BackInDaDay

Yeah, i was gonna play that angle, but figured Byrd had more than notches on his belt from the Buttfumble previously known as Sanchez

..you must also hate Sanchez

Harrison's a beast, but is 36 years old and plays like it.. Spikes makes more sense - younger and less limited..

signing a 27 year old Brandon Spikes to a 'comfortable' contract would fall in place with these other signings - bringing in a guy who can fill an immediate need as a two-down run-stuffer, but who's not so over-priced that he didn't have to compete to get on the field..

i'm surprised Pats didn't sign Sproles, but i'm glad our guys won't have to chase him around twice a year!

never heard it phrased better than this!

Brandon Spikes is a nasty player.. we should work him out, if he's not too much for Marrone to handle.. lord knows Schwartz has dealt with worse than him in motown..

Gabe Jackson in the 2nd , if he's still on the board.. banging heads in the SEC as a 4 year starter at OG and two time tteam captain..

True, but even the best recruits get red-shirted untl they're considered to be ready to play. Have to wonder what the hell Sharper thought was missing from their game.

he came, he saw, he checked down. additions to staff will help him find open men downfield

Ok.. I'm getting all that - and thanks for the info - but I like guards that play low and hard.. a lot of these ex-OTs never lose the desire to play high, including Levitre. now this actually may be more effective in an O that expects to pass 2 out of every 3 downs, but I'd like to see us with the personnel gives us more options in our run game. I look forward to picking your brain about the guys we bring to camp this summer

Makes perfect sense, but if you draft an OT with the skills you describe - chances are you're keeping him at tackle because of where you took him. It's the Nix opinion on guards that I'm not a fan of. I think you understand that there's more to the interior line than a place to hide poor tackles. If there are true guards in the draft that lack the finesse of the ND player, but are maulers with the potential you describe.. I'm very cool with that. Just please, no more guys who lack the techniques and ability to play the position. Imagine how effective our center could be with some talent next to him..

unlike many, i like the idea of drafting an athletic kid who's played the majority of his collegiate snaps at the guard position, on an offense that doesn't resemble a 7 on 7 drill, for a big-time program. tackles who aren't good in space, don't suddenly become versatile guards - maulers, maybe - but we need guys who can pull, combo and float the pocket. get me him, a big TE with good hands, a big WR with good hands, and a beefy LB with some agility. our assistant OC will help Hackett improve the passing game by helping our QBs find passing lanes against various coverages. we already have good speed to stretch things vertically, and quick guys to break into the vacuum. all we're missing are those big targets that can save a drive on 3rd down. not being much of a college fan, my question is - are these types of players available, and where do you see them going? if we gotta move up, down, or sideways - can we make it happen?

Chandler may be on the decline as a 'down the seam' receiver, but he still presents match-up problems in the red zone. The fact that we couldn't get him isolated on smaller DBs down there says a lot. Of course, we might have had him in front of a safety on a 10 yard hook, but the slot man flew across the face of the play with a nickle back.. duh.. hoping we're schematically sound in 2014.. anybody in the bumper sticker business?

agree 100% on this. they've recognized there were issues, and are attempting to correct them. i'm optimistic that the addition of Hostler will have a significant impact on helping Hackett prepare his weekly gameplan, and reinforce what's expected out of the position coaches. with Downing dedicated to handling the QBs, and with the addition of a possibly more approachable receivers coach in Moore, i'm hopeful that Hackett can get his staff on the same page.

Shoring up the staff after their inefficiencies have been exposed doesn't speak well of Marrone's initial staff, or Brandon's, Nix's, and Whaley's acceptance of his choices. The fact is, players need a plan and the skills to execute the plan. Personally, I believe we've assembled a gifted receiving corp, but when one guy's crossing pattern drags a defender into the passing lane of his teammate's deep in route, an opportunity to make a play is lost. When such breakdowns occur over and over, you're lack of prepareness will cost you games. Winning teams are coached by men who are obsessed with being prepared. Such coaches will not allow the same mistakes to be made repeatedly. It is what it is. Hopefully this staff is capable of growing into the demands of winning. Many poked fun at Jauron's "it's not easy to win" quote, but when the outcome of games hinge on the near perfect execution of well designed plays called to take advantage of a predicted defense - and the QB can't complete that deep in route.. well, you lose more than you win.

Other than having a dedicated professional coach to work with the young QBs, the staff was structured as most NFL teams are. Potential head coaches must explain their staffing plans during the interview process. You're correct in saying that everyone signed off on the Hackett hire, but they don't share the blame when Hackett's direct reports aren't getting the job done. That buck stopped with the OC. The fact that Crossman's special teams were also suspect, can't sit well with the GM. Marrone better tighten things up, because the final buck stops with him. NFL players that suffer from a lack of recognition, understanding, and urgency will play poorly. All three are correctable, unless their play is a reflection of their coaching - not in spite of it.

Wrong. As OC, it's Hackett's responsibility to oversee his position coaches work. He needn't get involved with teaching techniques, but he sure as hell must be sure that every player is prepared to execute his playbook and gameplan. That comes down to communicating his desires to his staff. If Hilliard's receivers weren't being instructed properly, then it was on Hackett to insist Hilliard get the job done to his liking. Same with the RB, TE, and OL coaches. I don't know if the job's too big for Hackett, but his lack of control over his unit has already taken one casualty.

Receivers constantly running lazy routes should have been corrected. Receivers either misreading the coverage, or executing poorly designed routes, should have been corrected. The complexity of an NFL passing game relies on proper planning, preperation, timing, and execution. Our WRs ranked 32nd in the league in catching balls thrown at them - 49.3%. Do they all have stone hands? No. They're easily defended. It wasn't all on our QBs. It wasn't all on Hilliard, either - but he took the fall.

he better take control of his unit. put in the work in to insure his playbook is schematically sound, his coaches are teaching the techniques and discipline to successfully execute the plays, and his gameplans anticipate how his offense will be defended. they were very sloppy last season, and often seemed to have no answers. if he's going to succeed as an NFL coordinator, he must put in the work and insist his coaches are as committed as he is. preperation wins in this league. let the Jills handle the cheerleading.

If you examined just the small samples of All-22 breakdowns compiled by the WGR kid, you'd find how many missed offensive opportunities were due to poor scematics and execution. A lot of this was lazy route running, which resulted in the firing of Hilliard. Maybe the rookie coordinator's corrections fell on deaf ears each week, which led to friction... I don't know. I would have liked to hear from Hilliard before he left the complex, but that's allin the rear view. Anyway, I digress... my point is that Hackett never seized control of his unit. What he and Marrone installed wasn't firing on all cylinders, and much of it appeared to be easily correctible. Pettine's grasp on the D far exceeded young Hackett's influence on the O, but that's no surprise - history's the best teacher. Pettine may have been ready to move on. Hackett still has a way to go. Until he gets results from his own squad, he can't be considered head coaching material.

Looking for O line, LB, and a physical WR and/or TE who can 'go get it!' we have to protect the QB and give him more diversified targets, while getting stronger and quicker in our run game. Our D can use a strong LB that can fill gaps We have the draft and FA to complement the roster, and I doubt Whaley will waste time trying to duplicate skill sets.

well said..

i get it, but there are hard realities in this world that soft veils can only disguise for so long. hope is a good thing, and no matter our differences, the ability to remain hopeful is probably the common denominator of every Bills fan. if this becomes a reality, i will most definitely help seed the initial fund.

anyone who pays a premium price for the Bills franchise will lose a fortune unless there's a plan in place to move it to a market that will pay premium prices for a NFL team. you don't invest in product unless you can make a profit. any prospective buyer willing to invest $900M for a product has plans to recover their costs and reap healthy profits. those plans can't include limiting their market to Buffalo, NY. why would anyone accept smaller subsidies to stay, than what their product has the potential to earn in another market? only if the Wilson family is willing to offer a discount to a buyer committed to Buffalo, would this fund have a realistic impact. but think about that. as the costs of remaining a viable franchise grow, the fund will have to grow. the market hasn't changed. so, even if this dream of accumulating such an insane amount of money from donations could come true.. it will have to come true in perpetuity. generations of Buffalonians will have to willingly accept this incredible burden, or accept a franchise that can't raise the capital to compete. i understand it's not a popular future to embrace, but free market capitalism will determine the team's fate.. and cake sales and car washes just ain't gonna cut it.