Gailey In Full Panic Mode?

[Simon]

MOST Bills fans thought Edwards was beyond salvation. However, Chan Gailey, who was reputed to be a magician with, to be kind, less than stellar QBs, apparently thought otherwise. I don't know how he arrived at that assessment

You don't even know that he arrived at that assessment. You have no idea what he was thinking; you're simply making assumptions and then basing a whole belief system on them..

As far as you know he could have been thinking "Wow, I've got two pieces of flotsam here and 1 guy who might be able to help us in the future if I handle him correctly. I can't put my one guy with potential out there to get mutilated behind this OLine or I'll be ruining him the same way the previous administration ruined one of my pieces of flotsam. I'll hide my young guy at the #3 to protect him and then go with the piece of flotsam that has the better toolbox on the off chance a light might come on for him. I'm not married to the guy (who will be gone next year) so when he inevitably gets hurt or stinks it up, I'll just pull him and give my other piece of flotsam a shot. Hell, I might even go back to my original piece of flotsam down the road when my other piece of flotsam can't get anything done either. Neither guy is a long term solution and we're not going anywhere anyways so it doesn't really matter how much shuffling I do. The only reason I'm using those two pieces of flotsam is to absorb the pounding that I don't want my one guy with potential to take."

[BillsFanInLV]

It's not always about the better player being on the field but who creates the better chemestry. There are numerous examples in the past few years to draw from.

 

Last week Raiders Bruce Gradkowski replaced Jason Campbell and won the game.

 

Two years ago Kerry Collins took the reins from V. Young and led the team to a solid season, only to be replaced by Young midway through last season and then Young shined.

 

Mixing parts and pieces in different combinations often times results in different outcomes. Perhaps Fitz brings 'something' to the table that Trent can't and it will result in at least a win this week.

 

Just my thoughts.

[Billshank Redemption]

I dont feel like explaining this to you, but We have three running backs in a QB that turns into a retard on the field. Jackson and lynch are more productive so they are out on the field more then spiller. Also Chan is fed up with Edwards being the cancer of the team. I could go on, but I would just be ranting on how I hate Trent.

I agree with the cancer thing. Noone trusts trent he honestly has no balls and takes way to many sacks and just makes dumb decisons. I personally dont think fitz will be any better, but atleast hes different and atleast he shows emotion trent wont ever cut his !@#$ing justin bieber hair im just getting so sick of him even if fitzpatrick is just as bad, he is an emotional upgrade

[mpl6876]

Chan's not hitting the panic button. He knew Trent wasn't great from past performance. Chan has made the most of mediocre qb talent and the only way he could evaluate if Trent was fixable was through regular season games when the real bullets were flying. This is where Trent has failed in the past. Trent failed again and the experiment is over. Now Chan is moving on. Just glad he didn't wait longer than 2 games to do so.

 

I think if anyone is panicking it's some of the fans here.

 

Pilsner, do you really think the change in QB is going to make a significant difference? I am being serious and not trying to be a smart ass. Most reasonable fans can only conclude that it will be marginal at best. We all know what we get in Fitz. Hard nosed, tough, not afraid to wing the ball, and terribly inaccurate. That's why he is a career back up. Now, we fans should be happy with a career back up QB running the show? Let me tell you that I am not happy about having such a poor QB in our starting line up. It is what it is. Jerry Sullivan couldn't have said it any better. Hope he is listening because I give him permission to use my material.

 

You can go ahead and commend Gaily and Nix for starting a career back up QB after week 2. What a great move from a solid organization. We wonder why we haven't done a GD thing in ten years.

 

I welcome all posters to respond to my post. I cannot see how anyone even the biggest of homers can justify such ineptitude and willful neglect. Like I said from day one when I entered this forum. The organization has failed us fans. They continue to do so by not addressing key positions like QB and LT. I am tired of the lame ass excuses. You think that might have something to do with our ineffective last place offense? You bet it does and so much for the coach em up innovative guru Chump Gailey. He has failed us too. Go ahead and pat his asss for putting in Fitz but is he really saving his asss. The kitchen is only going to get hotter after we lose to the pats and the jets. Wonder what the heck you guys will be saying them? I have a picture in my head of Cam Cameron and the 1-15 Fins of a few years ago. Wondering if their fans were saying oh it's not his fault and he needs time...

 

We have become one of the worst organizations in football and it shows on and off the field. It's so frustrating to be a fan who really cares. I just wish I could be delusional and irrational as some of you because I know it must be much more fun thinking we might actually be good. However, as a realist and someone who takes into account all variables I cannot indeed believe your distortions and or lies. Wish I could.

 

P.S. I can't wait to read the next Jerry Sullivan article.

Edited September 22, 2010 by mpl6876

[Simon]

 

I welcome all posters to respond to my post.

Quit plumbing message boards for material, Jerry.

You're embarrassing yourself.

[LABills08]

Players.

 

Players like Kyle Williams. Come FA, and Kyle thinks back about busting his tail to help his team win, only to have his coach tell him, yeah, don't even bother.

 

--OR---

 

Nix and Gailey can say what they say and continue to work hard and try to win, that's the honorable thing.

 

Now, behind the scenes they might be wringing their hands and banging their heads against the wall, but so long as they prefer backroom frustration to locker room mutiny, they're going to keep touting their players publicly, and telling guys like Kyle Williams, in private, that his services are gravely needed, and that he should keep up the good work.

 

I never said that the Bills should not talk about winning or publicly criticizing the players. I'm just saying that the organization owes it to the fans to be upfront after all of these years. And, I think Gailey would come off much better if he was a little more honest ( I know he is a blunt guy, but no matter how you spin it, this Edwards decision does not make him look all that great). I don't care one way or the other, the point of my initial post was to comment from the perspective of Gailey and Nix and question why they haven't just said, "listen, we are rebuilding, we are going to have bad games and we are going to have good games. And we are going to shake up the line up if someone doesn't perform. But, we are going to be a dominant football team soon and we will continue to work hard to get there."

[Peter]

I have confidence in Chan and Buddy, but this is a panic move. I know I am in the minority on this board, but (in my opinion), this is nothing more than making someone a scapegoat where the primarly problems are elsewhere. Just my two cents.

 

 

 

I've been a strong supporter of Chan Gailey since he was hired. He had a history of identifying the range and limits of his QBs abilities and working with him. So I was more than willing to believe that he saw something in Trent Edwards that I surely never did, and that he'd build an offense around him that would minimize his weaknesses while playing to his strengths. Hope springs eternal.

 

Yet two weeks into the season he benches his personally chosen starter. He did this on the heels of, for example, Brett Favre throwing three picks and the "great" Eli Manning and his "powerhouse" Giants getting beaten as badly as the Bills did on Sunday (worse, without that garbage TD at the end), with the team the Bills had a solid chance of beating last week (the Dolphins) besting media darling Minnesota.

 

I'm surely not saying benching Edwards is the wrong move only that it smells of panic. And then replacing Edwards with Fitzie? If, in Gailey's assessment, he wasn't good enough to dislodge Edwards (!!!) prior to yesterday, why in god's name does he think he's suddenly become the answer? And it comes on the heels of benching Spiller after ONE game.

 

I don't know about you guys, but this change causes me to question everything I thought about Gailey. And by extension, Buddy Nix's thinking.

 

 

 

 

 

[RuntheDamnBall]

I have confidence in Chan and Buddy, but this is a panic move. I know I am in the minority on this board, but (in my opinion), this is nothing more than making someone a scapegoat where the primarly problems are elsewhere. Just my two cents.

You really think Trent's play wasn't costing them?

[Peter]

I would have loved to have seen what he could have done behind an NFL quality line.

 

Unfortunately, no Buffalo Bills QB has played behind an NFL quality in many, many years. The whole thing is a broken record.

 

You really think Trent's play wasn't costing them?

 

 

 

 

 

[RuntheDamnBall]

I would have loved to have seen what he could have done behind an NFL quality line.

 

Unfortunately, no Buffalo Bills QB has played behind an NFL quality in many, many years. The whole thing is a broken record.

I agree, but they were, I thought, closer to NFL quality in 2008 and I still wasn't impressed with Trent. And players like Rodgers and Roethlisberger have shown that a superb QB can make some magic happen despite issues with pass protection. Edwards is nowhere near those guys, and wouldn't be with the 80s Hogs in front of him. This is just the truth.

['64 Bills]

I wouldn't say it's panic mode, what I'd say is that what he saw in Edwards in camp and preseason hasn't translated to the regular season with more complex defenses and full speed games. We've seen it many times over the past few years here in Buffalo, a great workout/practice player but is complete crap during an actual game. That was practically a drafting philosophy the past few years, best athlete not best player. So now, Gailey has to weed out the athletes and find football players that don't disappear during games. Unfortunately with this roster and this culture of accepting losing he came into it isn't going to be a quick fix. Like I told my buddy, if they are showing improvement by the end of the season like they are learning and Gailey hasn't lost the team that's better than now.

 

are you saying they didn't look at game film and didn't see Trent in full speed action? They knew what was going on. These are veterans - Nix and Gailey. Where else would they have jobs like this at their ages!

[CardinalScotts]

Same thoughts here...

 

I don't know it explaining anything to you would help....your clueless some people just are

[Guest dog14787]

I don't know it explaining anything to you would help....your clueless some people just are

 

 

Why Cardinal, that's a horrible thing to say to a fella,

 

 

Note: On the O-line debate would you rather have a Good QB make a bad O-line better or a good O-line that would give a good QB the ability to do great things, like win a Championship for instance.

Edited September 22, 2010 by dog14787

[Heitz]

It is simply the right decision here. Trent had a chance. He has the tools, he edged out Fitz in camp, but all along Chan said that was the order they were in at that point, and it could change, and never "Trent is our guy, he is our starting QB, chips fall where they may". Trent was the slightly better performer out of three so-so QBs in camp, and Chan chose the best option at that time. The hope being that Trent could continue to put it together and perform once the season started.

 

Trent fell flat on his face, not just with overall results, but with decisions and actions on individual plays. Chan doesn't need to give him six weeks to realize that it isn't working, and a fourth year QB who barely won the competition has a short leash. I'm happy for the spark and change because the first two weeks were pretty embarassing.

 

I am disappointed that it isn't Brohm who at least has the mystery potential to be a good NFL QB that we could hope for, while I think we know Fitz's upside limits. Brohm will get his chance, and hopefully he takes better advantage of it than Trent did his. But for now, go Fitz!

 

I also do wonder if it might have been a better bet to try to hide things and have the surprise advantage against the Pats, but probably in this age of Twitter it would have been too hard and made it more difficult for the two QBs during practice.

 

Well said Koufax - couldn't put it any better.

 

It's pretty clear when you're throwing for less than 5 yards per attempt and you only have 178 yards in Passing Offense, something needs to change!

 

FWIW, below are highlights of the last game of last season, Fitz at least looks willing to stand in there and throw. Here's to hoping he can do *something*, if he's worse than Trent we're REALLY screwed!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUPl_J51DgA

[apuszczalowski]

No, it shows more that the coaching staff didn't see a huge talent game between the QB's in the "QB competition" and it was more of a "tallest midget contest"

[thewildrabbit]

Why? What, if anything, has Edwards shown you that leads you to equate him with Favre or even Eli? Is it his numerous 300 yard games? Is it the fact that he is too scared to even go after the garbage time TD? Is it the ability to completely avoid the receiver with open field ahead of him, instead trying to hit the guy on a crossing pattern with two tacklers ready to destroy him? Please share. This isn't a panic move. Edwards was a liability out there. For as much as Favre and Eli have been liabilities at times, it's because they are taking chances and trying to lead their teams to win - not to "not lose."

Oh I dunno... perhaps it was that last drive with 8 min left in the Miami game and Gailey calls for a 5 WR spread offense, the Dolphin defenders stop blitzing and drop into coverage. Trent takes the team 80 yards down field with a TD to Parish.

 

The fact that all preseason the Chicago Bears offensive line looked horrid allowing so many sacks every game, many were saying Cutler is gonna get killed this year. The Cowboys blitzed him constantly the first few series in the last game, the Bear O line couldn't block Ware and Spencer whatsoever, they were forced to hold them because they simply COULDN'T BLOCK THEM. Cutler looked exactly like Trent Edwards running for his life and getting hit after every pass play!

 

The Mike Martz made adjustments- shorten the drops, get him under center, get rid of the football quickly and have him step up in the pocket, then he ran a spread offense and the Cowboys dropped into coverage BOOM TD to the TE with a quick slant pass ...the result was the Cowboys DE's were no longer getting to Cutler and he started to carve that defense up.

 

To me Gailey is biting off more then he can chew in trying to run the entire offense,watch protections-call plays- make adjustments

[Geno Smith's Arm]

The season is a wash. We knowit. Gailey knows. Ralph knows it. The team knows it. There are no roster changes or game plans that are going to make a signifigant difference. That's not first year coach Chan Gailey's fault. I'm sure he hoped for better, but there just isn't enough to work with. Hopefully they can win some games, but it's gonna be a mess of a season.

[Geno Smith's Arm]

Well said Koufax - couldn't put it any better.

 

It's pretty clear when you're throwing for less than 5 yards per attempt and you only have 178 yards in Passing Offense, something needs to change!

 

FWIW, below are highlights of the last game of last season, Fitz at least looks willing to stand in there and throw. Here's to hoping he can do *something*, if he's worse than Trent we're REALLY screwed!

 

youtube.com/watch?v=kUPl_J51DgA

 

You picked a "Lame Duck Colts" game to inspire us with confidence in Fitz?!

 

Fitz will probably move the chains a bit more, but make other mistakes that will keep these Bills out of the endzone. He might get the Bills a field goal more, every other game (1.5 points per game), than Edwards, but throw an extra interception that leads to a touchdown or something like that. He blows.

\

Same end results really. A low-scoring offense, and losses.

Edited September 22, 2010 by ThrowIt

[ConradDobler]

Why Cardinal, that's a horrible thing to say to a fella,

 

 

Note: On the O-line debate would you rather have a Good QB make a bad O-line better or a good O-line that would give a good QB the ability to do great things, like win a Championship for instance.

 

You'd need a good QB which Trent is not. Give it up Dog, all is forgiven.

 

You picked a "Lame Duck Colts" game to inspire us with confidence in Fitz?!

 

Fitz will probably move the chains a bit more, but make other mistakes that will keep these Bills out of the endzone. He might get the Bills a field goal more, every other game (1.5 points per game), than Edwards, but throw an extra interception that leads to a touchdown or something like that. He blows.

\

Same end results really. A low-scoring offense, and losses.

 

Still better than Trent.

Edited September 22, 2010 by ConradDobler

[The Senator]

What fascinates me most about getting to see Fitz play:

 

In this profile piece written about Gailey over the summer, it talks about his preference for mobile quarterbacks. As we all know, Fitzy loves to take off and run. I'm curious to see how Fitz handles the offense at a different, and shiftier pace.

Am leaving for Boston at 3:25 this afternoon, and will be at Gillette Stadium* to see Fitz and the Bills upset the Cheatriettes*

 

Nice article about Chan Gailey - thanks. Had forgotten that one but remember now that, at the time I initially read it, the parts about Gailey's competitiveness, offensive creativity, being a great teacher of fundamentals, uncomplicated game plan w/limited # of plays out of multiple formations, and ability to get the most out of whatever QB on his roster reminded me a lot of...

 

Mike Leach

 

 

(I just hope all that crap inside Gailey's head doesn't affect his ability to come up with an effective game plan to beat Brady* & Belicheat*!)