DFITZ1

The reason I feel he's meant for LB is 2-fold, his physique AND his curent play at DE. Remember, those who scouted him and interviewed him exhaustingly also made the draft and FA moves that have made this team the masters of mediocrity.

This receives my vote as TSW's worst thread of 2009.

Don't change the uniform back until we have a team worthy of the teams from the 90's. The way they play this year, they are not worthy of the 90's uniform, and neither the 60's throwbacks unless you're talking 1968.

I couldn't agree more. The worst thing is the Bills front office and coaches didn't see him as a project (perhaps when they saw him easily overmatched, they put the project label on). The Bills have more "projects" than the Bronx!

I am not a typist for a living, nor does SDS require a spelling test to be on the board. I still believe my point is valid no matter how it's spelled.

It doesn't take much to clear yours. I don't find concussions to be something to joke about, whether a player is good or not. I know of someone who nearly lost a job because of a concussion incurred on the job (that wasn't their fault) and it took over a year to be rid of the after effects. I hope if you ever get a concussion, you're not traded for a piece of hardware.

Because you (and me) are not freaks like these guys. I wouldn't be surprised if putting 20-25 pounds of muscle on Maybin may not be a physical possibility. Bulking up with fat is easy (I've done it more times than I should). Working within Maybin's physical framework is likely a better option than trying to will him into being an NFL size DE or DT.

Your comments aren't even worth a little kid's plastic snow shovel. The guy plays in front of the worst OL in teh NFL with teh worst offensive coaching staff (at least at year's start). He had teh cards stacked against him and FitzP isn't much better, if at all (the guy has teh slowest release in teh NFL, that's why the Jets DB always made a good jump on the ball). Half the guys bashing TE on this forum were probably Bashing JP in favor of TE, and were bashing Bledsoe in favor of JP, who were bashing RJ in favor of anyone, who were bashing Flutie in favor of RJ, and probably still think Flutie was no good despite being the last QB to lead teh Bills to the playoffs.

OR, use his skill set as a OLB and get him on teh field. Just saying put on more weight and get stronger is a tall order. If he's a 1st rounder, he should already be strong. Just put him where his physique is the best match. That makes the most sense. What bothers me is that this was never tried this year, especially since we need help at linebacker (then again, where don't we need help, other than RB or kickers).

The reason you heard about him on this board is that he brought respect to Buffalo football. The Bills organization brought ridicule, Gill brought respect. His years at UB should be a springboard for better years to come.

Were there 15 players on IR any season during the 90's? No. Were there injuries? Yes. However, bad luck might only account for the league average on IR. Lack of better conditioning accounts for the rest. It was a decent conditioning program that turned Bruce Smith from a 300 lb average DE to a 270 lb hall of famer. Also, conditioning feeds into fewer injuries for all the reasons mentioned in this thread: players are stronger, quicker, better toned, play better, and have more endurance. Sure, luck plays a role in teh injury count, but the Bills volume of injuries over teh past years suggests its more than just dumb luck.

In my post I did NOT blame broken bones on conditioning. This isn't an easy topic to evaluate as there are a lot of factors to consider, such as size and schemes, as you mentioned. But the statistical impression I've had over the years is the 2000 teams are more injury prone than the 1990's. Also, with 17 on IR in 2007 and 15 this year, those numbers show a frequency soshort in time that S&C should be on notice. Thurman Thomas said recently that his teamates swore by Jones programs, and the low frequency of injuries in teh 90's is testimony.

When Aaron Maybin was drafted, the first football words I uttered were "outside linebacker". His size and skill set matched pretty well in my amateur football mind. When I read the testimonials to Lou Saban this year and in "Rockin' the Rockpile", I was impressed how Saban could analyze raw football talent and place players in positions where they could succeed at the pro game and how well he did it. It amazed how few of the mid 60's stars played a different position for Saban than they played in college. Heck he had college offensive players starring on defense and vice versa. Why this isn't tried with Maybin is beyond me. Is there a rule that a player must play teh same position he played in college? I think not. The current Bills staff gives you the impression they will try to make him a DE at all costs when conventional wisdom shows he's not cut out for that. Making Maybin play DE or DT is like having a CB play LT. It won't work. I say don't cuss out Maybin, cuss out the staff.

With Demitrius Bell now on IR, and the team rapidly approaching another dubious record of most players on IR (set in 2007, DJ year 1, surprise, surprise), this elevates the standing of letting Rusty Jones go as a ding-dong move by the front office. In any successful business, legitimate effort is made to keep the best people. Since Jones was WIDELY recognized as the best strength and conditioning coach in teh NFL (and all sports for that matter), the only sensible action is keeping this prized asset. After Donahoe, Williams and RW's closed eyes let him go, injuries and conditioning issues increased. Then under Jauron-ball, conditioning was an afterthought (perhaps the reason players loved playing for DJ was because he didn't make them work on conditioning - i.e. soft). I know injuries are part of the game (eg. Wood) but all these muscle pulls and strains go beyond statistics. If there is a new front office (please), get the best and keep them (within $$$ reason). Donahoe and Williams let Jones go because they believed in the NFL's patronage structure more than performance. Getting rid of top personnel because they're "not your guy" is clear path to mediocrity.

The Braves moved after the 1978 season; going to SanDiego, then later LA. The circumstances were awkward to say the least. After 3 winning seasons, the Braves owner, Paul Snyder got cheap, and traded Bob McAdoo for cash and later Jack Ramsey resigned as coach. Snyder sold teh team to John Y Brown, then head of KFC. Brown had no intention of keeping teh Braves in Buffalo, and made ruinous player and coaching choices and the team fell to last place and attendence fell as well. In the meantime, Brown worked out a deal with teh owner of teh Celtics for Brown to acquire the Celts, and the Celts owner acquire the Braves and move them to the west coast. That sealed the deal. Meanwhile, Jimmy Griffin, as mayor, did nothing to stop this since he was more interested in minor league baseball, and the Braves owners weren't interested in contributing to his political machine.

If the Bills leave Buffalo, I wish them the same fate as the LA Clippers, doomed to perpetual mediocrity for leaving the greatest fans (no matter how nutty we get). The LA Clippers will never achieve greatness until they play a regular season game in Buffalo in their Buffalo Braves uniforms, honor HOF'r Bob McAdoo and legend Randy Smith, and apologize for leaving the way they did.

Right on, IMO - he has been brainwashed with DJ's and Turk's mondain, coaching of safe, don't make a mistake football, even if it results in no scoring. Great stats, no points. The guy needs a new HC.

For sure, I remember after the Homerun Thowback (thow up, if you will), Bruce DeHaven got canned, and we then had to suffer though Rob Jones (? - I can't remember the name, he was one of Wade's buddies). He was the worst special teams coach ever. We must've set the record for most KO and punt returns for TD's allowed.

The o-line isn't great, but has improved on teh running game. Last year it seemed like ML or FJ had to shed 2-3 tacklers just to get to the line of scrimmage. This year there are more holes. I'm hoping Lynch will have a breakout year once he returns.

I think one of teh worst moves by Donahoe and Greg Williams was to let Rusty Jones leave. The players under his wing seemed to have far less injuries, plus, he was highly respected throughout the NFL and all major league sports. He's one you keep, not let patronage show him the door.

Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News. He thinks the Bills/Sabres were put on this earth to kiss his rear and meet his expectations. Yet, he knows nothing about either sport that the less than average fan can pick up in a sports bar. No insight, no intellect, yet he probably makes more money than me (and that's REALLY irritating). When the News went from Felser to Sullivan was like going from teh penthouse to the catacombs. My second nominee, but off topic is the Versus hockey play-by-play announcers. They don't even talk about the play on the ice. A series of 3 miraculous shots and saves happen, and those clowns are talking about teh arena food court.

Isn't that pretty much the story of the 2000's? I actually wonder if Tom Brady would've had the same fortune here, and we would've run HIM out of town.

Elaborate further, please. I'm a Methodist, not a revisionist.

That's because they were forgettable, and neither declared the franchise starter. However, Billy Joe hobert will forever be resurrected as an example of how to get cut, and how NOT to talk to the press. Not studying the playbook, then enterring a game as teh backup QB and playing like a confused dufiss, and THEN telling the press you didn't study the playbook has to be the dumbest day in the life of an NFL back-up

What I meant was: 1) When JP was QB'ing, he threw more deep balls than TE, but get sacked more, intercepted more, and through into coverage. The reason JP got run out of town was because he didn't check down. 2) With TE QB'ing, he throws fewer deep balls than JP, gets sacked less, intercepted less, and throws into less. Yet, the reason TE will get run out of town is because he does check down. Maybe the problem is somewhere else (offensive scheme, o-line, etc.)