A sign of COACHING yet to come?

[PromoTheRobot]

Before you get your collective panties in a knot over Chan getting conservative (in pre-season game#1 no less), have you considered that Chan wanted to practice drawing the opponent offsides? And did you hear that yesterday was a pre-season game? I'm not sure judging by the comments.

 

PTR

[Mr. WEO]

Before you get your collective panties in a knot over Chan getting conservative (in pre-season game#1 no less), have you considered that Chan wanted to practice drawing the opponent offsides? And did you hear that yesterday was a pre-season game? I'm not sure judging by the comments.

 

PTR

You're joking right?

[Vinny4sum]

Before you get your collective panties in a knot over Chan getting conservative (in pre-season game#1 no less), have you considered that Chan wanted to practice drawing the opponent offsides? And did you hear that yesterday was a pre-season game? I'm not sure judging by the comments.

 

PTR

 

Great point.... and another thing is everyone is assuming going on 4th down means getting the first down..let's try this on..Chan knew he had 3 OL starters not in and is just as happy having a team think he doesn't have the marbles vs. confirming they couldn't get the inches..some times it is better to run from a fight that does not matter, especially when the other guy has a bigger knife..I bet later in preseason when he feels more confident he goes on a fourth down, but hopefully not on his own 37 yard line!

[Phil Hansen Forever]

I couldn't agree more. The guy clearly bobbled the ball and then pulled it in across the goal line, but his knees were clearly down first.

 

But then again, Joe Theisman said it was a touch down, so it really must have been, since he is NEVER WRONG!

[Mark Vader]

Say what you will about Losman, but he was very good at drawinging the opposition offsides with his snap-count.

 

Fannning-Fan, not so much. I really can't think of anything Trentie's very good at, other than sucking-up to Dick Jauron.

You are still talking about Losman? Seriously?

[SoggyHog]

Great point.... and another thing is everyone is assuming going on 4th down means getting the first down..let's try this on..Chan knew he had 3 OL starters not in and is just as happy having a team think he doesn't have the marbles vs. confirming they couldn't get the inches..some times it is better to run from a fight that does not matter, especially when the other guy has a bigger knife..I bet later in preseason when he feels more confident he goes on a fourth down, but hopefully not on his own 37 yard line!

 

.....and burning your last time-out with 7 minutes left in the half down by 2 scores trying to draw the defense offsides. dumb!

[tonyjustbcuz]

That was a nasty and unnecessary Jauron flashback.

 

 

Maybe there is a "loser ghost" that transports itself from one Bill's coach to another! G. Williams~Mularkey~Jauron~Gailey yikes! Hope this isn't a sign of what's to come this season! I was predicting 5-11 this season and bumped it up to 6-10 considering the pace of training camp. Now, I am revising my prediction based on the coaching traits displayed, injuries, lack of depth (and lack of quality starters), and the difficulty of the schedule. My new 2010 season prediction is 4-12 and it's tempting to lower it to 3-13, but I'll wait until we play the Indy Colts on Thursday. That should be a fun game..lol

Okay optimists out there..tell me how it's just the pre-season and that the Bills are going to be a much improved team, because I'm starting to think this season is going right down the johnny flusher fast!

[offsides#76FredSmerlas]

I don't think the coaches care too much about challenging plays in the pre season. Even though I agree it was something you would normally challenge. But they don't really care if its the defense, offense, or special teams on the field. They are trying to evaluate players and that's the main focus. I could definitely see the challenge being related to a decision to get the offense back on the field for further evaluation vs. worrying about inches on the goal line.

We can just as simply say that they could have challenged the play in order to evaluate their short yardage defensive team at the goal line. I think the coaches blew it and should have challenged the play. They need to work on ironing that stuff out as coaches and relaying those signals down to the field faster. Also, you just put our team down by 4 points. Were trying to build on winning even though it is only preseason. It was just the beginning to our team getting buried. Players are asked never to give up and always give everything they got for the best possible outcome on the field. The coaches should have those same expectations.

[SoggyHog]

Maybe there is a "loser ghost" that transports itself from one Bill's coach to another! G. Williams~Mularkey~Jauron~Gailey yikes! Hope this isn't a sign of what's to come this season! I was predicting 5-11 this season and bumped it up to 6-10 considering the pace of training camp. Now, I am revising my prediction based on the coaching traits displayed, injuries, lack of depth (and lack of quality starters), and the difficulty of the schedule. My new 2010 season prediction is 4-12 and it's tempting to lower it to 3-13, but I'll wait until we play the Indy Colts on Thursday. That should be a fun game..lol

Okay optimists out there..tell me how it's just the pre-season and that the Bills are going to be a much improved team, because I'm starting to think this season is going right down the johnny flusher fast!

 

 

I agree. And I can't stand the "It's just preseason" argument. It's preseason for Washington too. If the preseason is only about evaluating talent, then Washington's talent that's being evaluated beat the HELL out of Buffalo's talent that is being evaluated. Plain and simple. Plus, Washington was a worst team than the Bills last year. What that tells me is that Buffalo cannot attract the better talent (players & coaches) and it's going to be another long painful year....... again. Don't mean to be all "glass is half empty" but the facts remain......Buffalo didn't get Shanahan or McNabb..... we got Chain Gailey (who btw, blew the 4 & inches call IMO).

[Numark]

This forum is ridiculous. You all look silly.

[Heitz]

^ lol

[Nuncha]

I'm not sure if they even have challenges in the preseason.

 

Its a preseason game....you want to prolong the game by doing challenges? Its meaningless..............

[Buffalonian-at-Heart]

Oh, but it does! This was is "debut" and he dropped the ball. As I said before, as he was evaluating his players, we were evaluating him. If you think this was just a pre-season game, you are sadly mistaken. This was his chance to set his tone. He failed. He looked like a chump making a desperate call when there was no need to. He needed to show us more "steel" than what he showed. Basically, he looked like a scared little school-girl (no offense Ladies) in his first outing as a head coach for the Buffalo Bills. Again, I hope this is not what he is about or we are in for a long season of frustration and heartach.

 

If you think the fans evaluate the head coach, your delusional. He doesn't need to show us anything.

[FightinIrishBills]

You're all griping about the coaching in a preseason game?

 

Regarding the 4th and short situation, let me ask you this: if we had gone for it there and someone got hurt, would you all be praising the decision? Or would you be upset that Chan took an unnecessary risk in an inconsequential game? How about if Chan does have a play designed for that situation, but would rather not give that look away in the preseason?

 

I don't have access to Chan Gailey's mind and neither does anyone else on this board. I'm sorry, but getting worked up over a coaching decision in the preseason is asinine. Let's hold off on the doom and gloom until we see the guy coach a regular season game for us.

[eball]

You guys seem to have forgotten...

 

This is the same guy who was fired as OC after his offense went 2-14 with the Chiefs, only the Buffalo Bills would promote a guy to head coach who was just fired from his last job while in a lesser position.

 

I realize it was only a preseason game, but it showed the more experienced coaching on both sides of the ball.

Complete B.S. No bad or good "coaching" was exposed on either side of the field. I can't believe supposed football fans don't understand this basic premise. Preseason games are about evaluating players in specific situations, and not about gameplanning or scheming. If you want to criticize the Bills for losing and giving up more big plays than the Redskins, so be it. But the nonsense about "coaching" is absolutely ridiculous.

[mpl6876]

Complete B.S. No bad or good "coaching" was exposed on either side of the field. I can't believe supposed football fans don't understand this basic premise. Preseason games are about evaluating players in specific situations, and not about gameplanning or scheming. If you want to criticize the Bills for losing and giving up more big plays than the Redskins, so be it. But the nonsense about "coaching" is absolutely ridiculous.

 

I have to agree with certain parts of your post and disagree with it as well.

 

Agree: Preseason is to evaluate talent.

 

Disagree: Preseason is about game planning (not so much of x's and o's.) The coaches should have a plan to evaulate their players. A coach should have a long term plan towards the season opener. Preseason or not, a coach with a young team should have his players motivated to play. A coach can set the tone in the preseason. That's exactly what Mike Shanahan did. A winning positive attitude preseason or not. Gailey failed to accomplish this. So indirectly, it is about coaching too.

 

The players should be held accountable for their play in preseason and so should the coaches.

 

From your favorite poster, MPL

[FightinIrishBills]

I have to agree with certain parts of your post and disagree with it as well.

 

Agree: Preseason is to evaluate talent.

 

Disagree: Preseason is about game planning (not so much of x's and o's.) The coaches should have a plan to evaulate their players. A coach should have a long term plan towards the season opener. Preseason or not, a coach with a young team should have his players motivated to play. A coach can set the tone in the preseason. That's exactly what Mike Shanahan did. A winning positive attitude preseason or not. Gailey failed to accomplish this. So indirectly, it is about coaching too.

 

The players should be held accountable for their play in preseason and so should the coaches.

 

From your favorite poster, MPL

 

And what in your previous history as an NFL head coach has led you to this conclusion? Again, we don't have a window into the mind of Chan Gailey. I'm not sure whether or not you're saying that:

 

A.) Chan Gailey doesn't have a plan to evaluate his players

B.) Gailey doesn't have a long term plan towards the season opener

 

At the risk of raising the spectre of Dick Jauron, evaluating coaching in the NFL is hard to do. Is having a long-term plan for both players and the season opener directly correlative to "setting the tone in the preseason"? To put it another way, does coach have to, as you say, instill a "winning attitude" in the preseason to be directly successful as an NFL head coach?

 

From the outset, you're working with incomplete information regarding coaching in the preseason. We don't know their plans for evaluating players. We don't know what they're willing to show and what they're being coy with. Preseason games are a live scrimmage that give the team a chance to practice against real competition, with the risk for coaches being that they can lose players to injury and give away too much by way of game planning. A good coach strikes a balance between the risk and the reward, seeing only as much as he wants to see before playing a "vanilla" brand of play.

 

I disagree with your contention that a coach has to set a winning positive attitude "preseason or not". How do you know? Again, are you an NFL coach? All that matters to me is how the team performs during the course of the season. We'll know whether or not this team really has a winning attitude when the games actually mean something. Another case of incomplete information.

 

Again, I'm really not sure what you were saying regarding a coach's plans in the preseason and the relation to Chan Gailey. But I will say that without an adequate body of information, how do you evaluate a coach in the preseason? You argue that both players and coaches are judged based on preseason play; however, there is no reasonable way of judging either a coach's long-term plans/evaluations or his team's "winning attitude" based on one preseason game.

[mpl6876]

And what in your previous history as an NFL head coach has led you to this conclusion? Again, we don't have a window into the mind of Chan Gailey. I'm not sure whether or not you're saying that:

 

A.) Chan Gailey doesn't have a plan to evaluate his players

B.) Gailey doesn't have a long term plan towards the season opener

 

At the risk of raising the spectre of Dick Jauron, evaluating coaching in the NFL is hard to do. Is having a long-term plan for both players and the season opener directly correlative to "setting the tone in the preseason"? To put it another way, does coach have to, as you say, instill a "winning attitude" in the preseason to be directly successful as an NFL head coach?

 

From the outset, you're working with incomplete information regarding coaching in the preseason. We don't know their plans for evaluating players. We don't know what they're willing to show and what they're being coy with. Preseason games are a live scrimmage that give the team a chance to practice against real competition, with the risk for coaches being that they can lose players to injury and give away too much by way of game planning. A good coach strikes a balance between the risk and the reward, seeing only as much as he wants to see before playing a "vanilla" brand of play.

 

I disagree with your contention that a coach has to set a winning positive attitude "preseason or not". How do you know? Again, are you an NFL coach? All that matters to me is how the team performs during the course of the season. We'll know whether or not this team really has a winning attitude when the games actually mean something. Another case of incomplete information.

 

Again, I'm really not sure what you were saying regarding a coach's plans in the preseason and the relation to Chan Gailey. But I will say that without an adequate body of information, how do you evaluate a coach in the preseason? You argue that both players and coaches are judged based on preseason play; however, there is no reasonable way of judging either a coach's long-term plans/evaluations or his team's "winning attitude" based on one preseason game.

 

Very good rebutal and I will try to clarify my viewpoints. You are right that I don't know what Gailey's plans and intentions are. I was trying to refute the previous post saying preseason isn't about game planning. IMHO, a coach preseason or not always should have some kind of game plan. Isn't Galiey calling the plays? I am assuming he has specific plays to evaluate his players. Also, I was trying to say preseason for a young inexperienced team like the Bills is very important. Much more important than a team like the colts or saints. They are experienced teams who have confidence and know how to win. I would say with certainty that the Bills are nowhere close to that. As a result, IMHO, Gailey can use these preseason games to boost the confidence of his young team. Have success and establish a confident winning attitude. Isn't that what posters here have been glowing about coach Gailey in camp? Why is it important in camp but not in the preseason?

 

I go back to the previous preseason games with the Bills. Remember how the offense couldn't even score a touchdown? That inept offense in preseason lead us right into offensive problems in the regular season. I know there are other varibles that accounted for this. But, I think the point is valid. I don't get how so many people can think this years preseason games with our current young players and new coaches isn't important? Or trying to minimize our preseason. Our preseason is more than evaluating talent... Many problems in preseason rear themselves in the regular season and vice versa. That first preseason game was horrific. I would say things didn't go as coach Galiey had planned... I hope things turn around quickly. I am looking forward to the next few preseasons games. I can say with reasonable certainity that it will be a long season if the next few preseason games are like the one in Washington. Wondering how many will be quick to disregard all the preseason games as just a player evaluation process? I am hoping for vast improvements.

 

Perhaps, I am missing the boat but that is my take on things. Not sure if I answered your questions?

[FightinIrishBills]

Very good rebutal and I will try to clarify my viewpoints. You are right that I don't know what Gailey's plans and intentions are. I was trying to refute the previous post saying preseason isn't about game planning. IMHO, a coach preseason or not always should have some kind of game plan. Isn't Galiey calling the plays? I am assuming he has specific plays to evaluate his players. Also, I was trying to say preseason for a young inexperienced team is very important. Much more important than a team like the colts or saints. They are experienced teams who have confidence and know how to win. I would say with certainty that the Bills are nowhere close to that. As a result, IMHO, Gailey can use these preseason games to boost the confidence of his young team. Establishing a tough nosed winning attitude. Instead, it looked like the opposite may have occurred. It is way too early to tell.

 

I go back to the previous preseason games with the Bills. Remember how the offense couldn't even score a touchdown? That inept offense in preseason lead us right into offensive problems in the regular season. I know there are other varibles that acconted for this. I don't get how so many people can think this years preseason games with our current young players and new coaches isn't important? Or trying to minimize our preseason. Many problems in preseason rear themselves in the regular season. IMHO, that first preseasn game was horrific. I hope things turn around quick .

 

Perhaps, I am missing the boat but that is my take on things. Not sure if I answered your question?

 

Ha, good rebuttal to my rebuttal. I do agree with you that preseason is about game planning, but my only caveat is that we're not seeing what Gailey is seeing. As in, he might be seeing a look or a particular player movement in a small but important way that the rest of us aren't looking for. Yes, Gailey is calling the plays but his game plan for the preseason might be (and probably is, I would think) very different than what he would do in a regular season game.

 

I also agree with you that the Bills are a young and inexperienced team. You could be right, too, that a big preseason showing could increase their confidence. However, you have to think that the injuries to Jackson and Lynch might have affected Gailey's strategy. With such a young and inexperienced team, the Bills can't afford a slew of injuries. Pushing the team too hard during that game, especially with the nominally tougher practices we've been hearing about, could have been a lot more detrimental to the team's overall well-being.

 

Again, I'm with you about the horrors of preseasons past. But while it is trite and oft-repeated, this is a whole new coaching regime we're seeing here. And though I think you're right that we did see a bad preseason game, we can't distinguish if it was by error or by design.

 

In the best of all worlds, I want to see a team wearing a Bills uniform win every game or at least look solid. I am concerned about some of the sloppiness we saw on the field, but I'll reserve judgment until the first whistle is blown against Miami

[mpl6876]

Ha, good rebuttal to my rebuttal. I do agree with you that preseason is about game planning, but my only caveat is that we're not seeing what Gailey is seeing. As in, he might be seeing a look or a particular player movement in a small but important way that the rest of us aren't looking for. Yes, Gailey is calling the plays but his game plan for the preseason might be (and probably is, I would think) very different than what he would do in a regular season game.

 

I also agree with you that the Bills are a young and inexperienced team. You could be right, too, that a big preseason showing could increase their confidence. However, you have to think that the injuries to Jackson and Lynch might have affected Gailey's strategy. With such a young and inexperienced team, the Bills can't afford a slew of injuries. Pushing the team too hard during that game, especially with the nominally tougher practices we've been hearing about, could have been a lot more detrimental to the team's overall well-being.

 

Again, I'm with you about the horrors of preseasons past. But while it is trite and oft-repeated, this is a whole new coaching regime we're seeing here. And though I think you're right that we did see a bad preseason game, we can't distinguish if it was by error or by design.

 

In the best of all worlds, I want to see a team wearing a Bills uniform win every game or at least look solid. I am concerned about some of the sloppiness we saw on the field, but I'll reserve judgment until the first whistle is blown against Miami

 

I must say i thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and I look forward to reading more of your postings. I just wish everyone would be as civil as you were.