AKC

I remember seeing Edwards cover some line on a couple of plays in the game but it looked to me he was pivoting and running North/South on both of them instead of running laterally East/West. I haven't watched the DEs while keying on the interior but it has been impossible not to catch some of the good- and versatile- work Schobel has done so far. I'm coming up short trying to remember the last time I saw a Bill's WR popping defenders downfield as effectively as Reed has been this pre-season, not to mention that he's become a specimin in the off-season. I never saw an angle of film that caught the stretch-out miss/tip.

Since you insist on being exposed one more time as dishonest, here's your statement: "This is a "pass in air" statistic. I remember hearing it during the playoffs, I believe, and I'm presently trying to dig it up in print form." Here's the link you offered as proof: http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/story/3763778 I'd wait for you to show me any reference in the article you linked that identifies the passing assumptions as "pass in the air", but then I'd be waiting a long time since there is not one reference that corroborates your original falsehood.

You're still in here choking on your "Long Ball Brady" fantasy? The problem you face is that many of us actually watch football games. Additionally we value others who come here to honestly discuss their views and opinions supported with references. You on the other hand have a different agenda, for instance you represent above some "pass in the air" fantasy in one post, but when your "evidence" is provided it directly contradicts you- nowhere in the Fox article does it suggest the stats are based on "passes in the air". But then, why would I be looking for honesty or accuracy from someone who has designated little skeeter "Long Ball Brady"? As entertaining as your lack of knowledge- and honesty- are, I believe I preferred tha days of well-mannered trolls who offered positive and accurate contributions to our football conversations here. I don't doubt that you've been in a position to call him "Long Ball Brady" in some setting of his choosing, but it surely wasn't on a football field :-0

When nap time is over you might sneak a look into the "RAC" seminar.

I thought the most telling thing about the Pat's coordinator losses was Crennel's first interview after taking this new job- asked -"you've worked with two Super Bowl winning coaches- what is the most important thing you'll bring from that as a head coach"- Crennel- "Without a doubt it was Bill Parcell's ability to relate to his players and get the most out of them- I'll try to model myself after Bill Parcells". It would be foolish to deny the Pat's run but I can surely believe there are other QBs in the league who could have won titles with the same Pat's team- for instance I believe Drew Brees or Peyton Manning would have won there along with others playing today. I'm happy to acknowledge greatness but I believe Brady's is far more hype based upon a team who plays an offense that fits him and buys only hands wideouts. If Tom Brady plays without the guys who arguably made the Pats a powerhouse- their assistant coaches- I'll be happy to admit it if I'm wrong after we've seen it. Better yet let him take a big contract in Arizona and let's see if he's anything more than yesterday's Kurt Warner ;-)

It's always cute when a neophyte fan of the game of football quotes Paul Zimmerman. When you graduate from a school that no longer includes "blankies" as part of your daily routine come back and spend some time with us. Almost anyone at the level we're talking about can give a team 5 or 6 long balls a season- but that in no way indicates a "deep ball" threat. If Brady were in a long ball offense he'd last for a half season before his noodle was fully moistened. There's no shame in being a short ball pitcher- but it's absolutely laughable that you appear to actually believe this guy's name should be mentioned with any big arm QBs. You're simply daft on the subject if you are being honest, then again spending your life on a Bill's board suggests you have limited credibility in any Pat's community so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I begrudge no Bill's fan their right to lick troll butt, I just find it a bit distasteful for myself. Why don't you follow your worship of the troll with some support for his laughable contention that Brady is now a great deep threat passers in the league?

That's quite a feat for a guy who throws 4 deep balls all year. There's a long list of deep passers in the NFL- you've lost any ability to see through your homer goggles if you include Brady in it.

Yeah, it's a real Dan Pastorini Offense you're running up there. Hell, I can toss 15 yard balls on the numbers when there's no pressure. At the same time I've seen loafer-boy in the instances when the scheme broke down and he faced the same pressure others QBs play with all the time- and he's looked a lot more like Rick Mirer than a solid NFL starter. His WRs bail him out regularly and that's a huge plus for the Pats. BTW-We're all looking forward to seing him without Jabba Da Hut running the offense ;-)

Refresh my memory on the Indy game- I seem to recall a downfield tackle and a backfield tackle well into the life of both plays- I must be missing something as far as a high-light. I'll have to cue up that scrim with Green Bay again because I thought like in Saturday's game he was getting pushed off the ball with regularity-

Pat's primary function last season was as a stopper on the most important downs for a defense- if you believe that first and ten are the most critical downs to establishing your defense, which I fully embrace. Putting your opponent in a second and 9 or 10 allows the D to take higher risk/reward chances on 2nd down, and has the same effect on 3rd. So in the area of importance, for my money Pat played the most important downs. We show no sign of having someone who can control a gap like PW did and I think sooner rather than later in the season this will hurt us dramatically. Anderson might develop- he surely has a lower center of gravity than Edwards and that will help him against the run, plus he has much better lateral movement. Edwards is a north south player with a very high center and once he's knocked off his balance he's cooked. And the bigger problem is he's very easily knocked off his balance. I don't see any bigger hole in our team and the nature of pre-season is hiding it effectively in our stats against the run- but the film, as they say, "don't lie". I'm cringing through this pre-season watching Edwards get Weebled on running plays with far too great a frequency.

It was refreshing to see the nice touch and accuracy on a little flip he tossed in the GB or Indy game over a LB, but he sure is hanging out his receivers at this point in time. He should get over that to some degree with confidence. Hope he doesn't get anyone hurt in the meantime. He does use a little more mustard on a lot of balls than I'd like to see. It's another one of those Yin/Yang things, great to see the strong arm- not so great to see it overused.

It's not just the team working on their form in the pre-season ;-)

It's always nice to have an intelligent response to specific game film evidence that's been offered in a conversation. Good thing I'm patient!

To be honest with you I've really only been watching our line play so far this season and that's why I'm seeing the pockets wasted when he drops out- I haven't watched his read progressions yet.

It's clear the kid is driven to win; if that can be funnelled correctly it can be a huge positive but right now it's disappointing because we'd like to see some sign that he's recognizing that Jim Kelly played against a lot of linebackers who hit like today's safeties. On the slide issue, the reality is JP being on the sidelines is a worst case scenario for us this season as it simply stunts his learning, and the best way to keep him on the field is to convince him to slide- if he won't do it in meaningless scrims and pre-season games you can bet the farm he won't do it in the regular season. But I'd go so far as to say the sliding is much less of a concern- I really want to see him move up to the pocket- it helps your line develop alos instead of the Tackles finding their man taking a poor angle upfield and still having a shot at a scrambling QB. You just can't ask your line to do to many things, and it's far too much to ask our OTs to block for a traditional passing pocket only to realize the QB's run off behind the protection.

Not at all- Pat was in for our first down/running primary set plus our goal line D and he sat for passing situations. It appears they're running similar packages this season, with a rotation of our DTs getting the lone down spot on most passing downs and an extra DE coming in since we've fallen so in love with letting Aaron Schobel drop into coverage. I should mention that it's Aaron that Favre burns for his TD pass. Something else to take notice of Bill, on the Pack TD watch Edwards give the play up even though he has a clear line of vision to Favre holding the ball, pulling it down and moving towards the line as if he's going to run- There's one thing any good DLineman does here and it's cut the runner off by decreasing the angle while keeping him inside- not only does Edwards fail to cut the angle down, he doesn't even take any action to contain Favre! He's already given up the play and he never gets back into it- he sure has a great seat for watching the Bills defense play ;-)

Grab the tape of the Green Bay game. First series- first running play- Edwards is knocked easily three yards off his stance and completely out of the play. He's not in the package for the second running play but the third comes right up his gap, where he's been knocked two yards downfield giving the Pack a 4 yard gain- the tackle is made by LBs and DBs. This series is indicitive of his play throughout the game. In fact later he's taken sometimes 5 or 6 yards downfield with single team blocks. He just isn't playing well if you iso on him against run blocking. He is getting substantial help from our LBs, but as I mentioned before that situation has no long term promise since the LBS will become victims late in games where a first team offense has been pounding us all day.

Ron Edwards had a couple of vulture tackles against Indy and outside of an unblocked pressure in the Green Bay game he was getting knocked 3 or 4 yards off the ball on running plays and was otherwise non-existent on passing downs. A totally underwhelming pre-season for him to date. At this point Tim Anderson is being left single-teamed with our opponents getting the better of the matchup onj most downs. You can get superior LB play for the pre-seaosn, and we're getting it (hence our run D superiority), but unless Edwards and Anderson start holding up their end against the run our LB corp will be decimated by the time critical games are being played.

My two biggest concerns are his lack of confidence in the pocket, even when it's perfectly formed, and his lack of discipline in sliding. The safety was one of about 4 plays during the game in which he bailed on a pocket that would have given him his best shot at a big play. He is far too ready to skeeter out the back or sides even when the line has done its work and he won't be a good QB until he overcomes those jitters. To be fair to him it took Elway and Steve Young years to figure it out but the record over the history of the league is clear- you don't do your team or your chances of success any favors by blowing off legitimate pockets. His refusal to avoid contact with defenders will cost him playing time this season, the only question right now is how much. The NFL just isn't as forgiving as Conference USA and those stupid decisions to put his head forward will lead to him being hurt. You hate to temper the kid's competitiveness but exposing your body to needless injury is irresponsible and the team should be doing more- like maybe jerking him off the field- when he does it.

Their philosophy has been obvious- draft players who catch the ball and stay away from anyone who has any rep for dropping balls regardless of their "talent" level. It's a great strategy in the small passing game they play that functions on reliability, and it's also been hugely important to the success of their QB who is hardly a model of accuracy among NFL starters. The difference has been that his WRs go out and make plays on almost any ball, feeding the realization of "team" perfectly.

I recall the "Rag Doll" play vividly and on that day had to look back at our roster to see if Pucillo was listed at more than 230 pounds- it was the kind of play that can change a game because to keep your QBs head in it you're now relegated to doubling Simon every down and you cripple any chance to offer help on the edges.

He's also MUCH stronger than other 300 pounders and he plays with classic technique due to excellent training and learning skills- he would change our outlook for the season from missing the playoffs as an 8-8 team to instead being a contender for a run at a title. The money is still hard for me to grasp but if it could be done I for one will be feeling a WHOLE heck of a lot better about the 2005 Bills, especially after watching Gandy do a pretty good job on KGB in the scrim.

The SDBB seats are sold out but you can get the same nose bleed seats (View Section) from Ticketmaster right now. I've got some up high but intend to sell them when the Chargers finally realize they won't be selling our game out and they open all the lower level tickets for single game buyers. This might take a while but it appears inevitable unless the Bolts open up with 6 straight wins. Missed you at the North Star a few weeks back. Some trivia joker was working the bar for free drinks and he seemed like a regular. Also, if any of your party will arrive before 1 p.m. Friday you want to get them on the TBD Tijuana Excursion. It will leave the Old Town Trolley stop at 1:00 and return there about 7:00.

Not at all- Thomas would remain but the question is the amount of the cap hit taken by the Nickel spot and whether the 300 or 400K can be better used at other positions.