Orton's Arm

Yes, it will hit us very hard, leaving us bloody and mangled. For cleaning up blood, there's nothing like a Maxie!

I agree with you that Lee Evans is the kind of WR you want on your team. My point about hands WRs was more directed at avoiding the situation the Raiders found themselves in maybe 10 - 15 years ago. They had a track team of guys with names like James Jett, but the only one who caught very many passes was the comparatively slow Tim Brown. The fast guys just couldn't catch. I like your plan of focusing on the o-line in the early rounds of the draft. Personally, I would sign few or any free agents this year, so the Bills could have good position in next year's draft. If there isn't a player worthy of wherever you're picking, then trade down. I'm not sold on Losman. Maybe next year he will do something to change my mind. Of the eight teams in the divisional round, seven have gotten good years out of their QBs this year. Maybe next year some of those QBs will have bad years. If so, their respective teams will likely be replaced in the divisional round. I agree Brunell had a bad day against Tampa, but Simms had a bad day against Washington. One of the two had to win despite his poor performance. Simms' QB rating for the year was a very respectable 81, so good QB play had a lot to do with why both teams made it that far in the first place.

An excellent thread you've started, Sven. However, there are some points with which we disagree: -First, I think that having a good QB is pivotal to a successful team. Look at the teams who will be playing in the divisional round. The divisional round's QBs are listed, with 2005 passer ratings in parentheses: Peyton Manning (104), Tom Brady (92) , Ben Roethlisberger (99), Jake Plummer (90), Jake Delhomme (88), Matt Hasselbeck (98), Mark Brunell (86), and Kyle Orton (60) / Rex Grossman (60). Chicago is in the divisional round because its defense had one of the best statistical years in NFL history. The other five teams needed good QB play. A bad QB can really hurt his team, killing drives through both INTs and incomplete passes. Compare the Oakland game to the Bucs game. Both were road games in which the offensive line was getting dominated, and in which the running game did next to nothing. But the Bills scored just 3 points in Tampa, while scoring 17 in Oakland. The difference was the quality of the QB play. -Second, I'll disagree about the importance of having speedy WRs. I think there needs to be one speedster like Lee Evans, but for the most part good hands are more important than speed. The cover-2 defense makes it very tough for teams that live and die by 40 yard passes. You need to be able to move the ball down the field in small chunks, and a receiver with the dropsies will kill your drives. Let's say your receiver drops a five yard pass on first and ten. You might think this is no big deal. But look more closely. Now it's second and ten. If you run a standard-issue between-the-tackles running play, it will be 3rd and 6 or 7. The odds of coverting in that 3rd down situation are well under 50%. The defense knows this, so on second and ten, they only need to focus on taking away plays of five yards or more. Now let's say the receiver makes the five yard catch, putting you in second and five. You no longer need a big play to convert, so the defense has more to guard against. Two standard-issue 3.5 yard running plays will get you the conversion quite nicely. So will another 5 - 6 yard pass. Because there are more things for the defense to guard against, they're much more likely to guess wrong. The third thing about which we disagree is the best way to acquire an offensive line. I strongly feel that most or all of your offensive line should come through the draft. There are several reasons for this: 1) the best offensive linemen almost always get locked up for their careers by the teams that drafted them, 2) you need to be locking up players for their whole careers yourself to create maximum continuity. Take Chris Villarrial as an example. A few years ago, he was one of the best offensive guards on the free agent market. TD signed him. But old age has caught up with him all too quickly, and now it's getting time to find a new RG. Once again there will be disruption at the RG spot, instead of the years of continuity that teams with successful offensive lines enjoy. If your average free agent OL signing lasts five years as a starter, then on average you're replacing one starter a year. That's not good. What makes the situation worse is that guys who are in their last year or two of being starters will provide declining levels of play. So of your five linemen, one will be new to your line, and another will be a declining player in his last year as a starter. That leaves just three good linemen. Maybe you're thinking this problem could be avoided by signing all five free agents at once, so they can all gel together, and provide their best years at the same time. But there simply aren't enough quality OL free agents to let you do this.

The problem with Brett Maxie is he needs new pickup lines. Right now, he seems stuck on, "Hey baby, come check out my pad."

An excellent point. In that case, both players should go.

Has anyone seen Cutler play? Is that guy worth drafting?

They probably have more total offensive plays than most teams in the league, because their offense is so good at staying on the field and avoiding three and out.

Considering he lumped you in with pedophiles and viruses, I'd have to say you're putting things mildly. You're welcome.

Yeah, because the Bills have never had a successful season while running the no-huddle offense.

I don't know your feelings about whether TD's firing was justified. But if you thought he should have been given another year, you are in the minority among the Bills fans on these boards. As for insulting Bills players, you can't start a thread about Mike Williams without hearing about how he is sitting out due to a strained vagina/chipped fingernail/whatever. Before the season, Ryan Lindell and Josh Reed were popular whipping boys on these forums. I've run into Losman supporters who feel the need to denigrate Holcomb to prove their points. I've now read 5 pages of Hollywood's posts. In those pages, he talked negatively about Patriots players more often than Bills players.

One could use those stats to make the opposite argument: the defense was lousy, it did nothing to help the offense, yet the Bengals had offensive success anyway.

Okay, you got me.

If I got offended every time someone insulted Donahoe, I'd have to beat the tar out of . . . myself! And that would be pretty weird.

I went through the first three pages of Hollywood's posts. I'm not going to read through all 1700 posts! In those three pages, I found nothing where he attacked Bills fans or the organization. He spent quite a bit of time responding to your accusations that he had done so, though. He did make an anti-Donahoe joke though. He said that if Reggie Bush got hurt, TD would draft him, and trade away McGahee for a third rounder. I'm not exactly what you'd call TD's biggest fan, so the joke didn't bother me at all. He did contribute to the football side of the discussion, for example by describing how the schedule is made.

To reduce the chance of injuries, Maxie could redesign the team's pads. The new and improved Maxie pads would allow a greater degree of comfort, while reducing bleeding and improving performance.

I completely agree. In fact, I think he is a good example for others. The next time I go to McDonald's, remind me to bring a gun. I don't plan on getting into any altercations in the parking lot, but hey, you never know.

I've heard you say negative things about Hollywood before, though never this strongly. I haven't seen Hollywood do anything to deserve harsh accusations, but then again I haven't made it a point to read through all his posts. The only way I will believe your assessment is if a) I happen to come across posts of his which are like you say, or b) if you provide links to posts of his which are intended to humiliate Bills fans, or which otherwise strongly support your accusations.

Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart! (Just kidding, BTW.)

Maybe you're taking him a little too personally. It's just a game, and Pats fans are allowed to root for the best QB their franchise has ever had, just like Bills fans rooted for Kelly.

If the Bills can't get Grimm due to that assistant head coach stuff, maybe they should take a long, hard look at NE QB coach Josh McDaniels. This would be an opportunity to hurt a division rival while getting a guy skilled in the death by a thousand small cuts style of offense. I still remember the way the Giants offense killed the Bills back in the Super Bowl; and the Patriots' offense looks remarkably similar. McDaniels could import this offense to Buffalo. Now, you say the players shouldn't be expected to learn a whole new offense. But for whose sake are the Bills supposed to keep their offense the same? The offensive line, even though all its players should be replaced? The QB, even though there is no established QB right now? The receivers, even though Moulds won't be here much longer? The RBs, even though McGahee has had an off year? No, if the offense is going to go in a new direction, now is the time to do it.

In order to win the Super Bowl, you either have to have a great QB, or you have to be the Ravens of 2000. Problem is, most teams that pick very early in the draft are bad organizations. Look at Joey Harrington in Detroit: no offensive line, overrated skill position players, not much of a chance to succeed. David Carr is an even more glaring example. The only way for a QB chosen very early to have success is for the organization to take a sudden turn for the better around the time he gets drafted. Peyton Manning being taken first overall is a good example, as is Carson Palmer. Bottom line, ANY player taken in the first round can be a bust, QB or no. But when a QB lives up to his potential, it's a bigger step to a Super Bowl ring than when some other player lives up to his potential.

My own feeling is the Bills should take a fired head coach as their defensive coordinator. My fear with Maxie is that the CBs will give too much of a cushion--or pad--while covering WRs.

If I'm Polian, there's no way I make this trade.

Why do that? So the Bills can go 6-10 next year instead of 4-12? Better to get rid of the aging vets--all of them--go 4-12, get yourself high draft picks, and build for the future. Unless you want to keep a guy or two around to provide leadership and an example for your younger players. If that's what your up to, go with Vincent instead of Milloy.

Yeah, because clearly nothing's good about the Pittsburgh organization right about now.