Goose Gosselin's weekly NFL ranking

[MattyT]

Dallas #2....lol

[mpl6876]

I'm thinking more Steve Fairchild than Alex Van Pelt. Run it, run it, run it, pun it. Gailey is not impressed with his passing game and I think he'll be even less impressed when the pass rushers actually become real and Trent is putting the ball in the air to get running play type gains.

 

They don't have the personnel to run the defense they want, so in short order they will go back to catching instead of pitching. Contrary to what people are expecting of Gailey, he is a conservative coach by nature and he is very likely to take Jauron's approach and play not to lose when it becomes evident that his new schemes aren't well suited to the talent at hand.

 

The team is going to have to run the ball more than pass it, and in the modern NFL that translates to few points. I think the perception is that this defense is going to be all about pressure, but the players aren't there in the LB corps to create mismatches. In fact, quite the opposite. Their best LB is Poz and he struggled in the 3-4 as a senior at Penn State. That D is going to get conservative real fast, because you can't trade big plays and TD's for 3-6 running plays followed by a punt.

 

And I can't blame Gailey for that. It's one thing if you are Detroit with guys like Stafford at QB, Johnson at WR, Pettigrew at TE, etc.. You need to let those guys develop and that means playing aggressive offensive football. Buffalo has Trent Edwards and Lee Evans. Edwards is a limited talent with underlying health concerns and Evans is leaving his prime. Chances are, those guys won't be the keys to the next Bills playoff chase, so why risk failure by letting them control your coaching destiny.

 

I think people are going to be very surprised by just how much Gailey's style will be like Jauron's.

 

I am not going to beat you up. I generally agree with what your saying. What I have been saying all along is that Gailey doens't have the talent. A coach can only do so much. He doesn't have a choice but to run the ball and throw quick short passes. The whole league knows it and do our opponents. They will prepare for this and we will have to make adjustments. I just don't think any of the adjustments we make will be effective due to lack of talent not lack of coaching. Gailey inherited a team with a lot of needs and he can't fill them all in one season.

[richNjoisy]

Anyone paying attention has to see what Gailey is doing for the Bills. If Dick Jauron can win 6 or 7 games a season, I don't see how Chan Gailey would be worse. #20 is far more realistic than #31.

 

PTR

 

 

This has been my argument too, PTR. The Bills schedule IS hard - early on but not that much worse than previous 7-9 years. I see the Bills winning 8 games. Less is a disappointment and more is a "bonus". I do NOT see them making the playoffs but if they can go into the break 3-2 then I see that a very hopeful sign. I have the Bills 1-4 if they lose the opener and 2-3 if they win it. Third win, if it comes, will be against the JETSsucksucksucks. I have very little hope of beating Green Bay or the Cheatriots away.

 

No "Dick" is a +2 wins.

 

-RnJ

[richNjoisy]

I'm thinking more Steve Fairchild than Alex Van Pelt. Run it, run it, run it, pun it. Gailey is not impressed with his passing game and I think he'll be even less impressed when the pass rushers actually become real and Trent is putting the ball in the air to get running play type gains.

 

They don't have the personnel to run the defense they want, so in short order they will go back to catching instead of pitching. Contrary to what people are expecting of Gailey, he is a conservative coach by nature and he is very likely to take Jauron's approach and play not to lose when it becomes evident that his new schemes aren't well suited to the talent at hand.

 

The team is going to have to run the ball more than pass it, and in the modern NFL that translates to few points. I think the perception is that this defense is going to be all about pressure, but the players aren't there in the LB corps to create mismatches. In fact, quite the opposite. Their best LB is Poz and he struggled in the 3-4 as a senior at Penn State. That D is going to get conservative real fast, because you can't trade big plays and TD's for 3-6 running plays followed by a punt.

 

And I can't blame Gailey for that. It's one thing if you are Detroit with guys like Stafford at QB, Johnson at WR, Pettigrew at TE, etc.. You need to let those guys develop and that means playing aggressive offensive football. Buffalo has Trent Edwards and Lee Evans. Edwards is a limited talent with underlying health concerns and Evans is leaving his prime. Chances are, those guys won't be the keys to the next Bills playoff chase, so why risk failure by letting them control your coaching destiny.

 

I think people are going to be very surprised by just how much Gailey's style will be like Jauron's.

 

Actually, I think YOU will be a bit surprised - as long as you can jolt the ol' memory banks "Bad 'ol". You are correct that Jauron was conservative (except for ST - he gave April a pretty liberal hand) but Jauron's weakness was not in game planning or recognizing his squad's strengths and weaknesses - it was gameday "smarts" which he had none of. He never seemed to figure out how the wind matters in a game. I have never seen a coach seemingly always getting challenges backwards (challenging when he should and not challenging when he should), his teams always ran out of gas in the 4th quarter - an indication that they were not physically prepared. In my 40+ years of watching football, The Dick was the worst gameday coach by far I have ever experienced.

 

Yes, the Bills have a weaker team (players) than the Cheatriots, Jets, and Fish - but for the first time in 4 years, the coaching difference is not Canyon-wide. It remains to be seen how GOOD Gailey is but we have nowhere to go but up my friend.

 

So, I guess YOU had better be prepared to be surprised!

 

my 2 cents

 

-RnJ

[ndirish1978]

I'm surprise there is a journalist who actually does research. Saying a 6-10 team that lost only one 2 starters and was a fumble away from splitting the divison will be teh worst team in the NFL is just stupid. That's why, Gosselin is one of the best in the business. He actually knows football.

 

Correct. Nowhere was this more apparent to me than on draft day when Corey Chavous gave the Bills draft and A and everyone else was giving us Ds for not taking a tackle. You saw a difference then not because of the grade, but because Corey was the only person to realize that we addressed many of our other positions of need and he didnt think there was a top-tier tackle available when we picked. I don't even call it hating on Buffalo, people in the media just don't care about the Bills. It's kind of like, no matter how many crazy FAs Oakland brings in, you still know theyre gonna suck. I feel like we have been relegated to the children's table in the eyes of the media and they just don't really care enough to do any research on this team.

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

Correct. Nowhere was this more apparent to me than on draft day when Corey Chavous gave the Bills draft and A and everyone else was giving us Ds for not taking a tackle. You saw a difference then not because of the grade, but because Corey was the only person to realize that we addressed many of our other positions of need and he didnt think there was a top-tier tackle available when we picked. I don't even call it hating on Buffalo, people in the media just don't care about the Bills. It's kind of like, no matter how many crazy FAs Oakland brings in, you still know theyre gonna suck. I feel like we have been relegated to the children's table in the eyes of the media and they just don't really care enough to do any research on this team.

 

 

I am with you both on this. The Bills have no one to blame but themselves for being so dull and weak, but it is astonishing how uneven the actual research done by these experts is.

[notwoz]

And even smart people like us have no clue what's gonna happen!

[Beerball]

Dallas #2....lol

It galls me to say it, but that is one pretty complete football team. You never knwo which way things are going to go, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them play a home game in February.

[Mr. WEO]

I'm surprise there is a journalist who actually does research. Saying a 6-10 team that lost only one 2 starters and was a fumble away from splitting the divison will be teh worst team in the NFL is just stupid. That's why, Gosselin is one of the best in the business. He actually knows football.

He's got SF ahead of Pittsburgh.

 

He must be counting on 6 games for Big Ben.

 

Atlanta 6th??

[tennesseeboy]

I don't hink his prediction is that unrealistic. We were a pretty good team last year until the coaching debacle and a remarkable number of injuries on defense. Not playoff calibre mind you..but a eight or nine win team in any event. If the 3-4 works, and with Gailey and stable coaching we might be pretty good....pretty good...not playoff bound, but pretty good...about 20th sounds good.

[PromoTheRobot]

This has been my argument too, PTR. The Bills schedule IS hard - early on but not that much worse than previous 7-9 years. I see the Bills winning 8 games. Less is a disappointment and more is a "bonus". I do NOT see them making the playoffs but if they can go into the break 3-2 then I see that a very hopeful sign. I have the Bills 1-4 if they lose the opener and 2-3 if they win it. Third win, if it comes, will be against the JETSsucksucksucks. I have very little hope of beating Green Bay or the Cheatriots away.

 

No "Dick" is a +2 wins.

 

-RnJ

 

 

Correct. Nowhere was this more apparent to me than on draft day when Corey Chavous gave the Bills draft and A and everyone else was giving us Ds for not taking a tackle. You saw a difference then not because of the grade, but because Corey was the only person to realize that we addressed many of our other positions of need and he didnt think there was a top-tier tackle available when we picked. I don't even call it hating on Buffalo, people in the media just don't care about the Bills. It's kind of like, no matter how many crazy FAs Oakland brings in, you still know theyre gonna suck. I feel like we have been relegated to the children's table in the eyes of the media and they just don't really care enough to do any research on this team.

 

 

I am with you both on this. The Bills have no one to blame but themselves for being so dull and weak, but it is astonishing how uneven the actual research done by these experts is.

 

+++1, and not just because Rich agrees with me.

 

PTR

[Alphadawg7]

leonidas

 

He has the Bills ranked higher than I would have expected.

 

He lost me when I noticed he had Det, Jax, Buffalo, Carolina, etc all ranked higher than the Skins who he ranked at 25. Im sorry, but the Skins should be somewhere in the teens, not 25th. Especially since they added Shannahan and McNabb.

 

For example, Carolina has no established QB, poor recieving weapons outside of Smith, and lost its best playmaker on D and added nothing really this offseason yet he has them ranked 6 spots higher at 19.

 

As far as the Bills go, I dont necessairly think we should be ranked as low as most outlets out there, but honestly, until we go out and show we can actually score some offensive points I dont think our ranking should be any higher than about 25.

[BillsFanInLV]

The Bills are usually an 'afterthought' when the National media ranks or talks about them.

 

I am a fantasy football junkie and even FF publications have the Bills Def ranked #25 or LOWER!

 

The same rhetoric about the Bills having no #2 WR and Marshawn getting traded before the season starts seems to permiate every FF magazine. Its like nobody is at camp watching or reading weekly updates about players and/or their progression.

 

Miami Doesn't have a #2 WR, and before the Marshall trade, they didn't even have a #1 WR. Their defense was suspect but their running game was sound and I've seen them ranked as high as #6 overall by Sports Illustrated. SI had Seattle ranked 11th???? Why?

 

It chaps my a$$ but I have to take it in stride. Heck, some team has to ranked #1 and some poor team has to be the bottom feeded at #32. ---I guess when they rank the Bills as the bottom feeder we have nowhere to go but up.

 

Just my thoughts. Go Bills!

[MattyT]

It galls me to say it, but that is one pretty complete football team. You never knwo which way things are going to go, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them play a home game in February.

paper tigers

[C.Biscuit97]

He's got SF ahead of Pittsburgh.

 

He must be counting on 6 games for Big Ben.

 

Atlanta 6th??

 

ATL is a trendy SB pick. First time in their history with back to back winning seasons; a 3rd year potential stud QB in his 3rd year in the same system (Mularkey is a qb killer right?); a healthy Turner; & some upgrades on D (Dunta Robinson was a very good pickup. I like ATl a lot this year.

[BillsPhan]

leonidas

 

He has the Bills ranked higher than I would have expected.

 

No kidding. No way would I rate the Bills higher then the Bears, Broncos and Redskins this early in preseason. Gosselin must have liked Chan when he coached there in the late 90's or something.

[C.Biscuit97]

No kidding. No way would I rate the Bills higher then the Bears, Broncos and Redskins this early in preseason. Gosselin must have liked Chan when he coached there in the late 90's or something.

 

 

Well considering he is considered one of the best in the business and was front and center during the Gailey Dallas year, I think this means a lot. People overlook the fact that Big 3 was dying during those years and it was a team in transition. Even Jerry Jones (I hate his face) says it was a mistake to fire Gailey.

 

Who knows how he will do in Buffalo. But he is a coach with a very good track record.

[Bill from NYC]

Actually, I think YOU will be a bit surprised - as long as you can jolt the ol' memory banks "Bad 'ol". You are correct that Jauron was conservative (except for ST - he gave April a pretty liberal hand) but Jauron's weakness was not in game planning or recognizing his squad's strengths and weaknesses - it was gameday "smarts" which he had none of.

 

Came across this going over old post (I have been away), and I must strongly disagree with the above. This is not to say that Jauron had field smarts. On the contrary, he was particularly inept.

 

The major fault of Jauron/Levy was their philosophy. For 4 full seasons, they butchered the drafts like I have never seen. These men built this franchise on defensive backs, and of course running backs with no blocking. There was no possible way for this to work. None at all.

 

Before the 2006 draft, hope did prevail. We walked in with the #8, and an extra early third. Those 4 pick brought us Whitner, McCargo and Youboty. With our early 4th, we took Ko Simpson. It would take some time for good football people to undo this mess. Our senile, indescribably bad front office compounded the above mess with picks such as Lynch, McKelvin, and most probably Maybin.

 

Ralph doesn't have the money nor perhaps the inclination to compete for top free agents, but teams can still win in this situation, much like the Steelers. But, there is no room for bad drafting and/or dopey football philosophies. Jauron/Levy brought us both.

Gailey/Nix are going to need some time to make this team respectable. Levy and Jauron did 4 years of major damage that won't be easy to fix. Aside from the mind boggling selection of Spiller, it would at least seem like they had a good draft in rounds 2 - 7, but it will take a few years. Next season, the absolutely must take an early Left Tackle or Quarterback, right? Let's see what happens.