Have you been reading the articles on the home

[Fan in San Diego]

Sam Wyche calls the Bengals game our worst game offensively.

 

Sal Moriana says the Bengals stacked the box with 8 to stop the run, daring Bledsoe beat them with his arm and he couldn't.

 

I might add that Bledsoe's inability to throw a decent short pass caused Willis to awkwardly reach for the ball that caused his injury. You could blame Bledsoe for this IMHO.

 

I'm a little worried about these articles because I believe they are telling us the truth.

 

If we make the playoffs, they are going to stack the line again forcing Bledsoe to make the throws. Can he get done? I hope so, but probably not.

 

I hope MM has a real and fair open contest at QB during next year's pre-season. Dont just hand it off to Bledsoe without being challenged openly.

[Mark VI]

Sam Wyche calls the Bengals game our worst game offensively.

 

Sal Moriana says the Bengals stacked the box with 8 to stop the run, daring Bledsoe beat them with his arm and he couldn't.

 

I might add that Bledsoe's inability to throw a decent short pass caused Willis to awkwardly reach for the ball that caused his injury. You could blame Bledsoe for this IMHO.

 

I'm a little worried about these articles because I believe they are telling us the truth.

 

If we make the playoffs, they are going to stack the line again forcing Bledsoe to make the throws. Can he get done? I hope so, but probably not.

 

I hope MM has a real and fair open contest at QB during next year's pre-season. Dont just hand it off to Bledsoe without being challenged openly.

172921[/snapback]

 

Sharp thinking has no place at TSW. The Sacred Cow must never be critisized, not even by a Coach who developed Ken Anderson, Joe Montana, Boomer Esiason and more.

 

Bledsoe should be the QB at present, while we continue to win. No question. Still, I'm NOT blind to his long list of shortcomings as a QB. He has made some solid throws over the last few weeks, against average to bad teams who were very beatable. He has also dropped his arm down to the point where he is sidearming most balls and making multiple throws behind the receiver. In closer games, against actual quality opponents, that will kill us. Wyche must be beside himself, watching DB's mechanics, which are inconsistent and poor. He has every right to be concerned, since he knows that will eventually come back to beat us.

 

Winning on the road in the Playoffs,against higher quality opponenets, is a whole different animal. How much longer can the Defense and Special teams make numerous big plays to win us the game ? A good opposing Defense, at home, sticks 8 in the box and stops the running game. So it's up to Bledsoe to get those LB's and Safties off the line of scrimmage by beating them. A bit of mobility comes

into play more than ever. So does making quicker reads, showing some touch on the short passes and locating a secondary receiver. He has yet to show he can beat it in 2 + YEARS !

 

Be it early on or later, I see Losman taking over as our starter in 2005. He wasn't drafted and paid well to ride the bench for 2 + years. Bledsoe will eventually cost us some wins in close games and the change will happen.

 

I do NOT hate DB but can clearly see his entire game and what he has to offer as a starting QB. Blinders off.

[jester43]

what he said.

[Movinon]

The truth hurts.

[Frez]

Nice

[Casey D]

Sam Wyche calls the Bengals game our worst game offensively.

 

Sal Moriana says the Bengals stacked the box with 8 to stop the run, daring Bledsoe beat them with his arm and he couldn't.

 

I might add that Bledsoe's inability to throw a decent short pass caused Willis to awkwardly reach for the ball that caused his injury. You could blame Bledsoe for this IMHO.

 

I'm a little worried about these articles because I believe they are telling us the truth.

 

If we make the playoffs, they are going to stack the line again forcing Bledsoe to make the throws. Can he get done? I hope so, but probably not.

 

I hope MM has a real and fair open contest at QB during next year's pre-season. Dont just hand it off to Bledsoe without being challenged openly.

172921[/snapback]

 

 

I think people are ignoring the weather conditions in evaluating the offense's play over the past two weeks, as well as the game situation. The wet and cold against Cleveland, and the bitter cold and wind against Cincinnati, was hardly condusive to a great passing game. Moreover, the Bills were well ahead in both games, and the objective of the offense primarily was to kill clock, and not to f#@! up. They did that just fine.

 

When the offense needed to shine, and with better weather conditions--as in the Rams and Miami game--they did. In Miami, the D was not good, it was the offense that primarly saved the day.

 

I think Bledsoe is managing the offense well. He has made some huge plays at critical times, e.g., two flea flickers to Evans, and is playing well in a system that emphasizes defense and special teams. They are not winning because of him, but they are winning because he is playing his role well in a team effort. Not to mention, the team likes him alot, and play hard for him...CD

[Fan in San Diego]

I think people are ignoring the weather conditions in evaluating the offense's play over the past two weeks, as well as the game situation.  The wet and cold against Cleveland, and the bitter cold and wind against Cincinnati, was hardly condusive to a great passing game.  Moreover, the Bills were well ahead in both games, and the objective of the offense primarily was to kill clock, and not to f#@! up. They did that just fine.

 

When the offense needed to shine, and with better weather conditions--as in the Rams and Miami game--they did.  In Miami, the D was not good, it was the offense that primarly saved the day.

 

I think Bledsoe is managing the offense well.  He has made some huge plays at critical times, e.g., two flea flickers to Evans, and is playing well in a system that emphasizes defense and special teams.    They are not winning because of him, but they are winning because he is playing his role well in a team effort.  Not to mention, the team likes him alot, and play hard for him...CD

172933[/snapback]

 

Good points. I really hope you are correct because winning is a blast !

 

Go Bills !

[Guest Forgotten Password]

I'm glad somebody finally pointed out Bledsoe's inabilty to lead a receiver with his passes, which in the case of the McGahee pass play, may have directly led to the injury when WM had to awkwardly turn back and jump to get the ball.

 

How many times have we seen Moulds have to reach back for a ball or watched a Bledsoe pass going to a back in the flat fall short?

 

When I watch Brady or Favre, I notice great accuracy in their passes. Bledsoe doesn't seem to have very good timing and anticipation for the movement of his receivers. He's close, but off just enough that the receivers have to hesitate in their patterns.

 

From the little we've seen of Losman, he appears to be able to hit his target.

 

As much as I admire Bledsoe's character and leadership, I don't believe he has the tools needed from an elite QB to lead a team to a superbowl.

 

In Joe Ferguson's rookie season of 1973, we were able to break him seamlessly because of the strength and focus on the run game. Maybe 2005 would be a good time give Losman a fair chance at the starting job, having McGahee in the backfield and the offensive line starting to gel. JP's mobility and accuracy may more than make up for his inexperience. If he's teh QB of the future, let's give him his chance. The future is now.

[Simon]

Sam Wyche calls the Bengals game our worst game offensively.

Sal Moriana says the Bengals stacked the box with 8 to stop the run, daring Bledsoe beat them with his arm and he couldn't.

 

He has his head jammmed deeply within his posterior for most of the Benglas game; he was just awful. But then late in the 3rd qrtr when we really needed the offense to take some time off the clock, Drew caught fire and proceeded to put together a couple fantastic drives in which Clements really seemed to put the game on his shoulders.

I'm wondering what woke Drew up. Did anybody see Matthews or JP warming up, or any of the staff giving Bledsoe hell? Or maybe Mularkey just whispered some sweet nothings in his ear i.e. "Glad that jacket displays fine fashion sense cuz you're about to be wearing it the rest of the day".

Cya

[obie_wan]

Sam Wyche calls the Bengals game our worst game offensively.

 

Sal Moriana says the Bengals stacked the box with 8 to stop the run, daring Bledsoe beat them with his arm and he couldn't.

 

I might add that Bledsoe's inability to throw a decent short pass caused Willis to awkwardly reach for the ball that caused his injury. You could blame Bledsoe for this IMHO.

 

I'm a little worried about these articles because I believe they are telling us the truth.

 

If we make the playoffs, they are going to stack the line again forcing Bledsoe to make the throws. Can he get done? I hope so, but probably not.

 

I hope MM has a real and fair open contest at QB during next year's pre-season. Dont just hand it off to Bledsoe without being challenged openly.

172921[/snapback]

 

 

you should ignore those comments.

 

pure blasphemy!!

 

Buffalo Bob says Drew is God - so I beleive him - no matter what actually happens on the field.

[Typical TBD Guy]

Wow! It's nice to finally have a debate about Bledsoe's flaws without being called a fake Bills fan or an ICEsuckle!

 

Here's a summary of the recent negatives with Drew:

 

1. His immobility still makes it easier for opposing D's to gameplan against our offense (by putting 8 in the box and/or blitzing up the middle without fear of Drew running wild to the sides and out of containment)

2. His throws still tend to be a little off from the receiver's path of motion, or a little too hard in the case of short to intermediate passes.

3. He still locks onto Moulds at times.

 

Here's a summary of the recent positives with Drew:

 

1. He's doing a much better job of throwing the ball away rather than taking a sack or forcing a likely intercepted pass.

2. He's been looking for/finding an open Evans and an open Campbell much more so than in the first half of the season.

3. He appears more self-confident than ever before, as evident with his resiliency in immediately leading the offense back from an early deficit, his success in selling various trick plays like fake hand-offs, and his ability to make a play when the line all around him collapses.

 

And in Drew's defense, he's had to deal with the following external factors:

 

1. Poor weather conditions in recent games.

2. The loss of both TE's, Campbell and Euhus.

3. Playing with huge leads (due to our D and ST's) that more or less force the offense to play more conservatively and predictably (i.e. run the ball a lot more, thus hurting his passing stats as well).

 

Overall, my opinion of Drew at this point is that he has clearly improved from last year and has clearly shown a commitment to improve since the pre-season. For that, he deserves to finish out this particular season.

 

However, IMO, we will still not be able to ever win a playoff game (at least an AFC one; I'd be singing a different tune if we were in the NFC) with Drew as our QB. His limitations make our offense vulnerable to good teams, even despite McGahee's presence. Our only shot is if our D and ST's continue to play lights-out football, but that is unlikely to continue into the playoffs against the likes of the Pats, Colts, and probably Bolts. At some point, Drew and the rest of this offense is going to have to carry the team in certain situations, and so far this season, we have not seen that happen against quality competition.

 

Therefore, I say next pre-season should be an open competition between Drew and JP. If JP isn't close to being ready, so be it. But if he is, then a changing of the guard is essential if the 2005-beyond Bills want to legitimately challenge the AFC elite for a title.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

What a joke. First of all, the first series saw the Bills see the Bengals stack the box. They needed to adjust. Their 2nd drive ended with a fumble by Evans when he switched hands, and that gave the Bengals a short field to work with for their TD drive. When the Bills needed it, they scored a TD on the next possession to tie the game. Then on the next Bengals drive, Peters blocks the punt and scores a TD to put them ahead by 7. Then on the next Bengals drive Spikes returns an INT for a TD, to put them ahead by 14. At that point the object was to play it conservatively and NOT screw up. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Simon]

At that point the object was to play it conservatively and NOT screw up. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

While that is certainly true, it doesn't mean that Drew didn't play like shlt 'til late in the 3rd. 'Cuz regardless of the game situation, he did.

Cya

[BuffaloWings]

I think people are ignoring the weather conditions in evaluating the offense's play over the past two weeks, as well as the game situation.  The wet and cold against Cleveland, and the bitter cold and wind against Cincinnati, was hardly condusive to a great passing game.  Moreover, the Bills were well ahead in both games, and the objective of the offense primarily was to kill clock, and not to f#@! up. They did that just fine.

 

When the offense needed to shine, and with better weather conditions--as in the Rams and Miami game--they did.  In Miami, the D was not good, it was the offense that primarly saved the day.

172933[/snapback]

 

I think these are valid points. The weather's been crappy in Buffalo and Cincy lately, so that definitely does have an adverse effect on the passing game. However, if the Bills get to the playoffs and if they want to get anywhere IN the playoffs, they're going to need to play at New England or at Pittsburgh - both of which are cold-weather towns and will have adverse weather conditions in January. I love Drew, but I am a tad concerned that the offense won't be able to do anything.

 

Not to mention, he played in New England for years and now plays in Buffalo. He should be used to winter weather.

 

I guess we could look at it this way....if they make the playoffs, their first game will likely be in San Diego (warm) or Indy (dome).

 

I think Bledsoe is managing the offense well.  He has made some huge plays at critical times, e.g., two flea flickers to Evans, and is playing well in a system that emphasizes defense and special teams.    They are not winning because of him, but they are winning because he is playing his role well in a team effort.  Not to mention, the team likes him alot, and play hard for him...CD

172933[/snapback]

 

But with the talent on this offense, they should expect more from it than they've gotten over the past couple of games. Maybe some of it is the weather and maybe some of it is the defenses know how to defend them. Remember, the biggest reason the offense is scoring points these days is because of McGahee. He brought more of the swagger and physical running that Henry didn't quite have enough of. His success opened up the passing game and made Drew look that much better. The downside is that if opponents can stop McGahee, they can pretty much stop the offense. Good thing that the defense and special teams can score now....

[ganesh]

At some point, Drew and the rest of this offense is going to have to carry the team in certain situations, and so far this season, we have not seen that happen against quality competition.

 

Therefore, I say next pre-season should be an open competition between Drew and JP. If JP isn't close to being ready, so be it. But if he is, then a changing of the guard is essential if the 2005-beyond Bills want to legitimately challenge the AFC elite for a title.

173075[/snapback]

 

Drew did play very well against the Dolphins when the Run game was going

no where and the defense put us in a hole early on.

[jad1]

Sal Moriana says the Bengals stacked the box with 8 to stop the run, daring Bledsoe beat them with his arm and he couldn't.

 

Aside from the 60 yard bomb that lead to the TD pass that tied the game, he couldn't get the ball deep. Of course the Bills didn't try to get the ball deep again, but why should Sal let that get in the way of his brilliant point.

 

Maybe he thinks that with Losman in there, Mularkey is going to start throwing deep when the Bills have a two TD lead? I doubt it.

 

Is it wrong for me to expect a sports writer to understand the current offensive philosophy the Bills are playing under?

 

If the Bills are up by 14, and the defense is stacking the box, Mularkey's going to play into the teeth of the defense to grind the clock, end of story.

 

That's going to lead to poor completion stats for Bledsoe because he's throwing into short coverages, and a low YPC for McGahee, because he's running into overloaded fronts.

 

I'd have more respect for a writer who figures out what the offense is actually trying to accomplish than for a writer who continues his season long agenda to bash Bledsoe.

[Typical TBD Guy]

Drew did play very well against the Dolphins when the Run game was going

no where and the defense put us in a hole early on.

173130[/snapback]

 

I said against QUALITY competition. The 3-11 Dolphins, by most standards, are not QUALITY competition.

[Bill from NYC]

Sharp thinking has no place at TSW. The Sacred Cow must never be critisized, not even by a Coach who developed Ken Anderson, Joe Montana, Boomer Esiason and more. 

 

Bledsoe should be the QB at present, while we continue to win. No question. Still, I'm NOT blind to his long list of shortcomings as a QB. He has made some solid throws over the last few weeks, against average to bad teams who were very beatable. He has also dropped his arm down to the point where he is sidearming most balls and making multiple throws behind the receiver. In closer games, against actual quality opponents, that will kill us. Wyche must be beside himself, watching DB's mechanics, which are inconsistent and poor. He has every right to be concerned, since he knows that will eventually come back to beat us.

 

  Winning on the road in the Playoffs,against higher quality opponenets, is a whole different animal. How much longer can the Defense and Special teams make numerous big plays to win us the game ? A good opposing Defense, at home, sticks 8 in the box and stops the running game. So it's up to Bledsoe to get those LB's and Safties off the line of scrimmage by beating them. A bit of mobility comes

into play more than ever. So does making quicker reads, showing some touch on the short passes and locating a secondary receiver.  He has yet to show he can beat it in 2 + YEARS !

 

  He wasn't drafted and paid well to ride the bench for 2 + years. Bledsoe will eventually cost us some wins in close games and the change will happen.

 

I do NOT hate DB but can clearly see his entire game and what he has to offer as a starting QB. Blinders off.

172927[/snapback]

 

>>>Be it early on or later, I see Losman taking over as our starter in 2005.<<<

 

I guess this depends a little bit on whether or not JP is capable of being an NFL qb.

Drew is capable. This is why only 17 humans have thrown for more yards in NFL history.

[bills_fan]

But, you neglected to point out that Sam Wyche also referred to the game as a "speed bump" and that our offense will get it turned around.

 

The game that really showed me the O was coming on was the Miami game. No way we win that game without Bledsoe. He won the game for us.

 

Now, is it perfect? No. But its a lot better than its been. Given another offseason, McGahee getting his speed back, the return of our TEs healthy and maybe an OL upgrade, I really think our team has the potential to be explosive offensively.

 

I know that I don't have the same oh no here we go again feeling every time our O takes the field like I did last year and the beginning of this year. It is still a work in progress, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

[34-78-83]

But, you neglected to point out that Sam Wyche also referred to the game as a "speed bump" and that our offense will get it turned around. 

 

The game that really showed me the O was coming on was the Miami game.  No way we win that game without Bledsoe.  He won the game for us.

 

Now, is it perfect?  No.  But its a lot better than its been.  Given another offseason, McGahee getting his speed back, the return of our TEs healthy and maybe an OL upgrade, I really think our team has the potential to be explosive offensively. 

 

I know that I don't have the same oh no here we go again feeling every time our O takes the field like I did last year and the beginning of this year.  It is still a work in progress, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

173207[/snapback]

 

Well stated. I agree with all of this...