2003Contenders

Actually he turned Billy Joe Holbert on the Titans -- and Jeff Fisher cut him a year or so later when he showed up to camp having not read the revised playbook. That's when he landed with the Chargers.

M Sherman J Lofton B April J Caldwell And I don't recall the last one. I do know that they WANTED to talk to Sean Payton (whom TD had interviewed back in 2001), but the Saints refused to let him leave without a deal.

I don't know. Polian had success in Carolina and now Indy without Butler and the gang. Besides, Butler drafts (especially his last couple) were nothing to write home about and played a significant role in the struggles earlier in this decade.

In watching the Monday night game it struck me that both Favre and Rodgers would take 3-5 steps -- and the ball would come out of their hand and hit an open receiver. The Bills NEVER seem to have this happen. When Trent drops back, he rarely lets the ball go right away. I will say that it does seem like Trent is getting worse and worse about sitting in the pocket and holding onto the ball -- which makes it a real recipe for disaster given the weak OL. I don't know that this is simply a QB issue, as we have seen this for the past several years with various QBs. Is it the play calling? The receivers' routes?

One thing about Marv is that he hired good assistants and let them do their jobs. Jauron hasn't hired a decent assistant yet. (I am rooting for AVP, but the opposing DCs kicked his butt and took his lunch money the past couple of weeks.) I think some of that is by design. Jauron feels a sense of job security because he KNOWS that it will be hard to fire him and replace him internally. I seriously doubt that Bobby April is head coaching material either.

I remember Mike Sherman, Bobby April, and James Lofton getting interviews the year that Jauron was hired. Marv said that they interviewed 6. Anyone know who the other 2/3 were?

These Bills commit the cardinal sin: not just that they are losing -- but they are losing in unwatchable fashion. I could almost live with the losing if the team was at least entertaining. This team sucks -- and they are just so nauseating to watch!

In reading the article, I didn't take it that way. I took it more as Payton complimenting Gregg for the game planning he did against the Bills -- and the way that the Saints' defense really seemed to have the Bills number ON THAT PARTICULAR day.

For all the Oher lovers, there was a guy named Mike Williams that looked pretty good during most of his rookie season back in 2002... Not saying that Oher wont be a stud, but 3 games does not a career make. Oher was universally ranked as the 4th best tackle in the draft. Having him probably would have helped, but who knows how Maybin's career will go? If he develops into a stud pass rusher, then I think the front office made the right move. Meanwhile, they picked up a good, young center in free agency, landed arguably the two best OGs in the draft -- and just picked up a guy from Green Bay that was ranked by most experts as the 5th-8th best OT in the draft. So you can't say that the FO didn't do their best to address the OL this year. Prior to this year, most certainly... but not this year.

Maybe if he was in there from the beginning yesterday instead of McKelvin, the Saints don't score on the opening drive?

Heck, at this point, considering his total lack of worth thus far this season, I wouldn't be too upset if they outright released him if they couldn't get something for him in a trade. As for McKelvin, maybe sometime for him to sit awhile may not be such a bad thing. He's been a week point through the first three games -- and when Florence came in the defense as a whole got better.

Note also that, in addition to the comments about how it took Brees 3-4 years to finally develop, I seem to remember concerns about his being undersized and not having the necessary arm strength to play in somewhat cold climates. That fear appeared to have seen fruition in the one game that he played in Buffalo back in 2002, when he clearly did NOT have enough arm to get the ball downfield and was benched in favor of Flutie. I don't know whether his arm is stronger these days -- or if that limitation has been downplayed because he plays more than half of his games indoors.

A few well executed screen passes to Fred Jackson should slow them down.

I know no one wants to hear this, but the pass rush really did cease once Kelsay went out. He doesn't gte many sacks, but he does apply consistent pressure.

Didn't he used to work alongside Steve Tasker?

Hmmm. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it possible that our very own Dick Jauron played a role in Shanahan being unemployed? After all, it was a Week 16 quasi meaningless game for the Bills IN Denver, when Dick's team beat a Bronco team that would have sealed a playoff spot with a victory. If the Broncos make it into they playoffs, then Shanny is probably still coaching there. I understand the anti-Jauron sentiments, but pass on Shanny.

I have no problem with their perceived negativity. The team hasn't been good for a long time. When it was good back in the 90s these guys were much more generous in their writings. My only problem is that I fail to consider either of them a true beat reporter. They don't get us any real inside info and are constantly scooped by the real reporters out there -- like Adam Schefter.

Or, how about this? Maybe, just maybe the team is waiting until the season begins to actually open up the playbook for mass consumption. Why give Bill B any sneak peaks?

The Bills will not get swept by the Jets or Dolphins. Otherwise, it is very encouraging about the out-of-conference games.

Everyone relax. DO you think TO wants to miss going up against Randy Moss in primetime to start the season? He will be ready. Exercising caution at this point is the prudent move.

Offensively, I would say that the starters need to put together at least a couple of long scoring drives. If it takes them into the 3rd quarter, then so be it. Defensively, I would leave the entire unit in until they apply consistent pressure to the QB, generate turnovers, and/or force 3-and-outs. If it takes them into the 3rd quarter, then so be it.

Don't get too excited about the young guys getting a chance. I bet Denney gets the nod now.

Funny enough, how good does that 2006 draft look if McCargo, AY and/or Simpson fail to make it onto the final roster? I suspect that at least one of the three gets cut.

I think it was a combination of things that were somewhat unique to both sides. And in each case, I think both sides voluntarily tried to venture from the typical rookie slotting... 1. From the Bills perspective, they also had the #11 overall pick in the draft last season. They knew what they paid McKelvin, and Maybin was probably no more highly rated this year than McKelvin was last year. In fact, Modrak said many times last season that he did not expect McKelvin to be available at #11. Hence, I suspect that the front office had a difficult time (especially in this economy) justifying more than a 5-10% increase over last year's contract numbers. 2. The Crabtree situation gave the Maybin camp a reason to cool their heels. With Crabtree likely to wind up with a contract that is greater than his slotted draft position, Maybin's agent was content to wait it out and see if that may help is client's ceiling price. In the end both sizes agreed on what should have been the fair, slotted price range to begin with. A pity that this cost Maybin weeks of valuable preparation time.

I don't know. It just seems like the great WRs always find a way to get open when the chips are down, and Evans just doesn't do that. Rarely do I see him fight for a contested pass -- and he seems to have a lot of balls intercepted from him. I am sure that less than stellar QB play certainly is responsible for that to a certain extent -- and I have to believe that Lee will be helped tremendously by the return of TO. It would also help if the coaching staff could devise schemes and routes to place him in better situations.