Paup 1995MVP

This is the best post I have read in ages on here. I totally agree. Our coaches have no confidence that we can dominate anyone. Not to go for a first down on 4th and 3 before the half was just ridiculous. Weren't we on the 39 yard line? We can tie the game on that possession and we gave up the ball. And wasted a timeout instead of punting with time left on the play clock. This is terrible coaching staff, that I believe has lost the heart and soul of its players!!! Jeff Fisher is tremendous. He knows what he wants from every player on the roster, and expects nothing less. Jauron has no verve going with the players to squeeze everything they have out of them. Why isn't Steve Johnson playing? The guy has talent and hasn't gotten a chance. Where was Derek Fine today? It is absurd. Our offense is as bad as last years. We have no game plan to attack any team. On 2nd and goal and third and goal, why didn't we throw to James Hardy? Why did we even draft James Hardy if we don't and won't throw to him? Why does Chris Ellis look like he has no idea how to pass rush? Than again, why does Chris Kelsay look the same in his sixth year in the league?

Dude, I am almost 2 and a half times your age and have been watching the Bills since 1976. This team we have in 2008 has absolutely no heart, poor coaching and zero toughness outside of Marshawn Lynch. The NFL is a tough guy league and we have very few tough guys who want to hurt people on the field. Our management is awful and our coaching staff is worse. We have brought in noone over the past decade that has made a difference in helping us WIN games. Look at our QB's since Doug Flutie. RJ, Drew, Holcomb, JP and TE. They have all SUCKED, and TE right now is heading there. Watch the lack of intensity on our team, and compare it to almost every other team around the league. We just do not come to play week after week. I am so fed up, I want to scream and cry at the same time. I watch every game with my nine year old son. He doesn't think we will win another game this year. He has never seen us go to the playoffs. You all think we are just going to wipe the Browns, Chiefs and 49ers. While these teams are not great by any means, they are laying it on the line every week. We just look scared and look like we don't care. TE has taken on the same role as JP. Never gets fired up. Never is talking with his teammates. There is just a big disconnect on this team between players and coaches, players and players. WE ARE GOING THRU THE MOTIONS. Guys like Marcus Stroud come to our team, and make minimal impact. Other guys like Keith Ellison and John McCargo make absolutely zero impact. Our best receiver had 2 catches today. When was the last time he stepped up in a big game? It doesn't happen, and it never happens. Get some reality Junior. Things will only change when we clean the front office and coaching staff and bring in some hard nosed tough guys who can identify talented players and than coach them up.

Why didn't Jauron run on the field and throw the challenge flag near where the play took place? He blew that. It is the coaches responsibility to do whatever it takes to throw the flag. He did nothing to get the refs attention. The man is a dead coach. No emotion in a very emotional type game. The refs did not cost us this game. The Simpson penalty was terrible, but it was on the first series of the game. We stink. We have played three division opponents and had no chance to win any of the games in the 4th qtr. That is pathetic, and should get our entire coaching staff fired except for Bobby April.

I think Marshawn is tremendous. Our line almost never makes a hole for him. We get absolutely no push off of the ball. And to run the ball well you have to be able to mix in a real passing game. We have stopped trying to throw the ball down the field. Our offense has changed minimally if any since last season. I see no crossing patterns 15-20 yards down the field, no seam routes. We have not thrown deep in weeks. There is no room to run when the defense continually puts 8 men in the box. I feel bad for ML. He is a great talent that is being wasted behind just an atrocious O line-probably the worst in the league at run blocking, a very nervous QB, very mediocre receivers and an abysmal coaching staff.

I agree. This team has no edge, and brought nothing to the table today. TE played scared, and the coaching staff coached scared as well. To not throw the ball at least once in goal to go in the first half was just plain stupid. If you are going to run from the 3, than at least do it from the spread with 4 wides in the game. It looks like Turk Schonert is no better at play calling than Fairchild was. We have talented skill players but do not use them correctly. We threw down the field zero times today. On defense our d line gets absolutely no pressure on the QB. This team has not improved whatsoever from day one under Dick. We bring in new players and absolutely nothing changes. The team had no chance to win any of the games against our divisonal rivals. I think we played them tougher in the 3-13 year of 2001.

I sure hope not. The man is one of the few guys on our defense who has legitimate talent. He is probably a restricted free agent after this season, unless he initially signed a 4 yr. deal. I hope we lock him and Greer up longterm. Than it is time to redo the front seven, heaven help us.

General, I agree about Jauron. I think he is a lousy coach as well. What has he done to make us a contender? Absolutely nothing. Besides the fact that his gameplans never change, and he challenges plays that he has no business challenging, and he never has our team in a mindset of attacking the opponent, the worst flaw in my opinion is that the standards he has set for the players are frighteningly low. Listen to a lot of the players talk, and they think they are playing well. I.E. Jason Peters. And there is an article in today's Rochester D & C where Marcus Stroud says the same thing, that he feels he is playing well. Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay chime in with quotes that tacitly agree. (sorry I am not adept at putting a link on here) Jauron has not made the players ACCOUNTABLE for their very marginal play. There is NO STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE under Jauron. It is as simple as that. In our three losses, we have played terrible. If our coach will not call players out, and DEMAND a certain level of play, the players we have certainly are not and have not taken it upon themselves to do so. The Bills are deluding themselves if they think they can win with this mindset. It starts at the top. If things don't turn around shortly, changes should definitely be made. Does Russ Brandon and Ralph have the kahones to do what it takes to make this team a winner? It remains to be seen. Keeping guys around like Jason Peters just ruin the fabric of a team. The guy holds out for the entire offseason, comes in the day before the opener, and not a negative word is said. I believe his actions, and subsequent poor play have sunk the O line. Yet he was welcomed back with open arms. Where was his dedication to winning?

You can't be happy with 5-3 when in the three losses we had no chance to win at the end of the game. And two of the losses are in our division. I don't know if Miami and the Jets are clearly better than us. But they are both more physical on the O and D lines. We can not run the ball, and we can not rush the passer. To win consistently in the NFL you need to be physical. Look at Pittsburg and Tennessee. We scored ONE offensive touchdown in both our divisional games. That is so unacceptable. This game against the Pats is huge. If we go to 0-3 in the division, it will be very difficult to win the division. Watch how we come out against NE. Are we physical at the line of scrimmage? Do we blitz the hell out of Cassell? (He is decent, but doesn't read the field like Brady. He will eat us up if he has time.) I think this is a watershed game for the Jauron regime. We HAVE to come out and dictate the game. If we get pasted by an above average Pats team, (not a great team) I think it is time to look for a new coach. If we can't start running the ball, and rushing the passer, I see another 7-9 team. Several more losses and Dick will lose the team.

We can not afford to let Jabari Greer go. There is no evidence that McKelvin will ever develop into a top flight corner. You just can not let very good players walk. Our defensive collapse dates back to letting Antoine Winfield and Pat Williams go. We are always filling holes, and never moving forward. This organization has just been a disgrace this decade with its talent evaluations. If McKelvin turns into a player, you can have him, McGee, Greer and Yabouty as your top 4 corners. I actually think Terrence was best when playing the nickel slot in his first couple of years in the league. But looking at how poorly both our lines are playing, there are several holes to fill in the offseason. Another center, guard, and at least won DT and DE. And probably another WR, and a second TE to replace Royal. Good god, when will it end where we actually have very good players at most positions????

As a high number one pick, McKelvin should have been contributing from day 1. But the problem is that he played against marginal competition in college. Troy is not the SEC. I think we way overvalued McKelvin just like we way over valued Donte Whitner. Taking Whitner at #8 was a terrible decision. He is far too small to be a major impact player at Safety. He is a good football player, don't get me wrong, but is certainly not a gamechanger. He has the ability of a late 2nd round pick at best. Granted this is hindsite, but taking a 5'9" safety with the 8th pick in the draft makes no sense. My god, I believe even Bob Sanders who is much more physical than Whitner was taken late in the 2nd round. And McCargo was a complete bust. So there are two 1st round wasted picks. McKelvin doesn't look like he has any instincts at CB or KR at this point. Being drafted at #11, he should have had a strong understanding of the game from the first day of camp. As for Hardy and Ellis, they look completely overwhelmed by the pro game. Who is running the scouting dept. on this team. Makes you wonder is it the coaching or the scouting that is leaving our draft picks way behind? Derek Fine did look good yesterday, so lets give Kudos for that pick. Can we please draft some O lineman high next year. PLEASE!!

I totally agree. Our O line is just terrible. They have no attitude whatsoever. The O line is supposed to set the tone for your offense. Ours just doesn't seem to care. When was the last time any of them just pancaked guys out of the way for our runners? Jason Peters is so overrated, it is ridiculous. And Dockery is just soft. For my money we can get rid of Peters, Dockery, Fowler and all of our right guards. Play Chambers and Walker at the tackles and bring in three tough guys, doesn't have to be studs in the middle and maybe we can move some defenders off of the line of scrimmage. (Thats right, I think Chambers will play much harder than Peters) Where is the emotion? For a team that is in a dogfight to win the division, there was no sense of urgency out there.

Unfortunately, the bottom line is that the Bills are the least physical team in our division. We can not run the ball and we can not rush the passer. Trent was certainly not perfect today, but with no running game and only ONE legitimate wide receiver, he does not have much to work with. Our pass rush has been NON EXISTENT for most of the season. And in the 4th qtr. after making it a six point game, we let the Jets pretty much run out the rest of the clock. That is totally inexcusable. Do most of you kind of feel like we really are not much better than last years team? We have not beaten a team that has been playing good football all season. Seahawks, Jags, and Chargers look pretty poor, and we barely beat a bad Raiders team, and the Rams were at the end of their rope as well. If we can't start running the football, we are a 8-8 team at best.

I agree this game is huge. We still have a lot to prove to the rest of the NFL IMO. We are 5-2, but have not dominated anyone since the opening game. (We did play very well against San Diego though) Also, in our two losses, we looked horrible on defense, and our offense turned the ball over too much. The Jets are a decent team, but not great by any means. They almost lost to a horrible Chiefs team, but that is the NFL this year. Playoff caliber teams win their home divisional games hands down. I think the Bills will come out with a very strong effort. With TE we have a large upside on offense. Our defense worries me some. We look far from dominant, especially in the front seven. How can you get to the playoffs without any semblance of a pass rush from your front four is the big question? I think Kawika Mitchell could be our best pass rusher.

totally agree about the O line. There is definitely a lack of meanness from that group. They just don't seem to play with any nastiness and purpose. Peters and Dockery play very soft for such big guys. Walker has been the best of the bunch all season both in pass blocking and run blocking. I honestly think that Duke Preston has played very well for us. That is a problem when he is your team's second best lineman. The D line is very average at best. Stroud has not been a gamechanger of late. He is not getting much push up the middle. I think the biggest problem is that McCargo has just not developed. He is slow and lazy. Has no motor. The Bills have too high of an opinion of their D lineman. None, including Schobel are better than average. The two best teams in the league this year are the Giants and the Titans. The difference right now between them and us is both their lines. They are both just more solid across the D and O lines. Tennessee has a bunch of no names on their O line, but they can play. G men have a GREAT O line. Just a lot more toughness. And on the D lines forget about it. None of our guys could play for them other than Stroud. Finally, unless Peters really steps it up quickly, I don't think the Bills should give him a mega extension. The guy just plays lazy. He is OVERRATED!!

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5. If Trent stays healthy, we are looking at a 12-4 season. He is that good. 4. Kawika played a monster 4th quarter. The reason this team is playing so well is that every week someone else is having a monster game for us. We have a lot of players who can have monster games. The talent level on this roster has greatly increased. No reason we can't be 7-1 when we go into New England.

We need to win the San Diego game, it's as simple as that. If Trent can practice by Wednesday, looks effective, and is processing the offense, and says he is feeling good, than he has to play, put caution to the wind. JP has never beaten a good team in his career home or away, unless you want to count the Bengals at home two years ago. Sure he will hit a few passes downfield, but the game will probably be close going into the second half. And rest assured there will be at least half a dozen plays where he holds onto the ball way too long and takes an unnecessary sack, or misses a wide open guy in the flat because he has NO accuracy on his short passes. I absolutely dread him playing next Sunday. But if he does, the O line will have to step up bigtime. And honestly, I don't think they have the talent to do so. Edwards can win w/o a great O line because he is much more decisive, gets rid of the ball quickly and has tremendous accuracy. What worries me on defense is that we have no answer for covering Antonio Gates. Whitner is too small, and was eaten up by Gates two years ago. Heck, Whitner got eaten up by John Carlson the Seahawks rookie tight end in the opening game. Did anyone else see that? Probably went unnoticed because of the score. He is too short to come tight ends down the field. We need Ko Simpson back to cover Gates. And there wideouts are big also, especially Vincent Jackson. To win, we are going to need a huge pass rush, and whoever plays QB will have to light it up. Both of our lines will have to be strong. I think we learn a lot about this team next Sunday.

It doesn't really matter what scheme we are playing on defense, Cover 2, Bears 46-Greg Williams favorite, Zone, Man to Man, 34, or 43. You need the horses up front to run any defense successfully. An our D line is still average at best. We dominated against Seattle, but since than the pass rush has been sporadic to garbage. Stroud has been DECENT against the run, but has not consistently dominated since the Seattle game. Kyle Williams goes full speed on every play, but is not a stud-sort of in the Kelly Gregg, Sam Rayburn mold. Spencer Johnson has made a few plays, but is not dominant at all. And our fourth DT McCargo has done nothing when allowed on the field. Our ends are the same. Copeland Bryan is way too small. (Why is he on the team?) Ryan Denny seems to play better inside, has a high motor, but is not a difference maker, Schobel is overrated and just dissappears way too much. Kelsay I think has been our best D lineman against the run and can really move, gives everything on every play, but is not a freak athletically. There you have it. A mediocre to decent D line on a GREAT day, but nowhere near good enough to lead our team to dominate against any team with an above average offense. By far the best athletes on our defense with the most upside are POZ, Whitner, Simpson and Yabouty. Hopefully McKelvin gets there soon. Kawika can play strong at times, and Mcghee is good when healthy, but other than Poz who looks like a real stud in the front seven? Our team's strength is its special teams and offensive weapons. Lynch, Fred Jackson and Evans are studs. Hardy will be excellent and Parrish and Reed are very good NFL players. Obviously, the key to our team is Trent Edwards. IF he can get and stay healthy, we are a VERY GOOD team. He is already a top ten QB is this league. Eventually, he will be top five. (Thats right I said it) As bad as our D played, if Trent does not go down early on Sunday, we still would have had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. He is that good. But the O line which seems to have regressed from last year has to get better. Fowler and Butler are NOT NFL caliber players, it is as simple as that. And Peters and Walker have just not played very well so far. I see a much more determined team in 12 days against San Diego. The Bills know that they are not good enough to just show up and win. But pray big time that JP is not playing. He still does not have what it takes to consistently make plays for an entire NFL game to beat a decent opponent.

Dude, I am totally on board with talking playoffs. As long as Trent stays healthy, we are going to win our division. We have a VERY GOOD team. A lot of guys who have been mediocre have become very good players. ie-Greer, Reed. A lot of guys who were pretty good are becoming dominant. ie-Whitner, Poz. If the O line can become a little more consistent. (Come on Peters and Walker, start moving your feet) No reason we can not go 12-4. So, lets start talking playoffs, and keep talking playoffs. But I will tell you the ride to the playoffs is going to be so much fun.

I like our chances with Greer, Yabouty and McKelvin. Plus Whitner can sometimes switch to a coverage corner. And we might get to finally see Reggie Corner get somes reps if Terrance is inactive. We have DEPTH at corner and returner now so we will be fine.

God that made me sick. My son and I were screaming at the TV as well. Nonetheless, I thought Edwards was just a stud in the 4th quarter. He put every pass exactly where it needed to be. He never panicked, and looked confident with every pass. The TD to Roscoe when he was getting creamed by number 90. That was a HUGE play!! BIG TIME. When we got the ball back down 23-21, you knew he would get the job done. He absolutely knows how to play the QB position. He just gets "it". We are in for a fantastic year, if we avoid major injuries. This is our division to lose right now people.

Good topic for discussion. I think something that a lot of people are forgetting about is what value the Bills placed on Crowell. He is in his 5th or 6th year with the team. I have said this several times before, and will say it again, the guy has no upside from where he has played the past couple of seasons. While he does not suck, I think he plays real stiff and is not a great tackler or just a very good instinctual player for his position. I strongly believe the Bills knew this and were not planning on giving him an extention. I believe they liked Keith Ellison and John D. just as much if not more than Crowell. But given the lack of studs at linebacker on our team, he was probably going to be given a chance to start if healthy, but would most likely be heavily rotated. Once he pulled this crap of surgery right before the opener, it was all the Bills needed to dump him. I am not an orthopedic surgeon, but I deal with knee injuries a lot in my business. When your knee is constantly swelling over a long period of time such as Crowell's, it is likely a degenerative condition with arthritis involvement. Even with surgery, Crowell will likely have continued problems in the future. It is the nature of his condition. I am sure the Bills doctors know this. I just don't see him ever being a big time starter in this league for anybody else. Conversely, the Bills' doctors must have known that Ryan Denny's injury would heal back to normal in due time. And the Bills placed more value on what Denny brought to the team, so he was not placed on IR. Take the nature of the injury, and combine it with the value the team places on that particular player, and you come up with why Crowell was placed on IR. Football is a brutal business because of the violent nature of the game. The Bills knew this, and saw what they had in Crowell. Having surgery right before the season just made the Bills decision that much easier to get rid of him.

In the NFL you have to think about the present every single year. There will not be a future for Brad Childress if the Vikes do not start winning soon. Developing a QB for the "future" is always a dicey proposition unless they show signs of being a player from the start. I think TE would fit into that category. But Jackson certainly hasn't shown anything that would lead one to believe that he will ever be a player in this league. That being said, I have no idea why Gus Frerotte is still in the league. But every week I think you play the QB on your roster who gives you the best chance to win. Maybe Frerotte knows the playbook better, or looks better in practice.

Suprising to say the least that Copeland Bryan (96) was active for the game and not Chris Ellis. Bryan played some snaps and looked pretty decent. This shows that we have much stronger depth this year than in recent seasons. I think we are much stronger going down the roster all the way to the 53rd man. Come to think of it, I do not think we got any contributions out of any of our draft picks yesterday. We do not have guys on the roster who are not NFL caliber like Jeremetrius Butler, Tim Anderson and Jason Jefferson-guys who are on the active roster because we have noone better to put in front of them. I think we have a very strong roster that will only get stronger once our rookies get accostomed to the speed of a regular season NFL game, because we will have some injuries during the year to our veteran starters.

Spencer Johnson played strong, as did Kyle Williams, and for that matter the entire D line looked more energetic than they have in years.