hondo in seattle

Ground Branch - very cool. And I like the Ledwidge poem.

Losing 2 of the last 3, and only a half-game ahead of the Patsies, we are on the ropes. But the Jests are not delivering the knockout punch. Just. Not. Happening.

I salute Bob Kalsu and all our brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice. And offer my profound thanks to all those who served. ~ Brian US Army

I don't know about Breida. He seems like the kind of back who needs space to work with. This OL doesn't create a lot of space.

I agree with your assessment completely. In fact, as I watched it the thought that went through my head was, "The Colt back has a hole the size of Kansas." Motor had nothing.

I have no doubt whatsoever that McD is NOT just realizing this. It's simply a problem he hasn't solved yet and he's just now articulating it. McD is very cautious about badmouthing coaches or players in public. The fact that he's speaking out this week suggests that his frustration is mounting. It's not "pathetic" that "all" the expectations are on Allen. It's just a current realty of the cap and Beane's moves. When Beane came to the Bills, he knew that the NFL is evolving more and more into a passing league. So he had two things in mind: get players who can pass the ball and get players who can stop the pass. Running - doing it or stopping it - was a secondary priority. There's just enough draft picks or cap money to fix everything. So Beane got us a good QB and some good receivers. He also assembled a defense that's good against the pass. Unless he's a complete idiot - and he's not - Beane knows this is an imperfect roster. If Beane had an unlimited number of picks and unlimited cap money to spend, we'd be in a better place right now. But all GMs have to set priorities and make difficult choices. And because talent evaluation is a predictive art, not a science, all GMs make mistakes along the way. Beane has made his share. Yet here we are atop the AFCE looking for another playoff berth. I will add though that in the glory days, the Bills could both run effectively and pass effectively. When Kelly had a bad day, or the defense sold out to stop him, we hit 'em with Thurman. When Thurman had a bad day, or the defense focused on him, Kelly would fill the air with strikes. I'd love Beane and McD to put together a multidimensional attack like that.

These are two names I wasn't expecting. Interesting choices. Metzelaars wasn't as fast or athletic as Knox. But he dropped fewer balls (though Knox has been better this year). And Metzelaars was a better blocker - and we need more good blockers. Jim Richter. A forgotten Wall-of-Famer. At least, I had forgotten about him. Went to the Pro Bowl a couple times. I've always that if I was a GM, I want to build an OL with a couple of Pro Bowl caliber guys as anchors. Currently, we don't have any OLinemen who could even sniff the Pro Bowl.

Singing Isiah Robertson - that's a blast from the past! Kent Hull is a guy I considered too with the same image in mind - the sneak against Tennessee. Ruben Brown is a player who I never felt was as good as his 9-time Pro Bowl resume says he is. But he is much better than the guards we have now and would be a welcome addition if our science team could bring back more than one player. Agreeing with mabden, Billy Shaw would be another guard I'd love to have.

The information I've seen so far make both of them look bad. But I reserve judgment and hope the best for them.

I think it's pretty obvious that OJ is the better runner. But it's arguable who's the better overall back because Thurman is better at some of the other stuff. Thurman was much better at blitz pickup and better as a receiver (although OJ was under-used in this category). So, yeah, it would be extraordinary fun to have Thurman. The screen game would be a new weapon that's mostly missing now.

While McD worries about the ugly current realities, I'll fantasize a bit. Jerry Hughes has been really good at generating a high pressure rate, but not so hot at actually getting sacks. I think one of the problems is that often when Hughes generates pressure, there's no one else there to wrap up. The QB avoids Hughes and gets the pass away. Imagine Hughes on one side and Bruce on the other... and the QB feeling pressure from both sides! That would be so fun to watch! I want to believe our D is as good as our stats say. But I don't. I understand the second half of your statement. But the D isn't bad. Our offensive line is. At this point in the season, I worry about our O far more than our D - despite your valid concerns about it.

In this episode of "Where Are They Now?" - the great Brian Brohm. While he never got his fair shot as a Bill, Brian is alive and well as a college coach thanks to the old tried-and-true practice of nepotism. His brother, Jeff Brohm, is the head coach of my alma mater, Purdue. And Jeff hired Brian to be the QB coach and co-OC. The brothers did produce two 10+ point victories over Top Five ranked opponents this season. Then again, they dropped three games against lesser squads.

I guess my counterargument would simply be: our D doesn't need a lot of help. We're not giving up a lot of yards or points. Certainly Bruce would take the D to a new level, but would that help us win more games? Would Bruce really be a "gamechanger" on this D? Offensive Line is where we need the most help. But would one guy - Joe D, Ruben Brown, whoever - make a big enough difference? I think a back like OJ - who can make something out of nothing - would make the OL look better. OJ would also force the defense to respect the running game which would slow down the pass rush and make the DC a little more reluctant about filling up his back end with DBs. I remember OJ making a lot of defensive backs look downright silly trying to tackle him. With more cautious D linemen, more LBs on the field and fewer DBs - the passing game would become more effective.

I think maybe in the 60s and 70s, the most impactful defensive players on the field were the hard-hitting LBs. Now it's whoever can pressure the QB - rush linebacker or DE. It's all about the pass now - and stopping the pass. So Bruce's skillset would be ideal for today's game.

I would argue that OJ is better than either one. I personally feel the greatest RB of all-time is a two man conversation: Jim Brown and OJ. But, yeah, Bruce is also an all-time great. Hard to pass up. And Peters and Brown would be HUGE additions to the biggest position of need on the team.

That's why I called him "pre-evil." OJ's was reputedly a good guy before he wasn't. Your scientists would get the good guy.

You wake up today and discover that – much to your surprise – the Pegulas have given you complete ownership of the Bills. And if that isn’t strange enough, you’ve learned that you have a team of scientists on staff who have just invented a time machine. It’s complicated and expensive to operate but they can fetch any Bills player you want from the past and add them to the team. But just one. So who do you get? A couple of weeks ago, I probably would have said Bruce in his prime. Bruce would elevate this DL to elite status and scare the bejeezers out of opposing QBs. But after the Jags debacle, Joe D comes to mind for all the obvious reasons. But maybe a better back would help this offense even more and here are the first three backs I thought of... OJ: Possibly the best pure runner ever. Just give him the ball seven yards behind the line of scrimmage and he’ll find a hole, even if it’s not where it was schemed to be. OJ would instantly force defenses to respect our run game – something they don’t do now. Thurman: He can slide through the smallest holes - an important talent for a back running behind a line that doesn't generate big ones. And Thurman's a multidimensional weapon who can also block and catch. Cookie: "Lookie, Lookie! Here comes Cookie!" Any defense that decided to go light to stop Josh would get abused by the freight train called Gilchrist. Cookie would add an element of physicality and fierceness to this offense that's missing now. In the end I'd personally pick pre-evil OJ and then ask Beane to rebuild the offensive line next year. Who would you send your scientists to get?

If we had a good OL, I'd be thinking "Oh, well, we screwed that one up - life goes on..." when Teller's name comes up. But given our current reality, I think, "Freaking #@&*!!! &$#&@!!!! &%#@#!!!!!"

This stat doesn't mean we have a good OL, or even an average one. As I think back on the season, it seems to me that a typical good play includes Allen evading a tackler and then finding a receiver downfield for a nice gain. We're scoring points despite the OL, not because of it.

Yep. Remember the AFC Championship game. The Chiefs had 5, 6 backs in the game all day long - made it hard for receivers to get open. They only rushed four. Dared us to run. But we're a one dimensional offense. Passing is all we're good at. We can't run effectively against light defenses. And our OL can't even protect our QB when the D only rushes 4. I don't have a major beef with Joe's B's analysis but my first thought when reading it was: In other breaking news, President Kennedy was shot in Dallas.

I don't disagree that some messaging needs to take place. But a message won't cure the Bills. You can cut Cordy Ford. You can shake up the starting lineup. You can yell and scream all you want. None of that will fix our talent deficit on the offensive line.

You can. And some coaches do that. But a coach is with his team all week: organizing the preparation for the next game... setting standards... developing relationships that - hopefully - bring out the best in people... establishing a culture... influencing mindsets and habits... studying game tape... developing a game plan... One presser in front of the media doesn't make or break a coach. It's all the stuff that happens during the week that really matters.

King Henry would be better behind this line than our current guys. But, no, he wouldn't be a star chewing up huge chunks of gridiron real estate. The run blocking has been poor most of the season. It wasn't good last year either so I'm not surprised. True... but Fred was better than these guys. And Gailey was better at scheming run plays than Daboll.

Pass first. Pass often.

Who the heck cares about pressers? Other than being slightly irritable, Belichick sounds like a barely-living zombie at pressers. Yet, in fact, he's fully emotionally and intellectually engaged in his team. Pressers are for the fans. When a coach stands in front of his team, he may very well behave completely different.