GaryPinC

Well, Some of my thoughts and I didn't even see the game. Because of last week, I think that Takeo Spikes truly loved playing for the Bills. Sure, most of these guys will always do the lip service and speak positively about their former team, but Takeo must have meant it because he did more. After the game he did the Buffalo Bills a huge favor and discussed how SF's defensive coordinator could tell what the Bills were going to run in any situation but also WHY they were doing that so that the defense could predict the Bills' playcall in any situation. SOUNDS LIKE DJ AND CO DID NOTHING TO CHANGE THE SITUATION. UTTERLY UNFORGIVEABLE. The Bills are simply a team in which the players (at least on offense) have lost faith in their system. Somewhere between predictability and spineless coaching they lost it. All the mistakes on the field today point to a bottom line: too many players are not focused and playing hungry. They're going through the motions. I live in Cleveland and see the same things from the Browns. I don't necessarily blame the talent level, I realize these guys are professionals and they should perform regardless but they're also human beings. I blame the coaches. Coaching changes all around. The thing that sucks about Ralph Wilson was that a few years ago he finally realized after all his meddling and tight control of the team he needed to turn it over to a good GM and let him bring in a championship. Unfortunately he took a look at the Steelers and decided that Donahoe was that man. And after that failed he went back to his old ways, even more so in that he refused to bring in a full blown GM. Now, how do you fix this situation without pissing off Brandon (having to give up some power)? Brandon's done a lot of good for this franchise, I don't think trying to be a GM is part of it. Ralph, you need to hire a good GM, but most importantly you need to radically change how you decide who's a good GM. Ditto with the coach.

This was taken from a Buffalo Evening News article: Three times Buffalo staked out prime real estate in the red zone and then sold it under cost. The Niners, it turns out, had Buffalo's schemes and tendencies down pat, knew them as well as the players they were defending. "I think it's preparation, preparation by [defensive coordinator] Greg Manusky," said Takeo Spikes, the former Bill who was in on nine tackles, forced a fumble and ran down Marshawn Lynch at the end of a 50-yard run to prevent a Buffalo touchdown. "We actually did two days of red zone work, somewhat on Thursday and then a true red zone day on Friday," Spikes said. "He can tell us what they're going to run, but a lot of people don't tell you why they'll run it versus certain stuff. And for him to be able to put us in that position, that's the reason why we're going to be effective in the red zone. We saw that. Certain calls you're going to be able to see certain stuff." This speaks volumes about our coaches and coaching strategy (at least on the offensive side of the ball). It clearly shows why we can't win against the better coaches in the league. I also think Jauron's handicapping Turk's playcalling as it seems our offense is still generally as bland and "safe" as it has always been since he got here.

my thoughts on the game 1. Trent Edwards has no confidence in most of his receivers and that's thrown off his confidence to throw the ball. Obviously he's in the mode of "Lee will be covered so I need to find one of these other guys" and he's not in a comfort zone with the other guys so his timing is off and he's dumping it down more often. One would hope he just needs time and more reps to find it again. 2. I think M. Lynch pussyfoots it too much at time. He's often trying to be too fine at the line before he slams it up in there. Once you are at second level you can try and make people miss, but he needs to hit the line hard ALL the time. He did a much better job of that in the second half, after Fred Jackson came in during the first half and showed him how to get it done. I think he will improve this in time. 3. The O-line is capable of run blocking, at least against the Browns. 4. Defensive secondary is really a problem right now, also definitely need better DE's. 5. The bills desperately need a center. Maybe Duke will continue to get better, he certainly improved after a lousy start but I'm not sure he's the man for the job. 6. I can write off of Buffalo's mistakes/crappy play to a team trying to grow up and find itself. This was a good game for that to take place. BUT, Jauron ruined the game by settling for a 47 yard field goal into the wind. Did anyone actually think odds were in favor of Lindell making that kick? Jauron had more than enough time to do a play action or some other safe throw. Edwards is a smart guy and seemed to find a better footing in the second half. Safe throw (play action) or throw it away. I'm sure he could have done that. At least get one more first down before handing it to Lindell. Jauron's mentality just can't be good for the team's psyche long term.

As for his rep - I think there are a lot of hard feelings in Cleveland. A broken leg cost Winslow 14 games in his rookie year (04) the motorcycle accident cost him all of 2005, and he finally puts together a couple good years and he starts chirping about renegotiating his contract - forgetting that he got $11.6M over his first two years while playing just two games. Now he runs to the media after the team asked him not to do so. I can understand why they are getting tired of his act. I think this quote by BMwolf21 says pretty much everything. I'm a Bills fan here in Cleveland and I agree with those here that the Bills should stay away from Winslow. He plays great in most games but is definitely a "me first" kind of guy. Rumor is that he contracted the Staph infection in/on his male anatomy, if that was actually true it might also explain why the Browns didn't disclose it. The whole rant against Phil Savage was completely a head-scratching unprofessional move. If memory serves he got drafted, hired the Poston Bros. to represent him and wanted a big $$ contract, above the position he was drafted. Well, they did it but it was mostly incentive clauses. Well then KW gets hurt as above and basically Browns management looks good because they don't have to pay him anywhere near the full value of the contract because he obviously didn't meet his incentives (I think they only owed him like 1-2 million). If memory serves, mgmt ended up paying a good bit more than they had to so that he wouldn't be disgruntled about the whole thing when he came back. The Plain Dealer did an article last year with him and he's discussing all the constant pain he's in with that banged up knee and acting like Browns fans should all worship him for his efforts just to play through the pain. Too bad he can't appreciate the fact that all that pain was brought on by himself and his dips##t motorcycle stunt. In all honesty I can't argue with the fact that I've seen him put out huge efforts in games, he's an important weapon in their offense (though Eric Heiden did ok last weekend) and an excellent player. His attitude is very "me first" but most importantly he seems injury prone and I believe his knee is permanenty screwed up (various indirect newspaper quotes from him and others) and so one has to wonder how many more years he's actually got in him. And this year he certainly has had the "dropsies" (though not as bad as Braylon Edwards). So, he is definitely a talented player but I think if we did get him we'd come to the same conclusions that the Browns and their fans have.

Great to be 4-0 but have to agree about the run game. We've got way too much money (with more soon to come) tied up in the O-line to be this pathetic at running the ball. And this goes back to last year but quite honestly even before that. Sure, you can point to stats of long runs here or there but could someone tell me the last time this o-line had a dominating game performance running the ball? I don't see games that often, but Lynch hasn't rushed for 100 yds this year and not that many times last year. My big worry is that "beast mode" burns Marshawn out in the next 2-3 years. It's one thing if he's punishing DB's 15 yds downfield, it's another if he's punishing DL/LB at the line trying to squeeze out a miserable yard or 2. Good luck with his durability. How the hell do you have an o-line better at pass blocking then run blocking? That's completely backwards to how things usually work. Anyone with any observations/thoughts on this? Is it because of Fowler, or donut breaks the line takes on certain plays? Also, I agree with others that this is a young team still trying to find itself. It's great that they have the confidence to come back on people, you'd rather see it against the Dallas Cowboys of the league as opposed to the Raiders/Rams. But, it should be a fun year (barring injury). Go Bills.

My own personal opinion is that I think the Bills have a rough agreement but have been holding up Lee's final contract until they come to terms with Peters. I think Lee wants to stay here and the Bills will adjust his contract so that they can get both of these guys signed. Despite the rumors, I believe JP will get a raise for this year, perhaps that IS the real reason he was holding out. I think the Bills have been planning to up JP's pay and the amount of signing bonus/guaranteed $$ will affect how Lee's is structured. My prediction is that they'll announce Lee's contract first shortly followed by JP's. My opinions are just educated guesses based on Lee not seeming that concerned about a new contract, direct quotes etc. Of course my hunches will probably be wrong, but hell, this is a discussion board. BTW, did anyone else LOL reading JP's discussion about how he was going to sit out the season but his agent told him late Friday to report Saturday because the Brandon had finally given assurances that they would work something out? Brandon was saying that before training camp, what a waste of time this whole thing was.

http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/sports/x1532154107 -Taken from this article (about a week ago): “Evans is entering the final year of his contract, but, unlike Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters’ situation, it has not been a concern. “There has been some dialogue back and forth and that is certainly good news,” Evans said early in camp. “We are moving in the right direction on that, so hopefully we can get a deal done. Last time there was some stuff out there, but there wasn’t a lot of dialogue, so there definitely has been some progress.” Peters, who still has three years left on his contract, has been a no-show thus far in camp, as well as all offseason workouts, cutting off all communications with the team. He is the only Pro Bowler on the offensive line, but is the lowest-paid and is looking for a raise. Evans, though, would not compare his situation to Peters’ “Everybody handles things differently and for him, that’s the way he sees it and his way of handling it,” Evans said. “It’s not for me to comment on though. It is really his business and I really don’t know a whole lot about it, but that’s why he is handling it and hopefully something gets done soon so we can get him out here.” While there is no end in sight to the Peters’ squabble with less than three weeks before the regular season begins, Evans has been hopeful his contract situation could be finished soon. “It would be big to get that behind you and to move forward,” Evans said. “All that stuff is somewhat out of my hands, so I just try and control the things I can and go from there.” -From the ESPN article about Peters lacking a cheering section: "I don't think this makes sense," said one agent who represents a Bills player affected by Peters' holdout. "Holding out right now is negative in a lot of ways." -I personally wonder if this is Lee’s agent and the Bills are holding up his contract in hopes of working something out with Peters. Regardless, the tone of the Evans article makes me believe he’ll be staying and that definitely puts my mind at ease.