Mark VI Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Right now, Bledsoe IS the QB and will probably finish out the season, barring injury. He is playing well but against inferior competition. Bills are the 100-1 longshot to make the playoffs but after an 0-4 start, I'll take it. Confidence can be carried over towards next year. Plus top FA's will be attracted to a team who appear to be moving in the right direction. What one has to ask themselves is whether DB is the guy who can take this team to the promised land. I realize that history shows some QB's who went to the SB with half the resume DB has. Lots of other factors enter into the equation,such as the OL, playcalling,running game,turnovers etc. Like everyone, I root hard for guys like Bledsoe, who also happens to be the model athlete off the field. I'm looking at the overall makeup of the team and how our QB fits his surroundings. I basically rank teams A,B and C. The Bills were a low C to start the season and have progressed to a B status, as of now.( A is the Pats, Steelers and Eagles..that's it. ) Since the horrid mid-November Pats game, the Bills have defeated the Rams,Seahawks and Dolphins...3 teams playing C football. I'm very pleased with the victories and can see our team improving. Still, I take each of those wins at face value, meaning we defeated 3 teams we SHOULD have beaten. Cleveland falls under the same heading. Cinci on the road and Pittsburgh will give us a clearer picture of how far Bledose has progressed with this Offense. I'm not making conclusions either way, until I see the games. Recent history shows that if a good D puts 8-9 in the box,stopping the RB and daring DB to beat them, he fails miserably. I will not blindly declare him our QB for the long term until he shows he can BEAT the A teams who have a good defense. Passing blame to the OL or the playcalling each time he fails doesn't cut it. Winning big games is the bottom line. The Pats look to be strong for the next few years. They don't fear Bledsoe at all. So should we just plan on achieving a Wild-card birth as the best case scenerio for the next few years ? I can't see the Bills ever being ahead of the Pats in the divisional standings, with #11 under Center. So should we just settle ? We wouldn't fair too well against them in a road playoff game. So what's the point? To get to the SB, it's best to clinch your division and gain home field. Win 2 home games and you're in the big game. Going on the road,especially as a wildcard qualifier, makes it much tougher. That means Bledsoe going up against A teams who will put 8,9 in the box and make him beat their D. They know he cannot move or scramble to make a positive play. Still have my doubts about him, regardless of how good the surrounding cast is. I have to think that DB will soon see a quick hook if he starts to look pathetic against a good team, a scenerio which is still very likely. Losman is unproven but provides a mobility factor that could give the Bills a 2nd chance on plays that DB could never turn into a positive. I remember back in 1983, a young John Elway looked absolutely terrible in his rookie year. The fans called for the old vet, Steve DeBerg to be the starter and cut down on the mistakes. The only problem was, DeBerg had zero upside and was never going to take Denver anywhere . In the playoffs, the guy failed. Elway had to go through some growing pains but was well worth the gamble, due to his huge upside. The next year, Elway should signs of improvement and the old reliable DeBerg was soon traded away. I view Bledsoe in this light, good but with many shortcomings that will come back to burn you against the top teams, especially come playoff time. Long term, giving Losman a shot in 2005 may be the right decision. It may take a bad game or 2 by Bledose to make it happen but the change is inevitable. Losman will get his chance soon, for the long term health of this team. JMHO. Flame away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Your point is well stated. The only thing I disagree with is that imo, you make too much of the "quality of opponents." Have the jests beaten top teams? Not really. Do you fault them? You can only beat the teams that you play. Also, remember how far they have come. The Bills were losing to so-so teams, such as the jags. A better example is the raiders. Imo, the raiders are worse than the rams or seattle, perhaps the equal of ariz., and only a tad better than miami. They beat us, and now we are beating better teams than them consistently. The above is why I think that too much emphasis is placed on Drew. Surely, he has not changed SO much to be the sole reason for such a turnaround. Imo, MaGahee being in (and Henry being out) is a more prominent reason for the new found success. MW playing well cannot be over-stated, nor can the return of the Lawyer, who is playing better than he ever has in Buffalo imo. In summary, I think that injuries will probably dictate who starts in 05 as much as anything else, and things will work themselves out. I also think that it matters far less than many of us believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thailog80 Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 (sniff) that was absolutely beautiful Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_BiB_ Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 I'd ask Ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Not enough Drew bashing in your post, Mark. You need to work on that. ICE will be very upset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Not enough Drew bashing in your post, Mark. You need to work on that. ICE will be very upset. 149995[/snapback] Give him credit for trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Give him credit for trying. 149999[/snapback] Well, there are A posters, B posters, and C posters. Typically, Mark is an A poster, but I would rate this a B for the simple fact that he did not rip Bledsoe enough. He needs to read more ICE posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark VI Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 Not enough Drew bashing in your post, Mark. You need to work on that. ICE will be very upset. 149995[/snapback] No bashing at all. Just trying to be pragmatic about the QB position. The Pats stopped Willis on 11/14, forcing DB to make plays. We saw the results. I'm sure pleased with his play of late, against bad teams. The jury is still out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Well, there are A posters, B posters, and C posters. Typically, Mark is an A poster, but I would rate this a B for the simple fact that he did not rip Bledsoe enough. He needs to read more ICE posts. 150003[/snapback] Fine, but we must strongly take into account the quality of the posters that he posts against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 No bashing at all. Just trying to be pragmatic about the QB position. 150005[/snapback] Well, that is your problem. You need to put blinders on, take your brain out of your head and just blindly bash Drew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Fine, but we must strongly take into account the quality of the posters that he posts against. 150007[/snapback] Well, if we automatically assume that ICE is an A poster then there is no choice but to put Mark as a B poster. He just is not at the same level as ICE. Hey, we have standards on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 He is playing well but against inferior competition. Inferior? Miami's pass D was ranked #1 in the NFL going in to the game on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thailog80 Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Inferior? Miami's pass D was ranked #1 in the NFL going in to the game on Sunday. 150016[/snapback] Damn straight it was. People can B word all they want but Im enjoying this winning. If we make the playoffs great if we miss out and finish the season strong thats just fine with me also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark VI Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 Well, that is your problem. You need to put blinders on, take your brain out of your head and just blindly bash Drew. 150012[/snapback] Or go to the other extreme. Declare him a HOF, demand an apology after every win and yell at anyone who dares criticize the Sacred Cow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Inferior? Miami's pass D was ranked #1 in the NFL going in to the game on Sunday. 150016[/snapback] Agreed. Despite last night, I am thinking that seattle is not THAT bad, nor are the rams. We did also beat the jests. Yes, the best team in the NFL kicked our asses. What exactly does this prove? That we are not the best team in the NFL? Who said we were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Or go to the other extreme. Declare him a HOF, demand an apology after every win and yell at anyone who dares criticize the Sacred Cow. 150026[/snapback] Well, going to an extreme like that would just be stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sarpilot Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Agree with most of what you stated except that I do believe that DB or any decent QB for that matter can get his team to the SB. There have been a lot of very average QBs that have done it in the past. You don't have to be spactacular at the position especially if you have a great defense. You just have to avoid beating yourself and not make a lot of stupid mistakes (ie like Bledsoe did in the first 4 games this year). Just play within yourself and your abilities, don't turn the ball over and rely more on special teams and defense. I will admit that this formula will not dominate a 16 game regular season schedual. However with a few breaks and a strong finish it can be done. Losman is the future make no mistake about that. But this is now. They have a chance. 6 weeks ago this team was near dead. What counts is that they are winning now. Don't mess with it. Worry about next season next season. I really don't buy the idea that they have been beating weak teams. The talent gap between the SB champ and the worst team in the league is a lot smaller than you might think. Team chemistry is probably the biggest factor. I feel that Peyton Manning is the best QB in the league. How manny SBs has he been to. Its still a team game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_BiB_ Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Bunch of jerky jerks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark VI Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 Inferior? Miami's pass D was ranked #1 in the NFL going in to the game on Sunday. 150016[/snapback] Is Miami a Playoff caliber team ? They did turn the ball over 7 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sarpilot Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Or go to the other extreme. Declare him a HOF, demand an apology after every win and yell at anyone who dares criticize the Sacred Cow. 150026[/snapback] Could not have said it better mtself MARK. Nice post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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