ThereIsNoDog

I think the point about being good at a smaller number of plays rather than okay-to-bad at a larger number is the key here. And I don't recall Fairchild's offense, which was based on Martz' offense, being "simple," but it was predictable.

I hope not.

I wasn't asking you if the offense was bad; I was telling you it's been bad for the 3 years that Peters has been starting on it, and prior to that. As for being the best O-lineman last year, that's highly debatable, and most would say "no he wasn't." I think the assessment of him being a good run blocker and an average pass protector is probably the best description of him, but for $10M/year, you want your LT to be a complete player. As for the Bills having a plan to replace Peters, the plan was to put Walker at LT and to continue to develop Bell. The only other viable option was to draft a LT. Would a rookie LT have been better? Should the Bills have said "well, we have no better options, and even though he screwed us over last year, we should pay Peters $10M/year and keep him?" We'll get to see if the Bills made a mistake by what happens this season.

True, that was a surprise.

No major surprises, outside of Chambers. I had a feeling Kelsay would be kept over Bryan, although I didn't agree with it. And I was hoping they'd find a way to keep Derrick Jones. I also didn't see Stupar making it, but he can go on the PS. Bowen was a longshot after his injury.

Who was that RB the Bills kept years ago that played well in pre-season, but never played for another team again? Gray or something?

The only other realistic choices were Studesville, Tolbert, Coiner, and Kugler. But from what I gather, the QB coach has to know the offense almost as well as the OC. And Van Pelt has stated that he wants to be an OC and someday a HC.

Runyan received clearance to play almost 2 weeks ago. Yet he still remains unsigned.

If Runyan were worth anything, he'd have been signed by now.

The unit as a whole, at present, is no worse than it was last year. But as you noted, the rookies will improve with time, and I expect Bell to start at LT when he's healthy, probably after the bye week, which will move Walker back to RT. Butler could also improve at RT. And TO's presence helps a lot.

Yep, just like JC forgot to mention that the interior of the OL is much-improved this year.

So you're saying the offense has been bad for years, before Peters or Walker played on it, right?

So I guess we can say that he DOES have a "lightning first step."

Maybe that's why it took so long to realy the plays to Trent during games.

I don't expect any different from the offense than I did before. If anything, something new versus the same-old same-old crap has me feeling more optimistic. But it could just as easily be the same-old same-old, or worse. I guess we'll find out.

"Put the fu#$ing OC in the basket!"

I don't think I need to say anything further on this subject.

LOL! The offense stunk all season long. The Bills scored a total of 6 points in 3 of the last 5 games of the season, exploding twice for 27 points against the Jets and 30 against the Broncos', who both had scoring defenses in the bottom half of the league. Because Schonert was a good OC who was held back by everyone else?

The Bills had Peters at LT and Walker at RT last year, and the offense still sucked. Good point. And Schonert got fired not because of Ralph (well, he wasn't the one who out-of-the-blue decided to fire Schonert, but he ultimately made the decision), but because the players couldn't stand him. Evans had a meeting with the other coaches (outside of Schonert) to express his unhappiness and Trent has called Schonert out on many occasions. Nice try injecting a Ralph rant here.

Just think, Nate would be the Bills' struggling $9M/year man, if only Ralph weren't so cheap as to not pay him.

Jerry needs 21 other owners to vote with him and get rid of revenue sharing. Good luck with that one!

Schonert's offense was crap. How often would Trent or JP get the play-call in with just seconds before the play clock expired? How often were his schemes deciphered and well-defensed? Maybe it WAS too complicated, especially for Schonert (so you can imagine how it was for the players). Get back to basics. The Patriots won a SB with a simplified offense for Brady in 2001 (among other things ).

Another .

Don't get all hot and bothered. The Lions will snatch him up on waivers.

Yep. And Marv wasn't friends with Dick. IIRC, they never met before he interviewed him. Still, Marv could have found a better HC. Right? And this move smacks of Ralph's doing, not Jauron, who is loyal to his assistants to a fault. And from the tone of players the past few weeks, I don't think any of them liked Turk and/or his scheme. Let's hope AVP is better.