Sports Illustrated coaching change article

[Magox]

Borrowing from your logic above, it seems disingenuous for you to attack a fellow Bills Fan with 18 posts under his belt. He's a human being and has feelings. Your attacking him based on this one post is the exact type of behavior you are referencing above. At least wait until he gets to Post 100 before pulling the guillotine on the poor chap.

[NoSaint]

 

 

since you asked, in my opinion, the team went wrong before the season began by failing to address two key positions of need: linebacker and receiver, and maybe not in that order

it was evident in camp that both spots were thin.

the belief was the d-line could overcome whatever problems there were at lb and yet, the bills front-office kind of middled it.

they cut dwan edwards and merrriman and mckillop. one and possibly two of the three would have helped.

 

same thing at receiver.

 

here's the thing about Fitzpatrick, too, and those who have claimed that Gailey is "married" to the qb. that is not the case. since the beginning, both Chan and Buddy have consistenty said that if there is a qb there whom they believe is a "franchise guy" then they'll draft him.

have they missed on a few? yes. were there questions about some of them that the bills have missed on, yes again.

 

trouble is, there were so many holes to address on this roster that it's difficult to say that a qb would've fixed everything. defense was and still is a mess, but it's closer to being better than it was, i think. offense has a line and rb in place.

 

that said, the bills didn't start at square 1 under buddy and chan. they were actually at about square minus-1 back then.

some things have not panned out. that's true.

 

and criticize the bills all you want. but i find too many people are basing their criticism on 13 years and not 3. and the headlong rush for change has it"s consequences.

 

what, good folk, is your plan B should Chan and Buddy be fired?

there's expected to be what i've been told as "a seismic shift" in the nfl coaching ranks this offseason, with as many as 10 teams making changes.

 

you tell me, what top 5 -- nay, top 10 -- coaching candidates would choose Buffalo -- where dysfunction rules and coaches get no more than 3 years to prove themselves -- over other more favorable landing spots such as say Chicago, San Diego or New Orleans.

 

have at it all you want. and if you get your wish that the coach is gone, let's have the whole thing blown up yet again, so that we can have this conversation in 2015.

 

jw

 

i generally agree with a lot of the points you make. i think ive been one of the last to hop off of chans bandwagon for those very reasons.

 

1) chan did not tie his career to fitz like most posters think. they had a qb with an expiring contract, and they gave him a relatively market level deal (see Kolb, flynn, alex smith, cassell, orton in denver etc... for examples). he got low end starter money - the proverbial "lets keep him on board and move on when we can" type of contract. it seems the philosophy (which typically holds true) is that either we are getting a guy at the top of the draft, or its not worth a midrounder as 90%+ never play as well as fitz. would it be nice to have wilson? sure. is it an absurd draft philosophy? not really, as long as they eventually pull the trigger. guys being upset about the jackson situation are just being overdramatic and emotional about the entire situation

 

2) we were well aware of many of the deficiencies and as fans stuck our heads in the sand and said "other players will make up for it." well, thats rarely true. especially when its more than one guy at the same position group. i thought the lbs would be a real liability, but i didnt think it would be even as bad as it is. any group on a team playing as poorly as they are will sink the entire unit. cant have it.

 

3) i agree it hasnt been 13 years. its been 3. for the defense (and yes, it was due to his planning so hes not blameless) it is actually year 1 of the rebuild. the front 7 is thin, because weve looked for 3 widely different skill sets out of those 15 or so players within just a 4 year period. its tough to get starters let alone depth with that.

 

Unfortunately, the last month the team hasnt looked particularly prepared, or bought into the system which is a big worry. its also looking less and less like there is a system in place. the decision making week to week doesnt seem to follow a philosophy, as much as a random mish mash of "things are happening and im just trying to keep up." i know chan didnt get where he is by being an idiot, and he forgets more daily than i know with regards to football - but the management side of the coaching seems to be a bit of a cluster right now. somewhere in there i feel like both the team, and some of the fans lost sight of chans vision, and i think a big part of that is him not being sharp on it right now.

[Delete This Account]

Failin Gailey is off limits now?

 

These things happen when coaches fail, nothing new IMO. You should go to the Jets board and tell them how cheap and low class they are under the Sanchez threads.

 

 

no, it's not. but no one has come to his defense, particularly the Bills front-office of late. and the argument has been so one-sided in my opinion that someone has to step in to say something. i've said all along, Gailey is open to plenty of criticism, but some of it's unwarranted and unfair.

 

as for your Jets comparison: so?

 

jw

 

i generally agree with a lot of the points you make. i think ive been one of the last to hop off of chans bandwagon for those very reasons.

 

1) chan did not tie his career to fitz like most posters think. they had a qb with an expiring contract, and they gave him a relatively market level deal (see Kolb, flynn, alex smith, cassell, orton in denver etc... for examples). he got low end starter money - the proverbial "lets keep him on board and move on when we can" type of contract. it seems the philosophy (which typically holds true) is that either we are getting a guy at the top of the draft, or its not worth a midrounder as 90%+ never play as well as fitz. would it be nice to have wilson? sure. is it an absurd draft philosophy? not really, as long as they eventually pull the trigger. guys being upset about the jackson situation are just being overdramatic and emotional about the entire situation

 

2) we were well aware of many of the deficiencies and as fans stuck our heads in the sand and said "other players will make up for it." well, thats rarely true. especially when its more than one guy at the same position group. i thought the lbs would be a real liability, but i didnt think it would be even as bad as it is. any group on a team playing as poorly as they are will sink the entire unit. cant have it.

 

3) i agree it hasnt been 13 years. its been 3. for the defense (and yes, it was due to his planning so hes not blameless) it is actually year 1 of the rebuild. the front 7 is thin, because weve looked for 3 widely different skill sets out of those 15 or so players within just a 4 year period. its tough to get starters let alone depth with that.

 

Unfortunately, the last month the team hasnt looked particularly prepared, or bought into the system which is a big worry. its also looking less and less like there is a system in place. the decision making week to week doesnt seem to follow a philosophy, as much as a random mish mash of "things are happening and im just trying to keep up." i know chan didnt get where he is by being an idiot, and he forgets more daily than i know with regards to football - but the management side of the coaching seems to be a bit of a cluster right now. somewhere in there i feel like both the team, and some of the fans lost sight of chans vision, and i think a big part of that is him not being sharp on it right now.

 

fair points. good case.

i do think there is a system in place. the trouble is, no one envisioned the system would include no Nelson, Chandler, Jones and Jackson.

 

and i do believe Buddy, when he's said no one believed it would take the defense this long to come together. and i do think the Bills ought to be openly criticized for failing to address the LB position.

 

jw

[eball]

I actually think that Gailey is a very good offensive coach who does the best with what he has. It's his scheme that has made the running game so effective the past two seasons (meaning that his spread passing offense sets up the run). Right now, they are 14th in rushing attempts, 6th in rushing yards, and 3rd in rushing yards per carry. Slam him all you want for hitching himself to Fitzpatrick, but when Fitzpatrick has a credible receiving corps, he plays pretty well. His receiving corps was a mess this season, yet he has the best QB rating of his career (82.9) and an acceptable TD/INT ratio.

 

The sad thing is that they're going to cut Fitzpatrick despite the fact that he's an ideal backup for the team. He'll probably end up going to a team like Arizona, where he'll be an immediate and huge upgrade over what they have. I realize that he'll be making too much money and therefore have to go, but it's not a good thing. I feel similarly about Gailey, actually - I'd be fine with him sticking around as an OC, but that will never happen assuming he's fired.

 

If I'm faulting anyone, it's Nix. He has in certain respects upgraded the talent overall, but I think his clear unwillingness to draft and sign FAs who come from outside the SEC/ACC/former Confederacy axis has blinded him, which in turn has hurt the Bills. Why trade up for NC State product Graham, who appears to suck? Why pay so much for a pretty good NC State DE, Mario Williams? Why keep bringing back the washed up ACC stud Shawn Merriman? To me, Nix strikes me as a "comfort zone" sort of person. He seems to trust people most like himself and who are from the region where he was born, where he coached, and where he scouted. A man needs broader horizons, I think.

 

You bring up some fair points, particularly in the first paragraph, but what these statistics don't address is WHEN they occur. Gailey (with his playcalling) and Fitzpatrick (with his play) have consistently failed this team WHEN IT COUNTS MOST -- in pressure situations like the end of halves and games. Same goes for Wannstedt's strategy on defense -- it has failed in nearly every crucial situation. That's why this team can't get over the hump. They could easily be 9-6 or 10-5 right now if they were able to make the plays when it matters. That's coaching and the inability of key players to make plays.

[dave mcbride]

i generally agree with a lot of the points you make. i think ive been one of the last to hop off of chans bandwagon for those very reasons.

 

1) chan did not tie his career to fitz like most posters think. they had a qb with an expiring contract, and they gave him a relatively market level deal (see Kolb, flynn, alex smith, cassell, orton in denver etc... for examples). he got low end starter money - the proverbial "lets keep him on board and move on when we can" type of contract. it seems the philosophy (which typically holds true) is that either we are getting a guy at the top of the draft, or its not worth a midrounder as 90%+ never play as well as fitz. would it be nice to have wilson? sure. is it an absurd draft philosophy? not really, as long as they eventually pull the trigger. guys being upset about the jackson situation are just being overdramatic and emotional about the entire situation

 

2) we were well aware of many of the deficiencies and as fans stuck our heads in the sand and said "other players will make up for it." well, thats rarely true. especially when its more than one guy at the same position group. i thought the lbs would be a real liability, but i didnt think it would be even as bad as it is. any group on a team playing as poorly as they are will sink the entire unit. cant have it.

 

3) i agree it hasnt been 13 years. its been 3. for the defense (and yes, it was due to his planning so hes not blameless) it is actually year 1 of the rebuild. the front 7 is thin, because weve looked for 3 widely different skill sets out of those 15 or so players within just a 4 year period. its tough to get starters let alone depth with that.

 

Unfortunately, the last month the team hasnt looked particularly prepared, or bought into the system which is a big worry. its also looking less and less like there is a system in place. the decision making week to week doesnt seem to follow a philosophy, as much as a random mish mash of "things are happening and im just trying to keep up." i know chan didnt get where he is by being an idiot, and he forgets more daily than i know with regards to football - but the management side of the coaching seems to be a bit of a cluster right now. somewhere in there i feel like both the team, and some of the fans lost sight of chans vision, and i think a big part of that is him not being sharp on it right now.

 

excellent post.

[Maury Ballstein]

15-33 = criticism city. thats all i can say JW. Nix's draft blunders have assisted in the Chanimal's record.

 

IMO they both need to go asap. I can't see any positives they are bringing to the table.

[dave mcbride]

You bring up some fair points, particularly in the first paragraph, but what these statistics don't address is WHEN they occur. Gailey (with his playcalling) and Fitzpatrick (with his play) have consistently failed this team WHEN IT COUNTS MOST -- in pressure situations like the end of halves and games. Same goes for Wannstedt's strategy on defense -- it has failed in nearly every crucial situation. That's why this team can't get over the hump. They could easily be 9-6 or 10-5 right now if they were able to make the plays when it matters. That's coaching and the inability of key players to make plays.

 

I really think that the loss of David Nelson has hurt Fitzpatrick. Yes, he's thrown his share of bad picks, but the ones in the Pats game and (I'd argue) the Titans game were the result of poor communication between QB and receiver. In both of those situations, I'm guessing the Harvard grad knew the right play. Even in the first Jets game, the pick ran back by Cromartie was apparently the result of an incorrect receiver read. I'm not making excuses - he's hardly an elite QB, and they need an upgrade. But their receiving corps is not good. Even Johnson, who is good, destroyed Fitz last game, dropping an easy TD and fumbling in the red zone (and thereby costing him a chance for a TD pass). And let's not even go near T.J. Graham.

Edited December 28, 2012 by dave mcbride

[mrags]

 

 

wrong. he has been more upfront than many of his predecessors. and he's taken more of the blame -- at the expense of players -- than you suggest.

let's be fair here, and this is my point because people are piling on with misdirected accusations and arguments such as this above.

 

Chan has taken the blame each time he's been asked about it after every loss. it was the case after Tennessee, and it was certainly the case last week, when he said: "the buck stops with me."

 

criticize him all you want, but don't start making things up.

 

gregg williams never took the blame.

and mularkey was squirmy with the facts during his time.

 

this has not been the case with Chan.

 

jw

Taking the blame is easy. It's his to carry anyway. He is the coach of this team. Regardless if the players suck or not, it's his responsibility to get the players ready to play and he hasn't.

 

Taking the blame means absolutely nothing when he says things like "we need to find a way to get CJ the ball more" one week, then the very next week only give it to him 8 times. That's him lying. In that same example, he had a game where we only had Field Goals on offense, yet the offense was in the red zone 4-5 times. Yet CJ wasn't in on any of those red zone opportunities. Instead, it was Tashard Choice.

 

Why is that John? Your closer to the team than any of us. Maybe you can give us some inside information as to why a 3rd string RB was in the game in a red zone situation for multiple straight plays, while your most explosive weapon stands on the sideline, pleading his case to go back in.

 

These are the lies that I'm talking about. They are very simple to answer, yet Chan only comes forward with "winded" while CJ has stated publicly that he has no issues with his personal physical fitness.

[Delete This Account]

15-33 = criticism city. thats all i can say JW. Nix's draft blunders have assisted in the Chanimal's record.

 

IMO they both need to go asap. I can't see any positives they are bringing to the table.

 

it's 15-32.

 

jw

[Maddog69]

Next week will be interesting. There are so many rumors out there:

1.) Chan getting fired monday

2.) Buddy fighting to keep chan

3.) Gruden meeting with the Bills over the weekend

4.) Jimbo joining the front office

5.) Polian coming back

6.) Ownership transition to Jimbo coming this offseason

 

Did I miss any?

[Maury Ballstein]

it's 15-32.

 

jw

 

theres one game left. vs an AFC east team...........15-33 lock it down my man!

 

we know how these games turn out. Fitz to cromartie all day!

[Delete This Account]

Taking the blame is easy. It's his to carry anyway. He is the coach of this team. Regardless if the players suck or not, it's his responsibility to get the players ready to play and he hasn't.

 

Taking the blame means absolutely nothing when he says things like "we need to find a way to get CJ the ball more" one week, then the very next week only give it to him 8 times. That's him lying. In that same example, he had a game where we only had Field Goals on offense, yet the offense was in the red zone 4-5 times. Yet CJ wasn't in on any of those red zone opportunities. Instead, it was Tashard Choice.

 

Why is that John? Your closer to the team than any of us. Maybe you can give us some inside information as to why a 3rd string RB was in the game in a red zone situation for multiple straight plays, while your most explosive weapon stands on the sideline, pleading his case to go back in.

 

These are the lies that I'm talking about. They are very simple to answer, yet Chan only comes forward with "winded" while CJ has stated publicly that he has no issues with his personal physical fitness.

 

don't change the subject. you wrote Chan has lied and has not taken the blame. he has not lied, in fact he's been more open to a fault, which has resulted in more criticism, and taken the blame.

 

his coaching decisions are open to second-guessing. have at it. but your accusations are off the mark.

he has said that Choice was filling the role of Jackson, which was part of the game plan.

i do believe Chan has been far too conservative in sticking and to intent on sticking to his game plan, which has made it difficult on the offense to make in-game adjustments.

 

but to suggest he's lying and not taking the blame, well, stick to the point: you were wrong.

 

 

 

jw

 

theres one game left. vs an AFC east team...........15-33 lock it down my man!

 

we know how these games turn out. Fitz to cromartie all day!

 

no. as of today, Gailey's record is 15-32.

 

jw

Edited December 28, 2012 by john wawrow

[BringBackFergy]

Next week will be interesting. There are so many rumors out there:

1.) Chan getting fired monday

2.) Buddy fighting to keep chan

3.) Gruden meeting with the Bills over the weekend

4.) Jimbo joining the front office

5.) Polian coming back

6.) Ownership transition to Jimbo coming this offseason

 

Did I miss any?

 

7) 23 heart attacks suffered by homeless men shoveling snow at the stadium results in a class action lawsuit netting the victims $900 million - as a result, our team will be bought out by 23 homeless dudes and they will finally lower the cost of a beer and sell until the end of the fourth quarter.

[Maury Ballstein]

whatever you say my man...............i'll spot you the win 16-32 then that still adds up to failure. :death:

[NoSaint]

 

fair points. good case.

i do think there is a system in place. the trouble is, no one envisioned the system would include no Nelson, Chandler, Jones and Jackson.

 

and i do believe Buddy, when he's said no one believed it would take the defense this long to come together. and i do think the Bills ought to be openly criticized for failing to address the LB position.

 

jw

 

I think everyone expected a better year from Barnett, and shepherd to play a little better too. it wouldve done wonders for our defense. both those guys situations really tanked everything, and because of the perpetual switching there werent a lot of options behind them. can only fill so many holes, and i we self-created a lot of them on defense. i really wish instead of going after meachem or anderson we had targeted curtis lofton for MLB. a good value vet coming into his prime would have done wonders for this unit. who knows if he wouldve even been interested. sometimes things dont work out even with the right intentions.

 

with regards to the vision - its tough for me to include chandler on the list (though he mightve been a big help last week with dickerson getting a ton of targets). jackson wouldve been nice but we had a "backup" that seems capable of everything and then some (yes i do think he has some flaws pass blocking though). nelson and jones... well, you have to expect to lose a wr for some time at some point in the season. it happens. we didnt lose stevie, so in reality, we had a pretty average season with regards to that grouping. i dont think the gap between our 2/3 and our 4/5 is as wide as most teams either.

 

what i was getting more at is the "how he makes decisions" and "how he deals with player management" being a rather scatter shot this year. the when to be conservative vs aggressive for instance... there hasnt been an identity to the team with that regard. one week he will take a low percentage shot that he doesnt need to, the next week he will pass on a lower risk chance that the team desperately needs. the personnel groupings on the field in low pressure situations vs the key plays. it hasnt added up well this year, from my amateur, no inside info on the process perspective. their may be great reasoning but im not seeing it, and it seems like some players are starting to not see it.

[NewEra]

I like you jw. I think you're a smart guy and generally agree with what you have to say. I don't agree with your pity party for chan. Like many here have said. When he signed up for the job, he knew he'd be subject to lots of criticism. Especially if his coaching sucked. Well, his coaching sucked. BIGtime. We've had some bad coaches in the last 13 years, but he's the most clueless when it comes to general nuances of the game (ie, clock management, challenges, when to kick a FG or punt). You mentioned that many on this board disregard the past 13 years of ineptness, only to focus on the last 3. Should be start ripping Greg, Mularkey and Jauron now? They had their time, its chans turn. Why? Because he failed. It comes with the territory. When you fail, people talk about it. If he were to have succeeded, we'd be glorifying him. Comes with the territory. He failed. He gets lambasted. Get over it.

 

 

P.S.- I've tried to stay away from similar fitz threads. Do you think it's fair that "fitzmagic" gets the proverbial beat down each week after he stinks it up? He gets paid a lot of money to play football for our team. He stinks at playing football for our team. His days as starting QB for the Bills are numbered (this Sunday). He should be cut. But he's human.....so we should be nice? Right?

[Delete This Account]

I think everyone expected a better year from Barnett, and shepherd to play a little better too. it wouldve done wonders for our defense. both those guys situations really tanked everything, and because of the perpetual switching there werent a lot of options behind them. can only fill so many holes, and i we self-created a lot of them on defense. i really wish instead of going after meachem or anderson we had targeted curtis lofton for MLB. a good value vet coming into his prime would have done wonders for this unit. who knows if he wouldve even been interested. sometimes things dont work out even with the right intentions.

 

with regards to the vision - its tough for me to include chandler on the list (though he mightve been a big help last week with dickerson getting a ton of targets). jackson wouldve been nice but we had a "backup" that seems capable of everything and then some (yes i do think he has some flaws pass blocking though). nelson and jones... well, you have to expect to lose a wr for some time at some point in the season. it happens. we didnt lose stevie, so in reality, we had a pretty average season with regards to that grouping. i dont think the gap between our 2/3 and our 4/5 is as wide as most teams either.

 

what i was getting more at is the "how he makes decisions" and "how he deals with player management" being a rather scatter shot this year. the when to be conservative vs aggressive for instance... there hasnt been an identity to the team with that regard. one week he will take a low percentage shot that he doesnt need to, the next week he will pass on a lower risk chance that the team desperately needs. the personnel groupings on the field in low pressure situations vs the key plays. it hasnt added up well this year, from my amateur, no inside info on the process perspective. their may be great reasoning but im not seeing it, and it seems like some players are starting to not see it.

 

this team has lacked identity. it's as if they thought they could catch lightning in a bottle from the start of last year again this year.

there really didn't seem to be a focus on "team building." it was instead relying on Mario and the defense to bail out the offense this year.

yikes.

 

i really do think that Nelson's loss is being under-estimated, and something that set the entire offense back from the beginning. it's on Buddy and Chan for failing to recognize that and address it. and i think the team's decision to cut Hagan was a mistake. ... the problem is, Chan is open to criticism when it comes to leaning on players who understand his system. if it's that complex, then it's time to try something new and something far more pliable than rigid.

 

 

 

Chandler became Nelson by default.

 

keeping John Potter on the roster was a mistake.

same with going with three qbs.

that was very poor roster management.

 

jw

 

I like you jw. I think you're a smart guy and generally agree with what you have to say. I don't agree with your pity party for chan. Like many here have said. When he signed up for the job, he knew he'd be subject to lots of criticism. Especially if his coaching sucked. Well, his coaching sucked. BIGtime. We've had some bad coaches in the last 13 years, but he's the most clueless when it comes to general nuances of the game (ie, clock management, challenges, when to kick a FG or punt). You mentioned that many on this board disregard the past 13 years of ineptness, only to focus on the last 3. Should be start ripping Greg, Mularkey and Jauron now? They had their time, its chans turn. Why? Because he failed. It comes with the territory. When you fail, people talk about it. If he were to have succeeded, we'd be glorifying him. Comes with the territory. He failed. He gets lambasted. Get over it.

 

 

P.S.- I've tried to stay away from similar fitz threads. Do you think it's fair that "fitzmagic" gets the proverbial beat down each week after he stinks it up? He gets paid a lot of money to play football for our team. He stinks at playing football for our team. His days as starting QB for the Bills are numbered (this Sunday). He should be cut. But he's human.....so we should be nice? Right?

 

no, i'm tired with the scattershot, kneejerking comments being made in the media, by the media and on this board.

if no one's going to stick up for Chan, i'll volunteer because though much of what's been said and written is fair comment, some of it is mean-spirited and off-base.

 

i'm not in a position to make a campaign to keep Chan Gailey, but if he's on his way out, he deserves better, because he's been more genuine than many here will give him credit for.

 

jw

 

and with that, gotta run. see ya.

[NoSaint]

 

 

don't change the subject. you wrote Chan has lied and has not taken the blame. he has not lied, in fact he's been more open to a fault, which has resulted in more criticism, and taken the blame.

 

his coaching decisions are open to second-guessing. have at it. but your accusations are off the mark.

he has said that Choice was filling the role of Jackson, which was part of the game plan.

i do believe Chan has been far too conservative in sticking and to intent on sticking to his game plan, which has made it difficult on the offense to make in-game adjustments.

 

but to suggest he's lying and not taking the blame, well, stick to the point: you were wrong.

 

 

 

jw

 

i will agree at times that it seems he overly sticks to the gameplan too. its a weird situation the last month or two. im having a hard time putting a good analysis on it at times.

[NewEra]

 

 

this team has lacked identity. it's as if they thought they could catch lightning in a bottle from the start of last year again this year.

there really didn't seem to be a focus on "team building." it was instead relying on Mario and the defense to bail out the offense this year.

yikes.

 

i really do think that Nelson's loss is being under-estimated, and something that set the entire offense back from the beginning. it's on Buddy and Chan for failing to recognize that and address it. and i think the team's decision to cut Hagan was a mistake. ... the problem is, Chan is open to criticism when it comes to leaning on players who understand his system. if it's that complex, then it's time to try something new and something far more pliable than rigid.

 

 

 

Chandler became Nelson by default.

 

keeping John Potter on the roster was a mistake.

same with going with three qbs.

that was very poor roster management.

 

jw

 

 

 

no, i'm tired with the scattershot, kneejerking comments being made in the media, by the media and on this board.

if no one's going to stick up for Chan, i'll volunteer because though much of what's been said and written is fair comment, some of it is mean-spirited and off-base.

 

i'm not in a position to make a campaign to keep Chan Gailey, but if he's on his way out, he deserves better, because he's been more genuine than many here will give him credit for.

 

jw

 

and with that, gotta run. see ya.

 

Gotcha. I can respect that.

[NoSaint]

 

 

this team has lacked identity. it's as if they thought they could catch lightning in a bottle from the start of last year again this year.

there really didn't seem to be a focus on "team building." it was instead relying on Mario and the defense to bail out the offense this year.

yikes.

 

i really do think that Nelson's loss is being under-estimated, and something that set the entire offense back from the beginning. it's on Buddy and Chan for failing to recognize that and address it. and i think the team's decision to cut Hagan was a mistake. ... the problem is, Chan is open to criticism when it comes to leaning on players who understand his system. if it's that complex, then it's time to try something new and something far more pliable than rigid.

 

 

 

Chandler became Nelson by default.

 

keeping John Potter on the roster was a mistake.

same with going with three qbs.

that was very poor roster management.

 

jw

 

ill agree that nelson isnt an injury to blindly write off, but i think it does tie back strongly to roster management (as you point out). losing a 3rd wr shouldnt be THAT crippling. you dont like it, but it shouldnt be something that at the end of the year can be pointed to as too major a moment. it seems they saw the WR issues from afar though, and even though i didnt like meachem as an option, and some hate the graham pick - they did try to get a vet in here before things started to go south. that was a foreseeable fragile grouping.

 

such is life.

 

if chan comes back, i wont be breaking out my pitchfork and rioting - but i will have some concerns and things that i will like to see early on to feel comfortable.

Edited December 28, 2012 by NoSaint