2003Contenders

Any word about why Hardy wasn't practicing?

It is too early to tell about Turk. Of course, he would simply follow a pattern of poor OCs that we have had dating back to the end of the Levy era. The funny thing is that some of these coordinators started off hot -- then fizzled. 1998: Joe Pendry. Remember how imaginative he seemed with Flutie behind center? There were even concerns that he would leave for a head coaching gig after the season. Things went downhill in 1999, when defenses caught up. By 2000 it was rumored that Wade fell on the sword to save Pendry, rather than Ronnie Jones as was initially reported. 2001: One and done for the former Seahawks QB coach, Mike Sheppard. 2002: Kevin Gilbride looked like the man through the first half of 2002. By the second half the offense began to struggle, and 2003 proved to be a disaster. 2004: Tom Clements was the guy that TD had privately lobbied for back in 2002. He and MM put together a well balanced attack that year that led to the only winning season the team has had since 1999. By 2005, MM had relieved him of his play calling duties. 2006: Steve Fairchild came in and appeared to do a pretty good job of mentoring JP, who put together a respectable 2006 campaign. I think we all know how 2007 went... So it just appears to be par for the course. The success of Gilbride with the Giants last year and Mularkey with the Falcons this year tells me that this may not all be a product of poor coordinators. Namely, poor QB play led to the demise of each of these coaches. Once defenses figured out how to contain Flutie, Pendry seemed to drop IQ points. Sheppard never really stood a chance with RJ at the helm. As Bledsoe's skills diminished, so did Gilbride's abilities as a play caller. Clements was burdened with a QB in Losman that was thrown to the wolves too quickly. Fairchild did well to help Losman reach his ceiling -- and realized that he couldn't go much further with the one-trick-pony. I believe that Turk's future fortunes will hinge directly on whether or not he and Edwards can get out of this current offensive slump.

Agreed. It is also problematic that aside from Evans right now we do not have a competent WR. Moreover, it would help if we didn't have to keep the TEs to pass protect all the time -- and if Lynch wouldn't drop catchable balls so frequently.

Last year ML was getting 20+ carries per game. By the end of the season, he had clearly worn down. I wonder if his fewer opportunities this year is at least in part to the coaching staff trying to pace him for the season and make sure that he is good to go for the stretch run, especially when the weather turns bad. I suspect that this may be the week that the coaches stay committed to the running game -- and more importantly minimize Jackson's carries and use Lynch as a true workhorse.

Actually, Dawgg, that isn't quite true. There were murmurs leading up to the draft that Ngata had the bad habit of not giving 100% on every play. Clearly he has been a difference-maker for the Ravens, and it is hard to argue that he wouln't have been a better selection than Whitner was at the time. However, I think that Marv was worried about questions regarding his maturity level. I think that Jauron had questions about whether or not he fit well into the new Cover-2 defensive scheme that they were implementing at the time. Looking back, I also wonder how much his playing on a defense with so much surrounding talent and leadership played a role in Ngata reaching his potential. I wonder, for example, if he would have been such a dominant player for the Bills. In the final analysis, I whole-heartedly believe that the Whitner pick was made because he was a safe choice and one that everyone in the War Room was on board with.

If Chambers turns out to be a pleasant surprise at RG, is it possible that Butler could play Center when he returns to the lineup?

Yes, but he is battling injuries and may not be able to play.

Another big difference is that Bledsoe caught everyone by surprise. However, by the midpoint of the season, the book was out on him, and he never resembled the same player that we saw in those first 8 games of 2002. Edwards is still learning the position and should only get better from here on out.

And, yet, without that int-TD-return, which was a 10-point swing, the Bills win that game.

5-3 is about what I expected. I think I had them winning the Jets game but losing the Jags game in my early predictions. However, I never dreamed that would be enough for them to be in first place, given that I couldn't have predicted Brady's injury.

Can he play Free Safety?

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Maybe, just maybe, it will force the coaches to become creative.

You really think we are going to lose at home to the 49ers?

Exactly! This was the type of game that we used to win routinely back in the 90s. Play like crap for 50 minutes, then get a big play (Greer interception return). Force a 3-and-out behind the loud crowd noise, get the ball back on offense and march to the game winning TD. For a few minutes there I even thought that is what was going to happen yesterday. Alas, the defense couldn't make a stop when it had to.

Save yourself some grief.

I agree that there really has been something very bizarre related to injuries this year. I am not sure whether to blame it on misdiagnosis, poor precautionary care, poor treatment -- or simply to the team being less than forthright with the nature of the injuries. The Schobel one takes the cake, but I have been scratching my head since the Crowell fiasco in training camp.

Agreed. Before we start talking about extending a chump like Jason Peters, we should lock up Greer long term.

Also sounds like Schobel isn't anywhere near close to coming back either.

Just gives Jauron/Fewell one more excuse for backing off the WRs and applying even less pressure on the QB this week.

Indeed, death by a thousand paper cuts from Wes Welker. I agree. Throw everything but the kitchen sink at Cassel.

I can't say that I blame Trent for throwing it away in that situation. 1. He had just killed the other drive in a similar situation with the INT-RETURN. 2. I am sure when the coaches called the play, they told him that they were going to go for it on 4th down if they failed to convert on 3rd. The conversation probably included a reminder for him to just throw it away if it wasn't there on 3rd.

Call me an optimist. First, I think the team needs to treat this week as their Super Bowl. The coaches need to have a game plan for going into New England and coming away with a victory. It really should not be THAT formidable. The Pats are down to their 3rd or 4th running back. Cassel is unseasoned -- and could perhaps wilt if the defense can find a way to get to him. Both the Dolphins and Chargers were able to put up some serious points against this defense. Turk needs to come up with some imaginative plays. The only "trick" plays I can recall this year came on Special Teams. Moreover, the Bills need to bog down and commit themselves to the running game. Put the ball in Marshawn's hands. If they can somehow eke out a victory here, you would imagine that they would be favored to win the next 3 games heading into their next gauntlet of division games. That would then put the team at 9 victories with 4 games left to play. Barring a serious collapse, I still believe that they can find a way to win 11.

Oh, kudos to Washington no doubt for knowing the rule and doing what he did to draw the penalty. The problem is that the rule itself is just dumb.

I wonder what the real story is with Schobel... These have been two VERY important games he has missed. For a guy that had previously never missed a game in his entire career, I am really starting to worry about the true nature of this injury.

Moreover, I think it was Wyche that had the infatuation with JP. He was the one that scouted him in Louisiana at a workout headlined by Eli Manning. Wyche came away feeling that JP had actually had the better workout of the two.