Winners want the ball .

[JinWPB]

Here is my seasonal rant.

 

This coaching staff has had it's three years to get it done. Results .... another losing season. As Bill's fans,can we look back over the last three seasons and say"Well, at least they are learning from their mistake"? I don't think so.

Is todays team three years worth of rebuilding better than Mularkeys 04 9-7 team or his 05 5-11 team?

How about our O-line and running game ?

04 Willis..........1128 yrds 13TD

05 Willis...........1250 yrds 5TD

07 Marshawn....1115 yrds 7TD

08 Marshawn......875 yrds 7TD

Tell me whether our passing game today looks any better than when Kelly Holcombe was doing the dink and dunk or Drew was doing the bombs away?

Does our defense look dominating ?

The only consistantly good product on the field is Specials Teams.

As the Bills struggle through a decade of mediocrity other teams around the league go from worst to first in a single season. What is the secret? Good coaching and better player evaluation.

What the problem here? Same as any failing business, we don't hire people with a proven track record. Would you want a brain surgeon because he's interviews well and the nurses liked him even though half his patients died. Would you keep a financial advisor if your investments always lost money.

Question;Why would a coach defer on the opening kick off with one off the better return teams in the league? Answer; He is playing not to lose, not, playing to win the game. He expects to fall behind and wants that extra possession to make a comeback. What message does that send to your players?

 

I'm all for giving a second chance if things seems to be moving forward. They are not. So we are still in rebuilding mode.

 

Maybe its time for a coach that wants the ball.

[Erik]

Here is my seasonal rant.

 

This coaching staff has had it's three years to get it done. Results .... another losing season. As Bill's fans,can we look back over the last three seasons and say"Well, at least they are learning from their mistake"? I don't think so.

Is todays team three years worth of rebuilding better than Mularkeys 04 9-7 team or his 05 5-11 team?

How about our O-line and running game ?

04 Willis..........1128 yrds 13TD

05 Willis...........1250 yrds 5TD

07 Marshawn....1115 yrds 7TD

08 Marshawn......875 yrds 7TD

Tell me whether our passing game today looks any better than when Kelly Holcombe was doing the dink and dunk or Drew was doing the bombs away?

Does our defense look dominating ?

The only consistantly good product on the field is Specials Teams.

As the Bills struggle through a decade of mediocrity other teams around the league go from worst to first in a single season. What is the secret? Good coaching and better player evaluation.

What the problem here? Same as any failing business, we don't hire people with a proven track record. Would you want a brain surgeon because he's interviews well and the nurses liked him even though half his patients died. Would you keep a financial advisor if your investments always lost money.

Question;Why would a coach defer on the opening kick off with one off the better return teams in the league? Answer; He is playing not to lose, not, playing to win the game. He expects to fall behind and wants that extra possession to make a comeback. What message does that send to your players?

 

I'm all for giving a second chance if things seems to be moving forward. They are not. So we are still in rebuilding mode.

 

Maybe its time for a coach that wants the ball.

 

We've already discussed this, get over it. Belichick has deferred all but one time this year. But yeah, I guess he is a loser because he doesn't want the ball.

[JinWPB]

We've already discussed this, get over it. Belichick has deferred all but one time this year. But yeah, I guess he is a loser because he doesn't want the ball.

 

 

Maybe you're on the wrong board????

 

Lets not compare the Pats* with the Bills defense at stopping opening drives.

 

I talking about a lackluster defeatest attitude that seems to have infected this team coaching staff from the top down.

Get on your heals, play soft and don't get beat too badly, maybe we'll get lucky and the other team will give us a win.

A team with the biggest O-line there is that can't get 1 yd when they need it, a defense that can have 3rd and 30 and let teams convert time after time. Look at who we have beaten this year, not one good team.We are not moving forward.

[Thoner7]

Coaches want to put their best team out their first. Thats our D. Deferring is essentailly the same as picking to kick, because the other team must pick recieve or they wont get the ball either half (although they would be able pick which side of the field they want, ala the Lions under marriuci in the OT blunder vrs the Bears). Picking to defer is the last thing anyone should worry about, I for one am much more worried about the other 59:57 of football.

[silvermike]

I'd defer every time. It's great to go into the second half knowing you have an extra possession in your pocket. And I'd rather start the game with a defensive stop than a 3-and-out punt.

[Casmolopitis]

"Winners want the ball" That is so Gene Hackman from the The Replacements movie.

 

The Bills players, coaches, management has to do a better job, Period. Everybody needs to do better.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Anyone who plays Madden knows you always defer.

[Fewell733]

Anyone who plays Madden knows you always defer.

 

see as much as I know I should defer, I always take the ball when i get the chance. I like being able to be ahead from the start and dictate the tempo of the game.

[bflobarry]

I'd defer every time. It's great to go into the second half knowing you have an extra possession in your pocket. And I'd rather start the game with a defensive stop than a 3-and-out punt.

One more time: The team that scores first has a statistically significant advantage in winning. IF you feel your defense can get a 3 and out, or even has a reasonable chance to stop the other team, defering is reasonable. When you have our defense, defering is a losing strategy. I.E.: San Fran was ripe to get beat: west coast team flying east, poor record, nothing to play for. We had a chance to put 'em down early, get our crowd into the game, make it tough for 'em. Instead, we GIVE them the ball, they march it down our throats, gain enthusiasm, and never trailed in the game. So do we learn from that? No. We did it again against the Fins. Only this time, it took 2 possesions, as we held 'em, then they held us, got field position, and scored. Defering is not a no-brainer when your defense routinely gives up early scores, as ours frequently does. Having an "extra" possesion in the second half is less helpful than scoring early and gaining momentum, in my opinion.

[Adam]

One more time: The team that scores first has a statistically significant advantage in winning. IF you feel your defense can get a 3 and out, or even has a reasonable chance to stop the other team, defering is reasonable. When you have our defense, defering is a losing strategy. I.E.: San Fran was ripe to get beat: west coast team flying east, poor record, nothing to play for. We had a chance to put 'em down early, get our crowd into the game, make it tough for 'em. Instead, we GIVE them the ball, they march it down our throats, gain enthusiasm, and never trailed in the game. So do we learn from that? No. We did it again against the Fins. Only this time, it took 2 possesions, as we held 'em, then they held us, got field position, and scored. Defering is not a no-brainer when your defense routinely gives up early scores, as ours frequently does. Having an "extra" possesion in the second half is less helpful than scoring early and gaining momentum, in my opinion.

Having a good team is the right way to go, IMHO

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

see as much as I know I should defer, I always take the ball when i get the chance. I like being able to be ahead from the start and dictate the tempo of the game.

 

I can see that.

 

I like to defer because if you can get a late score before halftime and then take the second-half kick and score, it can put a lot of games away.

[eliteqb]

Jauron is probably looking for a way to defer at the beginning of the game and also at the start of the 3rd quarter. That way he can keep the offense off the field that much longer and not destroy his running back....

[Adam]

Jauron is probably looking for a way to defer at the beginning of the game and also at the start of the 3rd quarter. That way he can keep the offense off the field that much longer and not destroy his running back....

I'm sure

[Brandon]

see as much as I know I should defer, I always take the ball when i get the chance. I like being able to be ahead from the start and dictate the tempo of the game.

 

All else being equal, I agree.

 

Then again, when the Bills have the ball, their best play is to punt, so their case is probably an exception.

[BADOLBILZ]

One more time: The team that scores first has a statistically significant advantage in winning. IF you feel your defense can get a 3 and out, or even has a reasonable chance to stop the other team, defering is reasonable. When you have our defense, defering is a losing strategy. I.E.: San Fran was ripe to get beat: west coast team flying east, poor record, nothing to play for. We had a chance to put 'em down early, get our crowd into the game, make it tough for 'em. Instead, we GIVE them the ball, they march it down our throats, gain enthusiasm, and never trailed in the game. So do we learn from that? No. We did it again against the Fins. Only this time, it took 2 possesions, as we held 'em, then they held us, got field position, and scored. Defering is not a no-brainer when your defense routinely gives up early scores, as ours frequently does. Having an "extra" possesion in the second half is less helpful than scoring early and gaining momentum, in my opinion.

 

I'd like to see proof that getting the ball first increases your chance of scoring first.

 

Until this season, winning the coin flip meant you virtually HAD to take the ball, because deferring meant you would give the opponent the first posession in each half. A coin flip over time is a 50/50 proposition. So, over time, the better team only gets the ball 50% of the time.

 

So while scoring first means you win the game over 60% of the time, what that really means is that the better team scores first over 60% of the time. The better team only gets the ball first half of the time. So getting the ball first is not a factor.

 

Most teams defer for one obvious reason. They don't want to get scored on in both the last posession of the first half and first posession of the second half AND they want to potentially score themselves if they get a double posession. Double posessions have the real potential to blow games open, just like a turnover. Teams who finish with a +1 turnover margin win more than 75% of the time.

[ChasBB]

Question;Why would a coach defer on the opening kick off with one off the better return teams in the league? Answer; He is playing not to lose, not, playing to win the game. He expects to fall behind and wants that extra possession to make a comeback. What message does that send to your players?

I agree.

 

However, I don't know what you mean ay an "extra possession"? There is no extra possession. The only possession that is guaranteed by kicking off in the 1st half is getting the ball first in the 2nd half, but I wouldn't refer to it as an "extra" possession.

 

In any event, it makes no sense to defer unless you've got the Steel Curtain defense out there or unless your defense it putting up more points than your offense. If that's not the case, then it is just plain stupid to defer. You are right -- it is not playing to win -- to pin the opponents backs to the wall early. It is playing with the expectation of failure. What a $%#&% loser Jauron is. The players can back him all they want, but it won't change the fans' opinion until they win football games.

 

Great point you make about the kick return game -- if you've got a weapon like that you use it and you use it EARLY. With any luck, they won't be kicking the ball much during the game, so let your kick returner get one to start the game.

[PromoTheRobot]

I totally disagree. How many times are the Bills behind in a game, let the other team score at the end of the half, only to have the team get the ball again? You want the ball to start the 2nd half always. Remember SB 25? Remember how long it was before the Bills got the ball from the 2Q to the 3Q? Let you D set the pace early and defer.

 

PTR

[BADOLBILZ]

I agree.

 

However, I don't know what you mean ay an "extra possession"? There is no extra possession. The only possession that is guaranteed by kicking off in the 1st half is getting the ball first in the 2nd half, but I wouldn't refer to it as an "extra" possession.

 

In any event, it makes no sense to defer unless you've got the Steel Curtain defense out there or unless your defense it putting up more points than your offense. If that's not the case, then it is just plain stupid to defer. You are right -- it is not playing to win -- to pin the opponents backs to the wall early. It is playing with the expectation of failure. What a $%#&% loser Jauron is. The players can back him all they want, but it won't change the fans' opinion until they win football games.

 

Great point you make about the kick return game -- if you've got a weapon like that you use it and you use it EARLY. With any luck, they won't be kicking the ball much during the game, so let your kick returner get one to start the game.

 

Yeah, there is the potential for an extra posession. See Promo's post. Posession alternates EXCEPT from half to half where it is possible to have two consecutive posessions.

[Simon]

Yeah, there is the potential for an extra posession. See Promo's post. Posession alternates EXCEPT from half to half where it is possible to have two consecutive posessions.

God bless ya man, but you're trying to teach to a bunch of brick walls who have no idea what the hell they're talking about.

[BADOLBILZ]

I totally disagree. How many times are the Bills behind in a game, let the other team score at the end of the half, only to have the team get the ball again? You want the ball to start the 2nd half always. Remember SB 25? Remember how long it was before the Bills got the ball from the 2Q to the 3Q? Let you D set the pace early and defer.

 

PTR

 

Exactly. What gets me is that people don't understand that teams don't score on their first posession simply because they get the ball first. I mean, seriously, do people think the defense is giving up long scoring drives just because they didn't get to stand on the sidelines and watch their offense first? The reason the defense gets scored upon early is because opposing offensive coordinators routinely get the best of Perry Fewell early. He reacts in subsequent posessions. Making the opponent take the ball SECOND is not going to change this problem, it's just going to give them an additional opportunity to potentially get that double posession.