eball Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 DISCLAIMER: I have not seen last night's game. I understand that the first string of the 2011 Buffalo Bills did not perform particularly well in the modified scrimmage that took place in Denver last evening. It appears that certain players struggled. Every year we have fans who draw one of the following two conclusions from such a performance: (A) The Bills suck! $%&%$@#!!! I'm so done with this team! (B) Relax! It's preseason and the gameplans are "vanilla" (if I had a nickel for every time I heard the word vanilla during preseason I'd be a wealthy man). The truth, my friends, lies somewhere in the middle. If certain positions or players look overmatched, there are definitely concerns. That said, I've seen a lot of ugliness in the preseason thus far from a number of supposedly pretty good teams (FYI, the Eagles' starting offense and defense looked miserable Thursday night). I'm pretty certain a lot of positions are still being contested on the Bills roster, and everything is being geared towards getting the team ready for KC on 9/11 -- which is still three weeks away. I'm not suggesting fans shouldn't be disappointed by what happened on the field in Denver, but history has shown that what occurs during preseason is rarely what occurs when the real games begin. By way of example, I recall Fitz' quote prior to this week's game. He said he hoped the Bills would get some productive work done, but in the very same sentence he stated it was a GOAL to not have anyone injured. Does anyone think this is the same mentality a team goes into the regular season with? I'm not saying the Bills will be "fine" or that there isn't a lot of work to do; I just believe far too many fans read far too much into these scrimmages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsForever Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 DISCLAIMER: I have not seen last night's game. I understand that the first string of the 2011 Buffalo Bills did not perform particularly well in the modified scrimmage that took place in Denver last evening. It appears that certain players struggled. Every year we have fans who draw one of the following two conclusions from such a performance: (A) The Bills suck! $%&%$@#!!! I'm so done with this team! (B) Relax! It's preseason and the gameplans are "vanilla" (if I had a nickel for every time I heard the word vanilla during preseason I'd be a wealthy man). The truth, my friends, lies somewhere in the middle. If certain positions or players look overmatched, there are definitely concerns. That said, I've seen a lot of ugliness in the preseason thus far from a number of supposedly pretty good teams (FYI, the Eagles' starting offense and defense looked miserable Thursday night). I'm pretty certain a lot of positions are still being contested on the Bills roster, and everything is being geared towards getting the team ready for KC on 9/11 -- which is still three weeks away. I'm not suggesting fans shouldn't be disappointed by what happened on the field in Denver, but history has shown that what occurs during preseason is rarely what occurs when the real games begin. By way of example, I recall Fitz' quote prior to this week's game. He said he hoped the Bills would get some productive work done, but in the very same sentence he stated it was a GOAL to not have anyone injured. Does anyone think this is the same mentality a team goes into the regular season with? I'm not saying the Bills will be "fine" or that there isn't a lot of work to do; I just believe far too many fans read far too much into these scrimmages. Fail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsadale Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 DISCLAIMER: I have not seen last night's game. I understand that the first string of the 2011 Buffalo Bills did not perform particularly well in the modified scrimmage that took place in Denver last evening. It appears that certain players struggled. Every year we have fans who draw one of the following two conclusions from such a performance: (A) The Bills suck! $%&%$@#!!! I'm so done with this team! (B) Relax! It's preseason and the gameplans are "vanilla" (if I had a nickel for every time I heard the word vanilla during preseason I'd be a wealthy man). The truth, my friends, lies somewhere in the middle. If certain positions or players look overmatched, there are definitely concerns. That said, I've seen a lot of ugliness in the preseason thus far from a number of supposedly pretty good teams (FYI, the Eagles' starting offense and defense looked miserable Thursday night). I'm pretty certain a lot of positions are still being contested on the Bills roster, and everything is being geared towards getting the team ready for KC on 9/11 -- which is still three weeks away. I'm not suggesting fans shouldn't be disappointed by what happened on the field in Denver, but history has shown that what occurs during preseason is rarely what occurs when the real games begin. By way of example, I recall Fitz' quote prior to this week's game. He said he hoped the Bills would get some productive work done, but in the very same sentence he stated it was a GOAL to not have anyone injured. Does anyone think this is the same mentality a team goes into the regular season with? I'm not saying the Bills will be "fine" or that there isn't a lot of work to do; I just believe far too many fans read far too much into these scrimmages. well said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 DISCLAIMER: I have not seen last night's game. When you do you will see that the entire first string was outplayed to the man, with the possible exception of Freddy who didn't see enough action to get a real good read. Gaileys playing the entire first string until halftime instead of the 20 plays he intended says a lot. Also if you watch Gaileys body language and listen to his comments as he went in for halftime you see a head coach deeply concerned with his team. Yes it is preseason, but when the starters get "manhandled" (to quote Gailey), look like a high school team, and the regular season is rapidly approaching the "chicken littles" have the right to be concerned in my opinion. I didn't think the Bills would have a good record this season and I expected the offense to be the same as last season, but I did expect to see some improvement in the defense and last night at least they look the same as last year as well (and that is being generous). I can only hope that last night was an abortion and not indicative of how the season will play out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 DISCLAIMER: I have not seen last night's game. Spoken like a true Pollyanna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 There are too many enabling fans who tolerate and celebrate this teams annual heroic march towards being mediocre. This whole organization is a failure and things won't change until we have a new owner or fans stop supporting a failing product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Fail! Eball doesnt need to see the game to be able to say "it's just one preseason game". That being said, it was definitely a poor, sloppy, unmotivated performance... by a team that will be lucky to hit .500 But it really was just one preseason game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 There are too many enabling fans who tolerate and celebrate this teams annual heroic march towards being mediocre. This whole organization is a failure and things won't change until we decide to draft some offensive lineman. Fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 When you do you will see that the entire first string was outplayed to the man, with the possible exception of Freddy who didn't see enough action to get a real good read. Gaileys playing the entire first string until halftime instead of the 20 plays he intended says a lot. Also if you watch Gaileys body language and listen to his comments as he went in for halftime you see a head coach deeply concerned with his team. Yes it is preseason, but when the starters get "manhandled" (to quote Gailey), look like a high school team, and the regular season is rapidly approaching the "chicken littles" have the right to be concerned in my opinion. I didn't think the Bills would have a good record this season and I expected the offense to be the same as last season, but I did expect to see some improvement in the defense and last night at least they look the same as last year as well (and that is being generous). I can only hope that last night was an abortion and not indicative of how the season will play out. The bold is the only thing I have to disagree with. The Run Defense (our BIGGEST weakness last year) is definitely much improved. The only problem is our Pass Defense sucked bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr1 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 The Bills play in the same division as the Jets and Pats. They can't have bad games like last night. Merriman not playing was a huge difference but the O line is scary bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 For a long time, I was in the "it's just the preseason" crowd. 3-4 years ago, I finally gave that up. When I watched a preseason game and they looked bad, they looked bad in just the same ways when the season started. In the preseason, you don't have to care if you give up 4 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to some undrafted RB or if your prize rookie commits a few false starts. But when your veteran, starting offensive linemen get pushed around, your WRs aren't getting open and your RB is missing holes, it's cause to worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 The OLine IS bad. We know this. Chan knows this. The players know this. Buddy knows this. Just like the Run Defense from last year, it will be addressed when possible. Might have to wait for the draft and next FA period though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomoe Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 When you do you will see that the entire first string was outplayed to the man, with the possible exception of Freddy who didn't see enough action to get a real good read. Gaileys playing the entire first string until halftime instead of the 20 plays he intended says a lot. Also if you watch Gaileys body language and listen to his comments as he went in for halftime you see a head coach deeply concerned with his team. Yes it is preseason, but when the starters get "manhandled" (to quote Gailey), look like a high school team, and the regular season is rapidly approaching the "chicken littles" have the right to be concerned in my opinion. I didn't think the Bills would have a good record this season and I expected the offense to be the same as last season, but I did expect to see some improvement in the defense and last night at least they look the same as last year as well (and that is being generous). I can only hope that last night was an abortion and not indicative of how the season will play out. I would guess that fans from 16 other teams say that every weekend in the preseason. With that said, it is preseason. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, we would like to see better results from games 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 and so on but one thing to remember with this team is there are ALOT of new players on defense, especially the front 7, that are just getting going here. The "offensive" line (using the other definition of offensive) is another story altogether and we can only hope that the front office takes notice and does something in the next couple of weeks to correct the glaring needs there. I hope that Chan saw what he needed to out of the players filling in for the starters out there last night and realizes that if we have a rash of injuries, like we have had the last few years, that this ship is going to sink quickly and it might be worthwhile to think about the Luck sweepstakes if we are listing heavily by late October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Eball doesnt need to see the game to be able to say "it's just one preseason game". That being said, it was definitely a poor, sloppy, unmotivated performance... by a team that will be lucky to hit .500 But it really was just one preseason game. If the Bills were coming off of a string of playoff runs then you might have a point. If the team was 1 game out of the playoffs last year then you might have a point. If the Bills weren't in the same division with the Pats and the Jets then you might have a point. It's called progression. For the past 5-7 years, the offensive line has been terrible and this game held up that tradition. Keep waiting for Bell to be Jason Peters, keep picking washed up scrubs off practice squads and keeping telling yourself that this year is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 At the end of the day I dont think players try to get schooled on purpose, regardless of the situation. The game plan may not be to win, maybe the coaches try things just to get game reps that they wouldn't in a real game, but its not like the OL is going to decide no to block on a play, or Fitz just up and throws inaccurate passes on purpose, or we dont rush the passer as hard, or the CBs dont try to cover as tightly.... It was totally abysmal last night. I cant think of a single positive. And that team was worse than us alst year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 If the Bills were coming off of a string of playoff runs then you might have a point. If the team was 1 game out of the playoffs last year then you might have a point. If the Bills weren't in the same division with the Pats and the Jets then you might have a point. It's called progression. For the past 5-7 years, the offensive line has been terrible and this game held up that tradition. Keep waiting for Bell to be Jason Peters, keep picking washed up scrubs off practice squads and keeping telling yourself that this year is different. Did you miss my middle sentence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 (edited) The OLine IS bad. We know this. Chan knows this. The players know this. Buddy knows this. You could tell Chan did when they interviewed him quickly on his way into halftime. I think just how bad they are hit him like a truck in the first half. Edited August 21, 2011 by CodeMonkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmasThoman Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 If the Bills were coming off of a string of playoff runs then you might have a point. If the team was 1 game out of the playoffs last year then you might have a point. If the Bills weren't in the same division with the Pats and the Jets then you might have a point. It's called progression. For the past 5-7 years, the offensive line has been terrible and this game held up that tradition. Keep waiting for Bell to be Jason Peters, keep picking washed up scrubs off practice squads and keeping telling yourself that this year is different. can't wait for the season. our week 1 opponent is also 0-2, and has looked like garbage so far. our week 2 opponent is also 0-2, and has looked like worse than garbage so far. but please, let's all continue on about how we're not as good as the patriots. i'm worried about the middle of the pack in the afc, and getting a wild card berth. it's well within reach. sorry that a bad showing last night in a meaningless scrimage has everyone ready to run their cars in the garage with the door closed this morning, but im PUMPED. 2-0 is in play! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Did you miss my middle sentence? If Buddy knew this he would have addressed the most glaring need on the team for the last decade. The Spiller pick will forever puzzle me and that was the way the Nix regime kicked off their campaign...well that and the Green signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 can't wait for the season. our week 1 opponent is also 0-2, and has looked like garbage so far. our week 2 opponent is also 0-2, and has looked like worse than garbage so far. but please, let's all continue on about how we're not as good as the patriots. i'm worried about the middle of the pack in the afc, and getting a wild card berth. it's well within reach. sorry that a bad showing last night in a meaningless scrimage has everyone ready to run their cars in the garage with the door closed this morning, but im PUMPED. 2-0 is in play! I haven't watched the chiefs or the raiders play this year, but it is hard to imagine they could play any worse than the Bills played last night. But if you can be PUMPED after last nights performance then more power to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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