BackInDaDay

I'm stunned by EJ's lack of progress.. very dissappointing performance

Discouraging

I still think they shoulda kept Lamonica..

this is one area of the field where the read option could be successful, especially after our first obligatory corner fade is defended .. if the DE crashes the mesh/hand-off - and the outside LB isn't prepared to exchange edge responsibilities with the DE - our QB could stroll in. but in Hackett's defense - that's something you don't show opponents in pre-season.

The read option took some D coordinators by suprise two seasons ago. They quickly came up with a means to take it away by bringing an additional defender into the box to read which lineman was being optioned, allowing that lineman to take his pre-determined inside/outside responsibility - with the added man left the other The evolution of the league's pass defense rules to allow unobstructed route running, and you really want to have a QB who can play from the pocket. Anything you get from the position when plays break down is gravy. Yes, those plays can turn a game, but it's not something to design around. As much as I liked Tebow the football player, he's not a competent enough QB to beat an NFL defense. If he can't do it with his legs, or his arm, what's left... other than divine intervention?

whaddya think is above the tailgate?

just toss a ball around in the lot.. sooner or later your ball will end up under a tailgate.. they always do

..and that's not easy to do.. but it's why you're a Bills fan.. we're by nature a hopeful bunch, i think. hell, i've been waiting so long to see this team become a team to be reckoned with, that i'm still waiting to party like it's 1999 when they win the big one

i missed the game, but i gather from this quote on ESPN's site, that the young O had a decent day at the office. ...Manuel doesn't seem too concerned. "We did a very good job at executing what we wanted to execute," Manuel said.. i saw the stats, and 2 highlight EJ tosses - one from under center and one from shotgun - where the ball came out quickly to open men.. hopefully, the skill guys are finding a rhythm. any pat, pat, pat sightings in the Buffalo pocket tonight?

i appreciate the kind words, considering i initiated this topic before understanding what our guys are trying to accomplish... ..and yes, i believe our O was working on this new approach, and that both EJ and our receivers were showing the effects of limited time executing against a live D at game speed. check that 'almost pick' on the slant.. EJ was waiting on the receiver - the timing was way off. even our receivers splits will impact their timing with their QB. Hackett adds that caveat in his comment about adjustments. what i'd like to see by opening day is how EJ reacts to disrupted routes and misread coverages that will impact the success of the play as it unfolds.. will he be able to seamlessly pick up his next target(s) in a timely fashion. I've read somewhere that there's been some 'ball patting' going on during practices.. which means the timed passing game isn't yet in synch.

i was very pleased to see this report regarding what our OC and Receivers coach are installing. Synching up the feet paying off This offseason offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett along with receivers coach Rob Moore committed to a step count based route tree for their receivers. The idea behind it was to put the route running paces of the receivers in lock step with the drop steps of the quarterback to create a more consistent efficiency to the passing game. “We give them guidelines,” said Hackett. “We want to give them foundation of something they can believe in - understanding the depth you have to get to, how many steps it will take to get there and so forth. But at the same time everything has to adjust.” So far the receivers like it believing more precise execution in the passing game will lead to more opportunities to gain yards after the catch. “I think it’s working out,” said Robert Woods. “We’re seeing the change from last year. When we’re breaking out of our routes and the ball is already in the air there’s less time waiting on the ball and it gives us more time to make the defender miss.” I think it explains a few things we saw Sunday. 1. the number of snaps taken from under center 2. the 'locking in' to a particular route 3. the consequences of the OL's poor techniques Manuel's being coached up to release the ball as soon as he sets his plant foot. So, depending on his dropback, he was attempting to hit the related route. It's why his mechanics seemed fine, but his instincts.. well, looked lousy. there was nothing instinctive about where he was going with the ball, and until he gets more experience in going through each set of progressions his dropbacks are timed too, he'll look like a blind robot at times. There's a lot of work to do.. to get to the point where he and his receivers make the same reads on which corresponding patterns to run, and where Manuel's comfortable delivering the ball to the end of that route - without hesitation - but it's good to see there's a plan in place.. and that what i thought might be EJ having too much on his plate, was just he and the offence working the plan. Hmm.. is it too late for a 'never mind'?

for the record, i'm a big EJ supporter.. i believe he has all of the physical tools to succeed, and from all accounts - his attitude and work ethic are fantastic. my concern is that his football instincts may have been dulled by all the time he's had to get coached up, without a chance to compete. that's why i suggested that Hackett should get him 'physically involved' asap - roll him out, send in an option, let him move around a bit. we all knew he was a project, but did anyone believe he would be groomed as strictly a pocket passer? let him play his game, and then see what he's retained from all the coaching. there's a chance they might be pleasantly surprised,

some of last season's all-22 perspectives exposed some shoddy schematics in the passing game - which Hilliard took the hit for - so hopefully these issues aren't lingering

.. but lousy. His mechanics were good. His instincts were bad. I think Hackett should get him physically involved in the game in his first series - just to get his juices flowing.

done.. good luck!

how did this classic escape his collection? Wide Right

Yep.. you can have all the measurables, but without the drive to compete and improve - you've only got a paper tiger. I got a feeling EJ's got some sharp fangs behind that boyish grin.

Personally, I find EJ's best quality is his desire to improve and his willingness to be coached up. Adding that quality to a big, strong kid who has the ability to translate his preparation to solid game play - and it's hard for an old pessimistic fan like myself, not to like his chances of succeeding.

no.. Staten Island, NY until moving to Middletown, NJ the last 24 years.. i was 9 or 10 years old, and noticed the red, white and blue team playing on the tv.. i really liked their unis, i guess.. after my father told me they were one of the best teams in the new AFL, my fate was sealed.. i'll die a Bills fan, and unlike some, i'll root for them wherever they end up - BUT THEY BELONG IN BUFFALO, NY!

i hope you're right.. i've been a fan for 48 years and have never even been to a game in Buffalo, but the team belongs there.. not Toronto.. not LA.. when Wilson was thinking of leaving Buffalo for Seattle, in order to get a NFL quality stadium built - i wrote a letter to Gov Rockefeller, begging him to help keep the Bills in Buffalo.. NY came up with the money i guess, and Ralph stayed put. This is a horse of a different color though.. it's Mary Wilson's right to do what she has to do.. hopefully the local boys win out.

My sons were playing Pop Warner football for the Middletown, NJ Eagles when BonJovi's son Jesse was ready to play tackle football. BonJovi had a mansion on Navesink River Rd - across from Red Bank, NJ. This placed him in the Eagle's district. Jesse and dad made a couple summer practices before John decided that the Eagles were "too big a venue" for his son. He was able to transfer Jesse to another Middletown Pop Warner team - the River Plaza Chargers - after River Plaza threatened to force a couple of boys playing with their friends for the Eagles, to transfer to the Chargers. Other than that particular section of Middletown, the Eagles are made up of kids from lower to middle class families. The Chargers district includes more affluent families. We were scrimmaging the Chargers the week the SI article about how BonJovi and then Giants QB Kerry Collins were helping the 'disadvantaged' kids at River Plaza. A fellow Eagles coach and I joked that the Charger parents waiting out the scrimmages in their air conditioned luxury cars - reading SI - must be shocked to find out how poor they were. The saddest part of this story, and the thing that knaws at me to this day, is that BonJovi could have made a huge difference across the river. The Red Bank kids were from poor families. Their equipment was old. The kids wore different uniforms and helmets. Sometimes they forfeited away games because there weren't enough parents to drive. If the guy insisted on having his kid transferring out to play in a smaller "venue", Red Bank would have been the perfect choice. The fact that years later, BonJovi has been able to broker a deal with Notre Dame to dress his 5'9" 180lb son as a walk-on cornerback from little Poly Prep day school in Brooklyn, comes as no surprise. This continuing desire to manipulate his son's world may soon produce the NFL' s youngest team president... Jesse Bongiovi.

Thanks for the correction, Mr Weo. I've spent the last couple months staring down worst case melanoma scenarios, and totally disregarded the existence of less threatening forms of skin cancer in my remarks. Coach may want to trade his visor for a cap this season.

if a mole is suspected of being cancerous by a dermatologist - you can look up the factors - it, and some surrounding tissue, is removed and examined by a pathologist for cancer cells. if cancer cells are found, tests are performed to find which lymph nodes the cancer could have spread to first. these 'sentinel nodes' are removed and examined. treatment then varies - depending on what's found. i went through this process earlier this year, and my 3 month scan is coming up in a month. if Marrone's treatment began and ended with the removal of the mole, it wasn't cancerous. Otherwise, he went through the same process - including surgery - and was also found to be clear.

i understand your sentiment, but let's be clear on Trump - whatever decisions he would make regarding the Bills will be in his interest, and his interest only. these may not always align with the best interest of the football team, or Buffalo. if Trump was planning to buy the Jets, he'd enlist Namath.. the Dolphins? Marino.. he's no fool, and Jim's got plenty on his plate at the moment.

Trump or Bon Jovi... hmmm. i believe Wilson always had the best interest of the club and it's fans at heart, but it's amazing how almost every decision he made regarding his franchise ended poorly. If one of these two gain control of his franchise, perhaps the deal will be sealed with the mystical appearance of a giant middle finger rising from the cold depths of Lake Erie.