dave mcbride Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 screw draft position - the bills are going to draft high and have a ton of first day picks in any case. what everyone needs to remember is that most of the players on the current team will be on the team next year, and having them improve so that they become better nfl players next year is more important than whether we draft at the 5th instead of the 8th slot. learning to win is the key. i for one would love to see mcgee and clements have huge games against cincy, and see angelo crowell have a couple of pass defenses. it would show that he is getting better at the spikes role (i.e., being a helluva pass defender as linebacker). i'd also like to see the right side of the line, which will be with us next year, open up some big holes for mcgahee. I'd like to see mcgahee put up a couple of back to back 100 yard games. i'd like to see peters hold his own one on one in pass protection. i'd like to see holcomb direct the offense well, as he is going to be our backup for some time to come and we'll need him (all teams need decent backups). i'd also like to see roscoe parrish catch a short crossing route and take it the distance via dazzling moves (and failing that, via a punt return). learning to win is the hardest thing to do in this league. we have a lot of young guys who need to become not only become better nfl players, but also guys who can finish off opponents. i'm certainly not going to go ahead and predict victory, but if the bills finish 6-10 as opposed to 4-12 most people on this board will be much happier. regardless of what happens to the coach and gm, finishing off strong will demonstrate that we have some players that are actually improving. and to reiterate: the number of guys currently playing on the team who will be playing major roles on the team next year outnumber by far the number of draft picks who will be major contributors. praying for the equivalent of a lottery pick is not only bad fandom, it's unwise. lest you disagree, check out the bengals over a 14 year period in which they had no winning seasons. or the arizona cardinals. or the los angeles clippers, who went over 20 years with high draft picks and sucked every year. losing can be an unshakeable illness if you get too used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 learning to win is the hardest thing to do in this league. we have a lot of young guys who need to become not only become better nfl players, but also guys who can finish off opponents. I think the finishing strong thing is overrated. The Bills finished with one of the league's best 2d half records last year and it didn't help at all this season. Sure, it's always nice to see the Bills win and maybe that'll happen in the finale, but pretty doubtful for this weekend. And btw, the one guy who really does need to be learning things on the field will again be sitting on the bench in meaningless game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted December 21, 2005 Author Share Posted December 21, 2005 I think the finishing strong thing is overrated. The Bills finished with one of the league's best 2d half records last year and it didn't help at all this season. Sure, it's always nice to see the Bills win and maybe that'll happen in the finale, but pretty doubtful for this weekend. And btw, the one guy who really does need to be learning things on the field will again be sitting on the bench in meaningless game. 539026[/snapback] i think you're missing my point. the key thing is to see improvement and better team play by players who will be with us in the years to come. as for losman, he may start against the jets -- we simply don't know. in any case, he's just one among many such players who will have a chance to improve in the next couple of games. finishing strong is also not the point -- winning, preferably convincingly, is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 i think you're missing my point. the key thing is to see improvement and better team play by players who will be with us in the years to come. as for losman, he may start against the jets -- we simply don't know. in any case, he's just one among many such players who will have a chance to improve in the next couple of games. finishing strong is also not the point -- winning, preferably convincingly, is. 539035[/snapback] And what exactly have you seen from this Team, especially since Halftime of The Fish Game, that gives you any indication they could beat (or even show any improvement) The Sisters of The Poor on the Road? Let alone a real NFL Team... The thought is admirable...But if I were you I would not hold my breath... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted December 21, 2005 Author Share Posted December 21, 2005 And what exactly have you seen from this Team, especially since Halftime of The Fish Game, that gives you any indication they could beat (or even show any improvement) The Sisters of The Poor on the Road? Let alone a real NFL Team...The thought is admirable...But if I were you I would not hold my breath... 539046[/snapback] i'm not holding my breath, but i would *like* to see the team improve, play well, and win. whether they can do it or not i don't know. one thing i would not like to see, though, is for them to play poorly and then hear bills fans offer hosannas because we moved up a couple of slots in the draft order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 i'm not holding my breath, but i would *like* to see the team improve, play well, and win. whether they can do it or not i don't know. one thing i would not like to see, though, is for them to play poorly and then hear bills fans offer hosannas because we moved up a couple of slots in the draft order. 539053[/snapback] Well I hear that...And agree... Just don't think it's gonna happen...especially at Cincy...I think this could be REAL ugly... Hope I'm wrong though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaroni Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 i'd like to see holcomb direct the offense well, as he is going to be our backup for some time to come and we'll need him (all teams need decent backups). 539018[/snapback] This is just a what if .... devils advocate type of thing .... but, what if; Holcomb DOES direct the offense well ... and by some wild quirk of fate wins this week end earning him the start for the final game in which he also directs the offense well winning against the Jets. At the start of next season do we once again hand the team over to JP? If we do ... how short of a leash does he have if he starts the season slowly .... one game ..... two games????? I'm not really arguing against your post ... I too would like to see the team finish strong. As a matter of fact I don't even have strong feelings either way about the posible answers to the question, I'm just wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted December 21, 2005 Author Share Posted December 21, 2005 This is just a what if .... devils advocate type of thing .... but, what if; Holcomb DOES direct the offense well ... and by some wild quirk of fate wins this week end earning him the start for the final game in which he also directs the offense well winning against the Jets. At the start of next season do we once again hand the team over to JP? If we do ... how short of a leash does he have if he starts the season slowly .... one game ..... two games????? I'm not really arguing against your post ... I too would like to see the team finish strong. As a matter of fact I don't even have strong feelings either way about the posible answers to the question, I'm just wondering. 539059[/snapback] it depends. it's not inconceivable that holcomb could be a decent starter in this league. rich gannon was a longtime backup and became one of the best passers in the league is his mid-30s by relying on his smarts, a relatively weak arm, and a great short to mid range passing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 You act like they have a chance to win. Bills on the road and running for the bus finiash 4-12. TD and MM are let go. Jim Haslett just interviewed says if he is let go there are a coule of jobs out there he would really like. He's the one guy in football who considers the Bills HC his dream job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I somewhat agree with you becuase I don't think that a high draft choice is going to make us a much improved football team. Just because a guy was a good college player and projected to go high, doesn't mean he is going to be a good NFLer. (Mike Williams is prime example, Supposed to be a can't miss player, TD took him and we find out he is a giant bust) Drafts are a gamble at best and do not guarantee anything. Of course haveing a low pick can give us great trade bait for a team looking for a certain player. Drafting players is not as easy as many people on here like to think and to be honest I cannot fault TD for some of his drafts. I cannot fault him for taking Mike williams, he was supposed to be a great player that was going to do very well in the NFL, but he turned out to be a bust. Its not something he could control, he is not a fortune teller and has no crystal ball that will tell him how a playe will do in the NFL. If a GM could predict the future, There would be no use for rounds 4 and up cause all the players that would have made it in the nfl would be gone. Brady would have been picked firsty overall instead of in a later round and Ryan Leaf would have never been drafted. I am not defending TD in any way, I still would rather see him on ESPN as a commentator, than at OBD next year (heck, this weekend would be nice). I will fault him for not addressing our needs and building our team around our strengths (like an team with a strong blocking o-line and good D to help out a young QB) and instead going with skilled players and not playing to their abilities. Now to get back on topic, finishing out the season might be nice to boost the confidence of some of the younger players, I don't htink it is going to help much, we finished VERY STRONG last year and where did that get us? We ended up with a team and coaching staff that had too much confidence and thought it was better than it was becuase they had a strong finish last year. I would rather the Bills go out and atleast play some of its youth to see what are needs are going to be for next year rather than going out and throwing games so it can get a better pick or save some face by trying to have a respectable finish. That would include playing guys like preston and the other RB (sorry I don't remember his name) giving them time on the field and some experience so we atleast have an idea as to what kind of players we have and if they can be used next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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