Shaw66

No question at all. It was as though people were thinking, "oh, no, you're not going to fool me again. I'm not getting excited today only to watch them get their butts kicked next week." You can't lose for as long as the Bills have lost without it affecting the fans' attitude. A lot of fans aren't willing to buy in just yet. Win in Carolina and things will be different when the Broncos come to town. Lose in Carolina and I think the fans will still be waiting for some real evidence that things are different. Yesterday was nice, but not enough to convince most fans.

Yes, but saying the Bills should be one of those teams that can get pressure rushing four is like saying the Bills should be one of those team with a QB like Aaron Rodgers. Of course we want to get pressure rushing four, but it's VERY hard to do. You need some special talents, like a JJ Watt or a Von MIller. Most teams don't have them. Bills' front four might be in the top 10 in the league, but like other quality front 4s can't get pressure regularly. Expecting Dareus to get a lot of sacks makes little sense - DTs don't get a lot. The right comment was Hughes is getting all the attention and Shaq has to step up.

I think you miss the point and always have. I think Taylor is an average NFL starter, which is exactly where he's been statistically and continues to be. I think the difference we saw yesterday was all about coaching. We saw the same skills on display, but we saw them in an offense that constantly attacked defensive weaknesses and offered opportunities for Taylor to make plays. The question that I think you and I agree on is whether what we saw yesterday was good enough. Although it's possible to win with an average quarterback, the question is whether the team should move forward for the next several seasons, planning to win by being excellent on defense, good at running the ball, and effective passing. Seattle has made it work, and KC and Carolina have been close. Still, it's nicer having a Rodgers or a Brady or a Brees. You're always in the game with one of those. Ummmm. Pass distribution and throw the ball away to avoid sacks. Isn't that Brady's bread and butter? He hasn't and didn't put the team on his back and win games. That's what the great ones do sometimes. Other than that, the Bills got yesterday and have gotten for two seasons good QB play from Taylor.

The thing is, there aren't many teams that get pressure with four guys rushing. You need at least one, maybe two premier pass rushers, and the Bills don't have that. However, they have four quality guys who will occupy five or six blockers, so there will be occasional sacks from them and some nice blitz opportunities. My biggest hope for the game was to see solid defense, and I wasn't disappointed.

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66 Off and Running Pro football coaches aren’t stupid. For all his faults, Rex Ryan wasn’t stupid, and Sean McDermott isn’t stupid, either. When you have LeSean McCoy, you run the football. When you need insurance, you call Geico. The Bills came out of the 2017 starting gate doing what they’ve done best since 2015 – give the ball to Shady. Run it left, run it right, run it up the middle. And when you need to pass, fake the run, look downfield, then throw it to the running back. And why not? Until the opponent stops it, it’s a good way to win some football games. Not enough to win a lot, but it’s a start. The Bills handled the Jets easily at New Era Field Sunday to record their first win of the season. A couple of first-half mistakes kept the game closer than it should have been, but there was little doubt that the Bills were in control of the game from the start. The only question was whether the Bills would make enough mistakes to let the win slip away. This is a new season and a new era, and answer, at least on Sunday, was “we don’t make mistakes.” So what’s new with the new-era Bills? Not the fundamental offensive approach, that’s for sure. The Bills are going to run until they can’t. Beyond that, a lot was new. For instance: · Offensive crispness. The Bills get into and out of the huddle, get to the line, get set and go. No confusion about where to line up, no wasted timeouts. Just call the play, run the play, move the chains. It’s football without the screw-ups. · Short-passing game. Finally, a passing attack that works, that forces the defense to make choices and allows the quarterback to take advantage of the choices the defense makes. All day long, Tyrod Taylor could find open receivers and make throws. · Penalties. What happened to all the penalties? These new-era Bills seem to have decided they want to lead the league in something other than going backward. · Defensive crispness. No more defenders confused about who’s on the field and who’s off (except Shaq once), no more defenders scrambling to get into position before the snap, no more defenders looking at each other and saying “I thought you had him.” These guys know what the defense is and where to go. · Defensive execution. Missed assignments? Very few. Missed tackles? Very few. Gang-tackling? A lot of it. In the NFL, offenses are too complicated and the players are too good for the defense to stop the offense all the time, but this was a defense that played under control, didn’t give up the big play and forced the offense to work for everything it got. Of course, there’s no reason to get carried away, because this was the New York Jets, and only time will tell if the Jets actually are an NFL football. The Jets did have a pretty effective defense last season, and the Bills moved the ball consistently against the Jets all day. So that’s a good sign. Still, it was the Jets, with a McCown at quarterback (you think offensive coordinator John Morton saw Taylor making plays and didn’t wish he had Geno Smith?). Some observations from New Era Field: 1. The Bills are all about One Buffalo. The message was clear from the player introductions, which didn’t happen. When it was time to take the field, the entire team came through the tunnel, whooping it up together. One team, One Buffalo. 2. Jordan Matthews is BIG. Looks almost like a tight end. If you want a sign that the Bills are committed to the short passing game, one look at him will do it. The Bills will go deep, not with deep speed but by forcing the defense to play so close to the line of scrimmage that I could get deep. 3. Kind of ironic that each of Ronald Darby and the guy the Bills got to replace him, EJ Gaines, were injured week one. I hope both get back soon. 4. As predicted, we didn’t see a lot of blitzing. Four guys trying to get to the QB. They got only occasional pressure, the best forcing the game-ending interception. Bills could use some improvement there, but it’s a tough job. 4a. How about Kyle Williams on the stunt around the left defensive end, looping around to pressure the QB then continuing upfield to tackle the receiver for a short gain? That man has been one special football player for a long time. 5. The run defense was excellent. The Jets gave up trying to run the ball. It’s a passing league for a reason, and almost any team can have some success throwing it. The Jets had some success, but having forced the Jets into a one-dimensional game, the Bills made more than enough plays in the passing game to keep the Jets under control. 6. Nice half-time show honoring the players from the comeback game. Lots of video highlights (and not just at half-time), a taped presentation from Frank Reich. The Bills singled out Kenneth Davis and Don Beebe for getting the TDs that got things going. Then Andre Reed, who gave a nice little talk about how it was One Buffalo then and One Buffalo now. They closed with Steve Christie saying all the players love Buffalo and thanking Buffalo for loving them. It was well done, and a far cry from the darkest days, when the Bills canceled a half-time Hall-of-Fame ring presentation for Ralph Wilson for fear that he’d be booed off the field. 7. Tyrod Taylor. Let the debate begin. What happened to the guy who can’t or won’t throw over the middle? What happened to the guy who can’t or won’t throw to tight end? What happened to the guy who is indecisive and won’t get the ball out quickly? What happened to the guy who isn’t accurate on short passes? What happened to the guy who can’t play from the pocket? Coaching and effective offensive game planning, that’s what. Taylor did it all Sunday. He’s an excellent athlete, he can make all the throws, and his running ability made him particularly effective. He didn’t leave the pocket early, but when it was time to go, his athletic ability got him out of the pocket, usually to buy time for a throw downfield, sometimes for a nice gain running it himself. There was a lot of good decision-making on display (except trying to force the ball into Clay when he was double covered). Some will say he’s no more than a game manager, but when he plays like he did on Sunday and the Bills win, it’s hard to complain too much. 8. I guess plenty of fans came into the game misunderstanding who Mike Tolbert is. They looked at his size and concluded he’s a short-yardage back. Well, yesterday they were introduced to Mike Tolbert, running back. The guy is a player, not necessarily every down, but he can move and he can make cuts. He’s a nice change of pace to Shady. 9. Did I mention Shady? Bills fans have had plenty of disappointment over a half century, but they haven’t been disappointed at running back. What franchise has put on the field the likes of Cookie Gilchrist, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Thurman Thomas and now LeSean McCoy. He got stuffed a lot of times on Sunday, but he was already to take another shot. As usual, he and we were rewarded. I think he missed a few opportunities to cut back behind the wide zone blocking, but he won’t miss them for long. Love it. 10. Not to close on a downer, but the Bills haven’t won the fans back, not yet. The stadium was loud occasionally but not consistently. There wasn’t a lot of vocal support for the defense, not the every-play kind of support we used to hear. Once in a while in big situations, but none of the persistent noise that really upsets opposing offenses. Post-game, it seemed like the Bills had lost. Very little celebrating, cheering or chanting as the fans left the stadium. Walking through the parking lots, I had to wonder whether these were Bills fans after a win or a bunch of folks heading home from Topps with the groceries. (In some ways it’s a shame the NFL and the Bills cracked down on raucous tailgating in the Bills’ lots.) If the Bills win in Carolina next week, there should be some old-school fandemonium at New Era when the Broncos come to town. We need it and this team deserves it. Yes, it was the Jets, but you play the schedule you were given. The Bills did a lot right, and showed they have a lot to work on. It was a good start to a new era. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

I guess I don't agree with either point. I don't agree that they churned the roster. Two corners, a wide receiver, a linebacker and two safeties is pretty normal turnover for a team. As for qb, either they're going to think they need one or they don't. If they need one they'll use their picks to get a good one in the first round. Dif they don't need one they likely won't take one or all.

Ayjent and Marty Interesting discussion. Particularly about Taylor. It will be interesting to see if Taylor plays well enough to cause them to pass on a first round qb. If Taylor plays well and the Bills go 9 and 7, those two first round f picks won't be high enough to move up for a star qb. I don't think Beane thinks he has a lot of holes to fill. In the next three years only Kyle and Richie are likely to retire. I think Beane figures he's already in @@nstandard annual continuous improvement mode. With six picks in the first three rounds he can find replacemeets for those retiring players and improve a couple other positions. I agree about Dawkins, but that just means he isn't likely to be a star. I hope he grows into a quality starter, taking the RT spot later this year or next year.

I feel the same way. We're all crazy!

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66 Lament - The 2017 Season Begins I ache. It doesn’t really hurt; it’s just a little ache. It doesn’t keep me from leading a more or less normal life. I can’t describe exactly where it is. It’s kind of all over and nowhere at the same time. I don’t feel it every hour of every day, but sooner later most days I notice it. I’ve had the ache for a long time. Ten or fifteen years or more. I ache for a winner. I think where I ache is in my soul. It’s the same place, or non-place, where I ache for a loved one who has passed away, for a lover who doesn’t share the affection I have for her, for a friend with a fatal illness. Now, before you accuse me of trivializing important life events by comparing them to how I feel about the Bills, wait. I get that these things are different, quantum levels more important, more meaningful, more painful than the feelings associated with being a Bills fan. What I’m saying is that the ache is in the same place as those other feelings. It occupies only a tiny part of that space and is easily crowded out when seriously important life events demand the attention of my soul. Mercifully, my life has not been filled with personal loss and crisis. That’s left time and space for this little ache. It’s a little ache, trivial in fact. I tell my friends about the ache, and they “suffer” along with me. Some of my friends are Red Sox fans, so they know, or knew, what the ache is like. One of my friends is a Mets fan; he gets it. Another worked inside the Jets organization; he really gets it. For eight months a year, I watch the Bills make changes and I hope that those changes will lead to my ache going away. I try to imagine how the changes will make the team better, how players will improve and how the Bills will start winning the games they’ve lost for years. I try to imagine the joy that will replace the ache. For four months a year, I watch as the changes play out, always in a different way, but always leaving the ache behind. It’s happened so long, it seems like the ache will be there forever. Now the 2017 season is about to begin, and the Bills have made another collection of changes. This time, the changes are so big it’s difficult to imagine how the team will perform this year. Some of the best performers from the past few seasons are gone. The quarterback position is, again, unsettled. The team seems thin at certain positions. The new coach has installed new offensive and defensive schemes, and the team has had clear growing pains with each. The general manager is taking the team in a new direction. Where will it lead? It’s difficult to imagine. I’ve become so accustomed to the ache, it’s difficult to imagine that all these changes will finally make the Bills a winner. Still, I can’t wait for Sunday. Maybe this year things will be different. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

Exactly. And none of likes to see a star go. So there's frustration with that too.

I don't disagree with this. Every new GM comes in and says he's going to make changes. Every new coach does, too. They wouldn't have been hired if they intended to do the same thing the old guys did. But that doesn't mean they're going to rebuild. Gailey came in and made changes. Marrone did, Rex did. But none of those were considered rebuilds. A rebuild is, I believe, when you start with a new core. Just as you described - rip out the old thing because it wasn't working and replace it. But that isn't what's happened here so far. They kept the entire offensive and defensive lines, and that's the core of the team. And they kept the QB and the running back. Frankly, I think all that's really happened is that people have been rankled because Watkins, a potential star, was dealt. That's the only big change. The second thing was Gilmore, but Gilmore wouldn't have hurt so much if he'd gone anyplace but New England. Other than those two players, this team is going forward with last year's talent. Didn't re-sign a linebacker, but that's the kind of thing that happens every year. Let an old safety go. This leadership hasn't ripped the team apart in order to start over. This leadership intends to win with the current talent and build from there.

Sorry. You're right. You didn't say they were tanking. I missed that. But I don't think they're rebuilding, in the classic sense of that word. Rebuilding to me means they're starting over, and I don't think they are. Rebuilding would mean getting ride of core players, and they aren't doing that. I'm sure you're right in one sense. I'm sure they went to the Pegulas and said "we're going to trade Darby and Watkins." But they're explanation is NOT that they wanted to get draft picks. They're explanation was they are not the kind of guys we want on the team, and if we trade them now we can get pretty good value for them. Scott - I don't know if you saw this SI piece about the Bills - its the subject of another thread. https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/07/buffalo-bills-not-tanking-sean-mcdermott-nfl King or whoever says the same thing I said about Watkins and Darby. For one reason or another, Beane and McD decided they weren't the kind of guys they want on their team, because their philosophy is about more than just talent. May be right, may be wrong, but it's a philosophy and they're going to stick with it. Parcells was the same way. If you were his kind of guy, he kept you. If you weren't, even if you were talented, you were gone.

Good stuff. Thanks. Don't take the fact that Belichick took Gilmore as an endorsement. Belichick takes all kinds of guys and gives them a try - if they don't work out, he gets rid of them He took Moss, who was a certifiable head case. He picks up guys, unloads them, and takes them back. I head from an insider that Gilmore wasn't a team guy, which is why I said what I said. I really liked Watkins - the guy is special. And he hasn't played. But the real point is that as I said, Beane's and McD's philosophy obviously is not to spend a lot of talent on the outside. It's obvious - in one off-season, they got rid of Gilmore, Watkins and Darby, all of whom were going to cost a lot of money to keep. You may disagree, which is fine, everyone's entitled to an opinion about how to build a team. Theirs, which isn't unusual, is that spending money on wideouts and corners isn't wise. Spend it on linemen and quarterbacks. You certainly could be right about going into year three with a losing record. It's possible. But if that happens, it will be because McD is failing. He has a decent offensive line and he has a good defensive line. If you have two good lines and you can coach, you should win. That, in fact, is why Rex got fired. The league is about coaching, and the Bills have enough talent to win games. They probably don't have a QB, so they aren't going to win a lot, but if Tyrod is healthy it's enough talent to go 8-8. They did it with Rex, and they should be able to do it with McD. If not, the Bills hired the wrong coach, again. I don't think so. If they were tanking, they would have unloaded Shady and Dareus. They could have gotten a couple more good picks. I don't think they're tanking. They got rid of Watkins and Darby early, because they knew they wouldn't re-sign them, so they should get value for them when they could.

It IS the explanation. Like you, I don't know if it's a good idea, but it seems pretty clear that's what they're doing.

A few of those are questionable, but you actually make good points. The starting talent is probably at least equal overall, the personnel is better suited to the 4 3, and there's probably better coaching staff in place.

Wayne often has good things to say, and this is no exception. (I disagree some about first-round QBs - yes, they're a crap shoot, but there's no denying that first round is where you have to look for QBs. After that, getting a QB is a total shot in the dark.) Otherwise he's right. The notion that no first-year coach can afford to tank is a good one. That's a really important point. I think Beane and McD have a philosophy that they feel strongly about. It has several points, and I don't know all of them, but I know some. One is that they are strong believers that the most important players on the team are the ones who play closest to the ball - offensive and defensive line and quarterback. How can you tell? Look at the major moves: Watkins gone for a player and pick before he hit free agency, because they won't pay a wideout what Watkins will get. Gilmore gone before that, same reason. Darby gone, because he was going to be next. Woods contract extended. Safeties play far from the ball; they acquired good byt not great guys there, because they don't wan to spend at that position. Look at the team - offensive line and defensive line in tact, starting QB is the best they could do this year. A second is that they want to build through the draft. They've said that over and over. Why? Because you can get cheap talent in the draft. A third is that system, and guys who commit to the system, is more important than talent. Trust the process. Not that talent doesn't matter, but if the guy is fully bought into the system, Beane and McD won't keep him around. There were little rumors, unsubstantiated, about each of Watkins, Gilmore and Darby, that they weren't team players. Tolbert, Webb, Hyde and several others were brought in because of their known commitment to process. McD believes he can win now, because he believes in process over talent. He believes he can win the future, because Beane won't break the bank on guys who play away from the ball, like Watkins, Darby and Gilmore and because Beane is collecting a lot of draft picks. BIlls might not win a lot this season, but they aren't tanking. If McD is going to be a great head coach, he might even win a lot this season. Probably not, but it's possible. If he's going to be great, he should win next season, because he will have a team full of guys who buy into what he's doing.

They're my team. Always were and always will be. This doesn't work for me. The Bills haven't negatively affected my happiness over the past 17 years. I get pleasure out of watching them, rooting for them, writing about them. If I didn't get pleasure out of it, I wouldn't do it. I desperately want them to win, and losing sucks, but I'm always happy to be a Bills fan.

First, if I had to guess, I'd guess that Kyle IS disappointed. He wants to win, and the day Sammy left town, the chances of winning dropped significantly. But Kyle is a quality guy, and when he commits, he commits. He may be disappointed, but he's going to go out playing his best. He wouldn't, couldn't do it any other way. And I think there's something else going on that Kyle likes very much, and that is that he can see the team being populated with guys like him - gritty, hard working, committed to the team and the system. He see's a guy like Tolbert come into the locker room, who by all reports is a guy like Kyle - a guy commited to doing his job. And the reports are that that kind of commitment is common denominator of the guys who have joined the team - and also the common denominator of the guys who left, like Darby and Watkins. Let's wait and see what happens. Finally, Kyle's done interviews almost every week. He hasn't been silent.

This is an important point. I've seen experts talk about this. There are off-season technique camps that pro offensive linemen go to to learn the things they didn't learn playing college ball.

This post is what is ridiculous. Two GMs with a total of over 20 years experience evaluating talent in the NFL and two coaches with over years experience evaluating and coaching talent in the NFL ALL decide that Mills should be the right tackle, and you think THEY'RE ridiculous? Maybe you need to post your qualifications, including the amount of on-field and off-field time you've spent evaluating Mills before you call everyone else ridiculous. You say that Mills was the worst offensive lineman starting for the Bills last season. That may be true, but did you know that EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL had a "worst offensive lineman" starting for them EVERY TEAM, because, of course, some linemen are better than others. The question is not whether Mills was the worst offensive lineman starting for the Bills; the question is whether there was a better lineman available to the Bills whom Beane failed to acquire. And I'll say the same thing to you about Miller and Ducasse. You're complaining even though the Bills named Miller the starter, the guy you want to be the starter. So you complaint is that they spent too much time looking at Ducasse. And how, exactly, has that hurt the Bills?

6-10. I was at 7-9 or maybe even 8-8, but with the QB situation so up in air (who knows whether Taylor will be any good, and even if he is, one bad hit and he could be down with another headache) and with the receiving corps a real question mark, I don't see a lot of wins. I hope Beane and McD know what they're doing.

We disagree often, but this is so on the money I had to quote it. The hysteria around here because one of the best players missed a bus is amazing.

If you don't know Cookie, go watch the video on BuffaloBills.com. The guy was one of the best running backs of all time.

Yes, if his head were on straight, he'd be an even better player and he could be a leader on the team. Yes, he is not a non-issue. But if you agree with my list, then you should agree that Marcell missing the team bus is not an important issue. He's one of the best tackles in the league, he is not suspended, and the Bills are much better off having him on the field, issues and all, than having him playing someplace else.

Go ahead and list the Bills' top 10 problems. If Dareus is on your list, you'll be a candidate for my ignore list. Here's mine, without spending any time to think about it. 1. QB short-term 2. QB long-term 3. Left tackle 4. Right guard 5. No. 1 wideout 6. No. 2 wideout 7. Corner back 8. Slot corner 9. Outside lbs 10. Coaching Marcell's attitude doesn't come close to any one of those 10 as a problem for the Bills. Might he become a problem? Sure. But although he's been an irritant, he hasn't been a problem since he arrived in Buffalo.