5 biggest dissappointments this year...todate

[Niagara Bill]

Here are my thoughts on the biggest dissappointments which have put us in this situation

1) Mario....not just his lack of sacks, but mostly his lack of leadership, and positive influence on those around him

2) Sheppard...just disappeared...is around the ball but not a huge influence...watching Patrick Willis shows us what we are missing

3) Aaron Williams...we counted on him and he was BAD

4) Wannstadt ....has not been positive, he has not got his players to rise above, lacks answers and adjustments.

5) Gailly...I expected better play calling....end of first half against the Pats....inside the 15...6 straight plays without our best player Spiller on the field. That says it all.

 

If these people had lived up to their billing we would be near the top...not about to fall to the bottom...

Agree or Disagree?

[PaattMaann]

agreed....however...id add Fitz to that list, I thought he would "turn the corner" and show us he could lead this team to some victorys...he has not (I was not expecting him to turn into Jim Kelly or develop a booming arm, just thought he might "pan out")

 

and while I agree Shep has been a dissapointment, you cant "look at Patrick Willis and see what were missing" because every other NFL team besides the niners are missing that too....

[MDH]

Don't see how anything is a bigger disappointment than the D as a whole and that's all on Wannstadt. The D was supposed to carry the Bills this year and thus far they've been the biggest factor in the Bills' struggles.

 

As much as it pains me to say it Dareus is another big disappointment. I thought he was the best player in his draft class and after a decent 1st year he's been crap most of the time this year. He gets pushed around, takes lots of plays off and has been mostly ineffective He did have a solid game vs. Miami though.

 

I've seen enough from Williams in the past 3 weeks to think that he's turning things around and the run D on his side of the field has been pretty good all year long but for the first 7 games he was a pretty big let down.

Edited November 20, 2012 by MDH

[John Cocktosten]

Mario was clearly hurt badly early on. He's been a different player since the surgery. Sheppard has always sucked and he can't shed a block to save his life. I think the games past Wanny by.

 

The biggest disappointment is Gailey. He's the most uninspiring coach since...well since Skelator. He's a dolt. Another Buddy Nix genius move.

[Maury Ballstein]

Id slide Mario down a few notches as he shows signs of turning the corner (gonna slide him a break over alleged wrist issues)

 

Biggest Disappointments

 

#1-----Aaron "wheres the WR at" Williams

#2-----Wannstedt----some talent is here, not sure what Wanny's plan is still

#3-----Gailey/Pickspatrick----both are a liability at the end of games, or 3rd and more than 3.

#4-----LB's----------------------have looked lost until this past week

#5-----Buddy Nix---------------Ive got Kaepernick fever, thank god we drafted Aaron Williams over a possible stud QB.

Edited November 20, 2012 by Ryan L Billz

[1B4IDie]

I'm not saying that Fitzy is the root of all the problems.

Obviously the defense through 8 of the 10 games has been a disaster.

But if two plays go differently.

The Tennessee 4th QTR pick and if TJ Graham takes a left instead of a right the team is 6-4 and in first place in the AFC EAST.

 

Mario Williams was never any kind of leader and any expectations that he would become one in Buffalo is strange at best.

[FreakPop]

1. Wannstad

2. Gailey

3. Nix

4. Ralph

5. Defense

[section122]

1. Wanny - I wonder how much he had to do with the defense last year. In a bad way.

 

2. LB corp - honestly is there a worse group of lbs in the league? I put a lot of the defensives truggles on these 2 factors.

 

3. Gailey - play calling aside - leaving half the team to the coordinator is disgusting. I think he really is an offensive genius. What he has accomplished with a so-so receiving corp and Fitz has been impressive, the lack of adjustments/involvement in the D - not so much.

 

4. High priced DE acquisitions - Mario is rounding into form and Anderson is hurt so this may change by the end of the season, but I was dreaming of pass rush explosion! Brady being scared to face the Bills instead of calling them "his B word"

 

5. Front Office - I don't think it would have been knee jerk to fire Wanny. My fear is that with the easy schedule coming up the D will look good not because they have improved jut that their opponents are worse. This will lead to Wannstache getting to stick around another year.

[MarkyMannn]

As much as it pains me to say it Dareus is another big disappointment. I thought he was the best player in his draft class and after a decent 1st year he's been crap most of the time this year. He gets pushed around, takes lots of plays off and has been mostly ineffective He did have a solid game vs. Miami though.

 

He looks to be a lot heavier this year. You would think he would dedicate the season to his brother and be a FORCE out there. Instead..............nothing

[metzelaars_lives]

To the OP: Look at Mario Williams' career numbers. He's on pace to do just about what he always does. He's going to have double digit sacks. If you ask any Texans fan in the world, they'd tell you the same thing: he has a few big games and then can absolutely disappear for games on end. If you consider him a disappointment, I guess you hadn't really followed his career. What you see is what you get. And he's definitely an improvement over what we had, but yeah, being the Buffalo Bills we had to overpay for him.

Edited November 20, 2012 by metzelaars_lives

[CBD]

To the OP: Look at Mario Williams' career numbers. He's on pace to do just about what he always does. He's going to have double digit sacks. If you ask any Texans fan in the world, they'd tell you the same thing: he has a few big games and then can absolutely disappear for games on end. If you consider him a disappointment, I guess you hadn't really followed his career. What you see is what you get. And he's definitely an amprovement over what we had, but yeah, being the Buffalo Bills we had to overpay for him.

I'll also add that there shouldn't have been any expectation of him being a leader. He was advertised as a quiet follower type of player. If you thought you were getting Ray Lewis you were incorrect.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

1. Mario

2. CB's (including Gilmore)

3. Dareus

4. Wanny

5. Gailey

 

CBF

[eSJayDee]

I don't think you can really categorize Sheppard as a disappointment. Cuz of alignment/"groupings", he spends much of the time on the sideline. I put much of that blame on Wannestadt. Were he to play more than 15-20 plays/game, he might have more of an impact.

[Billy in 4C]

1. Wannstad

2. Gailey

3. Nix

4. Ralph

5. Defense

 

Totally disagree with this list and most of the lists on the board. First, how is Ralph on this list? He opened his pocket books and trusted his team. It looks like he made a bad call on the executive staff a couple years ago but what else could he have done this year that would be any different than any other year? I expected very little and if anything he overdelivered.

 

Also, not sure about you but I expected virtually nothing from Wandstead, Gailey and Nix. I would have needed to have positive expectations to be disappointed. If anything, they met my expectations for what I felt they were capable of. Also, it looks like we might have had an average draft or better. Pretty good for a guy who doesn't know how to trade up/down the board.

 

I am most disappointed in the defensive line and secondary. Both have regressed from last year even though the "talent improved" on paper. We all knew the linebackers were going to be terrible and they have lived up to that expectation. Fitz is the same way. He's a below average QB and has proved that to be the case, meaning he has lived up to our expectations.

 

On offense, Freddy, Pears and Chandler have regressed. Before he was hurt, Pears was getting dominated. Freddy went from a MVP type of back to average, and Chandler's numbers have fallen plus he's been dropping some key passes this year.

[Ronin]

Here are my thoughts on the biggest dissappointments which have put us in this situation

1) Mario....not just his lack of sacks, but mostly his lack of leadership, and positive influence on those around him

2) Sheppard...just disappeared...is around the ball but not a huge influence...watching Patrick Willis shows us what we are missing

3) Aaron Williams...we counted on him and he was BAD

4) Wannstadt ....has not been positive, he has not got his players to rise above, lacks answers and adjustments.

5) Gailly...I expected better play calling....end of first half against the Pats....inside the 15...6 straight plays without our best player Spiller on the field. That says it all.

 

If these people had lived up to their billing we would be near the top...not about to fall to the bottom...

Agree or Disagree?

 

Sheppard was mediocre last year, it's just that no one wanted to see that.

 

Ditto for Aaron Williams. That's what happens when people blindly go into support for Nix and Gailey and dismiss what should have been obvious signs of yet another poor hire after if not during their first season.

 

Anyway, it's the viewers, as both of their play has been pretty consistent from last season to this.

 

Wannstedt has always been overrated, ditto there. And the same for Gailey.

 

They're no different than they were elsewhere, underachieving while employing pigeon-holed methods.

[Casey D]

Finally a Festivus thread. I can't wait for the feats of strength after the conclusion of the airing of the grievances... :-)

[MDH]

Freddy went from a MVP type of back to average

 

FJ was hurt and came back too early. In the past 3 games he's played he's looked like the Jackson of old. In two of those three games he's put up over 100 yards from scrimmage while splitting time. If I'm disappointed in anything it's that he can't stay healthy.

[Maury Ballstein]

Totally disagree with this list and most of the lists on the board. First, how is Ralph on this list? He opened his pocket books and trusted his team. It looks like he made a bad call on the executive staff a couple years ago but what else could he have done this year that would be any different than any other year? I expected very little and if anything he overdelivered.

 

Also, not sure about you but I expected virtually nothing from Wandstead, Gailey and Nix. I would have needed to have positive expectations to be disappointed. If anything, they met my expectations for what I felt they were capable of. Also, it looks like we might have had an average draft or better. Pretty good for a guy who doesn't know how to trade up/down the board.

 

I am most disappointed in the defensive line and secondary. Both have regressed from last year even though the "talent improved" on paper. We all knew the linebackers were going to be terrible and they have lived up to that expectation. Fitz is the same way. He's a below average QB and has proved that to be the case, meaning he has lived up to our expectations.

 

On offense, Freddy, Pears and Chandler have regressed. Before he was hurt, Pears was getting dominated. Freddy went from a MVP type of back to average, and Chandler's numbers have fallen plus he's been dropping some key passes this year.

 

agree on the Ralph thing.....he opened up his wallet and brought in some big $$$ players.....Ralph is free from any of this IMO.

 

Freddy's still above average easily. I understand he's banged up and all. Maybe that age is finally catching up? He should be dominant as a change of pace though if Failey ever figures out the proper way to divide the carries.

[JuanGuzman]

Number 1 for me would be the defensive line: Maybe my expectations were too high but I thought we would have a top 3 defensive line in the league, we'd be able to get pressure with out needing to blitz. Basically I thought "we'd stop the run our way to the quarterback" - the D-line would control and dictate games.There are some legitimate excuses, Mario's injury, Mark Anderson injury, also Dareus personal tragedy. I'm holding out hope that that D-line evolves into a top unit.... but my expectations are diminished.

[NewEra]

Nice list.

 

My feelings:

 

1- Stache. His inability to adapt and make adjustments baffle me. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Well Dave, it was broke alright and you did little to fix it. He has started mixing in more blitzes, with good results. Still not enough for my taste. Too bad we won't get to see if his changes are really helping, considering we play nothing but average-bad offenses the rest of the way. There's a chance he retains his position next year if the D turns it around. Scary thought, I'd be ill. His biggest gaff has been getting so little from our DLine. It has talent. A good DC would get better play from this DLine.

 

 

2- Aaron Williams. We passed on dalton and Kaepernick for this bum. That's what he is. A bum. Too bad Ron Brooks got hurt. I think he's our #2 CB of the future. Convert Williams to safety. I can't envision him improving so much that he wouldn't be a liability.

 

 

3- Spillers touches. He one of the best RBs in the league and the biggest game breaker we've had in decades. He should be getting 20 touches minimum. I'd say 20 rushes and 5-8 catches. He's that good. Chan is coaching for his job. I can't, for the life of me, figure out why he wouldn't give his best player the ball more often. Drives me nuts.

 

 

4- LB play. Everyone we have out there stinks. Not one of them should be starting for any team. I was a BIG fan of Barnetts play last year and had hopes that the move to a 4-3 would be a nice fit for him. I was wrong. He can't cover a FB. I love his passion and I'm glad he's on our team, but his play has been poor. Sheppard.....ugh. I loved it when we selected him. 4 year starters and tackle monster as captain at LSU. I figured the worst he would be is a solid yet unspectacular play caller. I figured wrong. He's a liability in the pass and struggles to get off blocks. Considering he isn't very fast, there really isn't anything good to talk about. He stinks. I hope bradham can improve. I love his athletic ability and hitting power. He's aggressive, often too aggressive and seems to make a lot of bad reads and is out of position regularly. We need to upgrade LB this offseason, BIGtime.

 

 

5- Fitz/Wilson/3rd down play calls---tie.

 

I didn't expect much from fitz and I didn't get much from him. He's on the list because we needed to make a few big plays this year and he has let us down. As others mentioned, the picks vs Tennessee and the Pats were season killers. I pray we can upgrade our QB this offseason. His inability to throw the deep ball is what really kills our offense. No one is scared of him throwing deep and let's the defenses play 8-9 in the box. Imagine if CJ has a QB that defenses were afraid of?

 

George Wilson.....last year I thought he played at a pro bowl level. This season, he should be replaced. He isn't confident in his decision making and its killing us. Often found in the middle of nowhere, his inability to pick a WR/TE to help out on has been critical to his demise. The gw td vs Tennessee is the prime example of that. He was guarding no one and was a complete waste of space on the games most crucial play.

 

Chans ridiculous play calls on 3rd down. Tashard Choice as the Wildcat QB on 3rd and 1? Continuously calling empty backfield sets is the most painful. We're always making it easy on the defense. I like chans play calling overall (except not using CJ enough) but his 3rd down calls often lead me to being stupefied.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention:

 

Marcel Dareus. I had such high hopes for him and his play has been dismal. He's shown flashes his potential, but has been a major disappointment. It hurts even more watching Aj Green, JJ Watts, Patrick Peterson, Julio jones and Aldon Smith. I believe his brothers death is the main cause for his play and am confidant he will step it up the rest of the year and in the future. If not, we're in trouble.

 

Mario Williams. I thought he would be better than ever playing next to Kyle and Marcel. I was wrong. He's still a big upgrade for us, just the difference maker we thought we might be getting. He'll never live up to the contract, but he can still be a disruptive player for us, and I believe he will. He's just not worth 100 million, but we knew we had to overpay to get him.

Edited November 20, 2012 by NewEra