mjt328

Very interesting that Brooks and Rogers are both inactive, but Gilmore is not. I can't see any way he doesn't play today, and (unless he's a bit rusty) that may be HUGE for today's game.

Exactly right. The most successful Super Bowl winning quarterbacks over the last 20-30 years - Tom Brady, Joe Montana - did the majority of their damage with short/underneath throws.

1. Quarterback The key is consistency. It's not necessarily about having Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Drew Brees. It's about having a QB that can play at a very high level, week after week - against every kind of defense thrown at him. He needs to play well against heavy blitzing teams AND against those that play heavy coverage looks. He needs to make throws against man to man AND against zone. He should be able to hit the deep throws frequently, but also have the patience to pick down the field with underneath throws. 2. Coaching Staff The key here is adaptability. Look around the NFL and you see tons of copycats. West Coast Offense. Tampa 2 Defense. Read-Option. Wildcat. Spread. A good coaching staff doesn't form "his system" and force it on the players. He adjusts his scheme to fit the players strengths and hide weaknesses. He adjusts the weekly game plan to attack that particular opponent. Every team in the NFL has talent. But only a few coaching staffs know how to maximize what they've got week after week. 3. Supporting Cast This is different from team to team. It's about knowing and building on your franchise's identity. If you are the Denver Broncos with a QB like Peyton Manning, it's more important to have an excellent O-Line than a shut down defense. Why? Because your championship hopes depend on Manning staying healthy. And if the defense can just keep the opponent under 25-30 points each week, the Broncos win 90 percent of the time. On the opposite end, a team like 49ers (when they had Alex Smith) needed a strong running game, and a defense capable of keeping the opponent under 15-20 points each week. Because Smith was better suited as a game manager, not a guy who could win in a shootout.

I'll never understand why teams even consider trading proven players for draft picks. It's a stupid gamble that almost never works out. The point of the draft is to select a college prospect that you HOPE becomes a good player. Why would you trade a good player for the CHANCE you get something decent in return. Over the last few years, we've traded Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans and Jason Peters for draft picks. On every single trade, we ended up on the short end of the stick. The closest we got to a good deal was in the Peters deal - since we ended up with a pretty good player in the draft (Eric Wood). Despite the grudge that most Bills fans hold against Peters, they must admit that Wood is nowhere near the player Peters has been (3x Pro Bowler and 2x All-Pro since leaving Buffalo). When healthy, Wood is probably a Top 10-15 center in the NFL. When healthy, Peters is probably a Top 5 left tackle. And it's not just us. What did Denver get in return for Jay Cutler? What did the Oakland Raiders get in return for Randy Moss? Do you think Dee Millner will make Jets fans forget Darrelle Revis? Please. 20 years ago, the Dallas Cowboys fleeced the Minnesota Vikings for Herschel Walker. Now everyone thinks draft picks are gold. It's ridiculous. Let's assume that Buffalo can get a high 1st round pick for Stevie Johnson (not in a million years). They can select Marquise Lee, Sammy Watkins or another top WR. What are the chances Lee/Watkins eventually turn out as good as Stevie Johnson, 2-3 years down the road? 50 percent? 25 percent? 10 percent? In the best case scenario (a high 1st rounder), we would still be taking a huge gamble. Stupid.

Absolutely not. Draft picks are ridiculously overrated. Pretend we get a 1st round pick for Stevie, which is more than any team would give up for him. First of all, we create a BIG hole at WR. Our #1 receiver becomes Robert Woods. Our #2 becomes TJ Graham. WR becomes a big need. So instead of improving at OG, TE, LB, CB or another position - we now have to use our pick on an unknown player. Even if we use that Number #1 pick on another WR, what are the chances that we get a player of Stevie Johnson's caliber? The guy has 3 straight 1,000 yard seasons and is widely considered one of the best route runners in the league. More than half of 1st round picks in this league are complete busts. Another 25 percent only turn out to be decent starters. Instead, why don't we use our #2 pick from next year and offer it to Cleveland for Josh Gordon. That way we are absolutely loaded at the WR position for years to come.

If he is playing better than EJ and we are winning games with a chance at the playoffs - then NO DOUBT you definitely leave in Thad Lewis. Re-open the QB competition in next year's training camp. It's fun to think about, but I seriously doubt this will happen. I went back and looked at the 4th preseason game and watched his throws. His accuracy is dreadful.

Great job to get momentum in the second half. This would be a great job to hit them with a play-action deep pass.

Coaching tips for the second half: 1) No more read-option 2) Quit punting the ball to Benjamin

When is Hackett going to realize that EJ SUCKS at the read option? It's a gimmick play that NFL defenses figured out before Week 1! Quit running it!!!!

When is Hackett going to realize that EJ SUCKS at the read option? It's a gimmick play that NFL defenses figured out before Week 1! Quit running it!!!!

But what happens when the players seem incapable of "executing" the game plan? Should the coaches remain stubborn and keep running the same plan over and over and over, then blaming a lack of execution? Or should they adjust to something that has a better chance of success? Bottom line. The Bills offense is having trouble sustaining drives. They have a rookie quarterback who is having lots of trouble with his reads. Maybe they need to slow down, just to help Manuel get his feet under him.

This is a nice article, but I don't agree with the conclusion. I agree that EJ needs to make a better read on the defense, and know when to pull the ball and run himself. I agree that we are missing blocks. And I agree that CJ is tentative in hitting the cuts. However, that doesn't clear Hackett of blame. - If the defense is loading the box and keying so heavily on Spiller, (again) why are we not doing play action? - If our players are struggling to run the read-option, why does he insist on calling it over and over and over? - If the interior of our line (namely Colin Brown) is getting blown up, why are we constantly running delayed handoffs directly behind him? It's easy to blame execution. After all, if every player on offense "executes" the play perfectly as it's drawn up on a chalkboard, then we will be successful every time. But unless you are the most talented team in the NFL, that isn't reality. A coach/coordinator HAS to adjust to what the defense is throwing at him, and he HAS to work with the strengths and weaknesses of his own players.

I'm saying there is plenty of blame to go around... and Hackett is certainly included. I think it's silly for people to argue whether we lost because of Hackett, EJ, Justin Rogers, the OL, Mario Williams, etc. They all sucked horribly and they are all hurting the team.

Why do we fight over WHO to blame? It's silly. The truth is, almost everyone sucked on Sunday. They all contributed to the loss. Yes, the offensive line was terrible on Sunday and got dominated by the Jets front 7. Yes, Spiller is missing running lanes and is back to dancing in the backfield like his rookie season. Yes, EJ was inaccurate, indecisive and completely confused. Yes, the receivers struggled getting separation and failed to get open. That doesn't justify Hackett's predictable playcalling, or his failure to make adjustments. As a fan, it's easier to point the finger at ONE player or ONE coach... and assume he is dragging everyone else down. The painful reality is that we've got a lot of bad on this team, and we aren't nearly as close as some people think.

Sure, it's just wishful thinking. People are frustrated because whenever we take a step up somewhere (hiring Pettine at DC, drafting Alonso), we take a step back somewhere else (Hackett at OC, losing Levitre to free agency). We've been spinning our wheels for 13 years, and it sucks.

I don't understand why so many people are determined to "assign" blame every game... "It wasn't EJ's fault, it was Justin Rogers letting up big passes!" Listen...both players sucked bad on Sunday and contributed HEAVILY towards one of the worst performances I've ever seen out of this team. With that said, Hackett has been absolutely terrible his first 3 games. - He's predictable. So far, it appears that the Bills offense only has about 5-10 plays in the book, and every one is telegraphed to the defense by the formation and personnel. - He fails to take advantage of our player's strengths, particularly CJ Spiller (supposedly the cornerstone of our offense). Spiller needs space to make plays. As others stated, where are the screens? Where are the designed outside runs? How about spreading out the defense? Spiller is never going to have success running between the tackles in a bunched formation. - He fails to hide our team's biggest weakness, particularly left guard. We have a massive hole on our line, yet a high percentage of runs are directly behind Colin Brown. - He fails to adjust to what the opposition is throwing at him. If the defense is selling out to stop the run, try some play-action. If they are bringing heavy pressure, try some screen plays. If they are loading the box and blitzing up the middle, have the receivers run slants. Execution is up to the players, but the coaches should be giving them the best chance to succeed. Hackett's play calling looks like a deer in the headlights. He's this year's version of Dave Wannstedt. Just running the same formations and plays over and over, and acting confused when it doesn't work.

I live in St. Louis, but grew up a die-hard Bills fan. I've been to numerous Rams games, along with close trips to Kansas City and Indianapolis. Never seen a problem at any of them. Two years ago, I made my first trip to Ralph Wilson stadium to see my first Bills home game. It was an absolute embarrassment. Drunken idiots everywhere. At least 2 or 3 fights in my general vicinity. It completely changed my opinion about our "great" fan base.

It's criminal (and downright ignorant) that Super Bowl wins are weighed so heavily in Hall of Fame voting. Reed played in 234 regular season games and 21 post season games at an all-time great level. Yet all the voters care about is the W/L outcome of Super Bowls 25, 26, 27 and 28. If Norwood made that kick, Reed would already be in. If Reed isn't HOF quality, somebody needs to yank the busts for guys like Michael Irvin, Art Monk and Lynn Swann out of Canton. And until he makes it, guys like Marvin Harrison and Isaac Bruce shouldn't even get consideration.

Really? And how did the Patriots score their points? Their only touchdowns came after gift fumbles from Spiller and Goodwin, deep in Bills territory. Without help from "sloppy play", New England offense only scored NINE points all game. And I'm not even counting the lopsided, back-breaking penalties.

This is how I see the AFC East's Top 5 starting receivers in terms of overall talent: Vets: Stevie Johnson > Mike Wallace > Danny Amendola > Santonio Holmes > Brian Hartline The advantage the Dolphins have is that other teams are relying heavy on young/rookie wide receivers. They have a solid vet in Brian Hartline. However, these young players don't need to be very good to bypass Hartline. Here is how I would rank the Top 5 young receivers in our division: Robert Woods > Da'Rick Rogers > Aaron Dobson > Stephen Hill > TJ Graham

So... Stevie loses his starting job to 3 rookie receivers, yet still manages to have a career year and make the Pro Bowl. And... Even with our #4 receiver putting up 1,000+ yards receiving (what does that say for the other 3 guys), we still manage to run the ball enough for CJ Spiller to lead the NFL in rushing AND his backup to win the Comeback Player of the Year.

I know right after the draft, every prospect looks like a future Pro Bowler. But before we start talking playoffs or comparing ourselves to the Steelers - Nix has to start actually HITTING on his picks. In case anyone forgot, our 2010 was a complete disaster. Spiller is the only starter from that entire group. Carrington has been a good backup. But that's it. And 2011 is right on its heels... Despite the glowing reviews on that class, we've had very disappointing results so far. Dareus followed a good rookie season with a very disappointing sophomore campaign. Aaron Williams was so bad, he's switching positions. Kelvin Sheppard got traded for another team's major bust. Chris Hairston is buried on the depth chart.

Post-draft is always a time of very high optimism. But realistically, we all know this team will not succeed until it gets a high level of play from the QB position. Drafting EJ Manuel was (hopefully) a big step in the right direction. But even if he is destined for a great NFL career, it could take some time for him to get there. Most likely, we will start the season with Kevin Kolb and get the same level of play as we did with Fitzpatrick. There is a good chance that Manuel will break the starting lineup before the season is over - which will likely mean some growing pains.

"Track Star" is a buzz word that has been used for years to describe guys that are drafted because of their speed. It's ironic that Goodwin is actually a track star. I'm not necessarily a stat guy, but I do put weight on production. If a receiver isn't catching the ball consistently in college, why do you expect him to become a stud in the pros? There were probably 5-6 receivers available at that spot who put up more production in a single season than Goodwin had in his entire career. I'll admit, I have only seen limited footage on him. Maybe 4 full games from his senior season. In that limited footage I saw a guy who had trouble running routes and couldn't locate the ball in the air when changing directions. His best plays (big surprise) were actually running plays and a deep throw where he blew past the cornerback. Like I said. If this was 2010, I would probably be more willing to give Nix the benefit of the doubt. But I've been watching picks like this for 3 seasons now, and none of our GM's ridiculous reaches have panned out. He hasn't been able to nab a starter later than the 4th round (Bradham).

Why is Nix so terrified about losing draft picks? He wastes everything we get after the 3rd-4th round. This guy was slated to go as an UDFA. Last year, our 5th round pick was CUT before the season.