Our home run hitters......

[Webster Guy]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but players like CJ, Goodwin and Sammy have more value to me than just production.

 

They're burners. Home run hitters. The fastest guys on the field. Every time they touch the ball they have a shot at blowing it open and taking it all the way.

 

There's just something more exciting about players like that, compared to guys that are maybe even more effective by grinding and possession types. The next play could be the home run.

 

We've had very few guys like that on our team. Lee Evans and Roscoe were the last ones. Guys like Stevie and Freddy are good chain movers, but there's something more exciting to me this year when looking at our team speed.

 

if we run a spread with Mike Williams, Sammy, Goodwin and Woods with CJ in the backfield, this has to be the fastest group of 5 in the NFL.

 

EJ has had some nice long balls in camp, I hope he's watching a lot of Randall Cunningham and Culpepper tapes.

 

This will be the year of the home runs, I don't care how many times Hackett thinks he's going to hand it off, eventually our game is going to be aerial.

[boyst]

If he can learn by watching Pennington tapes he will be better off. Great examples of what to do and not to do. Pennington was the best example to watch on playing QB I can think of for 20 years.

 

And WRT the home run hitters. In baseball there is one guy onthe plate at a time. Its different. You put three home run hitters on the field, one being one dimensional and injury prone, the other a rookie and the other a hot/cold with liabilities; color me pessimistic but that isn't leaving me as comfortable feeling as it is having a solid team of RBI's.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

isn't this a football thread?

 

This group might relate to Barn Burners better lol

[The Big Cat]

If he can learn by watching Pennington tapes he will be better off. Great examples of what to do and not to do. Pennington was the best example to watch on playing QB I can think of for 20 years.

 

And WRT the home run hitters. In baseball there is one guy onthe plate at a time. Its different. You put three home run hitters on the field, one being one dimensional and injury prone, the other a rookie and the other a hot/cold with liabilities; color me pessimistic but that isn't leaving me as comfortable feeling as it is having a solid team of RBI's.

 

Pennington is the ceiling and hopeful-trajectory for Tuel. Smart, decisive, noodle arm. You could do a hell of a lot worse as your backup, particularly when you're a run-heavy team.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

IIRC Chad Pennington was being referred to as noodle arm.

smart player but all dinks and dunks.

[EmotionallyUnstable]

You cannot force long touchdowns. Big plays happen naturally when your offensive is moving fluidly.

 

I don't think it's fair to see Freddy doesn't have "homerun" potential. I've seen him break plenty of longer runs. He might not have the speed to sustain these.

 

If we execute the offense, big plays will happen, regardless of who is on the receiving/rushing end.

[Uncle Monkeyhead]

I see where you are going with this, but I'll take boring Fred's TD's last year over Home Run Derby Spiller's

[Kelly the Dog]

Don't forget Bryce Brown, too.

 

The Bills could have a very explosive offense if EJ is pretty good. He doesn't even have to be great, or even very good. he has to hit the deep ball once in awhile, and he has to limit turnovers and sacks due to poor decision making. That's a reasonable thing to ask of him at this point but not a certainty that he will do it. But he really should be able to do it.

 

The other two factors are going to be how quickly the OL gels and if Hackett is a decent coordinator. Glenn needs to return in a week, CWilliams has to be decent, Marrone has to decide on a RG and RT in a couple weeks. Marrone and Hackett are asking a lot of this OT: They want them to be huge, and they want them to run the hurry up at an electric pace, and they want them to be highly efficient. But they haven't played together. Competition is good, but for them to be a unit, and do what they are being asked to do, they need time to work together.

 

Hackett got far too much crap from fans last year, IMO. It's not that I think he did great, but no one could possibly have succeeded given the circumstances he was given. He actually did okay under them by sticking to his plan. This year, however, they have a different team, a different skill set, and no first year on the job excuses. Chances are they will have injuries but nothing like last year. Hackett needs to have a "pretty good" year as much as EJ does. When you have one of 32 jobs in the world, asking someone to just be pretty good is not a lot.

 

If these things happen, we are going to have one hell of an offense. Whaley did something his predecessors did not do: Build a team. The quartet of SWAT, MWilliams, RWoods, and MGoodwin are all different parts to a very diverse group. That's why Stevie was immediately expendable. Those four all play different games and could and should wreak havoc if EJ can distribute the ball. Combine that with a healthy Spiller, FredEx and Bryce Brown and defenses need to make decisions they don't want to make.

 

This should be a fun year.

 

EJ, just be pretty good.

[nemhoff]

I have the same reaction to all these threads, EJ has to show up or it won't matter. Gotta get them the ball first

[stony]

I see where you are going with this, but I'll take boring Fred's TD's last year over Home Run Derby Spiller's

 

Fred always falls forward after contact. Almost an innate trait IMO.

 

Spiller was doomed by stupid play calling last season and nagging ankle injuries, the death keel for a shifty back. Major props to him for trying to fight through it, but he should've been shut down for 5 weeks.

[You herd it hear last]

Whattabout Defense?

 

strips sacks, forced fumbles, int's...

 

Robey, Hughes, Williams cubed, searcy, bradham, lawson, gilmore... all big hitters

 

Defensive touchdowns usually correlate with victory, no?

 

how many this year?

[John from Riverside]

Lots of talent on this team......they just need to pull it all together

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

Fred always falls forward after contact. Almost an innate trait IMO.

 

Spiller was doomed by stupid play calling last season and nagging ankle injuries, the death keel for a shifty back. Major props to him for trying to fight through it, but he should've been shut down for 5 weeks.

doomed? I wouldn't go that far.

Hell, I ragged on CJ myself but ....

The Bills want to have the RB by committee aspect.

 

have you seen his stats?

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&statisticCategory=RUSHING&conference=null&season=2013&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=RUSHING_YARDS&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-n=1

 

NFL rushing leaders - rushing yards total

CJ Spiller #15 - 933

FredEx #16 - 890

 

Rushing Leaders by Team

Buffalo was #2 w/ 144 YPG

[stony]

doomed? I wouldn't go that far.

Hell, I ragged on CJ myself but ....

The Bills want to have the RB by committee aspect.

 

have you seen his stats?

http://www.nfl.com/s...=2&d-447263-n=1

 

NFL rushing leaders - rushing yards total

CJ Spiller #15 - 933

FredEx #16 - 890

 

Rushing Leaders by Team

Buffalo was #2 w/ 144 YPG

 

Perhaps doomed is too harsh, but when taking into account preseason expectations and Spiller reaching his "magic" number, meh, it works.

[John from Riverside]

What they need to do is stop thinking about Spiller in terms of a up the middle back.......he should be used on screens, draws, reverses, etc etc

 

Either Freddie or Bryce Brown should be used for up the middle plays.......and Boobie should be the short yardage back

[BillsVet]

I can't help but think a guy's speed (typically validated by 40 time) is more mesmerizing to fans than it should be. The Bills have made it a point to draft speed going back to Nix's first draft (2010) and now have some blazers. That's nice in theory but if it's not translating onto the field you've got a lot of symbolism (home-run hitters) over substance (game-plan, QB, results).

 

If the Bills lined up their five fastest offensive guys, I'd be confident they'd beat teams in a sprint competition. But an offense is about more than raw speed. Case in point, Spiller's scored 17 TD's from scrimmage...and the Bills are 8-9 in those games over 4 seasons. Lots of speed, not as much on results.

Edited July 24, 2014 by BillsVet

[uncle flap]

What they need to do is stop thinking about Spiller in terms of a up the middle back.......he should be used on screens, draws, reverses, etc etc

 

Either Freddie or Bryce Brown should be used for up the middle plays.......and Boobie should be the short yardage back

 

Boobie showed he's got some wheels at camp. I think many here will be pleasantly surprised when they see him in the preseason. Yes, he's got the size but he's also shifty and gets upfield in a hurry.

[John from Riverside]

Its not the 40 time that should make these guys good.....it is there ability to change speeds from a standstill to top speed that makes for big plays.......

 

Guys like Watkins, Spiller, Goodwin can all do this....that is how big pays happen in my opinion its not the straight line speed it is the ability to change directions and accellerate immediately and force defenders who are taking the right angles to miss........

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

Perhaps doomed is too harsh, but when taking into account preseason expectations and Spiller reaching his "magic" number, meh, it works.

I liken it to passing yards

 

If you have a 2K RB, then IMO your are one dimensional in a sense, sure you may rack up stats but what good is it when you don't make the after party? (post season)

Edited July 24, 2014 by BillsFan-4-Ever

[Kelly the Dog]

I can't help but think a guy's speed (typically validated by 40 time) is more mesmerizing to fans than it should be. The Bills have made it a point to draft speed going back to Nix's first draft (2010) and now have some blazers. That's nice in theory but if it's not translating onto the field you've got a lot of symbolism (home-run hitters) over substance (game-plan, QB, results).

 

If the Bills lined up their five fastest offensive guys, I'd be confident they'd beat teams in a sprint competition. But an offense is about more than raw speed. Case in point, Spiller's scored 17 TD's from scrimmage...and the Bills are 8-9 in those games over 4 seasons. Lots of speed, not as much on results.

I think most of that is self-evident. Speed by itself doesnt help without the threat to hit the homerun and it needs to be hit. TJ is fast but has a ton of trouble tracking the ball in the air and has bad hands. Goodwin, on the other hand, is very good already tracking the ball and going up and getting it, something surprising from the track star.

 

You need talent, speed, and the ability to make big plays. CJ has clearly shown that (our passing attack since he was here has been mostly abysmal). Goodwin has shown that he can do it and there really no reason to think that was a fluke, he did it at every opportunity. Watkins hasn't shown it at a pro level in a real game but there is zero reason to believe he cannot do it.

 

MWilliams has shown he can take it the distance in this league. Brown has done it about three times in very few relative chances. You're right that speed in the 40 is not important unless it translates onto the field, but our fast guys, minus one, have a lot of talent, too.