FLFan
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Posts posted by FLFan
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I would not be at all surprised if the Bills went after him, but I would be shocked if he came here, and that decision will not be about scheme or money, IMO. If he hits the market he will draw very wide interest inlcuding from some teams perceived to be serious contenders. That will be the issue for the Bills - convincing a player of this caliber that they are serious and have the horses. If he were to come here, you can bet it will not be for his cover skills as a LB. Whether they are in a base 4-3 or a base 3-4 on any given play, his hand will be on the ground. The scheme is of no real consequence in taking advantage of his talents. Perhaps injury concerns on Mario Williams will knock his stock down some. This is the negative and a potentially big risk, but he could be a real difference maker for the Bills, assuming he is healthy.
Another point - "cash to cap" is not a hindrance for the Bills to compete dollar wise. Most teams use this philosophy, and the Bills have plenty of room.
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Please do not feed the troll. Thank you.
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By the way, the "crappy" pick the Bills made in the 4th was OT Chris Hairston. Pretty good take in the 4th in my opinion. As for Evans being "one of our best players" evidence from the last couple of years would suggest otherwise.
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The only chance Denver has of scoring on Pittsburgh is with turnovers deep in Steelers territory. Then, a field goal may be possible. The Tebow miracle is over.
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50 games in the NFL is a large enough sample size to determine if someone is good, average, or bad. Fitz has proven, over the long haul, that is a less than average quarterback. His QB ratings over the year do not lie. His rib was not hurt for 50 straight games, and his "weapons" were not injured throughout either. Of course he has had glimpses of brilliance. So did JP, Trent, Rob Johnson etc.
I get increasingly baffled by people who insist his less than average play for the entirety of his career is not attributable to him. If only we all could get the same luxury of no accountability at our jobs.
You can argue stats, but you cannot separate the reality of the situation when evaluating his performance. Fitz has limitations and will never be an elite QB, but you want to ignore the discontinuity of the offensive personnel on this team, which were not elite in most positions to begin with and is now relegated to the level of a scout team, in determining he is "below average". Perhaps Brady or Rogers could have risen above this mediocre mess and posted a couple of wins along the way, but Fitz is going to struggle with the subpar OL and new receiver of the week environment they are in. Virtually any QB would. Not excuses, but a fact. I personally did not see him play much before he came to Buffalo, but I know what I have seen since then, and stats do not tell the whole story.
As for accountabiloity, he stands up there and takes responsibility each and every week so that the turds he is playing with do not have to. It is not denying accounatbility to say he is not solely responsible for the offensive mess we have witnessed for the last seven weeks, just recognition that he is not solely, nor even mostly, responsible for it.
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Fitz is neither as "good" as he looked in the first half of the season, or as "bad" as he has looked since. Fitz is not Rogers or Brady or Brees, but with the right offense and some consistency in the players around him, he has shown he can perform very well. Some people want to ignore the injuries on the Bills offense as "excuse making" but you cannot ignore them. They lost 3 of their top 4 receivers going into the year fairly early. They have Brad Smith starting at WR for crying out loud - he was sixth on the depth chart at that position going into the year. They lost their best offensive weapon in Jackson and now Chandler for the last two. Hello! Any QB needs some talent around him, and perhaps more importantly, some consistency in the lineup. The group of receivers he worked hard with in offseason and training camp to develop chemistry and timing are mostly gone.
The bigger issue may be the OL. Wood was the glue that held the whole thing together and it is no coincidence that the offense has been completely out of synch ever since he went out. You see missed blocking assignments and other mistakes you just did not see before. The revolving door at LT has not helped and neither is having to play Urbik at center as he was better at RG than his replacement. OL depth should be a major priority this offseason. The lack of execution on the OL and lack of timing with ther receivers are the big reasons for Fitz's drop off in performance in my opinion.
Yes, he is not Brady, or Rogers, or Brees and never will be, but even they would be struggling with the issues the Bills are facing on offense. Fitz has shown he can produce at a high level - he did not suddenly lose the skills he does bring halfway through the year. That does not make sense.
By the way, one thing to love about this guy - he has never made an excuse for his play although he could come up with many. He takes responsibility and acts like a leader. He is just not getting any help out there.
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Nix never said that
Don't spoil people's conspiracy fantasies.
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As I look at our FA list for this year, we're less than a handful of internal signings away from being able to bring some talent through FA and the draft and have some honest to God depth on this team.
2012 will be the year of the upswing.
2013 will be the year when we finally see some traction. And if we continue on the same trajectory as we've been on the last two years, 2014 and beyond could be the most stable years we've seen in a LONG LONG time.
To blow the whole thing up would be a monumental mistake.
I agree with you but I doubt you will find much support amidst the lynch mob that is TSW. Nix moving aside for Whaley would make sense, as would a makeover of the Defensive staff, but anything beyond that would be taking a step backward yet again. This year has been disappointing but not the casue for panic or proof posiitve of the same old, same old as some here clearly believe.
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My understanding is that they could have locked up Poz before the labor dispute/CBA expiration without those restrictions, but I could be wrong. As for Whitner, they could've locked him up earlier (or tried to) before the impasse occurred. And it certaily appeared as though they had a last crack at him before he signed with the Bengals/49ers but they declined to get involved.
As for disregarding Donahoe/Levy, I totally disagree. I'm not sure how you can say that it's irrelevant when we have it on good authority that Littman and Overdorf traded Evans away. It's the same group running this team, regardless of public appearances. I don't see any difference in how this team is run as opposed to the previous regimes. Steveie Johnson is going to walk - you watch. They'll draft his replacement in Round 1. Same old same old.
As for the draft, clearly they need to draft better, but I think the jury is still out on whether the Bills have indeed "whiffed." A counter-argument could be made that the Bills have drafted solid players but have failed to develop them and have failed to re-sign them. Whitner, Maybin and Evans are all high draft picks who are components of other teams' roster depth. McKelvin is sure to be next on that list, and perhaps Spiller after him. These players cannot be called busts right now - they just haven't been developed by the Bills. I don't see evidence of that changing, quite frankly.
Respectfully, you are wrong about Poz. They had no option prior to FA. As for Whitner, I think Wilson has played far better this year at SS than Whitner ever did, and I think Byrd is a better FS. Not sure I understand your comment about locking Whitner up before the impasse. The impasse was about him over valuing his services and voluntarilly cutting off negotiations to wait for FA. By the time he signed, the Bills had already locked up their plans with Wilson. I think they are better for it frankly.
Stevie Johnson may walk - we shall see. Perhaps someone will offer him a bloated contract he cannot say no to. I do know this - if he wanted to be here as he says he does, he would not have cut off negotiations. He has stars and $ in his eyes. He will be with the Bills if he wants to be, but I would not be surprised if he gets an offer well beyond his value. Should the Bills over pay to keep him? I am not so sure, although I woould like to see him stay.
Yes, an arguemnent could be made over developing players I suppose, but I would not use Whitner. He is a decent player, over drafted at number 8, who I think reached his limited potential when here. As I have already said, I think Wilson has outplayed him by a mile. Evans has contributed nothing to the Ravens. It was unfortunate that he had to endure such a revolving door of bad coaches and worse QBs in Buffalo, but those are the breaks. No problem with the Bills letting this one trick poney go. There was no way to predict that 3 of their top 4 receivers would go down with injuries fairly early. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have Evans obvioulsy, but I have no problem with the decision to cut him loose and go with the youth. As for Maybin, I am not sold. I still think he sucks frankly. He is not an OLB or a DE and a major whiff that high in the draft. The jets were able to pick him up off the street and make some use of him for a minimum salary, but there is no arguement to be made the he was a good investment of that high a draft choice. I hope McKelvin is next on the list. How much more evidence do you need that he cant play CB? Should we be extending him? If his contract is up, good riddance. If not, give him one more chance to contribute at the position. He is no better than the 4th best CB on this team right now. Spiller is not going anywhere.
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They have not had roster depth for 20+ years. Whitner and Poz shouldn't have been allowed to make it to their last season - they should've been locked up well before then at more reasonable rates. And I don't buy the 4-3 argument with Poz - the Bills basically play a 4-3.
They tried to negotiate with Whitner but he felt he was worth much more money than the Bills thought he was worth so he waited for free agency. By the way, he did not get what he was originally asking for as he found a relatively soft market for his services. This is all well documented. The Bills were restricted in negotiations with Poz before his contract expired due to rules set by the CBA with respect to extension offers and percentagtes of existing salalry. I do not recall the specifics of the dollars, but again, this was well documented and you can look it up. When FA started the Bills immediately made what Poz's agent referred to as a very competitive offer. He chose to play elsewhere. You need to look elsewhere to justify your arguement.
The Bills have acted to lock up key players this year. They resigned G. Wilson in FA and Florence. They signed Fitz, Williams, Pears. They extended Merriman before the season started. They tried to sign Stevie and negotiated with Fred as well. Those players rejected initial offers and decided to wait. You may disagree with who they have extended but it is hard to argue they are not trying to lock up players they feel are essential to their plans, at least under this regime. I am not interested in past behavior under Donahoe or Levy as it is well past the point.
The big problem with this team is the misses in the draft over the past 10 years, the past 5 years particularly. Since you mentioned San Francisco, here is another stat they mentioned during last night's game. SF has 11 players on their roster drafted in the top 10 picks of the draft, 8 of whom they drafted themselves. The Bills have had as many opportunities, but have whiffed. Free Agency is a great way to fill in a few good players here and there but means nothing if you have not built a solid core through the draft. Evidence abounds in the league to support this.
I think the jury is still out on the last two drafts but they have picked some decent to potentially very good players. Some are strating caliber and some are decent depth. They clearly need a few more. I would love to see a stud receiver, they must have a pass rusher to fill at least one of the gaping holes at OLB. They clearly do not have even one starting quality outside LB on the current roster. They need depth on the OL at least, but a real stud at LT would be sweet. This year has been awful but this team is closer than everyone thinks.
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this deal made sense on numerous levels. and would've been done in training camp -- or maybe before -- had the offseason not been wiped out by the lockout.
the logic is that the Bills, for a few years, no longer have to worry about the QB position with Fitz and Thigpen in place. both are familiar with Chan's system, which makes the transition easier for now than having to introduce someone else to it in hopes he'll "get it."
the move now allows the bills to focus on many of their other needs moving forward. it all starts at qb. and if you don't have one, good luck in building a winner.
and those needs moving forward include pass-rusher, another wide receiver, offensive line and dbs. the rest of the team now has to catch up to the quarterback position. and fitzpatrick has proven he's capable of producing wins with capable players around him. at this point, there are not as many capable players around him as there were in the first two months of the season.
it's also true, that the injuries on defense has hurt that side of the ball coming together. rather than building on a slow start, the defense has essentially regressed in part because of all the different untested players being plugged in, and also due to the lack of any hint of a pass rush. it's asking too much for the offense to compensate.
jw
Well reasoned, cogent post, that happens also to be true. How dare you!
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Could somebody...for the love of god...please explain to me what in the hell this front office is thinking? Just about every single snap that Andy Levitre delivered to Ryan Fitzpatrick last Sunday was off, resulting in complete and utter chaos on just about every single offensive play in Miami. So, the Bills wait until midway though to fourth quarter, when the game is already out of hand, to make the change to Craig Urbik. If that isn't baffling enough, the Bills placed CB Terrence McGee and WR Donald Jones on IR this week, giving fans the assumption that the team would at least bring in an experienced center to make sure that another three-hour long NFL follies film couldn't be reproduced.
You know something, any other NFL team, and I do mean ANY other NFL team, would have made the move to fill this void on Monday after an embarrassing effort like the one shown by Buffalo in South Florida last Sunday. The Bills simply insist on extending this decade long nightmare-ish embarrassment of front office moves. Its not exactly like, before the season started, that the Bills were in "Salary-Cap hell". They didn't have the most money to spend in the offseason, but they did have a significant amount of money to spend to bring in quality free-agents. I'm not saying that they should've went Philadelphia on the Free-Agent market (look where that got the Eagles) and signed just about everybody, but at least Philly made an effort to improve the team. The Bills year in and year out try to stay "under the radar", signing a bunch of outcasts and misfits that nobody wanted elsewhere. It takes a special front-office and coaching staff to make that thought process work. The only two regimes in NFL history, that I've seen, that made that work is the Levy/Polian regime in Buffalo and the Pioli/Belichek regime in New England.
Moral of the story, It's rare that you win. THIS is the reason Buffalo has been a complete joke for more than a decade in the NFL. There's absolutely NO excuse for missing the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons. NONE!
They must have missed the starting center sitting out there after week 11 of the season just waiting to be picked up, taught the offense, schooled in all the line calls and made ready to paly for the following Sunday. What a bunch of screw ups.
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Translation: I'm not going out there and get myself killed when I want a new deal.
PTR
Seriously? What evidence has Jackson ever given you in his time here to suggest he would lay down on his team that way? By the way, he has a chance to lead the league in rushing and all purpose yards and make the pro bowl. I am sure he would be ouit there if he could.
Does Jackson have a bonus that kicks in at 1,000 yards rushing? Could be the organization (Ralph) be keeping him out, he isn't too far from that mark.
Yes, I am sure old Mr. Smithers in his wheelchair up in Detroit is scheming how to make a few sheckles by holding out the Bills best player. Wow! I have heard some half baked conspiracy theories in my time, but this one takes the cake.
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Unfortunately, this game is likely to be over in the first quarter. The Bills do not have the horses to compete with the Jets at this point. This will be another week of humiliation I am afraid. I hope I am wrong and the team somehow rallies and plays over their heads, and the Jets come in so over confident that we can surprise them, but I just do not see it. I would be surprised if they could stay within 20 points.
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We understand you don't like Spiller. We get it. I'm sure you would rather have Bulaga starting at tackle, and right about now I would too. But Spiller opened with a nice play at WR, not his position, as well as an important punt return. He is not going to get a lot of touches in the backfield with Freddie playing above EVERYBODY's expectations, but that won't be forever, and injuries happen. Like Whitner at #8, he is never going to live up to his draft position in the eyes of many, but I think he is going to be a good football player, and am glad he is on our team.
The first month of the season was lots of fun, especially beating New England, and the last month has been pathetic. But we are a rebuilding football team without depth, and 5-5 is not the end of the world. We just have to find a way to make it 8-8 or 9-7 and not 5-11 or 6-10, and that isn't going to be easy how we are playing.
We are a young team without depth, and we have lost our best DL, our best OL, our best LB for the season. Injuries happen to everybody, but the bottom of our roster is too weak to pick us up.
Clearly our D has also been a wreck at a coaching level, and I think Edwards leaving and Wanny taking over as soon as possible, with a possibly return to the 4-3, would be a good thing. I like Sheppard and Williams and Dareus, but we are just not that talented and not playing that well, and I don't see us getting it fixed in the next six.
Our offense needs to be able to adjust much better, and I've been very disappointed with Chan and Fitz not being able to find a way to get more done the last few weeks. But I think they will, and we will get back to scoring points.
I said before the season that this is an 8-8 team, and good breaks could take that to 10-6 and bad breaks to 6-10, and we have had good breaks early and bad breaks lately, and are right on track for that. I really wanted this 8-8 team to find a way to 10-6, and I'm now concerned we won't get to 8-8 and will underachieve for the season as a whole, but we are an 8-8 team at our essence, and to let a few good games make us think we are a 13-3 team or a few bad weeks have us feeling like a 3-13 team is pretty silly.
Go Bills.
This is the most reasonable post(one of the few with ANY reason) that I have seen so far today. Way to go.
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The best cornerback in the NFL is a legit pass rushing DE/OLB. Until we get that, it doesn't matter who is out at CB.
This is exactly the Bills problem. They are unable to get sustained pressure with just 4 rushers and have been largely ineffective with the blitz as well. The last two games in particular, Sanchez and Romo have literally had all day to stand back there and wiat for the recivers to open. They always will given enough time, against any secondary. In games where the Bills have had pressure, not necesssarily sacks, the secondary has performed, as the interception total would indicate.
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Bills 27 Jets 16
Close in the first half, Bills get ahead in the second and force Sanchez to throw, leading to turnovers. I had a dream.
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When I started this topic I gave it a nice name because it was not being mean about the Bills. Then someone changed the name. My guess is that it was someone named Wormboy. Well Wormboy when you put words in my mouth guess what I put in your mouth? My fist; that's what.
I know you is all probably worried about facing the Jets this week right when they are starting to look unvinceable again and Aaron Maybin is coming back to make you look bad but remember it is just a game. You guys beat the Pats so there is at least a chance you can get second in the division. There is nothing wrong with being second when the team in first is maybe the best team in the last 10 years of the NFL on defense and has an offense that is only getting better. Anything can happen so root for your team and maybe you'll be lucky which I doubt.
P.S. J-E-T-S Jets JEts JETS.
Personally, I cannot wait to see Fred Jackson put Maybin on his back when Maybenot runs one of his patented "speed moves" on a blitz. Maybin does not get near Fitz on Sunday. Count on it.
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This guy actually did an impressive analysis, and one I would not disagree with. My sense watching the game was the real problem was Beck. I am not taking away from the Bills effort on D, but clearly there were plays to be made by a good QB. I think this really highlights the success of Fitz in the Bills offense. He recognizes coverages and rush schemes, understands where to go with the ball, and makes quick decisions. Beck's performance Sunday reminded me of Trent Edwards - the polar opposite of what we have in Fitz right now. I cannot believe that Shanahan thinks this guy gives them the best chance to win.
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To answer the OP's question.....we beat them because we a better team.
Exactly. Gailey outcoached Haley, the Bills got up early because they cashed all their opportunities where SD botched them last night, they stuffed the Cheif's running game, and when you force Cassell into passing to catch up, they are simply dead. Neither San Diego or Kansas City are impressive teams to me. People here have written off the SD road game, but I think the Bills win that game.
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Who knew it was so simple? Apparently we have no chance at all. I forgot we only have one player on this team.
Yeah - I am going to have to go back and review all the games to see how the Bills have managed to average over 30 points per game with only one player. I guess Fred Jackson has been disguised as other players all year. Who knew. I hope the Bills destroy this POS team and their POS coach. Although any win would be great, a beatdown would be sweet.
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The Skins lost 5 starters in the last 2 weeks, no doubt they are reeling from injuries.
O line injuries,their best WR, the starting RB and TE and all those injuries did have a big effect on the outcome of that game
Buffalo is currently dealing with a bunch of injuries themselves...the thing is ....how good would the Bills be without Fred Jackson at RB, Chandler at TE, Johnson at WR plus a back up QB in the game....that is what the Skins are currently dealing with.
However, this game showed that the Bill know how to game plan an opponent and can dominate hapless teams just like they did with the Chiefs.
The Bills have as many injuries, perhaps more, than the Skins. They have lost two LTs, 2 of their top 3 WRs, a starting LB, a starting pro bowl NT. What this game showed to me is that the Bills are far ahead of the Skins with respect to talent and depth, and that Gailey at this point is a far better coach than Shanahan.
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Start saying goodbye to the small and mid market teams and say hello to multiple NY/Boston/LA/Big Market teams
As bad as it sounds to be helping oput these million/billionaires by helping pay for stadiums or upgrades to them, by not helping, what is their reasoning for keeping their product (the sports franchise) in that area? If you don't support your government helping fund some of the upgrades/stadiums, then you better not be mad when they end up leaving for places that will Sports franchises and stadiums bring in alot of revenue into these areas, they should be entitled to some assistance from the governments to make the places better and help generate more tax revenue.
This is exactly right. Small market teams like Buffalo or MN do not survive without taxpayer help on the stadium infrastructure. I am not sure what the issues are in MN or if the team there is being reasonable, but in the case of Buffalo, unless the State and County pony up to keep that stadium at least competitive, there is no franchise in Western New York. They do not need a Jerry Jones style palace and are not asking for one - the local economy could not support it even if the team built it - they are asking for enough improvements to keep it viable long term. Of courwse, the taxpayers can "rebel" and chase them out. How would that be for the local economy and psyche?
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Sorry if you missed a step. The contract caused the relaxed attitude which caused the "injury". Get it now?
There was a thread about this yesterday called "Cheapness as a weapon". It is probably on page 2 by now. That thread was created before the announcement that Williams season is over. I guess it looks like a prediction thread now but I can honestly say it was not.
Your clarification does not make any more sense than your original post.
Chan Gailey
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
I dont think he was referring to character as much as the tendencies/philosophy of team on Offense.