Just Caught The First Half

[RealityCheck]

I noticed that at camp. I think it is because he has that odd 3/4 delivery, almost sidearm. He has to throw as hard as he can every pass to get any zip on it at all and that makes it looked forced. And this also causes his accuracy issues particularly on the longer routes. At least that's my theory. But overall he is fine for now.

I like Fitz, but it does hurt his accuracy on the deep ball. Unfortunately, he will never have consistent touch on the deep ball as a result.

[bowery4]

I am happy Bill became a Fitz fan last season

I am excited by the defense for the first time in a long time. I always hated the Jauron philosophy (but think he had a good secondary). Bigger is better! Merriman is the real deal and good, I hope he stays healthy and happy here (he has a bunch of moves that he does really well and he can just smack someone). I love Clay Matthews but if he plays lights out he is better, still sort of can't believe people called Nix an idiot for going after him and GETTING him.

 

Daruis is going to be great, that was a nice showing for his first game (very nice swim move). He is also the real deal, Suh or better. IMO. Kyle is learning to play a new position and I am liking it, he will also only get better. Davis and Edwards if they can stay healthy are going to look real good again with the rest of those guys. Barrnet has good speed but seemed a little absent on some plays (maybe it is a learning curve thing).

 

Kelsey overcommits, always did always will. Can't wait until he is obsolete with this FO, he should go be an average, maybe slightly above average 4/3 end on a 4/3 team (maybe we could even dump his salary and get a pick for him). I like him and didn't think he was ever a horrible player (except as a OLB)like many on this board. But we can get rid of him for the same reasons as lee IMO and he isn't as talented.

 

Batten, Carrinton Coleman had some good plays, hope they all develop as the season goes on.

Loved Carrington on the end of the line and who else was it Johnson? That is a good is a cool idea and I liked it. We seem to have some nice rotation possibilities. I missed Troupe the whole time, did he play(seriously)? I just didn't notice him. Heard stepped up on my radar. I hope they keep Jasper but somehow, now I want them to keep developing both of these big guys. I know Dotsun got a team leading 4 tackles but he gets pushed around on plays at times (against 2nds and 3rds).

Edited August 15, 2011 by bowery4

[The Big Cat]

I only caught the 1st quarter and 7 minutes into Q2. Fitz looked decent. Dink 'n Dunk. I know this isn't the offense we'll be running the regular season, but it did like an offense that Trent would have liked. Fred looked awesome. Spiller had a couple of good plays.

 

The starting defense looked really good. Would be great to see a Bills defense out there this year that can control the other teams offense for a change.

 

Interesting to see Easley run back the opening KO.

 

Like the other guy said, I hope Tyler was just out of sorts from not much practice and the he doesn't really suck. Whenever I saw him play for the Fish he looked bad. I'll give him more time, but so far it looks like Fitz' job is safe.

 

NO! No, no no no no no no!

 

This is NOT the kind of dink and dunk offense Trent would have thrived in. Do not equate short passes with dink and dunk. Trent excelled at throwing short passes to STATIONARY receivers. The short passes you saw from Fitz on Saturday were short, TIMING routes thrown to guys RUNNING to an open spot on the field.

 

Getting guys open in space. It's no !@#$ing mystery. Gailey has been saying it THE ENTIRE TIME HE'S BEEN IN BUFFALO. IT'S WHY HE LOVES ROSCOE, IT'S WHY HE DRAFTED SPILLER.

 

Edwards was doomed to fail in Gailey's offense because it requires the quarteback AND the receivers to identify the open area and get the ball there. Not run there, stop wait for the ball, catch it and hope you don't get creamed by the four defensive players barreling in on you.

[ricojes]

Wow, no love for Fred Jackson? I thought he looked great in limited action, he needs to touch the ball at least 20 times a game! 20 touches and he'll open up the passing game for Fitz, who also looked good in a vanilla offensive game plan...

[RuntheDamnBall]

I am happy Bill became a Fitz fan last season

I am excited by the defense for the first time in a long time. I always hated the Jauron philosophy (but think he had a good secondary). Bigger is better! Merriman is the real deal and good, I hope he stays healthy and happy here (he has a bunch of moves that he does really well and he can just smack someone). I love Clay Matthews but if he plays lights out he is better, still sort of can't believe people called Nix an idiot for going after him and GETTING him.

There's been remarkably little WEO around these parts the past couple days... coincidence?

[Beerball]

I noticed that at camp. I think it is because he has that odd 3/4 delivery, almost sidearm. He has to throw as hard as he can every pass to get any zip on it at all and that makes it looked forced. And this also causes his accuracy issues particularly on the longer routes. At least that's my theory. But overall he is fine for now.

That's why you'll see 1-2 batted balls most games.

[flomoe]

NO! No, no no no no no no!

 

This is NOT the kind of dink and dunk offense Trent would have thrived in. Do not equate short passes with dink and dunk. Trent excelled at throwing short passes to STATIONARY receivers. The short passes you saw from Fitz on Saturday were short, TIMING routes thrown to guys RUNNING to an open spot on the field.

 

Getting guys open in space. It's no !@#$ing mystery. Gailey has been saying it THE ENTIRE TIME HE'S BEEN IN BUFFALO. IT'S WHY HE LOVES ROSCOE, IT'S WHY HE DRAFTED SPILLER.

 

Edwards was doomed to fail in Gailey's offense because it requires the quarteback AND the receivers to identify the open area and get the ball there. Not run there, stop wait for the ball, catch it and hope you don't get creamed by the four defensive players barreling in on you.

 

 

B I N G O

 

This is exactly the kind of plays we saw in the late 80's and early 90's between #12 and #83 with some #34 sprinkled in.

If the Bills stick to this type of passing game, I, for one, will be quite happy. I was sick of watching our receivers catching the ball while being stationary over the last few years. Hitting a player on a 5 yard pass while he is running full tilt could easily result in 20 yd pass plays.

 

The only thing that will slow this type of offense down is not having any type of stretch play that will keep the defenses honest. Hopefully Gailey will get some deep posts into the equation to keep the safeties from jumping down on the short slants and drag patterns.

[ganesh]

Thanks Bills for renewing your thread again for this season. Now I feel my Bills Experience of the week Complete.

[Bill from NYC]

There's been remarkably little WEO around these parts the past couple days... coincidence?

 

I am not one to chastise disgruntled fans. Coach Tuesday makes an excellent point in this thread. Many are frustrated not just because of losing. Losing for the same reasons is tough to take for almost 2 decades.

That said, the defense looks like it will be a strong one if they can stay healthy. I hope the offense can keep the ball and give them a rest.

[ganesh]

B I N G O

 

This is exactly the kind of plays we saw in the late 80's and early 90's between #12 and #83 with some #34 sprinkled in.

If the Bills stick to this type of passing game, I, for one, will be quite happy. I was sick of watching our receivers catching the ball while being stationary over the last few years. Hitting a player on a 5 yard pass while he is running full tilt could easily result in 20 yd pass plays.

 

Agree 100%...Look at Wes Welker and Brady....Welker moves that chain all the time...the only thing that matters.

 

 

The only thing that will slow this type of offense down is not having any type of stretch play that will keep the defenses honest. Hopefully Gailey will get some deep posts into the equation to keep the safeties from jumping down on the short slants and drag patterns.

 

I think they lost that ability with the Evans trade. Hopefully Jones or Spiller will be able to fill in.

[The Big Cat]

I think they lost that ability with the Evans trade. Hopefully Jones or Spiller will be able to fill in.

 

So you don't think we have single receiver who can sneak behind the cheating safeties? Not one?

 

Mmmkay.

[zow2]

NO! No, no no no no no no!

 

This is NOT the kind of dink and dunk offense Trent would have thrived in. Do not equate short passes with dink and dunk. Trent excelled at throwing short passes to STATIONARY receivers. The short passes you saw from Fitz on Saturday were short, TIMING routes thrown to guys RUNNING to an open spot on the field.

 

Getting guys open in space. It's no !@#$ing mystery. Gailey has been saying it THE ENTIRE TIME HE'S BEEN IN BUFFALO. IT'S WHY HE LOVES ROSCOE, IT'S WHY HE DRAFTED SPILLER.

 

Edwards was doomed to fail in Gailey's offense because it requires the quarteback AND the receivers to identify the open area and get the ball there. Not run there, stop wait for the ball, catch it and hope you don't get creamed by the four defensive players barreling in on you.

 

Good point and one that I tried to make several years ago about JP as well. Losman threw a good bomb to guys streaking under it but all his intermediate and short passes were to stationary targets. He was horribly inaccurate at hitting guys in stride and then just stopped trying. I thought Trent was a little better but then he became totally gunshy. Fitz can hit guys on the move which is great, He's not always accurate but unless you are named Brady or Manning...it's just not that easy to be 100% accurate.

[ricojes]

I think they lost that ability with the Evans trade. Hopefully Jones or Spiller will be able to fill in.

Are you saying that just because of the speed factor? If it's speed, Easley posted the same time at his combine as Evans and I am sure others are close. I'll have to look those up to verify. But, to say the Bills lost that ability is a little far fetched IMHO...

[Coach Tuesday]

So you don't think we have single receiver who can sneak behind the cheating safeties? Not one?

 

Mmmkay.

 

Exactly.

 

1) The deep ball is overrated - the goal is to move safeties to the left or right and move linebackers away from the LOS. You can do that with route combinations - you don't need 50-yard bombs.

 

2) In any event, you don't need to be a burner to go deep - you just need to beat your man at the line.

 

3) In any, any event, Parrish is blazing fast.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Coach Tuesday

[Cash]

I am happy Bill became a Fitz fan last season

I am excited by the defense for the first time in a long time. I always hated the Jauron philosophy (but think he had a good secondary). Bigger is better!

 

Bigger isn't necessarily better, especially if it's too slow, but you're right that Jauron's philosophy was always doomed to fail. I like the part where you want fast guys, but not the bizarre obsession with SMALL fast guys. In fact, sometimes the small part seemed to be more important than the fast part. Maybin over Orakpo, of course, is the epitome of Jauron's crazy small-guy obsession. I think that what you want are guys who are big, strong, fast, and smart. (Duh.)

 

 

NO! No, no no no no no no!

 

This is NOT the kind of dink and dunk offense Trent would have thrived in. Do not equate short passes with dink and dunk. Trent excelled at throwing short passes to STATIONARY receivers. The short passes you saw from Fitz on Saturday were short, TIMING routes thrown to guys RUNNING to an open spot on the field.

 

This. People frequently mistook Trent's high completion percentage as indicative of accuracy. Wrong. He was a fairly inaccurate passer who typically attempted low-risk, low-reward passes. Edwards was always very poor at hitting moving targets in stride, particularly if there were defenders nearby.

[stony]

1) The numbers might not suggest anything great, but I got good vibes from Fitz. Obviously, we need him to stay in one piece.

 

2) You can say that this was only preseason. Go ahead, tell me the Bears have a poor OL. That said, Merriman is for real. I know what I saw, and this man is going to wreak havoc. We all knew he was fast, but he was completely agile and he hits like a truck. Now, can he get hurt? Yes. Can he stop caring? I suppose. But as we speak he is a double digit sack man. Again, I know what I saw.

 

3) The first team OL had no real push. Once again, Levitre was the best of all of them.

 

4) The backup OL made me want to cry. Wrotto is weird. He sure is big enough to play RT, but he looked totally out of shape. Did anyone else notice that he looked as if he didn't have the wind to finish plays?

 

5) I don't like gadget players, but our best one is going to be Brad Smith imo. That's right, better than Spiller. We shall see.

 

6) Dareus looked great. It was his FIRST GAME and he was all over the place. Now HE is in shape!

 

That's all I got folks.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Agree on everything except Spiller. Looks like Chan has made a concerned effort to get him more involved in space. Wouldn't surprise me if he has 5-6 catches game.

[The Senator]

1) The numbers might not suggest anything great, but I got good vibes from Fitz. Obviously, we need him to stay in one piece.

 

2) You can say that this was only preseason. Go ahead, tell me the Bears have a poor OL. That said, Merriman is for real. I know what I saw, and this man is going to wreak havoc. We all knew he was fast, but he was completely agile and he hits like a truck. Now, can he get hurt? Yes. Can he stop caring? I suppose. But as we speak he is a double digit sack man. Again, I know what I saw.

 

3) The first team OL had no real push. Once again, Levitre was the best of all of them.

 

4) The backup OL made me want to cry. Wrotto is weird. He sure is big enough to play RT, but he looked totally out of shape. Did anyone else notice that he looked as if he didn't have the wind to finish plays?

 

5) I don't like gadget players, but our best one is going to be Brad Smith imo. That's right, better than Spiller. We shall see.

 

6) Dareus looked great. It was his FIRST GAME and he was all over the place. Now HE is in shape!

 

That's all I got folks.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great talking points, Bill -

 

Love Fitz, but still say we shoulda drafted Mallett and developed him for 2-3 seasons...

 

Mallett Shines in Patriots Preseason Opener

 

(IMO, his size and arm strength make him one of the most unique QB prospects we could have nabbed - our W-L record will be too good to even think about Luck or Jones in 2012. Now we'll have to wait for Chad Kelly in 2016 )

 

 

Regardless of Bears OL, Bills D got HUGE in just one off-season. Linemen AND LBs are noticeably bigger, as are d-backs. I don't see those guys getting pushed back or being last against the run this season. The Merriman acquisition is HUGE. Dareus will be the best of the 2011 draft crop.

 

 

Buddy needs to bring in some veteran help for O-line depth. Max Starks and Brian Waters are both available and worth a look.

 

 

Like it or not (I actually do), I expect we'll see a lot of gadget plays from both Brad Smith and Josh Nesbitt.

 

 

 

GO BILLSSS!!!!

 

19 and 0 baby!!!!

[5 Wide]

I also liked what I saw out of Andra Davis in the middle. He is a large linebacker and thumps in there. He is going to be a nice asset for the team this year in run support.

[CodeMonkey]

Like it or not (I actually do), I expect we'll see a lot of gadget plays from both Brad Smith and Josh Nesbitt.

I don't generally. But in this case it does serve two purposes:

1) Take the pressure off of the "standard" offense to always have to perform well.

 

2) Gives us a chance to see how creative Gailey is. That is, what things he can come up with all season to surprise defenses beyond standard wildcat.

[Fitz's Beard]

I think they lost that ability with the Evans trade. Hopefully Jones or Spiller will be able to fill in.

 

I respectfully disagree. Evans didn't run the timing routes as well as some of the other receivers. He could run a mean deep route, but the short to intermediate timing routes weren't his forte. That's all Roscoe, and now Jones. Roosevelt, IMO, showed some decent route running, and Stevie still has a lot of upside...again IMO.

 

I thought the offense looked ok, but needs a little more gelling time. The line was ok...at least they are better than the Bears starting OL.

 

Defense looks very promising right now. I can't wait to get another look this Saturday.