Time to get back to basics

[BADOLBILZ]

With each week it becomes more obvious that the talent is not there to go toe-to-toe with most NFL teams. As I've said many times, since the departure of Donahoe the Bills have spent far too many of their personnel chips(draft picks and free agent dollars) REPLACING talented players while most teams guard what they have and try to hoard more. Case in point, in two offseasons a talent starved Bills team gave up London Fletcher, Nate Clements and Willis McGahee and then used two #1 picks and a #2 to replace them. The net result is that they are STILL woefully short on the game changing big men that you need at the LOS(pass rushers, blockers, TE).

 

IMO to prevent a disasterous finish, the team needs to go back to the style that kept them in many games the past two years. Run it, run it, run it and punt it. Then on defense, just keep the ball in front of you and hope for a mistake by the offense. That is what their personnel dictates they do. I thought the Bills played that way defensively today, but offensively they still tried to throw far too much considering the opponent and the result was turnovers and another week without progress in the running game.

 

It's reached the point where Edwards is not getting better throwing the ball more. I know people hated Fairchild, but I think you all should be able to see now that the guy did not have the personnel to do much more. This offensive line does not have the potential to be a dominant run blocking unit, they are soft and unathletic, but by sheer mass they can be adequate and effective if given the madate to put their heads down and run block 40 times per game against opponents they outweigh by 50-80 pounds respectively.

 

Forcing teams to defend the run opens up receivers downfield for big plays, which is what this team does right. With dimwits like Robert Royal and Roscoe Parrish on the field regularly, you can't conistently execute long drives(I believe the Bills are the worst team in the NFL at executing long drives), so the objective should be to move the ball with the run and use the passing game to strike big. Remember chunk plays? The Bills haven't gotten the ball deep to Evans in a month.

 

In the offseason, the orgainzation needs to be aggressive. When a veteran like Jevon Kearse gets cut loose, don't be afraid to take a look and a flyer on a guy like that. Draft and sign prospective core players who have good health histories. Stack the roster and make it work. They've got to find a way to close the gap on teams with better personnel so that they can play to win, even when teams know the tendencies of your coaches and the weaknesses of your QB(which opponents are now on to with Schonert and Edwards).

[BillsVet]

With each week it becomes more obvious that the talent is not there to go toe-to-toe with most NFL teams. As I've said many times, since the departure of Donahoe the Bills have spent far too many of their personnel chips(draft picks and free agent dollars) REPLACING talented players while most teams guard what they have and try to hoard more. Case in point, in two offseasons a talent starved Bills team gave up London Fletcher, Nate Clements and Willis McGahee and then used two #1 picks and a #2 to replace them. The net result is that they are STILL woefully short on the game changing big men that you need at the LOS(pass rushers, blockers, TE).

 

Being a Bills fan has meant being more interested in the off-season than the regular season these past 8-9 years. Unfortunately, much like the regular season, the offseason has been full of symbolism with no substance. At least that's what we find out when the team takes the field.

 

I do not expect the front office to be perfect, but it's clear they might do the right thing half the time. Letting NC and LF go without having a replacement on the roster was negligent. When Ralph did the PR thing and hired Marv, it was the wrong move . When Marv hired an also-ran coach with a track record of mediocrity, the FO failed again. When the team needed a FA OL, they chose the wrong one(s). The HC assembled a coaching staff of never will be's and never could be's. We're painfully watching and hoping, although it's abundantly clear the FO is clearly out-done by most teams. And we continue to go without a real GM. We cannot compete with a limited budget and no great football minds in the front office, save perhaps Modrak.

 

Arizona will make the playoffs this season, leaving the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions as the only teams in the NFL to not make the post-season for 9 or more years. And we didn't have Matt Millen help us.

[dave mcbride]

With each week it becomes more obvious that the talent is not there to go toe-to-toe with most NFL teams. As I've said many times, since the departure of Donahoe the Bills have spent far too many of their personnel chips(draft picks and free agent dollars) REPLACING talented players while most teams guard what they have and try to hoard more. Case in point, in two offseasons a talent starved Bills team gave up London Fletcher, Nate Clements and Willis McGahee and then used two #1 picks and a #2 to replace them. The net result is that they are STILL woefully short on the game changing big men that you need at the LOS(pass rushers, blockers, TE).

 

IMO to prevent a disasterous finish, the team needs to go back to the style that kept them in many games the past two years. Run it, run it, run it and punt it. Then on defense, just keep the ball in front of you and hope for a mistake by the offense. That is what their personnel dictates they do. I thought the Bills played that way defensively today, but offensively they still tried to throw far too much considering the opponent and the result was turnovers and another week without progress in the running game.

 

It's reached the point where Edwards is not getting better throwing the ball more. I know people hated Fairchild, but I think you all should be able to see now that the guy did not have the personnel to do much more. This offensive line does not have the potential to be a dominant run blocking unit, they are soft and unathletic, but by sheer mass they can be adequate and effective if given the madate to put their heads down and run block 40 times per game against opponents they outweigh by 50-80 pounds respectively.

 

Forcing teams to defend the run opens up receivers downfield for big plays, which is what this team does right. With dimwits like Robert Royal and Roscoe Parrish on the field regularly, you can't conistently execute long drives(I believe the Bills are the worst team in the NFL at executing long drives), so the objective should be to move the ball with the run and use the passing game to strike big. Remember chunk plays? The Bills haven't gotten the ball deep to Evans in a month.

 

In the offseason, the orgainzation needs to be aggressive. When a veteran like Jevon Kearse gets cut loose, don't be afraid to take a look and a flyer on a guy like that. Draft and sign prospective core players who have good health histories. Stack the roster and make it work. They've got to find a way to close the gap on teams with better personnel so that they can play to win, even when teams know the tendencies of your coaches and the weaknesses of your QB(which opponents are now on to with Schonert and Edwards).

Quality post, Badol. I will add, though, that it's not inconceivable for them to win 10 games still and sneak in. Am I expecting it? No, but four of the teams they're playing - Miami, Cleveland, SF, and KC - are no better than the Bills, and if they go 1-3 against NE/Denver/NY, they've got a good shot.

[I 90]

Yup. The ol' Jaurontastic commitment to the punt. Fairchild wasn't spooked by 95 yards on 38 carries, Schonert shouldn't be either.

[BADOLBILZ]

Quality post, Badol. I will add, though, that it's not inconceivable for them to win 10 games still and sneak in. Am I expecting it? No, but four of the teams they're playing - Miami, Cleveland, SF, and KC - are no better than the Bills, and if they go 1-3 against NE/Denver/NY, they've got a good shot.

 

Not only can they, they should be right there at the end. 5-2 is doable if they don't give away games like they did in Miami and against the Jets. They were spotted 4 wins before the schedule picked up and teams caught on and playing not to lose has proven effective in November the past couple seasons, escpecially against teams that are playing out the string like Cleveland, SF and KC. I think they could still win 10. I'm definitely not saying turtle up, but the team is not scoring and the turnovers are KILLING them. When they played Jauron ball the past two seasons they didn't turn the ball over.

 

And let's face it, in the competitive portion of the game today, they scored 3 points in 58 minutes and they had the ball for almost a full quarter straight last week and came out of that -7 on the scoreboard because of an ill adivised pic 6. Run it, throw it and throw it is not working and it can't get much worse than the production they've had in the past 10 quarters of offensive football which resulted in 3 straight losses.

[Big Turk]

Sure....the talent isn't there, but it is with Miami?? With the Jets starting a 40 year old has been?? With the Pats playing with a backup QB who hasn't started a game since high school before his year and a 5th string RB? Lets stop saying we don't have the talent. Last year, we clearly didn't. This year, we clearly do, and it is being mismanaged perhaps worse than any other team in the NFL.

 

I mean are we actually going to sit here and say that Miami has a great team?? They have maybe 2 or 3 players on that entire team. But they win because they aren't afraid to lose and their coaches don't put their players in no-win situations, and get the most out of them. The same way we won last year....maybe the coaches should realize that having faith in your players does a lot for your team....

[BADOLBILZ]

Yup. The ol' Jaurontastic commitment to the punt. Fairchild wasn't spooked by 95 yards on 38 carries, Schonert shouldn't be either.

 

I blame Jauron to great extent for the lack of talent on the roster because I think the FO let some productive players go just to prevent having a lockerroom that had people in it that might question the credentials and leadership of Jauron. I mean if Joey Porter and Ricky Williams were here when Jauron arrived, they'd have been let go immediately. It's hard to build a roster of mama's boys and yes men and Bills fans are seeing that first hand.

 

However, Jauron does have the patience to put a competitive team on the field with a roster of very little talent. That's what they have, it's time they play to their strength.

[Big Turk]

However, Jauron does have the patience to put a competitive team on the field with a roster of very little talent. That's what they have, it's time they play to their strength.

 

Yeah OK---we could have all-pros all over the field on this team and they would still lose with this pathetic coaching staff playing chicken-sh*t ball, but everyone would still say "we have no talent". Sure we don't. We have an all-pro LT in Peters, we have one of the best, if not THE best deep threats in the NFL in Evans. We have a young QB who is going backwards because all he is allowed to do is throw 5 yard passes into 8 men in coverage underneath because we don't even TRY to get someone deep. We have a LG in Dockery that was considered one of the best run blockers in the NFL when we signed him. We have Whitner, who was being talked about as a consensus all-pro at the halfway point this year. We have Poz who is a beast. Mitchell and Stroud. McGee and Greer are pretty solid. Lindell and Moorman are the best combination of special team kickers in the NFL. Parrish is the best PR in the NFL when he doesn't fair catch every kick to him. Lynch and Jackson are pretty good players....

 

Compare this to teams like Kansas City, Miami, Oakland, St. Louis, Detroit. THOSE are teams with no talent. Yes, I said Miami has very little talent. They still win in spite of it, not because of it thanks to their coaching.

 

Every year we get more and more good players, but yet every year when we lose its because "we have no talent". Give me a freaking break. We have as much talent as any team in the AFC. We were being talked about as the most balanced team in the NFL when we were 5-1 by the national media. I am pretty sure the answer isn't all of a sudden "We have no talent".

 

The answer lies with looking at the message the coaching staff is sending to the players, and that message is "We are scared because we have injuries, so we are going to do nothing to win the game, and everything to try and not lose it." And, IMO, you don't win very many games with that type of attitude...

[BADOLBILZ]

Sure....the talent isn't there, but it is with Miami?? With the Jets starting a 40 year old has been?? With the Pats playing with a backup QB who hasn't started a game since high school before his year and a 5th string RB? Lets stop saying we don't have the talent. Last year, we clearly didn't. This year, we clearly do, and it is being mismanaged perhaps worse than any other team in the NFL.

 

I mean are we actually going to sit here and say that Miami has a great team?? They have maybe 2 or 3 players on that entire team. But they win because they aren't afraid to lose and their coaches don't put their players in no-win situations, and get the most out of them. The same way we won last year....maybe the coaches should realize that having faith in your players does a lot for your team....

 

I do think that Miami and the Jets have better lines than Buffalo. No question really. But I do agree with you in the regard that their coaches are making better use of their personnel. Last year, the Bills made better use of their personnel by reigning them in, this year the Fish and Jets are outcoaching the Bills coaches and they have better QB play than they've had last year. Heck, Miami is winning almost exclusively because they don't turn the ball over. The Bills need to get back to basics which would in turn make better use of their personnel.

[Big Turk]

I do think that Miami and the Jets have better lines than Buffalo. No question really. But I do agree with you in the regard that their coaches are making better use of their personnel. Last year, the Bills made better use of their personnel by reigning them in, this year the Fish and Jets are outcoaching the Bills coaches and they have better QB play than they've had last year. Heck, Miami is winning almost exclusively because they don't turn the ball over. The Bills need to get back to basics which would in turn make better use of their personnel.

 

I don't know how much more basic we can get. We play a virtual prevent defense all game long with no semblance of a pass rush and DB's playing 20 yards off receivers who are so wide open the Bills players aren't even in the picture when they catch the ball. On offense we throw 5 yard passes all game and don't even try and get Evans deep. At least TRY to loosen up the coverage. We run into 8 man fronts, and we throw when they have 3 man fronts and 8 guys in coverage underneath, which are both basically asking for failure. Noone respects our run game or our deep passing game because in the case of the run game, we abandon it before it can even have a chance of getting going, and the deep passing game because we never try a pass more than 10 yards all game. Then we wonder why teams are sitting there with 8 guys underneath flooding the zones with defenders and why noone is open.

 

What makes it even worse is that Fewell has watched 4 out of the last 5 teams prevent us from doing anything offensively by taking away the short passes, but yet he refuses or is incapable of coming up with the same game plan that teams are using against our offense. What makes it worse is that for the most part we are pretty good at stopping the run this year---teams are not really gashing us very often. Somehow when Fewell sees team after team with lesser DB talent than we have press our receivers and play tight coverage daring us to go deep and preventing our short passing game from getting going, the light never comes on that perhaps he should try the same thing. He just lets the DBs keep playing 20 yards off the ball and allowing opposing WRs to catch the ball with noone around and easily get first downs. I mean after 4 games of watching this not work, I would think it should be pretty clear this is not too effective and he should try something else....

[BADOLBILZ]

Yeah OK---we could have all-pros all over the field on this team and they would still lose with this pathetic coaching staff playing chicken-sh*t ball, but everyone would still say "we have no talent". Sure we don't. We have an all-pro LT in Peters, we have one of the best, if not THE best deep threats in the NFL in Evans. We have a young QB who is going backwards because all he is allowed to do is throw 5 yard passes into 8 men in coverage underneath because we don't even TRY to get someone deep. We have a LG in Dockery that was considered one of the best run blockers in the NFL when we signed him. We have Whitner, who was being talked about as a consensus all-pro at the halfway point this year. We have Poz who is a beast. Mitchell and Stroud. McGee and Greer are pretty solid. Lindell and Moorman are the best combination of special team kickers in the NFL. Parrish is the best PR in the NFL when he doesn't fair catch every kick to him. Lynch and Jackson are pretty good players....

 

Compare this to teams like Kansas City, Miami, Oakland, St. Louis, Detroit. THOSE are teams with no talent. Yes, I said Miami has very little talent. They still win in spite of it, not because of it thanks to their coaching.

 

Every year we get more and more good players, but yet every year when we lose its because "we have no talent". Give me a freaking break. We have as much talent as any team in the AFC. We were being talked about as the most balanced team in the NFL when we were 5-1 by the national media. I am pretty sure the answer isn't all of a sudden "We have no talent".

 

The answer lies with looking at the message the coaching staff is sending to the players, and that message is "We are scared because we have injuries, so we are going to do nothing to win the game, and everything to try and not lose it." And, IMO, you don't win very many games with that type of attitude...

 

You can't say the team is playing scared when they are throwing the ball all over the field and turning it over. They aren't throwing the ball deep because they aren't getting pass blocking and because the defense is playing a lot of two deep. Teams are doing to the Bills just what the Bills did to other teams the past couple seasons. Making Edwards execute long drives down the field and rolling coverage so that the most open man is often a scrub like Robert Royal.....whom they don't fear. I mean teams aren't respecting the run because they know the Bills aren't committed to it and instead are playing games in coverage and getting Edwards to throw into disguised coverages.....it's chaos and it's got to stop if they want to get out of this losing streak.

[Dan]

I don't know how much more basic we can get. We play a virtual prevent defense all game long with no semblance of a pass rush and DB's playing 20 yards off receivers who are so wide open the Bills players aren't even in the picture when they catch the ball. On offense we throw 5 yard passes all game and don't even try and get Evans deep. At least TRY to loosen up the coverage. We run into 8 man fronts, and we throw when they have 3 man fronts and 8 guys in coverage underneath, which are both basically asking for failure. Noone respects our run game or our deep passing game because in the case of the run game, we abandon it before it can even have a chance of getting going, and the deep passing game because we never try a pass more than 10 yards all game. Then we wonder why teams are sitting there with 8 guys underneath flooding the zones with defenders and why noone is open.

 

What makes it even worse is that Fewell has watched 4 out of the last 5 teams prevent us from doing anything offensively by taking away the short passes, but yet he refuses or is incapable of coming up with the same game plan that teams are using against our offense. What makes it worse is that for the most part we are pretty good at stopping the run this year---teams are not really gashing us very often. Somehow when Fewell sees team after team with lesser DB talent than we have press our receivers and play tight coverage daring us to go deep and preventing our short passing game from getting going, the light never comes on that perhaps he should try the same thing. He just lets the DBs keep playing 20 yards off the ball and allowing opposing WRs to catch the ball with noone around and easily get first downs. I mean after 4 games of watching this not work, I would think it should be pretty clear this is not too effective and he should try something else....

What he said.

[BillsVet]

I do think that Miami and the Jets have better lines than Buffalo. No question really. But I do agree with you in the regard that their coaches are making better use of their personnel. Last year, the Bills made better use of their personnel by reigning them in, this year the Fish and Jets are outcoaching the Bills coaches and they have better QB play than they've had last year. Heck, Miami is winning almost exclusively because they don't turn the ball over. The Bills need to get back to basics which would in turn make better use of their personnel.

 

Badol, getting back to basics is exactly what's needed. But we both know that sometimes players need to have a fire lit under them and it's clearly not happening. Certain players need more motivation than others, and I'm looking at an entire OL which plays with little, if any heart. When they look to their HC (especially the younger ones) I can't believe that fires them up.

 

If I'm a guy like Marshawn, and we're throwing the ball on 3rd and 1, I'm going to think the coach has no confidence in me or the OL. Same goes for the DB's when the defensive coaches have them playing off the WR in order to keep things in front of them.

 

Basics are important, but I'm watching gameplans which are helter-skelter. Run three times, pass three times, blitz every down, then don't blitz at all. Being less predictable might help with getting better at the basics.

[BADOLBILZ]

I don't know how much more basic we can get. We play a virtual prevent defense all game long with no semblance of a pass rush and DB's playing 20 yards off receivers who are so wide open the Bills players aren't even in the picture when they catch the ball. On offense we throw 5 yard passes all game and don't even try and get Evans deep. At least TRY to loosen up the coverage. We run into 8 man fronts, and we throw when they have 3 man fronts and 8 guys in coverage underneath, which are both basically asking for failure. Noone respects our run game or our deep passing game because in the case of the run game, we abandon it before it can even have a chance of getting going, and the deep passing game because we never try a pass more than 10 yards all game. Then we wonder why teams are sitting there with 8 guys underneath flooding the zones with defenders and why noone is open.

 

What makes it even worse is that Fewell has watched 4 out of the last 5 teams prevent us from doing anything offensively by taking away the short passes, but yet he refuses or is incapable of coming up with the same game plan that teams are using against our offense. What makes it worse is that for the most part we are pretty good at stopping the run this year---teams are not really gashing us very often. Somehow when Fewell sees team after team with lesser DB talent than we have press our receivers and play tight coverage daring us to go deep and preventing our short passing game from getting going, the light never comes on that perhaps he should try the same thing. He just lets the DBs keep playing 20 yards off the ball and allowing opposing WRs to catch the ball with noone around and easily get first downs. I mean after 4 games of watching this not work, I would think it should be pretty clear this is not too effective and he should try something else....

 

You are dead wrong about the defensive personnel. They have no pass rushers. None. You can list all the players you think are great on that defense, but for all the vets they have, who among them has ever gotten to the QB regularly? Kelsey/Denney/Stroud/Williams...they haven't sniffed a 10 sack season in their CAREERS. Every time the Bills blitz or stunt it gets picked up because they don't have players suitable for an attacking scheme and they can't afford to give up the big play because the offense is in the sh*tter big time and turning the ball over in Bills territory or for points. And this just in, teams are kind of "on" to the Mitchell blitz up the middle. The Pats stoned it twice today. I'm not happy about it, but if you can't get to the other teams QB you can't press their receivers like we want to see. The object of defense is still to keep points off the board and that hasn't really been the issue the past couple weeks. I don't like watching them get picked apart and give up third down conversions, but get used to it until they upgrade the pass rush.

[Big Turk]

You are dead wrong about the defensive personnel. They have no pass rushers. None. You can list all the players you think are great on that defense, but for all the vets they have, who among them has ever gotten to the QB regularly? Kelsey/Denney/Stroud/Williams...they haven't sniffed a 10 sack season in their CAREERS. Every time the Bills blitz or stunt it gets picked up because they don't have players suitable for an attacking scheme and they can't afford to give up the big play because the offense is in the sh*tter big time and turning the ball over in Bills territory or for points. And this just in, teams are kind of "on" to the Mitchell blitz up the middle. The Pats stoned it twice today. I'm not happy about it, but if you can't get to the other teams QB you can't press their receivers like we want to see. The object of defense is still to keep points off the board and that hasn't really been the issue the past couple weeks. I don't like watching them get picked apart and give up third down conversions, but get used to it until they upgrade the pass rush.

 

would be nice to see some imagination like CB or safety blitzes

[BADOLBILZ]

Badol, getting back to basics is exactly what's needed. But we both know that sometimes players need to have a fire lit under them and it's clearly not happening. Certain players need more motivation than others, and I'm looking at an entire OL which plays with little, if any heart. When they look to their HC (especially the younger ones) I can't believe that fires them up.

 

If I'm a guy like Marshawn, and we're throwing the ball on 3rd and 1, I'm going to think the coach has no confidence in me or the OL. Same goes for the DB's when the defensive coaches have them playing off the WR in order to keep things in front of them.

 

Basics are important, but I'm watching gameplans which are helter-skelter. Run three times, pass three times, blitz every down, then don't blitz at all. Being less predictable might help with getting better at the basics.

 

 

Yeah, it's helter-skelter. Chaos. It's become the Mike Mularkey offense. That's the exact feeling I got sitting in the stands versus the Jets. They needed to hit the brakes on that sh*t PRIOR to this game in NE, but they did not. It's like they are coming in with no gameplan and just calling plays. When Jauron came in with Fairchild in 2006, they changed that offense. They developed an identity as a team that would just keep running it even if it wasn't that great, and then when you least expect it hit an open receiver for a big play or make you beat yourself with a turnover. It's not going to win you a Super Bowl, but if you can't beat a defense with a multiple attack, it's a good option.

[dave mcbride]

Sure....the talent isn't there, but it is with Miami?? With the Jets starting a 40 year old has been?? With the Pats playing with a backup QB who hasn't started a game since high school before his year and a 5th string RB? Lets stop saying we don't have the talent. Last year, we clearly didn't. This year, we clearly do, and it is being mismanaged perhaps worse than any other team in the NFL.

 

I mean are we actually going to sit here and say that Miami has a great team?? They have maybe 2 or 3 players on that entire team. But they win because they aren't afraid to lose and their coaches don't put their players in no-win situations, and get the most out of them. The same way we won last year....maybe the coaches should realize that having faith in your players does a lot for your team....

I'm not really getting the Brett-Favre-is-a-has-been meme. To my eyes, he was one of the top three QBs in the league last year. Plus this year he looks pretty much like he's always looked - an elite QB who tosses a few picks.