Looking Forward

[HumbleAndHungry]

This season has been the ultimate bitter sweet affair. It has been bitter in the obvious sense that we are faced with yet another losing season. However, it has been sweet in regards to the number of pleasant surprises that we have encountered.

 

It all starts with the hiring of Buddy Nix who then found and hired Chan Gailey. Chan has impressed me this season with his ability to rally the troops and slowly turn the page on a less than mediocre losing team. He is gradually changing the culture of this football team. For once we are competitive and we have players that are gradually beginning to step up and make big plays. Chan has done an excellent job of putting his players in a position to be successful. He has a nack for optimizing efficiency and productivity with the roster he has. He also has impressed me with his clever playcalling and ability to make noticeable adjustments mid-game.

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick has also turned heads. He is a perfect poster child of the buffalo bills blue collar, hard working, tough type vibe. I would give him a B+ so far for this year. He is a definate huge upgrade from Trent Edwwards. He is a gunslinger and has made some pretty impressive throws in tirght coverage. He is a gamer and is very gutsy. He is not afraid to take a big hit or throw a big block downfield for his guys. However he has made some errant throws and has tendencies to make poor throws at vital times. Overall, I am very impressed with his performace this year. If luck is not available, we will not be drafting a qb.

 

Despite his recent plague with huge drops, Stevie Johnson has also been a huge surprise and success. He is giving us the production we expected out of James Hardy and was taken four rounds further back than Hardy. I think Johnson is our receiver of the future and look for him to post big numbers for a long time.B+ for Stevie Johnson

 

I will give Spiller a C+. I honestly did expect a little more from Spiller this year but we need to realize that the transition from college to the NFL is very difficult and there is a large learning curve. I think the more snaps spiller gets, the better he will get. The game will begin to slow down for him and he wont try to break it to the outside every snap. Freddy Jackson is a great mentor for him and I expect big things from Spiller in the future. He has the potential to be an X-factor type of player for us similar to a Josh Cribbs, Ray Rice, or Chris Johnson. Spiller is a play maker at heart and Chan will figure out how to use him.

 

We have had an excellent year with finding undrafted rookies. David Nelson has been an excellent addition and has made many key catches in key situations. Donald Jones has also stepped up and made plays when it counted. Other notables are Mansfield Wrotto & Cordero Howard. By far though the biggest star from the undrafted pool is Nelson. Wouldnt mind seeing him bulk up and move to the TE position.

 

There are also some intruiging question marks for next year. Will Merrimen stay? will he be healthy? will he be effective? Will Marcus Easley live up to the hype? Will Ed Wang be productive? Will Roscoe Parrish come back healthy and continue to make big plays? Will we finally cut ties with Maybin? Will Poz be extended? Will Whitner get a big conract extension? Will Eric Wood be our permanent center?

 

Draft day is by far the most exciting time for me in sports. More so than the super bowl, unless of course the bills were in the super bowl. If Luck is not available, which he most likely wont be, my first pick would be Nick Fairley out of Auburn. However I wouldnt mind taking Da'Quan Bowers, Marcell Dareus, or Robert Quinn. I would look for a OLB in round two of the draft.

Edited December 11, 2010 by Finkle Is Einhorn

[BillsVet]

Cleveland, in year 1 of their rebuild, have 3 signature wins against NE, NYJ, and NO. Buffalo has had a tough schedule, but continue to lose to more talented teams despite getting close. They haven't beaten a playoff caliber team, which seems to be a yearly thing, regardless of the coach. I would disagree the losing culture has changed at all because players aren't satisfied with losing close.

 

Gailey gets something out of mediocre talent on offense, but without support from the front office this season, he can't just out-execute his opponents. Overall team talent needs to drastically improve on both sides of the ball before they go anywhere but the bottom of the AFC East.

[Thoner7]

We need better drafters.

[Beerball]

We need better drafters draftees.

[Thoner7]

Who do you think selects the draftees?

[Beerball]

Who do you think selects the draftees?

Ralph

[May Day 10]

very good thoughts and pretty much all of it sums up how I feel.

 

 

 

This team may be a good off-season away from being a legit wildcard contender. That is a far cry from where I thought they were during the bye week. I thought they were 3 tank-it seasons away. A lot of decent gems, but athletes need to be drafted, signed, and traded for to compliment what has emerged. Hopefully they can find ways to get Spiller the ball with open field as well as Roscoe. The defense really needs to come together and obviously is in the need of the most improvement.

 

I can endure another mediocre or bad season as long as we see continue to see improvement and bright spots.

[CodeMonkey]

Ahh these feel good "their record might suck but the team doesn't" threads warm my heart and make me feel tingly all over.

 

.

.

.

Or maybe its just the 4 loko.

Edited December 12, 2010 by CodeMonkey

[Doc]

Cleveland, in year 1 of their rebuild, have 3 signature wins against NE, NYJ, and NO. Buffalo has had a tough schedule, but continue to lose to more talented teams despite getting close. They haven't beaten a playoff caliber team, which seems to be a yearly thing, regardless of the coach. I would disagree the losing culture has changed at all because players aren't satisfied with losing close.

 

Gailey gets something out of mediocre talent on offense, but without support from the front office this season, he can't just out-execute his opponents. Overall team talent needs to drastically improve on both sides of the ball before they go anywhere but the bottom of the AFC East.

The Browns actually beat Cincy, not the NYJ, along with their surprising/impressive wins over NE and NO. And they are in their 2nd year under Mangini, although the 1st with Holmgren (who has shown himself to be a poor GM).

[BuffaloBillsSD]

Ahh these feel good "their record might suck but the team doesn't" threads warm my heart and make me feel tingly all over.

 

.

.

.

Or maybe its just the 4 loko.

I can't find loko anywhere in Cali. Even my trusty 4lokator can't find it. I did the homemade lokos the other day. Pretty good stuff.

[The Chief Corky]

I really believe, in my heart, that the Bills are 8-10 years from being a playoff contender.

12-15 years from being a division leader.

20-30 years from being an AFC contender..and

good luck on a sooper pooper bowl again...

[Green Lightning]

I really believe, in my heart, you're 8 to 10 cards away from a full deck, 12 to 15 years from a GED and 20 to 30 points from a 70 IQ, and good luck on ever being taken seriously on TSW again.

Edited December 12, 2010 by Green Lightning

[HumbleAndHungry]

I really believe, in my heart, that the Bills are 8-10 years from being a playoff contender.

12-15 years from being a division leader.

20-30 years from being an AFC contender..and

good luck on a sooper pooper bowl again...

can I ask you a very serious question? Why are you a bills fan if this is how you feel?

[BillsVet]

The Browns actually beat Cincy, not the NYJ, along with their surprising/impressive wins over NE and NO. And they are in their 2nd year under Mangini, although the 1st with Holmgren (who has shown himself to be a poor GM).

 

Right, Cleveland didn't beat NYJ. But in one season they've taken down the Saints and Patriots, which qualifies as something to point and recognize. At the same time, I can't have a negative opinion on Buddy NIx, but you can go ahead and say Holmgren is a "poor" GM in less than year? Besides, he's the president, and Tom Heckert is the GM, but regardless, they're 3 wins up on Buffalo and both are in their first season of rebuilding, HC status or not.

 

You keep going ahead and dragging down other teams to make Buffalo seem okay. And for those who wonder why we "negative" fans keep following, well, this is the team we've grown up with. Sitting idly by and making excuses for 11 years of fail isn't in my DNA.

[Doc]

Right, Cleveland didn't beat NYJ. But in one season they've taken down the Saints and Patriots, which qualifies as something to point and recognize. At the same time, I can't have a negative opinion on Buddy NIx, but you can go ahead and say Holmgren is a "poor" GM in less than year? Besides, he's the president, and Tom Heckert is the GM, but regardless, they're 3 wins up on Buffalo and both are in their first season of rebuilding, HC status or not.

 

You keep going ahead and dragging down other teams to make Buffalo seem okay. And for those who wonder why we "negative" fans keep following, well, this is the team we've grown up with. Sitting idly by and making excuses for 11 years of fail isn't in my DNA.

Holmgren was the HC/GM of the Seahawks when he joined them in 1999, but had the GM title stripped after the 2002 season. Hence my comment. Maybe he's gotten better at it, I don't know, but that remains to be seen.

 

As for the wins over NE and NO, considering the Browns have no shot at the playoffs this year and stand a good chance of having a losing record, they're little more than the squeaker losses the Bills have had this year. IOW they mean little, if there's no step forward next year. That's not "dragging down other teams," it's the truth.

 

And regarding the Bills, acceptance, and "your DNA," I've accepted that I can't do a thing about the team's play. So bitching and moaning to me is a worthless endeavor. But there is something I could do, and that's stop following the team. It's just football, a diversion, after all. You're the one truly accepting the team's play, by continuing to follow it when it causes you so much grief and when you could just leave. It's not like you're married to the team and have kids with it.