2006- Upgrades Needed At 4 of 5 OL Positions

[Mark VI]

I'm still taking 2005 one week at a time but entering this 2006 off-season, the needed upgrades are becoming too obvious.

 

1. OL - Mike Williams should be penciled in at RT. Outside of that, the other 4 positions are all up for grabs. Teague should be gone. Anderson and Gandy are just filler for their eventual replacements. Chris V. is old and may have hit the wall. The quality of play need not be mentioned.

 

We'll see if Preston is good enough to be a front line replacement at Center. In the meantime, The UFA signing period in March should focus on some Veteran help. Not 2nd or 3rd tier filler guys. Real help with actual talent.

 

2. DT - Anderson looks decent and Adams is in the stretch run of his career. No depth in site. Edwards stinks. Bannon stinks. Must sign or draft at least 2 players for this position. Need a solid rotation and improvement against the run.

 

3. Coaching - We're getting outcoached almost weekly. The offensive playcalling has no rhythm to it and seems quite baffling. Fails to take advantage of the oppositions weaknesses and lacks any adjustments at halftime. Same goes for the Defense. Blitzing most every play with little results leaves your secondary and the middle of the field exposed. Seems Gray has no Plan B beyond this. Personally, if he leaves for a better job, I won't miss him at all.

 

Other positions such as OLB ( Spikes? ) and a vet WR to replace Moulds are also important.

 

TD must take his pride for a walk and realize he needs to change his outlook of improving this roster. He can't go cheap on the OL anymore. UFA's will be out there and one of the best college classes of O Lineman in years will be there waiting for him on Draft day.

 

He may have misfired again with the Coaching staff but lets see how 2005 plays out before calling that final. You can only blame the players so much if the coaching staff fails to play to the rosters strengths and put them into position to succeed. Right now, they are trying to pound the square peg into the round hole.

 

I'll be an interested observer of this season and the coming off-season. Lots of work is evident.

[1billsfan]

I'm still taking 2005 one week at a time but entering this 2006 off-season, the needed upgrades are becoming too obvious.

 

1. OL - Mike Williams should be penciled in at RT. Outside of that, the other 4 positions are all up for grabs. Teague should be gone. Anderson and Gandy are just filler for their eventual replacements. Chris V. is old and may have hit the wall. The quality of play need not be mentioned.

 

We'll see if Preston is good enough to be a front line replacement at Center. In the meantime, The UFA signing period in March should focus on some Veteran help. Not 2nd or 3rd tier filler guys. Real help with actual talent.

 

2. DT - Anderson looks decent and Adams is in the stretch run of his career. No depth in site. Edwards stinks. Bannon stinks. Must sign or draft at least 2 players for this position. Need a solid rotation and improvement against the run.

 

3. Coaching - We're getting outcoached almost weekly. The offensive playcalling has no rhythm to it and seems quite baffling. Fails to take advantage of the oppositions weaknesses and lacks any adjustments at halftime. Same goes for the Defense. Blitzing most every play with little results leaves your secondary and the middle of the field exposed. Seems Gray has no Plan B beyond this. Personally, if he leaves for a better job, I won't miss him at all.

 

Other positions such as OLB ( Spikes? ) and a vet WR to replace Moulds are also important.

 

TD must take his pride for a walk and realize he needs to change his outlook of improving this roster. He can't go cheap on the OL anymore. UFA's will be out there and one of the best college classes of O Lineman in years will be there waiting for him on Draft day.

 

  He may have misfired again with the Coaching staff but lets see how 2005 plays out before calling that final. You can only blame the players so much if the coaching staff fails to play to the rosters strengths and put them into position to succeed. Right now, they are trying to pound the square peg into the round hole.

 

I'll be an interested observer of this season and the coming off-season. Lots of work is evident.

473690[/snapback]

 

 

I wish Peters would replace Gandy and Preston replace Teague. This whole line gets blown off the ball week after week so why not see what the backups can do at our weakest line positions.

[KnightRider]

I'd like to see what Bannan can do full time at guard. He doesn't do much on the D anyway.

 

Josh Reed may be re-emerging, too. He certainly has been JP's go to guy this year. Parrish, Evans, Reed, and Aiken are all draft picks. Time to look for other positions in the draft.

 

OL is still the glaring need on this team. Safeties are one injury from a disaster, too.

[nick in* england]

How many friggin times do we have to hire a new OC????

[Zac]

I want Gregg Eslinger from Minnesota.

[Bill from NYC]

Great post Mark.

As you recall, when the Bills signed Big Ted and Bryce, these guys brought instant credibility to the Bills defensive front. There is not a single reason to believe that the same thing cannot happen on the other side of the ball.

 

As for other positions, imo the qb situation will work itself out. I think that injuries will play a big role in determinimg what happens here. Looking around the league, it makes sense.

 

In addition to what you mentioned, I hope that they look for secondary help. The future of NC is uncertain, and our safeties are aging.

 

I don't think that NFL teams are as far apart in terms of talent as many believe (aside from a couple of exceptional teams). People are sick of hearing it, and rightly so, but the Bills are not THAT far from being a top team. It would only take a few (admittedly major) upgrades and better depth.

Even with our current squad, there is plenty of reason to hope that the team heals/improves, and beats some good teams.

 

I never thought that in week 6 we would be talking about next year, but hey....it passes time.

[KnightRider]

I never thought that in week 6 we would be talking about next year, but hey....it passes time.

473702[/snapback]

 

 

That was the first thing I thought.

 

As far as OC, I think it can be corrected from within (ala Dick Lebeau and Jerry Gray) if they were to give Sam Wyche more responsibility.

 

It's not really a bad staff. They just seem to be outsmarting themselves...

[e-dog]

Wyche should already be calling the plays and Clements should be sent back to Pitts.

Think about it, who has more experience and knowledge than Wyche regarding qb's and an offensive system on this staff ? NOBODY.

 

So why do you have your 2nd string coach{s} calling the plays and running the offense ?

[UConn James]

Let's face it. We are in the bottom tier of teams, and have been there for the past several seasons.

 

The team I'd compare us with is the mid-to-late '90s Detroit Lions. Talent at a lot of positions, but for some reason it doesn't all come together.

[Ramius]

I'm still taking 2005 one week at a time but entering this 2006 off-season, the needed upgrades are becoming too obvious.

 

1. OL - Mike Williams should be penciled in at RT. Outside of that, the other 4 positions are all up for grabs. Teague should be gone. Anderson and Gandy are just filler for their eventual replacements. Chris V. is old and may have hit the wall. The quality of play need not be mentioned.

 

We'll see if Preston is good enough to be a front line replacement at Center. In the meantime, The UFA signing period in March should focus on some Veteran help. Not 2nd or 3rd tier filler guys. Real help with actual talent.

 

2. DT - Anderson looks decent and Adams is in the stretch run of his career. No depth in site. Edwards stinks. Bannon stinks. Must sign or draft at least 2 players for this position. Need a solid rotation and improvement against the run.

 

3. Coaching - We're getting outcoached almost weekly. The offensive playcalling has no rhythm to it and seems quite baffling. Fails to take advantage of the oppositions weaknesses and lacks any adjustments at halftime. Same goes for the Defense. Blitzing most every play with little results leaves your secondary and the middle of the field exposed. Seems Gray has no Plan B beyond this. Personally, if he leaves for a better job, I won't miss him at all.

 

Other positions such as OLB ( Spikes? ) and a vet WR to replace Moulds are also important.

 

TD must take his pride for a walk and realize he needs to change his outlook of improving this roster. He can't go cheap on the OL anymore. UFA's will be out there and one of the best college classes of O Lineman in years will be there waiting for him on Draft day.

 

  He may have misfired again with the Coaching staff but lets see how 2005 plays out before calling that final. You can only blame the players so much if the coaching staff fails to play to the rosters strengths and put them into position to succeed. Right now, they are trying to pound the square peg into the round hole.

 

I'll be an interested observer of this season and the coming off-season. Lots of work is evident.

473690[/snapback]

 

Good points, but i'd say keep gandy and anderson as backups if thats possible...or even move Gandy in back to guard. Its one less hole we have to fill, and hes played well enough this season(also, cant have all-pros at every position). I for one am one of the few around here who thinks mike williams can still be a decent and solid RT. kids just gotta stay healthy.

[GG]

Wyche should already be calling the plays and Clements should be sent back to Pitts.

Think about it, who has more experience and knowledge than Wyche regarding qb's and an offensive system on this staff ? NOBODY.

 

So why do you have your 2nd string coach{s} calling the plays and running the offense ?

473746[/snapback]

 

Wyche has never been shy about his opinions. He's also a respected former head coach, who's had some measure of success in the NFL. In the many stories that the natinoal media does on the Bills, they usually prefer to get Wyche's takes on things.

 

So, have you heard anything, an iota, an incling, a hint fom Wyche that there's something amiss among the coaching staff, and that he'd be better off calling the plays?

 

It's not like the guy really needs to be on the good side of Mularkey to move up in the NFL hierarchy.

[e-dog]

No I haven't heard anything from Wyche himself regarding play calling, and I don't expect to.

My point is I think he would do a better job of it than Clements for the reasons you just mentioned.

[GG]

No I haven't heard anything from Wyche himself regarding play calling, and I don't expect to.

My point is I think he would do a better job of it than Clements for the reasons you just mentioned.

473816[/snapback]

 

I guess I should value your opinion on how to run a team over Mularkey & Wyche.

[Larry Playfair]

Good points, but i'd say keep gandy and anderson as backups if thats possible...or even move Gandy in back to guard. Its one less hole we have to fill, and hes played well enough this season(also, cant have all-pros at every position). I for one am one of the few around here who thinks mike williams can still be a decent and solid RT. kids just gotta stay healthy.

473793[/snapback]

 

Gandy cant handle an inside rush at tackle against DE/OLB, he'd be in the backfield with a tackle or nose bull rushing him. the guy is not a guard, but i do think he has done an acceptable job at tackle.

 

I'd plug in Duke at C.

Keep Vill at Guard.

Keep Mike at tackle (we are in a rock and hard place - b/c if he renegotiates his K, we will likely have to extend. If not, someone would grab him in a minute.)

 

Need a new starting guard and tackle though....but that is nothing new...been going on for about 7 years now.

[JCBoston]

The thing that most baffles me is that these guys were doing a great job last year, especially down the stretch. The creativity that was there last year seems to be missing.

 

Maybe they're still trying to find their way with the new players (esp. QB) at certain positions, but it's still strange.

[Larry Playfair]

Not great...bledsoe was still getting pummeled.

[bills_fan]

1. OL - Mike Williams should be penciled in at RT. Outside of that, the other 4 positions are all up for grabs. Teague should be gone. Anderson and Gandy are just filler for their eventual replacements. Chris V. is old and may have hit the wall. The quality of play need not be mentioned.

 

We'll see if Preston is good enough to be a front line replacement at Center. In the meantime, The UFA signing period in March should focus on some Veteran help. Not 2nd or 3rd tier filler guys. Real help with actual talent.

 

I could see a shake out like this...

 

LT - 1st Round Draft Pick

LG - Gandy/Anderson

C - Preston

RG - Villarial

RT - MW

 

Villarial & MW worked well last year together, and I think they will this year again. They just need to stay healthy.

 

As for DT, I agree, one of our biggest needs. Either a FA (although if we tag or re-sign NC, we won't have much $$ left over), or a 2nd Rd Draft Pick.

 

I think spending some picks on D (except the 1st rder) will pay major dividends in the years to come. We need a DT, CB, S, and LB. I think Posey will be gone with Haggan or Crowell stepping in. Behind NC & McGee we are a bit thin at CB with Thomas out. S is self explanatory. We may have top wait a year to draft Fletcher's replacement, as we have too many other needs.

 

Just my $.02

[e-dog]

I guess I should value your opinion on how to run a team over Mularkey & Wyche.

473820[/snapback]

 

GG, my opinion is in regards to offensive play calling. I stated that I think Wyche would do a better job than what Clements has done to this point. If you don't agree thats fine.

If it's a problem you can file in with the rest of the kool-aid drinkers.

[Mile High]

Oline..... Keep Gandy as a back up. Preston will probably take over the starting center job. Bye Teague. Let Villarial play out his contract. If he can stop having tummy aches to actually play. Get rid of Anderson, the new kitty willow. And while I'm at it get rid of Williams too. Save some money on cutting the strings on the cream puff.

[GG]

The thing that most baffles me is that these guys were doing a great job last year, especially down the stretch. The creativity that was there last year seems to be missing.

 

Maybe they're still trying to find their way with the new players (esp. QB) at certain positions, but it's still strange.

473844[/snapback]

 

Isn't it amazing how we can suddenly blame the playcalling that doesn't work, when the same playcalling resulted in a 6-1 record down the stretch last year?

 

If we're going to blame coaching, let's try to stick to the obvious - the complete underestimation of Losman's ability to handle the assignment from the get go. If Holcomb or even Bledsoe had started the season, the Bills would be at least 3-2, tied for first in the AFC East, and many here would be giddy at a Superbowl run.

 

As it stands, the team is 1 game out of first, but gaping player holes persist that no amount of differentiation in playcalling will over come. Maybe this team can stumble to 9-7, and sneak into the playoffs with a very early exit.