Clayton ranks the worst 5 offseasons

[QB Bills]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=5200777

[Jerry Jabber]

I'd wish Clayton, Mort & Barry Melrose would all drive off a steep cliff together

[Lothar]

Can't really argue with the assessment. I'd feel a lot better if I knew our OL was upgraded entering the season. Still, maybe it's good that expectations are at a rock bottom for us around the league.

 

FWIW, he says things look worse for us because our AFC East rivals have had 3 of the best 5 offseasons.

 

the mouse's blog

[BillsGuyInMalta]

Andra's playing OLB now, huh?

 

Good research there John.

[Pete]

I'd wish Clayton, Mort & Barry Melrose would all drive off a steep cliff together

I like Melrose. I can't defend the other two idiots though

[FluffHead]

Cryptkeeper thinks that johnathan scott was our starting left guard and that Andra Davis, a career middle linebacker, was brought in to play outside LB. How do people like this have jobs

[cale]

We have a lot of unknowns. I think he's spot on on all except as to how we will perform. That remains to be seen. Not sure even the coaches know. We probably won't have an idea until well into training camp.

 

C

[OrangeJuiceSimpson]

The Bills are the only team on this list that didn't make the playoffs.

[drewfla]

Sounds about right. Let's not drink the Nix-Aid all the time.

[CodeMonkey]

Sounds about right. Let's not drink the Nix-Aid all the time.

If you are going to drink it, now is the time.

[DarthICE]

His second sentance sums it up for the Bills approach to Free agency...

 

'Bad teams can't get that much better because the list of quality free agents was short.'

 

There ya go. Nix wasn't going to be Donahoe, Levy or Brandon and just sign guys to appease fans. The right guys weren't there so we signed who all might help this team with this system that was available.

[slyng1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=5200777

 

The article is a regurgitation of conventional wisdom. He gets paid to do this... I've read much better analysis on TBD (then again, I've also read alot worse). Shame too, because I actually like Clayton, he usually has better insights than this drivel...

[birdog1960]

this is how it looks to any objective observer

[PromoTheRobot]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=5200777

Save this article. Either we will bow down to the Great Gazoo or tell him to deftly insert it into his bunghole.

 

PTR

[PromoTheRobot]

this is how it looks to any objective observer jaded reporter.

Fixed.

 

PTR

[birdog1960]

Fixed.

 

PTR

would be nice to fix the bills problems so easily

[Dr. Trooth]

Step outside your Bills hat for a moment and take a look from outside that bubble. If I'm a football writer looking at 32 teams, clearly the Bills had the worst offseason. The football writers of world believe the Bills two biggest short comings are Quarterback and Left Tackle. Neither position was adequately addressed in the offseason from their perspective. Levi Brown and Wang could become solid players, but it ain't happening this year or next year.

 

However... my understanding is that no team has ever, ever, ever won a game or made the playoffs in any offseason. So, we'll just have to wait and see what unfolds.

 

I don't blame anyone for casting doubt on this team. It has sucked for a decade. Hopefully, with a fresh set of eyes from a GM, coach, and player personnel director, there may be an actual building plan in place that works. In Sept., when the live bullets fly, I'll set back @ 1pm each Sun., flip on the TV, see what happens and draw my own conclusions. Until then... I ain't buying what they're selling. They'll need to prove it to me before I buy another ticket to a game.

[DanInUticaTampa]

Andra's playing OLB now, huh?

 

Good research there John.

 

that was my first "wtf" thought when reading it.

[drewfla]

Step outside your Bills hat for a moment and take a look from outside that bubble. If I'm a football writer looking at 32 teams, clearly the Bills had the worst offseason. The football writers of world believe the Bills two biggest short comings are Quarterback and Left Tackle. Neither position was adequately addressed in the offseason from their perspective. Levi Brown and Wang could become solid players, but it ain't happening this year or next year.

 

However... my understanding is that no team has ever, ever, ever won a game or made the playoffs in any offseason. So, we'll just have to wait and see what unfolds.

 

I don't blame anyone for casting doubt on this team. It has sucked for a decade. Hopefully, with a fresh set of eyes from a GM, coach, and player personnel director, there may be an actual building plan in place that works. In Sept., when the live bullets fly, I'll set back @ 1pm each Sun., flip on the TV, see what happens and draw my own conclusions. Until then... I ain't buying what they're selling. They'll need to prove it to me before I buy another ticket to a game.

 

Or a single $$ worth of merchandise and for the first time in over a decade for me The Sunday Ticket.

[CosmicBills]

Other than the two (glaring) research errors about positions, I don't see how any objective fan can find fault in what he said in this article.

 

The Bills missed on getting a big name coach. They missed on getting an experienced GM. They missed on getting OL help in FA or the draft. They missed on getting QB help. They missed on getting WR help. They're switching defensive philosophies and having to rely on untested, second round (and lower) rookies to man the most crucial spots on that new defense ...

 

All the while the rest of the AFC East got a whole lot tougher.

 

As it stands right now, looking at all the rosters in the league (and keep in mind it will change as camps go along), the Bills have the worst Offensive Line in the leauge (they might get a bump up if Wood can indeed come back in time for camp). They have absolutely the worst LB corps in the league (they had it last year too -- before they switched to 3-4). They have the league's most unsettled QB position (but not the worst). Last year they had one of the worst pass rushes in the league -- they didn't improve this year in terms of talent, but the hope is that the change in scheme will bump up the pressure (and it can't do any worse than last year to be fair). And they have, outside of Jacksonville, maybe the worst WR corps in the league as far as NFL proven WRs.

 

That's the doom and gloom rationale. And yet it's also the facts of the current situation. What the doom and gloomers (and Clayton) discount though is the ability for players to finally perform up to their expectations (Hardy, Trent/Brohm, Bell, Troup, Maybin). If the Bills are going to improve on their record of last year they're going to need all of those guys to take a massive step forward in their development. Which, is NOT out of the realm of possibility.

 

Still, the Bills are rolling the dice and leaving themselves no outs. Because if they don't take that step forward, this team will be everything the doom and gloomers are saying ... and worse.

 

But, to be fair, this is a rebuilding year. The painful thing is that the whole rebuilding process (probably 2 years, maybe 3 -- time which can be shorter or longer depending on how and when they finally address the QB situation) is going to be seriously delayed by the lockout in '11. That's what kills me. If this year's team tanks, then they have to sit out for a whole year ... meaning they don't get to develop. Our good players lose a year off their careers. And we start '12 in the same hole -- if not bigger. But that's just the nature of the lockout I guess.

[Bill from NYC]

Fixed.

 

PTR

 

Promo, tell us about reporters you respect if you will. You have been blasting the media and reporters for as long as I have been blasting the offensive line. I thought Jason Peters was a very good tackle. What reporter do you think is any good?

[Kelly the Dog]

To me, we significantly upgraded our run defense, which was one of our three main problems (QB, OL, run defense). Edwards and Davis are two instant starters, known tough leaders and stout against the run. We followed that up with Troup and Carrington, both stout against the run. Troup will start on opening day on run downs. That's a significant upgrade.

 

We upgraded our run game with the addition of the most explosive player in the draft, a homerun hitter we needed.

 

The only player we lost of significance is TO, and we couldn't find ways to ultilize him.

 

Addition by subtraction, I think we hugely upgraded in coaching. Yes, it's impossible to say right now before we play a game, but Gailey has a very good reputation as an offensive coach, something desperately needed. The game planning, game management, quarterback coaching, play design and play calling all should be significantly upgraded.

 

There is no way that Gailey can be as bad as Jauron was as far as game management. It may not be an upgrade but it very well could be.

 

The fact we didnt upgrade at OL and QB is inarguable. And those were two of our three biggest needs. But that doesn't set us back, it keeps it status quo (and the OL could be much improved without the injuries, some experience, and better offensive coaching).

 

I personally think we're a better team. And should be much better in stopping the run, which is huge.

[ieatcrayonz]

What exactly did the Patriots do to have one of the top 5 offseasons?

[MattM]

What people seem to forget is that we didn't really lose much outside of perhaps TO (not worth much with no QB to throw to him) and Schobel if he doesn't come back. No "end of the line" vets playing one year too many. Our young team is one year older and more experienced. The coaching change is almost certainly going to be a positive, if only because the bar was set so low by Jauron. We added two upgrades at LB and DE and potentially one at RT in FA, while adding Spiller and two potential front 7 contributors in the draft. IMHO, if we add Gaither somehow at LT, this team will be a good bit better than last year's team, although due to the tough schedule, it may not show up in the W-L column right away....

[transient]

What exactly did the Patriots* do to have one of the top 5 offseasons?

 

They are to ESPN what Chuck Norris is to the rest of humanity... that, and Belichick* reportedly has home sideline footage of Clayton in a compromising act of idol worship.

 

BTW, since the offseason is apparently over, based on the fact that we are already rating them, does that mean the real games start soon and we will no longer be innundated with pointless, non-journalistic ESPN blog fodder? Just curious.

[John from Riverside]

Yep all we did was draft foundation type players....no frills.....

[John from Riverside]

I love how Clayton downplays the draft the bills had.......

 

Troupe is a legit NT which basically is what makes the 3-4 work

 

We got bigger and stronger all along the defensive line but lets not write about that

 

Its a what have you done for me lately league so lets not write about how we drafted to guards high last year in Wood and Levitre.

 

We were DECIMATED by injury along the O line and that is something that cannot be disputed......we dont even know what we have in players because everybody was hurt.

[Doc]

Grading off-seasons is about as worthless as post-draft grades. If you ever took a look at them, you'd LYAO.

 

As for Clayton's assessment of the Patriots having the best off-season, I'm LMAO! They re-signed some players and added some faded stars. But no mention of losing Welker or the major problems at LB. As for Miami, he mentions Marshall, whose availability for the start of training camp is in doubt, after undergoing a hip procedure 2 weeks ago. Not to mention Dansby isn't a 3-4 ILB and they lost 16 sacks in Porter and Taylor. The Jets though DID have a good off-season. But hey, Clayton was touting the Redskins' off-season last year as well.

[Jerry Jabber]

To me, we significantly upgraded our run defense, which was one of our three main problems (QB, OL, run defense). Edwards and Davis are two instant starters, known tough leaders and stout against the run. We followed that up with Troup and Carrington, both stout against the run. Troup will start on opening day on run downs. That's a significant upgrade.

 

We upgraded our run game with the addition of the most explosive player in the draft, a homerun hitter we needed.

 

The only player we lost of significance is TO, and we couldn't find ways to ultilize him.

 

Addition by subtraction, I think we hugely upgraded in coaching. Yes, it's impossible to say right now before we play a game, but Gailey has a very good reputation as an offensive coach, something desperately needed. The game planning, game management, quarterback coaching, play design and play calling all should be significantly upgraded.

 

There is no way that Gailey can be as bad as Jauron was as far as game management. It may not be an upgrade but it very well could be.

 

The fact we didnt upgrade at OL and QB is inarguable. And those were two of our three biggest needs. But that doesn't set us back, it keeps it status quo (and the OL could be much improved without the injuries, some experience, and better offensive coaching).

 

I personally think we're a better team. And should be much better in stopping the run, which is huge.

 

I agree 100%

[loyalbillsfan]

The fact that Clayton in his article is quoted saying that Jonathon Scott was a rookie guard and we acquired Andra Davis to play OLB tells me this guys does not really know what he is talking about.

 

As an outsider, our offseason doesn't look good. This franchise is starting anew, with young players not mediocre vets that were cast offs from other teams. We are starting from the ground up trying to build a solid foundation of young players and not try to do patch work jobs everywhere. I love the way this franchise is going and I think Chan Gailey is going to a great job. We may not win right away, but let's face it we weren't before. We had an undersized, slow, aging team.

 

This year will be the stepping stone for getting this team back to the playoffs by 2012.

[seq004]

Would have to agree.

[dave mcbride]

To me, we significantly upgraded our run defense, which was one of our three main problems (QB, OL, run defense). Edwards and Davis are two instant starters, known tough leaders and stout against the run. We followed that up with Troup and Carrington, both stout against the run. Troup will start on opening day on run downs. That's a significant upgrade.

 

We upgraded our run game with the addition of the most explosive player in the draft, a homerun hitter we needed.

 

The only player we lost of significance is TO, and we couldn't find ways to ultilize him.

 

Addition by subtraction, I think we hugely upgraded in coaching. Yes, it's impossible to say right now before we play a game, but Gailey has a very good reputation as an offensive coach, something desperately needed. The game planning, game management, quarterback coaching, play design and play calling all should be significantly upgraded.

 

There is no way that Gailey can be as bad as Jauron was as far as game management. It may not be an upgrade but it very well could be.

 

The fact we didnt upgrade at OL and QB is inarguable. And those were two of our three biggest needs. But that doesn't set us back, it keeps it status quo (and the OL could be much improved without the injuries, some experience, and better offensive coaching).

 

I personally think we're a better team. And should be much better in stopping the run, which is huge.

 

I agree with much of what you say here although I think the Bills' WR corps has gone from pretty solid to downright awful and I'm not particularly enthused about the new coaching staff. I hope I'm wrong. As for Jauron's game management, that was the one thing he was decent at, I thought. His ability to go 7-9 with such lousy talent was actually pretty impressive. His game management and planning consisted of garbage ball on offense and utilizing tons of decent DBs on defense to keep the quick hit passing TDs in check (and hence the score down). That way, they were able to beat teams they should have lost to more frequently than they should have. He was playing not to lose, which is what you do when you have a worse team than the opponent. It drives fans crazy and will never get you into the playoffs, but the Bills of 2006-08 had 4-12 talent.

 

At any rate, I expect them to go 3-13 or 4-12 next year. I just don't see them being very competitive. I'm looking at the bright side -- landing a good QB in 2011, which they still desperately need.

 

One quick note: a thing that bothered me during the draft was the Bills' willingness to draft their guy within 15 seconds of getting on the clock. I mean, they weren't even listening to trades (or so it seemed). It might be a small thing; it might be irrelevant. But that whole episode left me wondering if the crew now running the Bills is ready for prime time. I mean, the good teams - the Eagles, the Pats, etc. - routinely wait and see what they can get.

[Deadstroke]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=5200777

1. Buffalo Bills: No team had a greener offensive line last season than the Bills, which had rookies Demetrius Bell at left tackle and Jonathan Scott at left guard. All the Bills did to help the line was sign 33-year-old tackle Cornell Green.

 

The Bills averaged a horrible 16.1 points a game on offense and did nothing to upgrade a quarterback corps filled by Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick. The receiving corps lost 82 catches by not re-signing Terrell Owens and Josh Reed. The only replacement was fourth-round choice Marcus Easley, leaving Lee Evans with little around him.

 

Owner Ralph Wilson was willing to pay a high salary for his new coach, and ended up with nice guy Chan Gailey, hardly a headliner. To make things even more challenging, the Bills switched to a 3-4 defense even though they didn't have a legitimate 3-4 outside linebacker or a nose tackle. They drafted nose tackle Torell Troup in the second round and hope that Broncos castoff Andra Davis and seldom-used Aaron Maybin can handle the tough outside linebacking jobs.

 

Making matters worse, the Bills' three division rivals -- the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins -- had three of the best five offseasons. With those odds against them, the Bills won't need luck to be in position to draft either Jake Locker or Andrew Luck next year.

 

Pretty easy to respond to those charges OMI...

 

1) Cornell green is a fine RT and Bell now is healthy and a year more experienced...and lots of potential!

2) Edwards has shown flairs of being pretty good and in a ground dominated theme, he just may be all right. Also, hey.. Brohm also may be the answer.

3) Owens is a has been and Reed is a 3rd receiver at best while we have several fine young ones to look at.

4) Chan Gailey has been successful wherever he's been.

5) Troup just might be a very fine NG.

6) No sweat with the LB's

7) Pats, Jets, Fish pfffft!

 

We are definitely better than last year!

[Green Lightning]

Other than the two (glaring) research errors about positions, I don't see how any objective fan can find fault in what he said in this article.

 

The Bills missed on getting a big name coach. They missed on getting an experienced GM. They missed on getting OL help in FA or the draft. They missed on getting QB help. They missed on getting WR help. They're switching defensive philosophies and having to rely on untested, second round (and lower) rookies to man the most crucial spots on that new defense ...

 

All the while the rest of the AFC East got a whole lot tougher.

 

Don't pass over the research areas so easily. It shows that those "jounalists" are just mouthing what the rest of their ilk is muttering. I heard the same doom and gloom when the Bills hired a "losing" coach in Marv Levy. Chan has won on every level and Buddy has a proven track record picking talent. They are the guys looking at our players and it's their plan. Clayton's not here and knows squat about building a team. He confuses activity with results. We'll see how much "better" the AFC East became with their expensive signings.

 

And by the way, I didn't know the off season was over.

[Koufax]

I'm always an optimist, so just because I think they will be okay has no bearing on reality, but consider:

 

Clayton doesn't really know anything about the Bills. He has three real teams to follow and has to occasionally fulfill his contractual AFC East obligation and make up some stuff about the Bills. He doesn't really have an idea of what is going on, and I STRONGLY assert on the having a clue scale the following order:

 

Coaching Staff & Front Office > Studious Bills Fans (like us) > Clayton/King > Casual Bills Fan

 

To be very blunt, I think that Clayton spends LESS time looking at the Bills than we do, so why would he somehow be in a position to offer an insightful observation that would make us all interested? Nope...he offers fluff pieces for the casual masses.

 

The 3-4 could present a bigger challenge than I understand and help make us worse on the front 7 then we were last year. I don't personally see it, and think our added talent (draft + Maybin from nothing to maybe something - potential loss of Schobel) on the front 7 will make a bigger difference than the learning curve.

 

Secondary is intact, Byrd with a year under his belt and McKelvin healthy? BETTER

 

O-Line. Here is where I think people really are missing the picture. The median expected outcome of our O-Line with average expectations on growth and injuries to me is a ton better than last year when we set some injury records, set some inexperience records, and did the whole Walker/Bell No Huddle fiasco.

 

Backfield...three headed monster vs. Freddie by himself for four games then Marshawn trying to catch up? Way better. Even if we trade Lynch way better

 

Receivers: Clayton picks on us here, but Owens and Reed were not in the plans of the coaching staff because they think the other guys will help us be better. Is Reed really better than Stevie Johnson? Is Hardy really never going to play? Is it impossible that Chan finds a way to use Parish? Might we have drafted a surprise contributor (not to play the Colston card, but we might get something out of that). Is Spiller going to get some touches out of the slot too? A lot of questions, but with any O-Line/QB improvement compared to last year I think we clearly have the potential to have a more effective receiving corp than last year.

 

Special Teams: Here we are going to miss Bobby, but we still have the same kicking/punting and return personnel plus Spiller, so while I would expect some regression, I think we will be good just the same.

 

Coaching: I will withhold comment, but those who think 2010 will be worse coached than 2009 raise a hand.

 

So while Nix and Chan might be willing to take some punches as they build for the 2011 season, I have a hard time seeing how this team is worse than last year. And last year it took a lot of going wrong for us to get to 6-10. If this season ends up being a 4-12 year as we retool I can probably live with that, but I think the talent and the focus of the coaching staff will both lead to 7 to 9 wins.

 

The good news is that as every full year ahead mock draft shows us, we don't need to be drafting #1 or #2 to get the player that people say NOW will be going in those slots

 

Go Bills

[Aplusfool]

" Buffalo Bills: No team had a greener offensive line last season than the Bills, which had rookies Demetrius Bell at left tackle and Jonathan Scott at left guard "

 

 

And here I thought Andy Levitre was our starting LG.

[uncle flap]

7) Pats, Jets, Fish pfffft!

 

We are definitely better than last year!

 

i understand that in ranking team's offseasons, some teams' moves and drafts are going to seem better than others.

 

but i don't buy that bills had a "bad" offseason bc of what other teams did. there aren't many teams that had as many holes as the bills. and they seemed to fill some the "right" way, imo.

 

so, all of a sudden the offseason is a disaster bc the bills aren't primed to make a run at the superbowl? if they tried to solve the qb and lt problems, clayton and others would probably still grade us poorly and say, "well, they didn't adequately address the bottom-feeding run defense."

 

and what if the bills managed to land cowher and went out and signed players to fill EVERY need? then the media would be all over the bills talkin bout "you can't buy a championship," and "they should be building through the draft," etc.

 

we are better than last year, and no matter what the w-l columns say, i have to believe the bills will be even better after this season.

[tennesseeboy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=5200777

Exactly. I agree with every word of the article. In fact I'm going to nominate them for the Pulitzer Prize for stating the obvious. All of these obvious problems have been pointed out ad infinitum on this board.

[CodeMonkey]

Pretty easy to respond to those charges OMI...

 

1) Cornell green is a fine RT and Bell now is healthy and a year more experienced...and lots of potential!

2) Edwards has shown flairs of being pretty good and in a ground dominated theme, he just may be all right. Also, hey.. Brohm also may be the answer.

3) Owens is a has been and Reed is a 3rd receiver at best while we have several fine young ones to look at.

4) Chan Gailey has been successful wherever he's been.

5) Troup just might be a very fine NG.

6) No sweat with the LB's

7) Pats, Jets, Fish pfffft!

 

We are definitely better than last year!

Not much of a response in my opinion. I read a lot of "potential", "maybe", "just might" and "no sweat" to go along with reading history with red and blue colored glasses (Gailey being successful everywhere he has been ... I suppose it depends on your definition of successful but successful guys generally don't get canned with the frequency he has).

 

That's a lot of eggs in the hopeful basket (and I hope all of your wishes come true), but doesn't refute anything in the article in my opinion.

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

1. Buffalo Bills: No team had a greener offensive line last season than the Bills, which had rookies Demetrius Bell at left tackle and Jonathan Scott at left guard. All the Bills did to help the line was sign 33-year-old tackle Cornell Green.

 

The Bills averaged a horrible 16.1 points a game on offense and did nothing to upgrade a quarterback corps filled by Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick. The receiving corps lost 82 catches by not re-signing Terrell Owens and Josh Reed. The only replacement was fourth-round choice Marcus Easley, leaving Lee Evans with little around him.

 

Owner Ralph Wilson was willing to pay a high salary for his new coach, and ended up with nice guy Chan Gailey, hardly a headliner. To make things even more challenging, the Bills switched to a 3-4 defense even though they didn't have a legitimate 3-4 outside linebacker or a nose tackle. They drafted nose tackle Torell Troup in the second round and hope that Broncos castoff Andra Davis and seldom-used Aaron Maybin can handle the tough outside linebacking jobs.

 

Making matters worse, the Bills' three division rivals -- the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins -- had three of the best five offseasons. With those odds against them, the Bills won't need luck to be in position to draft either Jake Locker or Andrew Luck next year.

 

Pretty easy to respond to those charges OMI...

 

1) Cornell green is a fine RT and Bell now is healthy and a year more experienced...and lots of potential!

2) Edwards has shown flairs of being pretty good and in a ground dominated theme, he just may be all right. Also, hey.. Brohm also may be the answer.

3) Owens is a has been and Reed is a 3rd receiver at best while we have several fine young ones to look at.

4) Chan Gailey has been successful wherever he's been.

5) Troup just might be a very fine NG.

6) No sweat with the LB's

7) Pats, Jets, Fish pfffft!

 

We are definitely better than last year!

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not but I predict the debating team is not in your near future.