Offside Number 76 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) Interesting that the no. 5 entry doesn't include Manning in the listing, but does include him in the paragraph following it. Is it limited to players who dressed for a game during the season or something? Edited December 14, 2011 by Offsides Number 76 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno Smith's Arm Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) Injuries hurt, sure. But a good team would have solid depth and coaching to make up for them (see Packers last year). The excuses need to stop. That's true, but a team that is losing because of a lack of depth has a different kind of problem than teams that just suck. That is what is discussed here, no? We talk about how this team can improve. A team without a QB,without talented starters, a bad coaching staff, lack of skill position people. These are the complaints of many here, but most of the posters on this thread are pointing to DEPTH. Fixing that demands a different approach than overhauling a team, don't you agree Dork? This team has a decent lineup of healthy starters, the best they have had in a very long time. Edited December 14, 2011 by Matthews' Bag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kemp Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 DE is a major need because I feel Williams and Dareus would be a dynamic inside pair if someone on the line could bring outside pressure. Obviously just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Actually, your ignoring the OP so you can keep repeating your "tough talk" about injury excuses needs to stop. It's boring. The independent assessment from PFW says the Bills have the worst injury situation in the league this year - but you don't want to hear that? Why not?? It would be fair to question why this seems to keep happening the last few years. Could be bad luck - could be something wrong with the training. Maybe they need to consider different playing surfaces - don't know - but something is clearly a recurring problem, and it's not an illusion - it's quite real, and observable to even outsiders. Chan Gailey hired 3 new strength and conditioning coaches to overcome Dick Jauron's injury plagued teams, and things were supposed to improve...they haven't!. But, you are right, it isn't working! In fact it appears even worse this year! If I had any say in the matter I'd re-hire Rusty Jones away from the Bears. Curse Mike Mularkey for fining Rusty and bringing in his friend to be S&C coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 yeah yeah..injuries happen, but coaches put together there team to deal with them. Keeping Marshawn Lynch (who seems to be contributing in Seattle)would have given us something to replace Jackson when he went down. We could have kept Incognito and could have had him when wood went down. The trade of Evans was puzzling as well. One can only wonder what made Maybin into an effective starter with the Jets and the role he might have played here. Cutting to the chase, Buddy and Chan are responsible for the full roster and you get to the playoffs with real quality people as starters AND as backups. Grade: D- Nine wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) They would have been a 14+ win team with Brady. It was a huge dropoff and that was ONE guy. How do you like the way the Colts have held up losing Manning?? We're not talking about the 2011 Colts. We're talking about the 2008 Patriots who had a 3 win drop-off from your totally arbitrary figure. They did enough with a backup QB to make the playoffs and for the first time in forever didn't make the playoffs with 11 wins. Yeah - Spiller's a disappoinment - we get it. It doesn't mean losing Freddy in the middile of his MVP-caliber season wasn't going to be a huge problem. I never said I wanted someone to provide the value of Jackson, just someone who was a reliable back. You know, like when the Cowgirls lose Felix Jones and DeMarco Murray, a third round pick more than fills in. RB's aren't that valuable, and if you're not prepared to lose one, it's poor organizational planning. Except Buffalo did have a backup acquired via a high pick who can't come close to the starter. How much would you invest in "backup OC"? It's not like the backup gets to play AT ALL without an injury. They do have backups - Urbik's OK, but there's no way we lose the one starting 1st round draft pick on the entire offense and not have it hurt. Let's see, the Patriots have started 4 guys this season at center and their line didn't fall apart when Dan Connolly and Dan Koppen went down. How do they do it? And why can't Buffalo have one single guy who's snapped the ball at the NFL level behind Wood. Organizational planning again! Worse than Wood was losing both OLTs. That's when the losing streak started, and there's no team I'm aware of that can handle that loss - because no team can possibly afford to keep 3 good OLTs on the depth chart. They are too valuable. Demetrius Bell is an injury waiting to happen and anyone can see that. Chris Hairston is a rookie who's not cut out to play OLT in the NFL, yet there he was starting when Bell predictably went down. They haven't seriously addressed the OT position in years and this is what you get when weak players go up against NFL DE's and ROLB's. You have to get a little lucky with injuries to win in the NFL - the Ravens fans/media know they have that this year. We'll get our turn. I guess Ralph is right, you've got to have luck on your side to be successful. If not, you're screwed. Edited December 14, 2011 by BillsVet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 If depth is the issue why has the FO not chosen to spend money to fix the problem? We have plenty of cap space to do it...we will have more once jackson and johnson walk on outta buffalo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno Smith's Arm Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 If depth is the issue why has the FO not chosen to spend money to fix the problem? We have plenty of cap space to do it...we will have more once jackson and johnson walk on outta buffalo... Well, first we are arguing if the depth is the problem. I think it is. If we can agree on that, then there can be a logical course of action. One that is a lot different than "let's get a new QB, coach, or switch to 4-3, etc. As Dork and others have said,"injuries are no excuse", but it is a different problem than what so many here feel are the problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Houston has lost their QB, their back-up QB & their best defensive player for the season and their best WR missed 6 or so games. I'm sure they have had other significant losses but I don't know their roster well enough to comment on them. That's a fair point. Maybe more of the exception than the rule... But I honestly can't complain about lack of depth with the Bills. Guys like Fred Jackson, Kyle Williams, Eric Wood to an extent are not replaceable. If a team loses its best olineman, best offensive player, best defensive player, best pass rusher (Merriman), best corner, starting LT for most of the season, it's #2, #3, #4 WR's, there's no amount of depth that's going to make up for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) Injuries hurt, sure. But a good team would have solid depth and coaching to make up for them (see Packers last year). The excuses need to stop. Houston has lost their QB, their back-up QB & their best defensive player for the season and their best WR missed 6 or so games. I'm sure they have had other significant losses but I don't know their roster well enough to comment on them. Well the above two posts are true although I think it's a bit silly comparing the Bills to the World Champions at this point. Granted the Bills don't have a stacked roster and can't withstand injuries like better teams can. This has been the case for years. Of course we'd like the Bills to be as deep and talented as the elite teams in the league. One question is whether this situation is changing or not. Another question is how far the Bills are from having quality depth. Another question is how many teams in the NFL are truly equipped to handle numerous injuries AND injuries to key players? I'd also like to add that it's tiresome hearing some posters here say that "you can't use injuries as an excuse." Players can't use injuries as an excuse. Coaches can't use injuries as an excuse. It's an unwritten code. We're not players or coaches. We can be open and consider these things. Edited December 15, 2011 by San Jose Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 This is what I keep coming back to, as well. It's the only explanation that makes sense to me. We have a team with starters who play well as a team, and in some cases overachieve. When said starters fall due to injury, our lack of depth is severely exposed and our team chemistry/confidence suffers. That's the story of the 2011 in my mind, and I'm sticking to it. When we get healthy again and add depth, along with one or two more legit, play making starters, that's when we get to the play in January. I could not have said it better myself. aj, you just summed up this season perfectly. Injuries have killed this team. Look at how many rookies and second year players are playing on both sides of the ball. Not that we don't have areas that need to be addressed, but injuries took it's toll on the Bills this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I could not have said it better myself. aj, you just summed up this season perfectly. Injuries have killed this team. Look at how many rookies and second year players are playing on both sides of the ball. Not that we don't have areas that need to be addressed, but injuries took it's toll on the Bills this year. Thanks man, I really hope it's accurate or else we're in trouble next year There's just too much of a contrast between how they play now and how they played earlier on...just bad luck to lose so many key guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benderbender Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 (edited) Anyone that says the Bills run defense has not improved has to take a better look. 2011 130.7 rushing yards per game - ranked 25 And in this seasons unusual air attack the Bills have 233 passing yards per game - ranked 15 Green Bay is ranked 31 with 289 and NE is 32 with 309 against the pass. 2010 169.6 rushing yards per game ranked 32 Yep, 4-12 will make 5-11 look better Edited December 15, 2011 by benderbender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 So going from 32 to 25 is a substantial improvement. Quiz: what does new england and GB have that most teams in the NFL don't? A HOF QB, silly, and consistency in the FO. It's an improvemnt all the same, to the point of this thread INJURUES. Bills Stats after week 3 - Yards Allowed - #24 - 115.7 YPG then injuries started piling up. It's up to 130.7 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 ... Quiz: what does new england and GB have that most teams in the NFL don't? ... I'll go off the board and take "The Luxury of Playing With the Lead Most of the Time." GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts