great Joe D rant. Its all about the quarterback

[uforesircher]

Interesting. Considering that during his time in Buffalo, JD played for several head coaches and made it to exactly one playoff game, what does that quote say about Joe Ferguson?

 

correct lori - and how many would kill to have a qb like fergy right now - i also do not subscribe to joey d's remarks

[NewEra]

Noll got fired?...thought he retired....Lombardi got fired?...thought he retired...Landry got fired? though he retired....ridiculous...and Siefert had Joe Montana before Steve Young...Young was better than Montana??...hmmmmm....And Belichick???...Bledsoe was so bad that he had the Pats ranked number one in Passing offense...and they were 22nd when Brady came in...

 

This post is LAME...unresearched and just spouted out like they know something

 

the info is wrong, but the message he is trying to convey is on the money. Look at the playoff teams last year. Look at the QB's of the playoff teams. This is a QB league plain and simple. Dominant defenses can win championships if they are complimented with an offense that rarely makes mistakes. But the signal caller is the key. Don't fool yourself.

[sabres...yawn]

No QB= no playoffs=no Super Bowl.

 

Obvious but true.

[DarthICE]

Joe DeLamielleure talking about QB's:

 

"Right. I've heard it. C'mon. You know what change makes a coach great? Quarterback. Bottom line, Bart Starr left, Vince Lombardi got fired. Staubach left, Landry got fired. Terry Bradshaw left, Chuck Noll got fired. Seifert had Steve Young and goes to the Super Bowl. He goes to Carolina, he's 1-15. Guess what? It's all about quarterback. ... So if the Bills don't have a quarterback, Chan Gailey will be average at best....."

 

Well said Joe. He forgot to include Belichick, who had a lame record of 41-56 with one playoff appearance and no victories as an NFL head coach before Bledsoe got hurt and Brady replaced him. He went from a losing coach who couldn't hold his job in Cleveland to an instant "genius" overnight.

 

the funny thing? Most of these all time great Qb's didnt have great LT's when they first started. The Teams got the QB THEN filled in around them. What a concept

[bkc]

the funny thing? Most of these all time great Qb's didnt have great LT's when they first started. The Teams got the QB THEN filled in around them. What a concept

This is not most teams , we do not have a decent left tackle on the roster

[R. Rich]

the funny thing? Most of these all time great Qb's didnt have great LT's when they first started. The Teams got the QB THEN filled in around them. What a concept

 

Not nearly as funny as the performance of the Buffalo Bills' offensieve and defensieve lines. You'd be hard pressed to show me a QB who took a team to a Super Bowl title that had lines comparable to what the Bills have had. Oh yeah, and there's a good chance that if the Bills don't move out of the 9th spot, they won't have a shot @ either of the top 2 QBs in this draft. So, that means move up and lose multiple picks (to get to where they'd need to be for a shot @ one of these guys would take a LOT of compensation). For a team w/ MANY needs and a draft that has pretty good depth @ a few of the key needs (DT, OT), losing valuable draft picks to fill one need seems to be a bad move.

 

But then, we've had this same discussion over and over and over and over and over and over...

[Meathead]

Belichick ... went from a losing coach who couldn't hold his job in Cleveland to an instant "cheater" overnight.

fixed

[Thurman#1]

I don't think anyone on the board disagree with the importance of the quaterback position . I think some will say if there is not one available to you you should build the rest of the team and pull the trigger when you can. It will be that much easier fo the incoming qb to play well. I am not so sure that some of these young qb's fail because they have no supporting cast.

That said, if they put together another good draft this year and a good offseason next year. I think we go all in on one o f the guys next season. The cost is usually two 1's and a two to move up to number one. Lets hope Mallett or locker are the real deal

 

 

 

You said "I think some will say if there is not one available to you you should build the rest of the team and pull the trigger when you can." And I don't think there is a single person on these boards who will disagree with these words.

 

However, you'll get major disagreements about one other thing, because many people think that there's very likely to be a QB available to us one way or another. If Clausen falls, for instance. Or Nix might even want to trade up if he loves either Clausen or Bradford and his guy is available after #5 or so.

 

I'm not a Tebow fan, especially not in round one, but you'll find many on here. Again, if Nix likes him, I'm willing to get on board.

 

You're right, if there's not one available, sure you build the rest of the team. But if that happens, it would be wise to remember that next year it's very likely that we might again not have one available. That kind of thing is pure luck, and you can bet that if Mallett or Locker look like sure things (not that there is such a thing, but if they look like it) they'll go in the top two or three and we won't breathe a whiff of them. And how would that feel, getting through with the draft next year and not having a franchise guy?

[Thurman#1]

Your correct. Lombardi was not fired.

 

Add Don Shula. Once Marino got old many in the media said "the game past him by". Reality is Shula got shoved out. The biggest problem with Shula's last teams were that Buffalo Bills had more talent and were better in all phases of the game.

 

 

 

Yup, DeLamellieure was wrong about Lombardi. He quit immediately after the second Super Bowl win, but he was right about the others. After the great QB left, the coach was never great again.

 

Noll was there eight more seasons and never did better than 9 - 7 after Bradshaw left.

 

Landry got to .750 twice, but simply was never the same. From 1970 to 1979, they won two Super Bowls and three more NFC championships. Staubach's last year was 1979, and Landry never won another NFC championship after he left. His win loss records after Staubach?

 

.750

.750

.677

.750

.563

.625

.438

.467

.188

 

He went from a great coach to a coach who was never more than pretty good after Staubach left.

[Thurman#1]

I found it, but still disagree with Joe on this point. Building a football team is not as simple as finding a QB. With limited resources (picks, budget) a team needs to build to its strength. If the Bills are indeed going to be a run first team (like NYJ) then build the OL and Defense first.

 

As for taking players from cold weather climates, a myriad of guys came from warm places that excelled in Buffalo.

 

Joe D. is a HOF'er, but I'm not sure he's as accurate as some make him out to be.

 

 

I don't think he meant that finding a QB guarantees success building a football team. But he's right that without one, you're pretty much going nowhere, even with a great coach.

[Cynical]

Well said Joe. He forgot to include Belichick, who had a lame record of 41-56 with one playoff appearance and no victories as an NFL head coach before Bledsoe got hurt and Brady replaced him. He went from a losing coach who couldn't hold his job in Cleveland to an instant "genius" overnight.

 

In 1994, as head coach of the Browns, BB won a playoff game with a QB that was considered a major bust.

 

Linky

[tennesseeboy]

I agree that finding a franchise qb is important, but you have to have a line where that franchise qb can be successful. Aikman darn near got killed his first year.

The MOST IMPORTANT point in present discussion is the fact that neither of the only two qb's being touted in the first round is what anyone would consider a franchise type prospect. Brady Quinn and David Carr revisited. The Offensive Tackle and defensive line positions look to be quite good this year and we have needs in both areas that can pretty surely be addressed in this draft. I'd be the first to say go with Peyton or Eli Manning, or even Phillip Rivers if they were in this draft, but they aren't. So...go with the players who most improve this team...and that's almost certainly an offensive tackle or defensive player (LB, DT or DE).

[Thurman#1]

Noll got fired?...thought he retired....Lombardi got fired?...thought he retired...Landry got fired? though he retired....ridiculous...and Siefert had Joe Montana before Steve Young...Young was better than Montana??...hmmmmm....And Belichick???...Bledsoe was so bad that he had the Pats ranked number one in Passing offense...and they were 22nd when Brady came in...

 

This post is LAME...unresearched and just spouted out like they know something

 

 

You thought Landry retired? Seriously? And Noll, too?

 

I bet you thought that the only reason Karl Rove isn't still working in the White House is that he retired.

 

You're right about Lombardi, but wrong about the rest of it. Noll and Landry were allowed to hold press conferences saying that they retired, but that was about all they were allowed to do.

 

And where in Joe's quote does it say anything about Montana, much less that Young was better than Young? I think you oughta read that over again.

 

As for Bledsoe, from 1999 on, he wasn't the same. Look at the way his sacks skyrocketed and his Y/A dropped. In Brady's two years with Belchick, he averaged 205.7 and 200 yards per game. Those numbers are, dare I say it, Trentesque. They're Holcombish. YPAs of 6.2 and 6.1 with Belichick as his coach. TD/INT ratios of 17:13 and 2:2. 45 sacks and then five in one and a half games. And they were 0 - 2 after Bledsoe's two games.

 

Sorry, but Bledsoe wasn't good anymore, and even less so in Belichick's scheme. Brady was the style of QB that Belichick needed and wanted.

 

The Pats were #1 in passing offense after 1.5 games when Bledsoe went out? Statistically insignificant, and you know it.

[thewildrabbit]

correct lori - and how many would kill to have a qb like fergy right now - i also do not subscribe to joey d's remarks

I watched Joe Ferguson play behind some decent O lines and bad ones, he had some horrid traits. He would have a bad series and walk off the field with his head hanging down. If put under to much pressure he would simply throw it up for grabs.

 

OTOH the guy could make some plays at times. When successful he had a solid team around him, O line with Jim Richter, Joe Devlin, Will Grant, Tim Vogler and bad boy Conrad Dobler to block,Joe Cribbs running the ball and Frank Lewis and Jerry Butler to throw to, he had a pretty darn good team around him.

 

The Bills had a really good team both offense and defense in the early 80's, the Bermuda triangle with Fred Smerlas, Shane Nelson, Jim Haslett.

Chuck Knox knew how to build a team and did it without a great GM like Polian. His problem in Buffalo was that he was at the mercy of the fools over him.

 

Once Chuck Knox left Buffalo for Seattle Joe Ferguson was still there and the team went into the ceramic convience

 

Anyway, I've watched Joe Ferguson play and Trent Edwards was better and starting to really get good, until his concussion in Arizona and the constant rebuilding of the O line. Considering he has had no decent teacher at the NFL level he did surprisingly good.

[Thurman#1]

In 1994, as head coach of the Browns, BB won a playoff game with a QB that was considered a major bust.

 

Linky

 

 

 

Actually, there's a really good argument to be made that Testaverde was a hell of a QB, but was held back by horrible teams almost throughout his career.

 

This is a brilliant article about it: http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01...nny-testaverde/

[Thurman#1]

The MOST IMPORTANT point in present discussion is the fact that neither of the only two qb's being touted in the first round is what anyone would consider a franchise type prospect.

 

 

 

You seem to be radically confused about the difference between a "fact" and an "opinion." You might want to check the dictionary on those two words.

[yungmack]

While so many here are accepting Joe D's opinions as tremendously insightful, ain't it peculiar the focus has been on coaches who maybe/maybe not were fired instead of on this exchange:

 

Q: Who would you like to see the Bills draft in April?

 

A: I’d like to see them draft the kid from Central Michigan, Dan LeFevour. I really think that kid’s gonna be a good quarterback. But I don’t know if Trent Edwards is a bad quarterback, because he’s had so many coordinators. He’s had what, four coordinators? So you can’t tell. This (franchise) has been so disheveled the last couple years, you don’t know what’s going on. I told the Bills a couple years ago, trade all your draft picks and draft Ben Roethlisberger. I told (defensive coordinator then interim head coach) Perry Fewell last year at dinner, I said, ‘Perry, please draft (USC’s) Clay Matthews Jr.’ He’s only in the Pro Bowl this year.

 

Q: What do you see in LeFevour?

 

A: He’s big, he’s mobile, and he’s got an arm, and he can throw it in the wind, and he’s close. He’s playing in Michigan, in cold weather. If I was the coach, I’d put a dot on Buffalo and I’d go 300 miles around it and I’d try to get as many players as I can from there because, believe it or not, their families will come and watch them and then when the families come watch them, they’ll play a little harder.

[R. Rich]

Q: What do you see in LeFevour?

 

A: He’s big, he’s mobile, and he’s got an arm, and he can throw it in the wind, and he’s close. He’s playing in Michigan, in cold weather. If I was the coach, I’d put a dot on Buffalo and I’d go 300 miles around it and I’d try to get as many players as I can from there because, believe it or not, their families will come and watch them and then when the families come watch them, they’ll play a little harder.

 

Unless the Bills are going to stop using their indoor practice facility, this means very little.

[yungmack]

Unless the Bills are going to stop using their indoor practice facility, this means very little.

One of the things I liked a lot about Fewell when he took over was that he moved practices outdoors.

[K-9]

One of the things I liked a lot about Fewell when he took over was that he moved practices outdoors.

 

A VERY small of portion of practice was held outdoors under Fewell and that was ONLY when the weather didn't get in the way of productive preparation.

 

GO BILLS!!!