It's no secret, kiss Bledsoe good-bye...

[Tipster19]

When TD announced so early that DB will have to make a decision on his income and playing status, you can rest assure that Old Tom has an alternate plan at the QB position. What that may be is the hard part to figure out. Does he have enough confidence in the youngster JP? One would think not. Or is there going to be an available FA veteran that will start? This is more than likely considering how TD didn't even bat an eye in his demands on DB. Would a trade be out of the question? The more interesting question is, who can this be? The last couple of weeks there has been posts from Warner to B. Johnson and any other FA QB. Can someone please give a reasonable insight on who and why? I don't think it will take too long into free agency before Donahoe locks somebody up. With every possible canidate, there is just as many cons as there are pros.

[CosmicBills]

When TD announced so early that DB will have to make a decision on his income and playing status, you can rest assure that Old Tom has an alternate plan at the QB position. What that may be is the hard part to figure out. Does he have enough confidence in the youngster JP? One would think not. Or is there going to be an available FA veteran that will start? This is more than likely considering how TD didn't even bat an eye in his demands on DB. Would a trade be out of the question? The more interesting question is, who can this be? The last couple of weeks there has been posts from Warner to B. Johnson and any other FA QB. Can someone please give a reasonable insight on who and why? I don't think it will take too long into free agency before Donahoe locks somebody up. With every possible canidate, there is just as many cons as there are pros.

235184[/snapback]

 

No. I doubt it.

 

His plan is JP and using the extra 2 mill to extend Clements and make a serious offer for JJ, P-Diddy and possibly another OL in FA.

[TDRupp]

One possibility is Charlie Batch, if he is and is on schedule to be healthy.

 

Pros: He knows Mularky's and Clement's system, he is fairly mobile, good arm strength, would be willing to be a #2 QB and would probably get a chance to compete for the starting job for at least the beginning of the season. He is a vet and only 31 (or 30?). He will come fairly cheap and we won;t have to trade for him as he is an UFA.

 

Cons: He has not played for a long time and has not played well for an even longer time (last 2 years starting his Lions O was falling apart, Herman Moore there other WR were hurt alot and they had a beat up James Stewart instead of Barry Sansers...).

 

Not sure about his work ethic or attitude but I have never heard anything bad about him and he has never been in trouble with the law that I know... Thoughts? I would not mind it, thinking about who else is available.

[Tipster19]

Thanks TDRupp, that's exactly the kind of insight and opinion I was looking for. I don't know if I totally agree but not a bad theory at all. I guess I'm still hoping for that Elway type even though I know that's not gonna happen.

[Buftex]

When TD announced so early that DB will have to make a decision on his income and playing status, you can rest assure that Old Tom has an alternate plan at the QB position. What that may be is the hard part to figure out. Does he have enough confidence in the youngster JP? One would think not. Or is there going to be an available FA veteran that will start? This is more than likely considering how TD didn't even bat an eye in his demands on DB. Would a trade be out of the question? The more interesting question is, who can this be? The last couple of weeks there has been posts from Warner to B. Johnson and any other FA QB. Can someone please give a reasonable insight on who and why? I don't think it will take too long into free agency before Donahoe locks somebody up. With every possible canidate, there is just as many cons as there are pros.

235184[/snapback]

 

 

Thing is, TD never "announced" that DB would have to make a decision on his income and playing status", the media speculated that this was the case. TD only said that the Bills would evaluate the Bills QB situation. Even those who broke the rumour (Chris Mortenson-ESPN) have said that Bledsoe had not been asked to take a pay cut as of yet. This may mean that the Bills have already decided to cut him, who knows? I still think Bledsoe is as good an option as any of the other options that the Bills might realistically have.

[Navy Chief Navy Pride]

I still like Mc Nair. He still has a couple years left behind a decent O-Line and wants to win before he retires. He is fairly mobile and JP can learn from that. Besides Tenn cant afford to keep him or anyone else worth a damn. Put him behind an O-line and run the ball like we do and his injuries will drop off. I for one don NOT want to take a step back before we take one forward because we will only be 9-7 in 2006 if we do. DAMN IT I WANNA WIN NOW!!!

[obie_wan]

Brian Griese

[Simon]

How about:

Goodbye to Drew and Matthews.

Hello to Charlie Batch and Brad Johnson (or maybe Kitna if the Bengals are interested in Travis) and let the 3 of them battle it out for the starter's spot.

Whoever comes into camp the best prepared is named starter in July/August. Whoever ends camp the hottest is named starter for Week1.

Ride your #1 guy for a few weeks until defenses catch up with him and he cools off (or gets hurt), then plug in your very capable #2 for a mid-season jump start.

Ride #2 for a few more weeks until he cools off (or #1 is healthy), and then either go back to your #1 or plug in your very capable #3.

Rinse, lather, repeat and then whup up on the AFC West champ in the first week of the playoffs.

Cya

[BuffaloWings]

How about:

Goodbye to Drew and Matthews.

Hello to Charlie Batch and Brad Johnson (or maybe Kitna if the Bengals are interested in Travis) and let the 3 of them battle it out for the starter's spot.

Whoever comes into camp the best prepared is named starter in July/August. Whoever ends camp the hottest is named starter for Week1.

Ride your #1 guy for a few weeks until defenses catch up with him and he cools off (or gets hurt), then plug in your very capable #2 for a mid-season jump start.

Ride #2 for a few more weeks until he cools off (or #1 is healthy), and then either go back to your #1 or plug in your very capable #3.

Rinse, lather, repeat and then whup up on the AFC West champ in the first week of the playoffs.

Cya

235297[/snapback]

Yikes....were you around for the Flutie-Johnson thing? This could turn into a disaster.

 

I really think coaches should stick to one guy, period. Wade Phillips couldn't commit and it divided the team. Dan Reeves tried the rotating QB thing one year when Elway was hurt and it badly misfired. Clearly designate #1, #2, and #3 so the rest of the team knows who they're playing with.

[brihs2005]

How about:

Goodbye to Drew and Matthews.

Hello to Charlie Batch and Brad Johnson (or maybe Kitna if the Bengals are interested in Travis) and let the 3 of them battle it out for the starter's spot.

Whoever comes into camp the best prepared is named starter in July/August. Whoever ends camp the hottest is named starter for Week1.

Ride your #1 guy for a few weeks until defenses catch up with him and he cools off (or gets hurt), then plug in your very capable #2 for a mid-season jump start.

Ride #2 for a few more weeks until he cools off (or #1 is healthy), and then either go back to your #1 or plug in your very capable #3.

Rinse, lather, repeat and then whup up on the AFC West champ in the first week of the playoffs.

Cya

235297[/snapback]

 

 

Best post of the week in my opinion... Nice job Simon

[jester43]

if charlie batch is our quarterback the 05 season is over before it starts. there is no way in hell this happens. i will gladly take another year of bledsoe over anyone mentioned in this thread.

[1billsfan]

I think we'll have either Rich Gannon, Brad Johnson or Kordel Stewart as JP's backup in 2005. I think Drew might be too proud to take the step down voluntarily.

[IDBillzFan]

How about:

Goodbye to Drew and Matthews.

Hello to Charlie Batch and Brad Johnson (or maybe Kitna if the Bengals are interested in Travis) and let the 3 of them battle it out for the starter's spot.

Whoever comes into camp the best prepared is named starter in July/August. Whoever ends camp the hottest is named starter for Week1.

Ride your #1 guy for a few weeks until defenses catch up with him and he cools off (or gets hurt), then plug in your very capable #2 for a mid-season jump start.

Ride #2 for a few more weeks until he cools off (or #1 is healthy), and then either go back to your #1 or plug in your very capable #3.

Rinse, lather, repeat and then whup up on the AFC West champ in the first week of the playoffs.

Cya

235297[/snapback]

Quarterback by committee?

 

C'mon, Simon. Really.

[Tipster19]

I agree with you Andy. A QB committee would probably destroy any progree that was made. There's been talk lately about Neil O'Donnell's availability. There may not be a bad option. At one time he had a very low interception ratio. TD is also very creative in incentive laced contracts. Give O'Donnell a very safe offense to run, he could be effective. Keep Matthews as a clear 3rd stringer and these 2 veterans could mentor JP. This way JP wouldn't lose out on the important reps that he would need as a 2nd string QB. Who knows, he may even win the starting job. Either way it would be low risk and wouldn;'t jeoparize the continuity of the team. Just a thought. Any opinions on this possibility?

[Fan in Chicago]

I agree with you Andy. A QB committee would probably destroy any progree that was made. There's been talk lately about Neil O'Donnell's availability. There may not be a bad option. At one time he had a very low interception ratio. TD is also very creative in incentive laced contracts. Give O'Donnell a very safe offense to run, he could be effective. Keep Matthews as a clear 3rd stringer and these 2 veterans could mentor JP. This way JP wouldn't lose out on the important reps that he would need as a 2nd string QB. Who knows, he may even win the starting job. Either way it would be low risk and wouldn;'t jeoparize the continuity of the team. Just a thought. Any opinions on this possibility?

235621[/snapback]

 

I also am against QB committee or RB committee for that matter. In order of preference (H to L):

- restructure and keep DB as backup

- Let DB go and get Brad Johnson as backup

 

I don't support either Batch (hasn't proven much, fragile, nto enough playing experience, not enough winning experience) or O'Donnell (too old)

 

In either case, JP should be named starter and Matthews kept as 2nd or 3rd stringer

[stuckincincy]

How about:

Goodbye to Drew and Matthews.

Hello to Charlie Batch and Brad Johnson (or maybe Kitna if the Bengals are interested in Travis) and let the 3 of them battle it out for the starter's spot.

Whoever comes into camp the best prepared is named starter in July/August. Whoever ends camp the hottest is named starter for Week1.

Ride your #1 guy for a few weeks until defenses catch up with him and he cools off (or gets hurt), then plug in your very capable #2 for a mid-season jump start.

Ride #2 for a few more weeks until he cools off (or #1 is healthy), and then either go back to your #1 or plug in your very capable #3.

Rinse, lather, repeat and then whup up on the AFC West champ in the first week of the playoffs.

Cya

235297[/snapback]

 

Well, if the B'gals dumped Kitna, their back-up would be one Casey Bramlett whose last accomplishment was leading Wyoming to a 2 -10 record in 2003. Regarding Rudi Johnson, they seem to feel that last year's 1st rounder, RB Chris Perry, will recover from injury.

 

Where Johnson ends up is anyone's guess. When franchise tag comes up, his agent claims he'd sit for the season. The n'papers now mention transition tag.

 

As I understand it, Cincy doesn't have a lot of cap space (some say that Palmer's contract takes up a lot - dunno).

 

And both Kitna and Johnson are fine team players, well-liked by other players and by management.

[Simon]

Yikes....were you around for the Flutie-Johnson thing? This could turn into a disaster.I really think coaches should stick to one guy, period. Wade Phillips couldn't commit and it divided the team.

 

Yep I was around and wanted both guys out of here post haste. This situation would bear no resemblance as in the former both guys were compete tools, while in the latter you've got three guys who are not complete tools.

And Wade's problem wasn't a failure to commit; his problem was his willingness to commit regardless of what was happening on the field. If he'd have had the guts to use both guys smartly, he probably could have saved his job.

 

Quarterback by committee?

C'mon, Simon. Really.

 

Call it a difference in philosophy. I've always believed that in certain situations you can win with more than 1 QB and I think this is one of those situations. You need a strong head coach who has his players' respect, a tough-minded squad with good leadership and 2 or 3 veteran QB's who have been back-ups before and are willing to put aside their egos for the good of the team.

The Bills can fill all three of these criterion and I wouldn't mind seeing it. Instead of sacrificing a year to a kids development, they can get Losman the experience he needs to be the guy and at the same time play some winning football by using another guy or two who have already proven that they can play well in this league. You just need to have everybody on the same page so that expectations are understood and surprises are at a minimum.

 

Innovators innovate and imitators imitate.

Mularkey seems willing to march to his own beat and I think he may have the right combination of creativity and horsesense to pull something like this off for a year or two, if he has the right tools to work with. At this point Batch, Johnson and JP strike me as the right tools.

Having Wyche around doesn't hurt the plausibility of this scenario either.

 

Cya

[BillnutinHouston]

I like the McNair option if we could afford him. TD does not shy away from injured players (i.e., McGahee).

[dave mcbride]

Yep I was around and wanted both guys out of here post haste. This situation would bear no resemblance as in the former both guys were compete tools, while in the latter you've got three guys who are not complete tools.

And Wade's problem wasn't a failure to commit; his problem was his willingness to commit regardless of what was happening on the field. If he'd have had the guts to use both guys smartly, he probably could have saved his job.

Call it a difference in philosophy. I've always believed that in certain situations you can win with more than 1 QB and I think this is one of those situations. You need a strong head coach who has his players' respect, a tough-minded squad with good leadership and 2 or 3 veteran QB's who have been back-ups before and are willing to put aside their egos for the good of the team.

The Bills can fill all three of these criterion and I wouldn't mind seeing it. Instead of sacrificing a year to a kids development, they can get Losman the experience he needs to be the guy and at the same time play some winning football by using another guy or two who have already proven that they can play well in this league. You just need to have everybody on the same page so that expectations are understood and surprises are at a minimum.

 

Innovators innovate and imitators imitate.

Mularkey seems willing to march to his own beat and I think he may have the right combination of creativity and horsesense to pull something like this off for a year or two, if he has the right tools to work with. At this point Batch, Johnson and JP strike me as the right tools.

Having Wyche around doesn't hurt the plausibility of this scenario either.

 

Cya

235762[/snapback]

i hate to sound heretical, simon, but i will go the mat arguing that flutie was a significantly better player than rob johnson when he was here and had good reason to kvetch (especially after it came out that wilson and not the coaching staff ordered him benched for johnson). he had some poor outings, but was far better in the clutch than any of his successors. remember that baltimore game against what was then an unrecognized defense for the ages?

[/dev/null]

TD has a 3 phase plan:

 

1: Steal Underpants

2: ???

3: Profit!!!

 

the underpants gnomes, 'tom brady has a new favorite receiver', and 'needs more cowbell' are incredible phrases that can be applied just about anywhere