simpleman

That burst on the reverse just made me think of the roadrunner and the coyote. He seemed to have cartoon speed compared to the other players on the field. On the one return he was so fast his own blockers actually held him back and got in the way. As a returner, I think you would actually have to design a blocking formation differently than a normal returner to take advantage of his speed. Possibly position his blockers staggered further up field (like a zone defense in reverse) rather than a normal scheme to give him the space to kick in those afterburners when he first gets the ball. I was concerned about the time Cromartie tossed him out of bounds well before the throw rather than try to keep up with him. I would be concerned about that becoming a common occurrence if the refs are going to let that happen. As was said, his speed actually translates in an actual football speed which is so rare and makes him appear even faster compared to the other players on the field. He has a great lack of hesitation, which helps. And he has footballs sense, smarts and hands. Very impressed, hope he keeps it up the rest of the season and does not regress. My only concerns are about his durability once opponents just start mugging him and tossing him around in frustration with his speed like Cromartie did. I see a lot of cheap shots like that happening, when even a few strategic select penalties might be worth it if you hobble him early. Take away his burst, and you can neutralize him for the rest of the game.

A complete football team is not just composed of players. In order to build a winning team you need the right players, the right coaches, and the right Front Office. Fall short in any group and you will not have a consistently competitive team. Players: You need players with the right physical and mental skills that mesh with the skills of the other players on the team to create a winning team. The players need more than the right skills, it is critical that they have the drive and ability to do anything and everything they need to do to develop and use those skills to be part of a winning team. Coaches: You need a coaching staff that is able to teach, guide and motivate the players to give 100%, 100% of the time during the game. They need the knowledge and the ability to develop the right schemes and the plays to maximize the skills and abilities of the players to defeat their opponent. And the ability to be flexible and quickly adapt those schemes and plays to counteract those of the opposing coaches and the outstanding plays of opposing players during a game. The coaches must be able to prepare their players physically and mentally so that they are able to play at their highest level in every quarter of the game. They must design a system that puts each player in the right position to succeed. That means not fitting a round peg in a square hole. If the player does not fit the hole required, they inform the front office so that the right player is acquired to fit the right hole. Front Office: You need a Front Office which has the ability to find and acquire the right players whose skills are complementary, and can mesh to become a complete and balanced winning team. They need to find and assemble the right coaching staff who can work together with the FO and the other coaches to teach, guide and motivate the players. The FO must have the means and the flexibility to acquire and release players and coaches quickly when it is determined they are holding the team back from winning, which is the ultimate goal of the team on the field. The Front Office must also be able to properly balance the goal of the team to win with the goal of the business to make a reasonable profit. Win or Lose this weekend, we have to judge the team on all three parts of the team and decide where the strengths and the weaknesses reside. When assigning blame, we have to ask ourselves what each part of the whole team holds responsibility for it. It is not just players that win or loose games, it is the responsibility of every part of the team to do their job right. Whatever the result today, please try to keep this in mind when you single out that one hero or scapegoat. Winning takes more than just one person. Football is a team sport! What are the overall strengths and weakness of the Buffalo Bills? Where did the team succeed? And where did it fail?

Sacrilege! According to this board high picks (even third round receivers) need a couple of seasons to develop and you need to be patient. Don't judge players who have not played at least 16 games or more. After all, his name fits the pattern EJ, TJ and DJ.

Good one, but it should be in the legend thread as well!

6 sacks, 1 pass defended, 1 forced fumble. I think he has shown something. Yes, he has a problem with penalties, but in general our team has a problem with penalties. Could it be a coaching problem that we have so many? Or is it just the Big P's philosophy that playing so aggressive and getting the stats makes the penalties acceptable?

For those TJ supporters TJ VS Gragg: % Caught % FD GP REC TGTS YDS TD FD FUM LST Gragg 67% 50 % 5 4 6 25 1 3 0 0 TJ 46% 20% 10 16 35 198 0 7 1 1

HA! HA ! HA! HA! Wouldn't want to ask you for recommendations on who was serviceable-good to go home with at bar closing time.

+1 And an OC Hackett who can't "Hack It" at being an NFL coach Hackett

I keep waiting for EJ to even show glimmers of greatness. Not happening. Thad stunk, but I saw more from him in two games than I ever saw from EJ. And I'm not saying start Thad because he has a potential to be great, just that on the field I saw even less in EJ. I say since the season is over those 6 games should be treated like the last preseason game. Everyone on the team gets to play for their job next year. EJ gets 6 games to actually show something or he is gone. Play Easley at WR and either he shows something or he is gone. Play Hogan and either he performs or he is gone. TJ, well he has had more chances than anyone, I just do not see his value. Goodwin has shown more and serves a similar role. Let Goodwin take TJs place the rest of the season and either he shows his value or is gone. No more excuses, no more waiting, perform or you are gone. Who has proven their value as a receiver? Woods and Stevie. Goodwin has made a good start. The rest of the team, everyone has six games to prove their worth or gone. This goes for the coaches, especially Hackett. The next six games are about proving you belong, period, No excuses, produce or you are gone. 14 years of crap is enough. No more three year plans. KC 2012 2--14, 2013 9-0 with a simple game manager Smith at QB. If it is not about the playoffs, it is about taking out the trash.

It is not just about where they were drafted or the cost of the contract. You also fail to factor in the limiting effects of the cap and of the limiting size of the 53 man roster. They also are the costs of keeping developmental player. Every player who is not contributing today is potentially costing you a player who could be contributing today. How many games do you potentially loose this year because you don't have the proper personal to win today, based on the hope and promise that you might just win a game next year? It becomes about the value of the bird in hand ( an average role player who WILL contribute to a win today) vs what might be in the bush (a "developmental" player who is not really contributing enough now, but MIGHT contribute someday in the future). I'm not saying it is a fixed rule, but I am saying you should have only very few non or minimally contributing players in "development" in any given year unless they are sure thing prospects to be the next great player, not just an average player. Every year there are plenty of average players who become free agents, they are the proverbial dime a dozen players. Let some other team develop those average players and grab them. The Lawsons, the Branches, average players who contribute,who you need to win, but will never be superstars. Develop your superstars, let someone else waste their resources developing your future role players like Lawson and Branch. It really is about philosophy. It is about how you feel about gambling. I believe in betting only on the near sure things. Not on the long shot high risk, high rewards. I will take the accumulating smaller incremental rewards. Others like the risk and excitement of the hitting the jackpot, no matter how low the odds are. I may not win big, but I win. When it comes to jackpots, there are a whole lot more losers than winners. Do you really think a player like a TJ will ever become anything more than an average contributing player? If he ever actually develops, he most likely will become one of those dime a dozen players in FA. If you can get someone like him immediately in FA, why waste the valuable roster space and cap space waiting for him to become that average player? I like what AW has done, but do I see him becoming a pro bowler? No. I see him becoming a steady average role player who gets the job done. Do I think we could get a similar player in FA.? Yes, and without wasting the time, money and space waiting for him to become that steady, average role player. Raw potential without performance or true flashes of greatness and Five dollars might get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Very interesting question. I guess there are so many different criteria you could use to judge that there could be many different names, and none would be more right or wrong than the others, it would just depend on the criteria you choose. It might be the player that contributed most to a winning game and how many games they did so. Would it be like sacks or tackles where there were solo wins and shared wins? What about the players that were solid every game and contributed to every win and never once let the team down in any game? Sort of like the tortoise and the hare. What do you do about spurt players who have great games and then really stink it up on others? Do you subtract value for the stink it up games like a plus / minus rating in hockey? You would have to set up criteria and then evaluate everyone by the same criteria. I guess we are actually talking about "analytics or metrics" like the Bills claim they are going to set up. It would be interesting to see how it is done by the pros. I would have trouble choosing. Sure we like to talk about the big splash players like Mario, or the QBs who are so visible. Or draft choices that immediately play big like "The Legend ". But what about players like Carpenter that walk on the team and are expected to add points EVERY play they are on the field. It is so had to judge since football is such a full team sport. As mentioned there is "Flash" and there is "production". It is hard to downplay the flash when football also is about not just winning, but how you win. It is not just a sport, but it is entertainment as well. As fans we want both the wins and the flash. How do we separate the value of the sport from the value of the entertainment?

It is interesting that everyone talks about giving someone two or three years to develop. Maybe 20 years ago in the NFL, but this is not 20 years ago. This is today, and the world has changed. We expect performance, now. The Bills have been a poor team for so many years because the team has failed to keep modern and stay up with the competition. The competition that is winning does not wait, they expect production now, and they win now. The Bills are patient and they are perennial losers, always saying be patient, we have a three year plan. Three year plans mean three more years of mediocrity until the next three year plan, which simply repeats the whole sorry cycle. Unless a player is that obvious one or two sure thing a year, either they produce within the first season, or you release them and move on. There are always plenty of other players out there with the potential to be average or mediocre. The Bills are the case study of how being overly patient relates to a winning record. Yes I am happy for AW and glad he is finally succeeding, but the team that has too many “projects” and not enough “players” is doomed to failure. On a 53 man roster that is only one or two players as “projects” a year. You don’t have room for “projects” that drag your team down that are not potential superstars. That describes the Bills over the past decade, too many “projects” that were at best just potential “average” players. Unless that balance between “projects” and “players” improves, nothing will change.

Great article. Football is a business. And those that work in that business should expect to be treated a civilized human being, not a prison inmate. What happens on the field is the game, the rest is someones life who is just working to make a living . Well said! Big men who think like little boy bullies have no place in our civilized modern world. Agree, I think a Peyton Manning would stand up and say this is not happening on my team, not now, not ever.I will retire before I stand by and allow this to happen. And he would mean it. That is a intelligent honest leader with class.

Yes many of us felt that way. It seemed so obvious at the time. I was like "How can you write down Orakpo so badly that you misspell it and it comes out as Maybin." When Glenn was still available in the 2nd round a few years ago, I was so excited but worried they would somehow misspell his name too, luckily they didn't, LOL.

Congrats to Aaron for proving we doubters wrong. He has done well on the field. But the Big P also deserves credit for recognizing the place where his talent and strengths are best utilized and putting him in that place, instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole like the previous coaching staffs had done. The Big P recognized that his potential was greater at S than at CB and put him in a position to succeed. Thank You Aaron and the Big P!

I can't speak for others, but when I say "in space" it refers to two different types of RBs, with two different skill sets and running styles. The first type of RB's strengths are finesse, agility and speed, The ability to weave and swerve repeatedly without losing balance and still being able to maintain speed. Those covering him are slowed down or lose their balance when they try to repeat his maneuvers. Think of the aerial maneuvers of the jets in Top Gun. It is about the advantage of speed and maneuverability, not overwhelming firepower. The other is like a tank on the battlefield. Their strength is pure bulk and overwhelming firepower. It not is about finesse. It is about bulldozing your way over your opponent and dragging them with you based on your strength, power and your overwhelming forward momentum. Yes, it is also about diagnosing the clearest path and picking it properly and letting the other "tanks" bulldoze a path for you. Those are two very different backs and skill sets. They are used to set up two very different offensive schemes. CJ is the first type of back, not the 2nd. He is exceptional at that style. Yes he needs to learn to be more patient for his blockers to set up and clear a path for him, but in space there are not a lot of blockers, maybe a few quick bumps and re-directions (screens) by your teammates It is just you and them, one on one. When your OC tries to put an RB in the first category in the plow em over in traffic play, he is wasting the skills and strengths of that RB. He is opening him up for injury and failure. Usually the plow em over back has the size, durability and bulk to survive that type of punishment. The agile RB has a different body type. That is what we mean by "in space". Where you out maneuver your opponent, who is probably a smaller, faster LB, corner or safety and you have the space to move about in. Not in the middle where your opponents are all 300+ DL mountains twice your size and all stacked up. As they told us in HS. Always choose and use the right tool for the right job, You don't use a sledge hammer to pound in finishing nails, or a tack hammer to smash up concrete.

Why might someone think Goodwin is better than Graham? In 23 games Graham has scored exactly one TD. .04 per game In only 4 games Goodwin has one TD .25 per game In 8 games Graham has 6 first downs .75 per game In 4 games(half as many) Goodwin has 5 first downs 1.25 per game Graham has caught 50% of his targeted throws this year Goodwin has caught 66 % of his targeted throws this year Graham has an average of 13.9 ypc Goodwin has an average of 17.8 ypc Yes, Goodwin has a fumble and Graham does not. The only stat that Graham beats Goodwin on. Goodwin also is active in the return game as well as being a WR. Many of us perceive Goodwin as having better hands than Graham. We perceive Goodwin as faster in game situations. Many of us perceive Goodwin as being more physical a player. Many perceive that Goodwin is a better blocker than Graham. Many of us perceive that Goodwin has a higher upside and ceiling than Graham. It seems Goodwin beats his coverage more often than Graham, but I could be wrong. I have no stats or proof of any of that. Since you think those that prefer Goodwin to Graham to be extremely inept students of the game, why you think Graham is so superior to Goodwin, in quantitative terms?

I do have to commend the majority of posters in this thread. Considering the subject is a member of another team, the level of empathy and civility is refreshing. This attitude is much better than a lot of what was going on the board a month ago. Thanks mods, I think you helped get this board back to a reasonable level of civility again.

EJ Put up 20 points? The Bills defense intercepted 2 passes in the game, putting the Bills already in field goal range. They had to settle for field goals resulting in 6 of those 20 points. The first time EJ gained a whopping 16 yards, and the next he gained 5 yards before they were forced to kick. And comparing losing by 18 points to the #4 rated QB, 6th rated offense vs the 17th rated offense, #32 rated rookie QB and losing by 7 is not comparing apples to apples. Granted, Thad is not Franchise QB material, but EJ has still not shown any actual potential in his games either.

Thanks for sharing a good article!

I don't get all the hate here for Maybin. I don't remember him saying a lot of bad things about the team, the area. He just couldn't make it as a player. I remember him trying, it wasn't laziness, lack of effort, his arrogance or a bad attitude. He simply was not good enough. No reason to hate. The mistakes made were by the people who drafted him and overpaid him. They are the ones to blame, not him. I wish him luck.

Also guilty

While I am not saying that Woods was not a good pick, (I was very happy with the pick) or that Goodwin may end up being a good pick. If you are comparing WRs, lets look at the complete big picture. These are the WRs drafted after Woods and before Goodwin. Any of them would have been a good pick, although I’m not sure Dobson would do as well as he did without having the best QB in the NFL throwing to him. Woods (2nd) 21 298 0 14.2 42 2 Dobson (2nd) 22 264 0 12 53 1 Allen (3rd round) 26 399 0 15.3 36 2 Williams 3rd 24 380 0 15.8 82 3

Thanks for sharing! Awesome!

As mentioned, I would have taken the 2nd trade and hopefully would have taken Eifert, Woods and Kiko. Can't fault the draft department on the Kiko pick (nor the Woods), but there were other good choices at WR besides Woods in the 2nd if they could not get him.