OldTimer1960

Chan Gailey should be praised for what he was able to accomplish early in the year with his schemes. But harsh reality has set in at the mid-point of the season and the truth is that they do not have the talent to match up with opponents and schemes can only take a team so far. On offense, defenses have figured out that they can double Stevie Johnson and let the rest of the defense focus on stopping Freddie Jackson. The Bills do not have any other weapons that can win consistently. The WR corp is really weak. I never understood those who were saying the team was "stacked" there. Donald Jones is NOT a starting WR in the NFL, he isn't even a good #3WR. After a nice start, Scott Chandler has now returned to his 1 catch in 3 year form. There is NO speed on the offense, other than Spiller- who they strangely refuse to use at all. On defense, the run stopping has improved, but there is NO pass rush and that leaves not-so-great DBs hung out to dry. The only player on the Bills D that an offense has to account for is Marcel Dareus. They double Dareus and the rest of the defensive players are just average (at best). There aren't enough play-makers on this unit. I can't tell whether Fitzpatrick is a legitimate starting NFL QB or not. There simply isn't enough talent around him to know, but my gut says that it is pretty rare for career backups to suddenly "blossom". We can debate whether the front office needs to be replaced, yet again, but things will not improve until both sides of the ball have better players.

Even with recognition that both the O and D have significant talent deficits compared to opponents, I think George Edwards and his defensive staff should be fired at halftime.

Can't really start much worse on both D and O. They MUST hold here on D or the game will get out of reach fast.

Horrible start. This is a team that is out-gunned in terms of talent.

Today's loss was in many ways a reality check. I am glad that this team has so much heart and will to win that it has over-achieved. However, they still have a significant talent deficit against the upper-eschelon teams in the league. I don't think that they will be able to overcome that talent deficit down the stretch and they will likely not make the playoffs. I am encouraged to see that the talent level is well above what it has been in the past, however this team is still devoid of pass rushers. It lacks a legitimate starting WR across from Stevie Johnson. It has an than OK, but still mediocre TE. It does not have elite CBs and the Safeties are OK, not great. I haven't even touched on the LT, but they have fared alright there and QB is fair-to-midland. I like Fitzpatrick. He is clearly the best QB that they have had in the last decade, but he is not a GREAT QB who can overcome big problems and he doesn't have a very strong supporting cast. I expect this team to continue to fight and be competitive all year, but in the end, they will be better than last year, but not playoff calibre.

You won't get ANYTHING for Spiller right now. I can't understand why they don't get him some touches. It is almost like they are too proud of their over-achieving no-talent players. I really like Freddie Jackson - he is a guy to root for and plays way better than his talent level dictates, but it is almost like the coaches are too stubborn to direct the ball to their most athletic player.

UGH!

The offense is under-manned. There is only one legitimate NFL starting WR on this team (Stevie Johnson) and he was a 7th round pick. Who on earth is Donald Jones and why is he starting? The TE has been a nice story so far, but he does not scare anyone and can't get open with tight coverage. The Jets DBs vs the Bills' WR is a gross mismatch and that is going to make it tough to generate any offense. I would like to see them run a few plays to get the ball to Spiller in the open field. I don't understand why he doesn't get any touches. He is by far the most athletic skill position player on this offense. I am not saying that he should be playing ahead of Freddie Jackson, but they should be trying to take advantage of his speed at least some.

He has only had 2 drafts. That is 4-6 premium picks (1st-3rd rounds). It is too early to judge any of his draft picks, but: 1. I'd say that Spiller has acquitted himself very well in his limited opportunities this year (5ish ypc). He is being a team player and is it really his fault that Fred Jackson has developed into a very good player and a leader that they do not want to take carries away from? 2. Torrell Troup has been injured, but has played decently when healthy. That he hasn't beaten out Pro-Bowler Kyle Williams doesn't say he is a bust. I'll admit he probably won't be a dominant player, but he hasn't been horrible when healthy. 3 Alex Carrington has looked promising in his 2nd year. 4. Marcel Dareus has looked like everything he was advertised to be. 5. Aron Williams was playing well before his injury. Hopefully his aggressiveness won't be hurt by the injury. 6. Kelvin Sheppard has earned a good deal of playing time after missing a lot of preseason time with injury. He looks quite promising.

Because the Bills signed a DT to the practice squad, you think that means Troup is not the answer? I don't think he has played badly when healthy. It IS a disappointment that he has been injured so much.

The O-Line was very exposed, too. Cinci's defense is pretty good, but they certainly aren't the Steel Curtain. The offense only scored 13 points, couldn't run and couldn't provide pass protection to Fitzpatrick. The OL has been far better than many thought it would be, but they still aren't all that good. I think we saw a lot of drops by WRs, too - at least a number of big plays that were there to be had with top receivers and our group of over-achievers couldn't come through. Meanwhile, AJ Green made a PHENOMENAL catch on a long pass to set up a score. The Bills did get jobbed on the phantom drop by Stevie. Can anyone possibly tell me how that was an incomplete pass? Still, really weak effort by the offense.

It is time to end the George Edwards experiment. While the defense is young, it now has more talent than what they've shown so far and that has to be laid on Edwards - a never-was defensive coordinator. Turn the defense over to Wanny.

It is time to end the George Edwards experiment. While the defense is young, it now has more talent than what they've shown so far and that has to be laid on Edwards - a never-was defensive coordinator. Turn the defense over to Wanny.

Yeah, he might want to take whatever they offered right about now. On the other hand, the Bills' might want to pull that offer off the table.

BIG difference between McCargo and Troup: 1. McCargo was supposed to be the "quick, penetrating DT" that Jauron's staff wanted. 2. McCargo never showed up in top shape. 3. Troup fits the D that the current coaching staff and GM want to run 4. Troup has (reportedly) worked his butt off all offseason - a big thing during a lockout 5. Troup is MUCH bigger and stronger than McCargo.

Could see the Jasper cut coming. Kellen Heard played very well this preseason and Jasper appeared to have gained back some of the weight he had lost. If they opt to put him on the practice squad, he has some obvious strength/power, but must work on his conditioning and technique. Here's hoping that he is on the Bills' PS and works his butt off. I am surprised if Antonio Coleman was cut as he seemed to have played very well in the exhibitions. I am interested to see if Robert Eddins made it. He played hard and made some impact plays. Same with Batten.

What time is he on? I hope that he didn't have to sign a contract that he would trash anything and everything that the Bills did and sound pompous and arrogant while doing it. That is the WGR way. The other night on the ride home, I listened to Mike Shoop (how do you spell his name? Never mind, I don't care) complain that the Bills signed Tyler Thigpen to a 3 year contract and that therefore they had no plan at QB. He extrapolated that since they signed a backup QB to a 3 year deal, that meant that they wouldn't take a QB in the early rounds next year. Even when someone pointed out that the Bills could cut him next year and that the contract gives THEM the power, he ignored it and dissed the Bills anyway.

Excellent post. There are way too many here who don't understand the real percentages of success in the draft- even the 1st round. Top 10 picks are not guaranteed to be superstars, like it or not. Even in the top 10, you are doing pretty well to get a good player and you are lucky to get a great player. There are average players and busts every year in the top 10 - and surprise, they aren't all picked by the Bills. Of course, you can with HINDSIGHT go through a draft and see a few players that were picked after player X and say "they should've picked him". But that doesn't mean that anyone really KNEW that at the time. Let's all rail on all the teams that passed on Tom Brady or who took a QB that year instead of him. Clearly all 32 teams are run by buffoons who can't get anything right. I also agree. Here were my first 3 year's stats in Buffalo behind a similar OL with an average/below average QB: 1969: 181 carries, 697 yds, 3.9 ypc 1970: 120 carries, 488 yds, 4.1 ypc 1971: 183 carries, 742 yds, 4.1 ypc Sincerely, OJ Simpson

Thigpen has got to go. I am sure that the Bills could find a better option after the next cut downs. The guy can't make an accurate throw to save his life.

I thought that signing Tyler Thigpen as backup QB was a good idea. Obviously, it wasn't. This guy is making Brian Brohm look good. Unless he makes a big statement in the second half, I think they should keep Fitz, Brad Smith and Levi Brown. I am very disappointed in how inaccurate Thigpen is.

I understand the frustration with the lack of investment in the OL, but they only had so many draft choices and chose to spend them on defense. I agree with their approach, too. You can't hide weaknesses on defense as easily as you can on offense. Opponents attack your defensive weaknesses and you can't really disguise those. On offense, you can try to play to your strengths and cover your weaknesses to some degree.

I don't know if it's a lack of strength, but maybe rather a lack of technique and losing the leverage battle against players who have more experience at high levels of competition.

Do you believe that the Bills are the only team that has OL problems at this point? I KNOW that Philly (yes, that team that has lavished 10s of millions of $ in FA on other positions) is in trouble at OT, too. Yet, they haven't picked up any of these OBVIOUS upgrades. The guys listed are old, broken down, has-beens. If you don't believe so, then tell me why in a league where probably 1/3 of the teams (10 teams) are looking for ANY answer on the OL, these guys remain unsigned?

Well, training camp is almost 3 weeks old and the Bills have played 2 preseason games. My thoughts so far (FWIW): 1. The OL is struggling and probably doesn't have enough talent to be very good this year. a. When they decided to spend most of their draft choices over the last 2 years on defense, we knew that this unit would struggle. Upgrading through FA is sketchy and this year's crop of FA OL was weak. The team went after Clabo hard and lost out to his current team. Not sure that there were any other OL FA that would have upgraded our OL commensurate with the cost. This team will address this area hard in the '12 offseason with only QB a higher priority. 2. The defense looks significantly improved. Dareus looks like the real deal, Kyle Williams is the workaholic that overachieves and last year's 2nd and 3rd picks (Troup and Carrington) look like they'll contribute a lot this year. 3. Rookies: Marcel Dareus looks like he'll be very very good. Aaron Williams has shown flashes of being very good. We don't know anything about Kelvin Sheppard due to injury. I think I've seen flashes from 4th Searcy, 5th White and 6th White. I am pulling for Mike Jasper, but he looks to have gained significant weight since the draft. I am holding out hope that OT Chris Hairston can help, but that may be wishful thinking. 4. I REALLY don't understand the hatred directed at CJ Spiller. The guy did not have a big impact in his rookie year after coming from a spread offense in college. He would do well to learn whatever magic Fred Jackson has for running behind this weak OL, but Spiller has undeniable physical talent. Will he maximize it in the pros? I don't know, but I am willing to wait this year and into next year. 5. I don't agree with the general view that the Bills have an abundance of talent at WR. I hope that Stevie Johnson can match/improve on last year, I think Roscoe Parrish (when not hurt) is a good #3WR. I like what I have seen of David Nelson. I don't know what to think of Donald Jones, but he is a very good athlete. Marcus Easley hasn't impressed me and I like what I've seen of UDFA Kamar Aiken. I think he has out-produced Easley so far. 6. I can't tell if Fitz can be a mid-upper tier QB because the OL and TEs are so weak. I love his intelligence, effort and leadership, though. 7. TEs: I am not falling for this year's "next great reclamation project" Scott Chandler. He looks to be the best of a very weak group, especially since the talented but injury prone Shawn Nelson hasn't seen the field yet. 8. OL: I think Wood is very good. I don't have a clue what the issue with Levitre is - I haven't seen him do anything wrong so far. Demetrius Bell is the best that we've got at LT this year and I want to see him for a full season. I haven't watched enough of Erik Pears to have an opinion, but I don't think Kraig Urbik is the answer at RG and Wrotto has looked awful from what I can tell. My view for the season: I think the defense will be much improved, especially if Shawn Merriman is not injured or suspended for steroids. I think that Fred Jackson will put up decent numbers, I hope that Spiller shows that he can learn to follow his blockers and that he becomes a pass-receiving weapon out of the backfield. I hope Johnson excels at WR and someone steps up (maybe David Nelson?).

Could it possibly be that maybe he is old and broken down, too? Just because a guy was formerly a great player doesn't mean that he will be good forever. It is pretty evident that none of the teams in the league are jumping to bring him in and this is with 90 guys on each roster.