Gailey's talent assessment???

[Fan in San Diego]

The game this Saturday should show everyone a lot. The Steelers looked pretty sound against the Colts. This upcoming dress rehersal game should go a long way to showing just what the Bills have this season, particularly on offense. There should be no "no game planning" or "vanilla" type excuses available come Sunday morning. We will see what we will see.

 

Are they game planning for this game in the 1st half?

[BuffBill]

Um...if memory serves me correctly, when did he start Spiller over Jackson? Spiller got the start in the opening week or two of his rookie season because A) He lit it up in preseason and led the NFL in rushing in just 3 preseason games and B) FJ was hurt during preseason as well as Lynch being suspended.

 

And as much as I dislike Trent as a QB, he was the better QB in camp and preseason the year he won the job over Fitz and Brohm.

 

With Merriman, he didn't switch to a 4-3 to accomdate Merriman, so your statement "thought he could play 4-3 DE" makes no sense. This TEAM switched to a 4-3 and then they tried to find Merriman a role in it and hoped he could do it at DE. Then he couldn't, so they cut him before the season began. So, not sure how you can say "they thought he could play it" as if we signed Merriman this offseason to play in our 4-3. He was already ON the roster when we made the switch.

 

And the other moves were out of NEED, or even desperation, because of the personnel we had and the system we ran. Hence the reason we switched back to a 4-3 as this team is better run as a 4-3 given the personnel and the way they want to build this defense. We had no depth, a plethora of injuries, and we had to work with what we had.

 

So, I don't think any of your points really hold water here...

I think Edwards was a better quarterback then Fitz or Losman period until that hit in Arizona. He was never the same after that.

[K-9]

Are they game planning for this game in the 1st half?

 

I think Fitz alluded to a "little" game planning. My clue will be if we use some zone blocking schemes and whether or not he's checking out of plays. Regardless, there isn't much time to devote to game planning at the moment considering the dozens of personnel decisions that need to be made.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[CodeMonkey]

I think Fitz alluded to a "little" game planning. My clue will be if we use some zone blocking schemes and whether or not he's checking out of plays. Regardless, there isn't much time to devote to game planning at the moment considering the dozens of personnel decisions that need to be made.

 

GO BILLS!!!

I believe that traditionally teams do more than a "little" game planning for the dress rehearsal. They try to make it as close as possible to a regular season game including having the starters play the beginning of the 3rd quarter (restart after the halftime break). I'm sure Gailey won't engage his mega-mind plan for the season until opening day, but we should see them prepared and not looking like they are running drills in practice like we have been seeing.

[K-9]

I believe that traditionally teams do more than a "little" game planning for the dress rehearsal. They try to make it as close as possible to a regular season game including having the starters play the beginning of the 3rd quarter (restart after the halftime break). I'm sure Gailey won't engage his mega-mind plan for the season until opening day, but we should see them prepared and not looking like they are running drills in practice like we have been seeing.

 

I'm sure that when Fitz uses the term "little" relative to game preparation it means something else entirely. To what they normally do in game planning for a regular season game vs. the third preseason scrimmage, it's probably like a sprinkle of water to Fitz, while to us it's a fire hose.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Drewgetz]

Um...if memory serves me correctly, when did he start Spiller over Jackson? Spiller got the start in the opening week or two of his rookie season because A) He lit it up in preseason and led the NFL in rushing in just 3 preseason games and B) FJ was hurt during preseason as well as Lynch being suspended.

 

And as much as I dislike Trent as a QB, he was the better QB in camp and preseason the year he won the job over Fitz and Brohm.

 

With Merriman, he didn't switch to a 4-3 to accomdate Merriman, so your statement "thought he could play 4-3 DE" makes no sense. This TEAM switched to a 4-3 and then they tried to find Merriman a role in it and hoped he could do it at DE. Then he couldn't, so they cut him before the season began. So, not sure how you can say "they thought he could play it" as if we signed Merriman this offseason to play in our 4-3. He was already ON the roster when we made the switch.

 

And the other moves were out of NEED, or even desperation, because of the personnel we had and the system we ran. Hence the reason we switched back to a 4-3 as this team is better run as a 4-3 given the personnel and the way they want to build this defense. We had no depth, a plethora of injuries, and we had to work with what we had.

 

So, I don't think any of your points really hold water here...

 

Did you watch "My Cousin Vinny" recently.

Did you type that last line with a Brooklyn accent?

 

Very good post, all excellent points.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

 

 

The biggest problem is that people don't see that jauron's team was a wheel-spinning 7 win squad. He built that squad to not lose more than 9 games, but there's no way it was going to win more than 9 either. Anyone complaining that Gailey made the team worse needs to explain how the team was going to improve under dickie J. As for Gailey, he did what should have been done in 2006...tear it down and build it properly. Sometimes, that process is painful, and it requires you to take a step or 2 back before you move forward. The shortsighted among us simply cannot see this.

 

 

 

If you're going to radically switch defenses, during a massive rebuild would be the best time, no? Or are you implying we should wait until we are on the cusp of the playoffs to switch defenses? The problem wasn't the timing of the switch, it's that they didn't do it whole-heartedly.

 

I enjoy strategic thinkers applying logic to their fanhood.

 

I firmly believed they thought they could build a 3-4 to be a better d. Then they acculated Darius on top of Kyle, wanny and then Williams and Anderson. At that point 4-3 was the only way to get all of your stars on the field.

 

This team has a way more talented roster then before....and ... They have been very decisive about personal decisions after collecting the info to make a decision.

[tennesseeboy]

You might want to look up the definition of disingenuous.

 

Also, you harped on the 9-win thing last season so actually in keeping to that, I guess you think the Bills should have replaced Gailey and Nix already.

 

Few have yet has expressed this point but I'm sure some have thought it:

 

I have more confidence in Nix as a GM than I do Gailey as a HC. IF things were to go south on the season, I could see a scenario where Buddy is retained but Gailey is fired.

 

I like Chan, and am rooting for him, but continue to have reservations as to whether he's the right guy for the job.

 

misuse of the word...my bad.

 

I happen to think they both might have been replaced after last year, but the winning streak and injuries led me to think they might be able to show something this year. All I'm saying is ...."SHOW ME SOMETHING"...which in most football cities means win more games than you lose after a number of years, drafts and personnel moves. I don't think nine wins is too much to ask.

 

Nine wins or out.

[CodeMonkey]

Nine wins or out.

This attitude puzzles me, and you aren't the only one to express it.

So if they go 8-8 or worse they are out ... without the slightest freaking clue if there would be anyone better available or willing to coach in Buffalo. So should they shitcan Gailey and bring back Jauron?

[thewildrabbit]

name='JR[/color] In Ann Arbor' timestamp='1345560059' post='2536037']

This is where we, as fans, have an advantage. You have to remember that the new regimes that come in aren't long-time fans of the team. This is a problem when it comes to evaluating talent quickly.

 

As fans, we've watched every single game (many live), and have seen players play in real-game situations against a variety of opponents and over long stretches of time. Believe it or not, knowledgeable fans probably have a leg-up on a new regime that comes in and has a short period of time to review some game tape and make quick roster decisions.

 

One example: Jabari Greer. I think most fans saw his potential back from day 1, after seeing him play through pre-seasons and in limited game action as a nickel and dime back. Yet it took at least 2 years before Jauron and co. figured it out and started him.

Seriously?

 

There is no way in hell that any casual observer or even complete fanatic should have a leg up in evaluating NFL talent over a GM or HC getting paid millions to do their respective jobs! No matter how long they have been watching the team. Its not just the GM / HC doing the evaluations,its not just 2 guys, its an entire staff of 18-20 assistant coaches and another staff of scouts.

 

This is kinda why we all knew Jauron was a complete fool. Jauron himself was an ex NFL player and DB, you would think he could evaluate that position better then he did. Not to mention repeatedly drafting DB's year after year, and then drafting Aaron Maybin!! When he should have been searching for that one great mike for his tampon 2.

 

This is what film study is for, good coaches would go back to watch college film and then to everything present to break down a players ability and evaluate them properly. Watching every move and every play. But then, it also helps to know and understand what you are watching. The assistants and scouts shouldn't be the only ones watching the film.

 

Film study is what made Bill Belichick so great. It was in his attention to detail in watching film of opposing offenses and their tendencies. Although it seems like the old master has slipped somewhat recently, his team still went to the big dance last year. Plus his team has been in the playoffs for as long as Buffalo has been out of the playoffs.

 

NFN, but when you have fans that are more knowledgeable about the players then the current coaching regime, even from day one, then there is a serious problem. Kinda why I'm here writing about it

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Seriously?

 

There is no way in hell that any casual observer or even complete fanatic should have a leg up in evaluating NFL talent over a GM or HC getting paid millions to do their respective jobs! No matter how long they have been watching the team. Its not just the GM / HC doing the evaluations,its not just 2 guys, its an entire staff of 18-20 assistant coaches and another staff of scouts.

 

This is kinda why we all knew Jauron was a complete fool. Jauron himself was an ex NFL player and DB, you would think he could evaluate that position better then he did. Not to mention repeatedly drafting DB's year after year, and then drafting Aaron Maybin!! When he should have been searching for that one great mike for his tampon 2.

 

This is what film study is for, good coaches would go back to watch college film and then to everything present to break down a players ability and evaluate them properly. Watching every move and every play. But then, it also helps to know and understand what you are watching. The assistants and scouts shouldn't be the only ones watching the film.

 

Film study is what made Bill Belichick so great. It was in his attention to detail in watching film of opposing offenses and their tendencies. Although it seems like the old master has slipped somewhat recently, his team still went to the big dance last year. Plus his team has been in the playoffs for as long as Buffalo has been out of the playoffs.

 

NFN, but when you have fans that are more knowledgeable about the players then the current coaching regime, even from day one, then there is a serious problem. Kinda why I'm here writing about it

 

You underestimate the knowledgable fan. There's sometimes no substitute for seeing a guy play every snap for 5 years, as opposed to some newbie hire and his entire staff watching a bunch of film and making major scheme and roster decisions in a few weeks without any context.

 

Plus, it's kind of like Moneyball-- sometimes the "experts" aren't really experts.

[bigc14120]

Not sure how much input his assistants and coordinators have

Buddy also has a voice!

[thewildrabbit]

You underestimate the knowledgable fan. There's sometimes no substitute for seeing a guy play every snap for 5 years, as opposed to some newbie hire and his entire staff watching a bunch of film and making major scheme and roster decisions in a few weeks without any context.

 

Plus, it's kind of like Moneyball-- sometimes the "experts" aren't really experts.

Even if that fan watched the same film that the coaches watch. You know, the ones from above on either sideline and the ones from each end zone. Not just the highlights from the networks either. The coaches have the film to see every player from just about every angle. I'm pretty confidant that most fans wouldn't even know what they are supposed to look at to grade each player, or how an NFL team actually grades their players.

 

99.9% of the fans wouldn't even know what to look for in each play that is called, or how each individual player performed in his execution on each play. Just by reading in this forum I know that about 98% of the fans just watch the QB each play.

 

Even if its the QB we are talking about and the fan even knows the play call. He more then likely doesn't know who the progressions of targets are on that play, or if the WR's ran the proper routes and made the correct reads on the line and off the line. Did the QB make the proper pre-snap read and make the proper line calls? Were all the blocks made successfully, did any fail or were some missed. What injury is each player dealing with, minor or serious. No player escapes an NFL season injury free. TT always played on bad ankles throughout his entire NFL career, you couldn't tell by watching him on TV tho.

 

These are very highly paid professional athletes we are talking about, they get graded on every snap, every play.

 

There is no way that any NFL fan should know more about an NFL player then his team does, no way! If one somehow does, then there is a very serious problem with the coaches not doing their jobs.

 

That said, If Chan Gailey watched any film of Fred Jackson previous to that 2010 draft, there is no way that he drafts Spiller IMO. Then Gailey names Spiller the starter for the opening game in 2010 only to bench him after 5 plays, when he sees that Spiller can't block for protections, can't run a route, can't find a hole. Fred Jackson comes in (with a cast on his hand) on the very next play and catches a pass from Trent Edwards.

 

 

Like I said earlier, I'm pulling for Chan Gailey to field a winning team this year....winning cures everything.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Fear the Beard

[ganesh]

Like I said earlier, I'm pulling for Chan Gailey to field a winning team this year....winning cures everything.

 

That!

[tennesseeboy]

This attitude puzzles me, and you aren't the only one to express it.

So if they go 8-8 or worse they are out ... without the slightest freaking clue if there would be anyone better available or willing to coach in Buffalo. So should they shitcan Gailey and bring back Jauron?

 

9 wins is only one more win than a .500 season and seems a very realistic target. I'm not willing to believe that there are no coaches in the United States who could not be hired in Buffalo. If the team is THAT bad, I'd expect that a move would be in order to a place where a competent coach could be hired for the good of the league. Losers think like losers and are content. Winners set stretch goals and try to reach them.