PDaDdy

Yet more evidence of our sadly diminished expectations. So much so that we defend and make excuses for mediocre to bad performance.

Incredibly short sighted but if we don't take into consideration missed opportunities for points and field position then I get your point. I guess I'm not as enthusiastic about what should be a run of the mill reception. Personally I hold the players to a higher standard and want to see TDs when we have the opportunity not just breath a sigh of relief when we actually complete a pass over 10 yards in the air. How low our expectations have truly sunk *sigh*

Pretty well stated I feel. I know that is personally my issue with him. No progress and we can't use the, "He's young and hasn't played much!" and "He'll only get better!" excuses anymore. We've basically seen enough in all likelihood to know what Trent is going to be for the rest of his career.

Let's just assume we have all played sports and been coached pal. I do know this. You can't blame a coach for not being able to polish a turd into a diamond. GOOD players take it upon themselves to improve their game. It's called internal motivation. I suppose in your past sports experience you sat back and waited for the coach to "get the best out of you." Personally I took it upon myself to become a better player. We're speaking to different sides of the same issue. We are arguing "degrees" if you will. You think coaches make the player. I think that players make themselves. IMO coaches are there to "guide" you and help get the best out of you not to MAKE you! If you don't have what it takes no amount of coaching is going to fix that.!!!! Big difference.

Thanks for being able to put things in a historical perspective. People seem to lose site of exactly what you just stated.

Some people can't get a grip on that and realize that maybe Edwards just wasn't starting NFL caliber and no mount of coaching was going to change that. Instead considering that their EXPERT initial assessment of Edwards was wrong they would rather say it is 1000% the coaching staffs fault for ruining the next Joe Montana. Same thing with the Peters situation. Some thought Peters was a bum and Langston Walker/Kirk Chambers could do just as good a job. WRONG!!! When Langston turned out to be COMPLETELY over matched for the job they blamed him for not trying hard enough instead of considering the possibility that they were wrong about how easy it was to replace Peters. How is Kirk Chambers doing for us filling in for Peters...oh ....ya.....riiiiiiight. Same old same old.

I guess we differ in our opinions. I look at the individual as being able to define themselves and their destiny as opposed to the organization doing that for them. I still contend that a competent QB could come in here and do a better job. A QB play off caliber, super bowl caliber QB is accountable to themselves first and foremost. They don't make excuses about having less than ideal surroundings.

Those were indeed a couple fine pick 6's he threw. He must work on that a lot in practice. If you want continued mediocrity draft a QB in the 3 - 5 round. If you want a shot at a play off or superbowl caliber QB, you better be drafting in the upper half of the first round. YES, of course there are exceptions but if you want a guy that is likely going to pan out you better draft him early. Early is your only shot at POTENTIALLY getting Brains and a Big Arm. If your lucky you also get balls and hopefully that "IT" factor. *SPECIAL NOTE - In the history of the AFL and NFL there has been exactly ONE repeat ONE Tom Brady. Please don't waste my time telling me you can draft a good QB in the 6th round. It has happened once in recorded history and it is not a good strategy for success. If you want to improve your young early first round pick QB's chances for success: 1) An offensive line that is AT LEAST above average 2) An offensive line that can open holes for it's RBs so they don't get hit in the backfield every 3rd play or dance 3) An offensive line that can convert 3 and 1 even when the defense knows you are going to run it. (See 1) 4) An offensive line that is able to pass protect and reliably give it's QB 3 seconds, or more, to throw. 5) A defense that, when rested, can generally keep opponents under 3 TDs most weeks. Since we keep letting our talent go and we refuse to pay them we aren't in good shape to provide those additional things that help to make a young/rookie QB successful.

A completion is a completion but doesn't the verbiage of that statement contradict it being a good throw? If a pass is not on time....uh....and uh.....it doesn't give the WR time to make a play to the pilon.....that it's not a good throw.

What I see is that we have had a slew of QBs in Buffalo since Jim Kelly that haven't been NFL starting caliber. That is the common thread not that we somehow destroy them regardless of who the coaches are!!! We draft crappy QBs and every few years we bring in a high priced free agent that also sucks. I don't attribute that to the various coaching staffs we have fielded. I attribute it to those things that have remained constant in the front office and ownership who are responsible for the substandard quality QBs we have drafted and brought in as free agents. There are SEVERAL QBs who could do better than Trent with our current situation. Roethlisberger is one of them. Aaron Rogers is obviously another as his line is actually WORSE than ours and he has the sacks to prove it. Due to a number of factors which have already been discussed at length our line IS a shambles. Could Trent be better with a better line? Of course. Could Marshawn be a better RB with a better line? ABSOLUTELY! We cut off our nose to spite our face and we were left with backup and practice squad quality guys trying to fill starting roles.

Ah yes. The Trent Edwards supporters weren't wrong about Trent being the QB of the future. It' the coaching staff's fault he isn't a star!!! Roethlisberger would have still been a good QB even if he was drafted by the Bills. In addition to the "escapeability" that his size affords him, Roethlisberger has the 3 "B"s you want in a QB: Brains Balls Big Arm Those things alone would have afforded Ben considerably more success in Buffalo than Trent. Supposedly Trent used to have brains but he keeps getting his hash scrambled and has to sit out a few games.

BOOOO! The line is not better at run blocking. I don't see holes being opened up often enough IF at all. Look at the performance of BOTH of our RBs. They are better than their numbers in my opinion. They are too often met in the backfield or are running into the back of their o-line guys who aren't getting a push up field.

I agree to a great degree but it's that same old situation again. !!!You can't blame the guy for where he was drafted!!!! Just because the Bills pulled the trigger on a development guy at #11 doesn't mean he is a bust at 8 weeks into his holdout rookie year or that he isn't 100% exactly what he came advertised as. A project player with great measurables. If he was drafted later in the first round by a team that already had a good pass rush he would be the promising rookie who is penciled in to be the eventual replacement for player "x". Instead because we got him where we did he is a bust because we need help and want contribution now. EXACT same guy, just a different perception of him due to when and by who he was drafted.

We are all VERY familiar with Maybin's short comings as that is almost exclusively what people focus on. He doesn't have a counter move, he doesn't have a bull rush, he is only as big as Aaron Schobel...etc. He does have things you can't teach ...SPEED!!! The rest can be taught. You don't give up on a project 8 weeks into the season. That is just silly. Since it is widely known he was drafted as a project we really can't be too critical of the guy for a good 2 years. Of course during this time especially the second year he needs to show progress. We have gotten him so little time on the field this year how can we tell anything? If it weren't for an incredible set of circumstances people would still be bitching about the Byrd pick!!!! Why did we need another DB? Why did we get Byrd when player xyz was still on the board? We wasted a 2nd round pick on the guy and he isn't contributing, he's a bust!!! Etc, etc, etc. Byrd was thrust into a starting role because we literally had nobody else. Perhaps if the same happened to Maybin the kid could cut his teeth and figure out how to play at the next level when ridiculous speed alone isn't enough. Pressure can make diamonds or dust. We'll never know which until the guy gets on the field for a significant amount of time.

I don't know. Honestly I believe the ONLY reason Byrd got on the field was due to injury. Had our starting safeties remained healthy he might not have seen much time at all. If Byrd doesn't come up with those interceptions in the first game or two he would have gone back to the bench. There is no doubt in my mind that this would have been the case. FORTUNATELY he has played lights out and intercepted everything in his zip code. It was a perfect storm that got this guy off the bench. A good deal of luck and a HELL of a lot more performance. I don't know if Maybin could have stepped up like this but in my opinion they should be getting him more reps period!!! I don't understand how teams can take rookies at the most important position on the team, QB, and thrust them into a starting role but can't trust a rookie DE??? RIDICULOUS!!! Personally I feel that a player's development is more greatly affected by hours on the "field" not hours with the "team". Getting this guy reps in live game situations is the only way to develop the "project". Why do you draft a project player and then not work on finishing the project and realizing his potential ASAP?

To an extent you have a point but good QBs have a tendency to make suspect lines look better. Getting blocking assignments sorted, pointing out the Mike LB, hitting quick slant passes, calling an audible to a more appropriate play, TALKING TO HIS O-LINE ON THE SIDELINE ABOUT WHAT HE SEES AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO TO BETTER BLOCK THE PRESSURE THE DEFENSE BRINGS!!! Is it just me or does Trent just NOT talk to anyone on the sidelines? I see QBs who are good leaders constantly talking to their WRs, O-linemen RBs. I see none of that with Trent. I see him go to the bench and sit by himself after every stalled and or embarrassing drive.

The "BILLS" did go 14 - 15 with Trent at the helm. Another "big" question in my mind is how good could the Bills record have been with a different QB? Let's hope Trent figures out how to get to the next level and become a QB that can be a game winning asset for his team not just a guy that is supposed to minimize mistakes and check down. Also a personal rant. I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS YOU. I still don't know why there are some people out there that use the O-line as an excuse for Trent's poor play but think they are somehow great run blockers and that Lynch is a bad RB that dances too much.

Correct observation. He is 5 yards up field in the blink of an eye. Only problem is the QB steps up in the pocket because there generally is no pass rush or push to pressure the QB up the middle.

LOL. We already had our LT for the next 10 years. What makes you think we would draft another one and have to pay them premium LT money by the time they became that good? In life, at BEST, you get what you pay for. The Bills are always trying to get more than they pay for and CONSTANTLY let probowlers and stars leave for "greener" pastures. Teams like New England make intelligent choices deciding between a Richard Seymour or a Vince Wolfork. The Bills?....we just let anyone of any value go. OUR choices are Jason Peters vs...well...nobody. Pat Williams vs.....well......nobody. Antowaine Winfield....vs ....nobody. On and on and on and on! It's just the last time that we did it the front office somehow got "some" of the people to side with them and make it the player's fault.

Those guys sucked and didn't deserve to go to the probowl!!!!....Just kidding....same old same old. Bruce Smith, the best DE ever, still had trouble getting paid. It's sickening to think of but look at all of the talent we have let go. Well paid BUT affordable talent. Good teams win by acquiring it, bad teams lose by letting it go. Simple as that. We try to survive on average to above average guys that we pay pretty well for their talent level. No difference makers, just role players. It's amazing the change in culture that can take place when a front office it shows it wants to win not save money. You can't go throwing it around like Danny Schneider but if you build a TALENTED winning team like the Pats you'll be amazed at the discounted high end free agents you can attract. If players think they have a shot at play offs or more importantly a super bowl they will want to be a part of the team more than looking for a paycheck.

What makes you think Jauron is GM? I actually doubt he was in favor of several of those moves. You bring up your own great points on why it is most likely that those moves were NOT of Jauron's doing.

Those things indeed could be true. OR, our players could just sucks. Perhaps a little from column A and a little from column B. I was being a little tongue and cheek because I actually like Lynch a lot and would love to see what the guy can do behind a line that could open holes. A line that could get a guy through the line of scrimmage at full speed instead of dodging would be tacklers in the backfield or looking for cut back lanes. Poz isn't all that bad but he definitely could be better. The biggest problem with the defense is being on the field for so long. By scheme I guess Poz has a lot of coverage responsibilities which he doesn't seem at all cut out for. In fact I think he is a complete non factor waste in the passing game. Early in games they haven't been bad. Late in games being so small they just don't have the stamina to stand up to the bludgeoning that some of the offenses we play can dish out. This isn't the Ravens, the Bucanneers or Bears of old that spent most of their draft picks on defense and could win games with an offense scoring 10 pts or less. This is a Bills team that spent a LOT of picks on the offensive side of the ball or on little guys in the secondary. We can't try to play like those teams because our defense WILL wear down. I truly think Fewell has done a great job with what he has been given and has done the best he can to overcome an impotent offense but those guys can only be on the field for so long.

How is your buddy Nate Clements doing?

Let's give him the Marshawn Lynch treatment. Let's "trade him now while we can get something for him" if he can manage to stay healthy for a few weeks straight. He doesn't seem to be any better than the guys backing him up. Those guys look just as capable when he is not in the game. POZ dances too much before hitting a hole and can't penetrate unless he has a full head of steam!! ROFLOL. It just came to me in this post that Poz is the defensive "player" equivalent of Lynch. I wonder why it is people want to get rid of Lynch because he is supposedly no better than Jackson but Poz is a corner stone of the defense.

Stop peein' in my Wheaties!!! LOL Maybe even Ralph realizes you can't take it with you!