FLFan
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Stay man. We are trading spiller and we are benching EJ Manuel in tie gAmes to save his fragile psyche.
And EJ is too nice for his own good, so there's that gem
Big week of deals you don't wanna miss.
You are behind. Now we are trading EJ and CJ, moving Woods to LG, bringing back Nate Clements, firing Hacket, Whaley, and quite possibly Marone. I am sure I have missed a few gems myself, but be sure to keep up.
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So these are running grades, not just weekly grades?
There does not appear to be a similar comparison after week 2.
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One and a half drives into Sunday's game, and no less than five fans in the gameday thread were calling for Hackett's head on a stake.
That's fine. The gameday thread has never been known to be a sanctuary for balanced discourse.
I bit back, a little, then gave up when:
- It was clearly a futile effort.
- It was clearly a rough day for the offensive staff, coaches included.
That said, and while fully acknowledging Hackett's shortcomings in the loss, I'm still not ready to blame the playcalling.
Here's why:
Expectations
Rookie quarterback, rookie OC.
The moment the Bills announced Hackett would be taking over the play calling duties, a certain sect of Bills fans (and not necessarily a marginally-sized one, mind you) saw their opportunity to lambaste the front office. Couldn't blame them, really. After Ralph handing over the keys (something The Realists have been clamoring for for years), after jumping on a HC hire that was widely revered league-wide and in the media, and after stealing arguably the best coordinator available in Pettine, there wasn't a lot to B word about.
Then came Hackett.
Suddenly, a sliver of daylight for the doomers to pounce. Their jumbo-sized microscopes calibrated, they couldn't wait for this guy to give them an excuse to complain.
Suddenly, the first quarter of Sunday's game.
It. Was. On.
The way some "fans" were going bonkers, you would have thought Hackett was calling double-reverse flea flicker screen punts on first down.
They got what they wanted: our lousy, cheap, stuck-in-the-past FO screwed the pooch...AGAIN. What a bunch of !@#$ing losers the Bills are.
Meanwhile: reality.
He is a rookie OC. He is a young rookie OC. And through three games, the Jets have showed their defense is as every bit as good as it's been the last half-decade since Rexy took over.
Oh yeah.
We also have a rookie QB.
And not Andrew--kissed by Christ himself--Luck. We have a rookie QB whose size and intangibles are universally admired, but whose skills and abilities are questionable enough that not since Rex Grossman in 2002 has the first quarterback in a draft come off the board after so many picks.
E.J. Manuel is going to struggle this year. He already has, and he will continue to do so.
Week-to-week analyses have indicated that he's on a short playbook leash as it is, and as we've already acknowledged, he doesn't have an innovator like Chan (who by the way has nearly as many years coaching as Hackett does living) finding ways to hide his shortcomings.
Yet a certain pod of Bills fans expects the Hackett/Manuel duo--after 12 whole quarters of NFL football--to be perfect. And when they're not, they're failures, they're an excuse to pout and say "same Ole Bills."
Well, they're not the same Ole Bills. Fans shouldn't expect them to be, just like they shouldn't expect Brady/Bellicheat mastery, right out of the gate.
Execution
You can argue till you're blue in the fact about whether or not Nix was a good GM, whether or not Whaley is ready to have the keys, or whether or not Buffalo is any position to build a championship franchise...ever. But nothing changes the fact that--quietly--our team underwent a MASSIVE gutting this offseason, turning over players at skill-positions, on the line, practically all over the field.
And even if Hackett was calling double-reverse flea flicker screen punts on first down, the team can't afford to miss blocks and fail to find openings like it did on Sunday.
Missed throws, missed lanes, missed blocks, poorly run routes: if the game had been devoid of any of these, then the blame rests with the playcalling. Instead, we watched a game sick with these mistakes.
Hackett does need to do a better job of putting his players in a position to succeed, but that doesn't mean players don't have succeed in the positions they're put in.
I understand after 13 years of playoff football and after 10 consecutive losing seasons, "patience" is a damn-near impossible ask. But c'mon, folks. If you expected a 13-3 season with flawless execution and gameplanning, then you set yourself up for disappointment. Yes, we should all want the best team out there. But that doesn't mean the team's growing pains should be your pleasure. And if you can't live with those pains, there are 31 other bandwagons accepting new passengers.
GO BILLS!
A terrific post that will likley not register one iota with the pitchfork mob. Well done anyway.
- It was clearly a futile effort.
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That depends on how you look at it. I just read that the Bills and Carrington had been negotiating an extension, but couldn't come to an agreement. This injury will most likely impact Carrington's ability to receive that long term offer again; from us or any other team. Injury is the risk these players and agents take. In this case, Parker left the money on the table in favor of playing the odds that Carrington wouldn't get hurt and compromise his future. Not saying it was wrong just that he said no to the offer and left it on the table.
It's the old byrd in the hand argument.
GO BILLS!!!
Yes, Parker probably advised his client to take the risk. Too bad for Carrington. Is he advising Byrd to be "extra cautious" with his "injury"? Who really knows - he certainly put Byrd in the situation he is in - but it is apparent to me based on Byrd's statements that he is slow rolling his return to minimize risk. (i.e. he "played through it last year, but this year he needs to be 100%") He is of essentially no value to the Bills this year. I hope it costs him in the end, but it is likely some desperate team will give him what he wants next year anyway. Let the buyer beware. He is showing himself to be a selfish punk, and next year those legs will be another year older, no matter how much time he spends sitting on the bench this year resting his poor sore feet.
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Here's the reality for all you EJ apologists. If you can't accurately predict the career trajectory of a qb after 73 minute playing time of regular season football in his rookie year, well, you ain't paying attention.
Are you actually being serious here? This is one of the crazier things I have read this week and there have been many insane posts.
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- Pressure all day
- Running game is predictable
- EJ is in bad third downs all day
- Does Hacket have a CLUE of how to give his ROOKIE QB a safety valve....where where the FB passes to the flat
- Screens?
EJ Manuel did not play well today.....did people really think there were not going to be bumps in the road this season? He was sacked what.....7 times? I feel like Hackett had his nose in "The complete idiots guide to offense" and was running it chapter by chapter....since when is it a good idea to play power football with CJ Spiller.....where was the hot read for EJ?
And what is this moronic "but Geno played well so EJ should have done it to" Were the jets missing their top defensive backs like were? Were the jets missing their top safety like we were? Do you HONESTLY think McKelvin or Gilmore would have been burned all day like Justin Rogers was? Marcel Darius? We were decimated by injuries going into this game and just kept taking more as the game goes on.
Come on people get grip
Thank for a well reasoned, logical and unemotional post. Now I will cease reading TSW until next week.
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Either the Giants are all-time awful or Carolina was a better win that we thought... 38-0 in the 3rd qtr?
The giants are off to a tough start for sure, but Carolina is pretty good.
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It's the NYC bias. They still believe Rex will eat up a rookie QB, but they forget Pettine is also facing a rookie QB.
Exactly. I think the Bills have the advantage in this matchup. Pettine know Ryan and should be able to help the game plan counter the expected defense. Ryan does not have this advantage with regard to the Bills offense. Advantage Buffalo. On Defense, while Ryan certainly knows Pettine, Pettine is not simply running Ryan's defense, but being creative with his own ideas. Advantage Buffalo. EJ vs. Geno - advantage Buffalo. Running game - advantage Buffalo. Receivers - advantage Buffalo.
If EJ can beat their aggressive pressure at the line and the short zones to hit some mid-range throws early in the game, it could be a long day for the Jets. I expect Buffalo to win this game. It could be a close 1 or 2 point low scoring affair, but I would not be surprised with a 34 - 13 score either.
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If the Jersey Jets show up and do anything less then trying to put our lights out I will be surprised. This is a team that plays with their back in the corner a lot and they thrive doing it. They will come at us fully charged and trying to lay a lick in. Our OL is going to be tested, Spiller is going to be knocked around, and Jackson is going to be hit all over - high and low. Lets hope the Zebras keep it clean.
I expect the Bills to give it back to them this time, not back down. That is the difference.
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The Eagles were bad last year, and adding the flashy new coach and system did not suddenly make them good. Vick is and always has been very limited as a QB. McCoy is good, Jackson is good, Peters is over rated. The Eagles need a culture change, not just a system change, and Kelly needs a better QB to run his system.
The Chiefs are a talented team that suffered last year due to bad coaching, even worse quarterbacking, and decimating injuries. Alex Smith is no superstar but he is worlds better than what they have had, and Andy Reid is a great coach. They are going to be tough all year.
Very happy the Bills did not "win" the Chip Kelly sweepstakes. I think he will be an epic failure in Philly.
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i don't think he was ever "not cleared". that's probably why he got a second opinion. he did say he played through it last year. so what, is it that much WORSE this year? despite resting it for 8 months, which is supposedly the only treatment? that doesn't make much sense. his own words betray his thoughts, he played through it before and this year he said he's not going out there until he's "100%". what more do we need to hear to believe he's milking it?
This is the only way to interpret his words and actions in my opinion.
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I am confident the Bills defense can handle the Jets offense. It will really be about Manuel being able to find open targets in the face of what I expect will be an attempt by the Jets to flood the short zones with defenders and confuse Manuel with multiple rush looks. I would expect the deep plays to be open all day. The Bills will need to be able to complete passes down the seem and deep sidelines to pull the Jets out of a smothering short yardage look. Fitzpatrick was never able to beat this defense.
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As I watched the Wall of Famers receive their jackets on Sunday it just seemed that the team that has been created on the field for this season finally has elements that made prior teams winners. Booker Edgerson and Billy Shaw from the championship years ... Joe D and Fergie from the Electric Company era ... Kelly, Andre, and Thurman from the 90's. Teams that wanted to win and teams that played hard on the field.
Since the turn of the century there has been one clear element missing from each team that has come out of the tunnel and that has been a hunger for winning. There have been players that wanted to win obviously and no athlete shows up to lie down on the field. However, the hunger and the commitment to winning just never has seemed as apparent as what I am sensing from Doug Marrone's team. Watching the veteran leadership in Fred Jackson as well as the exuberance of Eric Wood whose swagger has to energize his teammates and then there is EJ, just a kid. EJ has the "it" factor and every interviewer who has commented on their conversations with EJ whether local or national media all refer to how he controls the room. His teammates talk about his confidence and we are just beginning to see his abilities.
Since my first Bills game the Rockpile in 1962 versus the Dallas Texans through this Sunday, I have always "bled Bills' red, white and blue" but I am so looking forward to more dancing and shouting post game moments like this past Sunday. We are headed in the right direction and I know that on home game Sunday's there is no other place that I would rather be at than THE RALPH to cheer my Buffalo Bills as a proud member of the WALL OF FAME!
Great post.
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Miami became number 1 after during/after the decade of futility. We enjoyed beating the crap out of them for the next ten years. Before that it was NE, now it is clearly NE, for the same reasons. The Jets have always been right up there. Traditionally, there are more fights at Jets games, in the parking lot and stands, than any other. Their fans are just so obnoxious, and there are lot of them in town.
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It was a very nice article. I'm even willing to look past him bringing up out past failures after big wins. But Jerry is a weathervane and he will turn in the first ugly wind.
PTR
No question about that, but I did like today's piece. That's one in a row.
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I have very often been critical of Sullivan on this forum so just wanted to say that I was very impressed with his article today. I enjoyed the read.
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McKelvin did play well yesterday. In fact, late in the first quarter he defended a pretty deep pass at the last second, and this was a simply great play.
But I must say, he still scares me.
I know what you mean - his first 4 years body of work was unimpressive to say the least in the secondary. However, I thought he began to play much better toward the end of last year and has been great so far in the first two games. He did a tremendous job on Steve Smith yesterday. He broke up passes, tackled soundly when he did not break it up, and generally frustrated Smith and Newton all day. 5 catches for Smith - great job. Had to be targeted 3X that much. What scares me is the other side without Gilmore and Brooks. A good QB and receiver would have eaten them alive on that side. They were fortunate Ginn had only one long touchdown - he was always open.
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Do you get paid to run the fun club or is it more of a volunteer thing?
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Just saw on the ESPN crawl that Byrd says he played through the PF last year, but this year he needs to be 100%. If that proves to be an accurate quote, then I would say there is little lingering doubt that Byrd is simply dogging it to make a point and I hope it backfires on him big time..
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I enjoyed the game. I still have faith in Marrone and the team, and like Manuel. All I'm saying is the hire likely was made because of personal connections and not, necessarily, as the best available candidate. Does that not concern you?
You are way off base. It is a bit early to hit the panic button. Take your medication.
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Thanks for posting. Guaranteed the only thread I will read today. I was very impressed with the Defense overall - solid hitting, agressive, pressured Brady. Good effort and a sign of good things to come. Obviously a very vanilla offensive plan. I thought Manuel looked good for the most part although the deep balls were disappointing.
A very winnable game, but too many stupid mistakes to win. A very disappointing loss but I am encouraged. this team will grow from here.
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Torn labia?
I think that is the same injury Jairus Byrd has
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Upset of the week.
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I've already said my piece on Sanchez, and I don't care to reiterate. Like I said before, we can disagree....plain and simple.
Now Geno is, what...22 or 23? Far to young for anyone to be making declarations on his ability to mature. I agree that the media has done its best to make him look like a Turd, but that's it at this point.
Geno Smith does not the media to make him look bad. He does that all by himself. No media conspiracy necessary.
Injuries from Jets game: status of players?
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
That may well be. I am sure just as obvious to his coaches and his team mates that he has decided to collect a paycheck and do nothing. If he was any kind of man he would be playing.