Bob DiCesare article...

[transient]

I say to that BS, neither Gailey nor Nix fixed the O line in the off season, all they did to upgrade that line was to bring in RT Cornell Green who is actually worse then Langston Walker. So while LT Bell learns his position and the O line goes through a learning curve on protection schemes with a new O line coach, Edwards paid the price.

 

I get it, all the fans are ecstatic now that Edwards is gone. Just give me this pitch about how the Bills are better off without him after the Jets game, and then again after the Ravens and Steeler games.

 

 

If you are measuring the season based on the Jets, Ravens, or Steelers game, or for any other game this season, then it is no surprise that you wouldn't agree with this article. The whole point was that the front office and coaching staff are evaluating players to see if they fit the long term plan, and if not planning accordingly. Don't kid yourself, figuring out who on this team can play will come at the expense of wins this season. Not picking up a LT and letting Bell prove he can play the position is part of this as well. Green appears to be a "swing and a miss", but Nix's comment about "watching the same game you guys did" after the Green Bay game would suggest that is also not a surprise to him, and bringing in Urbik may have in response to his play the week before in the 'phins game, suggesting he knew it before the fans did (imagine that).

 

As for Edwards paying the price, Gailey is the offensive coordinator and is apparently very involved in coaching QBs. TE said all offseason that it was nice to have one voice to answer to. Gailey knows exactly what he has been coaching his QBs to do, and two games is enough time to try to correct the problems from game one and see them be made again in game two. If it looks just like the film from the last two seasons, then it's enough to draw conclusions from. Credit the front office and coaching staff for thinking for themselves and doing it quickly. IMO a staff with a plan that they are implementing already by game three is way ahead of the previous three regimes.

 

Regarding the article, it's refreshing to see a journalist divorce himself from his fandom and think about a subject objectively before just angrily taking out his rancor on his keyboard because he's too short-sighted to consider there may actually be a plan in place. I wish Graham, Sullivan, and most of the national media could realize that recognizing there has been actual thought about these actions is not synonymous with personally agreeing with or expecting success from the plan. Recognizing that there is a plan in place says nothing of whether it will work. Nix himself has alluded to the fact that only time will tell. Kudos to Bob DiCesare for recognizing this and fighting the urge to mail it in and ride the wave of media furthered negativity surrounding this team.

[CodeMonkey]

Well written and fair article.

 

Edwards was not a good fit in Buffalo. That is clear and has been clear for some time. Edwards might be a good pocket passer (like a Brady style for example), but he needs a pocket to work from. Put pressure on him and it's game over. The current offensive line, with no improvements to it this past off season, doomed Edwards before the season even began. I still think if given the right team (more specifically a team that can protect the passer) he might turn into a decent QB. That is, if all the concussions and battering he took as a Bill didn't snuff out any potential that he might have had. For his sake, I hope he gets a chance in the proper setting and I wish him well.

 

If Nix and Gailey don't do something to turn the offensive line into more than a turnstile for opposing defenses, any QB is in for a tough time.

[Thurman#1]

For all the critics of any related to Trent Edwards and how he was handled, this article puts it in the right perspective

 

Bob DiCesare Buff News Opinion

 

... says it all and its the right sequence of events.

 

 

 

It's a good article, though wrong, IMHO. The reason many of you like it is that it's pro-Bills. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with criticizing them either, if it's warranted, and the handling of Trent has warranted criticism.

 

He says "Some might say that the past game tapes showed Gailey all he needed to know about Edwards, that the indecisiveness and lack of poise last season made it apparent he was spent. But don't earlier tapes also show Edwards in command?"

 

Yeah, they do show Edwards in command. But not recently. Not for a very long time, and not against decent teams, never sustained for more than a game or so except for that early season burst early in 2008, which at first looked like it might have been against decent teams, but the season later showed that those teams were genuinely bad. Virtually every QB has a game or two where he looks good. Look at Dennis Shaw, David Carr, Joey Harrington and a million others. It's consistency you look for, and Trent's consistency has been in checking down even when there were guys open downfield. The flaw that caused him to be let go is exactly the flaw he has demonstrated time and time again.

[RkFast]

Good piece.

[Dr. Fong]

Good article. I don't really understand how anyone can see it any other way.

[Reed83HOF]

After 2 games Chan saw all he needed to. With all the coaching up and looking good in practices and the preseason games, Trent reverted back to what their are volumes of game tapes showing - timidness and the inablity to take chances, which is what seperates a starting qb from a reliable career back-up. It was time to pull the plug, cut your loses and move on - Trent hit his wall and he is what he is. This made it difficult to evaluate the rest of the offensive players - especially the WRs and even the OL to a degree (Green needs to go).

 

I recall rearding in another post, someone brought up the fact that when Trent first came in for JP, they were able to see that he still didn't pass deep and most of his throws were the checkdowns. I can't recall much other than the offense moved the chains and points were put up. Looking back and thinking about this, without having any old games to watch, it is obvious that Trent would have had immediate success in moving the offense. JP couldn't throw short, the defense's game-planned for the deep and longer-intermediate throws that JP did well. All of a sudden Trent, which the defense have no tape on or have a feel for his game, weren't prepared for his short throws; long gains after the catch that would ensue against the defenses. All along we knew what Trent was (so did Evans) and I and some of us just overlooked it or hoped he would grow and start making the throws he needed to.

 

This article is the best one I have read yet. It's kinda sad that it took this long for us to see one...

[crazyDingo]

Trent is wearing a pink wristband.

 

Probably for breast cancer awareness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

probably.

[Rob's House]

So, the definition of decisive is to spend all spring and summer evaluating tape and watching a guy in practice and focusing on the good things he had done deciding he was The Man going into the season even to the point that no new competition was brought in; and, then after two bad performances in the new offense against a pair of good NFL defenses, games where the coach himself admitted he made some mistakes in his game plan, to bench him and then cut him before the "bye" week. How do you go from spending months with a guy trying to coach him up to making a decision in a week that you never want to work with the guy again and not even as a disaster QB?

 

You know, I remember another regime change in Buffalo not so long ago that came in to a situation with a huge QB issue and they made a decision within a week or so (quite quickly) of taking the job as to which QB they were going with and let the other one go. Half (more?) the fans were pissed by the decision and the move didn't really work out, not that any QB moves in recent memory in Buffalo have worked out but that's another story. I wonder if they had kept Flutie, let the controversy continue to rage all off-season, and then cut Rob Johnson (or vice versa) after 2 games if people would be saying that Gregg Williams and Tom Donahoe had been decisive.

To your first point, bringing in QB competition would have been ideal, but it was slim pickins this offseason. Duante Culpepper and Clausen were the names that seemed to come up the most frequently, which speaks volumes as to the lack of options.

 

To your second point, if they jettison RJ they easily win more than 3 football games. That guy just proves being tall with a big arm doesn't mean much when you'd rather be on a surf board.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Rob's House

[todd]

Rebuilding. Say it again with me, R-E-B-U-I-L-D-I-N-G.

 

It requires patience, and anyone thinking the Bills could have been fixed in one year is on acid.

 

I say to that BS, neither Gailey nor Nix fixed the O line in the off season, all they did to upgrade that line was to bring in RT Cornell Green who is actually worse then Langston Walker. So while LT Bell learns his position and the O line goes through a learning curve on protection schemes with a new O line coach, Edwards paid the price.

 

I get it, all the fans are ecstatic now that Edwards is gone. Just give me this pitch about how the Bills are better off without him after the Jets game, and then again after the Ravens and Steeler games.

[LABills08]

For all the critics of any related to Trent Edwards and how he was handled, this article puts it in the right perspective

 

Bob DiCesare Buff News Opinion

 

... says it all and its the right sequence of events.

 

Maybe. I agree with the part that if Edwards suddenly discovered brilliance on another team, there would be a lot of angry Bills fans.

 

That being said, I think these two quotes are heavily exaggerated:

But don't earlier tapes also show Edwards in command?

 

Not really

And because Edwards had shown a burst of brilliance early in his career, the first order of business had to be determining whether what was once there could be rekindled under new coaching direction.

 

Burst of brilliance? No.

 

Trent showed signs of potential. Maybe to some, signs of big potential. But, bursts of brilliance? The main qualities that make an average NFL QB a great NFL QB have always been missing in Trent. It was just assumed he could find them. Throwing down field, throwing over the middle of the field, throwing accurately into double coverage, etc, etc. At his best, he was picking apart a defense with 5-10 yard passes. I don't ever remember watching him make the big throws. He was toast the second Jauron dumped him last season and everyone knew it. I understand there wasn't much to lose, but there wasn't much to gain either.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Union2008

[GR8PRKN]

I really enjoyed the read. We are rebuilding an they are definetly evaluating the talent. I think there are some other things that fans an reporters are not privy to but that being said this article is spot on.

[purple haze]

I say to that BS, neither Gailey nor Nix fixed the O line in the off season, all they did to upgrade that line was to bring in RT Cornell Green who is actually worse then Langston Walker. So while LT Bell learns his position and the O line goes through a learning curve on protection schemes with a new O line coach, Edwards paid the price.

 

I get it, all the fans are ecstatic now that Edwards is gone. Just give me this pitch about how the Bills are better off without him after the Jets game, and then again after the Ravens and Steeler games.

 

Why is it when Fitz started the line blocked better and the WR's were suddenly open? That wasn't the case the first two weeks under Trent's direction. It wasn't the case last season when Fitz replaced him

and saw better results. Edwards was done. Good luck to him in J-Ville, but he was done in Buffalo for good reason. He had multiple chances to take the reigns and he could not do it. Period. Fitz is

not the long term answer either, but he is a gamer who at least competes.

[thewildrabbit]

So, the definition of decisive is to spend all spring and summer evaluating tape and watching a guy in practice and focusing on the good things he had done deciding he was The Man going into the season even to the point that no new competition was brought in; and, then after two bad performances in the new offense against a pair of good NFL defenses, games where the coach himself admitted he made some mistakes in his game plan, to bench him and then cut him before the "bye" week. How do you go from spending months with a guy trying to coach him up to making a decision in a week that you never want to work with the guy again and not even as a disaster QB?

 

You know, I remember another regime change in Buffalo not so long ago that came in to a situation with a huge QB issue and they made a decision within a week or so (quite quickly) of taking the job as to which QB they were going with and let the other one go. Half (more?) the fans were pissed by the decision and the move didn't really work out, not that any QB moves in recent memory in Buffalo have worked out but that's another story. I wonder if they had kept Flutie, let the controversy continue to rage all off-season, and then cut Rob Johnson (or vice versa) after 2 games if people would be saying that Gregg Williams and Tom Donahoe had been decisive.

Not to mention how bad the O line and protections were in those first two games...an offense still learning a new scheme, players still learning their jobs.

 

My take is Gailey jumped the gun on Edwards, but then again this is the same head coach and GM that think Cornell Green is worth 3 mill a year at RT. This same head coach thinks there is very little difference between Edwards Fitz and Brohm. I can't wait for this season to play out so you guys see what I already know.

 

I know I'm wasting my time, some are so sold on Gailey and Nix that no amount of logic will sway you at this point. Let me just say it won't be to long before i start reading Fitz sucks, lets get Brian Brohm in there. Then I'll be reading Brohm sucks, lets get Levi Brown in there... this same scenario happened last year

 

This team is destined to win 2 games this year no matter who is at QB, they will trade away Lynch and perhaps even Lee Evans in a purge to "rebuild' the team. Just think, next year we can look forward to a team filled with more players in the likes of Cornell Green

[Sisyphean Bills]

The whole point was that the front office and coaching staff are evaluating players to see if they fit the long term plan, and if not planning accordingly. Don't kid yourself, figuring out who on this team can play will come at the expense of wins this season. Not picking up a LT and letting Bell prove he can play the position is part of this as well. Green appears to be a "swing and a miss", but Nix's comment about "watching the same game you guys did" after the Green Bay game would suggest that is also not a surprise to him, and bringing in Urbik may have in response to his play the week before in the 'phins game, suggesting he knew it before the fans did (imagine that).

Good post.

 

The actions do support a sort of "long-term project" or "bottoming out" approach to the season. One aspect doesn't fit though. If this season is about evaluating QBs regardless of the outcome of games (i.e. this year is a 20 game pre-season slate), then were 2 games enough to evaluate a QB? Maybe it was. Secondly, if the QB of the future is definitely not Fitzpatrick but could be Brohm, then why is Fitzpatrick the starter now? If this is a throw-away season, why wouldn't you play Brohm for a couple games and see if you need to turn that page too? The easy answer is that he isn't ready, of course, but the question is "Why?" The answer to that, accordingly, is that he demonstrated that he wasn't as good as the guy they just cut all spring and summer. Besides, Brohm is in his third year now, and it's not like other teams haven't thrown younger QBs into the deep end to sink or swim. If he's not ready, give him 4 or 5 games to prove he's The Man before cutting him.

 

As far as this bottoming out approach to the season, as someone else wrote, it is pretty unorthodox. Most coaches want to win games and they play the guy at each position that they think gives them the best chance to win the next game. Coaches say it all the time, "Just win a game." So, this notion that games are just auditions for the eventual re-building phase is, well, unorthodox. I guess it means that Buddy and Chan are feeling extremely confident about their job security.

[LABills08]

Not to mention how bad the O line and protections were in those first two games...an offense still learning a new scheme, players still learning their jobs.

 

My take is Gailey jumped the gun on Edwards, but then again this is the same head coach and GM that think Cornell Green is worth 3 mill a year at RT. This same head coach thinks there is very little difference between Edwards Fitz and Brohm. I can't wait for this season to play out so you guys see what I already know.

 

I know I'm wasting my time, some are so sold on Gailey and Nix that no amount of logic will sway you at this point. Let me just say it won't be to long before i start reading Fitz sucks, lets get Brian Brohm in there. Then I'll be reading Brohm sucks, lets get Levi Brown in there... this same scenario happened last year

 

This team is destined to win 2 games this year no matter who is at QB, they will trade away Lynch and perhaps even Lee Evans in a purge to "rebuild' the team. Just think, next year we can look forward to a team filled with more players in the likes of Cornell Green

 

 

I agree to a point. The blind faith in Nix and Gailey is IMO, unwarranted. I don't think the recent failures all fall on their shoulders though, I think it is always the higher ups who cause this franchise the most problems. Nix and Gailey were hired in large part because they would not command total control over all football related decisions. In fact, both of these guys were desperate for one last chance to take on each of their respective jobs. Maybe desperate is too harsh, but my point is, there wasn't much coaxing involved in getting these two to jump on board. And the way I see it is, having both of these guys in place still guarantees that Ralph Wilson and his minions have 100% control over the organization. When RW wants Edwards released, its going to happen. You think if Holmgren, Shanahan, Cowher or Gruden were coaches that Ralph Wilson's interference would be tolerated? Doubtful.

 

But, I digress. I think Gailey and Nix deserve a shot. And I know Bills fans want to believe in them so very bad. But, keep in mind the hurdles they're facing, both on the football field and up in owners box (does Ralph even go to the games anymore?). I hate to say it, but fundamental change won't happen until ownership changes. I just hope in the meantime that Gailey and Nix are able to put the pieces together to the best of their abilities.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Union2008

[CodeMonkey]

This team is destined to win 2 games this year no matter who is at QB,

You koolaid drinking homer optimist you!

[PromoTheRobot]

But, I digress. I think Gailey and Nix deserve a shot. And I know Bills fans want to believe in them so very bad. But, keep in mind the hurdles their facing, both on the football field and up in owners box (does Ralph even go to the games anymore?). I hate to say it, but fundamental change won't happen until ownership changes. I just hope in the meantime that Gailey and Nix are able to put the pieces together to the best of their abilities.

For some folks, their "shot" was 3 games of the regular season. Time to clean house again.

 

PTR

Edited September 29, 2010 by PromoTheRobot

[BobChalmers]

Why is it when Fitz started the line blocked better and the WR's were suddenly open? That wasn't the case the first two weeks under Trent's direction. It wasn't the case last season when Fitz replaced him

 

OMG

 

Because Fitz and the rest of the team were up against the Patriots' crappy defense and the first two weeks it was Miami and GB - two of the top 5 defenses in the league????

 

I really am blown away by folks not seeing something so obvious.

[BuffaloWings]

So, the definition of decisive is to spend all spring and summer evaluating tape and watching a guy in practice and focusing on the good things he had done deciding he was The Man going into the season even to the point that no new competition was brought in; and, then after two bad performances in the new offense against a pair of good NFL defenses, games where the coach himself admitted he made some mistakes in his game plan, to bench him and then cut him before the "bye" week. How do you go from spending months with a guy trying to coach him up to making a decision in a week that you never want to work with the guy again and not even as a disaster QB?

 

How do you know that Gailey just made up his mind this week? He could have been thinking all along that this was Edwards' last chance to prove himself. If he didn't work out, then move on. That could have been his plan all along. If Edwards performed up to snuff, then that would be one less position to worry about. Gailey basically gave himself options by letting Edwards be the starter instead of closing that loop right away.

 

Didn't he say in preseason (or maybe shortly after he got the job) that everyone's job was going to be evaluated? This would tell me that everyone is playing for their job.

[PromoTheRobot]

OMG

 

Because Fitz and the rest of the team were up against the Patriots' crappy defense and the first two weeks it was Miami and GB - two of the top 5 defenses in the league????

 

I really am blown away by folks not seeing something so obvious.

I'm blown away you can't see the difference between Trent and Fitz. You're telling us Trent would have thrown for 247yds against the Pats*? He would have to throw 82 completions because they only go 3 yards each.

 

PTR