bluecarter Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 All I look for in pre-season is to look at the starting offense and defense are making assignments. As for everything else it doesn't matter ... Throws will be missed, special teams will not be special at all, and you most likely will only score a field goal. I'm glad Buffalo doesn't look like turds like the Dallas Cowgirls' two point conversion, but I guess it's a good time to practice. I think Dallas just wanted to win even if it was meaningless. The only thing I worry about is right-gaurd, and back up o-line. Please, Please, Please can we drop Maybin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 bobby April was let go because he had to much say over the roster. We didnt have a backup linebacker capable of playing in the game because they were pure special teamers. Most teams had one guy who was the special teams ace, we had 5. When a strter got hurt we had to IR them and start a street FA becuase no one else on the roster could step in. Loved our top 5 special teams unit but it hurt the rest of the team April was let-go because he didn't get the HC'ing gig and his feelings were hurt. The Bills accommodated his request to be just a ST's coordinator elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmsmystic Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 I also remember the decline in ST having something do with the wedge blocking rule changes. The wedge was an April specialty and the changes did not get adjusted too very well. (not to say the Bills didn't pass him up for the coaching jobs, just another factor) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cincinnati Kid Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 April was let-go because he didn't get the HC'ing gig and his feelings were hurt. The Bills accommodated his request to be just a ST's coordinator elsewhere. April, first off was not let go, he was not retained. After the 09 season, all coaches were told that they were free to pursue other opportunities. I have to agree with hindsight here. We had guys like Josh Stamer as our backup LBs. We drafted guys like John Wendling to be our backup safety when really he was a special teams toy. We never took anyone high who couldnt return kicks in some capacity. April had too much say over the roster, and I was not sad to see him go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 April, first off was not let go, he was not retained. After the 09 season, all coaches were told that they were free to pursue other opportunities. I have to agree with hindsight here. We had guys like Josh Stamer as our backup LBs. We drafted guys like John Wendling to be our backup safety when really he was a special teams toy. We never took anyone high who couldnt return kicks in some capacity. April had too much say over the roster, and I was not sad to see him go. Semantics, more or less. He asked to be let-go so they didn't retain him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Hansen Forever Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 They brought back Bruce DeHaven who was the ST coach extraordinare during the 90's, but was let go for incompetence by the 49er's. Might mean he is starting to lose it or age is taking it's affect on him. ST sucked and something needs to be done ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akm0404 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) Wow. Just wow... OK, 1st off, the Bills (& Da-Bears) broke league rules by kicking off from the 30 -not the new 35yrd. line. So stop with the weak leg crap. Hello there. You are wrong. Kindly never post again if you are just going to make up stupid crap that is factually inaccurate. The Bills kicked off twice, once after the first quarter field goal (2:00 left in the first quarter / 0:28 minutes into your DVR'd recording), and to start the second half - both times from the new 35-yard line position. Only the Bears first two kickoffs violated league rules. Apology accepted. The first kickoff was fielded at the 2, and the second was fielded out of bounds at the goalline. It has been speculated that the touchback percentage should be around 40% this upcoming season - right around what the best teams were seeing in 2010-2011. By contrast, the Bills were toward the bottom of the league at around 11%. With the new rule limiting players to a 5 yard run up, the importance of kicking touchbacks figures to be massively increased. Teams that do not have a kicker who can produce touchbacks will give up hundreds of yards of field position and numerous touchdowns to boot. Because finding a person who can kick a football for a touchback nearly every time is trivial and costs only a minimum salary and a single roster spot from a scrub player, you will see those organizations who are on top of the rule changes have a big advantage. I'd like to be one of those teams. This isn't a knock on Lindell or his leg strength. His leg strength is perfectly adequate (though not nearly elite), and I feel he is a fine player who shouldn't be cut or anything silly. Many good place kickers lack elite kickoff strength. That is why a specialized player should be a must this year. Edited August 16, 2011 by akm0404 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloFan68 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 While I do like Bruce DeHaven, I think Bobby April is Probably a better ST Coach. My knock on DeHaven is that he is too conservative & predictable. I wish he would mix it up more & take some chances. A few fakes & trick/gadget plays would be exciting to watch & would keep the opponents guessing (which would slow them down a little). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 While I do like Bruce DeHaven, I think Bobby April is Probably a better ST Coach. My knock on DeHaven is that he is too conservative & predictable. I wish he would mix it up more & take some chances. A few fakes & trick/gadget plays would be exciting to watch & would keep the opponents guessing (which would slow them down a little). One of the reasons for average ST last season was that DeHaven had less to work with. There were new players and a new system and also new rules...The bills were average...and with the Offense and Defense being what it was, it really did not matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Hello there. You are wrong. Kindly never post again if you are just going to make up stupid crap that is factually inaccurate. The Bills kicked off twice, once after the first quarter field goal (2:00 left in the first quarter / 0:28 minutes into your DVR'd recording), and to start the second half - both times from the new 35-yard line position. Only the Bears first two kickoffs violated league rules. Apology accepted. Ha! Like it or not, the Bills were guilty by association. Think about it Einstein, if your opposition knowingly cheats the rules in a game where winning is everything and you don't vehemently object, you're abetting. I'll give you this; I'm confident you can speak with vast experience to what "stupid crap" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Long Beach Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 One of the reasons for average ST last season was that DeHaven had less to work with. There were new players and a new system and also new rules...The bills were average...and with the Offense and Defense being what it was, it really did not matter. While I agree that he had less to work with, the ST have consistently looked very poor to my eyes. I've got all of one preseason game to look at this year, but the coverage teams have again looked disorganized and poorly coached/schemed. Truthfully special teams are the only part of the Bills that I'm not cautiously optimistic about (well and our OL depth). I actually expect DeHaven to be fired at the end of this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In-A-Gadda-Levitre Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 FWIW, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News publishes an annual ranking of NFL special teams. For the 2009 season, the Bills were ranked 4th overall under Bobby April. Last year, we fell to #27. How much was due to the new coaching, etc. is subjective, but that's a pretty significant drop. It'll be interesting to see how Bruce DeHaven's STs perform this year. 2009 Team Points 1. Cleveland 215.5 2. Tampa Bay 256.5 3. Buffalo 274 2010 Team rankings The NFL's 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking-game categories and assigned points according to their standing in each category (one for the best through 32 for the worst). This is a composite score for those categories: 27. Buffalo Bills 413 I apologize for the crappy 2010 link. That content is reserved for subscribers of the Dallas Morning News and I pulled it from Google's web crawler cache... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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