ax4782

Really? I thought Fairchild was pretty clear about it when he said that he intended to throw the ball more and open the playbook all the way to allow us to make a lot more plays deep and long in the passing game. He said we were going to use Marshawn like Martz used Faulk in the STL. What about that suggested to you that he was going to be a Conservative playcaller. Those statements, along with the significant focus on the passing game in the OTAs and preseason last year would lead one to the logical conclusion that they were going to be a through the air kind of team. That clearly wasn't the case. Maybe you don' remember, but that's the case. Check out the archives in the Buffalo News and on BB.com. Maybe those sights are just "BS" as some have cited, but they give you the flavor of the sh-t that was coming out at the time. You're interpretation of the smell is way off.

You keep citing to what Schonert was doing in 02 and 04. Who gives a sh-t what he was doing then. You are trying to insinuate that he must be a terrible coach or something because he was not in football for those two years. Maybe. But since you don't know why he wasn't coaching, you probably shouldn't rush to judgment either. And by the way, it was under Schonert that JP had his best year and showed significant improvement in 06' he looked good early on in the pre-season of 07 as well, and was hurt early in the season. He hadn't looked good in the first two games, but why is that suddenly Schonert's fault? Isn't that terrible offense more the product of SF than anything that Schonert did or didn't do to help JP improve? IIRC there were many people who thought that JP was going to be the most improved player at the QB position due to the improvements in the quality of his game, and attributed that to the coaching staff? Seems to me like Schonert did his job, and that Fairchild was the one who couldn't get his head out of his ass. As to Walker, look at his stats from last year again. Look particularly at the number of sacks he gave up and look at Marshawn's numbers running to the right hand side. I think you'll find that Walker did a pretty good job. The fact that some guy in Oakland in a totally different scheme with significantly different line, played well has nothing to do with whether or not Walker is a solid RT in Buffalo. You can't take his performance in Oakland and say, well, he was bad there in a terrible offense where the OL was atrocious in every aspect of the game, and use that to say that his performance here was bad. It simply wasn't. He might not have been the best RT in the game, but he wasn't even close to the worst. You don't have to have the best OLman at every position to have a good O-Line. You need solid, above average players at all five positions for that to happen and the Bills are close to that. Fowler is the weak link on this line and even he isn't terrible. He will be replaced next year and at that point, the OL will be excellent. You can disagree but the statistics don't lie.

I think that says it, but since that is an actual fact, most likely people who think the OL was terrible last season will find a way to dismiss it. The fact is that Walker was very good in both rushing and pass blocking and his numbers show it over the course of last season. He actually had better blocking stats in both aspects of the game when the TE was NOT playing on his side of the ball. And furthermore, people act like other teams never have TEs help out in the blocking scheme. You think that never happens on any other team? Please. That's the TE's job on 70% of the plays where they are out there. They assist in the blocking scheme. Just because the Bills used a TE to have a stronger rush on the right side isn't indicative of the fact that Walker needed help. It's indicative of the fact that they were running to the strong side of a called formation. If a full back blocks to the right to help block a linebacker out of the four hole between the RG and the RT, I guess that's because Walker sucks as he can't block both a lineman and an LB at the same time? Give me a break. VOR, you got it dead on right. However, people will find a way to twist the facts into something showing that regardless of how his statistics look, he really secretly sucks and statistics are only true when they want to use them to prove they are right.

Perhaps you have forgotten how terrible this team looked all last offseason and how disorganized the offense was? I haven't. This year they look much better at this point than they ever did last year. And no, it isn't what I've heard. Smart people don't trust hearsay. I go by what I have seen of the OTAs and looking back at where the team was last year at this time. There's a significant difference in how the offense was functioning. And you are so quick to dismiss any positive chance the offense has. Yet you have no basis for your assessment either. You shouldn't throw stones when you live in a glass house. I think that rule is appropriate. I am at least basing my positive assessment on what I have seen. You are just dismissive based on nothing, except your well known hatred for Jauron, which you have never actually substantiated either. So be as dismissive as you like, but try to do so with some actual basis as opposed to just rampant negativity.

Just say no.

If Buffalo can meet this ranking and the passing game can get say a 22 or 23 ranking by the end of the season, Buffalo would have significantly improved on offense. Such an increase would likely equate to a 10-6 record when combined with our schedule and a significantly improved D. I think that any finish in that ball park would have to quiet some of the TE/Schonert/Jauron hate that many on this board are so fond of spewing forth in derth.

I don't think that it will require us to wait for three years. Based on everything that I have seen of this offense in the OTAs and everything that is being reported on the team, thre should be a marked and positive difference in the the offensive scheme and the way the Bills approach the game on that side of the ball. People are being critical of Schonert, but from what I can see, the offense is in a much better place right now under this scheme, which seems much more suited to their strengths, than to the one SF had in place. We weren't built for an all out aerial assault last year and the team should have known that before hiring a guy who really didn't know how to run an offense that did anything else. That led to seriously predictability. Schonert's scheme is much better suited to the Bills' strengths and that should show in terms of offensive production and points scored.

Very true, Bill. He was one of our better lineman last year. People who complain about him only remember that there were some complaints about his performance his last year in Oakland and just assume that he was terrible again last year. While I acknowledge that we didn't throw as often as we should, and thus stats may have been inflated, Langston had either the least or second least number of sacks given up last season, IIRC. That being said, of course he could improve, but I don't think that any rookie RT was going to come in and play any better. I'm glad we've got him.

No, I don't need coffee. His quote was clearly TE bashing and had nothing to do with this topic. He just had to get in another of his jibes. For more proof, see his Jauron comment above.

Do you ever stop with the the TE hate? Seriously. He's the starting quarterback. Of course he is going to be on one of the game tickets. I'm so tired of this QB bashing, both ways, on this board. And frankly, TE wasn't horrible last season either, particularly for a rookie. But that isn't for this thread, it's for the five thousand other ones where this somehow had to come up as an issue.

I think that said it all.

Fair enough, and for the record, I see your points. I really do. And I understand the mob mentality that goes on as well. You certainly are a reasonable poster and I respect your view point, though I don't necessarily agree with it. As to Hardy, I do agree with you to some extent. I don't think he is going to have a "MONSTER" season of say 80-1100-12 or anything like that. I do think he could have something in the range of 40-650-6, which would help the offense. It isn't his sheer "awesomeness" that I think is going to help the passing game. His size allows him to be a big problem for defenses in the redzone and over the middle. If nothing else, that should help Evans on some plays to get single coverage looks. If Josh reed and Hardy can combine for 90 catches, which I think is possible, if not a bit optimistic, they should be enough together to get Evans some help. Like I said, I don't see us going from last to top ten in one year. I do think that there is enough offensive talent to get us into the mid 20s, say which keeps us competitive week in and week out. This is NOT going to be one of those GREAT seasons in team history, but, we could make a 10-6 mark and potentially sneak into the final wildcard spot with a bit of luck.

Completely agree.

Actually, I thought TD was a horrible hire at the time based on his performance in the past and his terrible handling of the FO in Pittsburgh, and Gilbride was way overrated. I believed those things at the time. So please, don't lump me in with those always sunny people. I have also stated that I think this year is make or break for Jauron. I don't think that means they have to make the playoffs, but they do have to get better. If they don't win 9 games, I think Jauron's time is done. I personally think he is a decent coach. And if you are right at the end of the season, and TE sucked and the whole team sucked and on and on, I'll be the first one to say, you called it and I was wrong. I don't make excuses for bad players or bad coaches. What I have repeatedly said was that Jauron hasn't been here long enough for me to determine whether he will be good or not. I do know that I'm sick and tired of seeing a new coaching staff come in every three years and have to start "rebuilding" based on some new scheme. I would disagree that Levy did nothing. He changed the attitude, IMO, of the people at OBD, and started a move in a positive direction. Buffalo had neglected the D for a long time before Marv came in and started focusing on positions where we needed young talent. No he wasn't perfect, but he didn't just DO NOTHING as you suggested. You keep making this into some sort of personal attack and I don't understand why. You have your opinion and I have mine. Just because we disagree on the direction of the team this season is no reason to get angry. The fact is, and I'll say it again, if you turn out to be right, I'll be the first one to point it out. If I'm right, and the team excels, are you going to do the same thing, or will you only continue to find reasons to say the team is terrible and Jauron needs to go because it was only a fluke?

Krazykat, I will refrain from quoting your entire sermon for the sake of saving space. I will also say that I agree with much of what Adam said in response. As to your comments, there's just a few points I'd like to make. As to TE: I used to play the QB position. Not in the NFL, but enough to know the necessaries of the position. It's difficult, making decisions is hard and staying poised when guys who outweigh you by thirty or forty pounds are on you in less than five seconds. Frankly, I trust Bill Walsh's statements and observations about the guy more than your Monday Morning QB armchair analysis. Poise is the one thing that you CAN'T teach a QB at the NFL level. You either have it or you don't. He has the mechanics, and a fast accurate release. What's the problem? The guy was a rookie and we've been over this. You are counting him out before he's even played a down this year. You can try and equivocate that as much as you want. As to my "fan bias": I wasn't the one who was quoting Schonert when it was convenient after Viti was let go. And frankly that statement of yours was a misquote of what Schonert said. Frankly, your arguments make my point even more strongly. We don't know what Schonert is going to do, so all we can go on is what he says. And he is right about Lynch. HE COULDN'T BLOCK A MIDGET last year on third down. Since we were in passing situations on almost every third down last year, you need a guy who could block. Your statistical representations are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Those touches that Lynch had were almost always in 3rd and 1 situations, where it makes sense to use him. I understand that you are upset with the FO and the coaches and the coordinators. But you are wrong about the team's spending habits. First, they just invested over 75 Mil last year in the OL to get above average talent across the line. They signed two quality starters and two decent back ups. Dockery, Walker, Whittle and Chambers. Then, they gave Peters and extension and signed Butler to an 18.8 million dollar extension. Peters is set to get another, much bigger extension this year as well. That's over 100 mil that the FO will have shelled out to improve the offensive line, and your statement that they are terrible just doesn't add up to the facts as seen in their statistics. You can make up every reason to say that those stats are wrong, but hey, that's what your getting mad at me for doing to your stats so, touche. How again is the FO "ignoring the lines" and "not trying to improve the OL?" That's just ridiculous. As for the DL, I say the same thing. They bring in a solid DT in Stroud to shore things up. They sign Williams to a decent extension, McCargo is beginning to play better. They sign Spencer Johnson to help in the rotation, they draft Chris Ellis, the signed Schobel and Kelsay to extensions to make sure that they don't bolt to higher paying waters. They sign a run stuffing line backer in Mitchell to help along the D-Front. All of that adds up to almost 100 mil. How exactly is the team not investing in the lines. This is a complete myth that is impossible to substantiate. As for Schonert saying that he anticipates that Lynch will be in more on third down and somehow that means there is a question as to the game plan because Jauron is messing things up, is just nonsense. I expect the OC to NOT GIVE AWAY exactly what he is going to do. Also, who knows, what happens if Lynch gets hurt. Well, he won't be playing on third downs at all will he? So saying that Lynch will absolutely, without question be in on third down every time, as perhaps you would like, is both irresponsible coaching and just dumb. Lord only knows what is going to happen in terms of injuries, so please stop reading all this Jauron-conservative conspiracy nonsense into statements made by any coach on the team. As for my being "force fed"everything from OBD and believing what they say, I think you're going across the line on that one. I wasn't saying that I completely believe everything that comes out of the place. There's almost as much politics in Football FOs as in D.C. What I wanted was for you to look at what Schonert was saying, and, if he does what he says concerning Lynch, whether that was a solid start for this football team. You decided to turn it into a personal attack and diatribe against a person who was trying to engage you in a discussion. Sorry it pushed your buttons, but resorting to childish attacks is completely unnecessary. Also, you keep referring to the fact that the changes we have made aren't going to turn us into a top ten offense. I never said we would be, nor do I expect such a result. I do, however, think they will get us into the mid to upper twenties, and with a solid defensive effort, that should be good enough to win 9 or 10 games this season. See, you expect the team to jump from none to the top in one season. Your expectations are just too high. Buffalo could have signed every expensive free agent available and they still likely wouldn't be able to win more than 11 games. Building a team takes time, and this new staff hasn't exactly had a lot of that. Yet, the team has improved under Jauron's leadership from where it was under Williams and Mularkey. That's something that only a blind person would fail to recognize. As to the FO letting all this talent go, you really wanted to sign Clements to a 8 yr 80 mil contract? Please, he wasn't worth that and you know it. Other than that, what talent has THIS FO sent packing since the new coaching staff came. Eric Moulds? Please, he wanted way too much money for his age. At best he was a number two receiver on this team after 2005. Who else? Winfield was gone long ago and wasn't worth the money he wanted either. Minnesota is finding that out. He is solid, but overpaid. Where is all this talent supposedly leaking out on this team. McGahee? I think he was overrated and our rookie RB outplayed him in three fewer appearances. So where is this talent leak that you keep talking about. I think your generally pessimistic view of this team comes from the same disappointment we all have. You are just choosing to take a harder look at all the negatives. Nothing wrong with that. I choose to focus on the possibilities I see with this team. And frankly, that might make me a bit more disappointed when the season is half-way over. Then again, maybe not. Maybe you'll have to find some more reasons for why they suck, even if they are say, 6-2 or 5-3.

I'd like to see Fowler retained, even if he isn't going to be our starter. He would be a very good quality backup who could rotate in if necessary. I agree that the three guys you highlighted are keys, though I wouldn't bet that Jabari Greer will walk away. I have a feeling the Bills are going to sign him to an extension. I also see Buffalo re-signing DiGiorgio and Ellison to maintain some quality depth at LB, which is hugely important knowing what happened last season. Both guys can play and give solid every down effort and depth at LB if they are needed. Buffalo's concentration in the upcoming draft should be on getting solid help on the O-Line for depth and looking forward. The LT and LG positions are going to be locked up long term with Dockery having 6 more years on his deal and Peters likely getting an extension. Walker at RT has 4 years left. They just signed Butler to an extension at RG for a mid-term contract. Now they need to find guys they can cultivate and grow behind them so that when the time comes and those guys leave or retire, we'll be just as good as where they left. That's the key now. The rest of pieces are in place. Another first round DT will likely be a good choice too, as we need someone to replace Stroud when his contract is up. There are likely to be a few of them floating around in this years draft. As for the CB position, lets keep in mind that it was the OLD FO of Tom Donasuck that signed all those first round corners then let them leave. Frankly, I'm not sure what everyone's complaining about. Would you REALLY have wanted to sign Clements to the 10 mil a year that he wanted if that meant that we then had to let Peters or Evans go in free agency. He really wasn't worth that kind of money. 6 mil a year maybe, but not ten, and there was no way he was going to give the Bills a discount. McGee and Greer won't be able to command quite that much money, and if they sign Whitner and Simpson to extensions this year and lock them up long term, that will save us a lot of time and headache in the future. Let's see how the FO handles the CBs they were responsible for drafting before we start getting our unders in a wad. Lastly, to those who say that Jauron has a bad habit of drafting first round CBs or DBs and that's a bad thing, I would point to our almost DEAD LAST pass defense rating in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and suggest that an overhaul was necessary. Two of the three picks in the secondary from that draft have looked very good. We'll see what McKelvin has to offer this year when he gets his shot. But, we needed serious help at DB after the last couple of seasons, and they have done a solid job. Look at the D we run. Having good strong depth at corner and both safety positions is key to good Cover-2 defense. I don't think we will be drafting a corner or safety in the first round for a while, particularly if we can sign Greer to an extension and get McKelvin a six year deal.

Yes because Chris Mortenson and friends on ESPN sure get every prediction right about players coming into the NFL. The fact is, this was perceived "weak" draft class, but the stats are pretty clear. I didn't say that Hardy was going to catch 75-1200-15. I have consistently stated that a good season for him at the #2 or #3 WR spot would be 45-650-6. If he can have those type of numbers, he would be a serious help to Lee and the offense. And in case you didn't watch the draft, there are a lot of factors that go into why certain types of players don't get drafted in the first round. This year featured three long runs in the first draft and teams didn't want to get left out. DT, DB, OT, and RB were all multiply selected in the first round. IIRC 21 of the first 32 picks were from those positions. Two more were QBs and at least 2 more were LBs. Teams drafted by need and when a run starts you pick the best player left for that need. Such has been the trend in the draft for the last ten years. Buffalo was out in front of it this time and we got a good selection. Fortunately we were out near the front in the second round when the run on receivers started and we ended up with probably the second best receiver that was available in the whole draft. Note, Hardy does not have injury issues, which is why IMO he was as good or better than some of the others. Before we pass judgment on him, let's see how he does. He has all the tangibles to be a successful WR.

No offense, but Winfield and Clements wanted WAY too much money. No way Clements was worth 10 years 80 mil. Sorry, but no thanks. That being said, I am getting tired of letting good young players get away, but I think that the FO is starting to change its ways. Take Butler and Williams. A couple of young solid up and coming guys that deserved bigger pay and extensions. The FO gave them both to keep them in Bills unis for the near future. Expect more of the same in the next few months. I think you will see Peters and Evans get resigned and if Lynch has a solid year this season, expect him to get an extension as well. I think this FO is serious about keeping this team together, unlike what I see from the Sabres organization. You want to talk about an organization that lets talent go, try looking downtown.

Sounds like you've seen Hardy play a number of NFL games already. Oh wait, no you haven't. He hasn't played against one NFL corner, so all of you statements about him being slow, not able to get away from his coverage, and running terrible routes is all a bunch of skeptical mumbo-jumbo. By the way, some of the corners in the Big Ten are also pretty good. Those tend to the ones covering a team's best receiver on Saturday's. Oh, yeah. THose were the guys that were covering Hardy, whom he roundly STOMPED week in and week out, not for one year, but for three years. From what I could see in OTAs, the guy ran very good short and intermediate routes. As for whether he would get the ball if JP was the QB, this isn't a QB thread, but, you're right. JP would throw it at his FEET!!!!! Just like he did with the short receivers we have now. The fact is, you have nothing to back up your hypothesis on Hardy's capabilities. He played against the best the Big Ten had to offer, not the slugs, and he routinely beat them. He has good hands and runs good routes for what we need. A big target over the middle. Until you have some facts or actual game footage of Hardy in an NFL game doing what you say, it's just a bunch of hot air.

And krazykat, I'd like your opinion of Schonert's comments today concerning the use of ML in the passing game. He explains a number of things concerning the use of ML last year, or the lack thereof. The fact that ML is lining up as a receiver and will be used as an everydown back, sometimes paired with Fred Jackson on third down. The link is below. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=6197 As to Schonert, I went back and looked at some of his comments concerning the use of the FB in the offense. He specifically stated that he wanted to use the FB primarily in the Redzone on running plays and sometimes as a diversion or short option close to the goal line. He never said he would use one every down. Your comments about Schonert show that you have given up on the team before you have even seen what they can do. I think that is a bit overly pessimissitic. I prefer not to pass judgment on coaches or players until I've seen them in action. Perhaps you will turn out to be right, and if you are, we're in for a long season, and perhaps a long three seasons as a new staff is brought in and will have to rebuild. Before seeing such a dark and horrible football future for Buffalo, I prefer to wait and see what these players have. From what I've seen, they are doing the right things this offseason. You may disagree, but we wear different colored glasses. Note: I like the signing of Williams. I think he is an important piece to the DL and should help to solidify that position going forward. He is one player that is certainly likely to benefit from Stroud's presence. Feel free to share your thoughts here too.

This is clearly coming from someone who doesn't know anything about the player or his ability. He runs a 4.45 40. More than fast enough to "get off the line." Against good secondaries in the Big Ten he caught 36 TDs in 33 games. I guess he must have done that with two CBs on him every time since he can't separate. Or when he had a 14-142-2 game against Penn State, I suppose he couldn't get enough separation to have an over 10 yd per catch average, or that he finished with an insane 79-1125-16 and a 14.2 yards per catch average, he must be covered constantly because he can't get away from coverage. Rather than taking Mort's word for it, try looking at some of his college game tape and his combine performance before you start spouting off information that clearly is just WRONG.

Like I said, TSN should stick to giving out rankings about the CFL. They might actually know something about that league.

Actually, McCargo didn't play nearly any of his rookie season due to a foot injury. That injury was healed last year, and thus he was finally able to get time on the field. When he did get time on the field last year, it was productive. His play improved as the year went on, and for what was essentially his rookie season to total the best TFL numbers on the team, the best solo tackle/tackle ratio and have the second highest sack total on the team for the limited time he actually played seems to make your argument look foolish. I think that by the end of pre-season, McCargo will be solidly entrenched as the starter next to Stroud. Johnson will be rotating in to give Stroud a rest and Williams will come in for McCargo at the three where he will also likely be more effective. McCargo was for all intents and purposes a rookie last season and he looked good for a rookie. This is his year. The guy was a beast in college and I expect to see that same kind of production out of him this year based on his performance. Most of the people who watch this stuff for a living and write about it agree that he really came on at the end of the season. I trust my eyes, and theirs before the negative nancies that reside on this board. He played well when he had opportunities last season, and most agree he is really improving.

TE had a 70 TD pass last season and does not have a weak arm. This nonsense needs to stop. As to the original post, I would be happy with those kinds of numbers from Trent. If he posts 16 TDs and Marshawn has the season this site projects, and a solid effort on D, Buffalo goes 10-6 or possibly 11-5 if we can win a lucky one. That, my friends, would be good enough to make the playoffs. I hope this guy is right. By the way, those would be good rookie numbers for Hardy if they turn out to be accurate.

TSN should stick to ranking the teams in their own country's league: the CFL. They might actually know something if they did that.