Kelly the Dog Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 I disagree with him changing the culture though.... CLEARLY the Schwartz's leadership is behind the defensive swagger, which is the ONLY reason why we're winning games. Shwartz has Dareus and K-dub playing out of their minds. Bradham and Brown are also flourishing and (IMO) overachieving in his system. I think that Marrone deserves a lot of credit for the resurgence of Dareus and to a lesser extent, Bradham. He sat both of them down a few times, had a lot of man to man talks with them, really stuck up for Dareus. The two players deserve the most credit for turning their lives and careers around, but Marrone played a major part in it. I do think the team really likes him and plays hard for him. That doesn't mean they wouldn't play hard for another good motivator, but a lot of good coaches are cerebral and not good motivators. You have to be both. Marrone could use a little more help in the cerebral department though.
26CornerBlitz Posted December 17, 2014 Author Posted December 17, 2014 Football Outsiders Ranks the Bills as Follows: Offense: #26 Defense: #1 Special Teams: #3 Aaron Schatz calls the Bills an imbalanced team which comes as no surprise to any of us.
The Big Cat Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Football Outsiders Ranks the Bills as Follows: Offense: #26 Defense: #1 Special Teams: #3 Aaron Schatz calls the Bills an imbalanced team which comes as no surprise to any of us. Well, the organization had the will to fix the special teams last offseason...
Kirby Jackson Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) Football Outsiders Ranks the Bills as Follows: Offense: #26 Defense: #1 Special Teams: #3 Aaron Schatz calls the Bills an imbalanced team which comes as no surprise to any of us. How could anyone not think that coaching is a part of that? I am not saying ALL of it but there are a segment here that believe that the coaching is blameless on the offense. It sure sounds like RB is in agreement. Edited December 17, 2014 by Kirby Jackson
section122 Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 How could anyone not think that coaching is a part of that? I am not saying ALL of it but there are a segment here that believe that the coaching is blameless on the offense. It sure sounds like RB is in agreement. as big cat pointed out how many of us thought coaching was the reason for the poor st unit last year? This year they made a commitment to improve it and did so with the same coach.
Kirby Jackson Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) as big cat pointed out how many of us thought coaching was the reason for the poor st unit last year? This year they made a commitment to improve it and did so with the same coach. Some would argue that they used resources that could have been spent elsewhere to protect Crossman. The Bills dress at least 7 guys (Gay, Carpenter, Sanborn, Schmidt, Easley, Dean and Thigpen) that play nothing but ST. I will promise that is the highest number in the league. The ST has been improved but at the expense of other areas. Edited December 17, 2014 by Kirby Jackson
thewildrabbit Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 The problem with this whole thread is that Russ Brandon defending Marrone by saying he "changed the culture" is a straw man argument. And how convenient that, win or lose, Russ now cites a "changed culture" and a need for "continuity" since his football ops ass is on the line with Marrone. When the season started it was "playoffs or bust." Now it's "culture and continuity." DOES ANYONE ELSE SMELL THE BULLSCHIDT? You know he does not just want to be a marketer for the Bills. He wants more chest bumps with Sammy on game day and more fist pumping in the war room on draft day. That's his real agenda. The real question is, has Marrone done enough to be retained? Most of us think we know, but I'd say pretty much everyone wants to see the last 2 games before deciding. In the meantime, I've seen plenty of decisions from the dark ages, and barring a stirring win in New England, I'd say the Bills can and should try to do better. The problem is, we've seen so much garbage in the last 15 years that 8-6 makes it look like St. Doug really is roaming the sidelines. And Russ, whose culture did he change, exactly? I remember when you were the GM...that was some culture we had then, wasn't it? Brandon the football guy is the problem and a snake in the grass. When he talks "culture" he's politicking for his own ass. Is that not obvious? Just stick to selling tickets Russ. You did a great job finding 30000 Green Bay fans to sell the game out last weekend. Good stuff! I don't dislike Russ Brandon, although I do want him as far away from the football operations side of things, as he can get. Of course he is going to endorse his alum, and preach continuity, as he has his fingerprints all over the current team. What a lot of Bills fans are overlooking is the fact that this Bills HC has yet to field a team that can actually compete with the New England Patriots, and if he can't beat NE, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady then WTF good is he? This upcoming game at NE is looming larger, and larger to me!
The Big Cat Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Some would argue that they used resources that could have been spent elsewhere to protect Crossman. The Bills dress at least 7 guys (Gay, Carpenter, Sanborn, Schmidt, Easley, Dean and Thigpen) that play nothing but ST. I will promise that is the highest number in the league. The ST has been improved but at the expense of other areas. And yet others will tell you it's because we play a disproportionate number of our starters on ST.
Kirby Jackson Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 And yet others will tell you it's because we play a disproportionate number of our starters on ST. That's kind of my point. ST aren't necessarily better because Crossman is good and we just didn't know it. ST are good because we have thrown a disproportionate amount of resources towards it compared to other teams.
TheBillsWillRiseAgain Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Special Teams has contributed more to our wins than the offense has this season. Anyone complaining about the personnel decisions on ST is crazy.
thewildrabbit Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Some would argue that they used resources that could have been spent elsewhere to protect Crossman. The Bills dress at least 7 guys (Gay, Carpenter, Sanborn, Schmidt, Easley, Dean and Thigpen) that play nothing but ST. I will promise that is the highest number in the league. The ST has been improved but at the expense of other areas. This is very disconcerting considering how bad the offense has been all season, and most particular in the red zone. I'll be very disappointed should the team retain the same OC & O line coach.
FireChan Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Good stuff! I don't dislike Russ Brandon, although I do want him as far away from the football operations side of things, as he can get. Of course he is going to endorse his alum, and preach continuity, as he has his fingerprints all over the current team. What a lot of Bills fans are overlooking is the fact that this Bills HC has yet to field a team that can actually compete with the New England Patriots, and if he can't beat NE, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady then WTF good is he? This upcoming game at NE is looming larger, and larger to me! Oh yeah, let's just grab one of those coaches who can consistently duel the best HoF HC and QB combo in history. They're around.
Kirby Jackson Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 I don't dislike Russ Brandon, although I do want him as far away from the football operations side of things, as he can get. Of course he is going to endorse his alum, and preach continuity, as he has his fingerprints all over the current team. That's kind of the irony of it. He has always deferred the football decisions. With that being said he clearly has had his hands on this team over the last almost 2 full years more than any team ever (and it's not even close). I think that we are all in agreement that we are in the best place that we have been in since the '90's. Is it a coincidence that his hand picked coach and his hand picked GM have been successful? This is very disconcerting considering how bad the offense has been all season, and most particular in the red zone. I'll be very disappointed should the team retain the same OC & O line coach. Agree, I'd like to include the TE coach as well. They perenially stink.
papazoid Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Football Outsiders Ranks the Bills as Follows: Offense: #26 Defense: #1 Special Teams: #3 Aaron Schatz calls the Bills an imbalanced team which comes as no surprise to any of us. very fair ratings
Coach Tuesday Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 very fair ratings Those aren't just "ratings" - they're statistically-modeled rankings based on a whole host of criteria, including strength of opponent, situational effectiveness, etc.
Kelly the Dog Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 as big cat pointed out how many of us thought coaching was the reason for the poor st unit last year? This year they made a commitment to improve it and did so with the same coach. A huge part is Marrone deciding to play starters on it this year when he didnt last year. That wasnt a Crossman decision. It's true you need players, but Whaley brought in two Pro Bowl ST players as well as Spikes who plays them. They have a star studded ST now counting starters. That isn't great coaching. Crossman got too much credit this year and too much blame last year. If you gave Marrone two pro bowl offensive players and six other solid new starters on offense he better win the SB, but that is asking way too much.
FireChan Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 A huge part is Marrone deciding to play starters on it this year when he didnt last year. That wasnt a Crossman decision. It's true you need players, but Whaley brought in two Pro Bowl ST players as well as Spikes who plays them. They have a star studded ST now counting starters. That isn't great coaching. Crossman got too much credit this year and too much blame last year. If you gave Marrone two pro bowl offensive players and six other solid new starters on offense he better win the SB, but that is asking way too much. Just like if you gave Schwartz 3 Pro Bowl defensive players and 8 above average starters, we'd have a great defense?
Kelly the Dog Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 Just like if you gave Schwartz 3 Pro Bowl defensive players and 8 above average starters, we'd have a great defense? That is what was different from the previous year. Schwartz lost two pro bowlers, talent wise. Gained Spikes and Graham and a good rookie 3rd rounder. That's basically a wash. And yet he did significantly better.
34-78-83 Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 That's kind of my point. ST aren't necessarily better because Crossman is good and we just didn't know it. ST are good because we have thrown a disproportionate amount of resources towards it compared to other teams. which just adds to the age old and TRUE point that it's a players league.
FireChan Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 That is what was different from the previous year. Schwartz lost two pro bowlers, talent wise. Gained Spikes and Graham and a good rookie 3rd rounder. That's basically a wash. And yet he did significantly better. Lost two? I'm not disagreeing that Schwartz is better than Pettine. But you look at what we have on defense, talent-wise, and it isn't even close to the O. Would we be top 3 if our offense had that kind of talent? Maybe, maybe not. But we wouldn't be 26th. That's for certain.
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