Coach55

How about Shaq at Tight End or Usain Bolt at Wide Receiver if we're going with hypotheticals.

The major difference is Leon Seals from a talent perspective was no where near the level of Bruce. Jackson brings a different skill set to the table. Jackson hits the holes faster and is a considerably better receiver out of the backfield. Lynch is more of a dancer and runs with more brute force. Strictly statistically speaking, Jackson puts up better numbers than Lynch. If you disregard their pedigree and age, arguably Jackson is a better back for the system. If given the opportunity, he will produce. Then you have a controversy.

Why people keep trying to run Lynch out of town is beyond me. He made a few mistakes. He is still a genuinely good player who is learning to deal with being an adult. People forget that Bruce Smith in his younger days was busted for a DUI and busted for possession of cocaine, not to mention was suspended. He grew up, just like Lynch will do. What he is not is Willis McGahee. He did not bad mouth the city, he did not skip out of training camp to train with his college buddies. He moved his whole family here and knows his plays. Deal with his growing pains, it will pay off.

What is going to happen when the Bills start the season 4-0 riding the coat tails of Fred Jackson's 500+ yds of total offense during Lynch's suspension. Does Lynch return as the starter?

Billy Joe Hobert?

If you take ex-Bills at TE's age - I think 4 - Kelly, Kemp, Lamonica and Flutie. I question, however, if Lamonica or Kemp would be able to play in the speed of the modern game. Ferguson couldn't win with the Juice, he definitely couldn't win now (needless to say, for the past 4 years of I was afraid if Losman became a full-time starter, he would be the 2nd coming of Joe - a .500 QB that shows glimpses of greatness and potential, but never gets you anywhere). Other than that you can throw out the whole lot of them...

If Buffalo wants to truly retain the Bills, they are going to need to take advantage of the Toronto Market. Niagara County is not a bad idea, but how about just moving the stadium to the Northtowns (N. Tonawanda? Grand Island?). It takes 40 minutes less of travel time for the fans from Toronto. Indifference from the fans from Rochester and inside the city limits. The only people it hurts are the people from the Southtowns and they can deal with it. Considering the people from the northtowns were dealing with it for the past 40 years. People who have dreams of putting the stadium on the Waterfront will have to deal with the same special interest problems that existed when Rich Stadium was built (Which was originally supposed to be on the Waterfront)...

The team doesn't need a new GM. They just need a competant coach. I would take a garbage can with a hat over Jauron.

I have been following this message board for years and historically have stayed quiet since I am more interested in others' opinions than giving my own. After decades of being a die-hard Bills fan and watching the team repeatedly fail, I need to let some steam off about the current state of affairs. I know I am going to aggravate a lot of people and people are not going to agree with me, but here goes. I am not addressing the defense or the special teams (this is due to time, not from lack of concern, plus I don’t think they are the primary problems) Some thoughts about the Bills (in no particular order and not complete) - 1. JP Losman - this guy should not be an NFL QB. Period. He can't make it to the 3rd man in his progressions. He is clearly indecisive. People say he is a good scrambler - yes he is quick, but the only reason he scrambles is when the line holds up for 4 seconds and he can't throw the ball. He is not a winner, he is overpaid and needs to be let go. 2. Dick Jauron - He is not a winner. He consistently makes poor decisions in team management, from the players that play to the plays that are called. Yes, he is a well-respected person with both the league and the team; however respect does not win football games. He is a coach who plays not to lose and doesn't play to win. Example - When its 4th and short, we should be jamming it down their throats every time (ok, I'm overgeneralizing). We have the biggest offensive line in football. Short yardage situations are an attitude. Whoever wants it more, gets it. We rarely get it, or even worse, we punt/kick the FG. 3. Turk - His play calling is atrocious. He should be building the offense to exploit the talents we have, not try to make us the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals. We should be putting the best 5 skill position players on the field for 90% of the downs and using specialists on the remaining 10%. Top five skill players (in order of talent): Evans, Jackson, Lynch, Parrish and Reed. With the talent they have, they should be throwing the ball 70% of the time on 1st down to set up 2nd and shorts - those are the plays where real damage can be done. Does not the team even practice Screen passes - never used properly, nor can they execute. Trim the playbook and let the players play. 4. Offensive Player Breakdown and how to use them - Evans - Should be thrown to 6-8 times per game - primarily as a deep threat. Minimum 2-3 times per game they should stretch the field. - Jackson - He is the best back on this team. He is faster to the hole and a way better receiver then Lynch. He should be styled similar to a Westbrook type, getting 10-15 carries and thrown to 5-7 times per game. - Lynch - Great Attitude, workhorse - however too much of a dancer and hands are suspect. He should still be getting 8-12 carries per game and utilized as an outlet/hot receiver, but not high in the progressions. - Parrish - Completely mismanaged player. They need to get him into open space - End arounds, Prison Break Screens, Quick Slants. If the get him the Ball w/in 5 yds of the LOS, he will make something happen. Further than that, he is too small and is overpowered by the bigger CBs. They need to get him the ball 8-10 times a game, ala Wes Welker. - Reed - He's your possession guy - use him for buttonhooks, find holes in the zone. Should be #2 in the progressions on basically every pass. (Ask me this 2 years ago and I would have said cut him - he has come a long way) - TEs - this team doesn't have a decent TE. They all suck. Royal can run patterns, but can't hold onto the ball. Shouman is serviceable. Given the talent level here, the offense should not have a TE in the game during their "normal" offense. - Hardy - Either he is completely misutilized or he just isn't pro-caliber. The guy is 6'5"!!! Have him do a 10 yd flag pattern and throw the ball high. If he can be covered by 5'10" corner, he should just not be playing. Quickly looking like a bust. - Steve Johnson - would like to see more of him. Has run sharp patterns and can create separation when given the opportunity. Should be #4 on the depth chart. - FBs - Waste of roster spot. 5. Trent Edwards - he is the big Question Mark - The first 1/4 of the season, he looked phenomenal. Went through his progressions with ease and showed great confidence in executing the offense. He brings all of the intangibles to the table - leadership, pocket presence, work ethic etc. What I am unsure about is whether his poor play was a result of the hit in Arizona (I think it is, thus it would be temporary) or if he is just a shotty player (which I don't think this is the case). If he is not permanently ruined by that hit, he should be a solid QB, otherwise we need to look elsewhere. He could be the first winner we have at QB since Flutie. 6. Offensive line – Outside of the fact that we need a center, the line is decent. People repeatedly blame the line for the lack of a running game or when Losman gets sacked (once for every 6.4 dropbacks compared to 1/17.2 for Edwards). The fact of the matter is, the line has held up for the most part on pass blocking this year. The run blocking has been suspect, but when you telegraph the run because Turk has crappy play-calling you are going to get blamed. The talent level on this line rivals the lines of the early 90’s, however until someone learns to call plays, they will be blamed for shotty play. 7. Outlook for next year - Jauron gone, Turk gone. Make Bobby April head coach. Bring in an OC who will run a stripped down playbook 30-40 plays and concentrate on execution. They don't need to be fancy. If you are going to bring in a new coach and a new system, you need to be able to make it work in weeks not years. I could rant longer, but I am out of time for now.

Interesting point of note - Kelly and Flutie, who are the 2 winningest Bills's QBs by % since 1970 received no votes....

The answers are as follows A - Jim Kelly in 1988, Bills went 12-4, lost in AFC Championship B - JP Losman in 2006, Bills went 7-9 C - Doug Flutie in 1999, Bills went 11-5 (Flutie was 10-5), Wade pulled Doug and the Bills lost the Wild Card (not Rob's fault, but I still believe if Flutie was in, it wouldn't have come down to the last play) D - Rob Johnson in 2000, Bills went 8-8 (Johnson was 4-7) E - Trent Edwards this year F - Joe Ferguson in 1980, Bills went 11-5, lost in Division playoffs G - Kelly Holcomb in 2005, Bills went 5-11 (Holcomb was 4-4) The point of this email was to show that stats don't matter when it comes to QB's. There has been a lot of chatter on the wall lately pushing for Losman to be back at QB. Although statistically good, he DOES NOT have the intangibles to be a winning QB in the NFL (maybe 9-7 with a soft schedule). The QB position is all about leadership and intangibles and not about physical ability, otherwise people like Todd Marinavich and Ryan Leaf would be superstars and people such as Tony Romo and Tom Brady would not be playing (had it not been for Drew Bledsoe, neither of them may have gotten the chance)... Give Trent some more time, he brings the intangibles to the table. People forget that this is only his sophomore year, he'll be an all-pro in due time.

There is an interesting point to this post. Check back at 6, the results may surprise you.

Win/Losses are intentionally omitted. They will be shown when the names are released.

If you know who these stats belong to, don't blow it for everyone else. I will release the names around 6pm tonight. Partial seasons are pro-rated.

Below is a link to a petition to give the Bills somewhat of a homefield advantage when they play the Dolphins in Toronto. http://www.petitiononline.com/bbfaced/petition.html