Turbosrrgood

By record yes... However there was no more painful team to watch than the Jauron Losman/Edwards teams in my mind... Losman would take sack after sack, the offense was far more pathetic than they are now. Jauron would punt from the 25 yard line, and never attempt a 4th down conversion, even if the game was on the line... Let's just say that the Bills once again have coaching/QB issues, as always...

Haha

My god no...Really? Ryan has destroyed that team and made them progressively worse every year as a coach. He seems to have no ability to control the locker room, or even his own emotions. I'm actually shocked at the positive opinion of Rex being expressed. At best I see Rex as a Wade Phillips type of coach, decent defensive scheme but very poor when it comes to HC decisions, locker room control, ect... (obviously their demeanor's are complete opposites though). The Bills need to get better, not go from one laughing stock to another...

Nah, lets keep using Justin Rogers to return kicks and enjoy the fumbles every other try.

I'll admit I'm biased, because I hated this pick from the second is was made. The more I watch him, the more I dislike him as a WR though. He simply is awful at catching the football, even before his "big shot" this past game as a starter. Put aside his inability to catch, he can't run routes either. If there is a defender anywhere near him, he bails on his route. It seems virtually impossible for him to fight through a CB to get to a ball. He's certainly not physical enough to play in the NFL, but he also does not have the mindset to "play big". Granted Roscoe couldn't take the beating, but at least he played without fear. Graham seems to want NOTHING to do with contact, before, during, or after the catch. He's not a football player IMO...He's a track guy trying to play football... Why they didn't give Easley some playing time is beyond me...

Man, I really like Spiller, but it's painfully obvious that he can't pass block. To the point where I almost wish they wouldn't try it with him, a better use of him would be to just send him outside the pocket as a dump off. And yes, Fred Jackson is infinitely better at pass blocking. I would certainly say he is above average in that respect for a RB.

No effing way... Actually I'd be shocked if he even got an offer. Even if he did, I'm guessing he would be more picky this time anyway since he is guaranteed a good gig in college. He wouldn't come to Buffalo, I can't imagine he really wants to coach in the NFL at all.

Interesting, he seems pretty well hated in Baltimore for some reason. I don't really get it, I watched most of their games and their offense is as good as it has ever been. Sure they should be running a little more, but with their defense being old and banged up this year the O has carried them. Cameron has been pretty successful as an OC pretty much everywhere he has been. They expect Caldwell to usher in positive changes?!?! Really risky, puzzling move by a team in pretty good shape going into the playoffs...

It's not the worst idea I've ever heard. There would actually be many MORE returns than there are now ( I doubt this really improves safety in the long run, even if they are punts instead). It would make things more exciting. There are however some serious negatives IMO. 1) I don't like the 4th and 15 idea, seems way easier than an onside kick in situations where it is the obvious decision (late in games, not surprise mid game onside kicks). 2) It fundamentally changes the game, games will be higher scoring, because teams would start with far better field position if they are punting from the 30 every time. It would make having a good PR such as McKelvin, that much more important. 3) Guys are still going to get hurt, because there will be FAR more returns then there are now, even if they are supposedly a "safer" kind of return. Plus, IT'S EFFING FOOTBALL! It will never be 100% safe. 4) I'm against it on the grounds that you shouldn't drastically change part of the game that has been around since it's inception. "Get ready for the Bills puntoff at 1:05 on Sunday!"

I don't think comparing him to Urbik is appropriate. Urbik was a 3rd rnd pick who was placed on the practice squad by PIT and didn't really get a chance to play. After being claimed and finally getting a chance to play, Urbik turned out to be decent. Mcclain was an early 1st round pick who has played for 3 years, and by all accounts has been the worst MLB in football. To top it off the guy has attitude problems. Also as another poster pointed out, he played in a 3-4 in college and has failed in the 4-3. I don't see how he fits into this defense. He's just another recognizable name... A more appropriate comparison would be to Aaron Maybin, another early 1st round LB who played poorly for 3 years (and is currently not in the NFL).

I'm not a Sheppard fan my self I didn't think he earned the starting job, but in defense of his stats -he barely played early in the year. The Bills were using mostly nickle formations with Bryan Scott, that's why the were getting burned by the run so bad in the first half of the year. If you only play half the time, you will have half the stats...

Saying we should replace Sheppard with Mcclain is kind of like saying we should replace Fitzpatrick with Mark Sanchez. I don't think replacing one bad player with another really helps this team. Actually Sheppard has been playing better as of late, I think he has more upside than McClain right now, and a better attitude. As far as "excelling" in Alabama, I've always been skeptical of players that look great in amazing systems, loaded with other good players. It really makes it tough to determine how good each individual player really is. Mcclain now plays in the NFL (well, he did looks like he will be suspended/benched for the remainder of the season), and all signs point to him being a colossal failure so far.

I know people tend to react this way to every FA that becomes available, but no thanks. I'm sure people thought that way about Aaron Maybin after we released him, of course he is currently out of the NFL as far as I am aware... This is the assessment of him from the article on NFL.com "The No. 8 overall pick in the 2010 draft was a massive disappointment on the field -- one of the worst 4-3 middle linebackers in the league, according to NFL Films' Greg Cosell." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000103135/article/raiders-rolando-mcclain-to-be-suspended-for-conduct

Nice post, but Drew Blesoe's last year in the NFL was in 2006, and he threw 7 TD's with the Dallas Cowboys. You were probably thinking of 2002 and 2004 (His last with the Bills).

Absolutely, that's the end game. I was more answering the question of how do you evaluate success or lack thereof specifically when it comes to the draft.

This is a common excuse for hindsight arguments. While it's possible hindsight does have some role in evaluating scouting departments and front offices, it certainly doesn't seem very useful. Looking back at past draft's IS a way to evaluate the FO, but there is a difference between making objective evaluations on the decisions that were made AT THE TIME, and using hindsight evaluation. It seems far more accurate and useful to me, to judge them a little more objectively. Judge them on the success of the players they DID take, not the players they COULD have taken (This is the difference between objective evaluation, and useless hindsight). Guys like Maybin, Troup, Aaron Williams have not worked out so well. The FO should be judged on the success or the failure of the guys they took, not the guys they COULD have taken instead , based on information learned AFTER they were drafted. Using hindsight (judgment based on information gained after the decision) is not very productive or useful in evaluation. There could also be information that we aren't privy to that could be used in evaluation. For instance, if the scouting department had given Dalton and Kaepernick a very low grade BEFORE the draft, they could be evaluated on that. That is NOT hindsight. It's so easy to say "this was right, that was wrong" based on information you learned AFTER the draft, but the excuse that it should be ok because you are "evaluating the FO" doesn't make any sense to me.

Yeah it's nice that you pointed out the obvious, but you seemed to miss the point. The poster I responded to used the stats from what was by far the single worst year of Bledsoe's career to make a point that Bledsoe "sucked" and that Mularkey was somehow good because he got Bledsoe to have slightly better stats than the worst season of his career. My point was that getting Bledsoe to throw for 2900 yards was no "accomplishment" for Mularkey when Bledsoe had far better results with his coaching staffs from before and after. Just for the record, I am no Bledsoe fan. He was a good guy, and had a strong arm, but never had good football instincts.

Perhaps you are right, he didn't fail everywhere, so maybe I should have said that he hasn't succeeded anywhere. Both PIT and Atlanta's offense improved dramatically after he left, you left out the mess in Miami. The hype from PIT I never understood. The offense was medicore at best, but that team was very good due to having one of the best D's in the league...When he left the offense improved, and they won the SB.

I agree with you there. I don't think Manuel should be rated higher, but I never understood why Ponder was considered such a high value. He has actually outperformed my expectations of him, but still hasn't looked all that good. This is exactly what I DON'T want the Bills to do. Use their 1st rnd pick on a 2nd-4th QB talent, just to say they drafted a QB.

Wait, what? Progressing? The Bills squeaked out 9 wins his first year before blowing it against the Steelers BACKUPS! Then went 5-11 the next season. I don't really call that progress. What information are you basing your thought process on that Mularkey was going to somehow turn it around? He has basically failed everywhere. Those stats are true, but to be fair lets include the previous year for Bledsoe, when he threw for almost 4400 yards, 24 TD's and a pro bowl appearance, and the year following his poor season with Mularkey when he threw for ~3600 yards and 23 TD's with Dallas.

This has been bothering me for a while. Most people who watch a lot of college ball are aware that there are no REALLY good QB's coming out this year (Murray has the option to stay if he wants too). So of course THIS is finally the year that Bills have said they want to pick up a QB. The only guys that sound likely to go in the 1st, are Smith and Barkley. They both have some pretty major question marks about them. There are some better opportunities later in the draft I think, but certainly no obvious Luck's or RG3's...

If I had bet all my money on the last 10 SB's knowing the results, I'd be rich! "AJ green was a sure thing" Haha, of course. In hindsight he was a sure thing. Dareus was supposed to be a sure thing too, and may still be.

Absolutely. Look at what he has done. The offense was mediocre at best on the Steelers with the one of the best D's in the league. Of course AFTER he left there, they won the SB. He couldn't do anything with Losman (who wasn't good, but I think he was better than he looked with that awful Bills system). He only had one decent year with Bledsoe, a proven Vet. I don't think I even need to mention the disaster with the Dolphins... He smothered an obviously very capable Matt Ryan, Turner, White, ect... in Atlanta (The offense has been one of the most explosive since he's left). While I do believe Gabbert just isn't good, Mularkey certainly couldn't give him any life with coaching brilliance. There is a trend here...

Let's not over sell that huh? They went 9-7 and lost to the Steelers BACKUPS when a win would have sent us to the playoffs... Don't forget we actually had a somewhat serviceable QB in Drew Bledsoe, the only other NFL worthy QB on the Bills roster since Jim Kelly.

This ^ If his kids were getting harassed, that's too bad... The fact of the matter is though, this guy is an awful coach. He was bad prior to being in Buffalo, he was bad IN Buffalo, he has been AWFUL after Buffalo. I never understood why this guy has always been so hyped for accomplishing NOTHING. It's funny how much better the Steeler's and Falcon's offenses were after he was replaced (too bad we didn't get that same boost). Also, there was plenty of talk of him getting fired anyway. He probably just wanted to GTFO.