2003Contenders

Agreed... The problem is that great LTs do not grow on trees -- and the draft is such a crapshoot. Still, it would be nice to to see more than one Day 1 pick used on the OL. Several reasons... One, we haven't had a real consistent starting unit in years. Everyone knows that these guys take some time to gel. Donahoe, for reasons only known to him, never saw the need to invest heavily in the OL in either the draft or free agency -- and the new regime went DB-crazy in the draft and pretty much ignored that need, especially in the early rounds. Thus, we are stuck with a poor starting line -- and very little in the way of depth behind them. Well, I will say that there were some adjustments made after halftime, since Roy wasn't nearly as visible in the 3rd and 4th quarters. But your point is well taken. Also remember, that the Lions were able to get plenty of pressure on Losman with just their 4 DL rushing, which allowed them to drop 7 into coverage and double-up on Evans. When Fairchild started using 3 and 4 wideouts, notice how Evans started getting open? Meanwhile, our DL is so pathetic that they can't get after the QB without help from blitzers. I think the success our front four had in Miami sent a horribly inflated signal about how good they were. Miami was THAT bad -- our DL hasn't generated much pressure on opposing QBs, since -- even against Detroit's patch-work unit. I like Whitner too. Simpson did at least come up with the INT -- that could have been the final turning point in the game if the OL had stood up. A shame that our rookie safties have been outperforming our veteran CBs. For all the times that McGee got beat by Williams yesterday, he was also in the position to make at least 2 interceptions -- and dropped them both. I'm not sure what the deal is. He's a KR, so we know he has decent hands. His confidence is shot now -- and I worry if he'll ever bounce back. Remember Ken Irvin? I think he saw that the Lions were going to be without 2-3 OL starters and thought this would be a great week to make a comeback. I bet if we review the tape, we'll see that he was guilty of overpursuing on a number of plays. It was not an especially good day by any of our LBs. Crowell missed the tackle on the second play of the game, which probably opened the pass-crazy Martz's eyes to how he could have some success running the ball against us. There is a great deal of talk on this board about him being a "bust". Remember that he was essentially a backup in Indy. Sadly Ralph should know that you get what you pay for. I observed the same thing. Although, he did actually make one very good screen pass to McGahee in the 4th quarter that picked up good yardage. The problem with those screens is that they take a long time to develop, which means (given our OL) that JP is usually under duress as he throws it. Well, he did force that fumble (that went, like 20 yards in the wrong direction) on the punt return. That was when I knew that we were in trouble as the ball was just not going to bounce our way. As lousy as Tasker was yesterday, he did make a great observation on the Losman/Davis near-miss. Namely, Losman through the perfect pass but it looked overthrown because Davis kept looking back for it rather than just running for it. I know what you are saying, but in a way I know where Tasker is coming from. Not only does he not want to be perceived as a homer, but he is probably trying to help the team with the "jinx". I do that myself as I watch a game... "Oh, here comes Lindell to try to kick this 53 yarder... No way does he make it!" Whenever I see a grpahic come up -- like the Lions only have one sack in their last 4 games -- I worry. That's a scheme that needs adjusting. The CBs play on a specific side of the field in Fewell's defense, not against a specific receiver. Thus, the offense is allowed to look for and exploit the mismatch. Yesterday that mismatch was 6-3 Williams against 5-9 McGee. Brady will try the same thing this week... Here's hoping that McGee looks at this as a real opportunity -- and takes one back to the house! Yes, it was -- but remember it came against an NFC foe, which means it's not the end of the world. A win against New England (as unlikely as that may be) will cure a lot of ailments heading into the bye.

Yea, I liked that the officials were not overly nit-picky yesterday -- although it did come back to hurt us with Roy's repeated unpenalized push-offs.

I don't belive the clock stops on out-of-bounds until you are inside 5 minutes.

I wonder if that means that they have Hargrove pegged for STs...

A 4.63 40-time is very good for a DL. Maybe he or Denney can play some DT on passing down.

I could be wrong, but I took Mort's coment about "up to snuff" to mean that, since Marv had been on the job for such a short time, he had to defer much of what went into making up the ultimate draft board to the guys (like Modrak) who were hold-overs from the previous regime.

You hit the nail right on the head! The funny thing is that after the 2002 season, most Bills fans were ready to cannonize TD. I firmly believe that the real turning point in terms of fan and media support came on that day, when he announced that GW was not coming back for 2004. He more or less called out the fans for being overly critical. At that point he pretty much lost the PR battle in Buffalo forever more. I think if you were to do a pros and cons analysis, you would probably discover that all in all TD probably did more good things than bad things during his tenure as GM of the Bills. However, the fact that the team made ZERO trips to the playoffs during his 5 years as GM justifies why he is no longer here. One other thing that we'll never know is: How much control did TD really have? Did he really have the final say on all draft picks? Did he encourage the coaches to determine who played and who didn't? Did he influence assistant hirings? How much did Ralph tie his hands (in terms of compensation for coaches, for example)? It remains to be seen what kind of GM ol' Marv will be in the long run, but I really like the "we are family" attitude that the entire organization seems to have right now.

I thought we'd been through this before... After the 2001 season (in which he won Coach of the Year honors), he and the Bears were forced to play 16 road games in 2002. The following year the team was torn apart with injuries -- and most people around the league felt that Jauron overachieved to even get to 7-9. He was also a lame duck coach by that point, as it was obvious that Angelo wanted to bring in "his" guy. Forget about the interim job in Detroit...

I know it isn't easy because the rule of if A > B and B> C then A > C doesn't necessarily work in the NFL. For example, Jacksonville beat Dallas, Dallas beat Washington -- but Washington beat Jacksonville. Still.. I don't mind Power Rankings when they are well thought out... Prisco's aren't. Let's review some things here... Redskins > Vikings. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the Vikings beat the Skins in Washington in Week 1? Vikings > Bills. Ummm, what just happened on Sunday? Yes, the Vikings were in the position to win at the end in our stadium, but the game shouldn't have been that close. Why no love for the Saints? I know they finally just lost a game, but a 3 point loss on th road against a desperate divisional opponent (who just happened to play in the NFC Championship Game a few months ago) isn't "coming back down to earth". Where's the love for the Jets? I hate them, but they did find a way to beat us in our house -- and gave both the Colts and Patriots all they could handle. Ranking them behind the Steelers, who have beaten no one besides Miami, and even us makes little sense. I wonder how you can rank Miami ahead of any team that isn't winless, including the team (Houston) that just beat them on Sunday?

I'd also like to see more running plays designed to go outside. Even when Willis isn't making it to the perimeter and getting tons of yards -- the extra running and lateral movement required by the defenders has a way of tiring them out. This would also be a good week to get the TEs more involved in the passing game.

Oh -- and a major cutdown on penalties.

On any given Sunday... I think having Fewell on our side may help in terms of picking up on Chicago's tendencies. It also helps that JP will be playing against a Cover-2 defense that he's used to seeing -- although this one is the real deal. I think the following things all need to happen for us to win... 1. No turnovers by JP and company 2. Jump out to an early lead 3. Win the field position battle via Special Teams

Let's just all agree that we won't jump off the wagon if he lays an egg on the road this week against Chicago...

True... And you indirectly hit on another point. I think part of the problem with the way that the last coaching staff dealt with JP is that Meathead bullied him in a somewhat degrading manner. That NE game is the perfect example. JP had just come off the injury list -- and was designated as the #3 QB. You know he had taken very little in the way of snaps in practice. So what does MM do? He throws the kid to the wolves -- that is, the defending and soon-to-be-repeat Super Bowl champs -- in a game where they were dominating and pinning their ears back to come after the QB. Now, Fairchild is supposedly very hard on the young QB as well. However, there is a fine line between being demanding (i.e. "forcefully patient") and being a bully. I can't get these visions out of my head of stupid Meathead walking around making fun of JP and creating an environment where he was fair game by the veterans. This may have been an environment that made it plausible for Troy Vincent to give him that gentle nudge, even though he was wearing a red shirt -- and provided Moulds with the flexibility to do what he did last year.

There are plenty of misconceptions about JP out there. One of my favorites is that he's cocky and selfish. I really have seen NOTHING during his time here in Buffalo that would lead me to believe that is the case with him. In fact, I think a real defining moment for him may have been after the Cinci game in the preseason, when he accepted full blame for the interception that was intended for Josh Reed. I wonder if it is any coincidence that Reed has been so reliable in the early goings? JP has also been very quick to give credit to his line and to the receivers for making things "easy" for him. Ironically, one of the guys who bad-mouthed JP at Tulane was M Moore... The same classless guy that knocked the sound engineer guy over on the sideline -- and didn't even offer to help him up. (It was up to Jimbo to extend the courtesy hand and at least ask the dude if he was OK.)

Actually it was a good call. Denney, I believe it was, mugged the receiver.

Recall that signabilty was also an issue. Some scouts felt that BM was the best player coming out of the draft and, thus, BM made it clear that he wanted to be paid as such. Let's not forget that he sat out most of the 2002 season with the Vikings threatening to go back into the 2003 draft. Truthfully, it wasn't until early last season that the worm turned and the experts started to agree that BM was a superior player to MW. Did the front office screw up? Yes, in hindsight. But there was no real way of knowing that Big Mike would turn out to be such a wuss... Believe it or not, he was considered the "safe" pick at the time. Supposedly GW was begging for defensive help -- and especially liked Roy Williams. TD, who was working out the deal for Bledsoe at the time, wanted more OL help... Ironic, don't you think?

In this world where there are no real absolutes, suffice to say that TD had good points as well as bad points. I do think that his drafts were mostly pretty good for this team. Even the 2002 draft, which we all point toward as his low point, is beginning to look better. Obviously, the miscalculation on Mike Williams hurt bad -- but sometimes those things just happen. (See Gallery in Oakland.) The Reed and Denney picks are starting to look better and better too. Maybe both were just late bloomers. This 2006 draft reminds me a lot of our 2001 draft. The common denominator is that both years coincided with a new regime at the top. If you recall, we got a number of instant impact players in that draft: Nate, Schobel, Travis, Jennings... There were also guys like Spoon and Edwards that contributed early on, but failed to make long-term contributions. I wonder how many of the Class of 2006 guys will be around for years to come -- and how many are playing out of necessity... Anyway... I'm starting to move off topic... The point is that TD wasn't completely vile. He left this team in much better shape with his 2004 and 2005 drafts than Butler did with his 1999 and 2000 failures. Of course, we all know about his shortcomings: head coach hires, single-mindedly overlooking some of the team's weaknesses, and disdain when dealing with our own free agents. I've always felt that his head coaching weaknesses stemmed from the battle he lost with Cowher in Pittsburgh. At least on a subconscious level, he probably never wanted to hire a coach that would ever be a large enough personality to overpower him. TD never did what he needed to do to fix the OL. Maybe he simply kept out hope that MW would amount to something. Even worse, each year he'd become so focused on the team's weak areas that he'd simply neglect the other areas. We remember the 2002 team as being an offensive juggernaut -- but with a horrible defense. TD did a great job during the 2003 free agent market addressing the defensive problems -- but in the process tore down the offense, as Price, Riemersma and Centers were all allowed to leave. We know what's happened to the offense since... After 2004, TD seemed to believe that the source of all of our problems was with Bledsoe, so he gave him his walking papers and threw JP to the wolves. In this case, the wolves were as much MM and his goon coaching staff as it was the opposing defenders. Big Pat represents the perfect example of how TD dealt poorly with our free agents. The attitude was more surly than a simple "Take it or leave it" as TD served to alieniate and disrespect these guys. After that great 2003 free agent class, the word got around to the point where it was hard to attract top free agents to come here. Despite all of our mutterings about high-priced athletes, it isn't always about money. Marv and DJ's "we are family" approach means more than you can imagine, especially if this season ends on a positive note.

I wouldn't limit to the red zone but short distance in general. Take a look at our 4th down conversion rate. I'm not sure if we're missing some beef up front (on both sides of the ball) -- or if it is an attitude issue.

I hope you are right, but the Vikings are certainly a better team than the Jets. Like Pennington, Johnson is a heady QB with a better arm (Not saying much, I know). In the first 3 games, the Vikings have been patient with the run -- and Taylor has been a workhorse. He may not bust any long runs, but he'll eat our defense up with plenty of 4-yard carries, which should set up the play-action pass. Contrary to your assessment, the Vikings do have a very good defense, starting up front with 3 of their 4 starting defensive linemen being former first round draft picks. The only one who wasn't a first rounder is the one who may be the best: Big Pat Williams, remember him? The Vikings have also improved their secondary and linebacking corps. As for what has happened in the first 3 weeks, the Vikings have had a very tough schedule having to start 2 tough road games against the Redskins and Panthers. Last week they lost a heartbreaker at home to the Bears. I've been very impressed with Brad Childress through these first 3 weeks. He clearly out-coached Gibbs and Fox in those first two contests. He will undoubtedly use the same gameplan that the Jets exercised last week against us -- and may mix in an occasional deep pass or two to try to keep out safeties honest. This won't be a cakewalk, but I think we can win a nailbiter if the DL can penetrate. The Vikings' WRs don't scare me, so I think our DBs can afford to be more physical than they were last week against the Jets, which should prevent Johnson from making completions on the quick 3-step drops as Pennington was able to do last week.

I agree. In fact, I remember specifically after that fist pass that Willis was exposing the palms of his hands and shaking them as if to point out the obvious... that they were wet -- and, hence, why he was unable to come up with the ball. The second pass was clearly a bad one by JP.

I'm by no means a JP apologist, but I do get a kick out of some of the jabs he's received after this game. He certainly made some mistakes, but he also made some big plays -- and at times showed very GOOD instincts. I am guessing by the "football instincts" comment, you are worried by the fact that he didn't "feel" the blind-side pressure that resulted in the 2 sacks and strips. I can see that maybe on the first one, because I think he did hang onto the ball too long. However, on the second one that -- gulp -- resulted in the NON-TD, there wasn't much he could do there. There were SEVERAL times today where his mobility and ability to "feel" the pressure allowed him to escape and at least have the opportunity to throw the ball away -- or even make a play downfield. That near-Peerless connection came on such a play as did the Reed -should-have-been-a-catch play. There were times were he bought so much time, that I figured that there had to be someone that broke open, right? That may be a testimony to our receivers' routes. I think a game like today magnified a couple of things, especially in relation to a savvy dink-and-dunk QB like Pennington. From a talent perspective there really is no comparison. In fact, in the future, bad weather situations like today could prove to be a tremendous advantage, as most NFL QBs will not be able to slice through the winds as JP did several times today. The mobility (as I mentioned) is also a clear advantage. Meanwhile, if JP playes mistake free football (as Pennington did), the Bills probably win. I've resigned myself to realizing that this year will be spent finding out whether or not JP has "it". 3 games into the season, we still don't know, and we probably won't know until closer to the end of the season.

We've heard all about the turnovers ad naseum. How about a couple of other things: 1. Red zone inefficiency on both offense and defense. Jets go 3 for 3. Bills go 1 for 3. 2. Peerless had some nice grabs -- but also some costly mistakes. The bomb that went through his fingers as well as the offensive interference call.

Well, he did keep an important drive alive with a senseless and obvious trip.

It's what happens when you have a journalist -- someone who is a good writer and has important contacts around the league -- but has absolutely no idea about the game of football itself. Given the inaccuracy of some of his recent predictions (not just about the quality of the Bills' football team), I have to wonder how valid his contacts actually are. To a certain extent, the same applies to Mort, although he seems to have more reliable sources and a greater integrity for when he reveals the information that he has received.