A Few Thoughts About The Game

[Heels20X6]

What? No pithy comeback about JP Losman when someone talks about Edwards anymore? No, please remain on your high horse about how Edwards is so great and Bill Walsh recommended him. Also, reference his record (as if it's all his doing for the reason the Bills won). Keep your blinders, on, please. Continue to note his "poise", and other unquantifiable things as to the reason why he's a great quarterback and better than Jay Cutler.

 

 

I recall many who harped on this stupid point. As if Trent Edwards is better than Jay Cutler.

 

Cutler has one thing Trent will NEVER have. Guts.

 

Jay throws a pick and he shakes it off and starts slinging again. Trent throws a pick, runs to the sideline, pops in My Chemical Romance on his iPod and has a good cry.

 

Cutler is play and demeanor reminds me more of Jim Kelly than any QB in the league.

[tennesseeboy]

I have maintained that our very bad offensive line was all that was keeping us from the playoffs. I'm not interested in Wood and Levitre, who have been pretty good considering that they are rookies but the unit itself. There is a reason takeles are paid so much, particularly left tackles.

 

I have to reassess the situation and concede like Bill in NYC that my initial assessment of TE might be over rated and he may not be a playoff quarterback. I'll watch him the next few weeks.

 

I am convinced that DJ is not a good coach. I said as much when he was hired. Good coaches win and over time have a goodly number of playoff appearances.

 

Our personnel decisions are miserable and it is showing on the field. We could beat a team to beat the Bills out of players we have let go from the bills in the last few years.

[Golden Wheels]

I'm gonna get slapped for repeating myself........

 

1. Football games are won and lost in the trenches. When your team can't block pass rushers on offense or stop the run on defense, it makes no sense to make your major offseason investment in a 36-year-old wide receiver.

 

Even if he is one of the best in the league, he's useless as breasts on a boar if your QB spends most of the day getting sacked or throwing INTs in a panic. Or your defense if giving up tons of yards and points to a high school formation offense. Yes, the Bills drafted some linemen, but where is the talented, veteran experience?

 

2. The head coach and the QB are the brains of the team. They should be running the show with logic, intelligence, and a red-hot desire to win. Jauron should have been jettisoned last year for his horrible, namby pamby, play-it-safe, wretched clock managment, game-day decisions.

 

Edwards looks like he has no confidence what-so-ever, and every defense in the league knows he is Captain Checkdown. This is a horrible combination. Cut off the head, and the body will die. That's what it happening to this team.

 

3. Every team has injured players. Only losing teams constructed with little depth use it as an excuse.

 

4. Never argue with Simon.

[MattyT]

3. Every team has injured players. Only losing teams constructed with little depth use it as an excuse.

I love this statement and hate it at the same time. Love it because it's absolutely true and hate it because it was the excuse I was currently using to make myself feel better about this loss.

[stuckincincy]

We could beat a team to beat the Bills out of players we have let go from the bills in the last few years.

 

That's perfectly clear.

 

 

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

Bill- I agree with most of your points about yesterday's game, but how do you rip Jonathon Scott for his play and give Chambers a free pass? Scott wasn't great yesterday by any means, but Kirk Chambers played one of the worst games I have ever witnessed by an offensive tackle, on the Bills or otherwise. Can somebody tell me who exactly Cameron Wake is and how the hell he got 3 sacks yesterday? Not to mention constant pressure when he wasn't finishing the deal and bringing Trent down? Chambers should be ashamed of himself for the way he played yesterday. Scott wasn't good at left tackle, but was going against better pass rushers on that side at a more difficult position to play. Chambers should be cut after that performance at RT. JMO.

[MattyT]

Bill- I agree with most of your points about yesterday's game, but how do you rip Jonathon Scott for his play and give Chambers a free pass? Scott wasn't great yesterday by any means, but Kirk Chambers played one of the worst games I have ever witnessed by an offensive tackle, on the Bills or otherwise. Can somebody tell me who exactly Cameron Wake is and how the hell he got 3 sacks yesterday? Not to mention constant pressure when he wasn't finishing the deal and bringing Trent down? Chambers should be ashamed of himself for the way he played yesterday. Scott wasn't good at left tackle, but was going against better pass rushers on that side at a more difficult position to play. Chambers should be cut after that performance at RT. JMO.

Another thing that kills me is that they just stick with these guys throughout the game! Same thing last week when Hangartner was skipping all his snaps off the turf. I know we're thin at these positions, but how bad are things when the coaching staff is willing to just watch a guy get blown up play-after-play without doing something...ANYTHING... to remove the problem?

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

Another thing that kills me is that they just stick with these guys throughout the game! Same thing last week when Hangartner was skipping all his snaps off the turf. I know we're thin at these positions, but how bad are things when the coaching staff is willing to just watch a guy get blown up play-after-play without doing something...ANYTHING... to remove the problem?

 

You're exactly right. Same thing I was thinking during the game when Wake was continually beating Chambers play after play after play. Removing him would have been one thing, but how about at least putting a tight end or running back on his side for extra help in protection?!?!? Is that such a novel idea? Obviously it is for Jauron and Co., because he didn't even take that measure. Much less pulling Chambers' sorry ass out of the ball game.

[lets_go_bills]

1) Jauron looked like a psych patient on the sidelines to the point that he was making me nervous. Seriously, Ralph might be doing him a favor to fire him.

 

2) This team isn't just bad.....it is weak. Watch highlight films of other teams and you will notice that they have NFL football players who are actually strong.

 

3) Jonathan Scott, huh? Terrance Pennington was a much better player and that is just so sad, if not a tad amusing. I only noticed a couple of plays on which he didn't get beat.

 

4) Folks, when you use your first picks in a draft on players such as Whitner, McKelvin, Parrish, etc., your team is going to suck UNLESS a foundation is in place. In 2004, we took Lee Evans and JP Losman in round 1, with no blocking mind you. Vern Carey and Vince Wilfork were there.

 

5) I officially categorize Lee Evans as a "compiler of statistics." On paper, he doesn't look so bad. However, reality tells us that he gets open once in a while and makes a play. He can run that ticket selling deep pattern every now and then and catch a touchdown, or look good on an out, but he is an offensive version of Donte Whitner, a wasted pick.

 

6) LOL....I think that TO is overwhelmed. He sounded like an average joe in his press conference. He had a positive outlook and was making sense.

 

7) Serious question, OK? I am an old man who attends a community college. Jauron, although older than me, is a Yale grad. Why am I able to figure out that Chambers should be playing LT instead of RT, while this absolute fact is lost on him? Make no mistake, Chambers was horrible at RT. Last year, he sucked at Guard. The only decent games he ever had were at LT where he used his agility. I just don't understand. Jauron wouldn't know how to do my job, Yale degree or not, yet posters like us can point at his dumb moves and philosophy and actually be correct. I can't grasp this; help would be appreciated.

 

8) Here is what I'm gonna do.....starting Sunday, I'm going to take a closer, more objective look at Trent. I have never hid the fact that I like the kid, nor will I now. But, I saw a couple of things that really did concern me today. I will go into more detail during the week. Anybody who reads my posts, especially the "old crew," knows that I was not a fan of drafting Losman, or of Losman as a quarterback. Maybe I gave Trent too much room based on this. That said, as a Bills fan, I am going to re-evaluate my assessment of Edwards starting now. Fair enough?

 

9) When Simon tells you that Schobel is a player, listen to him, OK? I learned many years ago that when you argue with Simon about the Bills, you are more than likely to be wrong. Even Kelsay had a great play vs. Carey. Funny, but the best players on the field today were TD guys. Go figure.

 

10) People, concentrate on the good things in your life. It will help you get over disasters like this. There are no fans like us. I am convinced of this. Although I live each day knowing that "some day" we will be champions, it occured to me that as fans, and loyal people, we already are.

 

11) See ya Sunday at RWS!

 

12) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Amen brother. Good post.

[Lofton80]

I imagine Jon Runyon must have been pretty unimpressive in his workouts if Jonathon Scott or Chambers is deemed to be better. My hunch is that it is yet another money saving move. By the fourth quarter yesterday, I would have put Wood or Levitre at tackle to salvage the 4th quarter rather than let Miami continue to pummel the QB.

 

If the coach identified that the line is banged up, why not try to be innovative to work around it. Perhaps using a fb to pummel the undersized rusher coming off the edge. Seems to work against our rushers. Some teams like NE and Pittsburgh use an extra lineman at TE at some points. Maybe some TE help on the blocking rather than leave two weak tackles on their own to get beat repeatedly. Jauron sticks to his strategies no matter what.

 

As for the defense, it has not looked the same since NO got to them in the 4th quarter. I wonder if fatigue is setting in. The heat yesterday with no break given by our three and out offense cannot help. How is a defense that went toe to toe with the offenses of NE and NO so helpless against Miami and their second string QB?

[The Senator]

7) Serious question, OK? I am an old man who attends a community college. Jauron, although older than me, is a Yale grad. Why am I able to figure out that Chambers should be playing LT instead of RT, while this absolute fact is lost on him? Make no mistake, Chambers was horrible at RT. Last year, he sucked at Guard. The only decent games he ever had were at LT where he used his agility. I just don't understand. Jauron wouldn't know how to do my job, Yale degree or not, yet posters like us can point at his dumb moves and philosophy and actually be correct. I can't grasp this; help would be appreciated.

This puzzles me as well, Bill, and I'm now wondering how many other complete idiots - in addition to Bush & Jauron - has Yale turned out between '68 & '73?

 

 

 

(Non locus ornat hominem, sed homo locum. )

[rastabillz]

The Trent Edwards era is coming to an end. By next season we will have a new coach and I would expect a new coach is going to want his own guy in there. As for me I have given up hope that Trent is the anwser for us. He may be marginally better than JP but he has the smell of career back up to me.

[starrymessenger]

I'm not gonna blame Evans for a thing, b/c he has shown us nothing but positives when thrown the ball, and has been a + in run-blocking since he's been here. I'd love to see TE throw him the ball 5+ times a game, but it just isn't happening.

 

As for #10, I agree whole-heartedly- for all our problems, I'm glad I'm a part of the Buffalo Bills community.... I just hope that one day we finally see a championship... I'm only 25 but I still pray that we get one before I go! And God knwos that's not a guarantee....

 

 

Based on ability, Lee is absolutely one of the best wideouts in the game. In the best case, he is capable of having a Marvin Harrison type of career. Problem is that he does not have Peyton Manning throwing him the ball. The fact that he (and TO) look average is the most telling indictment of this offence (and the same goes for Fred and Marshawn).

[Golden Wheels]

I love this statement and hate it at the same time. Love it because it's absolutely true and hate it because it was the excuse I was currently using to make myself feel better about this loss.

 

This is from Peter King's column today:

 

Reese, the Giants' GM, made two good decisions in the offseason. He fortified the defensive line beyond what seemed to be smart, going seven strong players deep. "So early in camp, when we lost [defensive tackle] Jay Alford, who was going to have a breakout year, we didn't panic,'' Tuck said. "And we've been without some of our best players -- [safety] Kenny Phillips, [cornerback] Aaron Ross, [defensive lineman] Chris Canty -- and today was [corner] Kevin Dockery's first game. When we get most of our guys back, we're going to be really good.''

 

But that's the thing -- in the NFL, you never have a full complement of players. Or very rarely. That's why Reese built, in my opinion, the best 53-man roster in the league, and Tom Coughlin has no fear in playing young players to develop them.

 

On offense, Reese eschewed dealing for a veteran receiver like Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards, knowing that dealing for either would not only have cost a high draft choice, but also about $10 million a year.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...ek.4/index.html

 

The Giants are one of the best teams in football because they get how important it is to invest in building depth on the line, rather than on a flashy wide receiver. They weren't derailed by injuries to key players.

[BillsVet]

This is from Peter King's column today:

 

 

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...ek.4/index.html

 

The Giants are one of the best teams in football because they get how important it is to invest in building depth on the line, rather than on a flashy wide receiver. They weren't derailed by injuries to key players.

 

The smart fans have been hollering from the woods that guys like Jerry Reese know that depth at certain positions is key. He chose to build depth (you can't have it at every position) at OL and DL. DJ, who is tasked with building this team because Russ Brandon knows nothing about NFL personnel, chose to build it in the secondary.

 

Jerry Reese is one of the finest GM's in the league. And he's got the Mara/Tisch Families backing him up. Their management wants to win and devotes the resources to do it. They're a big market, but Indy and Pittsburgh are doing it as well with less.

 

Injuries when you've never pursued depth is not an excuse. But you can bet your bottom dollar they will say youth and injuries are the cause for failure. We're in denial if we believe that.

[PDaDdy]

5) I officially categorize Lee Evans as a "compiler of statistics." On paper, he doesn't look so bad. However, reality tells us that he gets open once in a while and makes a play. He can run that ticket selling deep pattern every now and then and catch a touchdown, or look good on an out, but he is an offensive version of Donte Whitner, a wasted pick.

 

Really not sure what to make of that statistic. All good WR compile statistics. Am I missing something hear? Are you really trying to say that Lee Evans isn't that good because all he does is make catches and rack up yards? Seriously?

 

8) Here is what I'm gonna do.....starting Sunday, I'm going to take a closer, more objective look at Trent. I have never hid the fact that I like the kid, nor will I now. But, I saw a couple of things that really did concern me today. I will go into more detail during the week. Anybody who reads my posts, especially the "old crew," knows that I was not a fan of drafting Losman, or of Losman as a quarterback. Maybe I gave Trent too much room based on this. That said, as a Bills fan, I am going to re-evaluate my assessment of Edwards starting now. Fair enough?

 

I don't mean to be a jerk but are you just starting to "RE-EVALUATE" your assessment today? WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? Assessing the play at any position should be a WEEKLY occurrence. It is NEVER a good idea to blindly support anyone or anything without question for any length of time. Doing so in the face of the poor performances demonstrated over the last two seasons is folly!!!

[John Adams]

Really not sure what to make of that statistic. All good WR compile statistics. Am I missing something hear? Are you really trying to say that Lee Evans isn't that good because all he does is make catches and rack up yards? Seriously?

 

I'll say it too. A good WR--even on a ****ty team like the Bills--makes the 3rd down conversion. Who does that on the Bills? Evans? No. Reed. Who blocks downfield? Evans? No. Reed.

 

Evans with Losman was good for catching 1 out of 6 of Losman's desperation heaves and thus made a good highlight reel. Besides that, his catches are often garbage time catches--I don't recall many games where he had a bunch of clutch performances. He's a good #2. That's it.

[Mr. WEO]

no way Levy comes back into this mess. not a chance, why do you think he walked away in the 1st place?

 

and i disagree on jauron too. he's shown me hes a scapegoat artist who deftly has others take the blame for his short comings. he may not know what hes doing as a coach but he does as a politician and he knows he pulled a fast one on wilson and the fans with that extension. the guy had no remaining options in this league at the end of last season yet he got a $3MM/yr, 3 yr deal from a notoriously cheap team. if thats not a cagey politician what is?

Levy lost 4 straight SBs with teams that had 3 HOFers and 30 Pro Bowl appearances on the rosters. What could he possibly do for this team??

 

No more Levy. Please.

[BB2004]

1) Jauron looked like a psych patient on the sidelines to the point that he was making me nervous. Seriously, Ralph might be doing him a favor to fire him.

 

2) This team isn't just bad.....it is weak. Watch highlight films of other teams and you will notice that they have NFL football players who are actually strong.

 

3) Jonathan Scott, huh? Terrance Pennington was a much better player and that is just so sad, if not a tad amusing. I only noticed a couple of plays on which he didn't get beat.

 

4) Folks, when you use your first picks in a draft on players such as Whitner, McKelvin, Parrish, etc., your team is going to suck UNLESS a foundation is in place. In 2004, we took Lee Evans and JP Losman in round 1, with no blocking mind you. Vern Carey and Vince Wilfork were there.

 

5) I officially categorize Lee Evans as a "compiler of statistics." On paper, he doesn't look so bad. However, reality tells us that he gets open once in a while and makes a play. He can run that ticket selling deep pattern every now and then and catch a touchdown, or look good on an out, but he is an offensive version of Donte Whitner, a wasted pick.

 

6) LOL....I think that TO is overwhelmed. He sounded like an average joe in his press conference. He had a positive outlook and was making sense.

 

7) Serious question, OK? I am an old man who attends a community college. Jauron, although older than me, is a Yale grad. Why am I able to figure out that Chambers should be playing LT instead of RT, while this absolute fact is lost on him? Make no mistake, Chambers was horrible at RT. Last year, he sucked at Guard. The only decent games he ever had were at LT where he used his agility. I just don't understand. Jauron wouldn't know how to do my job, Yale degree or not, yet posters like us can point at his dumb moves and philosophy and actually be correct. I can't grasp this; help would be appreciated.

 

8) Here is what I'm gonna do.....starting Sunday, I'm going to take a closer, more objective look at Trent. I have never hid the fact that I like the kid, nor will I now. But, I saw a couple of things that really did concern me today. I will go into more detail during the week. Anybody who reads my posts, especially the "old crew," knows that I was not a fan of drafting Losman, or of Losman as a quarterback. Maybe I gave Trent too much room based on this. That said, as a Bills fan, I am going to re-evaluate my assessment of Edwards starting now. Fair enough?

 

9) When Simon tells you that Schobel is a player, listen to him, OK? I learned many years ago that when you argue with Simon about the Bills, you are more than likely to be wrong. Even Kelsay had a great play vs. Carey. Funny, but the best players on the field today were TD guys. Go figure.

 

10) People, concentrate on the good things in your life. It will help you get over disasters like this. There are no fans like us. I am convinced of this. Although I live each day knowing that "some day" we will be champions, it occured to me that as fans, and loyal people, we already are.

 

11) See ya Sunday at RWS!

 

12) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Bill I wasn't sure you were going to post yesterday because I didn't see it but keep it coming each week. The comment about Lee Evans suprised me a little. Do you really think he is not getting separation from the corner playing him or is it the fact that teams are double teaming him?

[reddogblitz]

I don't recall many games where he had a bunch of clutch performances. He's a good #2. That's it.

 

Did you see the one where he caught it on his helmet for a TD in a winning effort last year? Lee's OK. He just needs a real QB to throw him the football.