mjt328

Ugh... We just can't win here. Buddy Nix wants to stay the course, and doesn't want to fire Chan. Chan still thinks Fitz is the answer at quarterback. If Ralph steps in and forces a change, he will continue to reinforce his reputation as a medler who won't let his football personnel do their job.

For what Chan asks our O-Line to do, I think they do an exceptional job. Whether they would excel in another coach's blocking scheme... there is honestly no way to tell. Some linemen are better at power blocking schemes. Others are better in zone schemes. Some are great at pulling and getting up the field. Others are better handling the blitz. Some are great run blockers. Others are better in pass protection. In the Bills current offense, the ball gets out of the QBs hand very quickly. Our linemen are usually only asked to block for a couple seconds - and that obviously helps their sack numbers. But at the same time, the spread offense rarely provides additional blocking help from running backs and tight ends when the defense decides to blitz. So there is a little bit of give and take. Same thing with the running game. Our offense is designed to spread the defense out, then take advantage of draws and misdirections. Our linemen are frequently asked to pull and get upfield to block on outside runs and screen plays. They obviously do a great job at both. Rarely is our O-Line asked to match-up 1-on-1, make a big push and force the defense backwards. But then again, rarely does it get help from a fullback, extra lineman or even a double tight end set. That makes a huge difference.

No. Nix/Gailey took over this team 3 years ago, which is plenty of time to turn around a team. In the years prior to them taking over, we were 7-9 three times in a row, followed by a 6-10 season that was accomplished partially with an interim coach. This year's schedule - compared to most other seasons - is a cakewalk. So far, we have played 4 games against teams with a winning record and still have a record of 4-7. The only winning team we have coming up on our schedule is Seattle. This team is not making progress, and a decent argument can be made that they are moving backwards.

I love this post. I remember how Jauron's offensive philosophy was to "play for the field goal." Then on defense, it was "bend but don't break" and giving up a field goal was considered a victory. Loser's mentality.

Usually it's the guys with big physical skill that rise. Scouts start focusing on potential and forget about how they played in games. I'm thinking Landry Jones makes a climb back up into 1st round consideration. If Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray declare, you might see them jump too.

We need a QB worse.

I am 100 percent behind this. With the high percentage of busts, it would be smart not to put our eggs in one basket. And if somehow we ended up with two good players, another team would be willing to refund us that pick in the future. It would be awesome to get a more polished prospect like Smith or Barkley in the 1st, then follow it up with someone raw with bigger upside - maybe Bray or Murray - in the 2nd or 3rd.

The argument that Nix had no QBs to choose from is also disappearing. Last year, it was clear he whiffed by not taking Andy Dalton for Aaron Williams. This year, we watched him pass on Russell Wilson for TJ Graham. Over the last 2 weeks, we have also witnessed Colin Kaepernick show what he can do.

Mark Sanchez threw for 301 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night (Thanksgiving) against the Patriots. He also had over 70 percent completion percentage on the night. Do you feel like he played a good game?

A few years ago, I started a study on this exact topic. I went all the way back to the year 1978 to see how successful players were, based on the round they were drafted. For quarterbacks, there was a HUGE downward trend in success outside of the Top 10 - and especially outside of the first round. Finding even a solid starter after the second round was next to impossible. In fact, over the course of 27 years, I could only find TWO great quarterbacks that were drafted in the second round. Drew Brees and Brett Favre. On top of that, Brees was drafted #32 and Favre was drafted #33. So they barely slipped out of the first round. During the same period, there were also only a handful of solid starters out of the second round. Jake Plummer, Randall Cunningham, Boomer Esiason and Neil Lomax. The number of successful players continued to drop each round. Based on the results of my study, I came to a very strong conclusion: I've heard many critics say the draft is a complete "crap shoot" and is nothing more than luck. This is simply not true. In reality, scouts generally have a good idea where the top talent is at - and those players generally get taken at the top of the draft. Sure, there are always the Ryan Leafs and Jamarcus Russells that never realize their potential and go down in history as incredible draft busts. And then there is Tom Brady, a Hall of Famer taken in the 6th round that somehow everyone missed. But when you look at the numbers - the VAST majority of successful quarterbacks (and players in general) are taken in the first round. And finding a successful quarterback in the mid to late rounds is harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

The Redskins will not miss those draft picks, and Cleveland will forever regret not making this deal. It's very early, but RGIII appears to be as good as advertised. Players like him are rare, and they make everyone on the team better. Griffin is having a spectacular rookie season, even without his #1 receiver (Garcon) for most of the season. His success is coming with players like Alfred Morris, Aldrick Robinson and Logan Paulson.

Johnson took 3-4 steps after catching the ball before going to the ground. In NFL-terms, those steps are known as a "football move." So in the eyes of the rule book, he had already completed the catch before going to the ground. Now, if the receiver is going to the ground while making the catch - then they must complete the play with possession and cannot lose the ball when they hit the ground. The steps Johnson made make all the difference. It was the right call. The Forsett play... Not so much.

I notice that you conveniently left out the 1985 draft, which netted us one of the greatest NFL players of all time (Bruce Smith) and a should-be Hall of Famer (Andre Reed). Not to mention the numerous late-round successes that aren't listed. Not to mention (as someone else also pointed out), the pick that was traded for Cornelius Bennett. Your thread fails to make a point. Even with all Polian's "misses" I still see numerous hits. VERY big hits. Numerous Hall of Fame-type hits. Where are the big hits for Buddy? Heck, where are the average hits for Buddy? He's struggled to even get us solid starters in the draft. Most of the 2010 draft has been a complete loss. The lone exception being CJ Spiller. The 2011 draft got us Dareus, who I still think has potential - and a couple low-end starters (A.Williams, Sheppard, Hairston). Almost every one of those players has digressed in their second year. To compare the two regimes is insane. Polian took over the WORST team in football. In 3 years, they were 12-4 and in the AFC Championship game. In 5 years, they were in the Super Bowl. Nix took over a perennial 6 or 7 win team. In 3 years, the team appears to have made no progress.

Exactly. Nothing happened to him. He always had a low celing because of his limited physical skills. At 29 years old (almost 8 years in the league), he's reached his full potential. For his first 6 seasons, Fitz was known around the league as inconsistent and inaccurate - better suited as a backup than as an NFL starter. In early 2011, Chan and Fitz caught some teams off-guard with how successful he was in the spread offense... and he had a nice 4-5 game stretch. But once defensive coordinators caught on, the offense came back down to earth. He still has a nice game once in awhile against the really bad defenses of the league. But whenever he faces a good defense, he's pretty much screwed. And for the people that claim that his passing is getting BETTER as the season wears on... You do realize that our offense was held without a touchdown in two of our last three games, right?

I agree. Like I said in another post, there are plenty of other stadiums/fans that take care of business. I live in St. Louis and you never hear about or see the drunken nonsense that happens in Buffalo.

My biggest knock on Flacco is that he's always looking for the big play. In that sense, he's kind-of the "anti-Brady." There are lots of times he has guys wide open short, but he decides to launch it downfield because his receiver is 1-on-1. If he just developed some patience, I think he would be among the best in the league. As far as his comparison to Fitz, I think it goes way beyond arm strength (although that is a big and important one). Accuracy is one of the most important traits for a quarterback to have, and while Flacco may not be Drew Brees-like in that respect - he has Fitz topped by miles. In my opinion, Fitz is one of the least accurate passers in the NFL. He's constantly forcing his receivers to the ground to catch slant passes. On post routes in the middle of the field, the receiver usually has to wait for the ball. On deep throws, he's either way long or way short. Flacco is also a much better decision-maker. Despite what I said above, he doesn't force a lot of his passes. Every quarterback has his bad moments. But Fitz makes WAY too many "what the heck was he thinking!?" passes. Tennessee was a perfect example.

I just don't get it. Just because other quarterbacks have flaws, doesn't mean Fitz is anywhere on their level. I've asked this question before: What does Fitz consistently do well? In 8 NFL seasons, what has he shown on the football field that would make you believe he's a reliable starter? I can answer that question for Manning, Rivers, Schaub, Flacco. I can't for Fitz.

Why is it so hard to believe that Eli Manning is better than Fitz? Because Fitz puts up decent stats? One of the biggest problems with statistics is that they can be SO MISLEADING. For example, a player may have a great completion percentage. Just looking at those numbers on paper, a person may assume that high completion percentage = accuracy. But that number doesn't take into account how many passes were short, medium or long. It doesn't take into account receivers dropping passes or making great plays. It doesn't take into account the kind of defense the quarterback was playing, or the situation. It doesn't take into account offensive line play or pressure. Since taking over as the starter in Buffalo, Fitz has put up good numbers - no doubt. Probably on par with guys like Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Matt Shaub - and a number of guys talked about frequently on this board. But when you actually watch Fitz play week after week, season after season - you will find there are serious issues in his game. Probably the most visible problem with Fitz is his deep ball accuracy. This weakness makes things really difficult for the rest of the offense, since most opponents play the Bills receivers very close to the line. Of course, that weak point doesn't always show up on the stat sheet, because most of our passes are screens, slants and quick hits. But Fitz also has big problems in his short game accuracy. How many times do you see a quick slant to Stevie Johnson or Donald Jones, where the receiver is forced to dive to the ground to make the catch? That shows up on the stat sheet as a 6-7 yard completion. What people miss - is that if Fitz could hit the receiver in stride - it could be a 20-30 yard completion... maybe even a touchdown. I often think the same thing when reading posts. Last week, people were comparing Fitz to Flacco and Shaub. This week it's Rivers. These guys might be equals in fantasy football, but in real life - not so much.

Rivers most certainly is part of the problem in San Diego. That doesn't mean he can't turn things around, or go back to playing at a high level. Like I said in my post, I think most of his troubles arise from the mentality that he has to carry the team. Better coaching and better talent around him could help. Rivers has a history of winning in the NFL and playing at an MVP level. He as shown the physical and mental ability to be one of the top QBs in this league. There are many reasons to be optimistic he can do it again. Fitz has NEVER proven anything in his career. He's never been a winner, never played at a high level for a full season and never shown the physical ability.

Yes, he would be a BIG upgrade. But Rivers is not a free agent until 2016, and I doubt we would have a chance at him before then. There are a lot of people around the league that think his arm strength is degrading, and that might be true. What I see when I watch the Chargers is a guy who is trying to do too much and win game all by himself. I honestly think the talent is still there, but he needs to stop forcing passes. Consider that when Rivers was named starter for San Diego, they were one of the league's best teams and a Super Bowl contender. Since then: - He has watched his coach (Schottenheimer) get replaced by one of the biggest bum head coaches in the league following a 14-2 season. The team hasn't been the same since. - The decline and release of future HOF running back LT, along with San Diego letting Michael Turner and Sproles walk in free agency. The Chargers ground game now sucks bad. - The offensive line falling to shambles, especially after injuries destroyed the career of his left tackle Marcus McNeil. - The decline of his best weapon, Antonio Gates, and free agency loss of his best downfield receiver, Vincent Jackson. It's no wonder that Rivers feels the pressure to carry the team on his back.

I would be willing to bet the "anonymous source" about Tebow was completely made-up. I'm a journalism major and I worked as a newspaper reporter for 5 years. That type of garbage doesn't fly with real journalists. The New York media has been itching for a Tebow story for months, and for the most part the Jets haven't cooperated. It was only a matter of time before the media took matters into their own hands.

In 2008, the Miami Dolphins held the first pick in the draft. The debate was between: 1) Jake Long Considered by many to be the best left tackle to come out of the draft since Anthony Munoz, and easily the safest pick in the draft. 2) Matt Ryan The best quarterback in a weak draft class, who played at a small school and had lots of question marks. Parcells went with Jake Long, who has gone on to make 4 Pro Bowls. Until getting injured 2 seasons ago, he was widely considered the best left tackle in football, and most still consider him one of the elite players at the position. Ryan has made 1 Pro Bowl and is generally considered "just outside" the elite group. Few would argue that Long has been the better player thus far. Yet if you ask any Dolphins fan or individual within the organization.... if they had to do over, they would pick Ryan in a heartbeat. No single player has more impact on an NFL team than the quarterback.

I live in St. Louis, so I've gone to see Bills games here at home and at a few surrounding stadiums. I've also gone to see ONE game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. As a lifetime fan of the team, the behavior of Bills fans was more than embarrassing. Drunk idiots stumbling around, cussing and throwing trash everywhere - an hour before the game even started. Fighting in the stands. Terrible language - with families around. It was pathetic. I came out of that game with a new perspective of Bills fans and the City of Buffalo. I started to understand why the NFL makes fun of us, players don't want to come here, and why the league wants us to pack up and move. In most other stadiums that I've been to (St. Louis, Indianapolis, Kansas City), this behavior is NOT tolerated. Acting like a drunk moron will get you thrown out by the mid-first quarter. By the way, Kansas City manages to have an AWESOME tailgating experience, which is fun for families and kids - without the garbage you get in Buffalo.

We've played 10 games and the Bills have failed to score a touchdown in 3 of them.

I'll be curious to see how he looks Week 16 against us at home. Part of me wants to be excited about the way the defense played tonight. But experience tells me this was probably the exception and not the rule.