GaryPinC

I really think there's an informal contest in the Pats locker room to see who fluffs up the Buffalo Bills the best. Bellichek always does this then at least one of his players tries to top him. http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2010/09/wilfork_bills_r.html They must do an awful lot of laughing even before Donte hears it during the game.

I haven't seen Byrd make a difference on defense this year. Does that now mean he's not that talented? Certainly opponents will exploit weaknesses but that doesn't mean there's a dearth of talent at every position. Lee seems pretty talented, as does Roscoe. Our defensive secondary seems pretty talented also. Nix and the coaching staff think Bell is a talent. Wood and Levitre seem to have a decent amount of talent. Part of the plan this year is to see who can develop their talents and be an impact player in this league. I don't have a problem moving Lynch or Jackson but don't be so quick to condemn this team so early in the year with a new coaching staff/new O&D systems.

[ For me it's a toss-up as to whether our LB or QB situation is the bigger problem. And I'd have to say QB because there are very few who can handle excelling in the NFL, whereas you can build a decent LB core without having a superstar. Also, it usually takes 2-4 years to prepare a QB to succeed in the NFL. As far as the "rebuilding", it seems obvious to me that Buddy and Chan realized 1. It was going to take more than 1 year to fix, especially when changing your defensive system. and 2. There are a lot of young guys on this team with upside potential so why not see if they will develop while other positions are addressed? Defensive line seems adequate at this point which is actually a positive considering the overhaul. This seemed to be the priority of the draft and so far it's turned out okay. Offensive line is still trying to adjust to the scheme, despite Stroud's quote about it not being the scheme. They are thinking too much and failing to adjust to defensive stunts. I think it's better to not judge this group until mid/second half of the season when they can stop thinking so much and just play. Bell hasn't looked too bad to me (improving), Cordero Howard seemed to do ok, Cornell Green does need to be replaced though. Early in the year, I really believe Nix felt Bell will develop, Levitre + Wood are good young players, Hangartner is a solid (though not spectacular) player and Butler is a smart, solid player. Then Butler retired. That really threw a wrench into the plan. So instead of one big question mark on the o-line we've unexpectedly got 2. Still not that bad to me. LB's though. Poz is a huge question mark being injury prone, Davis is ok. OLB is a huge question mark, be nice if Ellis is decent but really we need Maybin to step up before the end of the year and develop into at least a decent OLB capable of making a few big plays. That would really help a lot moving forward into next year's draft. QB situation isn't worth discussing given all the countless debates. This year's going to suck for at least the first half. Our frustation is so high from these past 10 years but I wish people would keep a perspective on this year and not be so reactionnary this early in the rebuilding year. It's going to take time.

I only caught the first half yesterday but noticed on more than one occasion the O-lineman weren't shifting their blocks to account for defensive stunts around the tackles. We'd end up with an interior lineman with no one to block while his man stunted around our tackle (especially on the left side). This line isn't as bad as all the doomsayers say. They still need time to pick up the nuances of Gailey's offensive system and that will simply take time. I thought Howard did a good job of filling in from what I saw of him. Green is still most clearly our worst lineman though. Patience is understandably in short supply but we'll see what we've got around mid-season.

Thought this was a great story, For those who don't remember Kevin Everitt was the Bills TE/ST player who suffered a serious spinal injury and has had an excellent recovery. At the center of all this was the fact that the treating medical personnel used therapeutic hypothermia to cool his body and aid his recovery. At the time there was much debate as to whether the hypothermia technique had played a role in his recovery or not. Here's a separate but inspiring story where induced hypothermia saved this boy's life: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39215752/ns/today-today_people/?GT1=43001 The story just made me remember Kevin. Pretty cool stuff.

Everyone here seems to be forgetting that we have a brand new coaching staff, brand new offensive system, terminology, etc. While the preseason was encouraging, now there are no vanilla defenses and the o-line is going to have problems executing the play called while also adjusting their blocking assignments for defensive stunts. I only saw the game on the internet (hard to see individual players). Seemed like everyone on the line had breakdowns at various times, the only position that seemed to have more of them was the right tackle position. Trent did not have a great pocket but he had time to throw on many occasions, just not sure if it was appropriate amount for the play called. Our offense looked like an offense with a new coaching staff/playbook. It's going to take time. I'm most disappointed with Chan Gailey in all this. Couldn't run at first and the guy pretty much went passing game most of the game. This team has got to focus on the run. Seems like Spiller was mostly in the backfield alone when his number was called and that Miami was keying on him. Put Marshawn in there and fake to Spiller. This is why we brought Chan in, to really change things up isn't it? But maybe the playbook is too limited at this point of the season. I thought Trent pulled himself together well for that touchdown drive and that was encouraging to see. His refusal to slide on scrambling plays should make an injury inevitable to those who wish him out. I thought his poise was better than last year but obviously results were the same. It's easy to lump this game in with the last few years but I won't at this point. These first 4 games will be difficult and all may be brutal for the offense, we'll have to wait until at least mid season to assess where we are in terms of coaching and cohesiveness. Chan's already talking about simplifying the offensive playbook for Green Bay, that tells you our O-line is still trying to adjust to the new system.

Some great games but opening day 1980 has to be it. A decade of losing to the Phins, trying to be optimistic but doubting the unknown. Bills hung on, posts ripped down, the whole town went nuts. I was 10 and that was the first year in my life no one made fun of the Bills. "Nixon for President" "We're Talking Proud". Great stuff!

Hopefully this isn't because Parcells is seriously ill.

Sounds like all the NFL preseason games use local guys (especially retired players) to do their games. Cleveland's no different and if you think all these other guys are bad you should see Bernie Kosar on the air. The guy does this bad attempt at a combover, looks unkept and uncomfortable in front of the camera, and has this scratchy, gravelly voice. Grammar isn't that good and usually ends up slurring his words by the second half at the latest. The real kicker is that he's IMO one of the best analysts I've ever listened to. The guy is hugely insightful, explaining formations on both sides, what the QB's trying to do and is thinking etc. Just painful to listen to though.

I haven't been able to see all our quarterbacks perform this preseason, but given the uncertainty of how the OL will perform this season, and Trent's history with injuries it makes the most sense to keep your 3 most experienced qb's and chance your rookie to the PS. Unless Brown's really close to Brohm's level of play, which it sounds like he's not.

I agree, Saw end of 1st and full 2nd quarter of game yesterday. O-line finally seems to be finding some cohesiveness, I am most heartened by Chan's ability to run a dynamic offense. Both characteristics have been sorely missing for many years. Certainly they will have their problems and breakdowns, but I came away feeling there's truly something to build on this year. Seeing Trent play, one of the things that impressed me is he's showing a real feel for the pocket, pressure, and when to move out. I strongly suspect Jauron strictly coached him and JP to stay in one spot as long as possible. Thank God for new coaching. On D, our front line will need some time to find consistancy but there is some ability there. Linebackers (especially OLB) will really be a problem this year, expect teams to exploit it. Definitely reasons for hope and optimism this year. First 4 games should tell us whether we can hope to flirt with the playoffs. Either way should be a fun year to see what develops.

Here's a new story about McCoy: http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2010/08/cleveland_browns_colt_mccoy_wi.html He's not going anywhere this year.

Holmgren has taken control of the Browns franchise and after the draft he made clear McCoy was his choice. I guess they could try and get him on the practice squad, I just don't see it happening because Ratliff hasn't been much better and so I think Brett will be the one out. It's clear from watching McCoy that he hasn't adjusted to the NFL game plus his injured shoulder still hasn't regained all its strength. Holmgren's known for mentoring quarterbacks and I think that'll happen with Colt this year. To me, it's a bit early to judge the QBs in this year's draft.

Personally, I think Ellis was showing some promise last year (consistent separation and control on the LOS). He seemed fairly solid in preseason but coaches decided not to use him much. Probably didn't want to break him in given their defensive/team woes. But I think he really needs to get some real games under his belt and will show some good upside. To me, Maybin gets this year and next preseason. If he's at least a solid #2 backup by the end of next preseason give him another year (because he's so young) just in case. As pointed out, we're not spending to the cap so it's not like he's tying up someone else's $$.

I'm an optimist but favor a heavy dose of reality. This season I will mostly ignore the first 8 games (unless they can win more than 1 or 2) and focus on the second half of the season. You've got an entirely new offensive system that will be scaled down to start the season with no major additions to the unproven quarterback, offensive line, and receiver postitions. They've completely altered their defensive system and terminology and are relying on rookie D-linemen and converted DE's to OLB. Beyond the talent debate, it will simply take time for both sides of the ball to get comfortable calling and executing plays. I'm expecting the offensive coordinator to be villified here shortly after the first game for being too "boring", when in reality they are running a base offense out of necessity. You can still be an optimist PTR but give it time.

You're right. Let's fire the trainers and S&C coaches, it must be their fault.

That, to me, is the biggest problem with Edwards during the game. He only wants to throw to guys he sees are open. He seems to have never learned that in the NFL you have to see the defense and decide which receiver will get open and put the ball there. He really needs to trust his receivers, hopefully he learns it this year.

Don't underestimate the entrenched local political system either. The attitude of the people reflects the tone set by the local govt. As I've gotten older I realize how much this can kill a city. In a depressed area, local politicians wield the power of guaranteed jobs and have long standing networks of nepotism, favoritism, and patronage. They are entrenched and thus favor maintaining the status quo, as bringing in new, diverse businesses could disrupt their power base. The FBI has a major effort to take down some of the worst offenders in the Cleveland local govt. I only pray that it enables a better system or people to take its place.

Right on. Cleveland also underutilizes its waterfront, the problem is we have a freaking airport occupying most of our prime lakefront. People are trying to move it, the problem is they'd have to pay the US govt a ton of money to move it/shut it down. The recent Continental/United merger may end Cleveland Hopkins' status as a hub airport and reduce airline traffic, ironically it might allow airtraffic from the lakefront to be redirected to Hopkins and free up the land for the city to develop Buffalo would help themselves tremendously putting more effort into their waterfront. As much as people complain/degrade cities like Cleveland and Buffalo, it always amazes me they fail to maximize their most valuable asset, the lakefront. At least Chicago gets it right.

Mike, First of all, thanks so much for these reports. Reporting the good, bad, and ugly PLUS explaining why seems so much beyond the recaps most of the other reporters provide. It's a fantastic resource for people like me who can't be there and besides, it's what I'm most interested in. Lee and Trent never seemed to hit it off from the moment Trent arrived and perhaps it influences things on the field.

Other than jettisoning our loser head coach, how do you think we're improved? Just because we added Spiller? What if he ends up getting pasted in the backfield the entire season? What if he can't grasp the offense in his rookie year or just straight up gets injured? We're still hoping like last year Bell can get it done at LT. Our line hasn't proven anything yet except that there is some talent there. Chances are, we're going to be running basic plays and there'll be lots of mistakes the first half of the year because we have an entire new offensive system and terminology in there. Getting the O-line to gel and work together as a unit takes time, especially considering many of the current projected starters missed significant time due to injury last year. We're hoping Gailey can put lipstick on a pig and make it work at quarterback. Sure, he has a history of being able to pull it off but I thought McNally could have done the same thing with our O-line. We won't know till we see it happen. We've switched our defensive system and are now trying to convert our DE's to outside linebackers. Other than Maybin (who has the size and speed to play out there, but can he play at all?), the rest completely scare me. We're also relying on a couple of draft picks to really help solidify our D-line. Stroud sounds about as happy to be converting to a 3-4 as Langston Walker was to be playing left tackle. I'm not confident we'll be any better against the run. Lastly, we've got an entire new coaching staff who will be turning almost the entire roster over the next couple of years to get "their" people in here. In my mind I think things are equivalent to last year when you factor in the new offensive and defensive systems. I hope to hell I'm wrong and they can contend for a playoff spot but can't realistically buy into that thinking. This year is about finding some hope and things looking up, 3-6 wins. I do think the guy in the article is a bit harsh throwing us at #31 but he could easily be right. Go easy on him.

I also suspect TE is not very good at accepting his fair share of the blame, but if he was strictly coached that way (which I can easily believe) why should he on this one? Where was Jauron in all this? He could have backed Trent up but challenged him to throw downfield more. Did he ever directly address this with the fans/media? Did he ever take responsibility for the crappy playcalling? No, he was all too content to say he's responsible without demonstrating accountability. He hung all his offensive coordinators out to dry with the fans and even the players, so why not his quarterback too? Personnally, I think Trent's done simply because he's too gun shy now but I am willing to give him another chance because of Dick Jauron's putrid offensive philosophy.

I don't think Kelly's throwing AVP under the bus. I think he's acknowledging that Jauron was an idiot managing the offense. It really didn't matter who the coordinator was, offense was strictly limited because of Jauron. Seems like Kelly only realized it sometime in 2010.

Your second-last sentence plays a large part in all this IMO. You've all heard the expression "running around like a chicken with its head cut off", well early in my career I got to witness this phenominon with rodents. While the bodies of these headless animals thrashed about and a couple actually looked like they were jumping around when set on a flat surface, all of this seemed to be a simple random and complete firing of stored nervous action potentials (impulses). It always seemed that once the brain was separated this happened almost immediately. I suspect something similar happens with the head involving jaw and eye muscles, but who knows. It would be interesting (though an inhumane experiment) to do EEG monitoring of decapitated heads and see if the electrograms are organized enough to be considered brain wave patterns or if they are just random firings. Never seen any data on that but it would certainly help answer this question. I suspect it's random firings in the decapitated head but who knows?

The fact that Jauron is not prohibiting his QB's from audibling out of bad plays, there will be a variety of motions and sets installed, hopefully more play action passes and screens, and the probability that Gailey has a sense how to orchestrate an offense (set up certain plays, etc) should keep the opposing defense from knowing what the Bills offense is going to run. This all should make a big difference IMO. Only bad news is that with the new system we will probably have to wait till mid-season before it's all installed and the offense can execute it properly.