Bills biggest potential FA addition - Marrone, Petine

[JPS]

Look at it this way. Despite an absolutely horrific defensive scheme the Bills were still about four plays away from being 10-6 rather than 6-10. Wannstedt was an abject failure as the DC.

 

The talent on defense is still there, and the guy coming in to coach them is young and innovative. For me, the question mark is the offense.

As much as I'd like to try to be positive, to say the Bills were 4 plays away from 10-6 is kind of a joke. They were also about 4 plays from being 2-14.

Good players make the coach. Not the other way around. Getting blown off the ball isn't coaching. I think people overestimate the abilities of 95 and 99 despite evidence to the contrary.

 

I see this defense as Mario, Carrington, Byrd, Gilmore and 7 question marks. Lawson looks like a step in the right direction and I hope they add more. They need to add more.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

For all you doom and gloomers who have already decided that the Bills are a lost cause I want to remind you that last year at this time most people here were talking possible playoffs. Optimism was sky high with the potential top 5 defense led by Mario, K. Williams, Darius, and Anderson. Yeah our secondary was young and questionable but with a dominant dline they would be asked to do less. Than along came Wanstadt who was clueless in how to put together a defensive gameplan to utilize the talent he had available and everything fell apart.

 

On offense the Bills had two of the best RB tandems in the league, a solid, to very good Oline who could open holes for Spiller and Jackson but than along comes Gailey who refuses to use them. Instead he trys to force Fitzpatrick into being Tom Brady and the offense becomes a mess.

 

People, as far as the players are concerned, as a whole, this same team that gave everyone hope last year, is still intact. The only player we have lost is Levitre, a guard, which is probably the easiest position on the field to replace. The rest of the players who are gone, Barnett, Morrison, Kelsey, Jones, Wilson, Merriman, "Fitzpatrick", were not producing much, if at all. Again, they can all be replaced, and all those positions upgraded by players still available in FA, or even players already on the roster.

 

The key to the Bills turning things around this year is the new coaching staff. Can or will Marrone and his young OC put together an effective offensive package which takes advantage of the strengths the Bills already have, Spiller, Johnson, an solid OL. Can or will Petine put together an aggressive, adjusting defensive package that takes advantage of the talent that is already in place.

 

If anything, last year proved, you can add a bunch of talented players to your team, but if the coaching staff is inferior, it simply does not matter. If Marrone and his staff prove to finally be top notch, it will reflect in how the players produce on the field. If they turn out to be like the past few coaching staffs it won't matter what players we add or lose this year, the Bills will continue to flounder.

 

Thats why I say the key FA additions this year are Marrone and his staff. Here's hoping they have the right stuff. Go Bills!!

 

Shut up with your "not panicking" and "use logic" talk!"

 

Ok, I'm still panicking, but this is a good point. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to scream "RUN THE BALL!" last year, especially during the Titans game. During the last offseason I kept telling myself, "If I'm Chan Gailey, I'm spending every moment trying to think of how to use Spiller and Jackson at the same time" and I think that if there was one thing we can all agree on it's that running back was a tremendously underutilized position. When we used it, we won games.

 

I kept thinking, "We have one of the most talented D-lines in the league, how are they still gouging us on defense?" and in the end I still don't know. If Marrone, Hackett and Pettine can at least abstain from making horrible decisions we should still see some improvement, even with the talent we see now.

 

This thread makes entirely too much sense. Shame on you for making sense.

 

I still believe we're going to have a 8-8 season or under, I do agree with you assessments With a solid performance from a QB and coaching staff, we could very well succeed. It's all unknown at this point. I'm along for the ride either way.

 

Also agree. It's looking increasingly like we'll have a rookie QB under center. Even if we somehow get the brass ring in Geno Smith, we're starting with completely new systems on both sides of the ball. This is my prediction: we spend one year showing some signs of improvement (this year) but come out guns blazing next year. Also, that the same thing is happening to the Dolphins. As much as I hate to say it, the Phins took a gamble on a rookie QB who no one thought was going that high and clearly needed some fine tuning and remarkably got better. Now, with a guy they know under center and a lot of free cap space they're swinging for the fences.

[Mr. WEO]

For all you doom and gloomers who have already decided that the Bills are a lost cause I want to remind you that last year at this time most people here were talking possible playoffs. Optimism was sky high with the potential top 5 defense led by Mario, K. Williams, Darius, and Anderson. Yeah our secondary was young and questionable but with a dominant dline they would be asked to do less. Than along came Wanstadt who was clueless in how to put together a defensive gameplan to utilize the talent he had available and everything fell apart.

 

On offense the Bills had two of the best RB tandems in the league, a solid, to very good Oline who could open holes for Spiller and Jackson but than along comes Gailey who refuses to use them. Instead he trys to force Fitzpatrick into being Tom Brady and the offense becomes a mess.

 

People, as far as the players are concerned, as a whole, this same team that gave everyone hope last year, is still intact. The only player we have lost is Levitre, a guard, which is probably the easiest position on the field to replace. The rest of the players who are gone, Barnett, Morrison, Kelsey, Jones, Wilson, Merriman, "Fitzpatrick", were not producing much, if at all. Again, they can all be replaced, and all those positions upgraded by players still available in FA, or even players already on the roster.

 

The key to the Bills turning things around this year is the new coaching staff. Can or will Marrone and his young OC put together an effective offensive package which takes advantage of the strengths the Bills already have, Spiller, Johnson, an solid OL. Can or will Petine put together an aggressive, adjusting defensive package that takes advantage of the talent that is already in place.

 

If anything, last year proved, you can add a bunch of talented players to your team, but if the coaching staff is inferior, it simply does not matter. If Marrone and his staff prove to finally be top notch, it will reflect in how the players produce on the field. If they turn out to be like the past few coaching staffs it won't matter what players we add or lose this year, the Bills will continue to flounder.

 

Thats why I say the key FA additions this year are Marrone and his staff. Here's hoping they have the right stuff. Go Bills!!

 

No one can argue against the impact of great coaching. But you left out the part that it was widely assumed here that Wanny was going to turn this D into a top 5--few questioned this. And before that it was (nearly) universally accepted that after the clueless Jauron, Chan (an "offensive genius" a "megamind") was going to turn the offense around because (and this was endlessly repeated) "he doesn't try to fit his talent into a certain scheme" and "he gets the most out of his players".

 

COTY Jauron was expected to turn around the Bills after Mularkey left. In fact many here were pushing for his mid season re-signing fearing a "bidding war" for his services after the season that started 5-2. Of course it seems silly now, but this thread has been posted for every Bills coaching change since Levy left. There is reason for pause...

 

Anyway, let's hope for the best.

[Iraq Vet]

I love the Bills but... We will be lucky to win 1. It is going to be a 20 game (including pre-season) try-out for 2014.

 

Add it all up....New coaches, new schemes… We have no QB, no # 2 or #3 WR, no #2 CB, no #1 LG, bad linebackers, below average punter, aging kicker who can't kick accurately over 43 yrds, no #1 SS….. On the positive side, we have a great running back and an overpriced DE. I am a glass ½ full guy in everything in life… the ultimate optimist… this team stinks, at BEST!!!

 

Historic run to 0-16 and 1st overall pick in 2014.

Edited March 14, 2013 by Iraq Vet

[BillsVet]

Good coaching can cover up some personnel flaws, but it'll never completely do so. It doesn't make up for poor QB play, not protecting the QB, not having receivers, not getting a pass rush, not making tackles, and not creating turnovers.

 

Marrone is still in the honeymoon phase of his tenure. Pettine is a proven DC with a good track record (unlike his 2 predecessors) and the OC we're told is an offensive prodigy (we'll see). Still, the HC and his staff cannot make up for bad drafting, which has been a hallmark of this organization for years.

[Dibs]

Good coaching can cover up some personnel flaws, but it'll never completely do so. It doesn't make up for poor QB play, not protecting the QB, not having receivers, not getting a pass rush, not making tackles, and not creating turnovers.

 

 

Don't know if I agree with the creating turnovers one. Seems to me that some teams train a lot better at stripping(& protecting) the ball than other teams.

 

The good news for our defensive players is that we were 13th in Sack percentage......and only 15th in opposing teams QBR. It wasn't all horrible.

[C.Biscuit97]

Good coaching can cover up some personnel flaws, but it'll never completely do so. It doesn't make up for poor QB play, not protecting the QB, not having receivers, not getting a pass rush, not making tackles, and not creating turnovers.

 

Marrone is still in the honeymoon phase of his tenure. Pettine is a proven DC with a good track record (unlike his 2 predecessors) and the OC we're told is an offensive prodigy (we'll see). Still, the HC and his staff cannot make up for bad drafting, which has been a hallmark of this organization for years.

 

Why do you complicate things so much? The Bills went 7-9 with Jp Losman and Trent Edwards. The Colts lose Manning for a year and go 2-14 and Polian put them together,

 

If Marrone finds a franchise QB, he will be a good coach. If he doesn't, he will suck like every other coach in the last decade. Player for player, the Bills and the PAts are not that far apart except at one major position, QB. If I was a GM, I would follow the Seattle motto and try every avenue to get a QB. It's funny that they are geniuses for drafting Wilson in the 3rd round yet they are the same team that traded multiple picks for Charlie freakin' Whitehurst.

 

Find a QB and every draft pick will look better.

[JPS]

Why do you complicate things so much? The Bills went 7-9 with Jp Losman and Trent Edwards. The Colts lose Manning for a year and go 2-14 and Polian put them together,

 

If Marrone finds a franchise QB, he will be a good coach. If he doesn't, he will suck like every other coach in the last decade. Player for player, the Bills and the PAts are not that far apart except at one major position, QB. If I was a GM, I would follow the Seattle motto and try every avenue to get a QB. It's funny that they are geniuses for drafting Wilson in the 3rd round yet they are the same team that traded multiple picks for Charlie freakin' Whitehurst.

 

Find a QB and every draft pick will look better.

Even tho I think the Seahawks only swapped positions in the 2nd round for Whitehurst, I agree with your premise. Get the QB. This year. Next year. The following year.

[BuffaloBill]

The sad truth is that the Bills are back into rebuilding mode again. This is what happens when there is a turnstile with coaches. Schemes change, philosophies are different and players get swapped out. It is obvious now the Bills will reach for a QB in this draft and probably at #8. If they get the right guy the future will be much brighter. If not, well we all know the story.

 

 

[eball]

As much as I'd like to try to be positive, to say the Bills were 4 plays away from 10-6 is kind of a joke. They were also about 4 plays from being 2-14.

Good players make the coach. Not the other way around. Getting blown off the ball isn't coaching. I think people overestimate the abilities of 95 and 99 despite evidence to the contrary.

 

I see this defense as Mario, Carrington, Byrd, Gilmore and 7 question marks. Lawson looks like a step in the right direction and I hope they add more. They need to add more.

 

JPS, I respect you and hear you, but you do realize you're actually helping to prove my point, right? Most NFL games come down to a play or two that are made (or not made) by each team. What makes the difference between the winners and losers? My belief is coaching plays a HUGE role.

 

The defensive players you're critical of weren't being put in the best position to succeed -- most of us think (hope) that is going to change with a legitimate DC running the show.

[PearlHowardman]

I love the Bills but... We will be lucky to win 1. It is going to be a 20 game (including pre-season) try-out for 2014.

 

Add it all up....New coaches, new schemes… We have no QB, no # 2 or #3 WR, no #2 CB, no #1 LG, bad linebackers, below average punter, aging kicker who can't kick accurately over 43 yrds, no #1 SS….. On the positive side, we have a great running back and an overpriced DE. I am a glass ½ full guy in everything in life… the ultimate optimist… this team stinks, at BEST!!!

 

Historic run to 0-16 and 1st overall pick in 2014.

 

^This^!

[apuszczalowski]

And what if Manziel has a noticeable drop off this year. He does show some signs of having a big head already and he may fall victim to his own self. Than what?

 

Goes back to coaching and the proper utilization of talent. Put Manziel, at his best, with last years coaching and they would have him running the wildcat. I'm putting my hope in Marrone and his staff, not in the hopes we are bad enough for Manziel. For all we know someone like Manziel sees he is likely to be drafted by the Bills and he decides to pull a Luck, and chooses to stay another year in college instead. Or worse, we stink so bad next year that we do draft Manziel and turns out to be another Todd Marinovich, ouch!

Doesn't this happen almost every year, theres always some guys that people say "we should suck this year and get the #1 pick so we can get 'College Player X' "

I think last year at this time people were talking about how great it would be to have a chance at Barkley and Smith for QB, and then during much of the season how it would suck that we weren't in a position to get T'eo cause he was going to be taken so early.

Yesterday on WGR they mentioned how at one point, Locker would have been taken as one of the top QBs in the draft if he came out a year before he did

[Kellyto83TD]

For all you doom and gloomers who have already decided that the Bills are a lost cause I want to remind you that last year at this time most people here were talking possible playoffs. Optimism was sky high with the potential top 5 defense led by Mario, K. Williams, Darius, and Anderson. Yeah our secondary was young and questionable but with a dominant dline they would be asked to do less. Than along came Wanstadt who was clueless in how to put together a defensive gameplan to utilize the talent he had available and everything fell apart.

 

On offense the Bills had two of the best RB tandems in the league, a solid, to very good Oline who could open holes for Spiller and Jackson but than along comes Gailey who refuses to use them. Instead he trys to force Fitzpatrick into being Tom Brady and the offense becomes a mess.

 

People, as far as the players are concerned, as a whole, this same team that gave everyone hope last year, is still intact. The only player we have lost is Levitre, a guard, which is probably the easiest position on the field to replace. The rest of the players who are gone, Barnett, Morrison, Kelsey, Jones, Wilson, Merriman, "Fitzpatrick", were not producing much, if at all. Again, they can all be replaced, and all those positions upgraded by players still available in FA, or even players already on the roster.

 

The key to the Bills turning things around this year is the new coaching staff. Can or will Marrone and his young OC put together an effective offensive package which takes advantage of the strengths the Bills already have, Spiller, Johnson, an solid OL. Can or will Petine put together an aggressive, adjusting defensive package that takes advantage of the talent that is already in place.

 

If anything, last year proved, you can add a bunch of talented players to your team, but if the coaching staff is inferior, it simply does not matter. If Marrone and his staff prove to finally be top notch, it will reflect in how the players produce on the field. If they turn out to be like the past few coaching staffs it won't matter what players we add or lose this year, the Bills will continue to flounder.

 

Thats why I say the key FA additions this year are Marrone and his staff. Here's hoping they have the right stuff. Go Bills!!

 

How dare you speak with common sense and not post some wrist slitting, doom and gloom blathering. Do you know know where you are posting? :-)

 

Damn good post man

[Bookie Man]

Whoa, nice. We have two of the best RB tandems in the league? Sweet! We need to a package to get them all on the field at the same time! I'm jk. I'm a fan of Syracuse football and when Marrone took over, they were absolutely horrific. Treacherous. Marrone has turned around programs in the past, amd this task seems quite daunting. Best case scenario - Pettite turns this defense into a top 10 type defense and they grind with Spiller and Jackson.

[Kellyto83TD]

Has the wrist slitting, jumping off bridges / Buildings and drinking the Jim Jones spiked Kool Aid done now?

 

I got ripped for reminding folks Buddy said we wouldn't be really active most likely in the first wave aka. Days 1-2 although we did sign a Linebacker who will help.

 

I am with another poster our biggest FA signings may be our coaching staff, something that has been very poor for years. Maybe there is better talent on this team than we know, but they haven't been used correctly yet? Who knows?

 

Fans and 'experts' are bashing Buffalo for cutting Fitz. He is a backup, it was a stupid move to sign him to the extension but it happened. You don't pay BACKUPS 10 mill per year. He had to be cut. We were never going to get anywhere with Fitz as QB. You don't think Marone and our OC didn't have impute into that? If they honestly thought he could be the guy in their system the re do offer would have been much better than 3 mill per year. They know he isn't the answer and there is no reason to keep a guy if you know he isn't the answer.

 

QB's in the draft. I have said all these guys have some notable issues, inconsistency is one of them. But maybe this staff feels a there is a guy they can win with and take him.... or maybe they don't.

 

Either way we are where we are and hopefully the repeated whining threads on Levetre, Fitz, no activity in FA blah blah blah can end now. its all been covered and whined about in every way possible. This Org. and its way of doing things won't change till Ralph Dies and a new owner is in place and that is all there is too it.

[Numark]

This Org. and its way of doing things won't change till Ralph Dies and a new owner is in place and that is all there is too it.

 

my favorite type of whining right there

[Dorkington]

I'm not super optimistic, but I am hopeful.

 

Marrone was overall pretty average, record wise, and Pettine's defense broke down last year... Hopefully it all works out, but I don't see any guarantee of success.

[K-9]

Good post, Mr. T. I agree with most of your points.

 

But I have to disagree about the players we have to replace the players already let go. Barnett was our BEST linebacker last season, BY FAR, and he was terrible. I like the addition of Lawson but there is currently no LB who is a starting caliber LB on the roster. Sheppard won't last long in this league and Bradham, while a good thumper, brings little else at the moment. Maybe he'll develop, maybe he won't and I'm willing to go through growing pains. But unless we get some LBs and a SS that can make plays, it'll be another long year on defense. If you don't have LBs, you don't have a defense. Simple as that.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[PearlHowardman]

Marrone was overall pretty average, record wise, and Pettine's defense broke down last year... Hopefully it all works out, but I don't see any guarantee of success.

 

Your common sense post has no place in this rose-colored-glasses thread.

 

Shame on you!

[K-9]

As much as I'd like to try to be positive, to say the Bills were 4 plays away from 10-6 is kind of a joke. They were also about 4 plays from being 2-14.

Good players make the coach. Not the other way around. Getting blown off the ball isn't coaching. I think people overestimate the abilities of 95 and 99 despite evidence to the contrary.

 

I see this defense as Mario, Carrington, Byrd, Gilmore and 7 question marks. Lawson looks like a step in the right direction and I hope they add more. They need to add more.

 

I don't think I've ever agreed more with a post as I do this one.

 

GO BILLS!!!