How about that Evans

[dave mcbride]

Damn! It was really more tongue in cheek than anything else.

 

Bottom line is, we can rehash the Evans trade for the entire 2011 season but it's kinda pointless.

I gotcha, but it's worth stating for the less experienced here that Sanners is one of the strong old timers on this board.

[pimp on da' net]

Who needs that game changing ability, we got like every UDFA WR in the NFL lined up to replace him and now MARTIN!!! SUPER BOWL BABY!!!

 

:wallbash:

 

I have been saying it for years...put Evans on a team with a REAL QB and this guy will be a stud...He has been in Balt 2 weeks and has been the best WR on the field for the Ravens in both preseason games despite no history with Flacco...

 

Buffalo, the place to go to waste careers, Bills don't seem to understand how to build around your talent

Who needs him he can only catch the deep ball...Just wait Stevie J hopefully last year wasn't because of him because the fanatics will be planning a lynch-mob after you once the ink dries on your extension. I can hear it now..."Defenses are over-playing him","he can't stretch the defense"

 

And the saga continues...

[offyourocker]

Agreed. Painful

 

 

Agree but I am happy for Lee. He was a class act the whole time on a joke of a team.

 

Means everything, John. We had this conversation in the shout box. Our offensive personnel is not conducive to the play that Flacco made to Evans. It's that simple.

 

I hope Lee goes to the playoffs and makes the Pro Bowl. That has no bearing on anything the Bills are doing anyway.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

 

The offensive tackles we got on sale at Walmart would not allow enough time for a receiver to go deep is what you are saying?

[Smiley Dear]

I like Lee, but let's wait until the games count and where there is some defensive planning and strategy outside of running the base defense before finalizing the bronze for Canton.

 

This..AND.. Lee was never going to resign with us after this year. We were not going to the playoffs this year with or without Lee Evans, so they traded him for a 4th. Which is exactly what the Pats got for Moss. No one was going to give up more for a homerun threat who has one or 2 good games a year and disappears for the rest. Like it or not that's been Lee's reputation for the past 3 years.

[K-9]

Agree but I am happy for Lee. He was a class act the whole time on a joke of a team.

 

 

 

 

The offensive tackles we got on sale at Walmart would not allow enough time for a receiver to go deep is what you are saying?

 

Let's just say our 5 and 7 step drops will be cliffhangers until our Walmart Wall can show some consistency. The key will be to stay in manageable down/distance situations to keep a defense honest. We'll be able to take shots down field when we don't HAVE to take shots down field.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[SteamRoller67]

why do we continue to cry over spilled milk? lee was great as a bill and will always be appreciated for his time in buffalo but he is gone now and isn't coming back. that's it. period. can we at least try to move on????

 

Because it's one fleecing or bad decision after another! The Bills are 15-20 million under the cap and they trade away one of the games' best deep threats for a pick that will turn into a freakin safety or cornerback that gets cut in 2 years.

 

We should have "spilled milk" as the logo on our helmets, the Bills are that embarrassing of an organ-I-zation.

Edited August 26, 2011 by SteamRoller67

[pimp on da' net]

I dont suppose the fact that Lee would not do that on this team with this offensive scheme means anything at all here.......

I dont suppose we cant just be happy for a class act like Lee.....and tend to our own business?

 

LOL... i just love when I see this statement, SMH.The issue is as a coach (which I've been for years) Its hard to imagine how you don't incorporate a talent like that in your offensive plans? With that type of speed you use to your advantage...case in point, note the first couple of short passes to Lee set-up the deep ball. This notion of he only goes for the deep ball is BOLOGNA.

[Mr. WEO]

I dont suppose the fact that Lee would not do that on this team with this offensive scheme means anything at all here.......

 

I dont suppose we cant just be happy for a class act like Lee.....and tend to our own business?

 

 

Means everything, John. We had this conversation in the shout box. Our offensive personnel is not conducive to the play that Flacco made to Evans. It's that simple.

 

I hope Lee goes to the playoffs and makes the Pro Bowl. That has no bearing on anything the Bills are doing anyway.

 

GO BILLS!!!

What NFL offense doesn't utilize a deep threat WR on the roster? One that scores 17.7 points a game I guess.

 

Fitzgerald couldn't have thrown that pass to Evans? We don't have the personnel for fly pattern? That's crazy?

[bobobonators]

Because it's one fleecing or bad decision after another! The Bills are 15-20 million under the cap and they trade away one of the games' best deep threats for a pick that will turn into a freakin safety or cornerback that gets cut in 2 years.

 

We should have "spilled milk" as the logo on our helmets, the Bills are that embarassing of an organ-I-zation.

 

LOL!

[truth on hold]

I bet ravens wouldn't take a 2nd for him now, for sure not a 3rd

[bobobonators]

What NFL offense doesn't utilize a deep threat WR on the roster? One that scores 17.7 points a game I guess.

 

Fitzgerald couldn't have thrown that pass to Evans? We don't have the personnel for fly pattern? That's crazy?

 

Though still early, it appears we may not have the personnel for a QB kneel either.

[NoSaint]

This..AND.. Lee was never going to resign with us after this year. We were not going to the playoffs this year with or without Lee Evans, so they traded him for a 4th. Which is exactly what the Pats got for Moss. No one was going to give up more for a homerun threat who has one or 2 good games a year and disappears for the rest. Like it or not that's been Lee's reputation for the past 3 years.

Didn't he have 2 years left?

[K-9]

What NFL offense doesn't utilize a deep threat WR on the roster? One that scores 17.7 points a game I guess.

 

Fitzgerald couldn't have thrown that pass to Evans? We don't have the personnel for fly pattern? That's crazy?

 

If you think we have an OLine that is conducive to 5 and 7 step drops, I don't know what you've been watching.

 

And no, Fitz can't make that throw with ANY type of consistency whereas Flacco can air it out whenever he wants.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Silvercrw]

I tell you that this Lee Evans thing has really gotten to me. Really the Bills gave him up for free for what reason? To save money

[benderbender]

Didn't he have 2 years left?

 

That tells you something right there. You ship out a team captain with years left on his contract without a money dispute or behavior issues to make more cap room when you already have 20 million worth of cap space already.

[NaPolian8693]

The whole argument about not having the personnel or scheme to utilize him is ridiculous.

 

By that logic, we should jettison every decent player on the team because we don't have good personnel or a good scheme. You need many pieces to the puzzle. If you have a decent piece, you don't throw it away.

[Mr. WEO]

If you think we have an OLine that is conducive to 5 and 7 step drops, I don't know what you've been watching.

 

And no, Fitz can't make that throw with ANY type of consistency whereas Flacco can air it out whenever he wants.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Now Fitzgerald can't even take a five step drop?? Watch a little closer.

[K-9]

The whole argument about not having the personnel or scheme to utilize him is ridiculous.

 

By that logic, we should jettison every decent player on the team because we don't have good personnel or a good scheme. You need many pieces to the puzzle. If you have a decent piece, you don't throw it away.

 

Why do YOU think Evans wasn't utilized like he should have been then? What could the reason POSSIBLY be with an offensive coach WELL KNOWN to adapt his schemes to his personnel. Please, tell me why Evans wasn't used like Baltimore is using him.

 

I'm not happy Evans is gone. Didn't like that they traded him at all. But he was wasted on our offense and I'm glad he'll at least have a chance to salvage something in his career. I'm sorry it couldn't have been in Buffalo.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Defend Greece]

Wait he only catches go routes is what I see on this forum, who was blocking, catching a slant and a 12 yard come back wearing 83?

[flmike]

Let's see what happens when the season starts and he disappears in real coverages. Ability will look good in preseason, but I'm curious to see what happens when real blitzing and good corners get into the act.

[Mr. WEO]

Why do YOU think Evans wasn't utilized like he should have been then? What could the reason POSSIBLY be with an offensive coach WELL KNOWN to adapt his schemes to his personnel. Please, tell me why Evans wasn't used like Baltimore is using him.

 

I'm not happy Evans is gone. Didn't like that they traded him at all. But he was wasted on our offense and I'm glad he'll at least have a chance to salvage something in his career. I'm sorry it couldn't have been in Buffalo.

 

GO BILLS!!!

So a HC who is well known for adapting his schemes to his personnel couldn't scheme for his #1 WR?

 

Your pretzel logic may have convinced you that getting rid of Evans was required for this team to succeed offensively, but I am not moved by this argument.

 

Also, as D. Greece points out, seems like Evans can do more than run a 9. He had a nice quick slant (no drop back) over the middle I saw. Guess he finally found a HC/OC who could scheme for his personnel.

[John from Riverside]

To be fair, it seems like Chan is the one guy who has done this on the offensive side of the ball. He just struck me as being displeased at Lee's ability to be a short to mid-range receiver.

 

This

 

 

People are complaining just dont get it....

 

- Lee IS a very good receiver.....and we got raped on the trade....but that is what happens in this situation.

 

- Chan isnt going to biuld his offense around 1 player.....what we have are a bunch of young, good sized, route runners and 1 very good speed receiver who wont run underneath routes......he is going to look better on a team that utilizes his talent....why cant people understand that.......

 

- Lee would not be doing that here....and for those who question that LOOK AT THE LAST TWO SEASONS

[K-9]

Now Fitzgerald can't even take a five step drop?? Watch a little closer.

 

Here we go on another WEO go round. First you conveniently ignore the 7 step. And I never said Fitz couldn't take a 5 step drop. I said in a previous post that if we aren't in manageable down/distance that, with our OLine, we won't have time for 5 and 7 step drops. There is also the question of Fitz's limited arm strength. But all that's really not the point.

 

I suggest you watch a little closer. Pay careful attention to the routes we run on those drops. And while you're at it, acquaint yourself with the concept of exactly what it means to get the ball out "on time." But most importantly please be sure to pay special attention to how that timing is effected by pass protection or lack thereof.

 

Finally, and as I said in response to another poster, why did an offensive coach who is well known for adapting his offenses to the personnel he has on hand decide to design this offense the way he did? Why is it predominantly short, timing patterns? Why do you suppose we couldn't utilize that great deep threat more often?

 

GO BILLS!!!

[QB Bills]

I really don't think trading Lee was a cost-cutting move. According to reports, they had already paid him a million bucks when camp started and his salary the next two years was around 6 million combined..hardly enough to break the bank. Something else must have happened behind the scenes after camp started. Whether Gailey the offensive guru wanted to showcase him even less than last year or whatever.

 

Or its more along the lines of Nix wanting to build a team consisting of players he brought in on his own, even if it's to the detriment of the team. Being a Leafs fan, I see the same crap being pulled by Brian Burke the last couple of years with the Leafs so I can smell the BS.

 

In any case, this is just another small example of why it's pretty much impossible to think that the Bills can ever compete for a Super Bowl again. We laugh and joke about it here but it's really quite sad that a lot of the posters on this board could do a better job at player personnel than the buffoons running the show for the last few years.

 

Anyone with even a minute amount of football knowledge can see how talented Lee is but also how badly underused he was here. I wish him nothing but the best. Class act and he deserves all the accolades that are going to come his way in the near future.

[K-9]

So a HC who is well known for adapting his schemes to his personnel couldn't scheme for his #1 WR?

 

Your pretzel logic may have convinced you that getting rid of Evans was required for this team to succeed offensively, but I am not moved by this argument.

 

Also, as D. Greece points out, seems like Evans can do more than run a 9. He had a nice quick slant (no drop back) over the middle I saw. Guess he finally found a HC/OC who could scheme for his personnel.

 

Getting rid of Evans was certainly NOT required for the offense to succeed. I never said that. Never even remotely suggested it.

 

Fitz hit Evans on some slants last season as well, BTW. And I think D Greece is correct as well, looks like Evans is in a system that has the personnel to take advantage of what he provides. Your insistence that the Bills do, however, is nonsense.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[NaPolian8693]

So the Bills "don't have the personnel" to utilize a good, fast WR.

 

I guess they should just never go deep, eh? Sounds like a GREAT offensive gameplan. No one will be able to exploit that!

 

We don't have a good line that can protect a QB, should we try to avoid a good QB prospect them since we don't have the personnel to utilize him?

 

Who else on the team should we throw away for nothing because we are "lacking the personnel to take advantage of them"?

 

LOL

[Captain Hindsight]

Finally got what everyone wanted on this board for years. He may have been a one trick pony but it was a damn good trick

[Mr. WEO]

Here we go on another WEO go round. First you conveniently ignore the 7 step. And I never said Fitz couldn't take a 5 step drop. I said in a previous post that if we aren't in manageable down/distance that, with our OLine, we won't have time for 5 and 7 step drops. There is also the question of Fitz's limited arm strength. But all that's really not the point.

 

I suggest you watch a little closer. Pay careful attention to the routes we run on those drops. And while you're at it, acquaint yourself with the concept of exactly what it means to get the ball out "on time." But most importantly please be sure to pay special attention to how that timing is effected by pass protection or lack thereof.

 

Finally, and as I said in response to another poster, why did an offensive coach who is well known for adapting his offenses to the personnel he has on hand decide to design this offense the way he did? Why is it predominantly short, timing patterns? Why do you suppose we couldn't utilize that great deep threat more often?

 

GO BILLS!!!

You said the offense couldn't supporting 5 or 7 step drops. Fitzgerald is our QB. So i assumed you meant that Fitz would not be taking 5 (or 7) step drops.

 

Getting rid of Evans was certainly NOT required for the offense to succeed. I never said that. Never even remotely suggested it.

 

Fitz hit Evans on some slants last season as well, BTW. And I think D Greece is correct as well, looks like Evans is in a system that has the personnel to take advantage of what he provides. Your insistence that the Bills do, however, is nonsense.

 

GO BILLS!!!

I insist that even a bad offense can use a veteran very good WR who has speed to go deep and run slants across the middle. Looks like I'm not alone.

[QB Bills]

Here we go on another WEO go round. First you conveniently ignore the 7 step. And I never said Fitz couldn't take a 5 step drop. I said in a previous post that if we aren't in manageable down/distance that, with our OLine, we won't have time for 5 and 7 step drops. There is also the question of Fitz's limited arm strength. But all that's really not the point.

 

I suggest you watch a little closer. Pay careful attention to the routes we run on those drops. And while you're at it, acquaint yourself with the concept of exactly what it means to get the ball out "on time." But most importantly please be sure to pay special attention to how that timing is effected by pass protection or lack thereof.

 

Finally, and as I said in response to another poster, why did an offensive coach who is well known for adapting his offenses to the personnel he has on hand decide to design this offense the way he did? Why is it predominantly short, timing patterns? Why do you suppose we couldn't utilize that great deep threat more often?

 

GO BILLS!!!

The short answer? It's because he's not as smart as you think he is. Lee is good at catching any kind of pass. Just because it's been said on this board over and over again that he's afraid to go over the middle doesn't make it true. Just off the top of my head I remember him catching one against the Jets and splitting the safeties to go in for the score. (Please save the "oh, one time" responses).

 

This rationale you (and others who use that argument) use pretty much says that Lee could put up 1500 yards and 20 tds this year with the Ravens and it would still have been a good move to get rid of him because we can't take advantage of his skills in this offense. Well congrats because that mentality is shared by the front office at OBD and is the reason why we haven't seen a playoff game in over a decade. Basically what you're saying is no matter how talented the player is, his production will be capped because the rest of the offense isn't good enough to complement him. And that makes Gailey a good coach? If you ask me, that's actually a great argument against Gailey's coaching prowess.

 

Tearing it up for Baltimore tonight!

Who needs an all-pro talent when you have Felton Huggins? See that TD Saturday?

[K-9]

You said the offense couldn't supporting 5 or 7 step drops. Fitzgerald is our QB. So i assumed you meant that Fitz would not be taking 5 (or 7) step drops.

 

 

I insist that even a bad offense can use a veteran very good WR who has speed to go deep and run slants across the middle. Looks like I'm not alone.

 

Well, if you think a QB taking 3,5,or 7 step drops is strictly a function of the QB, then I'm wasting my time.

 

I agree that even the worst offense in the league can use a Lee Evans. I never said the Bills couldn't use him. I merely state that our offense, as presently constituted, does not lend itself to what Evans does best. If you think he can make a living on slants and crossing patterns over the middle fine. But I doubt the Ravens got a Ferrarri to make trips to the corner store.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The short answer? It's because he's not as smart as you think he is. Lee is good at catching any kind of pass. Just because it's been said on this board over and over again that he's afraid to go over the middle doesn't make it true. Just off the top of my head I remember him catching one against the Jets and splitting the safeties to go in for the score. (Please save the "oh, one time" responses).

 

This rationale you (and others who use that argument) use pretty much says that Lee could put up 1500 yards and 20 tds this year with the Ravens and it would still have been a good move to get rid of him because we can't take advantage of his skills in this offense. Well congrats because that mentality is shared by the front office at OBD and is the reason why we haven't seen a playoff game in over a decade. Basically what you're saying is no matter how talented the player is, his production will be capped because the rest of the offense isn't good enough to complement him. And that makes Gailey a good coach? If you ask me, that's actually a great argument against Gailey's coaching prowess.

 

All that might make sense to me if I ever felt that way about Lee Evans, let alone said those things about Lee Evans. It would make more sense if I wasn't pissed off that they traded him. I like Lee Evans. If he never caught a pass, I would still love and find value in the attention he commands from opposing defenses.

 

All I'm saying is that our offense, as presently constituted, just doesn't lend itself to what he does best. On a personal level I'm happy Lee will be in a system with a QB that can exploit what he does best.

 

Finally, ANY talented player will have his production effected by the rest of the people around him. But my question wasn't why do I think Gailey is a great coach, it was why is our offense designed around a short passing game and timing patterns predominantly? To just say it's because Gailey isn't as smart as I think he is really is no answer at all.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited August 26, 2011 by K-9

[Mr. WEO]

Well, if you think a QB taking 3,5,or 7 step drops is strictly a function of the QB, then I'm wasting my time.

 

I agree that even the worst offense in the league can use a Lee Evans. I never said the Bills couldn't use him. I merely state that our offense, as presently constituted, does not lend itself to what Evans does best. If you think he can make a living on slants and crossing patterns over the middle fine. But I doubt the Ravens got a Ferrarri to make trips to the corner store.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Look, you said our QB wouldn't struggle to take 5 or 7 step drops behind this offense. I'm disagreeing. Fitzgerald will take plenty of them.

 

Evans is a talented WR who can, as we see, run various routes. I've never heard of an offense who could not lend itself to what Evans does best.

 

In retrospect, this deal makes great sense to you, we get it. Your argument would be more convincing if you came to this conclusion (he is I'll fit for our apparently very unusual offense) well before he was traded.

[Rob's House]

won't go across the middle? right chan, maybe not for you.

Dude, we agree about something!

[K-9]

Look, you said our QB wouldn't struggle to take 5 or 7 step drops behind this offense. I'm disagreeing. Fitzgerald will take plenty of them.

 

Evans is a talented WR who can, as we see, run various routes. I've never heard of an offense who could not lend itself to what Evans does best.

 

In retrospect, this deal makes great sense to you, we get it. Your argument would be more convincing if you came to this conclusion (he is I'll fit for our apparently very unusual offense) well before he was traded.

 

No, I said if we are not in manageable down/distance situations then we WOULD struggle with deeper drops given our OLine.

 

So you ARE saying our offense can lend itself to what Evans does best? The last two years seem to contradict that assertion. What are the commonalities in our offense over those two years?

 

There is nothing unusual about our offense as far as offenses predicated on short routes and timing patterns go. But you still haven't decided to answer my question as to why an offense might be designed that way in the first place. It isn't rocket surgery for crissakes.

 

So if I had laid out this argument BEFORE Evans was traded you'd be more convinced? Seems there have been an inordinate amount of posts the last couple years decrying the fact that we are just wasting Evans. I don't believe for a second you'd have been any more convinced one way or the other.

 

And for the record, since I think there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Evans was moved to save money more than anything else, this deal makes little sense to me in retrospect.

 

Flacco makes a beautiful long pass to Evans on the fly and everyone is pissed that he's not doing that for us anymore. My assertion was that Evans WASN'T doing that for us and wouldn't do that for us because that's NOT us. I laid out some reasons why I think that is. None of those reasons has anything to do with Evans' ability as a receiver.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Bill from NYC]

Good luck to Lee but fear not. Spiller will soon break an amazing TD run (or maybe a pass) and this board too will be ecstatic. I am sure of this.

 

Then, we will see what both of them do in real games.

[eball]

Good luck to Lee but fear not. Spiller will soon break an amazing TD run (or maybe a pass) and this board too will be ecstatic. I am sure of this.

 

Then, we will see what both of them do in real games.

LOL, you crack me up Bill.

 

Go Bills!

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

Can anyone Imagine what Peyton would do with this guy?

[zow2]

Happy for Lee. He deserves to see playoffs in his career.

how about Tyrod Taylor though? Ravens look like they have another good young qb to develop. I'm envious of their qb situation.

[3rdnlng]

Look, you said our QB wouldn't struggle to take 5 or 7 step drops behind this offense. I'm disagreeing. Fitzgerald will take plenty of them.

 

Evans is a talented WR who can, as we see, run various routes. I've never heard of an offense who could not lend itself to what Evans does best.

 

In retrospect, this deal makes great sense to you, we get it. Your argument would be more convincing if you came to this conclusion (he is I'll fit for our apparently very unusual offense) well before he was traded.

 

Listen, I don't know what all the argument here is about. If we continue to play "Fitzgerald" here as quarterback we might as well get rid of all our wide receivers. No one is going to catch a pass from some guy named "Fitzgerald" in this offense.

Edited August 26, 2011 by 3rdnlng

[Frez]

Trading Lee Evans in his prime......makes me sick to my stomach. Hey, we got a nice 4th rounder for him though!

[tennesseeboy]

I rewmember posting a few weeks ago that we still needed depth at wide receiver and getting the reaction that that was an absurd statement. And that was when we HAD Evans. What possessed us to think that our present cop of receivers were good enough and deep enough to go into the season is beyond me. I don't know what the coaching and managing staff was thinking.