A Few Thoughts About The Game, in no particuar order.....

[Juror#8]

^{Excellent thoughts Bill. I look forward to 16 of these a year. Can't wait to see an "A Few Thoughts..." post in week(s) 19, 20, 21.}

[Coach Tuesday]

 

 

Ralph is such a convenient excuse for the last decade of incompetence.

 

The man was in his 80s and the team was really damn successful. There are teams that have been bad with young owners, and good with old, meddling ownership. Tom Benson is damn near 90 and he has been successful. Dan Snyder and Jim Dolan are young and fertile but they don't have a clue.

 

If you don't believe that Ralph allows Nix to do his job, then that's on you. I think he does. I just think that GMs have been piss poor. Nix is marginally better but he still doesn't have any success on his resume as a GM.

 

Can Ralph be blamed for hiring bad GMs. Yeah. I guess so. But how proximately related is he to the product put on the field? If a GM or coach claims football bona fides, I blame them for putting out a ****ty product and for not having that claimed acumen. If I go to Cheescake Factory, and my service sucks because the waiter was terrible and my burger is undercooked, and it is like that every time I go, I don't blame it on Dave Overton. I blame it on myself for going, and on the individual most responsible for the hiring and retention of that employee.

 

This team gets better when we stop trying to emulate every trend and begin to think somewhat innovatively about the game of football.

 

Pretty sure you misunderstood my post from top to bottom...

[K-9]

Should have drafted AJ Green. He was the BPA at pick number 3.

 

I hope, hope, hope that this is not true, but I see Dareus having a Glenn Dorsey type career.

 

I see AJ Green being a Larry Fitzgerald clone.

 

Not on the Bills' board he wasn't. But both were rated future Pro Bowl players at their positions.

 

And I think the Dorsey comparison is valid. Dareus is just going through the motions out there. And his quote when asked if the last two games were embarrassing for the defense shows that. I'm sorry, but saying, "It's just a game," in response to that question is very telling to me. He needs to sit and rediscover his love for the game. It's missing. Perhaps the tragic death of his brother plays into that as I'm sure it would for anyone. But the fire isn't there like it was. Sit him.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[JohnC]

No doubt we need an upgrade at QB. And I'll agree that we were in a position to draft Dalton.

 

But how were we in a position to draft Ponder? Are you suggesting the Bills should have taken him with the third pick in the draft? Are you suggesting the Bills should have passed on the consensus best player available and at a critical position of need and traded down? Nobody in their right mind would have done it at the time. AT THE TIME being the operative phrase.

 

GO BILLS!!!

You didn't carefully read my post. As I stated in the prior post if a good qb prospect is on the board but not valued at where you are drafting then you can trade down and get the lower valued player (a qb) to fill the most critical need and most important player on the roster. Or you can use some of your other lower picks or future picks to select a legitimate franchise qb.

 

In the 2011 draft the Bills selected a CB (Aaron Williams) when Dalton was still on the board. He was selected next by the Bengals. That was a blunder that has set our franchise back. It's easy in hindsight to quibble over any particular pick. What can't be disputed is that during the three years of Nix's reign as GM he hasn't found a legitimate franchise qb through the draft or through free agency to give our offense a meaningful chance to be good. Next year, if he finally drafts a legitimate qb prospect the Bills will have to wait a couple or few years for the prospect to develop. By then the team might not even be in the region.

 

The bottom line is that Buddy Nix believed that Fitz was an adequate enough qb that would allow the team to be competitive. That was a gross miscalculation. Now, another season is lost for an evaluation mistake that was apparent to many people.

[sweatpantsjoe]

My notes from the upper deck at Candlestick. Women like to talk crap to fans of opposing teams to the point it embarrasses their men as I question their manhood for letting their woman run their mouths like that. That is all.

[Glory Bound]

4. If we do take a DB next year in rd 1 or 2, Im am done with this team

 

Reminds me of a cartoon I saw once. This older couple was sitting on a bench & the man says to her, "As soon as the kids die off, I'm leaving you."

 

My friend, you'll never be done. You're doing what we've all been doing...we all just keep moving the finish line.

[Dan]

Should have drafted AJ Green. He was the BPA at pick number 3.

 

I hope, hope, hope that this is not true, but I see Dareus having a Glenn Dorsey type career.

 

I see AJ Green being a Larry Fitzgerald clone.

While I can agree with much of your opinion, this is complete nuts. First of all, prior to his brother getting killed, coinciding with the ENTIRE defense falling apart, Dareus has been an excellent and in some games dominating player. Now after 2 bad to below average games and you're ready to call him a bust? This kneejerk type reaction is also one of the things this organization needs to get over as well.

 

Secondly, hindsight is a hell of a thing. No one was calling for AJ Green to be selected in the top 5, let alone be a Fitzgerald clone when he was drafted. Sure, he looks great now. But, to take that leap of faith, and that's exactly what it would have been, and make him the #3 overall pick would have been horrendously bold. Not to mention it almost certainly would have failed. Afterall, it's hard to catch the ball when your QB is throwing the ball 10yds over your head or 5yds short on a duck pattern.

 

So, yes, this team needs a WR to help score points. But, to prioritize that position and reaching wildly to do so at a time when there was no team around him would have been continuing a longer Bills' pattern of getting flashy players that are destined to fail on a weak team.

 

edit: I just recalled Green was picked first by the Bengals not Dalton, which my mind had reversed. So, some of my arguement is mistaken. However, I still contend that it would have been a huge leap of faith and poor decision for the Bills to draft him that high. Our team was, and is completely different than the Bengals. Most, notably, I believe their defense was pretty solid while we had a horrendous DLine at the time.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Dan

[Coach Tuesday]

While I can agree with much of your opinion, this is complete nuts. First of all, prior to his brother getting killed, coinciding with the ENTIRE defense falling apart, Dareus has been an excellent and in some games dominating player. Now after 2 bad to below average games and you're ready to call him a bust? This kneejerk type reaction is also one of the things this organization needs to get over as well.

 

Secondly, hindsight is a hell of a thing. No one was calling for AJ Green to be selected in the top 5, let alone be a Fitzgerald clone when he was drafted. Sure, he looks great now. But, to take that leap of faith, and that's exactly what it would have been, and make him the #3 overall pick would have been horrendously bold. Not to mention it almost certainly would have failed. Afterall, it's hard to catch the ball when your QB is throwing the ball 10yds over your head or 5yds short on a duck pattern.

 

So, yes, this team needs a WR to help score points. But, to prioritize that position and reaching wildly to do so at a time when there was no team around him would have been continuing a longer Bills' pattern of getting flashy players that are destined to fail on a weak team.

 

edit: I just recalled Green was picked first by the Bengals not Dalton, which my mind had reversed. So, some of my arguement is mistaken. However, I still contend that it would have been a huge leap of faith and poor decision for the Bills to draft him that high. Our team was, and is completely different than the Bengals. Most, notably, I believe their defense was pretty solid while we had a horrendous DLine at the time.

 

That's not quite right. Green was widely regarded as a top-five talent and, in fact, he was rumored to be on the Bills' short list at the 3 spot (which also included Gabbert, Newton, Patrick Peterson, and Nick Fairley). My "source" was Nevergiveup's posts leading up to the draft, wonder where he went (maybe he gave up).

[Dan]

 

 

That's not quite right. Green was widely regarded as a top-five talent and, in fact, he was rumored to be on the Bills' short list at the 3 spot (which also included Gabbert, Newton, Patrick Peterson, and Nick Fairley). My "source" was Nevergiveup's posts leading up to the draft, wonder where he went (maybe he gave up).

:-) I wouldn't blame anyone for giving up on this team.

 

You're right, and I stand corrected on that portion of my post. But, taking a WR at #3 when you have no offensive or defensive line and a mediocre QB is still not the wa to build a team, IMO.

[CodeMonkey]

My notes from the upper deck at Candlestick. Women like to talk crap to fans of opposing teams to the point it embarrasses their men as I question their manhood for letting their woman run their mouths like that. That is all.

Those men just need to go for a nice long piss after she starts running her mouth so she is left to fend for herself once. That should cure the diarrhea mouth.

[Thunderstealer]

One bright spot is we probably lost twice in a row to the two probable SB representatives.

[Orton's Arm]

Good thoughts sir.

 

I think we agree completely on that (franchise QB and WR needs). This organization is too accustomed to following someone else's model, what some other GM did here, there or wherever.

 

We need a franchise QB and we need to give a king's ransom to get one. If I hear one more person say that we should use our fist pick on a LB I'll completely lose it. That is the same reactive 'plug-the-hole' so that we can be like ________ mentality that leaves us playing this ridiculous game of "catch up."

 

We need to build a team predicated on scoring points and that can score points both running and throwing the football. We need an intelligent, franchise QB that can grind out wins on those rare occassions that a defense presents a challenge. We need a coach that is ahead of the creativity curve with respect to designing schemes that exploit opponent weaknesses. We need playmakers who are measurably fast, athletic, svelte, and are accustomed to finding the endzone. And we need a defense that is fast and opportunisitic.

 

Frankly, we need to tank this season and get our QB. I wish that Howard Schnellenberger was born 30 years later.

Nice post.

 

> I think we agree completely on that (franchise QB and WR needs).

 

I agree that the Bills have holes at both positions, and that filling those is key. That said, I think that adding a franchise QB is much more important than adding another WR. if you had to, you could get by with the receiving corps we have. Stevie Johnson is a good WR with a knack for getting open. Graham is quietly evolving into a good deep threat--or would be if he had a QB who could get him the ball. Chandler is normally a sure-handed TE and a good target. Jackson and Spiller are good options coming out of the backfield.

 

But there's a difference between a receiving corps that's good enough to get you by, and a receiving corps which is feared. When the Cardinals took Larry Fitzgerald, they didn't necessarily have a hole at WR. That selection caused a few raised eyebrows, and generated some criticism. No one is criticizing them now! Any time you have a choice between a good player and a special player, you take the special player. Regardless of short-term needs. The only exception would be if the special player played a position of relatively low value, such as OG. But a player like Fitzgerald can destroy you if you cover him one-on-one. Even if you double cover him he can still hurt you pretty badly.

 

The Bills had a choice between a good player (Dareus) and a special player (A.J. Green). I wish they'd taken Green.

 

> Frankly, we need to tank this season and get our QB.

 

I wholeheartedly endorse the above. I also strongly agree with the paragraph leading up to that statement.

[rpmfla]

One bright spot is we probably lost twice in a row to the two probable SB representatives.

 

Yes. But the brightness is dimmed by the rediculous degree to which the Bills got totally blown out. This was not just losing, this was castration.

 

Back when the Bills had a lot of losing seasons but lost a lot of close ones along the way, I may have said once or twice "geez, I hate losing all of these close games, sometimes coming on the last play or the result of a blown call...I think getting blown out would be less stressful!"

 

I take it back.

[Bill from NYC]

I wish I'd joined you in your advocacy for AJ Green. Going into that draft, I threw out hints that the Bills should strongly consdier him as a possibility. But I never came right out and said they should take him. I wish I'd listened to my gut; which told me Green would become a much better football player than Dareus.

 

Not sure it would have mattered. Do you think that Fitz could get the ball to him? He is missing many open receivers now. The bottom line wrt the drafts is something we both already know. They use the very best selections primarily on DBs and RBs. And this didn't stop with Nix. Maybe it will never end, I don't know. As Alphadog said, they had chances at Mallett, and many others. But that isn't how this team goes about business.

[Juror#8]

While I can agree with much of your opinion, this is complete nuts. First of all, prior to his brother getting killed, coinciding with the ENTIRE defense falling apart, Dareus has been an excellent and in some games dominating player. Now after 2 bad to below average games and you're ready to call him a bust? This kneejerk type reaction is also one of the things this organization needs to get over as well.

 

Secondly, hindsight is a hell of a thing. No one was calling for AJ Green to be selected in the top 5, let alone be a Fitzgerald clone when he was drafted. Sure, he looks great now. But, to take that leap of faith, and that's exactly what it would have been, and make him the #3 overall pick would have been horrendously bold. Not to mention it almost certainly would have failed. Afterall, it's hard to catch the ball when your QB is throwing the ball 10yds over your head or 5yds short on a duck pattern.

 

So, yes, this team needs a WR to help score points. But, to prioritize that position and reaching wildly to do so at a time when there was no team around him would have been continuing a longer Bills' pattern of getting flashy players that are destined to fail on a weak team.

 

edit: I just recalled Green was picked first by the Bengals not Dalton, which my mind had reversed. So, some of my arguement is mistaken. However, I still contend that it would have been a huge leap of faith and poor decision for the Bills to draft him that high. Our team was, and is completely different than the Bengals. Most, notably, I believe their defense was pretty solid while we had a horrendous DLine at the time.

 

I understand that in subsequent posts in this thread you've amended some of your original thoughts but I did want to mention that I made this same argument, almost to the letter, last year when Marcel was looking promising. I wondered in AJ Green would have been the better pick 2 games into last season.

 

I, personally, think that building from the lines is an antiquated approach and put us at a competetive disadvantage in a greatly evolving league.

 

I would rather this team lose 50-48 every game and know that we can score than to have no identity and not know which team will show up from game to game. If you can score points at will (indeed the objective of the game itself) you keep their defense on the field and you affect their offensive gameplan.

 

Having an unstoppable offense literally has a defensive element as it impacts the opposing team's offensive gameplan. They want to keep you off the field so they run, try to use the clock, and go away from their usual approach OR they have to keep up so they take chances. If you have an opportunistic and fast defense, you can exploit these adjustments.

 

Instead every year we're talking about if such and such a tplayer will fit in this defense, 4-3 or 3-4, DE or LB and in what scheme. Blah!

 

Put some playmakers on the field and let them score points. Get a stud QB who can intelligently read a defense and launch a ball 60 yards on a rope. Get some beef up front to give him time to appraise the landscape. Sprinkle in some 4.3 speed elusive guys and let these cats go to work.

 

TJ Graham and CJ Spiller are good starts.

[Dan]

I understand that in subsequent posts in this thread you've amended some of your original thoughts but I did want to mention that I made this same argument, almost to the letter, last year when Marcel was looking promising. I wondered in AJ Green would have been the better pick 2 games into last season.

 

I, personally, think that building from the lines is an antiquated approach and put us at a competetive disadvantage in a greatly evolving league.

 

I would rather this team lose 50-48 every game and know that we can score than to have no identity and not know which team will show up from game to game. If you can score points at will (indeed the objective of the game itself) you keep their defense on the field and you affect their offensive gameplan.

 

Having an unstoppable offense literally has a defensive element as it impacts the opposing team's offensive gameplan. They want to keep you off the field so they run, try to use the clock, and go away from their usual approach OR they have to keep up so they take chances. If you have an opportunistic and fast defense, you can exploit these adjustments.

 

Instead every year we're talking about if such and such a tplayer will fit in this defense, 4-3 or 3-4, DE or LB and in what scheme. Blah!

 

Put some playmakers on the field and let them score points. Get a stud QB who can intelligently read a defense and launch a ball 60 yards on a rope. Get some beef up front to give him time to appraise the landscape. Sprinkle in some 4.3 speed elusive guys and let these cats go to work.

 

TJ Graham and CJ Spiller are good starts.

I really don't completely disagree with you, entirely. But, there's more than one way to build a winner. And I will contend that getting a monster WR when we have a mediocre QB isn't the way to do it. So, I'm glad they built the line up, first, given the proposed alternative.

[JohnC]

Not sure it would have mattered. Do you think that Fitz could get the ball to him? He is missing many open receivers now. The bottom line wrt the drafts is something we both already know. They use the very best selections primarily on DBs and RBs. And this didn't stop with Nix. Maybe it will never end, I don't know. As Alphadog said, they had chances at Mallett, and many others. But that isn't how this team goes about business.

 

I don't want to make you crazy but Buddy Nix drafted Aaron Williams instead of Dalton in the second round in the 2011 draft. Currently we have no qb on the roster that we are grooming. So if Nix does take the plunge and drafts a qb (which I expect he will do) in the first round in the next draft it is going to take a couple to a few years to get serious production out of the prospect.

 

There is a difference between being a good scout and a good GM. It's like the difference between being a good checkers player and a chess player.

[Orton's Arm]

Not sure it would have mattered. Do you think that Fitz could get the ball to him? He is missing many open receivers now. The bottom line wrt the drafts is something we both already know. They use the very best selections primarily on DBs and RBs. And this didn't stop with Nix. Maybe it will never end, I don't know. As Alphadog said, they had chances at Mallett, and many others. But that isn't how this team goes about business.

 

> Not sure it would have mattered. Do you think that Fitz could get the ball to him?

 

I agree that a franchise QB would change the entire equation for the Bills. But even though Fitz is by no means the answer, he's still good enough for us to have figured out that Stevie Johnson is a good WR. If we'd drafted Green, we'd think, he's also a very good receiver. And think of how much more he could accomplish with a real quarterback.

 

> They use the very best selections primarily on DBs and RBs. And this didn't stop with Nix.

 

In the past, they've used 50% of their first picks of the draft on RBs + DBs. That 50% needs to come down to around 10 - 20%--but not down to 0%. Spiller is an example of a justifiable use of an early pick on a RB. The Antowain Smith, Travis Henry, Willis McGahee, and Marshawn Lynch picks represent the misuse of valuable draft picks. Antoine Winfield was a good use of a first round pick--or would have been had he not been allowed to go first-contract-and-out! The Donte Whitner pick was a textbook example of what not to do on draft day.

 

I'd argue that the Bills' excessive focus on RBs and DBs is a symptom of an underlying problem: shortsightedness. Consider the following strategic question. Option A: use a first round pick on a DB, let him go first-contract-and-out, then use a first round pick on his replacement. Option B: use first round picks on players expected to be core contributors to your team for the next decade. To someone building toward a long-term strategic vision, option B sounds a lot better than option A. But to someone looking for a quick fix, and focused on filling short-term holes, Option A can sound really good.

 

What I'm suggesting is that the Bills get rid of the short-term, quick fix thinking which has resulted in so many first round picks squandered on a multitude of DBs and RBs. Instead they should build toward a long-term vision, piece by piece. Sometimes a RB or DB is exactly the long-term piece you need. Such might well have been the case with Spiller. A.J. Green represents a more valuable and harder-to-duplicate piece than Dareus; especially for a team building toward a long-term strategic vision.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

As always I agree with you Hopeful.

IT IS THE COACHING on both sides of the ball. I give up on Fitz (and I have always supported him) after that int though........ He should know he can't make that throw. Couch Lee seems to have done nothing for him.

 

I think Lee has ruined Fitz - got him out there thinking in his forebrain and choking instead of just throwing.

 

About the throw, though - I don't know whether to blame Chan or Fitz. If Fitz audibled to that play, obviously blame Fitz. If Chan called it, it's really on Chan - successful coaching is fitting your scheme to your personnel. That's a low percentage throw for most QBs (I remember similar throws in about 4 games this weekend and thinking wow, (insert name) is lucky that one wasn't picked), and it's a no-percentage throw for Fitz. So why did we run that play?

 

The thing is, a WR of the championship Bills era would have turned into a DB and broken that up. No INT. We don't get that from our WR. Why not? Again - coaching.

[K-9]

I think Lee has ruined Fitz - got him out there thinking in his forebrain and choking instead of just throwing.

 

About the throw, though - I don't know whether to blame Chan or Fitz. If Fitz audibled to that play, obviously blame Fitz. If Chan called it, it's really on Chan - successful coaching is fitting your scheme to your personnel. That's a low percentage throw for most QBs (I remember similar throws in about 4 games this weekend and thinking wow, (insert name) is lucky that one wasn't picked), and it's a no-percentage throw for Fitz. So why did we run that play?

 

The thing is, a WR of the championship Bills era would have turned into a DB and broken that up. No INT. We don't get that from our WR. Why not? Again - coaching.

 

It's Fitz's call every time. Has been since he started. It's a basic read and he has the green light whenever he sees single coverage on his wideouts. The good news is that we CLEARLY have receivers that can beat single coverage deep. Just look at how many times our guys been open on those go routes.

 

We all know what the bad news is.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited October 9, 2012 by K-9