Bob Mathews D&C Column today

[BillsfaninSixburgh]

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/articl...101/4250369/tbd

 

I usually disagree with Matthews. Like Kiper, he was solid in his assessment of Clausen. (NOT). But his 5-11 prediction for the Bills and his logic when looking at the their 2010 schedule game by game is probably pretty good.

 

It's tough to think that the Bills won't be competitive in the win-loss column this year. But the reality is they probably won't. The other three teams in the division had more talent to start. The Bills are and will remain at least for another year the 4th best team in the division. If that leads to Jake Locker or Ryan Mallet, great. It's just tough to go into the season writing it off.

 

The Jets are in "all-out, win-now" campaign. Their off-season moves and draft strategy demonstrate that. Their locker room may blow up if those moves don't pan out, but they look ready to really make a move, especially if Sanchez progresses and avoids a sophmore jinx.

 

The Pats are the Pats. I think they're on the decline, but that still means they are a playofff favorite even if not a Super Bowl favorite.

 

The Fish are two years ahead of the Bills in their rebuilding program.

 

I know it's not popular with half the posters on TBD, but I look at it as the construction of a new house. Laying the foundation isn't pretty. You just have to take some satisfaction when you see the cement drying as the foundation starts shaping up. Hopefully we've got the right architects this time around.

 

Until they prove otherwise...... HAIL BUDDY...git er done!!!!!

[PaattMaann]

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/articl...101/4250369/tbd

 

I usually disagree with Matthews. Like Kiper, he was solid in his assessment of Clausen. (NOT). But his 5-11 prediction for the Bills and his logic when looking at the their 2010 schedule game by game is probably pretty good.

 

It's tough to think that the Bills won't be competitive in the win-loss column this year. But the reality is they probably won't. The other three teams in the division had more talent to start. The Bills are and will remain at least for another year the 4th best team in the division. If that leads to Jake Locker or Ryan Mallet, great. It's just tough to go into the season writing it off.

 

The Jets are in "all-out, win-now" campaign. Their off-season moves and draft strategy demonstrate that. Their locker room may blow up if those moves don't pan out, but they look ready to really make a move, especially if Sanchez progresses and avoids a sophmore jinx.

 

The Pats are the Pats. I think they're on the decline, but that still means they are a playofff favorite even if not a Super Bowl favorite.

 

The Fish are two years ahead of the Bills in their rebuilding program.

 

I know it's not popular with half the posters on TBD, but I look at it as the construction of a new house. Laying the foundation isn't pretty. You just have to take some satisfaction when you see the cement drying as the foundation starts shaping up. Hopefully we've got the right architects this time around.

 

Until they prove otherwise...... HAIL BUDDY...git er done!!!!!

 

 

while I do agree with most of what you said...what moves did the Jets make that could "blow up their locker room"....they brought in Boldin who has been a locker room LEADER in arizona...the only issue he had there was he wanted to be paid like a number 1 reciever isntead of a number 3...understandable....they brought in another character guy in LT...had an odd draft....but I dont see where their lockerroom blows up...they have leaders all over that locker room, including a strong HC personality to keep people real....

[Mike in Syracuse]

I don't disagree with anything you said BUT we beat the Jets and Dolphins last year with a horrible coaching staff and enough injuries for 4 teams.

 

We were one idiotic fumble away from beating the Pats in their house and being .500 in the division.

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

while I do agree with most of what you said...what moves did the Jets make that could "blow up their locker room"....they brought in Boldin who has been a locker room LEADER in arizona...the only issue he had there was he wanted to be paid like a number 1 reciever isntead of a number 3...understandable....they brought in another character guy in LT...had an odd draft....but I dont see where their lockerroom blows up...they have leaders all over that locker room, including a strong HC personality to keep people real....

 

Huh? Boldin is in Baltimore

[BillsfaninSixburgh]

Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed with the Jets bar no holds / the time is now approach. I think they have surpassed the Pats. Rex's approach reminds me a lot of his dad Buddy's us against the world approach. It works when things are going well. If they don't go well, things tend to blow up quickly. That said, I definitely think its more likely the Jets are set to become the class of the division for the next few years. I like all their acquistions except Cromartie. And I'm wondering how Tomlinson has much left. Holmes was a great pick for a 5th rounder, but he's still a (talented) knucklehead.

[Dr. Trooth]

5-11 is a reasonable expectation. Bills will be a better team this year than last, though it probably won't be reflected in their record.

[prissythecat]

...they brought in Boldin who has been a locker room LEADER in arizona...the only issue he had there was he wanted to be paid like a number 1 reciever isntead of a number 3...understandable....they brought in another character guy in LT...had an odd draft....but I dont see where their lockerroom blows up...they have leaders all over that locker room, including a strong HC personality to keep people real....

 

 

 

Very interesting. Boldin got traded to the Ravens last time I checked...

[filthymcnasty08]

Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB

 

We addressed neither until rd. 5!

 

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Look at what the Rams did for cryin out loud....they have a defensive minded coach who must have had to contain himself not to take one of the two blue chip DT's.......he still did the right thing and went QB/LT.

 

We were in position to get both 1+2 and still get a damn good NT in 3...quality and depth beyond that.

 

I cannot believe how many satisfied kool aid drinkers there are the day after the draft ended and were heralding a 5th rounder and a 7th rounder as answers to our top 2 needs.

[BillsfaninSixburgh]

As the old jingo goes.....Kool-Aid tastes great!!!!!

 

Besides, many teams have shown you can be competitive while rebuilding if you start with the defense and hide the shortcomings of the offense. The Ravens won a Super Bowl using that philosophy. (Granted it was UGLY, but it worked).

[PaattMaann]

Very interesting. Boldin got traded to the Ravens last time I checked...

 

 

yupppp, im just a dumbass, no question aboot that there gents

[Red]

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/articl...101/4250369/tbd

 

I usually disagree with Matthews. Like Kiper, he was solid in his assessment of Clausen. (NOT). But his 5-11 prediction for the Bills and his logic when looking at the their 2010 schedule game by game is probably pretty good.

 

It's tough to think that the Bills won't be competitive in the win-loss column this year. But the reality is they probably won't. The other three teams in the division had more talent to start. The Bills are and will remain at least for another year the 4th best team in the division. If that leads to Jake Locker or Ryan Mallet, great. It's just tough to go into the season writing it off.

 

The Jets are in "all-out, win-now" campaign. Their off-season moves and draft strategy demonstrate that. Their locker room may blow up if those moves don't pan out, but they look ready to really make a move, especially if Sanchez progresses and avoids a sophmore jinx.

 

The Pats are the Pats. I think they're on the decline, but that still means they are a playofff favorite even if not a Super Bowl favorite.

 

The Fish are two years ahead of the Bills in their rebuilding program.

 

I know it's not popular with half the posters on TBD, but I look at it as the construction of a new house. Laying the foundation isn't pretty. You just have to take some satisfaction when you see the cement drying as the foundation starts shaping up. Hopefully we've got the right architects this time around.

 

Until they prove otherwise...... HAIL BUDDY...git er done!!!!!

 

 

Good post.

 

I agree that the Jets are built to win now, and it will be interesting to see how they fare. I think that they have surpassed New England in terms of overall talent.

 

New England, it must be remembered, was able to pick up through this years trades 2 1st rounders for next year along w/2 2nd rounders for next year. They are on the downward slope of greatness, but these kind of picks that high look promising for them. Very shrewd.

 

The 'Fins are ahead of us, but I would not say by 2 seasons. Maybe 1. They lost Ginn Jr. , and are still working on some improvement on that team. They will be competitive, but they are not dominating.

 

I like the Bills draft, and think we finally got the front office and coaching staff right to build this thing! in 2-3 seasons, I think we will all be happy.

[Malazan]

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Let's say Clausen was available and he was the exact same player with the exact same skillset, but he played as an OT in college. Would you draft him to be a OT or would you draft another player?

[DarthICE]

8-8

[uforesircher]

(1) Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB

We addressed neither until rd. 5!

 

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Look at what the Rams did for cryin out loud....they have a defensive minded coach who must have had to contain himself not to take one of the two blue chip DT's.......he still did the right thing and went QB/LT.

 

We were in position to get both 1+2 and still get a damn good NT in 3...quality and depth beyond that.

 

I cannot believe how many (2) satisfied kool aid drinkers there are the day after the draft ended and were heralding a 5th rounder and a 7th rounder as answers to our top 2 needs.

 

1. in your opinion - i think the biggest need we had is to stop the run - 30th in the nfl against the run - you cant win that way - no one can - you really cant win that way

 

2. and your repeatedly pathetic reference to suicide is just not intelligent - lay off the "kool aid" remarks they show an extreme lack of mental ability on your part

[BillsfaninSixburgh]

8-8

 

I hope youre wrong, only because I'd hate to go 8-8 and miss out on another franchise QB by getting the 12th pick, instead of 5-11 and getting a top 5 pick. Either way, they miss the playoffs this year.

 

My hope this year is they at least show some excitement. You can call me an apologist, or a kool-aid drinker, or tell me my expectations are too low. But the 2009 version of the Bills were at about the same talent level as the 1984 and 1985 2-14 Bills squads. Even with Kelly and Co, it took a few years to bring things back.

[DanInUticaTampa]

I hope youre wrong, only because I'd hate to go 8-8 and miss out on another franchise QB by getting the 12th pick, instead of 5-11 and getting a top 5 pick. Either way, they miss the playoffs this year.

 

A lot of franchise QBs get picked in the 2nd half of the first round. Aarron Rodgers and Big Ben are the first ones that come to mind. We don't need a top ten pick to get a franchise QB. Especially with the QB class that is expected to come out next year.

 

I don't know how well we are going to do, but I can't write off the season until at least game 8. Last year, we sucked but we were still able to beat the phish once, the jests once, and almost beat the *pats. sure we are behind them all, but they are not all mighty by any means. With this new coaching staff and our new defensive scheme, we have no idea how we will match up to them this year. If this coaching staff is better than jauron, then winning 3 divisional games shouldn't seem impossible (though I don't think it is likely). Plus if we get all our players back healthy, that will only make us better as well.

 

I also thought a lot about the Jests campaign to win it all this year. Their agressive attitude and smack talk just seems like a lot. I think they will be awesome this year, but I think it is also risky making this attempt to win it all with a questionable QB still in development. If he regresses, or stays the same, I think the jests could lose thier first playoff game which would just tear apart that locker room and all those 1 year contract players will jump ship. there is just too much hot air in their for them not to burst. We have seen rex ryan act all bad ass and we have seen him cry. That locker room has drama hell written all over it, and the only way to avoid it is win everything.

[reddogblitz]

10-6

[Williams+Williams+Williams]

Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB

 

We addressed neither until rd. 5!

 

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Look at what the Rams did for cryin out loud....they have a defensive minded coach who must have had to contain himself not to take one of the two blue chip DT's.......he still did the right thing and went QB/LT.

 

We were in position to get both 1+2 and still get a damn good NT in 3...quality and depth beyond that.

 

I cannot believe how many satisfied kool aid drinkers there are the day after the draft ended and were heralding a 5th rounder and a 7th rounder as answers to our top 2 needs.

 

QB? Although I dont think we have a franchize quarterback in our current lineup, LT, NT, and OLB's were the biggest need this year. We needed to address the change to the 3-4, and we needed to address the O line.

 

I was surprised that Spiller was the first pick, but my guess is that any of the LT's that were graded out for a 9th overall pick were already drafted, and they had to make the move on Spiller. Best talent available. Wang was player of the year in Va, then started 3 years at VaTech. Both of his parents were Olympic athletes. Personally, I like that pick.

 

A QB will not develop in Buffalo unless we build a solid running game and defense. How many QB's have we gone through since Kelly? How may QB's careers has Buffalo failed to develop? I am not saying any of the QB's on the roster are our franchize guy, but this is a building year for Buffalo. Yes, I would have liked to see a blue chip tackle come off the board early.

[Logical Reasoning]

well put

[flomoe]

Our 2 biggest needs going into the draft: LT and QB

 

We addressed neither until rd. 5!

 

How can ANYBODY say the rebuild is off to a great start with major questions at those two positions?

 

Look at what the Rams did for cryin out loud....they have a defensive minded coach who must have had to contain himself not to take one of the two blue chip DT's.......he still did the right thing and went QB/LT.

 

We were in position to get both 1+2 and still get a damn good NT in 3...quality and depth beyond that.

 

I cannot believe how many satisfied kool aid drinkers there are the day after the draft ended and were heralding a 5th rounder and a 7th rounder as answers to our top 2 needs.

 

 

Not to be a dick here but it wasn't our offense that was getting run over for nearly 200 yards a game last year. They held their own as best they could given the fact they were fighting an uphill battle every game. It was our front 7 on D that sucked monkey balls last year, plain and simple.