Screaming " It's The Offensive Lines' Fault "

[Guest BADOL]

Post of the year! An excellent post Mark.

 

Bledsoe has never overcome the blitz. It's been his downfall for years and he's getting slower.

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Bledsoe used to kill blitzing defenses. Fortunately, Ben Coates got old. Bledsoe is now out of rhythm, out of confidence and as you said, getting slower.

 

He's got a lousy offensive line, no big target to bail him out over the middle (Jump Travis!) and a trio of receivers in Eric Moulds, Josh Reed and Mark Campbell who kill a lot of drives with dropped balls and fumbles. You can really smell the garbage when it gets hot, and this team reeks of losers, especially on offense.

[BF_in_Indiana]

To clarify my stance, I too think that Drew is done. The thing is, I think it was the Bills OL that put the nails in his NFL coffin.

When he got here, he WAS coming off a major injury, and he still did well. In 2 years (and 2 games) he has been sacked approx. 110 times, and taken countless other brutal hits. Who could survive, let alone thrive?

I can never understand why one would downplay the role of the big, strong guys in such a brutal sport.

46215[/snapback]

 

Great post Bill.

 

The thing is, the anti Bledsoe contingent here wants to blame him for EVERYTHING that goes wrong. It's a team sport. If the line doesn't do their part up front that hinders Bledsoe from doing his part. That also hinders Travis Henry from doing his job, and the WR's to do theirs. We haven't SERIOUSLY addressed our offensive line in a long time. It's no suprise that our best years in the NFL came with an offensive line with 3 pro bowlers on it. We don't even have 3 TOILET BOWLERS on this line now.........

[Rico]

Put Bledsoe behind the OL of Seattle, the Eagles and those teams continue to win ?? Cough,cough,cough,cough...

 

and the Pats win 2 Superbowls in the past 3 years. Right ?  They don't even make the playoffs if Bledsoe was still starting.

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Plus BB would've been fired by now.

[Bill from NYC]

Put Bledsoe behind the OL of Seattle, the Eagles and those teams continue to win ?? Cough,cough,cough,cough...

 

and the Pats win 2 Superbowls in the past 3 years. Right ?  They don't even make the playoffs if Bledsoe was still starting.

46206[/snapback]

 

Why Mark, why? He already took a team to the superbowl, (perhaps 2). Why is he all of as sudden an inadequate qb, given his incredible skills?

My answer is that the Bills Organization neglects the issue of blocking. He was destroyed because of the fat, slow, inept garbage that is supposed to protect him. Then, when they try to address it, we are looking at Mike Williams with a #4 pick.

 

Drew must go? Probably. How about if he packs TD in his suitcase?

[BF_in_Indiana]

Why Mark, why? He already took a team to the superbowl, (perhaps 2). Why is he all of as sudden an inadequate qb, given his incredible skills?

My answer is that the Bills Organization neglects the issue of blocking. Then, when they try to address it, we are looking at Mike Williams with a #4 pick.

 

Drew must go? Probably. How about if he packs TD in his suitcase?

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That's another thing the anti Bledsoe people don't want to acknowledge. If it wasn't for DREW BLEDSOE the Patriots wouldn't have been to the Super Bowl in 1996 and quite possibly in 2001.

 

As I said, Drew certainly is a problem right now, but there are much bigger problems then him.

[Bill from NYC]

Great post Bill.

 

The thing is, the anti Bledsoe contingent here wants to blame him for EVERYTHING that goes wrong.  It's a team sport.  If the line doesn't do their part up front that hinders Bledsoe from doing his part.  That also hinders Travis Henry from doing his job, and the WR's to do theirs.  We haven't SERIOUSLY addressed our offensive line in a long time.  It's no suprise that our best years in the NFL came with an offensive line with 3 pro bowlers on it.  We don't even have 3 TOILET BOWLERS on this line now.........

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>>>We don't even have 3 TOILET BOWLERS on this line now......... <<<

 

I beg to differ.

[BF_in_Indiana]

I meant they weren't good enough to be in the Toilet Bowl!!!!

[Tom]

Kelly had limited mobility and was playing poorly. I have read multiple posters blaming the line for his supposed sudden retirement. I never bought into that. He had taken too many hits in the USFL, prior to even coming here. He was DONE when he retired. His play was declining rapidly. He couldn't move and was forcing/floating passes that last year.

As I remember it, Kelly had a decent season in '96 and wanted to go one more year but couldn't talk Kent Hull out of retiring so he left too. He said he'd get killed without Hull, etc.

[Rico]

That's another thing the anti Bledsoe people don't want to acknowledge.  If it wasn't for DREW BLEDSOE the Patriots wouldn't have been to the Super Bowl in 1996 and quite possibly in 2001.

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Excerpt from Patriot Reign, the new book by Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley

Billszone

in the AFC Championship on January 27, 2002, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and was replaced by Bledsoe. The veteran excitedly ran on the field and began whipping passes. He threw a touchdown pass to David Patten and made two difficult completions to Brown and fullback Marc Edwards. He completed 10 of his 21 passes that day for 102 yards. When it was over, he cried.

 

As emotional as the Pittsburgh game was--Bledsoe received a game ball--the quarterback was still being evaluated. According to the coaches' game breakdowns, Bledsoe's statistics were: one mental error, four bad throws, and four bad choices. The logical counterargument to those unflattering numbers was rust. How could Bledsoe expect to play well when the majority of his reps hadn't come with the starters? How could he be sharp when he hadn't played in a game in four months?

 

Belichick didn't view it that way. As much as he respected Bledsoe, he had an idea of what his quarterback should do. The model for that idea was Brady. Brady had shown an ability to stay calm, recognize defensive nuances, and shout out the necessary adjustments for his receivers, backs, and linemen. When he coached against Bledsoe in New York, Belichick would often present the quarterback with a "Cover 5" defense. It features man-to-man coverage with two deep safeties to help on the receivers. Belichick would tell his defensive backs to be physical at the line of scrimmage. Then he would play the educated odds, going with scientific and anecdotal research that revealed Bledsoe would not be accurate enough or patient enough to make the throws that could defeat an effective "Cover 5".

[Simon]

I think we should all just continue to completely ignore teh fact that the offensive line has actually played pretty well for the first two games.

That's borderline amazing when you consider the fact that they hardly had any time together before the season started and then opened by facing one line that had TED and Sapp and another line that has the only DT combo in the NFL that can compare with ours.

But hey, forget that they've responded well to some serious adversity. It's easier to just repeatedly scream "They suck!" regardless of what is actually happening on the field.

Cya

[Campy]

Bledsoe used to kill blitzing defenses.  Fortunately, Ben Coates got old.  Bledsoe is now out of rhythm, out of confidence and as you said, getting slower.

 

  He's got a lousy offensive line, no big target to bail him out over the middle (Jump Travis!) and a trio of receivers in Eric Moulds,  Josh Reed and Mark Campbell who kill a lot of drives with dropped balls and fumbles.  You can really smell the garbage when it gets hot, and this team reeks of losers, especially on offense.

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Good post BADOL but I'm not so sure Campbell deserves to be on that list. He's dropped what, 1 pass? And I'm not sure he's fumbled at all.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

That's another thing the anti Bledsoe people don't want to acknowledge.  If it wasn't for DREW BLEDSOE the Patriots wouldn't have been to the Super Bowl in 1996 and quite possibly in 2001.

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I know what you were trying to say, but there is no "probably" about 2001. Without Bledsoe after Brady goes down, the Pats lose with Damon Huard as their QB. It's just a shame that Bledsoe's defense (and ST's) didn't perform anywhere NEAR what Brady's did in that Rams SB.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

You can really smell the garbage when it gets hot, and this team reeks of losers, especially on offense.

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Dude, I liked this line so much, I'm adding it to my sig. Good work!

[tatonka12]

I've been watching some of the games today. McNabb had plenty of plays where he didn't have 2 seconds after the snap and still made something positive out of it. Even the stone footed Kurt Warner hit Tiki Barber and other receivers on quick dump passes when jailbreak blitzed. Favre has been pressured something fierce in this Colts game, thanks to his own teams Defense being non-existent ...has to play catchup and is still making things happen...

 

The athletic talent we now see from the Defensive side of the ball is unprecedented. Better athletes who think faster are needed at the QB position. RB's who can run, catch and block at a high level are also a necessity.

 

It's NOT all Bledsoes' fault. Nor Henrys. But 15-20 teams wish their OL was much better. The reason many still win is the skill players are very talented with well rounded games. They also produce few negative plays while making a large # of positive plays, which result in points.

 

Our playbook has a choke hold on it, due to the limitations of our QB and RB. Until we can defeat the jailbreak blitz, we will see it every week. Why ? Because #11 can't beat it and #20 can't block the sun or catch with any consistency. The result is a turnover margin we can rarely overcome.

 

Mularkey is new and will figure out who can help him win. His loyalties to certain players is zero, if the results aren't there this season. He gets 3 years to get this moving in the right direction. In the meantime, the Defense gets older and good efforts get wasted by the inability of the Offense to make key plays.

 

We drafted our future. Losman, Evans, Magahee, Euhus etc. The OL can be improved but 75% of the NFL wants to improve their OL every off-season.

 

If our current QB,RB,WR combo isn't working, then Mularkey will make changes.

 

Face up to it. You can't keep blaming the OL. That is getting so darn old. If we can't save this season...turn the page.

 

Wins over excuses. This is their last chance.

46158[/snapback]

Mark great post but,

IT'S THE OFFENSIVE LINE

[njsue]

[njsue]

That's another thing the anti Bledsoe people don't want to acknowledge.  If it wasn't for DREW BLEDSOE the Patriots wouldn't have been to the Super Bowl in 1996 and quite possibly in 2001.

 

As I said, Drew certainly is a problem right now, but there are much bigger problems then him.

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Now this is a realistic post.

When Drew puts the ball in the WR's hand, they drop it or fumble it.

YOU CALL THAT PROTECTION.

THAT OLINE CANT OPEN UP HOLES FOR THE RUNNING GAME

THEY CAN OPEN UP A GOPHER HOLE

 

Glad to see Drew yell at his oline man & Wr's just like JIMBO did.

Perphaps this will get everyones ASS IN THE RIGHT GEAR.

[BF_in_Indiana]

Thank you Sue, I try

 

I'm not going to say Drew wasn't to blame for at least 3 of those sacks last Sunday, but that still leaves 4 sacks I pin on our line which isn't good. Travis Henry should be getting more then 75 yards on 23 carries.........that also points to the line.

 

We have not seriously addressed the line problem since 1994. Sorry, but signing Joe Panox doesn't qualify as trying to build a rock solid line........

 

Like I said, it's a team sport, right now Drew isn't getting it done, the line isn't getting it done, Henry isn't getting it done, and Moulds sure as hell isn't getting it done........so take it for what I think it's worth, which isn't much sometimes.

[njsue]

They lose & win as a team.

 

Next sunday they will win as a team, just wait and see.

[nodnarb]

i agree witcha mark.

 

i've said it a zillion times, but i'll say it again...but first, let me repeat my disclaimer:

 

if there was any player that i wish i could see be whoppingly successful, it's DB.

 

There.

 

Drew can't take this team to the playoffs. And even if we were able to eke our way into a wildcard, there's no way DB makes enough plays to win the game. You can say what you want, but when this season's over and you have another 16 games to behold, you won't be in a denying mood anymore.

 

I wish it wasn't true, but it's true: Drew can make something out of nothing. He doesn't have the ability to make a magic play appear out of a broken mess. If you watch these games closely, you see offensive plays breaking down all the time, in every damn series. Watch a weekend of football and you'll see QBs do things that Drew simply cannot do. Those moments where we need magic won't be positive plays. they'll be negative plays.

 

He's too easy to defend because there are too many things he can't do. For chrissake, the one thing he's supposed to be great at he hasn't done in how long? when was the last time he put a long ball in the absolute perfect spot? More importantly, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME HE BEAT A BLITZ?

 

by now, we should be begging teams to blitz us. it leaves open one of our very talented WRs, or at least a TE or WR underneath. In two games Drew has thrown two completions on a blitz, not counting lateral dump offs for small gains.

 

That won't get it done.

 

Bills, 2004: 8-8

[Mark VI]

Bledsoe used to kill blitzing defenses.  Fortunately, Ben Coates got old.  Bledsoe is now out of rhythm, out of confidence and as you said, getting slower.

 

  He's got a lousy offensive line, no big target to bail him out over the middle (Jump Travis!) and a trio of receivers in Eric Moulds,  Josh Reed and Mark Campbell who kill a lot of drives with dropped balls and fumbles.  You can really smell the garbage when it gets hot, and this team reeks of losers, especially on offense.

46216[/snapback]

 

Exactly how I view it. The OL is bad on certain calls. Other times, they block well enough to allow the skill players opportunities to make something happen. Instead, the skill players fail to deliver. We refuse to accept this, making countless hollow excuses and blaming the OL.