SouthGeorgiaBillsFan

It's not that he is waiting for his receivers to come completely open or that he doesn't anticipate when they will be open. He simply anticipates (usually correctly) that they will not ever be open, and considering they lack any ability to make a play on the ball against NFL defensive backs, he understands that throwing to them while they are covered will usually result in incomplete passes and will produce a lot of turnovers. I think Trent shows remarkable efficiency as a QB considering what he has to work with. Give him a legitimate #1 receiver and a line that can block (we desperately need run blocking AND pass blocking) and we will see a far superior QB to what we've seen thus far - perhaps even elite. Why is it so hard for people to understand that in order to throw into tight coverage, you need to have targets who can flat out beat the defenders. We do not have that, not at all. Virtually any defensive back in the league can shut down every one of our wide receivers in single coverage. Lee Evans can create some mismatches, but can be easily contained by one good back or by double teams and over the top zones, since we have nobody else who can exploit single coverage at all.

In order to understand the magnitude of how terrible our offensive line is, we must first consider several key observations: 1. Our greatest offensive strength is our over-stocked stable of running backs. I don't believe any team in the NFL can boast a backfield that is as deep, as talented, or as versatile as ours. 2. Our receiving corps is among the worst in the NFL. Lee Evans, our best wide out, is at best an acceptable #2 option, but would be a #3 option on most potent offensive teams, and beyond him, nobody else on our receiving depth chart would likely be in the top 3 on the depth chart of any other team in the league. We are basically playing in the NFL with corp of collegiate level receivers. We have no tight end that can be established as a legitimate threat. We have no game breaker who can make the big catch in traffic or who can exploit the middle of the field. Our receivers leave much to be desired. 3. Chan Gailey and Trent Edwards are far more aware of what is necessary to make an effective offense than most if not all of their detractors who post on this board, including knowledge of the elementary principle that the ball must be thrown down the field in order to loosen the defense. Considering these observations, how can one explain the following observations from today's game: - We threw the ball twice as often as we ran it. - The most talented backfield in the league averaged a meager 2.9 yards per rush attempt. - We had an almost unbelievable lack of down field routes even called, much less thrown to. - We averaged an embarrassing 3.4 yards per pass attempt. There is only one reasonable explanation that answers the question and explains each observation, and that is that we are witnessing possibly the worst starting offensive line that the NFL has ever seen. Trent Edwards knows it, and thus looks to escape the rush or make an easy completion, rather than risk throwing the ball to a receiver who cannot beat his defender in single coverage and who cannot go up and make any kind of play on a ball that isn't perfect. Chan Gailey knows it, thus he does not call for routes that he knows will not ever have time to develop. And every defensive coordinator in the league knows it, thus they stack the box to stop the run and since they don't need to blitz, they can play blanket coverage anyway. I'm pretty sure that any Pop-Warner coach in America could figure out that if you have the best RBs in the league you should run the ball more than pass it, unless of course you have absolutely zero faith in your offensive line's ability to open up running lanes. In that case, you must attempt to "trick" the defense into over pursuing in a pass rush and try to get completions beneath the secondary, via screens and crosses and RBs coming out of the backfield on delayed routes. Also keep in mind that when you have zero ability to establish the run (which is almost always due to poor offensive line play), you have zero ability to play action, which is by far the best way to create down field separation that leads to big plays. So really it is beyond absurd for all of you to continue to blame Trent Edwards, or even Fitzpatrick or even Brohm for the Bills' continuing problems moving the ball. Every measurable dynamic that affects the outcome of the game and bears upon the success (or failure) of the offense can be easily and simply traced back to the O-line. Ultimately, until the O-line is addressed, it is useless and utterly irrelevant to keep speculating about which QB should be in the game. So all of you sanctimonious, "I think I know something about football because I can reset the game and win every time at Madden" retards please keep posting your ridiculous and inane comments. I truly enjoy laughing at your stupidity.

Re: The O-Line Played Well Today Actually, no. They were horrible, and that you would suggest they played anywhere close to average boggles the mind beyond all comprehension. I award you no points, and may God have pity on your soul.

Absolutely true. Therein lies the problem with this Bills team. First of all, the Dolphins looked like a really bad team, and we held them under 17 points, and we lost. This does not bode well for the Bills. Going into this game I thought this would be our best chance to pull an upset. Really the only positive that can be taken from this game is that instead of only getting 12 or 13 more chances to pull an upset, it now appears we will have a full 15 more chances to make it happen. Guys - all of the analysts from every major news outlet in the country seem to have been onto something when they predicted the Bills are one of the bottom 3 or 4 teams in the league. We look really really bad.

Wow. I actually agree with Alphadawg. Are you getting smarter?

. No, we will not be seeing any triple options out of the Bills backfield at any point during the season. It's more likely he is thinking along the lines of some kind of flex-bone type offense, where Spiller and/or Jackson can line up in flanker positions with Marshawn as the inline back so that they could be utilized in motion or as a greater pass receiving threat out of the backfield.

"Why are we involved in every trade rumor?" Because we are one of the worst teams in the NFL that needs major upgrades in every phase of the game, maybe?

Fitz is a decent 3rd string option and that is it. The guy is absolutely not good. Though admittedly I can't say I'd rather have Leinart in there than Fitz. But Fitz is just a terrible QB. He does have guts and it seems he has a level head - but he is a horrendous passer and should never be counted on even in a backup role.

I stand corrected....can a person undo voodoo magic?? =OSeriously though the guy still makes me sick. He should never be mentioned in the same sentence as Walter Payton, except in the singular situation where the speaker is stating "Emmitt Smith was no where near the player that Walter Payton was" or something of that ilk.

I hate no player more than Emmitt Smith. He is the most overrated RB of all time, and the way he hung around as the Cardinals 2nd string RB only until he Broke Walter Payton's record and *then* retired made me want to puke my !@#$ing guts out.

If only the preseason could last forever. I was encouraged when we stomped the Seahawks on opening day a two years ago, and that was against a starting NFL regular season roster. But I became discouraged when we went 7-9 and missed the playoffs again. No - preseason football is not encouraging.

LOL @ praising the coach for calling a screen to mitigate a heavy pass rush. Dear god, our standards have sunken to new depths of low.

And you forgot to mention - very very bad.

LOL @ our O-line, and LOL @ this thread.

Whoopti freaking do. I've dominated every Madden game since the original John Madden football on All-Madden difficulty, using the default rosters. The AI algorithms are obviously, well algorithms. The computer is predictable to a fault. They have yet to produce an authentically challenging game. The only difference as you raise the difficulty level is the game's propensity to cheat you (i.e. your computer controlled players absolutely blowing coverage, the computer calling more penalties that you have zero control over whatsoever, and an increase in fumbles and ridiculous interceptions etc). Even still, it isn't really much of an accomplishment to go 16-0 or 15-1 on All Madden (and I don't mean by resetting a losing game either). But every year the game does improve so hopefully the game play experience will continue to evolve into a truly authentic football simulation. Any player who has a. a modicum of football knowledge (knows how to read coverage, knows how to exploit coverage mismatches, understands the dynamics of the game etc) and b. has good eye to hand coordination can post completely unbelievable numbers even on the game's most difficult settings. On a side note, I miss the old QB vision mechanic. Most people I know didn't ever use it but I felt it added a deep dynamic to having skill in the game and in the hands of a great player could be a tremendous advantage. I also felt that it was a fairly accurate simulation of how a QB must operate in a game. But few people had enough mastery of Madden football to be able to utilize it as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. The "hit stick" and "turbo" on the other hand were terrible features - as if players can just flip a switch to deliver harder hits or run faster...lol. It was fun making people fumble the ball 15 times a game though. I guess that part was a guilty pleasure for me.

In today's economy it is sad whenever someone wastes money to travel to the Bills training camp. But enjoy your time there - it is probably the best football you're going to see from the Bills all season.

Not really. Bad tackles = bad offensive line. And if you are hoping for Wood to be a difference maker after that injury, you are in for a seriously disappointing season.

Actually we do have a #2 receiver...we have no #1 receiver.

As painful as that game was, the replays in my mind definitively supported the call - I mean we as Bills fans want to believe it was a blown call but let me make 2 statements why in my mind the refs made the right call. First, in order to have a forward lateral, the receiving player must be ahead of the throwing player. At best, according to every angle available for replay, the receiver was parallel to the throwing player. Secondly, had the receiver been 2 feet further back, the call would have been unquestionable, and the result would have been the same. Ultimately, the Bills FAILED to stop a simple trick play that they should have known was very possible if not probable. The onus is on the Bills for not making the play. 99 times out of 100 that play gets stopped, and thus why did we deserve to have such a close call go our way? No - the correct call was made. It took me probably five years of stewing over that before I was able to admit that to myself. Some of you are still in serious denial. To answer the original question: yes I think the Bills were the only team in the NFL who could beat the Rams that year. I really believed it was our year at the time, and I believed only the Bills could topple the juggernaut. I was utterly shocked that the Titans held it so close in the SB. I remember that loss was excruciating to me because it just felt like it was our time for redemption. Fate had a different and more cruelly ironic destiny in mind however, as the decade since then has seen our once proud franchise become a joke. But hey - the Red Sox did win the series, so we will always have hope.

My bold prediction: The Atlanta Braves will win the world series, thus easing the painful sting of a horrible Bills season.

Sure. I would love to choke crow on this one.

Frank Reich.

Tough, smart and disciplined = good. Underwhelming talent, learning completely new systems in every phase of the game, not having a legitimate QB, not having any legitimate receiving threats, not having an offensive line that can block an NFL defense, and having personnel that have been cropped for several years to fit schemes that we no longer use = reasons why nobody will fear the Bills at any point during the upcoming season.

I'm not really sure where you got that from - I believe the only reference I made to Trent's skill level was to say he isn't necessarily a good QB. And while I agree that a good QB makes other players look better, that has absolutely no bearing at all on the fact that Lee Evans cannot run effective routes, does not have enough size to be a threat over the middle, and can be completely taken out of the game by any single DB who plays a soft coverage against him. Look the guy would be an adequate #2 on a team with a good QB and #1 WR, and a great #3 receiver on pretty much any team, but if he is your #1 wide receiver on a team with major QB issues and serious doubts about the state of the O-line, you are in really deep ****.

Agreed. I believe you missed the rhetorical point of my statement, but rather than delve on that, I will simply say that he would be the #2 or #3 receiver on most if not all other NFL teams. And umm our other receivers would probably be returning kicks and playing on the scout team. When I say we have no talent at WR, I am speaking comparatively to other NFL teams, especially any team capable of winning half its games.