Bills Plan to improve the offense “The power of prayer"

[McBeane]

 

Maybe if some of the long time posters here spent more time constructively helping us learn how to use them and less time being sarcastic and personally insulting we wouldn't be so simple.

 

Dude, it's your name. Relax.

[simpleman]

 

Moreover, when one places something in quotes, it implies that it's something someone has said, around here, either someone from the Bills organization or news media, which is clearly from the OP's article not the case - shoddy.

Please don't try to be a member of the grammar police. You may get arrested for "impersonating an officer". Quotes are used in the English language to attribute something written not unique to the writer. Also "Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences", according to many grammar sites. Since "the power of prayer" is a commonly used phase and not my creation, it was put in quotes. I am not a plagiarizer and attempt to attribute my sources. I don't claim to be a perfect writer, but in this case the quotes were properly used.

For all the grammar police that inhabit this site maybe you should check out this article and see if it fits.

 

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a43468/stop-pointing-out-typos/

Edited May 1, 2016 by simpleman

[Deranged Rhino]

Jordan Mills joined the Bills after the season started, meaning he missed all off-season, training camp, and pre-season with the team. He'll get that this year and should be much better for it, and figures to be pencilled-in as the starting RT. Henderson's Crohn's issues appear to be under control and he'll get a chance to compete at RT and/or backup LT. MIller should also improve after getting his injury-marred rookie season behind him. Velasco replaces Urbik. I don't think the OL situation is a dire as the OP contends, but time will tell.

 

As for other spots, hopefully the rash of injuries won't hit the studs at the skill positions (Sammy, Shady, and Clay) again like last year, as well as Woods, who can be a fine #2 when healthy. And Hankerson easily replaces what they lost in Hogan. I also think Listenbee will be a great addition to the offense, but that remains to be seen.

 

Most of the team is in their second season with the coaches and scheme. That also accounts for something.

[McBeane]

Please don't try to be a member of the grammar police. You may get arrested for "impersonating an officer". Quotes are used in the English language to attribute something written not unique to the writer. Also "Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences", according to many grammar sites. Since "the power of prayer" is a commonly used phase and not my creation, it was put in quotes. I am not a plagiarizer and attempt to attribute my sources. I don't claim to be a perfect writer, but in this case the quotes were properly used.

 

Simply putting something in quotes does not credit the source. What you are looking for is called a citation, and I do not think that means what you think that means.

 

Common phrases of speech do not need to be put into quotes. But if we're going to go down your line of thinking, might as well put quotes around everything because I'm sure nearly every phrase you've ever said has been said before by someone.

[DC Tom]

 

* Remember the stats are padded by TT's running ability & the guard stats are padded by Incognito having a stellar year at guard.

 

 

"Statistics don't count if they're too good."

I'd recommend you don't, but, you can always give it a try. (and you weren't reprimanded, you were asked to not take personal shots at people)

 

I can still call people idiots though, right?

[Fixxxer]

What to expect from players like Cujo and Cyril Richardson? Do you guys think they can still contribute or should they be considered lost causes at this point?

[simpleman]

What is the average length of an NFL player's career? Exactly how many years should we give the slow bloomers to develop? I hope that Miller does miraculously develop, but the odds are not that good. For those who keep using development as an excuse, I wish they would grant us the statistics of what percent of players who went on to be in the top 50% percentage at their position who were not good at their position after their 2nd year. Or statistics on how those in the top 1/3 of those players at their position that were starters in their rookie year were after their first year, as a predictor of their chances of success/failure. Excluding the unique top skill position of QB, which is truly a whole different animal in complexity and learning.

This is a perform now world, like it or not. An NFL player has just a few years to play at that level, it is his only job during that time. He darn well better be good at it. In the real world we don't get a year to be competent at our job and expect to keep it, and most of us don't get a quarter million a year to do our job. Do the good get better, and go on to be in the top 1/3 of their position? If the average NFL player only has 3 or 4 years to play at their position, should they get two years of poor performance grace for 1 good year and 1 year in decline before they are released?

When I think of the late bloomers in the NFL who went on to become top 1/3 performers, I think of mostly exceptions rather than common occurrences. I could be wrong in my perception, and would be glad to be provided with statistics to show me I am wrong in my perception, rather than be tossed a few names that were possibly those exceptions.

[nucci]

I agree with you. Unfortunately the Bills had too many holes to fill and they had to start from the Defense. It will probably take another draft to address the OL. Remember they are also up against the Salary cap.

The rushing stats were on higher because of TT and Shady. When Shady went down, this team struggled to run the football.

and they're playing again this year, right?

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

 

Simply putting something in quotes does not credit the source. What you are looking for is called a citation, and I do not think that means what you think that means.

 

Common phrases of speech do not need to be put into quotes. But if we're going to go down your line of thinking, might as well put quotes around everything because I'm sure nearly every phrase you've ever said has been said before by someone.

The thread title makes it look like a quote from someone in the organization.

[klos63]

What is the average length of an NFL player's career? Exactly how many years should we give the slow bloomers to develop? I hope that Miller does miraculously develop, but the odds are not that good. For those who keep using development as an excuse, I wish they would grant us the statistics of what percent of players who went on to be in the top 50% percentage at their position who were not good at their position after their 2nd year. Or statistics on how those in the top 1/3 of those players at their position that were starters in their rookie year were after their first year, as a predictor of their chances of success/failure. Excluding the unique top skill position of QB, which is truly a whole different animal in complexity and learning.

This is a perform now world, like it or not. An NFL player has just a few years to play at that level, it is his only job during that time. He darn well better be good at it. In the real world we don't get a year to be competent at our job and expect to keep it, and most of us don't get a quarter million a year to do our job. Do the good get better, and go on to be in the top 1/3 of their position? If the average NFL player only has 3 or 4 years to play at their position, should they get two years of poor performance grace for 1 good year and 1 year in decline before they are released?

When I think of the late bloomers in the NFL who went on to become top 1/3 performers, I think of mostly exceptions rather than common occurrences. I could be wrong in my perception, and would be glad to be provided with statistics to show me I am wrong in my perception, rather than be tossed a few names that were possibly those exceptions.

average length of a career is irrelevant when discussing individual players skills. For Miller to improve significantly in his 2nd season is hardly 'miraculous'. You say the odds are not good for him to improve- tell us, what are the odds? not that the odds matter for this particular instance. In reading your posts, I really don't think you have a sense of how football teams operate.

[Doc]

What to expect from players like Cujo and Cyril Richardson? Do you guys think they can still contribute or should they be considered lost causes at this point?

 

Lost causes at this point. If they develop into anything, it's gravy.

[nucci]

average length of a career is irrelevant when discussing individual players skills. For Miller to improve significantly in his 2nd season is hardly 'miraculous'. You say the odds are not good for him to improve- tell us, what are the odds? not that the odds matter for this particular instance. In reading your posts, I really don't think you have a sense of how football teams operate.

No, he really doesn't

[Buffalo Barbarian]

By any metric the right side of the Bill’s Offensive line was almost a tire fire last year.

 

In spite of the excellent running and passing talent last year, there was a big black hole on the right side.

 

An excellent RB tandem. Watkins, McCoy & Clay. TT’s natural ability to take of and run helped pad the stats and masked the weaknesses of the OL. Incognito played way out of his skull last year. Glen was his steady solid self again. The Bill’s pray that Incognito will still play insanely on fire and Glenn will stay solid & steady.

 

Yet this off-season Bills management has done nothing significant via FA or the draft to address the right side of the OL. The RT situation is still a mess. The RG situation was bad last year, and the team’s plan A, B & C is praying that Miller will have a 2^nd year where the light finally turns on for him. Unfortunately this plan is backed up by little more than faith and hope.

 

The team has Watkins at WR, with Woods as an average slot. Beyond that are a bunch of warm bodies at WR & ST players being counted in the offense. They lost a passable WR in Hogan & didn’t replace him with comparable talent. Harvin retired without comparable replacement. Talent wise the team has less talent than last year.

 

The Bills plan to improve offensive performance, praying TT will make a major improvement this year. Wow, I’m impressed with all this team has done to improve the offense this year. The “power of prayer”, the plan A,B.C, D and F for the Bills to get better on offense in 2016.

 

* Remember the stats are padded by TT's running ability & the guard stats are padded by Incognito having a stellar year at guard.

 

 

I apologize, I created some really nice tables from stats from Football Outsiders to back all this up,and inserted them here but TBD does not appear to support uploading images or tables. And preview mode showed them fine before actual posting. And it is not obvious if the my media function is even enabled for the board.

 

Quote from PFF

“… it’s really a tale of two sides. On the left, their pairing is as good as any in the league, and on the right, it’s as bad as any.”

 

But all we need is defense, that's how Denver won don't you know.

 

We are Buddy Ryan's Eagles

[BaaadThingsMan]

PTS 23.7 (12th)

YDS 360.9 (13th)

PASS YDS 208.9 (28th)

RUSH YDS 152 (1st)

 

The offense wasn't the problem last year. Were there too many 3 and outs, yes. Were they frustrating to watch at times, yes. Were they besieged by injuries at every position, yes.

 

1. Every starter is starting another year in the system

2. Chemistry between QB and receivers should improve

3. The defense should be better and if so will

produce more short fields

4. They are starting off healthy, if they stay healthy a top 5 offense is not out of the question IMO

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Excellent post simpleman!!

 

You're one of the few that seems to get it.

 

Despite all of that, not one draft expert, nor any of the team's "experts," and I use the term tremendously loosely as they're only experts in collecting large paychecks, had WR as even a depth concern going into the draft when as with you I see a glaring hole at one starting WR spot since as we agree, Woods is at best a reliable 3rd/slot.

 

Meanwhile, two seasons ago Whaley sold the farm to get Watkins, when this year comparable talent was sitting right there without the run on WRs having yet occurred, and we could have had a WR equal to or perhaps even better than Watkins in traffic as there were several, all taken in the run immediately following our first pick.

 

We could have then had Cody Whitehair to solidify the OL and give our RT a shot at goodness as well.

 

Meanwhile, Watkins has struggled with injuries since he's been on the team and Woods was hurt for a significant portion of last season, yet, our marvelous brainiacs at OBD apparently haven't thought about what happens if in the high likelihood that one of the two gets hurt and misses significant time.

 

Meanwhile, they bolster the rushing game with a RB that doesn't catch the ball, and stockpile the D with run defenders as if this is 1988.

 

All the while not one person in the Bills sports media bothers to point out that 35 sacks from Schwartz's D were gotten from players still on this team, it's just that Ryan can't get them from those players. Apparently run defenders will help.

 

Prior to the draft the talk, here and elsewhere, was about how we needed pass rushers. So we get run defenders and everyone applauds Whaley.

 

5-7 wins this season, if Taylor, Watkins, Woods, or Glenn go down, we'll be lucky to win any games at all from that point onward.

 

Rogue Tanking

 

All I know is that Miller played like crap according to the metrics as well as by eye. Not to mention he was hurt for a good chunk of the season. Yet, some here will insist that he played well.

 

This team drafted as if were the '80s or '90s. And frankly, do we really need a rushing RB, no, we don't. It doesn't really matter, under Whaley we'll be fortunate to have even one player drafted from the 3rd round on out even be relevant at some point.

 

Meanwhile, they take Listenbee, as if they haven't learned, and they haven't, from the Graham, Goodwin, and Easeley picks of the past, that track stars rarely if ever do anything significant in the NFL. 12th time must be the charm tho.

 

 

 

who needs a big target over the middle and endzone.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Why do all y'all have to act like dicks on a Sunday morning? Either you're too stupid to figure out that the Bills have a problem on the right side of their offensive line or you're simply dicks.

 

 

 

 

Knock it the !@#$ off.

 

The next person who makes me swear on a Sunday morning gets 30 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great, a gaggle of dicks.

 

Top of the morning to ya

[Buffalo Barbarian]

I think that it's safe to say that the Bills will be looking hard at all castoffs. They need depth/competition at both guard and tackle. I would have liked something in the draft, but, I can't complain about the picks. There wasn't one that caused a WTF moment wit me & each pick filled a need. Just couldn't fill all of them.

 

we didn't NEED another DT and RB, could have gotten Oline there.

 

They went BPA which is the right thing to do but at some point the guy you need probably isn't rated that much lower than the guy that is "best".

 

It's like when we took McGahee when we had Henry, and then Lynch and then Spiller. They may have been the BPA but they weren't right for us at the time and we would have been better served getting a comparable player at a different position.

[Dorkington]

 

Rogue Tanking

 

 

 

who needs a big target over the middle and endzone.

Did we release Charles Clay?

[BillsVet]

We have a QB with a very high rating and the Bills led the league in rushing last year. Yep, power of prayer.....

 

 

And opponents adapt to what you're doing. It won't be as easy for Roman to do the same thing in 2016 that he did in 2015 because there's a full season on film that opposing teams have on Buffalo now. That offense was designed to be safe, and limit teams from keying in on TT. But what happens when defenses put 8 in the box to stop the run and dare TT to make throws?

 

My biggest issue with this team is that they're building the roster to win, only circa 1995. Investing so much in defense the result of frequently changing schemes and building an offense to run is not how to win in 2016.

[GunnerBill]

we would have been better served getting a comparable player at a different position.

A position of need maybe? So you are advocating drafting for need?

 

As for the guy you quoted saying we just drafted run defenders, someone better phone the guys who compile college football stats and tell them those 12 and a half sacks Lawson is credited with in 2015 are a mistake.....