NY Times Article

[hondo in seattle]

If I didn't know the Bills, I would think the recent summary of the Bills in the New York Times was awesomely detailed and accurate. But, as a fan, I found some observations that I didn't agree with.

 

"Most likely, Fitzpatrick did not get content after his big deal – he just got figured out and exposed. Call it the Tommy Maddox syndrome. Often, mid-level quarterbacks who find themselves in the right scheme will flourish early on. Teams will study them more closely and eventually solve the scheme." (Actually, the possible truthfulness of this opinion worries me a bit but I think the Bills offense will be fine).

 

"newly signed backup Vince Young has reportedly struggled to learn Buffalo’s offense and will most likely fail to supplant Tyler Thigpen" (This battle is too close to call so early but I expecting Young to win out).

 

"A big reason Buffalo got figured out last season was their wide receiving group wasn’t very good. It still isn’t." (Our receiving core literally isn't "very good" but it's not as bad as he seems to think. I'm hoping Graham, Jones, Easley... somebody steps up this year).

 

"The hope is he [Glenn] can supplant last year’s heavy-footed fourth-round pick, Chris Hairston, right away." (I've heard Bills coaches talk about Hairston's good feet. His deficiencies are elsewhere I think).

 

"With all of the above receivers lacking acceleration and quickness..." (TJ Graham lacks quickness?)

 

"Fifty million dollars guaranteed was too much to spend on Mario Williams." (I respectfully disagree under the circumstances)

 

"They don’t have much in the way of other resources outside, as Shawne Merriman is a shell of his former self." (I think/hope this is wrong).

 

"Gilmore is more comfortable in off-coverage, so he may not play a lot of press technique." (From what I've heard, Gilmore likes to press and is good at it).

 

"veteran Nick Barnett doesn’t quite play as fast as he used to, but he’s still serviceable on the strong side. He’ll be challenged by Arthur Moats," (Moats is competing with Morrison for the SAM postion, not with Barnett).

 

"There are rumblings that Moorman could be challenged by undrafted rookie Shawn Powell" (really?)

 

 

I have to give credit where due and Any Benoit, the author of this article, does know more about the Bills than most sportswriters outside Buffalo. I thought some of his observations were dead on. But others were, in my opinion, off the mark.

 

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/buffalo-bills-2012-n-f-l-season-preview/

[CodeMonkey]

"Most likely, Fitzpatrick did not get content after his big deal – he just got figured out and exposed. Call it the Tommy Maddox syndrome. Often, mid-level quarterbacks who find themselves in the right scheme will flourish early on. Teams will study them more closely and eventually solve the scheme." (Actually, the possible truthfulness of this opinion worries me a bit but I think the Bills offense will be fine).

I agree with him that this is exactly what happened the last half of last season.

The offense will be fine IF Gailey recognizes that this happened and his "offensive genius" comes out this season and he not only has an answer for that at game 1, but is capable of adapting his game plan as defenses adapt to him. Something he did not do last season but will have to do this season for the Bills to be successful. A healthy FredEx certainly gives Gailey lots of non-passing options as well.

[Kelly the Dog]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

[5 Wide]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

 

Well put.

[Captain Hindsight]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

You sure it wasnt TBD?

[hondo in seattle]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

 

I agree exactly

[Malazan]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

 

It could be a case of reporter circle jerk where he gets his information from other reporters and then sprinkles in his own genius.

[26CornerBlitz]

FYI

 

http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/148547-buffalo-bills-2012-nfl-season-preview/#entry2524743

[Bud Adams]

I put zero stock in anything the NYT writes -- period. It's not the reporter who's out of touch. It's the paper.

 

BA

[Best Player Available]

If I didn't know the Bills, I would think the recent summary of the Bills in the New York Times was awesomely detailed and accurate. But, as a fan, I found some observations that I didn't agree with.

 

"Most likely, Fitzpatrick did not get content after his big deal – he just got figured out and exposed. Call it the Tommy Maddox syndrome. Often, mid-level quarterbacks who find themselves in the right scheme will flourish early on. Teams will study them more closely and eventually solve the scheme." (Actually, the possible truthfulness of this opinion worries me a bit but I think the Bills offense will be fine).

 

"newly signed backup Vince Young has reportedly struggled to learn Buffalo’s offense and will most likely fail to supplant Tyler Thigpen" (This battle is too close to call so early but I expecting Young to win out).

 

"A big reason Buffalo got figured out last season was their wide receiving group wasn’t very good. It still isn’t." (Our receiving core literally isn't "very good" but it's not as bad as he seems to think. I'm hoping Graham, Jones, Easley... somebody steps up this year).

 

"The hope is he [Glenn] can supplant last year’s heavy-footed fourth-round pick, Chris Hairston, right away." (I've heard Bills coaches talk about Hairston's good feet. His deficiencies are elsewhere I think).

 

"With all of the above receivers lacking acceleration and quickness..." (TJ Graham lacks quickness?)

 

"Fifty million dollars guaranteed was too much to spend on Mario Williams." (I respectfully disagree under the circumstances)

 

"They don’t have much in the way of other resources outside, as Shawne Merriman is a shell of his former self." (I think/hope this is wrong).

 

"Gilmore is more comfortable in off-coverage, so he may not play a lot of press technique." (From what I've heard, Gilmore likes to press and is good at it).

 

"veteran Nick Barnett doesn’t quite play as fast as he used to, but he’s still serviceable on the strong side. He’ll be challenged by Arthur Moats," (Moats is competing with Morrison for the SAM postion, not with Barnett).

 

"There are rumblings that Moorman could be challenged by undrafted rookie Shawn Powell" (really?)

 

 

I have to give credit where due and Any Benoit, the author of this article, does know more about the Bills than most sportswriters outside Buffalo. I thought some of his observations were dead on. But others were, in my opinion, off the mark.

 

http://fifthdown.blo...season-preview/

 

My 2 cents on two points. I agree Fitz does not have the personality to become "content" after signing his extension. His collapse was due to other reasons.

Also, as for Hairston on the left side. I believe he was never projected to be a left tackle. Lets put him on the right where he belongs.

[GG]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

 

You mean like when people post here and on PPP?

[widerightradio]

If I didn't know the Bills, I would think the recent summary of the Bills in the New York Times was awesomely detailed and accurate. But, as a fan, I found some observations that I didn't agree with.

 

I had a similar reaction while reading the article, but I think most of the observations are simply disagreements rather than mistakes. For example, perhaps Hairston is heavy-footed regardless of what the coaches say. I think it's very likely Thigpen will win the battle for the #2 QB slot. Enough people on this board have made noise about Moorman being pushed that we can't exactly critique the national press for saying the same. The only comments I thought were flat-out wrong were that Moats was pushing Barnett and that our WRs lacked acceleration and quickness: As you pointed out Graham can accelerate, and although Johnson may not be fast he is definitely quick (ask Revis).

 

I put zero stock in anything the NYT writes -- period. It's not the reporter who's out of touch. It's the paper.

 

Let's keep politics out of this.

[Kelly the Dog]

 

 

You mean like when people post here and on PPP?

No. That would imply they sometimes know exactly what they are talking about.

[DC Tom]

I can't remember the last time I read an article when the author of it seemed to sometimes know exactly what was going on and came across as an astute follower--and in the next sentence seemed to have no clue what he or she was talking about and came across as an ill-informed poser.

 

I can remember very clearly: it was about 20 years ago, the last time I read a sports article in the New York Times.

[reddogblitz]

"Most likely, Fitzpatrick did not get content after his big deal – he just got figured out and exposed. Call it the Tommy Maddox syndrome. Often, mid-level quarterbacks who find themselves in the right scheme will flourish early on. Teams will study them more closely and eventually solve the scheme." (Actually, the possible truthfulness of this opinion worries me a bit but I think the Bills offense will be fine).

I don't buy this Fitz got figured out business. I believe has more to do with injuries to Fred and some of the WRs and OLinemen. Also playing with a D that stopped getting turnovers like it did in the early run and still gave up a ton of yards and points causing the offense to have to play from way behind. And WRs and RBs dropping passes. Of course he didn't play as well later in the year as he did ealier, but I don't believe it was because he was "figured out". Didn't teams figure him out in 2010? He did pretty much the same thing in 2011 as he did 2010. Took them 1 1/2 years to figure him out?

[Malazan]

The 'Figured out' portion of the season had them in the top half of offenses in the league.

[CSBill]

The tone of the whole piece is skeptical. As was mentioned, at times he seems like he knows what he is talking about, and then on other issues he is baseless. As we were all taught in College Writing 101, nothing replaces the primary source. I get the feeling everything he writes is from secondary sources: TBD, the Bills website, some NFL Network watching, a few national publications, etc. I'd bet anyone he never set foot at the BIlls training camp in the past two weeks.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

The tone of the whole piece is skeptical. As was mentioned, at times he seems like he knows what he is talking about, and then on other issues he is baseless. As we were all taught in College Writing 101, nothing replaces the primary source. I get the feeling everything he writes is from secondary sources: TBD, the Bills website, some NFL Network watching, a few national publications, etc. I'd bet anyone he never set foot at the BIlls training camp in the past two weeks.

 

He's written on every team, so I think that latter is a safe bet. My issue is that I don't think he spent an hour browsing the Bills website before writing, where primary sources such as Chan interviews would tell him what the primary battles are and how players are slated to be used under the new 4-3 defensive install. A lot of his info seems last year.

 

Shame, becaue it means I can't give a lot of credence to his other 31 articles.

[eball]

I can remember very clearly: it was about 20 years ago, the last time I read a sports article in the New York Times.

 

That sounds about right for me as well. Something about reading a game summary in which "Mr. Moon threw a 15-yard completion to Mr. Jeffires."

 

the NYT and sports just don't mix well.

 

I agree with him that this is exactly what happened the last half of last season.

The offense will be fine IF Gailey recognizes that this happened and his "offensive genius" comes out this season and he not only has an answer for that at game 1, but is capable of adapting his game plan as defenses adapt to him. Something he did not do last season but will have to do this season for the Bills to be successful. A healthy FredEx certainly gives Gailey lots of non-passing options as well.

 

Yeah, injuries to all of Fitz's receivers, Jackson, and his OL (not to mention his own ribs) had nothing at all to do with the downturn.

 

By the way, if you go look at the game-by-game offensive numbers, the "disaster" was really a four-game stretch right after Fitz's alleged injury. Over the last five games of the season the offense moved the ball quite well.

 

This "they figured Fitz and Gailey out" stuff is nonsense. What teams "figured out" is that there were few playmakers actually playing -- and despite that the Bills' offense was actually pretty good in December.

[Webster Guy]

The 'Figured out' portion of the season had them in the top half of offenses in the league.

Yeah I hate when the "figured out" term comes out . Considering how bad our defense was and how banged up our offense was, in the last three games of the year Fitz still had over 300 yards against Miami and NE and we hung 40 points on the playoff bound Broncos in a game they desperately needed.

 

If by "figured out" the author means teams started to press more and take away the quick routes that Fitz likes, New England was doing that from the first snap of the season. When we beat them.