Bill from NYC Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 In fact, I am actually happy, because of the seeming lack of injuries. My main source of concern is........surprise, surprise - the OL. I am not throwing in the towel on Anderson yet, but I don't know what to think of him, nor have I since he was signed. Remember, he signed for way less money than CV, who plays the right side, and is older. The coaches/TD obviously liked him, and he is huge. At this point, all we can do is wait and hope. IF, yes IF he can't play, we had better hope Preston can, because at this point, Geisenger does not appear to be ready, and I don't know about the health of Tucker. It would really suck if Anderson bombs, because we allocated 2 draft picks and signed a free agent to play the interior line. It would be nice to get SOME production. TD is a master of the salary cap, and has done a splendid job wrt free agents. Imo his trading ability is second to none. The man acquired Willis and a 3rd for Peerless and Travis!!! This is simply amazing. Unfortunately, if he doesn't do a better job bringing us blockers, his will be a futile effort. Imo, Mr. Butler was also a skilled GM, especially in the mid to late rounds of the draft. His failure was a line consisting of Spriggs, Nails, Panos, Ostroski, Conatay, Fina, and every other bad player that comes to mind. TD is doing better than this but we need more, especially having lost our LT. I am very excited by the 05 Bills. I see playoff possibilities, but they will fold like an accordian if they cannot block. Maybe McNally CAN make something out of this. Plus, JP moves around well and maybe he can buy some time back there..... hopefully until next April when it is time for the Bills to devote major resources to skill and depth on the OL. End of Rant. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UConn James Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 What always floors me is how the Patriots and other teams can plug in rookies (two more this year, Mankins at guard, and the new RT) and NOT. SKIP. A. FUGGIN. BEAT. I think a lot of the people at 1BD do not want to start a rookie on the OL, just b/c, and with JP in there, moreso b/c he's essentially a rookie too. Which is false logic. But they will sign and start players that other teams have cut outright. Forgive me if I question Jim "God" McNally, but I am. And TD's recent track record here at picking up other team's waiverwire castoffs isn't good. Marcus Jones, Lawrence Smith.... (BTW, Bill, I remember a few threads worded like "I don't one iota." An iota means "an infinitesimal amount; the least bit." It needs to be "I don't give one iota" or somesuch.)
VABills Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Gandy and Anderson were two free agents we signed.
Bill from NYC Posted August 28, 2005 Author Posted August 28, 2005 What always floors me is how the Patriots and other teams can plug in rookies (two more this year, Mankins at guard, and the new RT) and NOT. SKIP. A. FUGGIN. BEAT. I think a lot of the people at 1BD do not want to start a rookie on the OL, just b/c, and with JP in there, moreso b/c he's essentially a rookie too. Which is false logic. But they will sign and start players that other teams have cut outright. Forgive me if I question Jim "God" McNally, but I am. And TD's recent track record here at picking up other team's waiverwire castoffs isn't good. Marcus Jones, Lawrence Smith.... (BTW, Bill, I remember a few threads worded like "I don't one iota." An iota means "an infinitesimal amount; the least bit." It needs to be "I don't give one iota" or somesuch.) 420790[/snapback] Thanks, I missed that. You are right, rookies CAN produce on the OL. Ruben Brown did for the Bills. IIRC, Jason Fabini was the starting RT on the jests when they narrowly missed a superbowl appearance. McNally made a believer out of me last season; before which I scoffed at the notion that he could make a good OL out of that bunch, but he did imrove them quite a bit. That said, I think that CV had a lot to do with that as well. I am far less sold than many here on Mike Williams, especially given his obscene price tag. Gandy? I will give him a chance, but there is little reason to expect much from him imo. What I will never understand was the Parish pick, and I said this on draft day, NOT after the injury. The Bills need big, mean, ugly blockers to win, not little smurphs. Anyway, as much as I respect Coach Mac, I hope that some day the Bills will see fit to give him the talent he needs to build a top notch line. At this very early stage of the season, I see the Bills OL as one that looks to be average at best.
cåblelady Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 The Bills need big, mean, ugly blockers to win, not little smurphs. 420812[/snapback] We signed AD?
MadBuffaloDisease Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Thanks, I missed that. You are right, rookies CAN produce on the OL. Ruben Brown did for the Bills. IIRC, Jason Fabini was the starting RT on the jests when they narrowly missed a superbowl appearance. McNally made a believer out of me last season; before which I scoffed at the notion that he could make a good OL out of that bunch, but he did imrove them quite a bit. That said, I think that CV had a lot to do with that as well. I am far less sold than many here on Mike Williams, especially given his obscene price tag. Gandy? I will give him a chance, but there is little reason to expect much from him imo. What I will never understand was the Parish pick, and I said this on draft day, NOT after the injury. The Bills need big, mean, ugly blockers to win, not little smurphs. Anyway, as much as I respect Coach Mac, I hope that some day the Bills will see fit to give him the talent he needs to build a top notch line. At this very early stage of the season, I see the Bills OL as one that looks to be average at best. I've got a question. How many rookie OL are starting, or projected to start, for NFL teams this year, and how many were picked AFTER Parrish? This year was a weak draft for ALL players, O-linemen especially. I think the Bills did well drafting Preston and I'd like to see him start at LG, in preparation for taking over at center eventually. As for Parrish, you'll see his impact when he returns. I think the offense will take-off once he's back.
kasper13 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 The Bears game meant nothing and the Lions game means even less than nothing. Basically, it's been 8 months of speculation, wild predictions and dissecting every single bit of mostly useless information on every single thing the Bills have done or not done off the field and in every single practice and preseason game since the last game that counted. None of it means a thing. Nobody (not even the Bills) knows exactly what will happen until Sunday, September 11th at 1pm.
UConn James Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Thanks, I missed that. You are right, rookies CAN produce on the OL. Ruben Brown did for the Bills. IIRC, Jason Fabini was the starting RT on the jests when they narrowly missed a superbowl appearance. McNally made a believer out of me last season; before which I scoffed at the notion that he could make a good OL out of that bunch, but he did imrove them quite a bit. That said, I think that CV had a lot to do with that as well. I am far less sold than many here on Mike Williams, especially given his obscene price tag. Gandy? I will give him a chance, but there is little reason to expect much from him imo. What I will never understand was the Parish pick, and I said this on draft day, NOT after the injury. The Bills need big, mean, ugly blockers to win, not little smurphs. Anyway, as much as I respect Coach Mac, I hope that some day the Bills will see fit to give him the talent he needs to build a top notch line. At this very early stage of the season, I see the Bills OL as one that looks to be average at best. 420812[/snapback] I respected JMac until he put LS at LG to start last season. Kudos for him for having 86ed Pucillo, and kudos again to yanking LS. But he really needs to get some stones and admit to TD that he, in fact, can't make bricks without clay. They're asking him to do too much with too little, thinking it can be done via technique rather than having the physical tools and mentality to grade the road.
Jukester Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 My main source of concern is........surprise, surprise - the OL. 420771[/snapback] Couldn't agree with you more. That and the mental mistakes that continue to occur are my biggest concerns. Penalties (delay of game, personal fouls and others); Fumbles (Clements, McGahee, Losman, Gates all put the ball on the ground on Friday); Missed assigments - blitz pickup, blocking assigmnents, routes All these things show lack of discipline and with the defense and special teams we have, we just need to limit them to have a good season
Fezmid Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Fumbles ... Losman ... put the ball on the ground on Friday); I didn't see the Bills/Bears game (need to check if it's on again so I can TiVo it...) I keep reading people saying that JPL isn't making mistakes, ala Bledsoe. However, he's had the following "mistakes:" Sack/fumble against the Colts Sack/safety against the Packers - after running backwards away from the pass rush (taken back because of a defensive penalty) Fumble against the Bears These things seem similar to the Bledsoe era -- the only difference is that they havn't directly hurt us yet, but that's just luck of the draw. The OL is definatley the weak link, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar result from last year because ofiit. CW
LabattBlue Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 My main source of concern is........surprise, surprise - the OL. 420771[/snapback] Bill...I'm right there with you. The predictions of WM gaining 1500+ yards, is stuff dreams are made out of, if the OL does not improve in terms of run blocking. Here's hoping Gandy and Anderson are adequate, MW continues to improve, CV stays healthy and we can squeeze one more year out of TT at OC.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 I didn't see the Bills/Bears game (need to check if it's on again so I can TiVo it...) I keep reading people saying that JPL isn't making mistakes, ala Bledsoe. However, he's had the following "mistakes:" Sack/fumble against the Colts Sack/safety against the Packers - after running backwards away from the pass rush (taken back because of a defensive penalty) Fumble against the Bears These things seem similar to the Bledsoe era -- the only difference is that they havn't directly hurt us yet, but that's just luck of the draw. The OL is definatley the weak link, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar result from last year because ofiit. Yes but again, at least Losman can improve. With Bledsoe it was chronic. He averaged almost 1.5 turnovers per game while with the Bills.
Fezmid Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Yes but again, at least Losman can improve. With Bledsoe it was chronic. He averaged almost 1.5 turnovers per game while with the Bills. 421066[/snapback] This "he can improve" line is getting old... If he can improve, he can also regress. Actually, can you regress if you havn't done anything yet? I don't know... Is it Opening Day yet? CW
Coach Tuesday Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Have to agree with Fezmid. Why are people so blind?? JPL has made one horrid mistake per game, we've just been lucky enough that they haven't mattered. We need progress, and SOON.
Bill from NYC Posted August 28, 2005 Author Posted August 28, 2005 Have to agree with Fezmid. Why are people so blind?? JPL has made one horrid mistake per game, we've just been lucky enough that they haven't mattered. We need progress, and SOON. 421134[/snapback] If we get good blocking, JP will get better. If not, he will merely join the list of qbs who had their career ruined or shortened by the ineptitude of the Bills organization wrt bringing good blockers to this football team. What good is a nifty little skinny shrimp when his qb is laying on his a$$, bleeding? Sometimes I wonder if GMs go for these wideouts, rbs, qbs, etc. to attract fans, or win football games. Honestly, when the temp. gets to be in the 20s, who would you rather have, Parrish or a 2nd round guard?
Chilly Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 If we get good blocking, JP will get better. If not, he will merely join the list of qbs who had their career ruined or shortened by the ineptitude of the Bills organization wrt bringing good blockers to this football team. What good is a nifty little skinny shrimp when his qb is laying on his a$$, bleeding? Sometimes I wonder if GMs go for these wideouts, rbs, qbs, etc. to attract fans, or win football games. Honestly, when the temp. gets to be in the 20s, who would you rather have, Parrish or a 2nd round guard? 421183[/snapback] Parrish, there were no 2nd round guards left. In fact, after Buffalo the next guard picked was 3rd round pick 15 to the Panthers.
Bill from NYC Posted August 29, 2005 Author Posted August 29, 2005 Parrish, there were no 2nd round guards left. In fact, after Buffalo the next guard picked was 3rd round pick 15 to the Panthers. 421221[/snapback] Good retort, but perhaps you can see my point. Were any OTs taken after we chose the midget in round 2? Don't ya see.....two years in a row, we chose a wr with our first selection. Our second selections were a qb and a TE, in addition to trading away a 2nd and a 5th in 04. I saw a recent interview with Bill Parcells in which he stated that if he has a list of 50 receivers at draft time, his list of guards will probably be at 25. Many of you are ready to proclaim that Parcells is now dumb because he signed Bledsoe, but he is a legendary football guy and these were his words. Imo, the bottom line is that both Mr. Butler and TD did a lousy job of bringing vital blockers to our beloved football team; a team that plays in the cold, rain and snow (sounds like a Grateful Dead Song ). If you are happy with this decade long mess up front, so be it. I think that it sucks to have a weak group of blockers in a tough, blue collar football town. Do you favor finesse type team? I do not, and think that the only thing that the Bills lack in terms of being a championship team is a tough, mean group of "Hogs." Sadly, there is no end in sight, but I will never give up! GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MadBuffaloDisease Posted August 29, 2005 Posted August 29, 2005 Good retort, but perhaps you can see my point. Were any OTs taken after we chose the midget in round 2? I had the same retort, when I asked if any rookie OL picked AFTER Parrish was/were going to start for any NFL team this year. Your point was that the Bills should have drafted an OL who could start (at LG) this year. I don't think any OL who were picked after Parrish ARE going to start this year, and Parrish should make a much greater impact than a rookie OL picked after him.
Fixxxer Posted August 29, 2005 Posted August 29, 2005 23 55 Roscoe Parrish Bills WR Miami (FL) then 32 64 Adam Terry Ravens T Syracuse 3rd round 15 79 Evan Mathis Panthers G Alabama 17 81 Richie Incognito Rams C Nebraska (injured) 27 91 Chris Colmer Buccaneers T North Carolina State 29 93 Trai Essex Steelers T Northwestern 30 94 Adam Snyder 49ers G Oregon 36 100 Nick Kaczur Patriots G Toledo 4th round 4 105 Ray Willis Seahawks T Florida State 6 107 Dan Buenning Buccaneers G Wisconsin 10 111 Elton Brown Cardinals G Virginia 12 113 David Stewart Titans T Mississippi State 18 119 Eric Ghiaciuc Bengals C Central Michigan 21 122 Duke Preston Bills C Illinois 23 124 Jason Brown Ravens C North Carolina 25 126 Todd Herremans Eagles T Saginaw Valley State 28 129 Dylan Gandy Colts G Texas Tech 33 134 Claude Terrell Rams G New Mexico 5th round 7 143 Junius Coston Packers C North Carolina A&T 14 150 Daniel Loper Titans T Texas Tech 15 151 Drew Hodgdon Texans C Arizona State 17 153 Adam Kieft Bengals T Central Michigan 26 162 Anthony Alabi Dolphins T Texas Christian 27 163 Frank Omiyale Falcons T Tennessee Tech 28 164 Wesley Britt Chargers T Alabama 29 165 Robert Hunt Colts C North Dakota State 33 169 Geoff Hangartner Panthers C Texas A&M 36 172 Scott Young Eagles G Brigham Young 6th round 3 177 Wes Sims Chargers G Oklahoma 13 187 Will Svitek Chiefs T Stanford 23 197 Justin Geisinger Bills G Vanderbilt 26 200 Chris Myers Broncos G Miami (FL) 30 204 Chris Kemoeatu Steelers G Utah 33 207 Joe Berger Panthers T Michigan Tech 35 209 Rob Petitti Cowboys T Pittsburgh (starter RT for them) 37 211 Calvin Armstrong Eagles T Washington State 40 214 Pete McMahon Raiders T Iowa 7th round 3 217 Jon Dunn Browns T Virginia Tech 24 238 Jeremy Parquet Chiefs T Southern Mississippi 28 242 Scott Mruczkowski Chargers C Bowling Green 2 246 William Whitticker Packers G Michigan State 40 254 Doug Nienhuis Seahawks T Oregon State
Bill from NYC Posted August 29, 2005 Author Posted August 29, 2005 I had the same retort, when I asked if any rookie OL picked AFTER Parrish was/were going to start for any NFL team this year. Your point was that the Bills should have drafted an OL who could start (at LG) this year. I don't think any OL who were picked after Parrish ARE going to start this year, and Parrish should make a much greater impact than a rookie OL picked after him. 421243[/snapback] I love the dialogue, but I find your position to be incorrect. Look at the Steelers. Why do you think that they had a great season in 04? It is completely obvious that the depth on their OL was a primary factor, ESPECIALLY with a green qb. The Bills should have been grabbing offensive linemen year after year, not waiting until round 7 to grab a Mike Pucillo. I was sickened while watching steeler scrubs toss our guys around when the playoffs were on the line. I want the Bills to do this to opposing teams rather than keep tabs on the injuries of a 160 lb. NFL football player. There are very few men who can survive in the NFL at that size, and there are few if any great football teams that can survive without big, mean, ugly, talented blockers.
Recommended Posts