Chandler#81 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 IMO, we have a GREAT TE on the roster -finally. We just haven't put him there yet.. Marcus Easly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 It's a position that the Bills have, for the most part, simply conceded as an offensive weapon for years. That fits your data: teams that win have and make use of the contributions made by the position. Those teams win football games in the NFL, which is only irrelevant if winning is not a priority. Concerning the Bills, Trent Edwards is a very middling QB whose best skill was the dump off pass. Not coincidentally, the Bills "best" years of TE play in recent memory came when he was the primary starting QB and Robert Royal was dropping nearly as many as he caught. If Edwards had been dumping off to Tony Gonzalez, those drops turn into first downs that keep the chains moving and the offense on the field. None of which would've made Trent Edwards a great QB any more than Dick Jauron was an offensive mastermind of a coach. Still it is not difficult to imagine how the Bills offense staying on the field would give them both a chance to score more points and to keep the undersized Jauron Tampa-2 defense on the sidelines where it wouldn't be as prone to be decimated by injury season after season. Excellent point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prickly Pete Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 It's a position that the Bills have, for the most part, simply conceded as an offensive weapon for years. That fits your data: teams that win have and make use of the contributions made by the position. Those teams win football games in the NFL, which is only irrelevant if winning is not a priority. Concerning the Bills, Trent Edwards is a very middling QB whose best skill was the dump off pass. Not coincidentally, the Bills "best" years of TE play in recent memory came when he was the primary starting QB and Robert Royal was dropping nearly as many as he caught. If Edwards had been dumping off to Tony Gonzalez, those drops turn into first downs that keep the chains moving and the offense on the field. None of which would've made Trent Edwards a great QB any more than Dick Jauron was an offensive mastermind of a coach. Still it is not difficult to imagine how the Bills offense staying on the field would give them both a chance to score more points and to keep the undersized Jauron Tampa-2 defense on the sidelines where it wouldn't be as prone to be decimated by injury season after season. Excellent point. So it was all Robert Royal's fault? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Who said having a TE was more important than a good QB? If the choice is between having Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, anybody would take Brady. On the other hand, Brady's job is much tougher if you surround him with garbage that can't run precise routes or catch a football. Playing 10 against 11 because your TE has no hands and is a token blocker at best isn't a recipe for sustained success. Who said it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 (edited) Thanks for saving me the trouble of posting this. I remember during the Marv rebuild the stock response was you can't build it all in 1 year We're in the second rebuild after that one, but all have featured at one first round DB and RB. Donahoe had Clements and McGahee. Levy/Brandon/Jauron had Whitner, McKelvin, and Lynch. Gailey had Gilmore and Spiller. Multiple rebuilds with multiple GM's all allocating significant resources toward the DB and RB positions. Either it's very coincidental or something else is going on. Edited September 4, 2013 by BillsVet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 You can't truly rebuild without a good QB. Hopefully the Bills got it right this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now, let's look forward. What do we expect from The Bills TEs and EJ this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Yep. Fitz' lack of arm strength wasn't a threat vertically to defenses and a better TE catching short passes from Fitz wouldn't have made a bit of difference. Who said it is? You said that having a better player wouldn't have made a bit of difference. You then followed up that nugget with the gem that the QB is more important anyway, as if the OP had said otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now, let's look forward. What do we expect from The Bills TEs and EJ this year? It really depends on how healthy Chandler is. I'd love to believe that Gragg is going to surprise everyone, but I heard the same about Shawn Nelson a few years ago. I'm not holding my breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 You said that having a better player wouldn't have made a bit of difference. You then followed up that nugget with the gem that the QB is more important anyway, as if the OP had said otherwise. And you followed it all up with that piece of brilliance that fielding a bad player doesn't help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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