AKC
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Well...Plunkett...O.K....but Elway?? All I remember hearing is the Broncos could never get Elway the help he needed on Offense, or Defense for that matter. When he got a running game, he won 2 SB's... But I really don't remember an outcry that Elway had lost it...And even if that was the case, I personally would never have thought that by watching the Guy play....
And while I admire your faith in a possible Bledsoe resurrection, instead I think the chances are he is among the vast majority of QB's who decline substantially in the later years of their careers. And his career Stats seem to back that decline theory, though it has been more slow and steady. Not that the Bills can't win with Bledsoe, but I just don't think he's one of these "exception to the rule" type of Players. He was a Great Young QB, but the NFL has gone through such an amazing change since Bledsoe came in from a speed standpoint, and even a Blitzing standpoint, that I just can't see Bledsoe ever being a Franchise-type QB again. If the Bills D stay VERY good, they can win with Bledsoe, but I no longer believe he's a difference maker with the Game on the line like he was when he was a Kid...
JMO B)
One of my best friends lived in Denver during the Elway years and I spent enough time there to witness the fan reaction to the first 3 Super Bowl losses. Elway was amassing the still-standing record of most sacked QB in history and 10% of the fan base and the most critical of their sports media used phrases like "has no pocket presence"- "can't get rid of the ball fast enough"- "one-dimensional" and other familiar little sayings that QBs have hung on them when their team is performing poorly.
10% of fans in Denver and that part of the media that had picked him as the target of keeping their own careers on track were actually screaming for his replacement right up until his first ring.
Most football autorities agree that it was only when Elway accepted the fact that he was NOT the "difference-maker" that he'd been touted as all his career that he became a Super Bowl winner.
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And Vinatieri IS the kicker in NE, and they DO have two superbowl wins. Any attempts to lessen the role of a single player in those wins is nothing but sour grapes. You're okay with the other 52 players having rings, but Brady shouldn't have his?
Your priorities:
1) anti-Brady fan
2) anti-Pats fan
3) Bills fan
Funny how that is a common theme among Bledsoe's diehards.
1) I couldn't give a stevestojan about Brady except for those coronating him as some type of ageless talent at QB. The book on his has just begun, and as I've pointed out and had no credible refutation, if he'd had the quality of kicker we have right now his jersey would be anything but common around the country.
2) Surprisingly Pat's fans are worse guests here than Dolphins fans. Among Dolphin fans we've actually attracted a few who have become contributors to the better information available on TBD. On the other hand for at least the visible part the Pat's fan contributions have amounted to little more than granddstanding with a vacuum of actual football knowledge. Funny how not one of them, and to be fair I'll leave out T-Bone since he really would prefer to be a Bill's fan, was around before the Pats won the '01 Super Bowl.
3) Yes, I'm a Bill's fan and have been since they were first formed.
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And Vinatieri IS the kicker in NE, and they DO have two superbowl wins. Any attempts to lessen the role of a single player in those wins is nothing but sour grapes. You're okay with the other 52 players having rings, but Brady shouldn't have his?
Your priorities:
1) anti-Brady fan
2) anti-Pats fan
3) Bills fan
Funny how that is a common theme among Bledsoe's diehards.
It's always better to be a registered jackass like Foxboro Mike than an unregistered one. Try a little harder :-)
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Your right I should not have assumed that your repeated attempts at trivializing Brady's role in New Englands success in winning two SB's, had anything to do with the fact that the guy they casted off in favor of Brady is our very own DB. I can't search old posts, so I am just going off memory which isn't always good, but I thought you were one in the past to trumpet that DB is the type of QB that every team should want versus a "system" QB like Brady who deserves no credit whatsoever.
If I'm wrong, I stand corrected.
Your correction is noted and accepted.
My personal position on Beldsoe has always been that it's foolish to ignore the fact that he's one of the most productive QBs in history and one of today's most experienced at every level including the playoffs and two Super Bowls plus a Super Bowl ring. I find the suggestions that he's not capable of being the starting QB on a Super Bowl winner to be naive and void of the historical occasions of experienced QBs who have won their Super Bowls at the tail end of careers that were considered up to that point "disappointing". Elway and Plunkett stand out as particularly relevant examples- both facing a vocal majority of fans claiming they took too many sacks and couldn't win the big one yet finishing strong to cap off thier time in the league. Let's hope the system brought in by the Mularkey regime revitalizes the "old timer" running our offense to the benefit of the team. Last week was arguably a step in the right direction, and surely the impetus for some of the scumsucking trolls on this board to begin to try and minimize some of their past positions.
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You'll need to pass me a line to the hookah so I can enjoy the same hallucination you're having about our QB being mentioned in this string......
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Your point that quarterback play was not a direct cause of the Bills loss in Week 1 is well taken. However, to say that the Patriots absolutely would not have won a Super Bowl without the clutch kicker is a bit presumptuous on your part. I would flip the argument and say:
If it weren't for the superb quarterback play that the Patriots enjoyed with Tom Brady under center, their kicker would not have had the opportunity to kick the aforementioned game winning kicks.
First of all go back to the Pats/Rams Super Bowl- the winning kick with no time is a 48 yarder- it's noit unfair to argue that Scott Norwood would have a better shot at that kick than Rian Lindell.
Brady throws his picks in the 4th quarter- in crunch time. He did it this past Indy game in the 4th quarter, in fact his 4th quarter consisted of an INT and a fumble recovered by a Patsy player- 2 crucch time drives, 40 total yards in team offense, an INT, a fumble and a punt? I won't tell anyone else not to get excited aboutt hat type of play in crunch time but it does nothing to excite me.
In Indy last year he stalled his offense at the Indy 13, the 7, the 9, the 3 and the 16. A real Red Zone wizard! In fact he ranked 30th in the league last year among QBs in points per red zone play. Even with the streak of NE wins he was 14th in Red Zone TDs among QBs in the NFL. Hardly the stats of a guy "winning games" for his team, more like a guy playing on a winning team.
As far as the QB being more important than a gunner on Special Teams or a corner or an offensive guard- no, I don't believe it. Tenn/Buff playoff in '01? (and didn't our QB take over half the fan blame in that one!) Jax game Sunday? My opinion is that fans get obsessed by the position but that it's far less relevant than most fans believe. A football team could be compared to a restuarant- there's a lot of people responsible for your getting a good plate of food- there's the chef who designs it and the cook who prepares it, the server who "called the play" if they were involved in recommending it- do you leave giving the cook all the credit because he is the only one who "touches it every play"?
I've seen too many games where a QB is scorched for "losing" while there was a member of the offensive line who single-handedly was responsible for the two INTs that led to the QB's profile being so high in the loss. Or where a SS continually fails on getting his body on the opponents TE that he single-handedly gives the opponent three 3rd down conversions and by math the game itself. The QB comes in and forces one throw in the 4th with time runnning out and takes the full fan blame. Every week of the season, all season long, for the 30+ years I've been watching.
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Well, the wetsuit is only designed for one at a time but I'll be happy to help stuff in any Troll Apologists who want to cuddle in there with him!
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This has got to be a 1st prize winner in the stupidest post ever sweepstakes.
If Brady wasn't there to get them in position to kick a FG Vinitieri wouldn't have the opportunity....blah, blah, blah. And if the queen a had balls she'd be king.
Pats just have better coaching and better players.... period. Our beloved Bills are recycling their trash at a way above market price for slugs... (Bledsoe/Milloy)
Folks have just got to give the Pats their due. With all of the injuries to frontline players they had to overcome last year to win the SB, I know my hat's off to them... even though I despise that team.
It's always best to ignore facts when you enter into a discussion you don't understand, that way if you indeed have balls you won't be bothered by your royal lineage.
The premise of the original post is that without a clutch field goal kicker the Pat's don't win either game, one because they don't make it past Indy last year (5 Vinatieri kicks after Brady chokes in the red zone on 4 of the drives) and that Vinaitieri puts his team over the top with a field goal Lindell couldn't hit in their first try. In order to dispute it you have to make the argument that Lindell can hit a long clutch kick and that he can kick consistently to bail out a red zone offense unable to execute. Over the course of his career he's shown just the opposite. You can kick and cry and scream like a baby but it doesn't change the facts- I'll wait to hear your argument that Lindell defied history by making the big kick in their first game and then punching 5 through against Indy. If you do truly believe he hits all five saves of the failing NE offense against Indy you can take the next step and tell me about him kicking the winner against the Panthers. Otherwise I'll just assume your contribution to the topic is the runaway favorite to win "the stupidest post ever" sweepstakes.
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Ignoring all the regular season losses he'd be responsible for over the past 3 years, and merely considering playoff games, the Pats lose the first Super Bowl on Lindells' foot and Lindell is unable to save Brady's pathetic red zone play against Indy last year and they lose the championship game, failing to reach the big game.
Zero rings, zero hype about Tinky Winky, and oddly the exact same result for their kicker Vinatieri- no recognition for being the one player who's carried them to two Super Bowl wins.
It's one of the great studies of NFL fans- those who focus on the football every week obsess about the QB position, failing to recognize who is really making the differences. And it will never change. 70 percent of fans will watch to see where the ball goes every play and miss all the critical elements that are actually leading to wins and losses. The only time they'll get it right is the 1/33rd of times that a QB, on the average, is actually the player most responible for a win or a loss. But there is one thing undeniable among message board fans- if you want to see who knows the least about the game of football just check to see if the QB position is the focus of their posting history. If the QB shows up in 70% of their posts you can bank on their observations having nothing to do with the reality of play in the NFL.
This Sunday's game is a great example of the above. Anyone who reached the conclusion, after overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that a change at QB would have been the difference-maker in the outcome might broaden their understanding of the game by changing instead their viewing habits.
We're beaking in a new coach, a guy who I doubt will ever again let his defense play a 4th down, half ending play without a scream of "knock it down" from the sidelines. There's an easy 6 players who you might tag the loss on, none of whom threw any passes in the game. We've got the worst personell decision of the Donohoe era in Lindell. Perhaps TD makes up for his reticence to let GW go during a season by bringing in a real NFL kicker. A quality kicker has worked out well for our divisonal rivals in NE.
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What a bunch of hogwash.
Give Brady the Colts OL, Harrison, James, Wayne, Stokley, Pollard, Clark and let Tom Moore call his plays and Brady would post stats and #'s that would make your hair stand up.
For crying out loud man, Brady has posted #'s as good as most QB's in the history of the game with no namers blocking for him, with Antowain toting the ball for him, with Troy Friggen Brown as his one and only real WR, and with some Christian dude as his TE.
That he could do what he's done with these stiffs helping him out is a miracle.
Yes, for goodness sakes post anonymously and ignore the indisputable facts I offered in making my assessment. The use of the word "hogwash" always indicates a strong position in any discussion.
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The indications right now are that the OLine is improving- we just went up against what's considered one of the best run defenses in the league and our TOP answers the question of whether we were succesful there. Jax held teams to under 90 yards a game last year, a Bills team that struggled running statistically in '03 went for over 100 against them. The improvement might seem insignificant, but I don't see it that way- in fact I'd see the '03 Bills putting up about 65-70 yards on the same defense.
The line played better yesterday than I recall in some time, Jennings is still one of the slickest sliders in the NFL, Villarial is a very tough run blocker at the point of attack and Teague looks llike he'll thrive in a scheme that has him making blocks from sideline to sideline by design. Smith is three times as strong as the guy he replaces and Mike- well he's still go 20 pounds to lop off his frame before he'll be able to do the amount of aerobic work necessary in practice to play a whole game effectively and get that hulk moving to stop and edge rush. But I'm sure you'd agree his conditioning is not McNally's fault, that rests upon the substantial shoulders of one Mike Williams.
The movement of the line is refreshing after that stale and awful fit Gilbride pushed on this team. I believe the Denver and NE models prove that if you have active linemen it's far easier to have bench help for spurts without sacrificing too much off your production. Give these guys 3 or 4 games to get their rythym and it's possible they'll develop one of our best running teams ever.
Next week will be interesting- the Traiders gave up about 3.75 YPC to Duce Staley. It's possible Staley's style is tougher for Big Teddy and Saap to pick up than our 1-2 but I doubt it. I too like what I see.
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You're correct on both counts. With GWilliams gone we're seeing a major of display of dynamic position changes on the DLine under this staff. On the other side of the ball the amount of movement of our OLine is another change- instead of being asked to play one on one football the OLinemen are regularly confusing the defense with dynamic assignment changes.
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I’d agree that there’s a NE player who’s the best at his position in the NFL, but it surely isn’t their QB. Even if you remove the subjective quarterbacking dynamics like quality of Oline, fit in the offensive system and quality of coaching, the stats just don’t bear out that Brady is anywhere near the best QB in the league. In fact, I’d say the stats tend to point to a guy who gets regularly bailed out of his red zone deficiencies by having perhaps the best kicker in the game.
Last year in points per play in the red zone Brady was 30th in the league. He was 14th in the league in red zone touchdowns. If you look at his big games the guy who always seems to step up is the Pat’s kicker, not their QB. Last year in the Indy game Vinatieri made up for Brady’s pathetic red zone play by kicking 5 field goals after Brady choked drives ending on the Indy 13, the 7, the 9, the 3 and the 16. Brady also left the heavy lifting in two Super Bowls to long Vinatieri field goals. While Vinatieri played big in the end of the Indy and Carolina games last year, Brady was throwing 4th quarter picks in both games.
I find it hard to call a guy who’s good at moving the ball between the 20 yard lines the best in the league. The Brady record so far is of a guy who moves the ball 40-50 yards and his kicker puts points on the board. Perhaps he’ll become a more complete QB in the future, or perhaps he’s the next Kurt Warner. Also consider this- the longest pass he threw in the air against Indy in the playoffs traveled about 15 yards. I don’t think you’d disagree that Brady would have no chance of his arm holding out for a season if he were being asked to launch 30 and 35 yard balls downfield 4 or 5 times a game. And that in my mind precludes him from being effective in well over 90 percent of the historical offenses in the history of the league. I can’t imagine making a guy who requires a small ball offense anything more than a very good system QB, impossible to call historically among the best and difficult even to call contemporaneously the best.
No doubt he has some cute little instincts in the pocket but I have to believe it's a good thing the Pats protect him well because if he gets hit he’s as fragile as any dancer in the Nutcracker. The again, in the interest of political correctness maybe I should pick a different ballet?
Now let me add one additional caveat- You've just bought an NFL team and traded for Tom Brady. You've also just hired Marty Schottenhiemer as your coach. Do you enter the season confident you'll end it believing you have the best QB in the league?
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Hey all. Just moved to LA from Chicago, where I went to Delilah's for an awesome Bills party every Sunday. Now that I live in La La Land, is there anywhere to go to watch the game with other fans? The first game I am going to go to Barney's Beanery, just because they have an awesome menu, open nice and early during the season and have like 70 TV sets. I will keep going there unless there is a Bills Backers site! I checked out the LA Bills Backers page but it doesn't seem to have been updated since Sept. '03 so I don't even know if they are still active -- their email address bounces back to me also. Their page noted some club over in Burbank, but I would rather not drive all the way over there because the beer consumption will make the drive home tough. Anyway -- any LA Bills fans speak out!
--Albany Mike
The place you want to show up at this Sunday morning is in Old Town Pasadena, it's called Q's Billiards (it's an upscale Billiards Hall/Nightclub). Here's a link-
http://www.qsbilliards.com/pasadena/
Barney's is actually owned by the same people as Q's. The Beanery is almost exclusively little 19 inch screens and pretty bad sight lines unless you're at a bar seat- I'd recommend the other place because of the LA Bill's Backers. I should be there along with Kelly The Dog and possibly some other board miscreants ;-)- call me if you have any questions-
(310) 582-1188.
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The 90 nm platform discussed in this old article was supposed to be incorporated into the P4 3.2 and 3.4 "Extreme" CPUs that Intel is currenty producing. The original launch for their 90 nm CPUs was December of '03, yet even the new 3.2 and 3.4 are based on the 130 nm architecture.
I've worked with Intel on a few "initiatives" and spent time at their Jones Farm facilities where among other things all their new CPUs are put to real use testing in varied environments. Heat is less of a concern than it is an obsession, and where you see a new architecture like the 90 nm failing to make the market in the original time estimates heat is the single most likely culprit in causing the delay. There are means to pipe heat off the CPU but they come with either an expense that doesn't fit the model for price structure and component size/case dimension or the reliability of the cooling method is unacceptable. Give 'em a little more time and I'm sure my buddy Henry Schaecterle will get your new chip on the market.
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3. One worry I had about Losman was that his running habits garned running for his life at Tulane influneces the way he plays as a Pro. No one wants a player to get happy feet, but if this unfortunate injury in practice results in JP sliding insted of diving, or in him giving up a couple of yards to go OB, I think this is a very good thing.
I agree that the overall injury effect could end up accelerating his preparedness for a starting role. At the same time the first thing I thought of when I read the story was "maybe now he'll learn to slide instead of exposing himself to a career ending injury in the quest for a couple of extra rushing yards".
The problem with the injury for the QB obsessed minions is that they had their whole posting season planned around demanding a Losman start every week. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll adopt Travis Brown ;-)
Bills versus Raiders?
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
I don't know how successful you'll be in the spread with our coverage which is pretty good at every level except the last, but you could use multiple tight ends to draw down a more "challenged" coverage guy like Coy Wire and work on him.
I didn't see much of your game last week and didn't notice Parella in the game or on the stat line- I assume he was in your DT rotation?