The Moulds situation

[dave mcbride]

Did you not watch what the game plan did? It is only when we went away from the game plan did the team start to falter. The game plan was the most explosive offense we have seen here in a long time. And Eric Moulds hasn't been the Bills best player in well over three years. Not even to be considered in that category. He is a once great player.

523428[/snapback]

the game plan i watched was one that -- like all bills game plans -- worked well early but went into the tank after the opponent made the proper adjustments. it happens every game, in fact. as for moulds, he's not the player he once was, but he's still probably a better all around player than evans (who has yet to prove that he can assert his will in the middle of the field) although evans is certainly more explosive. i've said for a while that moulds has declined in recent times and isn't worth his salary, but he's declined from being (in my god's honest opinion) a top 5 receiver to just a pretty good player. also, in the past 6 weeks or so, he's put up pretty strong numbers. now is he better than mcgahee? that's a tough one -- they both run at about the same speed and both are tough to tackle. about even, i'd say.

[kasper13]

How do you figure that's idiotic? The Bills HAVE NO HEART. Moulds does nothing but whine. Now we are in an Eric Mould Love Fest? That's idiotic. The veterans are supposed to be the team leaders and lead. (Moulds, Adams, Clements). Their leadership stinks. Moulds is a cancer on this team and needs to go.

[splinter21]

How do you figure that's idiotic? The Bills HAVE NO HEART. Moulds does nothing but whine. Now we are in an Eric Mould Love Fest? That's idiotic. The veterans are supposed to be the team leaders and lead. (Moulds, Adams, Clements). Their leadership stinks. Moulds is a cancer on this team and needs to go.

523440[/snapback]

to blame our playof drought on moulds IS idiotic when we have a gm with his head so far up his ass he thinks hes smelling roses and calling the shots on our team.

[splinter21]

How do you figure that's idiotic? The Bills HAVE NO HEART. Moulds does nothing but whine. Now we are in an Eric Mould Love Fest? That's idiotic. The veterans are supposed to be the team leaders and lead. (Moulds, Adams, Clements). Their leadership stinks. Moulds is a cancer on this team and needs to go.

523440[/snapback]

and if you look again i modified the post.

[jester43]

who has the short memories? j.d. hill and rashad were long gone by the time piccone joined the bills in '77, and butler and lewis joined the squad a couple of years after later. o'j.'s last decent season with the bills was '76, which is a year before piccone arrived. and the point is that he was a marginal nfl player, not a difference maker, yet he holds a place in the heart of many bills fans. he couldn't break into the starting lineup, yet so many people have extremely fond memories of his playmaking skills. he averaged 13.5 receptions and 1 td per season and played on special teams. 'nuff said.

523424[/snapback]

people loved lou because he was CLUTCH. but yeah, he was not as strong a producer as we remember him to be. those stats were eye-opening to say the least!

 

but i totally understand...the older i get, the faster i used to be also!

[East Brady]

Agreed.

 

What's more disturbing is that the HEAD COACH seems to be against having great veteran players on his side as well.

 

Good grief.

523384[/snapback]

Great is a pretty strong term to use when discribing moulds or adams, get real.

[KOKBILLS]

This entire situation...to me at least...sounds like a Head Coach who just is no good at properly communicating his Game Plan to a Vet Player...The Vet Player then gets pissed off because he thinks he's being cast aside, and the HC gets pissed off because he feels the Vet is being disruptive...

 

Again, it may be just me, but this situation reaks of a guy who is simply not ready to be a HC, and does not know how to handle situations based on personality, ego, etc...And I know I'm definitely not an NFL HC, but I have been Managing people for over 20 Years, and I certainly understand how difficult it can be to try to keep 50 plus people happy in their Jobs...

 

Like I said yesterday the pressures of being an NFL HC are 100 fold higher than being an Assistant, and once again we are stuck with Training a HC on the job...Eric Moulds is certinly no TO in the malcontent area, I think we can all agree on that...Eric Moulds, more than anything wants to Win, I'm pretty much convinced of that also...And if you think it's just a coincidence that Moulds commented/complained immediately after the Miami Game that the Bills are supposed to be a Smash Mouth Offense, then I'm here to tell you it was no coincidence...Moulds knows Football well enough, and I'm pretty sure he sees a HC that says one thing Publicly, and even in the Locker Room, then imputs a Game Plan that is nothing like the tough talk...And I think this may just be a situation where Moulds is thinking OK, if we are not going to be Smash Mouth, and if we are going to Pass the Ball half the time, why in the world can you not design Plays to get me the Ball every once in a while...If we are going to beat them with The Pass, then at least let me help...

 

Eric Moulds sees himself as an elite NFL WR, right or wrong...And he sees how Vet WR's like Jimmy Smith and Rod Smith are used week in and week out...You can still get the guy a catch or two with proper Play Calling...Being told you are a decoy or not in the Game Plan whatsoever is a serious slap in the face to Moulds IF handled improperly by the HC...Sounds to me like that is exactly what happened here...I could be wrong though...

[Kelly the Dog]

the game plan i watched was one that -- like all bills game plans -- worked well early but went into the tank after the opponent made the proper adjustments. it happens every game, in fact.  as for moulds, he's not the player he once was, but he's still probably a better all around player than evans (who has yet to prove that he can assert his will in the middle of the field) although evans is certainly more explosive. i've said for a while that moulds has declined in recent times and isn't worth his salary, but he's declined from being (in my god's honest opinion) a top 5 receiver to just a pretty good player. also, in the past 6 weeks or so, he's put up pretty strong numbers.  now is he better than mcgahee? that's a tough one -- they both run at about the same speed and both are tough to tackle. about even, i'd say.

523439[/snapback]

No, we pretty much went into a shell with a 21-0 lead, not counting tiny little gadget plays like Roscoe's 2 yard pass. It wasn't completely stupid to get out of the "game plan" and run a little more. Clearly, the game plan was to isolate Evans and get the ball downfield deep. It produced the quickest 21 points passing in years. The first time ever a Bills player has scored three TDs in a quarter. It was by far the best game plan this season. Because it worked. It was only when they went away from that strategy with a 21-0 lead that they bogged down. And 21 points on the road should have won that game easily. While Evans may not YET be as good a player as Moulds was in his prime, Moulds is nowhere near the player Evans is right now. It's not even close. Evans gets open short and long, catches everything, scores more TDs than Moulds ever did in his career, rarely if ever drops a ball (I recall one since he got here), tries his ass off, blocks (though not as good as Moulds yet but he's getting there), and catches with his hands better than Moulds ever has.

[KD in CA]

It's pretty sad to see the only guy who's had a great career in Buffalo in the post-Kelly/Reed/Thurman/etc. era be shown the door in this fashion.

 

 

Go Bills.

[Rico]

From ESPN:

Mularkey told Moulds of his plan to suspend him during a meeting Monday, a person who has been directly informed of the discussion told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

 

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced plans to suspend Moulds. The person said Moulds, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, was shocked and confused following the meeting with Mularkey.

and MM was quoted in yesterday's D&C:

 

However, Moulds was not available to speak to the media, and Mularkey refused to divulge what was said in their conversation.

 

"That's internal, personal," Mularkey said. "Eric and I have had a good talk, and we'll keep it at that."

What a prick.

[Peter]

It is funny that people on this board want to crucify Moulds for having an opinion rather than being a robot.

 

Eric Moulds has meant more to this organization than MM ever has and probably ever will. EM also has the respect of the players.

 

This may end up completely backfiring on MM.

[MDH]

No, we pretty much went into a shell with a 21-0 lead, not counting tiny little gadget plays like Roscoe's 2 yard pass. It wasn't completely stupid to get out of the "game plan" and run a little more. Clearly, the game plan was to isolate Evans and get the ball downfield deep. It produced the quickest 21 points passing in years. The first time ever a Bills player has scored three TDs in a quarter. It was by far the best game plan this season. Because it worked. It was only when they went away from that strategy with a 21-0 lead that they bogged down. And 21 points on the road should have won that game easily. While Evans may not YET be as good a player as Moulds was in his prime, Moulds is nowhere near the player Evans is right now. It's not even close. Evans gets open short and long, catches everything, scores more TDs than Moulds ever did in his career, rarely if ever drops a ball (I recall one since he got here), tries his ass off, blocks (though not as good as Moulds yet but he's getting there), and catches with his hands better than Moulds ever has.

523451[/snapback]

 

Keep telling yourself this and don't pay attention to the D coordinators that still rotate coverage to Moulds.

 

The fact that you're trying to compliment Evans' blocking ability shows how irrational you are on this subject. Evans is a HORRIBLE blocker. The guy either doesn't try very hard or he gets called for holding, one or the other.

[Guest BackInDaDay]

Anyone with some knowledge of oL blocking? Um, Jim McNally was the first to suggest this move last year.

523435[/snapback]

 

I missed that. Where was that reported? Was it said in the context of planning an O line, or was it a muse from the Mouse?

 

He plays too tall for OG. Doesn't drop his hips enough to get the kind of leverage necessary to drive a 6'1" 330lb interior D lineman. Anyone who's ever coached the position can see that. Now if McNally remarked that he thought Williams could be coached into that spot, and then was pressed into actually doing it, he found out in a hurry that he was wrong.

 

Just cause these guys collect checks, doesn't make them the end-all, be-all.

[JDG]

Someone said Moulds was the heart of the Bills and the one constant for the last 10 seasons.

 

My question is how many playoff games have the Bills won since 1996? ZERO. Case closed.

523429[/snapback]

 

Did somebody change the rules about suiting up 44 other players besides Eric Moulds on gameday without telling me????

 

JDG

[East Brady]

you wait and see. next year when moulds is on a better team with a consistent qb with a good line, all of you moulds haters will eat your words. you all should be ashamed for ganging up on such a selfless player who puts himself before his teamates. you dont see players like him these days. go ahead bring up his children cause thats the only thing you can bring up is things off the field that have nothing to do with his contributions to the team. Something tells me his meetign with wilson might actually be a positive however. i am hoping. moulds was the reason why we beat miami the first time this year. he knows how to play them. and his absence will cause our loss to NE. Wherever he goes next season he is going to thrive. all you naysayers are gonna immediately jump the fence and start talking **** about how the management was stupid for letting him go. thats the usual pattern here.

523427[/snapback]

Bring up his multiple children off the field with multiple women???,,,, if he was a women you would be calling him alot of other names that don't include the word selfless, team player ect ect...........What he does off the field speaks alot more of his inner manhood then anything he has done on the field.....He is a pig ,,,, period!!!! He's a real character alright , boy what a man he is!!

[splinter21]

From ESPN:

and MM was quoted in yesterday's D&C:

 

What a prick.

523453[/snapback]

I wholeheartedly agree with you my friend. mularkey has been handling this liek a woman. he is the whiny woman who cant take criticism. even in the press conferences he's so damn smug and high on himself when he hasnt accomplished didly squat. I hate how TD or MM try to find idiotic ways to praise our team even in the face of a horrible loss. TD was commending eric king and jabari greer and all these guys and players (basically feeding his ego so he could feel good about the minial draft class he had in 2004/2005) I say minial because he didnt address the issues with dier need like the lines on both sides.

[Red_Tory]

What's with the attacks on Tim Tindale?

 

He didnt leave anything on the field at the end of the day. Always gave a great effort, and in fact ruined his knee for the Bills. Ended his career.

 

I am not sure why as fans we would criticize that type of a player years after the fact.

 

I have no doubt he would have liked very much to have had the skills of a Thurman Thomas - but we cant all be that gifted.

 

Chris

[bills_fan]

This may end up completely backfiring on MM.

 

We can dream right?

[BigAL]

No, we pretty much went into a shell with a 21-0 lead, not counting tiny little gadget plays like Roscoe's 2 yard pass. It wasn't completely stupid to get out of the "game plan" and run a little more. Clearly, the game plan was to isolate Evans and get the ball downfield deep. It produced the quickest 21 points passing in years. The first time ever a Bills player has scored three TDs in a quarter. It was by far the best game plan this season. Because it worked. It was only when they went away from that strategy with a 21-0 lead that they bogged down. And 21 points on the road should have won that game easily. While Evans may not YET be as good a player as Moulds was in his prime, Moulds is nowhere near the player Evans is right now. It's not even close. Evans gets open short and long, catches everything, scores more TDs than Moulds ever did in his career, rarely if ever drops a ball (I recall one since he got here), tries his ass off, blocks (though not as good as Moulds yet but he's getting there), and catches with his hands better than Moulds ever has.

523451[/snapback]

The only reason why Evans was open was because Moulds was double teamed. Lets see how he does as the #1 taking the double teams.

[JDG]

That whole scenario all makes sense except three things:

 

1. Moulds had seven catches for 84 yards in the last week, with more passes to him than in any other game and that play at the one called back would have been 8 for 100+.

 

2. That game plan and decoy produced three straight touchdown passes in the first quarter and the most productive Bills passing offense we've seen in several years.

 

3. A great deal of JP's passes are when he scrambles and rolls out and looks for anyone in a Blue jersey that's open and coming back for the ball. And the main criticism he seemed to get here early is the fact he wasn't looking off his intended receivers and going to his secondary receivers, which he is doing now.

523412[/snapback]

 

I think it is ridiculous to say that the 1st Quarter was the result of a gameplan to make Eric Moulds a decoy.

 

At least one of those TD's occurred when a Miami defender fell down. The short TD occurred on a basic slant pattern. I don't recall exactly the other TD, but it seemed like a basic deep pattern - of the kind we have used to Lee Evans for two years now.

 

Eric Moulds may not be the team's best player - but he belongs in that discussion *still*, and he is definitely our team's best WR. Last year he caught 88 for 1043 - a fine season by any standards, despite our woeful offense. Moreover, if its 3rd Down, and I am opposing defensive coordinator trying to get off the field, I definitely strongly consider doubling Eric Moulds before I think about anyone else.

 

JDG