Week One- Tony Sparano

[Rocky Landing]

It’s just over100 days until the Bills take on the Jets in New Jersey. Personally, I think our improved defense and pass rush is going to lay Sanchez out. But, odds-makers still have us as 5.5 point underdogs in our first game and also have us ranked well behind the Jets overall. This doesn’t worry me so much this early in the off season. My biggest question mark is:

 

Tony Sparano.

 

Most pundits and Jets fans believe that Sparano will be a marked improvement over Brian Schottenheimer, and I would agree. And, as the former HC in Miami, I think it’s safe to say he’s got our number.

 

I have read quite a few informed, inspired, and educated opinions on these forums. (Quite a few stupid ones as well!) I’m curious to read other Bills fan’s take on Tony Sparano as the Jets OC.

[d_wag]

It’s just over100 days until the Bills take on the Jets in New Jersey. Personally, I think our improved defense and pass rush is going to lay Sanchez out. But, odds-makers still have us as 5.5 point underdogs in our first game and also have us ranked well behind the Jets overall. This doesn’t worry me so much this early in the off season. My biggest question mark is:

 

Tony Sparano.

 

Most pundits and Jets fans believe that Sparano will be a marked improvement over Brian Schottenheimer, and I would agree. And, as the former HC in Miami, I think it’s safe to say he’s got our number.

 

I have read quite a few informed, inspired, and educated opinions on these forums. (Quite a few stupid ones as well!) I’m curious to read other Bills fan’s take on Tony Sparano as the Jets OC.

 

completely disagree - dude is a loser and nothing to fear.......he was .500 as a HC and just finding his feet with a dysfuntional bunch of knobs, expect lots of teething pains......if you're going to worry about week 1, find something else to worry about - saprano ain't it

[Captain Hindsight]

Sporano had our number when his QBs and RBs had more daylight than they knew what to do with. The amount of times our pass rush was ineffective and our run defense really more of a mirage should be over now that we have a real DC and Super Mario. It won't be as easy to run on us and with sanchez, you rattle him early and Tebow will be in, remember how effective he was playing us last year? Im not concerned with the jets

[Rocky Landing]

completely disagree - dude is a loser and nothing to fear.......he was .500 as a HC and just finding his feet with a dysfuntional bunch of knobs, expect lots of teething pains......if you're going to worry about week 1, find something else to worry about - saprano ain't it

I am not so quick to dismiss him. I think you could make the argument (many have) that Brian Schottenheimer is a loser. But, Sparano took over the Phins the season after they went 1-15, and took them to the playoffs with a 11-5 record. That's a pretty quick turnaround. And, in the two seasons afterward, the players were the most vocal in defending him. You're right about the disfunction in NY, but Sparano is most certainly used to dealing with disfunction. I would expect Sparano to solidify a run first offense and have a good idea of how to play to our weaknesses. He will also give Ryan the opportunity to focus more on defense which is, of course, his forte.

[BRAWNDO]

Another fact to remember is that the Bills have a new Defensive Coordinator to go with their new defense. So Wanny is much more of mystery to the Jets, then Sparano is to the Bills.

[d_wag]

I am not so quick to dismiss him. I think you could make the argument (many have) that Brian Schottenheimer is a loser. But, Sparano took over the Phins the season after they went 1-15, and took them to the playoffs with a 11-5 record. That's a pretty quick turnaround. And, in the two seasons afterward, the players were the most vocal in defending him. You're right about the disfunction in NY, but Sparano is most certainly used to dealing with disfunction. I would expect Sparano to solidify a run first offense and have a good idea of how to play to our weaknesses. He will also give Ryan the opportunity to focus more on defense which is, of course, his forte.

 

interested in a wager? bills will handle the jets on both sides of the ball, name the terms and i'm game.........being worried about tony saprano is laughable, he's a joke who couldn't win more games then he lost

[Rocky Landing]

Sporano had our number when his QBs and RBs had more daylight than they knew what to do with. The amount of times our pass rush was ineffective and our run defense really more of a mirage should be over now that we have a real DC and Super Mario. It won't be as easy to run on us and with sanchez, you rattle him early and Tebow will be in, remember how effective he was playing us last year? Im not concerned with the jets

I'm going to assume that any former head coach in our division moving to OC for another team, also in our division, is going to know an awful lot about every team in our division. I'm not at all worried about our pass rush- especially against the Jets. But, I think it's going to be crucial for us to stop the run this season. I think we were 28th last season? It goes without saying that Sparano knows a lot about us. It's easy to read all of the crazy headlines (and even crazier Rex Ryan ramblings) about the Jets and dismiss them as a dysfunctional mess- they are. But, they also have some talented players, and I suspect, a talented OC.

 

Another fact to remember is that the Bills have a new Defensive Coordinator to go with their new defense. So Wanny is much more of mystery to the Jets, then Sparano is to the Bills.

Good point.

[BiggieScooby]

We will win this game if we find a way to out rush the Jets. Mark my words, we win if Freddy & Spiller get a buck twenty five. I am looking forward to seeing our OLine finally start pushing the Jets front 7 around.

[Rocky Landing]

interested in a wager? bills will handle the jets on both sides of the ball, name the terms and i'm game.........being worried about tony saprano is laughable, he's a joke who couldn't win more games then he lost

I'm not going to bet against the Bills! I'm trying to figure out if I should bet heavily at the Las Vegas Hilton with a 5.5 spread! However, if you're going to use the W/L column as a yardstick, where does that put Gailey?!

[Wagon Circler]

I live in New Jersey so I see the Jets a lot.

I thought Brian Schottenheimer was an excellent off. coordinator and it was a mistake getting rid of him.Lots of motion.Always put together a strong running game.

I think the J's took a step back.

I will be interested to see what Sparano does.

It's just one game but opening day is big.

[Captain Hindsight]

I live in New Jersey so I see the Jets a lot.

I thought Brian Schottenheimer was an excellent off. coordinator and it was a mistake getting rid of him.Lots of motion.Always put together a strong running game.

I think the J's took a step back.

I will be interested to see what Sparano does.

It's just one game but opening day is big.

Me too. I thought Shotty was doing a fine job and by hiring Spoarano they basically said Sanhez can't handle the O so we goth scale it back

[machine gun kelly]

The main reason to bet on the Bills is one phrase to remember (Flutie vs Johnson)

 

Do you remember the problems we had then when we actually were pretty good? I think the mess between Tebow and Sanchez is going to be pervasive at least enough to create problems when they face us. They are not sure on what they have as one of the previous posts regarding new talent, and DC, and scheme.

 

We were menat to be a 4-3, and many players are going to be more natural in this position. Watch how Kelsey looks against the run, possibly Carrington in a significant improvement on top of K Williams and Darius. My question is more of how will Easley, SJ, etc respond, and become a very good offense. There was a lot of talk about our offense last year, but the year before we were in some respects better. We were the worst defense in the NFL in 2010. Bar none. We couldn't stop anything. Fitz numbers were actually better in his games.

 

Can we get to a place where we are stronger in the running game with I hop a better line (Yes, Fitz made the line look good in stats due to schemes by Gailey and Fitz), and can we control the clock more. I know everyone wants the New Orleans offense where they just over power everyone, but if we can dramatically improve on defense, and have a strong running game, Fitz doesn't have to be Brady.

 

Wanny will determine a lot of what we look like next year.

[Malazan]

It seems like the Bills knew exactly why a lot of teams had their number and addressed it in the off season. We'll see if the players they brought in resolve the issue.

[cmjoyce113]

I was surprised to see we were 2-6 during sporanos tenure. We got swept in 2008 and 2011. At first i though we have owned the fins recently... I was wrong.

[brenty]

how come no one is bringing up our QB coach LEE who taught sparano everything he knew about the wild cat which made him able to have a .500 record as a HC.

[Rocky Landing]

how come no one is bringing up our QB coach LEE who taught sparano everything he knew about the wild cat which made him able to have a .500 record as a HC.

Lee worked under Sparano in Miami, not the other way around. It is true that Lee used the wildcat quite successfully in Arkansas. But, that was college football. To say that he was responsible for Sparano's limited success in Miami is a stretch.

[John from Riverside]

We had NO PASS RUSH....end thread

[Hapless Bills Fan]

We had NO PASS RUSH....end thread

 

THIS.

 

We made Matt Moore look like the reincarnation of Dan Marino back there. Why? 'Cuz he 'bout had time to order a pizza, accept delivery, and eat it while waiting for a guy to get open.

[MARCELL DAREUS POWER]

im not worried about any of their players. their d is really tough and good.

 

goal number 1 to set up our pass rush- STOP THE RUN!!!!!!!!!

[eball]

I am not so quick to dismiss him. I think you could make the argument (many have) that Brian Schottenheimer is a loser. But, Sparano took over the Phins the season after they went 1-15, and took them to the playoffs with a 11-5 record. That's a pretty quick turnaround. And, in the two seasons afterward, the players were the most vocal in defending him. You're right about the disfunction in NY, but Sparano is most certainly used to dealing with disfunction. I would expect Sparano to solidify a run first offense and have a good idea of how to play to our weaknesses. He will also give Ryan the opportunity to focus more on defense which is, of course, his forte.

Bills players were extremely vocal defenders of Dick Jauron.

 

I rest my case.

[Tcali]

It’s just over100 days until the Bills take on the Jets in New Jersey. Personally, I think our improved defense and pass rush is going to lay Sanchez out. But, odds-makers still have us as 5.5 point underdogs in our first game and also have us ranked well behind the Jets overall. This doesn’t worry me so much this early in the off season. My biggest question mark is:

 

Tony Sparano.

 

Most pundits and Jets fans believe that Sparano will be a marked improvement over Brian Schottenheimer, and I would agree. And, as the former HC in Miami, I think it’s safe to say he’s got our number.

 

I have read quite a few informed, inspired, and educated opinions on these forums. (Quite a few stupid ones as well!) I’m curious to read other Bills fan’s take on Tony Sparano as the Jets OC.

 

Its a shame Sparano got fired.He did an excellent job last year with the Dolphins.

[brenty]

Lee worked under Sparano in Miami, not the other way around. It is true that Lee used the wildcat quite successfully in Arkansas. But, that was college football. To say that he was responsible for Sparano's limited success in Miami is a stretch.

 

http://www.wgr550.com/pages/12722843.php?contentType=4&contentId=10317615

 

i say he was responsible for sparano's limited success

[The Cincinnati Kid]

For those who think Sporano knows what the bills will be doing on defense: you are dead wrong. He can study Wanny's old films, but they arent with these players and skill sets. We as Bills fans don't know and neither does anyone else because its a new scheme with new players and new positions for the players who have been on the team. Nobody but the Bills players and coaches know what the D will look like against the jets week 1.

[brenty]

For those who think Sporano knows what the bills will be doing on defense: you are dead wrong. He can study Wanny's old films, but they arent with these players and skill sets. We as Bills fans don't know and neither does anyone else because its a new scheme with new players and new positions for the players who have been on the team. Nobody but the Bills players and coaches know what the D will look like against the jets week 1.

 

and i guess you can say the same thing about the jets. Jets will have a new scheme with new players and new positions for the players.

[machine gun kelly]

Wildcat is dead. Does anyone even run it with success since 2008. After two years of wildcat offensive schemes, other defenses caught up.

[eball]

Lee worked under Sparano in Miami, not the other way around. It is true that Lee used the wildcat quite successfully in Arkansas. But, that was college football. To say that he was responsible for Sparano's limited success in Miami is a stretch.

While Lee may have been hired by Sparano, it has been well documented it was Lee who brought the WC to Miami and "taught" it to Sparano.

[Webster Guy]

We had NO PASS RUSH....end thread

More importantly, we gave up over 200 yards to Reggie Bush AT HOME. No need to pass when you can just hand off with the lead in obvious running sets and still let a mediocre running back churn up the yards. That was tough to watch.

[truth on hold]

So far off no one really knows. Havent even started pre season. But question marks for jets:

 

- how can a running back dependant scheme thrive when they don't have a premier back?

- how quickly will Sanchez pick up an entirely new system?

- will the physically gifted but very inexperienced rookie WR hill be able to fill the shoes of plaxico buttress? If so, how long will it take ?

- will the desire to give tebow xx amount of snaps cause more problems than its worth in terms of timing and rhythm for the offense?

[MyHorseAteTheKid]

Who's gonna stop MAYBIN???? Just kidding..

[Mike in Syracuse]

I'm comfortable after our off-season that a number of OC's are going to be worried about our defense. I tend to think that right now Tony Sparano is thinking: "how in the hell do I stop the Bills defense"?

 

There are literally 4 guys (if healthy) on the DL that demand a double team. He's got 5 OL and he'll need eight. I like our odds. At a minimum he'll have to double Marcel Dareus and Mario Williams. Good luck Tony!