l< j Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 So in the regular season, the NFL is a passing league, but come January it reverts to a run/stop-run league? Semi-facetiously, I would point to the Patri*ts post-Spygate, as evidence for... something. Their system can't get it done in the playoffs without the cheats. kj
Chandler#81 Posted January 24, 2011 Author Posted January 24, 2011 Bill I agree with everything you have said and mostly with everything you have previously said. A point I have frequentyl repeated is that if you have an opportunity to draft a franchsie qb you need to seize the opportunity. Is Newton, Gabbert, Mallett etc that caliber of qb? I can't say for sure. But if our scouting department believes so then they have to take action. Maybe moving down a bit could still accomplish that qb acquistion? As of now the Bills don't have a legitimate qb. The Bills are many years away from being a serious team. Just because a qb is taken in the first round (if the scouts rate a prospect that high) doesn't mean that the other picks and free agency can't address other needs. The mistake many people are making is that they are looking at the rebuilding process as a one year project. It is not. It is a relatively long process, especialy considering the erratic way this franchise handles personnel issues. I don't agree John, and it's not because of rose colored glasses. Not only have we seen teams turn around in just a couple years, we have also seen teams crash hard from contender status to cellar dwellers. There is just so much mediocrity in the league that very little separates every team. We, the 2010 Bills, took Chicago and Pittsburgh to OT with great chances to win both games. We suck at TO's, which eventually leads to opposition points, which leads to disbanding the running game to try and catch up. I do agree we've made terrible personnel choices over the last few regimes, wich has surely had an effect on the overall team play. But I believe in the new regime's ability to better assess personnel and we're simply not that far away from contending in the league the way it's set up now. JMO.
Bob in STL Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Per ESPN this morning. ..and where do our beloved Bills rank?? Granted, stats can be manipulated to reinforce any stance. But getting off the field on 3rd down is essential to winning. While I expect our FO to aggressively target D upgrades this off season, a quicker ascention up the D rankings can occur with turnovers. The Bills were abysmal in this regard all season. Just watching these playoffs, the BALL is targeted every play by defenders. Our guys just seem to always go for the lower leg 'wrap up' to tackle. Our guys are good at tackling, but after the whistle blows, the ref is usually signaling 1st down. Teaching, focusing and increasing our turnovers will go a long way towards improving our 'stat soft' run defense. With this emphasis, defenses CAN greatly improve in one season. If I were a GM I would focus on these things: 1 - Defense - a mean, swarming, ball hawking defense. 2 - A strong running game -yes most team pass but you have to run to close out a game and to win in the post season you must impose your will on your opponent. 3 - Build from within by drafting players that are leaders and absolutely hate to lose; then do everything you can to keep them.
Bill from NYC Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 While I do think a team needs to be strong vs the run on defense, especially in the playoffs, it's more that a team needs good balance to win than anything else. Being able to both run and stop the run is great, but it doesn't guarantee anything. There were only 3 teams that finished the regular season in the league's top 10 in both rushing offense and rushing defense. Of those three teams, only one made it to the postseason, that being the NY Jets, who finished 4th in rush offense and 3rd in rush defense. The other teams? NY Giants and Minnesota. Green Bay made it to the Super Bowl w/ a team featuring the league's 24th ranked rush offense and 18th ranked rush defense. But, they also have Aaron Rodgers playing as well as any QB right now and a defense that is also playing very well. Run and stop the run? Absolutely, but also be able to produce in terms of the passing game, pass defense, and also on special teams. Balance will get the Bills back to respectability. Great post Rich! Of those 3, the Jets did play in the AFC title game and the Giants were 10-6. The Vikes? They play in a dome. I completely agree about balance, and was alluding to this when talking about the Bills with Bryce, Bruce and Big Ted. This defense was great, but the offense was too weak up front (and qb). This resulted in not winning enough football games. The Jets did a good job of drafting and signing players who are well suited to play in the elements (although the jury is still out on Sanchez imo). The Bills can do the same. Or, they can draft some cornerback from LSU at #3 and continue to lose. I am thinking (and of course hoping) that this time, they won't do anything so stupid.
Dorkington Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Good offense Good defense Good special teams Good coaching Good Front Office moves Are what is necessary to win a championship. We have none of the above.
Hplarrm Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Bill I agree with everything you have said and mostly with everything you have previously said. A point I have frequentyl repeated is that if you have an opportunity to draft a franchsie qb you need to seize the opportunity. Is Newton, Gabbert, Mallett etc that caliber of qb? I can't say for sure. But if our scouting department believes so then they have to take action. Maybe moving down a bit could still accomplish that qb acquistion? As of now the Bills don't have a legitimate qb. The Bills are many years away from being a serious team. Just because a qb is taken in the first round (if the scouts rate a prospect that high) doesn't mean that the other picks and free agency can't address other needs. The mistake many people are making is that they are looking at the rebuilding process as a one year project. It is not. It is a relatively long process, especialy considering the erratic way this franchise handles personnel issues. I think there is a general consensus in this thread I find easy to agree with. You meed everything to be as good as you can possibly be! Duh. I think the question for the Bills is not so much what do you need (Everything like a running game amd ability to stop the run, the ability to stop the opponent and to convert 3rd downs, a franchise QB) or what do we have right now (next to nothing as we cannot have virtually no ability to stop the run and at best inconsistent running attack, we suck both ways on 3rd down, and our QB is a gamer but not anywhere near a franchise QB right now and really unlikely to become one) but the question is what is the single next step we should make on the road to getting as close to everything as we can. My sense is that while it is tough an answer is clearer. 1. Run and stop the run- we suck both ways but I feel we are further away on the D than on the O. Better players would help on either side obviously, but it seems more reasonable to me that we are simply in need of better players on D than on O. I could conceivably see this D performing better and this virtually immediately improving the O performance with shorter fields to work with. However. even if the O improved enormously I think the D is bad enough that we lose quickly any lead an improved O gives us. Further, this D is more than one player away. I go D first in terms of next steps. 2. A franchise QB is a great thing to have a virtual must for an SB winner! However, the Bills boat has so many leaks and holes that it strikes me as rearranging some eventually essential deck chairs on this sinking ship to focus on a QB first. I know a franchise QB is much more than a deck chair and a franchise QB is in part defined as a player who makes the athletes around him even better.. BUT... a. He would need to make an OL that is at least a player and a half short of adequacy better and even a franchise QB would find this challenge hard b. He would need to set the opponent back on their heels that our D would not be just fighting to hang on but would be poised for the kill. Again, even if this franchise QB delivered all he could deliver on the O side and even inspired the D, ST. the coaches. and the region with his leadership, the simple fact is that this D is at least 2 quality players short of adequacy (specifically the DL may be simply a solid though not outstanding player short due to some young potential on the roster and Williams outstanding play, but the LB corps has neither one leading go-to stud and as a 4 LB unit is simply a consistent player short. c. The player failings on this team are such that not only would the newly acquired franchise QB not be given the support he needs to win, but in this faster heavier hitting NFL it is simply questionable whether the franchise QB even lives behind this OL. d. Finally, with Luck passing there simply is no one even near a concensus franchise QB pick in this draft. DO NOT TRADE UP OR SPEND THE VALUABLE #3 and #2 IN THE SECOND ROUND ON qb INSTEAD OF STRENGTHENING THE TRENCHES.
R. Rich Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 The Jets did a good job of drafting and signing players who are well suited to play in the elements (although the jury is still out on Sanchez imo). The Bills can do the same. Or, they can draft some cornerback from LSU at #3 and continue to lose. I am thinking (and of course hoping) that this time, they won't do anything so stupid. Here we go w/ the piling on Sanchez. Did anyone happen to watch his second half performance last night? He looked pretty good to me. This is his second year and we've seen him play fairly well (on the road, no less) in the postseason each year. He has his faults (started off strong in the regular season, then hit a major slump), but nobody's perfect. I'm sure his teammates respect what he does for 'em though. I don't believe he's one of the elite QBs, but I also don't think he sucks. He appears to be a guy who is still learning the nuances of the game and is improving.
KOKBILLS Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Having Big Ben certainly helps. Exactly... And Rodgers too... When you get this deep Teams are pretty solid throughout...And of coarse they will be solid on Defense...So does that not mean in order to advance you better have a QB who can step-up and make plays vs these kinds of Defenses?... This whole Defense wins Championships garbage around here lately is a joke...Of coarse Defense wins Championships...So does good Offense and a great QB...DUH! IT'S THE TEAM!!! And more often than not that winning SB Championship TEAM has a pretty darn good QB...Try winning said Championship with an average QB and tell me how good that Defense is going to have to be...Chicago is the perfect example this year...Just because you have a killer Defense does not mean you can get by with poor QB play in the Playoffs... Just look at the names of the SB Winning QB's over the past 20 years...Manning I and II, Big Ben, Brady, Brees, Elway, Aikman, Favre, Warner...etc...Sure you had one Dilfer and one Johnson in there...You think The Bills can build THAT kind of Defense? The kind of Defense that won it for Balt and Tampa? It's as doubtful, maybe even more doubtful, than landing a legit Franchise Top 5 in the NFL QB...You have to have 11 REAL good pieces AND great depth for a Defense to be THAT good...Get a Franchise QB and at least they can hide some deficiencies...And to top it off this is a Bills Team that is woefully thin on Defense currently....They cant stop anybody...So how long will it take to build a defense the caliber of Pittsburgh, Green Bay, The Jets, etc?... The Bills need to get the future at QB figured out first and foremost...Now I'm not saying they need to Draft one at #3 Overall just yet...But they better figure out who is going to lead this Team at the QB position in the near future...Then they need to build all over with the best players they can get their hands on...But QB HAS to be the #1 priority going forward...Period...
Repulsif Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 You may have a Aikman, Manning, Brady, etc in this team, if the OL does not give him breath, you won't go anywhere. Starting with the postulat that your QB is not completeley lost in NFL (and i think that Fitz is far from being lost) : - Protecting your QB is the first thing that count. - Getting to the enemy QB with the defensive front is the second thing that count. - Then converting your 3rd downs. (- Then opening holes for your RB) This is the key to winning Super Bowls in chain. (just my foreign 2 cents)
Bill from NYC Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Here we go w/ the piling on Sanchez. Did anyone happen to watch his second half performance last night? He looked pretty good to me. This is his second year and we've seen him play fairly well (on the road, no less) in the postseason each year. He has his faults (started off strong in the regular season, then hit a major slump), but nobody's perfect. I'm sure his teammates respect what he does for 'em though. I don't believe he's one of the elite QBs, but I also don't think he sucks. He appears to be a guy who is still learning the nuances of the game and is improving. Agreed. Right now I put him in a class with Fitz but as you say, he is young.
GG Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 How about fielding an organization from top to bottom where there's accountability for action and a consistent approach to restocking the players? Note that both of these franchises (Green Bay since early-mid '90s) Steelers over last 40 years have never really rebuilt, they just took a year or two to restock. Now compare those two organizations to the joke that's the Detroit - Orchard Park pipeline.
Captain Caveman Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 You have to run, pass, block, catch, kick and tackle better than your opponents. That's what wins championships.
GG Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 You have to run, pass, block, catch, kick and tackle better than your opponents. That's what wins championships. Actually, you have to score more points.
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 How about fielding an organization from top to bottom where there's accountability for action and a consistent approach to restocking the players? Note that both of these franchises (Green Bay since early-mid '90s) Steelers over last 40 years have never really rebuilt, they just took a year or two to restock. Now compare those two organizations to the joke that's the Detroit - Orchard Park pipeline. Hilariously enough, Jonathan Scott oozed down that particular bit of plumbing. Forgetting Green Bay in the 70s-80s, though? I mean, they didn't do better than 8 wins between 1973-1988, and only had a winning record in strike-shortened 1982. The Tony Mandarich pick? They've had their ups and downs. But what they've been really fortunate to get is a great QB at the right time, three times, now.
GG Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Hilariously enough, Jonathan Scott oozed down that particular bit of plumbing. Forgetting Green Bay in the 70s-80s, though? I mean, they didn't do better than 8 wins between 1973-1988, and only had a winning record in strike-shortened 1982. The Tony Mandarich pick? They've had their ups and downs. But what they've been really fortunate to get is a great QB at the right time, three times, now. I'm not forgetting Green Bay of the '70's - '80s. The reason I bring up the '90s is that the organization decided to hire professionals for the football operations - it started with Wolf and hasn't missed a beat with Thompson. Even in thew alternate universe if Packers had struck out with Losman, they would have moved on to someone else who can play in the NFL.
Ozymandius Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Once again a top 5 QB is going to win the Super Bowl. Having a great defense is nice, but it would take the Bills a really long time to build one, at least two or three drafts where they hit on very high percentage of drafted defenders. Also, it's not really as necessary as having a great QB. The Saints and Colts defenses that won Super Bowls weren't all that great. But it's been a long time since a mediocre or even good QB has won one. NFL rule changes continue to increase the advantage that offenses have every year. IMO, the 2002 Bucs and 2000 Ravens could not win the Super Bowl today. The Bills should tank the 2011 season for Andrew Luck.
BuffaloBillsMagic1 Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 1. extremely large LBs 2. big DL 3. Big,tough OL
CountDorkula Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Pitching? I think it has more to do with Batting Average with runs in scoring position, but we can agree to disagree. Or Scoring more points than the other team, but does that really matter?
Captain Caveman Posted January 24, 2011 Posted January 24, 2011 Actually, you have to score more points. Thanks professor. Somebody should've told Marv his speech was wrong, maybe we would have won one of those super bowls.
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