hondo in seattle

Air Force Academy grad. Convinced the Air Force to allow him to serve in the reserves - instead of active duty - so he could pursue his NFL dreams. Tried out for the Bills but wasn't signed. Kicked around the league for 4 or 5 years as a back up and practice squad player. Described as very hard working. Alternatively, McD may have been super-impressed with Chad and they're working out some details before making the announcement.

Ex player... young guy, only 32.... last season was his first season on a coaching staff.

Bruce was awesome. But OJ changed the outcome of more games than Bruce. Our defense wasn't good in those years and Fergie didn't put a lot of fear in the defenses we faced. So opponents went up against the Bills with one overwhelming priority: stop OJ. If they stopped OJ, they would win. It was that simple. Yet OJ averaged 112 yards per game in his prime five years.

Bruce may have been the best pass rusher of all time. But OJ is probably the greatest football player at any position I've seen in my 60 years on earth. In his prime, he looked like a NFLer playing against junior college kids. Let's look at peak productivity... In OJ's best season - back when defenses schemed more to stop the run than the pass - OJ had an incredible 75% more yards than the #2 guy. OJ rushed for 2,003 yards in that season (1973) - next best total was 1,144. And that was in the 1970s when the best athletes in America wanted to be running backs, unlike today. Bruce, on the other hand, never led the NFL in sacks. Not once. He was very good for a very long time, but at his peak he was not as dominant as OJ. Maybe Bruce is a better pick in this exercise because he'd contribute for more seasons. But OJ would make the biggest immediate impact. His talent was other worldly.

Great stat line indeed. That was back in the good old days when QBs liked to sling the ball down the field. And, after all, they didn't call Daryle, "The Mad Bomber" for nothing!

Most GMs say you always draft the best player available regardless of need. With that thought in mind, I'm taking OJ. Then again, QB is the most important position in the modern NFL and Josh is still unproven, so I'm taking Jim Kelly. And since QBs are so important, you really need someone to disrupt the opposing QB, so I'm taking Bruce Smith. I'm conflicted.

Ask any old guy... Daryle Lamonica.

I'm not sure this deserves its own thread... but it is pretty funny.

Agreed. And Beane says he’s very much a BPA guy. I just hope the BPA happens to be a player of need. We desperately need help at OL and WR.

And these qualities make this a fantastic low-risk signing. Even if Zo's on-the-field skills show signs of diminishing next season, he's still a great locker room presence.

I want (nearly) any player who would help the Bills win more games. So, if he was healthy and productive again, of course I'd want him in a Bills uni.

I'd like to see: * a completion percentage in the 60s with a good completion rate where ever on the field he's throwing. * quicker reads and throws. * more consistent poise in the pocket. * a passing attack that can put up 300+ yards and put fear/respect in a D.

I'm not negative about Allen but I'm still waiting for the "debunking." The OP only said that - according to his personal analysis - Allen may have been more accurate than the other rookie QBs last season. Well, last season is over the other rooks don't provide a good benchmark. We'd like to see Allen in the same class as Brees, Rodgers, Brady. And I think it's plain to anyone who's been around football that Allen isn't there yet. He absolutely does need to get better with his accuracy - among other things. We're all hoping he will.

Who would have guessed while watching that game that it would be our last playoff win for decades? Oh, how the world turns. But, at any moment, fortunes can turn again in a new direction.

Eric wood approves. Ittakestime doesn’t. I’m not sure what to think.

I don’t think you can fairly evaluate a HC on his decision-making. Too subjective. To a certain extent, I think a PFF could evaluate the roster and then calculate expected wins. Then look at actual wins.

I'd forgotten about that but you're right. I wonder if Roman would be better suited as a run-game consultant than an OC.

I agree but I'll add something I heard somewhere.... Roman has more IQ than EQ. He doesn't always build the kinds of relationships with his position coaches and players that bring out their best. Roman does his best work alone in his office, breaking down film and drawing ideas up on his whiteboard. This observation, if true, seems to explain what we saw with the Bills where the Bills offense was more productive just after he left. They continued to use Roman's run concepts and play designs but ALynn was in the leadership role.

Imagine you owned a company in Northern California. Later you moved that company to Nevada. Wouldn’t you consider the former employees in CA as part of the company’s history? Wouldn’t you still want to honor their contributions?

I agree. But I wonder why NFL teams don't have both kinds of QB coaches on staff... One who's good at breaking down film, installing the game plan, and so on. And another who works with the QB on his mechanics. In the Bills case, why don't we have both Culley and Jordan Palmer at OBD?

I can’t remember where but I heard Culley is a good x and o, film room guy. He’s not good with QB biomechanics.

Who we fire isn't the really important thing. It's who we hire. I'm confident that there guys out there better than Robiskie, Crossman, and Castillo. But is that who'll end up with? As of right now, we don't know if we've upgraded any of these coaching positions or - god forbid - downgraded. I'm interested in the next steps.

When Greg Roman was here - and I acknowledge the guy had his flaws - it was fun to watch our running attack. Not only did Roman employ effective run concepts but the offensive linemen always seemed to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. We weren't overpowering people but the combination of play-design and play-execution was awesome. Our run game this year wasn't as well schemed as back then but I can't say the plays were terribly designed. We ran the same plays other NFL teams ran - but with less success. We just didn't execute. Granted good linemen execute better than bad linemen - they have quicker feet, better balance and so on. But often times we just didn't get a hat on the tackler. Both Beane and McD said the offensive line was 'out of sync' and that's a fair assessment I think. That falls on the offensive line coach (Castillo) and run game coordinator (Castillo again). It's pretty obvious why Castillo had to go. I'm not sure how much the lack of production can be blamed on the RB coach. Did the RBs run to the wrong hole? Not know their assignments? As a fan, I didn't see any compelling evidence that our RBs weren't coached well. I saw an OL that didn't give the RBs a chance to be successful.

I generally agree with this. The GMs and HCs who prioritize STs stock them with good players who then produce good results. But not all ST coaches are created equal. I think McD can upgrade Crossman.

I was about to post something very similar. Castillo was adamant that he knows how to develop players. Both McD and Beane said the OL was out of sync. They might all be telling accurate stories.