Can all the "we will make the playoff' posters

[KRC]

i tihnk posts like this need to be properly labelled...

 

SIF post..."sky is falling" post...

276447[/snapback]

 

Do you think SDS will make up an icon, like he did with OT?

[Like A Mofo]

I agree with Rudy. Bills will go 7-9, 9-7 tops in 2005....harder schedule, rookie QB, more growing pains. I just hope the Bills have a very good draft, get the OL in very good shape, JP gets his experience, and 2006 can be the year the Bills make a run.

 

AFC is just too tough IMO right now, teams right behind the Bills or right with them (Baltimore, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Kansas City) will all improve as well.

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

The Bills plan for making the playoffs:

 

1. The key factor will be the leadership of MM providing leadership in a winning way and demanding accountability from the many folks who have taken responsibility in the Bills machine.

 

This is not a bad bet as the team did produce a winning record his first season after a rocky start. He actually showed a lot by not panicking in the face of a bad start and staying the course. He made a variety of high-profile personal decisions which set a positive tone for the team (his motivation of the team to win on the road in Seattle was a turning point). He also hired theright folks as his lieutenants as April put his mark on a successful ST, Gray continued his work with a successful D, and Clements put his mark on a troubled O but did solve red zone malfunctions with MM's help, oversaw the re-development of WM, ran some flea-flickers successfully and even got improvement out of Bledsoe over a horrid '03.

 

The release of Shaw (not a malcontent but no production), the release of Bledsoe (Losman is a risk but Bledsoe was not there), and a general demand that players produce on the field has indicated increased accountability.

 

2. Another factor is that despite the loss of PW (not our best DL player actually) the D needs to have a third year of good statistical performance and actually increase its productivity to put us over the top.

 

This is also not a bad bet as there is no reason to assume that any players on the D will go completely downhill and if they do there usually is a candidate behind them to step up.

 

Clements, Vincent, Milloy, McGee are all quality contributors (though Vincent and Milloy are a little log in the tooth) and Baker, Greer and Thomas all have potential to improve their past play. Wire and Reese are potential goners but do have starter experience if the cap allows them to stay.

 

Spikes and Fletcher are two of the best in the league. Posey is somewhat maligned on TSW, but this seems to be more disappointment that he isn't Spikes rather than specifics. The most specific indictment has been Simon's that he turns the wrong way or is out of position, but in the absence of specifics of how the Bills got burned for six or big gain by these alleged problems there is no proof of there being any there there. Stamer, Crowell, and Haggan have not shown that they can step up if called upon (though Stamer shows some good signs in position play) but generally they have not been asked to do that because the D has been productive and they have been productive players on ST.

 

DL is the question mark but perhaps it is because of the run/blitz that individual failings have not shown up here. The team sack total was great because the LBs and DBs chipped in with the run-blitz and the DEs have to be given credit for being athletic enough to cover in the short zone (particularly Denney actually because his flexibility made it possible for us to go only 3 deep at DE last year). The DTs made the run stopping stout so last year's play cannot be faulted for the DTs at all.

 

The loss of Phat Pat is the big question but you actually have to take some hope (rather than adopt the DOOM of Rudy) that he was on the field for only 58% of the plays last yr. He is a good player who must be replaced, but it is no impossible at all that Edwards (highly drafted and disappointing but he has started a full year) may be able to step up from a surprisingly good reserve performance with multiple sacks last year. In addition, Anderson did not impress last year but also was highly touted when drafted and will be given a chance to step up and he might do this. Finally at DT, the desperation many feel about the OL have many fans slobbering to move Bannan to LG. However, though he disappointed at DT last year, he was quite productive as a reserve DT his rookie year and my first choice is for the opening created by the loss of PW to have this be a make-or break year for Bannan at DT. Having 3 not unreasonable options to replace the one player you lost on D who started but played 58% of plays is not a bad situation to be in given the good statisitical production of the D last year.

 

3. The ST has to be pointed to as a very positive factor last year. it was only one year so this is not a trend and hard work must be done. However, there is obvious room for improvement in several facets of ST work so things can get better as well. The biggest problem is the loss (or likely loss) of a lot of tackles and men are going to be required to step up (Prioleau gone and Wire may be gone).

 

Overall the situation appears to me to be:

 

Kick returns: McGee was a Pro Bowler here and will be back. On several of his TD returns he was untouched which is both a tribute to his great eyesight and anticipation and his good speed, but also is a tribute to return scheme and excellent blocking by many players. No one is McGee but there is some back-up talent at return (Smith, Fletcher lining up short, and even Josh Reed to not fumble but no TDs) if he gets nicked or they kick away from McGee.

 

Punt returns: Same deal as for Kos in terms of blocking and both Clements and Smith are dangerous return men for opponents.

 

Punting: For two years in a row we (but not Pro Bowl voters) have been astounded by Moorman's work. Distance, hang-time, coffin corners and the occaisional key run or pass to boot has been part of his work. Kudos to TD for signing him cheaply long-term and this deal shows the non-reality of the complaint that TD never spends to keep his own young studs.

 

Placekicking and kickoffs: This is the facet of the ST game which clearly can improve as MM clearly showed no faith in Lindell making the long one and he has not had the chance (fortunately?) to kick game determing FGs like the good ones (Vinateri) has done. The shank of a very makeable FG in the Pitts game has made for an obvious demand that he be gone or we spend a draft choice on a pro unproven phenom like Nugent. Also TD's stupidly cavalier comments that good kickers are a dime a dozen (explain Ariens, Graham, Hollis and even Christie decision making then where the results have simply not been good for the Bills) makes the Lindel contract and shank problems a real sore point.

 

Perhaps the list of kickers that produced elsewhere but did not do the job in the tD era here (Graham, Hollis, Christie) proves TDs point that there are a lot of good kickers, but even if so the kicker we have needs to produce here and Ariens and Lindell as a placekicker have not.

 

It could happen that the clear statistical overall improvement in Lindell's production (mostly due to a good team and the winning streak) in '04 bodes for a brerakout year for him in '05. It could be that his often ignored part in the return game with great predictable KOs in the winds of the Ralph nad one very nice kick and cover job on an onside kick are really the description of Lindell's value.

 

Could be but prove it. Keep him and it better work or move on and it better work.

 

4. The O was far better last year than it was in '03. However, things were so bad in '03 that being far better still left or O last year as inadequate.

 

The Losman switch is a logical move because though Bledsoe is a great candidate for the #2 job anywhere (he did this job to the ultimate success in 2001) he is not a #1 who is likely at all to bring success. Losman has potential to be a success, but potential simply means you have not done anything.

 

JP showed the usual problems and improvement of a rookie QB last year. The debacle in NE when he was thrown into the game, the total lack of control of the huddle in his first mop-up leading to a penalty for delay of game as he failed to get the play off, and the TO to avoid the penalty in his third game were all rookie failures. However, in a perverse way they also lay out a progression of growth as he moved from panic, to confusion, to mere controlled inadequacy. its bad but it is improvement.

 

Overlaying these failings however, is the fact that he did lead the team to TDs in his two final mop-up roles and that the improvment from getting a TD by tranlating the call and handing off correctly several times in a row to WM, to his actually hitting a couple of passes on the run and scrambling for a first down on a third down play (he does need to protect himself and learn to slide after getting the 1st rather than delivering a blow for two meaningless yards however) is a great sign.

 

The key to JPs development it strikes me (my views are unlike our friend ICEs in that I do not think that on-field work is the ONLY way you learn to be a good NFL QB. In my mind on field work is actually NECESSARY to be a quality NFL QB, but it is not SUFFICIENT in and of itself. In fact, unless an NFL QB does the proper and needed work in the film room, studying the playbook, in practice and whereever else and ONLY tries to master the task on the field he will look a lot like Billy Joe Hobert.

 

If JP takes and has taken (in the booth when he was injured) the unique opportunity of learning from Sam Wyche, if he has worked through repetitive practice and visioning proper pass mechanics and throwing off the correct foot, and if he made the great insticts he has even better by increasing his knowledge of the game he can be a great one.

 

Learning the game on the field is essential and for now his focus should be not on carrying the team on his shoulders but instead on playing mistake free ball and let the D and the ST do the lionshare of the work winning games we will be fine.

 

The other big unanswered question on the O is the OL which has been productive at times since Kent Hull left but for the most part has been in disarray and suffered from inexperience position coaches operating in a pretty predictable OL under kevin Killdrive. While the loss of Jennings is regrettable under the cap rules Bill should not have given him the same overpayment as SF. he is good but not that good and he can be replaced.

 

The question for the Bills is who and how as we have no set left side of our OL. Yet, even here there seem to be multiple options and it falls upon JMac and TC using the tools TD provides to get the job done. I for one am concerned about how they do this because I am a Bills fan but not worried at all that we have the tools to get this done because I am pretty confident that even with the marginal players we have on the roster right now that JMac could put together an OL which with an RB of the quality of WM and a QB of the mobility and flair of JP we can be adequate today.

 

Adequacy however is not our goal and we should and can be dominant. The Bills need two players to step up and I think this can be done through finding one through development of players currently on the roster (In my mind, Tucker at LG is a possibility, Smith at LG is a possbility, Gandy at some position is a possibility which might allow an existing player to switch to LT or LG and there are even several unlikely possibilities like Peters to think about) and finding one through acqusition of a player (the remaining FAs. the draft, and cap casualties are possibilities) makes this important issue a concern of interest but not a worry for me given this team.

 

All of the above (which I apologize for repetition and summarizing but I am thinking this through while I write) is why I would say to Rudy that I would never say say we WILL make the playoffs because this league interests me because little is really predictable in this league where worst to first is possible like never before. However, I think this team is a pretty good bet to make the playoffs this year and we'll see after the draft, the "voluntary camps. and the schedule release how likely this is.

 

For now I am psyched.

[elcrusho]

Dam i need a nap after reading that....

[nodnarb]

Rudy, why must you continue to reveal your pathetic lack of anything resembling football intelligence and REASON? Don't you think that mike mularkey, tom donahoe, tom modrak, et. al., know more about how to improve the buffalo bills than you do?

 

is your memory so bad that you've forgotten that the winner of the past 2 superbowls have taken this approach to free agency? don't overpay for players on the wrong side of 30, don't give reactionary panic contracts, let the dust settle, and pounce when the time is right.

 

The team is in good hands. That is to say, the team is not in YOUR hands.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

That also assumes then no improvement from Evans, Mcgahee, Mike Williams, Kelsey. These guys are all young enough that there likely could be big improvments from any or all of them for the next couple of years. In addition, outside of Milloy, Vincent, and Adams, none of the rest of the team is old enough t oexpect to see a big decline by next year.

 

 

Considering we have lost our second best olineman, our best defensive lineman, our best special teams player, and have basically said we will keep Lindell. This team is a 7-9 if we are lucky with a rookie QB...lol. And i bet anything Clements and Mcgee dont get an extension done...watch. Maybe TD knows this is his last year and doesnt give a !@#$!

 

WHERE IN THE BLUE HELL DOES ANYONE SEE PLAYOFFS?

Gains

 

Gandy....cut from Bears(enough said)

Holcomb.....has he made it through a season healthy?

 

Losses

 

Jennings

Willimas

Preleau

Bledsoe

 

yah we look great and oh yah the lions are gonna sign demulling today for those who saw him as the light at the end of the tunnel!

276372[/snapback]

[loadofmularkey]

When was the last time a successful offseason (on paper) assured a team of making it to the Super Bowl, no questions asked?? I'm sure we all remember the fiasco that took place in Washington five years ago when Danny Boy couldn't stop spending and all the experts ranked the Redskins as the class of the NFC. We all know how that turned out.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Pats have won three Super Bowls in four years and the only earth-shattering, high-profile offseason move they've made during that time has been acquiring Corey Dillon.

 

Plus, (and here's the real kicker) WE'RE STILL A MONTH AWAY FROM THE DRAFT.

 

And Rudy, one more thing. Why don't you ever follow up on any of these inane threads you start?? You post something, let everyone get all riled up and then sit back and watch the madness.

[IDBillzFan]

Rudy, why must you continue to reveal your pathetic lack of anything resembling football intelligence and REASON? Don't you think that mike mularkey, tom donahoe, tom modrak, et. al., know more about how to improve the buffalo bills than you do?

 

is your memory so bad that the winner of the past 2 superbowls have taken this approach to free agency? don't overpay for players on the wrong side of 30, don't give reactionary panic contracts, let the dust settle, and pounce when the time is right.

 

The team is in good hands. That is to say, the team is not in YOUR hands.

276568[/snapback]

I wanna party with you one day.

[nodnarb]

I wanna party with you one day.

276600[/snapback]

 

 

Backatcha. I'm into that Mich Ultra these days, in case you're buying.

[Alaska Darin]

Rudy, why must you continue to reveal your pathetic lack of anything resembling football intelligence and REASON? Don't you think that mike mularkey, tom donahoe, tom modrak, et. al., know more about how to improve the buffalo bills than you do?

 

is your memory so bad that you've forgotten that the winner of the past 2 superbowls have taken this approach to free agency? don't overpay for players on the wrong side of 30, don't give reactionary panic contracts, let the dust settle, and pounce when the time is right.

 

The team is in good hands. That is to say, the team is not in YOUR hands.

276568[/snapback]

I love you, man. You know, in a strictly platonic way...

[nodnarb]

I love you, man.  You know, in a strictly platonic way... 

276753[/snapback]

 

 

You know I'm sexy, though.

[Chicken Little]

if they aren't the same, then either 1) one is the other's 'extra head', or 2) they are both drinking from the same bowl of chicken little soup.

276410[/snapback]

 

 

Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

 

 

I taste AWESOME, especially during the free agency period

[Chicken Little]

i tihnk posts like this need to be properly labelled...

 

SIF post..."sky is falling" post...

276447[/snapback]

 

 

And steal my thunder? No way, baby!

 

I'm still here and I'm ready for action! Go ahead....make my day...

 

Thanks for the boost, Rudy

[todd]

I wanna party with you one day.

276600[/snapback]

 

I party with him all the time. It's fun.

[bobblehead]

I party with him all the time. It's fun.

276775[/snapback]

 

 

Mich Ultra? sh--.

[todd]

Mich Ultra?  sh--. 

276779[/snapback]

 

He doesn't make ME drink that piss.

[nodnarb]

Mich Ultra?  sh--. 

276779[/snapback]

 

 

yea, man. light, thirst quenching, not lacking in flavor (only depth), no aftertaste, and best of all, I can drink 12 and not feel full.

[ajzepp]

Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

I taste AWESOME, especially during the free agency period

276767[/snapback]

Wow, that actually came close to freaking me out lol

[bobblehead]

yea, man. light, thirst quenching, not lacking in flavor (only depth), no aftertaste, and best of all, I can drink 12 and not feel full.

276783[/snapback]

 

 

I like being full, it tells me when to stop drinking beer, and then when to start again.

[IDBillzFan]

I party with him all the time. It's fun.

276775[/snapback]

Sounds like an old Eddie Murphy song.

 

"Me and Nodnarb...Party all the time, party all the time, party all the tiiiimmme!!"

 

Hey nod, I'll always buy, but you'll have to drink what I buy and what I buy, I assure you, won't be Mich Ultra.