nodnarb Posted October 12, 2004 Posted October 12, 2004 I'll start with an example. Before the season started, what would you have predicted for Drew Brees, considering they have ONE name receiver in Reche Caldwell, who hasn't done much, and a completely REVAMPED offensive line - more revamed than ours...? You would have said he's toast. No one in your fantasy league drafted him. You never would have guessed that he'd be the #1 rated passer through 5 games. He hasn't thrown an INT yet this season. He has been sacked ONCE. Is it their makeshift line is somehow magic? No. But he can move enough to buy himself time, take some pressure off his line, and get the job done when the play breaks down. DEs and DTs are waaaay too good for a truly immobile passer. I'm not talking rushing QBs like Vick. I'm talking MOBILE QBs like Brady and Pennington. Guys who can shuffle and slide and buy themselves second chances. Let me ask you this: How often do you see Bledsoe make a play - even a little gain of 3 yards - when the play breaks down? RARELY is the correct answer, but I'll accept NEVER. You can't win at this level when this is the answer to that question. You just CAN'T. Because this game is about which team makes the fewest mistakes. Every play that an offense or defense makes is basically a mistake by the opponent. Plays break down at least 1 in every 4 snaps avg, league wide. Either an unexpected or unblocked blitzer, a fallen WR, a wrong route, disguised coverage, etc. If your QB can't make something out of nothing, if he can't solve problems on the fly because he's so pathetically 1 dimensional, you can't win at this level. It's all numbers and probability. The math will catch up to you every time. If you have a QB that is INCAPABLE of buying himself time, your OLine will look worse than it really is. Your OLine coach will appear to have no answers. Your WRs will appear to not be able to get open because by the time they reach their timed assignment, the QB has been forced to adjust. But he doesn't have the ability to do that: Sack or worse. (He also doesn't know how to throw the ball away, even after 12 years in the league.) If you want to really know the truth about why the Bills suck with all the talent they have, look no further than a guy I really like: Drew. He forces this offense to do things that put them behind the 8 ball before the game even begins. The math always catches up to you. If you can expect a defense to make a play on your line every 4 snaps that forces your QB to move in the pocket (which is CONSERVATIVE league-wide), that means that the Bills are going to get stuffed or lose yardage about every 4 snaps. So far this year, Drew is getting sacked every 7 times he drops back. To get to this conservative figure of 25% of every snap, all you have to do is count the number of times he throws a terrible ball or tries to run forward for a yard to avoid an official sack (his actual numbers are worse). When does he do these things? Whenever a defense makes a play on our line. Don't take my word for it. Rewind the tapes and count it up, establish the averages, and tell me that Drew's one-dimensional play doesn't hamstring this team. Drew is the worst decision the Bills have made since their last worst decision: Rob Johnson. RoJo was bad because he was made of glass and didn't care about football. Drew is bad because his awareness and feet have deteriorated terribly over the past 5 years. I was pissed and bewildered when we re-signed him. I was quietly hoping that he'd be cut and we'd bring in a journeyman caretaker. Also: 5 offseason moves that I believe could have made all the difference: 1. Tell Bledsoe he's welcome back at 2 million per season and will have to compete with a rookie QB we're about to draft. If he balks, tell him, See Ya. He's simply not worth a cent more than that. There are better arguments that he's worth less. Our cap cost to cut him this past offseason: $0.00. Cap cost to cut him after this season with his new contract: $2 million in dead cap. 2. Sign FA T John Tait to play RT. A big, *smart* lineman who won't forget his blocking assignments pre-snap. 3. Find out what part of the country Big Mike hates most, what team he dislikes most, and tell him he's gonna convert 5 million of his salary to non-injury performance incentives or we're going to trade him there. If he balks, trade him. If he agrees, move him inside to RG. Mike can't be bullrushed but he sure as hell can get beat in space. Therefore, remove the space. GUARD DUTY. 4. Trade Josh Reed for something. Anything. I mean, what has he shown that any 6th round bench receiver can do? He was supposed to be a YAC receiver. What YAC? What *Catch*? What the hell happened to this kid? Well, maybe it's Bledsoe. 5. We tried to trade up with Houston to nab Big Ben. Probably didn't offer enough. Offer more. THis is not a jab at Losman - I have high hopes for him. But Ben was more ready to step in immediately, or at least that's what the Bills are passively saying by having re-signed Drew to a 3 year contract, which I still don't understand. RE: Losman. I hope he's everything he believes he can be. I like his attitude and hope he's one of those gamers who has "it". We have to play in the same division as a future hall of famer and another QB (Pennington) who also looks the part, even if his arm strength is questionable. If we can't compete at their level, the Bills had better hope that there's a re-alignment. This has been brought to you by realism.
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