8 towards ex-Bills players, shows class. The man has a tough next 3 games, Chiefs 4-0, Seahawks 4-0, and 49ers. I wish him well, and hope he plays well in those games.

Funny that his first choice for QB back in 2010 was Trent Edwards ...wasted an entire pre season on a player who he would cut after 2 regular season games. Yea, loyal to a fault. His biggest fault was sticking with a broken backup QB for three long years, a QB who should have never been the starter after the 2010 season. The man have many many serious faults. Lack of identifying talent at any position (RT Cornell Green, et al)but mostly at the QB position. Not utilizing his best players more often (RB's) over a broken QB. Failure to properly identify a decent defensive coordinator, and scheme. I'll never understand why Bills fans will devotedly defend a loser like Chan Gailey. Was Chan Gailey a good guy and a decent human being, you bet! Would I want him back in Buffalo in any coaching capacity, no way!! Did you actually read the tweets from the link you posted? Most are hilarious.... Chan Gailey received interest from teams. I know because 2 NFL executives asked me for his agent's contact info (Chan has an obscure agent). Jeff Ralabate ‏@Baterade218 Jan @ByTimGraham for what position? Details Timothy Carl ‏@timothycarl18 Jan @ByTimGraham I wish it would have worked with Chan. Seems like a great guy. Details NZ3 ‏@NickZelko18 Jan @ByTimGraham was one executive from the #jets? They need all the help they can get Details Jam Master Money ‏@j2thamoney18 Jan @ByTimGraham Chan Gailey's agent is really his cousin who has a desk and a phone in the middle of a swamp Details mark S. verbin ‏@docvarmint18 Jan @ByTimGraham Not to mention an obscure approach to coaching! Details ML ‏@MikeLib1918 Jan @bytimgraham who on earth would want an "obscure" agent when job-hunting? par for the course on his decision-making I guess. Details Jehrid Steger ‏@jsteg82918 Jan @ByTimGraham April fools!!!! Details JRTF ‏@spartanjonny18 Jan @ByTimGraham an obscure agent to go along with his obscure play calling on 3rd and 2. #Shotgun5Wide Details Rick Glaser ‏@RickGlaser118 Jan @ByTimGraham That Chan Gailey would get shown any interst in the #NFL is amazing. Chan should just retire, as what he is, yesterdays news. Details Reply Retweet Favorite More [*] Hyperfocus ‏@Hyperfocus18 Jan @ByTimGraham teams interested in Chan as OC?? Does this prove NFL is mostly an Old Boys network? Why don't they go to the college ranks?? Details

All three of those QB's are better then Fitz by a mile, and I highly doubt the Bills even draft EJ if they had any one of them on their roster. Most Bills fans always point the finger at the QB, and in your case its everybody else but the QB, right?

Ha, yeah. they were burning Flacco's Jersey in the parking lot. The guy who just took them to the SB and won it. Fans will be fans. 9 rushes for 24 yards vs 55 for 203... If you asked me before the game which team would have the better stats...

What the PFF stats don't state is that the Ravens, a traditional dominate run team got away from what made them so good the last few years. Letting QB Joe Flacco manage the game while pounding the ball and playing great defense. My take is they tried to take advantage of the Bills injuries in their secondary, and got burned for it. This week the Ravens OC forcing Joe Flacco into 50 passes vs 5 rushes for Ray Rice is so very Gailey-esque. 9 total rushes for the Ravens. To me It doesn't matter what EJ did in the game as he is a rookie and did enough to win. The Bills O line played much better this week and Eric Wood was dominate. Kiko gets my vote for MVP

Nathaniel Hackett is a rookie NFL OC, so its not very fair to compare Gailey vs Hackett after four games. Even so Gailey went 0-8 in 2010, and so far Hackett is 2-2 with a rookie QB. I'm so happy Gailey / Fitz are gone, and the Bills are finally grooming a rookie QB.

The point was the Bills didn't even attempt to look at someone for QB other then Fitz, which is beyond moronic!! What offers, from what teams and for what position? Have a link? Hey man, you were the one that stated Dalton is only average and the jury is still out on Kaepernick. Be nice if the Bills had a QB that took his team to back to back playoffs and yet was only average or one the jury was still out on that took his team to a super bowl

1) where did I state the Bills wouldn't have growing pains? 2) not anymore, Bills PF 88, PA 93 / Titans PF 98, PA 69 3) CJ's YPC avg didn't drop to 1/2 of what it was last season Re-read what i said in my last sentence, Where was I criticizing the Bills, and making excuses for the Titans? Where did I say Levitre is the reason the Titans are 2-1? If guards are so replaceable, then why did the Bills end up with one of the worst guards in the NFL Colin Brown (-26.0 grade on the year heading in) Also, the depth behind Brown isn't any better. Do I think the Buffalo Bills should have kept Andy Levitre, you bet! Would they be a better team right now as a result of keeping him, you bet! The Bills have a rookie QB, and my biggest concern is protecting that QB so he can develop properly.

You missed the point! Gailey stuck with a broken, backup QB that even most of the fans here knew would never lead a team to the SB, much less a winning record. Instead of at least trying to find a rookie he could groom. Probably because he didn't know his rear end from his elbow in determining what to look for in a QB. He had Fitz, Brohm, Edwards and chose & started Trent Edwards....another broken QB. Eventually cut Edwards and even kept Brohm on the roster when he wasn't even back up worthy. As for Andy Dalton being average....if Dalton is only average in your view, where does that leave Fitz? Wouldn't it be nice for the Bills to have a QB to lead a team to back to back playoff berths!! Imagine how good that Bills offense could have been If Gailey had even an ounce of smarts regarding players before they step on an NFL field. http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/83459/bengals-andy-dalton-tops-among-peer-qbs QB Colin Kaepernick has not only made the playoffs, but already been to a Super Bowl, and nearly won it. Chan Gailey was a moron who knew how to get some good stats from a bum of a QB. Like I said, be grateful he is no longer with Buffalo.

How soon you guys forget... Chan Gailey hitched his wagon to Trent Edwards in 2010 after proclaiming in the off season that Brian Brohm(complete bum), Ryan Fitzpatrick (weak arm & inaccurate),Trent Edwards(Captain check-down) were all of about equal ability. Then Gailey named Edwards the starter in the 2010 pre season, and gave him all the first string reps. This IMO was the main reason as to why the Bills started that season 0-8 after Gailey cut Edwards 3 weeks into the season. Fitz was literally running for his life those first 5 games. Cornell Green ring any bells? Then QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was named the starter, Fitz who was already on the roster from the Dick Jauron era and who was named starter the previous year by Perry Fewell after he benched Edwards in 2009. Fitz started 8 games and went 4-4 under Fewell. So it seems DC Perry Fewell was smarter then Gailey in which QB to start. Gailey was so enamored with Fitz that he built his offense around him thinking he had another Tom Brady, and lauded him so much that the Bills gave Fitz an extension ..."The extension is valued at $59 million over six years, including $24 million in guaranteed money, team and league sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen." http://espn.go.com/n...es-new-contract Gailey had an opportunity to draft Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick in 2011, Draft Russell Wilson in 2012 or even talk to in Peyton Manning in free agency. Instead Gailey stuck with Fitz for another 6-10 season 2010 offense 28th points- 25th in yards, 4-12 2011 offense 14th points-14th yards, 6-10 2012 offense 21 points- 19th yards, 6-10 Chan Gailey built a spread offense around a broken, back up QB, and failed to win many games because his offenses couldn't control the clock. Be grateful he is no longer in Buffalo. Gailey doesn't know anything DC's or defense, doesn't know about WR's because besides SJ his WR stunk and was replaced asap by Marrone. 4-5 WR sets with one decent WR. Doug Marrone, and his staff has already done better then Gailey his first four games. Plus, he is grooming a rookie QB. Something the supposed QB guru Chan Gailey failed to even try and do.

Just imagine how good they can play when they get McKelvin, Byrd, Gilmore in the lineup

underthrown....77 yard TD pass by Fitz

The lack of a strong run game stands out to me as their primary problem. But yea, they have a load of troubles to fix before they draft another QB

Flacco, 5 INT's