starrymessenger

You pretty much sum it up correctly. Maybe its been so long since a good QB played in Buffalo that some fans have forgotten what a good QB actually looks like. McNabb was not playing behind a great O-line in Washington Monday night (and neither was Schaub). He was behind a rather poor one. Playing on a gimpy ankle he was twice just a few inches from completing bombs to his not so wonderful receiving corps that would have given him 500+ yards passing. That 70 yard bomb to Armstrong (I believe) was a frozen rope. Trent has never thrown a pass like that. Actually, he doesn't need to. His arm is not Donovan's but it is strong enough (even though I find his long ball to be a bit of a floater). The point is he doesn't try those throws. Believe me, you would not recognize our receivers (and our entire offensive production) if McNabb was lining up under center for the Bills. On AFC playbook last week, they showed the distribution of the Bills receivers in a play during the Miami game. They were making the point that his receivers were pretty much covered. But they were wrong. We know, or should know, better. There was one, perhaps two receivers in the seams between DBs. Teams with good passing games exploit situations like that. The receiver turns upfield, the quarterback throws it deep and maybe good things happen. At the very least this loosens up the defence, gives you a better chance to make throws underneath or use the run game more effectively. Funny thing about the Bills receivers was that they were standing pretty much still fully facing Trent. No chemistry? Maybe, but whose fault is that? I suspect that you get this when your quarterback won't throw with anticipation of how a play may develop but looks instead for targets that are standing alone by themselves as in a pasture. That doesn't happen often enough in the NFL to make it a winning strategy. Trent does not have an intermediate to long passing game. Makes him, and the Bills, pretty easy to defend. So why doesn't he throw the ball downfield (I mean enough to make a difference to the defensive strategy)? I think that there are three possible answers. 1) He really just can't do it. For whatever reason, possibly but not necessarily because of injury, he cannot process the information before him quickly enough to have the anticipation to hit big plays in the passing game. For those who are of this view, the conclusion is pretty straightforward. Trent simply lacks a component of every good NFL QB's skill set. There is no shame in that. Very few college QBs have that skill set, which is nevertheless a requirement for success at this level. 2) He just doesn't care, doesn't have IT, would rather play golf, has no passion, the game is just not in his blood in the way that it is in every hard bitten player's blood, not a leader etc... He does seem somewhat spaced out sometimes, but, for what its worth, I personally believe he does care and does tries to be a leader. I think thats why he crushed a Chiefs DB a couple of years ago and why I have seen him this year make stupid unnecessary contract insteadof stepping out of bounds. I remember the live video of him with his friends and family when he was drafted by the Bills in the third. He looked ecstatic exactly like any college player would look when drafted by an NFL team. Its possible that he plays only because football offers him the potential of a better paycheck than his golf game does, but I'm not saying that and I prefer not to believe it. If its true on the other hand well then I would be with those who claim he doesn't have the psychological profile of an NFL quarterback (which is, after all a job requirement). 3)The last thing that comes to mind (at least my mind) is that Trent has a mental block. As he has said himself, he is a perfectionist. But unfortunately, there is way too much chaos and mayhem on an NFL playing field for a perfectionist to be a successful quarterback. Philip Rivers was saying on a Total Access segment last year that you need to take chances and run risks in the passing game. Even the greatest QBs will get intercepted. Trent appears unable to overcome the hurdle that prevents him from taking risks. If, as many suspect, he actually otherwise has the physical skills and the basic football smarts needed to be succesful, then this would truly be tragic, but clearly more so for him than for any of us fans or the Bills either for that matter. We'll just move on to the next JK heir apparent and relegate Trent to football scrapheat. But he will have lost an opportunity for a career as an NFL quarterback, with all the money and other perks that come with the turf, and for a reason that is probably not a good and sufficient reason. If this is the problem, then I feel sorry for him. I don't like to see people fail.

Thanks for the clarification. Much ado about nothing I guess.

If we are able to play close to the Pats this Sunday it will be another indication that they too are in for a tough year. After the Jets pulled away from them it started to look like they are no longer the team to beat in the AFC East. Maybe a third place finish and no playoffs for Tom, Bill and Co. Sure they have an elite QB, Welker and Moss but you probably can't ride a two trick poney forever.

Sounds like he might be throwing in the towel. Maybe we can package a deal for Trent to the Vikes.

Our Front Office and scouts seem always to agree with the pundits. I guess thats what you do when you don't have a clue.

I'll try again. Cam Wake is the player Maybin should have been, but isn't. He visited Buff but signed with the fish. We should have uped the ante. Hes getting something like 5 mil for five years. How much did Maybin cost (in addition to a #1 pick). As an alternative to Wake, Michael Johnson in the third would have been fine again as the player Maybin should have been.

Alas. The Truth! God help us.

True re Gailey but Jauron showed his true colours in Chicago eventually and, though its perhaps hard to know for sure, had a lot to say in the drafts during his tenure in Buffalo that are the real reason this team (and other losers like, until recently, the Lions and Rams)is in such pathetic shape. Probably shouldn't repeat what has been said a million times but watching us put no presssure on Rodgers (when his games are usually a sackfest)and then watching Orapko these past two weeks looking very much like Skins best defensive player just makes me sick to my stomach. Word is that Maybin was Dickie's pick.

Then its my bad Lori. I've never been in a women's sports lockerroom after a game, so I don't know what its like or how its managed. I have been in men's locker rooms as a high school and college athlete however (not as a reporter) and I can tell you that they are not places for a woman to be. I don't say that because men don't know how to behave (some do, some don't). I say that because many male athletes subscribe to the same mores as the rest of the general population does. Is this starting to sink in? Twenty years ago a lady was casually chilling out in our lockerroom. I told her to leave even though she was a physiotherapist and had legitimate reasons for dealing with us. Just wasn't the right time or the right place, it seemed to me.

Hmmmm...except it was probably Donovan who said no. Just sayin.

Don't have a problem with Kris Jenkins' comments. He was angry and he had every right to be. No woman, reporter or not, hot or not, has any business in a men's locker room. Oh but it is her business you say. I say "nuts", until they let men walk around women's locker rooms (which they won't and which they shouldn't)- that is the real double standard here. Athletes, male and female, are not just pieces of meat. They have feelings and for the most part they fully subscribe to conventional mores and societal norms, which by the way includes sexual probity. Sure they are in the public eye, but they have not foregone their rights to privacy.

JMO but I disagree. Lukewarm on DM's personality but like what he does on a football field. Forget the stat line for a minute - I thought he actually looked very good against a tough Dallas defence with limited weapons at his disposal. Hit receivers in the hands a couple of times, which balls they dropped. Looked in shape and quite mobile for playing on a gimpy ankle. DM has been reasonably durable over the years (everybody falls short of Brett Favre in that area)and I see no evidence that he shouldn't be a superior QB for the next three to four years. I saw him make some throws against Dallas that I have not seen here for many years. Our receivers and our passing game would look a whole lot different with him under centre. You would not recognize them. He would give them a chance to make plays and give us a better idea of exactly what weve got. I also think he would have been a perfect mentor to the guy we are going to draft next year, whoever that is (I like A Luck, if he declares).

Right, and with so many defenders playing on or close to the LOS checkdowns and the short passing game are not going to work either (Fins left 14 easy points on the table from short passes they should have intercepted)- so what's left to do? Cant run, cant throw long, cant throw short, cant check down. Wonderful. Unless you have an unstopable rungame, and we don't mainly because of our O-Line, you need to take your chances and throw the ball downfield.

Similar, but not the same. Both can power run block, RI is better than KU in a zone blocking scheme, in getting to the second level and generally operating in space. KU is probably a better pass blocker. And yes, Richie is certifiably insane whereas KU is a wholesome Wisconsin farmboy. If Martin is close to the same player he was two years ago, he is immediately the best pass catching tight end on the roster (including Nelson). Not a very good blocker and cannot play special teams. Chan may be looking for another weapon here and a proven commodity. Really all depends on whether his knee is 100%. If it is he will stick and is good to go for the year.

Not true. That was an extremely athletic lateral he made to ... who???what??? Ashlee Palmer???

Travis Henry could do that in ten minutes.

Probably just me but I don't remember this being an issue when he was drafted. People seemed more concerned about possible substance abuse.

Some but not all.

He speaks the truth. I saw that look when he was warming up on the sidelines before the Cleveland game. There is something (maybe more than one thing) wrong with Trent. I hope he can get his head and heart straight.

Hilarious. What a hoot.

The only thing more ridiculous than the Buffalo Bills is that guy who traded his entire draft for one player...hey, wasn't that Iron Mike???

Right. And the guy in question was Chris Cooley who I believe was Wilson's responsibility on that play.

The right thing to do is knock some sense into him, hit him, slap him and pull his nose etc....

A pox on both their houses!