bbills17

Why don't some of you guys claiming it's IMPERATIVE that JP start now and stink up the joint in order to become a good QB please explain how Chad Pennington, Marc Bulger, Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck and lots of other QBs rode the bench and were very good QBs right off the start?? This trial by fire that some of you claim is required is absolute BS.

No, YOU are dead wrong. Ask Chad Pennington, Marc Bulger, Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck, etc They all started in the NFL after learning the game on the BENCH with a clipboard. When they went in, they all started with a very high level of play.

Thank you, very well said.

I said this line is built to run? When you wake up, please show me where I said this. I do think this line is decent at run-blocking, albeit inconsistent, but they have opened up some very nice holes for Willis, and he never turns those into huge gains like he should. At least 2-3 runs this year could have been taken to the house by a faster RB. I say Kevin Jones and Julius Jones are both better backs than Willis, and I stand by it. Someone showed that Willis beats them in every statistical category? Last time I checked, the only stat was YPC, after 3 games. Boy that really tells the tale doesn't it? He's patient, yes, and slow. Compared to the above backs for example, he's very slow. When you wake up and get your facts straight, you might be able to make a point. Until then, go back to sleep.

That seems to be another huge exageration by this board. I didn't see Willis play very much in college, but everyone said he was as good or 'better' than Thurman catching the ball as well as running it. He doesn't scare anyone coming out of the backfield on passing downs.

Who cares when they were drafted, you make no sense. Regardless of when a QB is drafted, they have to learn the game, and that doesn't have to be on the field. They can learn and get better as a backup, as all my examples show. Better coaches and lineman? Give me a break. Watch Marc Bulger play and see how he's coached and see how often he's hurried/hit/sacked. He still makes plays.

I'm basing this on actually watching the backs, not a meaningless ypc stat. YPC is so skewed based on how much a back runs, when they run, and if they've managed to break a long one. It's isn't the end all be all in evaluating a RB. For example, Willis' YPC must have been terrible yesterday, but had he got that 50 yard run, it would have been fantastic. Does that totally change how his day was? No.

How about Chad Pennington? Marc Bulger. Tom Brady. Matt Hasselbeck. There are lots of examples. These guys only got their jobs because they stepped in and showed they were ready to play after learning the job on the bench. JP is not ready and he can pick up the clipboard and go back to work until he is.

I'd agree with you there, but watch him try to turn the corner, then watch other RBs do it. He may not 'look' as fast because of his style, but he also isn't as fast either. The extra weight he's carrying not only slows down his top speed, he doesn't cut as fast as he should be to hit the corners.

If you think McGahee is a better back than either of those two guys you need to take your Bills glasses off and actually watch the games objectively.

I think some of the so-called 'experts' here should eat some crow and admit how ridiculously wrong they were about the QB switch. Holcomb played very well today, you can pull out all the excuses about turnovers, etc, but just focusing on the QB play, we was very solid. Most of you were wrong, many of the same people that were wrong when R.Johnson was benched for Flutie. And this notion that JP has to play now to develop is complete BS. There are many rookie QBs that sit the bench for 2-3 years before getting the starting QB job, and come in and play very well. JP is simply not ready to be a starting QB in this league, plain and simple. No need for this 'trial by fire' approach many of you think is the only option. The attitude some of you have regarding 'throwing away the season' is absolutely pathetic. You claim we have no chance at playoffs so just throw in the towel and play JP? I don't know if you've ever played ball before, but I highly doubt it because an attitude like that would get you killed on most football teams. You're never out of it, and nothing is impossible until the math says so. That kind fo attitude is for losers.

That's because he simply is not that fast, despite what all the homers here will tell you. He isn't even in the same league as other young guys like J.Jones, K.Jones, Tomlinson, etc. but that doesn't stop 90% of people here from overrating him and making constant excuses for him.

I disagree. Willis has not been running well, the real myth is that people say he has. All of his decent runs have been the result of very nice holes opened up for him. He hasn't 'made something out of nothing' as other great backs do, nor as he really broke one and ran away from defenders (because he doesn't have that kind of speed anymore). Look back at all the runs for losses, or 1-2 yards, you can't get a drive going like that! He gets the odd decent run of 10-20 yards to keep the avg. up, but you can't maintain a drive with running like that. You guys really overrate Willis McGahee, he's simply not that good.

Or British

Does anyone else think that an ideal offence for JP to run would be a Denver-style offence with lots of bootlegs, rollouts and quarterback draws? Denver pounds the ball over and over, and then when you start to over-commit Plummer fakes the handoff and rolls out for big gains. Wouldn't this work for JP's skills?

The scary part is, he has only been picked off once, although it could just as easily be 5 times now if other teams had capitalized. For example, Moulds pulling the one throw down that went way over his head would have been picked off had he not made a great play to touch it. Willis is good, but I don't think he'll ever be 'great'. If he's a power back, he doesn't run like one! To me, a power back is TJ DUckett, now HE was running with power!

JP was horribly inaccurate. Other than that, I liked his play. He seemed to usually pick the right spots (other than missing a wide-open Moulds down the sideline), but he can't hit his targets. Young, inexperienced QBs that are thought to have potential can still usually throw with decent accuracy. The long bombs were especially suprising, he couldn't even come close on many of them, even when the line gave him lots of time. This will get tonnes of hate replies since there has always been a love-on for Willis on this board, but I don't think he played any better than 'good'. Most of his big runs were the product of huge holes opened for him, and even those runs I thought he could have stretched farther. He just doesn't have the breakway speed he had in college. When the holes weren't there, he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Why is it you watch other young backs like Carnell or Julius Jones, and they always pull off amazing runs out of nothing, at least 3-4 times a game? I never see this with Willis. This season is far from written off, especially since the AFC games are what really matter. I thought Crowell filled in for Spikes very well. I think the defence can still be very good with Crowell in there. We blitzed a lot, but really showed an inability to get to the QB. Either our pass rush sucks, or ATL picked up the blitz very well.

I've seen that kind of running from him often, and I've never seen burst like the two backs I mentioned. They also hit the hole hard every time.

I'm opinionated because I said something that wasn't completely complimentary about Willis McGahee? I'll stand by what I've said, I've always thought that. This is precisely what a forum is for, if everyone just stood by as a cheerleader it would make for very boring discussion. Willis will never be a top flight back hesitating and juking around trying to find holes, that's my opinion and I'll stand by it.

Just because I don't post every day doesn't make me new, or a troll. I've been on this board years before you pal.

What Willis McGahee have you been watching? He's been running like that the entire time he's been a Bill. He rarely ever hits the hole hard, it's always this bob and weave 'I think I'm Marshall Faulk' move. Watch other young backs like Julius Jones or Kevin Jones hit the hole, and also look at their YPC. You guys have overrated Willis since Day 1, he doesn't have the burst he once had (apparantly), and likely never will. You keep making excuses for him, claiming he has no holes, watch the two aforementioned RBs, they MAKE their own holes on many plays when there is nowhere to run.

GREAT song by a band far too many people aren't aware of. Grace, Too Tragically Hip Ghost town on a tuesday night That ok I'm feelin' alright It's easier to grab a beer Without a thousand people here I wonder where I'll be in a year Probably be sittin right here But if you know the answer Don't tell me anyone I don't wanna know

You are forgetting one thing, HE SIGNED A CONTRACT. Nobody forced him to sign it. When players become UFA, then they have the leverage and can get their payday, until then you are legally obligated to play under the contract YOU SIGNED. I'll bet he loved signing his rookie contract with the nice fat signing bonus? So he got the big bonus that comes with the long term deal, and now he wants the best of both worlds? You're way out of line and delusional with this post Drew.

I hope most of the lurkers reading this thread know that likely 90% of these scores are exagerations to downright lies. I don't know how many times I've been out with a '80-90' golfer only to find it's really 100 if he counts properly.

You are really damn annoying with your bias and contradictory posts in this thread. Will you give it up VA, you are WRONG and everyone knows it. Why you have this vendetta against TH is beyond me, but he's a very good back, much better than Thomas, Buckhalter or Jordan for that matter (since he has never even proven himself as a starter TH has!!! - big difference).