PolishDave

See the thing is that I don't think any of those players you mentioned are bad players. I happen to think they are all pretty good. I think Woods and Watkins in particular are both GREAT talents. And if there hasn't been one single quarterback who could get them the ball with any consistency in 2 years, then yes, I become increasingly suspicious that it is more the play design or scheme as opposed to the individual players' fault. And what about all the other players on that offense? Are any of them playing better than average? And how many of them are even playing up to average? They're not. Position by position on offense you can go right down the row and say they are all underperforming with regularity. And I refuse to think that is because all 11 of those players are just bad players or just playing bad because they are in some kind of funk. It is up to the coaches to get players to perform to their best. The Bills aren't doing that with friggin anybody on offense. Not anybody.

If you are right that the coaches have told him to play more conservative, and I do believe you are right about that (Marrone constantly talks about avoiding mistakes especially turnovers), then it would explain his regression. It would also explain a lot about EJ that many people suspected. And yes it is maddening.

Hogan playing great compared to what? A different number 3 receiver? yay! Dixon playing good on offense? Nothing special at all on offense. He is a great punt blocker though. Sammy - 1 or 2 games? not exactly number one receiver talent. He should be a true threat in every game when he is healthy. He has not been a true threat in many games. Woods - 1 great game. And lots of dropped passes in every other game. Again...not exactly stellar talent. I will concede you Hogan. But none of those other guys are playing good enough football...none of them. According to Jeremy White and half the mind slaves on this board, it is all Orton. Before that it was all Thad or Jeff Tuel or EJ. I am more convinced than ever that Hackett sucks even more than I used to think. I admit the picks were bad in the Denver game. I never said they weren't. Both bad decisions.

You obviously didn't even read what I wrote. Or maybe you are oblivious to understanding what is written. I am saying it is at least as much bad coaching as it is lack of player talent. This offense doesn't know how to use any player's strengths at all. Name one offensive player who is playing above what was expected of him with any consistency at all. Henderson maybe? Is it really plausible to think that every single player on the offense is a bad player?

Why in the world would you try and change a 10 year vet's game? Why wouldn't you adjust your offense to take advantage of the things he is good at? That is what good coaches do. The hardest position to play is QB. A coach should do everything possible to make his offense easily executable for his quarterback while taking full advantage of whatever strengths his quarterback has.

I agree completely. I don't think Orton is anything special. But I think he is the best quarterback this team has had since Fitzpatrick. And yet somehow every single quarterback that has been on this squad since Fitzpatrick has looked bad in this offense. I just find it hard to believe that every single one of these guys has been that bad. Orton showed that late in the game when he is forced to take charge of the offense because of time constraints, he has the talent to make plays. He is not Superbowl caliber no. But he is plenty good enough to take a team to the playoffs at least. This offensive staff is proving itself incompetent even when a very experienced average quarterback is on their squad.

I like the EJ option on fourth down with one exception. I wouldn't actually have EJ run the play. I would have him go in there and try to draw the defense offsides on a hard count. The defense wouldn't expect EJ to come in. It would surprise them. That might make them forget that they are in a position where the other team might try to draw them offsides. And in that scenario it might just work. That fourth down and two inside their own 30 would be a place to try something like that. If they don't bite on it, then punt.

You are dead wrong about this. If Orton expected the receiver to be open deep he certainly would have looked for him and probably thrown him the ball. I don't know why Orton didn't see him and neither do you. You just assume it is because he is a lousy quarterback who hasn't learned how to spot an open receiver in 10 years. And that is just stupid. Isn't it just a little suspicious that after the friggin revolving door of quarterbacks we have had through here in two years, there was not one single quarterback who could find those open guys deep and throw them the ball. That smells of poor coaching if I ever smelled it. When you see plays like that develop in a game, a good offensive coordinator will take his QB aside and say, hey we are going back to that play the next series because we know that Robert Woods or whoever it was on the play is going to be running one on one toward the post. And we need to take that shot. Those are the things you don't see the Buffalo Bills doing. And that is a coaching issue. A quarterback is not going to see every single open guy every single time. This offense patently sucks at choosing plays that have the number one receiver open when he is supposed to be open.

Here is my offensive strategy for the Bills to succeed against the Packers this weekend. 1) First play of game on offense - flea flicker pass to Goodwin on a go route. 2) Then work on trying to establish the power running game the rest of the first quarter. (not every play of course, but a majority of them) 3) If the power running game is working successfully, stick with it. 4) If running the ball is not working well by the end of the first quarter or so, then switch to shotgun formation as the standard formation for most plays. 5) Be sure to try running draws and shovel passes from shotgun in addition to the normal passing plays. 6) Mix in one deep shot to Goodwin or Watkins every other set of downs. 7) After any offensive play that goes for more than a ten yard gain, go into no huddle hurry up mode and step on the gas. 8) If the Bills are able to create any turnovers from Green Bay, then the very first play after the turnover should be a deep sideline pass to Watkins or Goodwin depending on which one draws single coverage. This should happen every time there is a turnover unless the field position results in the Bills getting the ball within 20 yards of the Packers’ end zone. What strategy would you use?

Reporter: "Cam...what happened out there?" Newton: " I was driving along mindin my business with my mind on my money and my money on my mind......then wham......DONKEY KONG SUH comes outta nowhere and flips my truck." Newton: " I was like dude....chill man....I was just playin when I called you that....." Newton: "Then he punched the top of truck and caved the whole top in..." Newton: " Then he heard police sirens and started running.. I think he threw a bag of weed off that bridge over there..." Newton: "I was like.....daaaamnnnnnn dude......" Newton: "Then I went to look for his weed. That is when I fell down the hill and hurt my leg."

Yup. Bench clearing brawl like high school teams used to do back in the day. Swinging helmets and everything. What will the refs do then? The coach is the douche who ran into the ref. Yes the ref was also a douche for making the wrong call. But Geezuz man, its a friggin high school football game. There are more important things in life. And this is certainly not something worth involving lawyers and judges in.

Marvin Lewis is a perfect example of what happens when a team has been losing far too long. They get somebody in there like him that will is good enough to occasionally make the playoffs but never really win anything, and they lock him up. Bengals fans are happy to just not be losing year after year anymore like the Bills are doing. Right now the Bills are what they Bengals used to be. If we win 9 games this year, Doug Marrone might end up being our Marvin Lewis.

He is smiling cuz he is fart bombing that cop..... Boom!

See this thread in progress http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/173963-cam-newton-injured-in-car-wreck/

lol...you're killing me... Gotta watch this one......will JF get snapped in half or will he tear the Bungles a new one?

I agree with this. If the coaches really want to try to win out the rest of these games and give it every ounce of what they have left, then I think they need to make some substantial changes to the offense immediately. I say that even though there are only a few games left in the season. Why throw they down the drain by continuing to do what is not working well.... If I am Nate Hackett I would be sitting down with Orton and letting him pick and choose which offensive plays are going to be in this week's playbook. I would put the weight on his shoulders to tell me what situation he needs to be put in to give him the best chance to execute big plays this week. Then I do whatever I can to try to create that situation for him. They have got to find a way to get Orton's best game out of him yet and try to get a boost going into these last 3 games.

I get why you hate the guy and I agree with you. But do you realize you are doing the guy a big favor by talking about him. They write articles to elicit an emotional reaction in fans. When they get fans fired up, they are doing their job well. So by talking about him, even though you hate him, you are actually giving him a pat on the back in the eyes of his employer and his peers. It is better to just avoid reading what he writes. You will be happier and he loses.

Did you just make that rule up? I don't recall that being part of the rule. It just has to go ten yards or be touched by a player on the receiving end, whichever comes first, then it becomes live. I think this is the part that increases the odds of the kicking team recovering it. If it was predictable, the receiving team could defend it better. If kicking teams had a 50/50 shot at it, that would increase their odds of a recovery. I think it could work the maybe once out of the first few times you tried it. Then after that, the other teams would be wise to it and tell their guys to let it go out of bounds or let it go over their heads at least. You would have to kick it as low as possible and as hard as possible.

Point taken. But I can't kick a 25 yard field goal either. Cuz I'm not a professional kicker. I know people who can kick pretty accurately though. My guess is that professional kickers and punters would both be within a couple feet of a guy consistently which is close enough to execute the play.

Whatever.... It was the coach's fault the team lost. The coach should just man up and say he effed up. Sorry kids. This is like the dumbest thing ever to launch a lawsuit about. Remember, when the world starts to go to hell, first kill all the lawyers.

How can you miss the guy? The guys up front are all going to be diving at the ball trying to get it. The likelihood is that the closest guy gets a hand on it. Instead of just being able to fall on the ball though, he will have to try to catch it at a wicked high rate of speed at a weird angle. I can't believe teams don't try this. That's it. There is our secret weapon against the Packers. All we have to do now is find a way to put ourselves in a situation where we need to onsides kick in the fourth quarter. How are we ever going to do that?

Dude.. if you are as dedicated in your day job as you are dedicated to trying to get EJ more playing time, then your boss must think you are one hell of an awesome employee. Maybe you are buddies with EJ or his family or something. I don't know. More power to you if you are. I tried to think of a good analogy for what you are doing here. This is all I could come up with. Last time I was in New Orleans, we stayed out drinking on Bourbon Street until the cops came through on horses and made everyone leave (around 4 or 5AM). Then they hosed off the street with fire hoses. In between the cops and the fire hoses there would be this homeless alcoholic guy who would run out and chug half a beer that some other hammered person had discarded and left sitting on a stair step somewhere along the way. That alcoholic just had to get one more taste of that thing he could just not get enough of. Even though it was all about to be washed down the drain in a few minutes, he still had to get that one last sip. You are an alcoholic. EJ is your beer.

Fire Crossman! This^^ And it would be wicked fun to watch the ball bean somebody in the head and bounce back 20 yards.

Jauron = worst game calling Bills coach ever. Otherwise he was one of the best Bills coaches, and yes, probably the best since Wade. Gailey = I would have been totally happy keeping him as head coach if he would have taken a hands on approach to the defense. There is no way the defense should have been as bad as they were his last year here. That was inexcusable. Other than that, yes he was a great coach who could get excellent offensive production out of average players.

When EJ starts throwing more accurately than Orton with consistency while making the right decision about which receiver to throw to in practice, then fine, bring him back in as the starter. Until that happens, the best thing he can do for this team is to keep a seat warm on the bench. If EJ isn't outplaying Orton in practice then don't friggin bother putting him in a game. What would be the point? At best you would just ignite a massive QB controversy with an inferior quarterback. That would be the most insane thing a coach could do. EJ will get his shot. It will be next year in the preseason. If he gets it by then, then let him lead. Otherwise he makes a good waterboy.