jahnyc

Some follow-up points: 1. Losman should be starting now to get experience. The only reason not to start him is if he is still injured. 2. If we waive Bledsoe, we will need a veteran qb for next year. We can't go in to next season assuming that Losman will play well or stay healthy for the entire year. I also don't think we should stick with Losman for the entire season next year if he plays poorly just because he is a number one pick. 3. As we all know, qbs can take years to develop. Ben R. is the rare exception. Our goal should be to be competitive with Losman or with whomever is our back-up qb next year.

I know everybody seems to want to have Losman start playing now so he will be ready to be the starter next year, but I am not excited about that prospect (next year starter, that is). Why? After four poor seasons, next season I want to see a team ready to compete and make the playoffs. While I understand that Losman needs to play and get experience, I really don't want to watch Losman go through growing pains next year and the following year. Maybe, if we cut Bledsoe, we could bring in another veteran next year who would be better suited to run this offense and help us to be competitive immediately. Afterall, while Losman should be given every opportunity to claim the starting QB position over the next couple of years, there are no assurances that he will be the guy. Considering that our defense has played well, even an incremental improvement in our offense could make a significant difference in our record.

Our games have been mostly boring. Winning helps, but our offensive style really makes losing extra painful.

Well, I am not sure I expected MM to outcoach Bill, but I did expect a focused game plan. After watching the game, I have no idea what we were trying to do on offense. Why couldn't we pass or run? I thought NE was vulnerable to the run and had significant injuries in the defensive backfield. What was our strategy on offense?

The bottom line is that our team was not ready to play on both offense and defense. MM was outcoached. The Pats game plan on offense was to run at Schobel and to get their receivers in situations where they were covered by our free safety (Reese or Baker). They did both effectively. Going in to the game, we knew that the Pats had problems in the secondary and on the offensive line, yet we were unable to exploit these weaknesses. Our passing game was terrible and our pass rush was infeffective. The Pats were creative. They found a way to exploit our defense, which had been playing well up until this game. In contrast, the Bills were unable to exploit weaknesses that were much more obvious. I agree that DB played poorly, but I think our game plan left much to be desired on both sides of the ball. I don't have much confidence that MM will be able to match up against Bill in terms of coaching skill in the near future.

I think we need judge TD on the team's overall record after this year and after four years of his stewardship. If they have another losing record this year I would have serious concerns about having him continue as GM. I understand the positives and the negatives of his time as GM of the Bills, but he really should judged primarily on the record of the team during his tenure as GM.

I could see RW keeping TD as President and naming a new GM. I know that Modrak had a great reputation before coming to the Bills, but why would he be the choice if RW is unhappy with the team's personnel? I would guess that Modrak has been involved in every decision made by TD as GM concerning the draft, free agents, etc. Would this not "taint" him as a possible sucessor to TD? Other questions: 1. If TD is stripped of GM duties, would he stick around as President? 2. Same question, but assume Modrak is booted or not named GM. My real question is whether RW wants to cut TD (and, inevitably Modrak) with one year remaining on his contract. I can't figure out why RW spends freely on talent but seems less so inclined with management. Related issue: Can you attract a quality GM without giving him the ability to choose his own head coach? Mularkey has a five year deal and will not be going anywhere for that reason.

1. I do not consider myself a Drew supporter, but I really do not blame him for his poor performance this year or even last year. I blame TD. Drew is a pure pocket passer with no mobility. He needs a strong o-line to protect him. He was susceptible to the rush up the middle before we acquired him from the Pats. TD knew all of this (or should have known all of this) before trading for Drew. After acquiring Drew, the priority should have been strengthening the o-line. To play Drew with this o-line was a recipe for disaster. 2. This smash mouth football stuff really bothers me. Parcells, Gibbs, Belichek and Walsh all have had great success by being creative and adaptive. Our offensive approach seems void of nuance; we advertise that we are smash mouth and that is what we try to play in every game. How can this be effective over the long term? Can you really be smash mouth with our talent? With this o-line? With DB?

The bottom line is wins and losses. Based on that criteria, TD has been a failure. After four years of losing, there are no mitigating circumstances. I know this sounds harsh, but our current situation is not tolerable for most fans of the Bills.

I am out of patience, and I have said it a number of times and a number of different ways. Of course, I really have no choice but to be patient. The way things look now, a quick turnaround seems unlikely. We have a rookie head coach, a first year qb who will probably start playing in a few weeks, and probably not enough cap room for next season to sign any difference makers. I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We are in a mess, and it is the result of poor drafting and mediocre coaching. We don't have the talent and we don't have the coaching to overcome our talent or our poor mix of talent. This all falls on the shoulders of TD. He had complete freedom to build this team, both in terms of talent and coaching. He has failed, and he must go. If the the new gm wants a new head coach, then MM must go as well.

After the last three years and this year's start, I don't think it is fair to ask us to be patient.

I think under any other circumstances I would be willing to give Mularkey a pass for his first season, but the realities are that TD pinned the Bills problems last year squarely on the head coach, not talent. Moreover, TD and MM stated that there would be no honeymoon. Well, I am taking them at their word. There have been too many penalties and the offense looks worse than last year. I see no creativity and I am not sure whether there is an offensive game plan. Why do we always seem flat at the beginning of the game (and in the first half)? Why do the players have to become motivated at half time? Too many mistakes and poorly conceived and executed plays. Isn't this coaching? I thought the problem last year was a lack of mental toughness. Wasn't MM brought in to remedy that problem? We should not have hired another rookie head coach. After the last three years and dealing with Gregg Williams, why should we have to go through the pains of another rookie head coach?

Can't agree more. Spikes played great today. I think the reason we won last week was because of his interception and return for a TD. I also think Fletcher has played very well. I know the stupid penalties hurt, but at least he plays with heart and emotion.

Shaw, Adams, DB's odd comments after the game today. What is going on? I think too many people, including players and fans, bought into the view that we had the talent to challenge for the playoffs. I also think the cumulative effect of losing over the last three years combined with our poor start this year is devastating for all (players and fans). It is going to be tough to get through the rest of this season.

Our rushing yards per attempt has been pitiful. I understand that a good offense keeps a defense off balance, but we can't lineup and run the ball when the defense is expecting a run. We don't have the offensive lineman to run a "smash mouth" running offense. It seems the only decent runs we have are when the defense is not expecting a run (i.e., on third down). Another thing: our offense is a combination of painful and boring to watch. I'm with Ralph. I don't like this smash mouth stuff. It is not creative and leaves little room for error. With our penalties, o-line and qb we can't be successful or even consistent with this type of offense over an entire game.

I am not sure what this team is going to look like next year, but it will likely be another tough season. TD's view of the team last year was that they were talented but underperformed, primarily as a result of poor coaching. What is our view after last year and six games this year? We also don't have the talent, or at least the right mix of talent. Plus I am not sure about the coaching. Where does this leave us? Another rebuilding project. Last year TD replenished the talent lost (Vincent for Winfield and Villarail for R. Brown). This offseason we will lose some free agents (Jennings and Pat Williams) and we will need to reevaluate our entire roster. This will be true particularly if TD is fired and replaced. In addition, JP will get his shot, possibly soon. We will need to see how he develops, but we should expect some significant growing pains. I am really dreading the near term. The last four years have been tough. I think we deserve better.

At a sports bar during the game, we agreed that both teams have played poorly so far this year. The Fins fan then said to me that at least we have hope for the future. I asked him what he meant by that. He responded that we have Lee Evans, Losman and McGahee and that Miami has aging players, Wannestadt and salary cap problems looming.

The only reason we can possibly go 6 and 10 is because of the poor quality of our opponents. It would not be a sign of an improving team if we win more games than we lose for the rest of the season and I hope they don't try to spin it that way. After four years of building, there is no excuse as to why we should not beat teams like the Cardinals, 49ers, Browns and Bengals. We had an easy schedule this year and it doesn't look like we are going to take advantage of it.

I forgot to include Arizona in the list of winnable games.

A couple of things that I find interesting about the TD reign: 1. After four years, we still have needs at the same positions as when TD was hired (i.e., safety, fullback, tightend and o-line). 2. I must give TD at least some credit for trying to generate excitement and energize the fans. 3. What will ultimately do him in will be what was perceived as his strength: drafting. He has failed to draft a quality safety, defensive tackle, offensive lineman (other than maybe Jennings), and tight end. Who knows about the linebackers he has drafted since the three that start are free agent additions. 4. He really had the opportunity to build a team. By this I mean that he was able to choose the head coach, jettison veterans, sign free agents and draft as he saw fit (without any interference). He also had an owner who seemed willing to spend money and be patient for at least the first couple of years. He had the power but he failed to execute.

We play Miami twice, the Browns, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens. Our relatively weak remaining schedule makes our 0 and 4 start that much more unfortunate. Trying to be objective, we really should be able to win at least four out of our remaining twelve games. Of course I hope we do better.

If we trade Henry, it would be nice to get a player that could contribute immediately. My preference would be for a player at a need position (i.e., o-line). Interestingly, if we trade Henry, half-back probably becomes a need, which could be filled in next year's draft. I know many on the board like Williams, but we will need more depth at the position. I have no idea whether there is any intention of trading Henry now or after the season, but I am concerned that his trade value has declined significantly. His rushing totals are poor this year and he may be injured. Seems to me that he will be traded after the season and we won't get great value for him.

The thing that seems odd is that this does not seem to be about an "incident" with either the coaches or other players. The players seemed surprised, so maybe that discounts my first thought which was that he was cut for missing meetings or poor attention to certain duties (i.e., route running, reads, etc.). I considered that maybe we were signing a free agent, but then I hear that Haddad is being elevated to the practice squad. Overall, the timing of this is a mystery. Must be more to the story to be cut this way.

I am not sure that I agree that this is a splendid move. Maybe Shaw should have been cut in preseason, but I am not sure that he deserved to be embarassed in this fashion. Maybe he did something to deserve this treatment and, if so, I would like to know what it was. In terms of the cap, I assume he could have been cut in the offseason with the same effects in terms of savings for next season. I can only guess that TD and MM are trying to send a message. I have to wonder whether this move will help morale or anything else.