BackInDaDay

i don't think our tendencies were any secret.. other OCs found ways to beat us by formation during the season, also. but i definitely agree about the size of the RB, the weather, and the attitude their line played with.. we were mauled.

i'm curious if the plays you describe were 'counters', where the initial 'read' from a defensive perspective is that the RB is coming one way, but ends up going in the other direction.. usually with the addition of a FB leading interference. there was talk in Boston about using our aggressive style against us by baiting our LBs with false 'keys'. they were also discussing how they might overpower our smaller packages with Blount. i read this stuff after the fact, but it was pre-game stuff coming from the Patriot media. looks like they had their finger on that. anyway, i wouldn't fret over Alonzo. if Pettine is as good as we think he is, he'll review, prepare and adjust the D better next season. he just has to find someone smarter than Hackett to ask "how would you attack this?"

i agree, but since Kolb and the current crop of available FA veteran QBs are irrelevant to our 2014 plans, it would be wise of the Bills to understand the impact of their actions before making them

that is a concise summary, but the intelligence in any analysis lies in the details. how often does our 1st round pick from 2013 get a chance to prepare during the season and refine his game? what are the possibilities that both he and an additional high draft pick in 2014 can receive the attention necessary to grow to their potential? what scenarios leave us with a backup that has either 1 year, or no experience playing QB in the NFL? my worst fear from looking at the Bills O this year, is that our OC approaches his work with the same disdain you view this.. but hey, different strokes..

here's the deal.. we have 3 young QBs going into 2014 with may fans suggesting we draft a 4th and have an open competition among them. all i've done was take that proposal to what i believe may be it's possible conclusions.. many of which end with either our 2013 1st round pick, or our 2014 pick getting no reps at their position. i think our situation is best served by committing to Manuel in 2014, and spending our draft picks elsewhere. by the way sport, you're the one with almost 6K posts

appreciate that, but i was just hoping to prove that adding another young prospect to the existing group of young prospects has the potential to negatively impact the development of one or more of them. how many more years will we be subjected to second-guessing our favorite team's actions? someone smarter than me could 'weight' the results by other attributes to add more realistic definition to the options. bottom line.. with this many pups, there's no way to guess who's best in show. yet we can't keep them all.

well if we have to go there, i think as Bills fans we might better relate to this.. http://youtu.be/d6m7NR6iYjg

possibly, or perhaps it's just an attempt to validate one's intuitive conclusion to a results oriented 'game' with a comprehensive matrix of possibilities. or maybe it's the damn champagne talking. currently mentoring a new generation of mainframe developers in application design, but yes.. i evolved ( or i like to think i have) from the swampy pits of mouth-breathin', knuckle-draggin', mainframe programmers.

There have been discussions on the Wall about adding a rookie QB (let’s call him ‘X’) in the draft, and having an open competition through the camps and pre-season to decide the opening day depth chart. I've stated a number of times that i believe this would be counter productive to maximizing our first round draft pick’s potential as a starting QB. My only defense of this has been my intuition, so i figured i'd work it up, to see if there’s any validity to this. I do this, because I agree that there should be no harm in drafting another prospect, and letting the best man win. So then why do I feel so strongly that this would be a mistake? For those of you who have the patience to indulge this somewhat tedious analysis - and for those who could care less – hope you all have a Happy New Year.. and whoever our starting QB is, does too! First off, I think Lewis has shown the coaches and GM enough to let them release Kolb. Considering the youth we'll have in our 2014 QBs, I’m thinking the best Kolb could do under the circumstances, would be unseating the 'veteran' Lewis as backup. But I doubt that's possible as Lewis now has the advantage of actually executing the offense to some level of success. So I’ve left Kolb out of the competition. Another premise I’m going on is that we wouldn't draft anyone who doesn't have the potential to make Tuel expendable. Remember that we carried Tuel on the active roster because our coaches were impressed enough by him that they were afraid someone would steal him from the practice squad (PS). This may, or may not, be the case next season with our #3 (and possible #4). So I’ve left the options open - to carry just 2 active + 1 PS QB, or, 3 active + 1 PS QB (even though using one of the 8 PS slots on a 4th QB seems unrealistic). While we're on the subject... I don't believe Lewis has any PS eligibility left - so if we keep him, he has to be on the active roster. The options given below were derived with Lewis’s lack of PS eligibility in mind. Another reality to keep in mind, is that barring injuries to the starter or the backup, the 3rd string QB gets no reps during the season. There just isn’t enough time. Now, before getting into the mock-up results, I’ll summarize what options I’ve come up with - by projected starting QB. From what I can see, the best scenarios include Lewis as the backup to one of the three younger projects. The trouble there is that – barring injuries - whoever comes in 3rd or 4th will get no practice reps during the season, and will have no chance to reach their potential. This is why I still feel that adding a rookie QB to the mix will result in at least one of our young QBs being short-changed, while creating a possible scenario where our backup has 1 year or less experience. I’ll let the reader complete their opinions of the given options with their knowledge of where they believe the organization prioritizes a player’s origins – such as whether he was drafted (and what round), undrafted, or picked from the PS. For those of you who believe this influences the decision making, where rookie X is drafted may skew the options. Personally, I don’t believe any option that involves the release of Manuel or a ‘high draft pick’ X is realistic, but Darwin would have insisted. Manuel will get the majority of the practice reps in all 6 situations where he wins the competition. o if Lewis wins backup role, § we’ll have a solid backup § Tuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § X will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS o if Tuel wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with very little experience § he’ll get some practice reps § X will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Lewis will be released o if X wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with no experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Tuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Lewis will be released · Lewis will get the majority of the practice reps in all 6 situations where he wins the competition. o if Manuel wins backup role, § we’ll have backup with a little experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Tuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § X will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS o if Tuel wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with very little experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Manuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § X will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS o if X wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with no experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Manuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Tuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS · Tuel will get the majority of the practice reps in all 6 situations where he wins the competition. o if Lewis wins backup role, § we’ll have a solid backup § Manuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § X will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS o if Manuel wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with a little experience § he’ll get some practice reps § X will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Lewis will be released o if X wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with no experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Manuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Lewis will be released · X will get the majority of the practice reps in all 6 situations where he wins the competition. o if Lewis wins backup role, § we’ll have a solid backup § Manuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Tuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS o if Manuel wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with little experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Tuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Lewis will be released o if Tuel wins the backup role, § we’ll have a backup with very little experience § he’ll get some practice reps § Manuel will get no practice reps and may be released or taken from PS § Lewis will be released These are the options I believe the coaches and GM might have, given the various results from a 4-way QB competition involving Manuel, Lewis, Tuel, and rookie X. result 1: 1 - Manuel 2 - Lewis 3 - Tuel 4 - X options 1: 1 - Manuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Lewis is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Tuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Tuel takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - X can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - X is released result 2: 1 - Manuel 2 - Lewis 3 - X 4 - Tuel options 2: 1 - Manuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Lewis is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - X takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - X takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Tuel is released result 3: 1 - Manuel 2 - Tuel 3 - Lewis 4 - X options 3: 1 - Manuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Tuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Lewis takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Lewis is released 4a - X can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - X is released if 3a occurs 4c - X can take #3 QB slot on active roster if 3b occurs - will get no practice reps 4d - X can take a PS slot if 3b occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps result 4: 1 - Manuel 2 - Tuel 3 - X 4 - Lewis options 4: 1 - Manuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Tuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - X takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - X can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4 - Lewis is released result 5: 1 - Manuel 2 - X 3 - Lewis 4 - Tuel options 5: 1 - Manuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - X is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Lewis takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Lewis is released 4a - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Tuel is released if 3a occurs 4c - Tuel can take #3 QB slot on active roster if 3b occurs - will get no practice reps 4d - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3b occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps result 6: 1 - Manuel 2 - X 3 - Tuel 4 - Lewis options 6: 1 - Manuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - X is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Tuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Tuel can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4 - Lewis is released result 7: 1 - Lewis 2 - Manuel 3 - Tuel 4 - X options 7: 1 - Lewis is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Manuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Tuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Tuel takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - X can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - X is released result 8: 1 - Lewis 2 - Manuel 3 - X 4 - Tuel options 8: 1 - Lewis is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Manuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - X takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - X takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Tuel is released result 9: 1 - Lewis 2 - Tuel 3 - Manuel 4 - X options 9: 1 - Lewis is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Tuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Manuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Manuel takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - X can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - X is released if 3b occurs result 10: 1 - Lewis 2 - Tuel 3 - X 4 - Manuel options 10: 1 - Lewis is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Tuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - X takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - X can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Manuel is released if 3b occurs result 11: 1 - Lewis 2 - X 3 - Manuel 4 - Tuel options 11: 1 - Lewis is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - X is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Manuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Manuel can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Tuel is released if 3b occurs result 12: 1 - Lewis 2 - X 3 - Tuel 4 - Manuel options 12: 1 – Lewis is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - X is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Tuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Tuel can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Manuel is released if 3b occurs result 13: 1 - Tuel 2 - Lewis 3 - Manuel 4 - X options 13: 1 - Tuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Lewis is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Manuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Manuel takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - X can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - X is released result 14: 1 - Tuel 2 - Lewis 3 - X 4 - Manuel options 14: 1 - Tuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Lewis is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - X takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - X takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Manuel is released result 15: 1 - Tuel 2 - Manuel 3 - Lewis 4 - X options 15: 1 - Tuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Manuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Lewis takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Lewis is released 4a - X can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - X is released if 3a occurs 4c - X can take #3 QB slot on active roster if 3b occurs - will get no practice reps 4d - X can take a PS slot if 3b occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps result 16: 1 - Tuel 2 - Manuel 3 - X 4 - Lewis options 16: 1 - Tuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Manuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - X takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - X can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4 - Lewis is released result 17: 1 - Tuel 2 - X 3 - Lewis 4 - Manuel options 17: 1 - Tuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - X is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Lewis takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Lewis is released 4a - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Manuel is released if 3a occurs 4c - Manuel can take #3 QB slot on active roster if 3b occurs - will get no practice reps 4d - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3b occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps result 18: 1 - Tuel 2 - X 3 - Manuel 4 - Lewis options 18: 1 - Tuel is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - X is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Manuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Manuel can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4 - Lewis is released result 19: 1 - X 2 - Lewis 3 - Tuel 4 - Manuel options 19: 1 - X is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Lewis is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Tuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Tuel takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a – Manuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b – Manuel is released result 20: 1 - X 2 - Lewis 3 - Manuel 4 - Tuel options 20: 1 - X is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Lewis is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Manuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Manuel takes #3 QB slot but is placed on PS where we risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4a - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Tuel is released result 21: 1 - X 2 - Tuel 3 - Lewis 4 - Manuel options 21: 1 - X is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Tuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Lewis takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Lewis is released 4a - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Manuel is released if 3a occurs 4c - Manuel can take #3 QB slot on active roster if 3b occurs - will get no practice reps 4d - Manuel can take a PS slot if 3b occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps result 22: 1 - X 2 - Tuel 3 - Manuel 4 - Lewis options 22: 1 - X is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Tuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Manuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Manuel can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4 - Lewis is released result 23: 1 - X 2 - Manuel 3 - Lewis 4 - Tuel options 23: 1 - X is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Manuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Lewis takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Lewis is released 4a - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3a occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4b - Tuel is released if 3a occurs 4c - Tuel can take #3 QB slot on active roster if 3b occurs - will get no practice reps 4d - Tuel can take a PS slot if 3b occurs, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps result 24: 1 - X 2 - Manuel 3 - Tuel 4 - Lewis options 24: 1 - X is starter - will get majority of practice reps 2 - Manuel is backup - will get limited practice reps 3a - Tuel takes #3 QB slot on active roster - will get no practice reps 3b - Tuel can take a PS slot, and we'll risk losing him - will get no practice reps 4 - Lewis is released

you may be onto something.. but even if that's the case, how does the HC allow his OC's staff to kickoff unprepared each week? if you see the wheels wobbling, you better find out what's wrong - didn't this staff watch film? even in the limited amount of all-22 video the radio station kid was posting, the mistakes were visible. if a dumb-ass like me can see them, how the hell doesn't Marrone and Hackett? am i to believe that when Hilliard was confronted with his unit's sloppy play, he told his OC/HC to fugg off, and remained a coach? sorry, that don't fly. Whaley better get a handle on this stuff, and admin better back him up.

he's definitely responsible for his units breakdowns - mistaken reads, not adjusting routes to coverage, and running lazy routes were the most obvious. but this was prevalent enough that Hackett should have been all over it. who knows.. maybe he was and the firing was coming for a long time.. i just don't think Hackett has control of this thing.. you can delegate and live with poor results, eventually parting company with the guy who let you down.. or you can delegate and be pro-active in correcting the problems you're seeing each week - getting better results and saving some working relationships

Foles backed up a veteran whose play eventually slowed to match the pace of the defenses he torched when younger. Vick is a fully functional QB with his fair share of warts, but there is little Reid or Kelly could teach him other than the play book. as a rookie, Foles received the attention of Reids' staff as any promising drafted QB would. this year he assumed the same role for Kelly, and has flourished in the starter's role when Vick went down. Barkley is as ready as Tuel to play QB in the NFL. there was never a chance he was taking Foles spot. luckily for him, the talented Foles has executed Kelly's offense at a high level - that Kelly and his coaches had more time to attend to the Barkley project. it's safe to say Foles will be on the Eagle roster next season, i wouldn't say the same for Barkley. indeed..

Foles backed up a veteran QB who didn't need attention. He's had the luxury of learning from two very good offensive coaching staffs, who could focus their developmental eyes on him alone. this was the plan here, or it should have been. maybe our front office wanted to sell us a new era so bad, that their heads were filled with visions of 1st year QBs running 'read options' - terrorizing defenses across the league. maybe they salivated over the opportunity to push Manuel into that role, and Kolb's concussion opened the door to rationalize starting EJ. whatever the reason, one fulltime QB project at a time, please... and in keeping with the 'worst thing that could happen' topic, i'd add not getting a veteran QB coach added to the staff to take on our 'project'

i love the job Pettine has done here - creating an aggressive D that forces opponents to account for how and when we might attack them. in this current NFL, i think it's an absolute necessity. the problem with yesterday's game is that the Pat's OC (McDaniels) came up with a gameplan that kept our D on it's heels - using our observed tendencies against us. the Pats rushed over 40 times, and our D-line took part in less than 20 tackles. to me, that means our LBs were out of position to keep things stacked up near the LOS. i don't think it's a secret that a Ryan D bites hard on whatever keys their opponents gives them, but when they crossed us up, our D coaches didn't pick it up quickly. the rain didn't help, but yesterday it seemed that getting to our second level was far too easy, for far too long. oh sorry, back to the point of the post.. i think drafting another QB this spring would be counter-productive

looks like the Pats did their homework on our DL and LBs - creating a gameplan that took advantage of our aggressive front 7 - especially our LBs' penchant for biting hard on their keys. they ran over 40 times, and from my count our D-line had less than half the tackles. Belichick and McDaniels did a great job preparing their O for our tendencies. the rain and a motivated O-line made it difficult for us to recover at the point of attack. stuff happens. the Pats lost and recovered 4 fumbles - 3 were caused by our D, i think. we picked off a pass in Pats territory. our D didn't lay down, but yesterday the Pats had our number

i think the FO has to back their GM in any stalemates between him and the coaching staff. this season's results haven't earned Marrone or anyone on his staff a trump card. if i see changes in the staff, or their assignments, i'll see enough from ownership to know they have Whaley's back

when a guy sees his teammate giving himself up - leaving everything he has out on the field - it's inspiring. it's what the game's about. sure, sometime's a cute play will widen your eyes and have you cheer, but it's the play that ends with all the gears grinding, over-heating and smoking that makes you want to hit somebody. CJ will never inspire his teammates like Freddie, but as somebody already said, these guys are the least of our worries.

this team never quits. it fails...but not from lack of effort. i have no problem rooting for this team.

fans have the luxury of living in a fantasy world, where multiple QBs can be developed as starters. Unfortunately, this isn't possible in the context of any pro football program.. you can have multiple vets competing for the same spot, but the amount of work needed to get just one young man up to par cannot be duplicated.. there just aren't enough opportunities to give two men the same attention

I don't follow the college game closely anymore.. what types of QBs make up the current class of eligibles? because if running the option is a relevant piece of their success, I'd think long and hard about drafting them unless there are other aspects to their game that make them desirable. it didn't take long for NFL coaches to figure out how to eliminate the wildcat and option as viable offenses - rendering kids like Kapernick and RG3 ineffective this year.. I figure the Bills saw enough of a solid foundation in Manuel to make him their projected franchise QB. he's a work in progress. bringing in another work in progress makes no sense.. it's like having two kids in diapers - twice as much crap to clean up. I'm watching 2nd year man Tannehill setting up in a solid pocket and throwing two very poor passes on consecutive plays... and all I can think is - thank god that wasn't EJ..

thanks for posting this, Jim.

Buddy's original '46' defense has provided the basis for many teams, without the personnel to generate a consistent pass rush, to effectively defend the dominant pro passing attack at it's source - by attacking gaps with numbers. like anything else, the better your personnel - the better the results - especially in it's ability to blow up slow developing running plays. like his Jet teams, the Bills have excellent people for this. on occasion, we've blown gap assignments and simple plays broke big... but we've seen how quickly Pettine addresses these types of breakdowns. to me, this speaks loudest about the coach.. his ability to observe and install corrective measures promptly. if this attention to detail is inherent in whatever tasks he's assigned as DC, then one might expect he would demand the same from his position coaches. if i were a GM looking at Pettine as a HC candidate, i'd interview those guys first. i'd like to know if Pettine sends them off with a clear set of goals, and then sits with them to review their work.. "who's improving their techniques?", "who's not getting it?", etc. if i hear what i hope to hear - that Pettine can delegate, yet stay involved - then i'd be confident he could transition his skills to the HC role. i have a feeling we'll be losing him sooner, than later.. if Marrone hasn't already, he better assign him an assistant to mentor. maybe that's a question for Warrow to ask our HC - "are you prepared to lose your DC?"

"therein lies the rub"

was the inconsistent execution of your offense the product of poor preparation, poor execution, or both?