oregonbbfan Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 I was concerned when Pitt asked for permission. Anyone think it's a coincidence that the line turned around the first year he got here? Mc Nalley was supposed to be the guru but didn't do well until this year. Was it an infusion of talent? Was it a better, non meddling HC or was it addition of Z? I must admit the line was on the way up. Now we need to find another assistant and who knows how that will turn out, Also funny how Z worked with the Tackles, the place we saw much improvement. Will this hurt our line progress? I hope the progress was because of the direction of Mouse. What do you think?
OCinBuffalo Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 I don't know Honestly, it's hard to say. I can see both sides of the argument - large effect vs. no effect - from The other Zierlein Post. My guess is that it will have a marginal effect because Dick Jauron is going to hire his replacement. With DJ's emphasis on teaching, I find it hard to believe that we won't get a guy who can contribute to the continued development of our o line - as opposed to simply an azz kicker.
Pyrite Gal Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 I think there is little beyond coincidence to explain any uptick in conjunction with Zierlein's arrival. Perhaps if there was something specific one could point to which explains this improvement which could be linked to Zierlein's arrival one can credibly give him credit, but outside of the co-inciding of timing I have not hear any real evidence that would point to this. If JMac had been a complete failure here then perhaps one might latch onto the Zierlein idea. but you actually give JMac to little credit for good things which happened under him such as: 1. Changing Peters to OL from a TE seemed to be all his idea and he has both managed Peters progression and been a vocal advocate for him. Turning this UDFA TE into someone folks talk about seriously as a potential Pro Bowl deserving LT was simply outstanding work. 2. Right from the start he has made it clear he is no miracle worker and expect sow's ears to become silk purses. However, he has made some really bad ineffective players into adequate players a number of times, He managed Mike Williams back from being a fat bust to briefly being adequate with good carrots (a game ball after he held a sackmaster opponent sackless and sticks like threatening to shift him to guard unless he lost weight as he did after being threatened) and then was instrumental in showing him the door when he did not follow his brief recovery with continued good play; He showed Pacillo and some old Vinky picked bad players the door and actually turned Ravens PS guy Smith into an almost adequate starting G; when Smith proved inadequate in specific parts of the game like work in the redzone he recruited and trained D players like Bannan into being effective redzone players. 3. There have beeb mistakes on his watch like Bennie Anderson and Reyes but to some degree these seem to be caused by him aggressively trying to deal with a situation which has been poorly managed and underesourced for as much as a decade so having some misses with the hits is not unexpected or unforgivable IMHO, JMac is refreshing in that he has not been afraid to work with bad players and give them a second chance when they respond, but also he has not been afraid to jettison them and move on when they play so poorly they would need a 3rd chance to succeed.
oregonbbfan Posted January 30, 2007 Author Posted January 30, 2007 Sorry I missed it. It wasn't confirmed then, it is now. We all are pretty astute to make many of the same observations. Others may make fun but we need people who can teach and get the most from the best configuration. Again, who was responsible for whatever improvement we had and will it continue? I just hate throwing more changes on the team. It's possible it will get better or God forbid, the other direction. Because of the improvement I am a Z fan. The improvement could also be a result of being able to focus on less individuals, kinda like improved learning with smaller class size. Is this a trend now, i.e. assistant line coaches? With all the new coach staffs being assembled, will we get experience or will he come from college. Any thoughts other than Hull
JoeF Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 Hire this guy--just fired from the Panthers Mike Maser, offensive line; born March 2, 1947, Clayton N.Y. Guard Buffalo 1967-1970. No pro playing experience. College coach: Marshall 1973, Bluefield State College 1974-78, Maine 1979-1980, Boston College 1981-1993. Pro coach: Jacksonville Jaguars 1995-2002, joined Panthers in 2003.
Bill from NYC Posted January 30, 2007 Posted January 30, 2007 I was concerned when Pitt asked for permission. Anyone think it's a coincidence that the line turned around the first year he got here? Mc Nalley was supposed to be the guru but didn't do well until this year. Was it an infusion of talent? The OL didn't "turn around." Look at most draft web sites and they will tell you that we need drastic help up front. The reason that things got somewhat better was because of Jason Peters at LT. JP actually had someone other than Gandy (who sucks) protecting his blind side. Gandy was moved to LG where he continued to suck. Fowler is a little better than Teague. Our RGs all sucked, and Pennington, while he showed a lot for a 7th round rookie, needed all sorts of help, and we rarely ran successfully to his side. I am not fond of losing this coach. He was probably being groomed as a replacement for McNally. The thing is, when the Bills devote resources to blocking instead of defensive backs and other "skill players," they will have a good OL. Peters was a stroke of luck. His play at LT last season was worthy of that to an early first round draft choice. The odds of this happening again are almost nil. As Bills Fans we know this after having seen the garbage up front that was found in late draft picks and the trash bins of losing teams. We will know by the end of April whether or not Marv wants a strong OL, or more corners and safeties.
OCinBuffalo Posted January 31, 2007 Posted January 31, 2007 We will know by the end of April whether or not Marv wants a strong OL, or more corners and safeties. Like I said last year, I was 100% behind getting top safeties and corners in the draft because we needed huge help there with Milloy, Vincent practically needing wheel chairs and Clements in his last year. But, I also said I was 100% behind shoring up both lines this year. We definitely need to spend our first 2-3 picks on lineman, with the only exception being if an excellent, not just good, linebacker is available. I will be just as upset as you are if we don't follow through on this - or do something great in FA - no retreads, has-beens or never-weres.
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