Acantha Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 The first year of the Meathead era the Bills allowed 12 points in the third quarter TOTAL. They were the best in the league at it. Not one TD in 16 games. 779282[/snapback] We had an assistant head coach that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 We had an assistant head coach that year. 779296[/snapback] We have one now, too. What exactly does that mean? It's not part of coaching or it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile High Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Making Bobby April assistant head coach is going to pay huge dividends. The guy is a details man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 We have one now, too. What exactly does that mean? It's not part of coaching or it is? 779304[/snapback] It means Lebeau was in charge of that defense, not Mularkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 It means Lebeau was in charge of that defense, not Mularkey. 779320[/snapback] Fewell is in charge of the defense, not Jauron. And in 2004, Gray was in charge of the defense not LeBeau. And Mularkey, as the head coach, likely had as much to do with the second half adjustments as Jauron does. Just because one is defense and one is offense doesn't matter. They will have strong opinions and suggestions and then let their coordinators make adjustments. I am NOT sticking up for Muttonhead, who I am so glad is gone. And I am very impressed with the coaching so far, from Jauron, Fairchild, Fewell and April on down. I was just correcting the post that the Bills were clearly better in coaching in second half adjustments, especially on defense, than at any time in the Muttonhead era. We were unbelievable at it in MM's first year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Fewell is in charge of the defense, not Jauron. And in 2004, Gray was in charge of the defense not LeBeau. And Mularkey, as the head coach, likely had as much to do with the second half adjustments as Jauron does. Just because one is defense and one is offense doesn't matter. They will have strong opinions and suggestions and then let their coordinators make adjustments. I am NOT sticking up for Muttonhead, who I am so glad is gone. And I am very impressed with the coaching so far, from Jauron, Fairchild, Fewell and April on down. I was just correcting the post that the Bills were clearly better in coaching in second half adjustments, especially on defense, than at any time in the Muttonhead era. We were unbelievable at it in MM's first year. 779336[/snapback] Looking at it that way (the MM era), okay. But if anyone is looking at it that MM was responsible for it, I would disagree. I don't think MM had anything to do with that defense at all. Not as a 1st year offensive minded HC with both Lebeau and Grey around. I agree that MM had about as much to do with his 2005 defense as Jauron does now...which is a good say, but mostly lets his DC do the job. And I'm not even trying to say that Jauron or Fewell are great coaches (who knows yet?). I was just saying that I don't think any 2004 defensive stats can be attributed to Mularkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 On both sides of the ball the players are talking about a simplified game plan, and focusing on perfecting fewer schemes and plays as opposed to being decent at a huge playbook. This staff is just letting the guys go out there and play, and when you react you play much faster than when you need to think about things Thats usually the best way to go. The K-Gun was only about 15 set plays, plus a couple added each week for that specific opponent. Its repeating the same thing over and over again until it becomes second nature. Funny, how when we slimmed down both the O and D playbooks, the complaints about our "execution" seem to have dried up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 You don't think that maybe Melvin Fowler, Tuten Reyes and Larry Triplett are making a difference?Or that the additional experience of Losman, JPeters and TimAnderson are making a difference? I agree that the Bills definitely needed to switch out both coordinators and that the new guys are upgrades. But the health of the OLine, the addition of several palyers and the maturation of several others is as big a factor as anything else so far, imo. Cya 779076[/snapback] I think it is a combonation of a lot of things.....we had talent last year but I think we have even more THIS year.... The coaches seem to know what they have to work with and are not putting a square peg into a round hole And they seem to have a plan and are not going away from it...our coaching staff last year was weak and wishy washy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I think it is a combonation of a lot of things.....we had talent last year but I think we have even more THIS year.... The coaches seem to know what they have to work with and are not putting a square peg into a round hole And they seem to have a plan and are not going away from it...our coaching staff last year was weak and wishy washy 779363[/snapback] All that speed is great, but as you said, the Bills' run-stuffing remains suspect. The Dolphins averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and if that lunkhead Mularkey had stuck to the ground game, it might have produced a different outcome and the discussion we'd be having today would be a whole lot different. After allowing 183 yards rushing to the Patriots, the Bills gave up 4.6 yards per carry against Miami, and the outcome may have been different if former Bills head coach Mike Mularkey, now Miami's offensive coordinator, had not been so quick to abandon the run in the second half. Star running back Ronnie Brown (15 carries, 70 yards) had just two carries after halftime. From today's D&C, for what it's worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 what people seem to be forgetting is that mularkey had a pretty good first year as a head coach. however, his second year was an unmitigated disaster, even factoring in the talent/injury issues. i say this because the background noise moved to the foreground, which simply shouldn't happen: the spats between the coaches, the multiple player attitude problems, and the fractious gm/coach/owner relationship. with regard to the talent, it does appear (based on a relatively recent interview with jerry gray in the washington times) that mularkey didn't jump up and down to keep pat williams, which -- assuming it's true -- was an egregious personnel error. of course, these problems weren't all his fault, and he was unfortunate to be the coach at the end of a GM era that was clearly coming to a close by midseason. that said, he managed his part of it pretty badly, which is surprising because he had built up a decent amount of goodwill after his first season. a coach has to be at least passably decent at x's and o's of course, but an equally key part of the job is managing the offstage stuff. he failed last year. since i don't dislike the guy at all, i hope he learned something from it and gets another chance some time down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 The first year of the Meathead era the Bills allowed 12 points in the third quarter TOTAL. They were the best in the league at it. Not one TD in 16 games. 779282[/snapback] Two words for you: Dick Lebeau. He left Gray and Meathead all by themselves the next year and things imploded. Incidentally, Lebeau went to Pittsburgh and and the Stealers won the Super Bowl. I doubt you need such a history lesson, so what exactly are you saying? Meathead and his crew were good at making halftime adjustments? Then what happened last year? I cannot remember one instance last year in which I saw a halftime adjustment work out for the Bills, but I certainly remember several other teams make adjustments and beat the snot out of us afterward because there was no counter by Meathead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Two words for you: Dick Lebeau. He left Gray and Meathead all by themselves the next year and things imploded. Incidentally, Lebeau went to Pittsburgh and and the Stealers won the Super Bowl. I doubt you need such a history lesson, so what exactly are you saying? Meathead and his crew were good at making halftime adjustments? Then what happened last year? I cannot remember one instance last year in which I saw a halftime adjustment work out for the Bills, but I certainly remember several other teams make adjustments and beat the snot out of us afterward because there was no counter by Meathead. 779528[/snapback] Nope....Dick Lebeau left before that season. Lebeau was Mularkeys first choice for DC, but he took the Steelers job, wanting to go back to Pittsburgh. Jerry Gray was Mularkeys second choice. However, Gray did learn quite a bit from Lebeau the previous season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Two words for you: Dick Lebeau. He left Gray and Meathead all by themselves the next year and things imploded. Incidentally, Lebeau went to Pittsburgh and and the Stealers won the Super Bowl. I doubt you need such a history lesson, so what exactly are you saying? Meathead and his crew were good at making halftime adjustments? Then what happened last year? I cannot remember one instance last year in which I saw a halftime adjustment work out for the Bills, but I certainly remember several other teams make adjustments and beat the snot out of us afterward because there was no counter by Meathead. 779528[/snapback] I'm saying that you said it never happened in the Meathead era and it did. I also do not in any way think that you can just attribute it to Dick LeBeau, who in fact complained that he didn't have enough say in the defense. I don't think you can just ignore the fact that the head coach says things that get implemented, the DC does things he thinks should happen, and the assistant head coach, assistant DC (LeBeau) is third in line. they aren't just going to defer to him. No matter how good he is, and I believe he is a very good if not great coach, he wasn't making all the adjustments, decisions, changes in 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Nope....Dick Lebeau left before that season. Lebeau was Mularkeys first choice for DC, but he took the Steelers job, wanting to go back to Pittsburgh. Jerry Gray was Mularkeys second choice. However, Gray did learn quite a bit from Lebeau the previous season. 779535[/snapback] Lebeau was assistant HC during MM first year. He left the following year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I'm saying that you said it never happened in the Meathead era and it did. I also do not in any way think that you can just attribute it to Dick LeBeau, who in fact complained that he didn't have enough say in the defense. I don't think you can just ignore the fact that the head coach says things that get implemented, the DC does things he thinks should happen, and the assistant head coach, assistant DC (LeBeau) is third in line. they aren't just going to defer to him. No matter how good he is, and I believe he is a very good if not great coach, he wasn't making all the adjustments, decisions, changes in 2004. 779536[/snapback] Got it, Kelly. You are correct in that my initial statement was flawed. My follow-up point is that it really appears to me that LeBeau was a more important part of that 2004 coaching staff than we, as fans, were lead to believe. yes, we lost Pat Williams, too, in 2005, but the game-time woes were deeper than personnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Lebeau was assistant HC during MM first year. He left the following year. 779537[/snapback] Sigh...Sigh....See it for yourself from Steelers web page. Dick LeBeau begins the third year of his second tour of duty with the Steelers, for whom he experienced much success during the mid-1990s as both the team's defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator. Considered the architect of the Steelers' famed "zone blitz," LeBeau was named the Steelers' defensive coordinator Jan. 16, 2004, after spending the 2003 season with the Buffalo Bills. Steelers Official Web Page on Dick LeBeau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Nope....Dick Lebeau left before that season. Lebeau was Mularkeys first choice for DC, but he took the Steelers job, wanting to go back to Pittsburgh. 779535[/snapback] Exactly. No way a great coach like LeBeau was gonna work for the Meathead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 based on a relatively recent interview with jerry gray in the washington times link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 link? 779648[/snapback] i can't find it - it was this summer (maybe late spring; i can't recall), and it was linked to on the TBD front page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I wasn't crazy about MM because of all the trick plays. I DID like when he put (or tried to) a washed up, whining Moulds in his place. In his defense, I think that MM was but a puppet for TD and his ego, and was saddled with poor coordinators. I have a feeling that the biggest difference maker in terms of coaching will probably be Fewell. From what little I have seen, I am crazy about this guy. Against the phish, he sent Schobel into coverage a ton of times, yet Denney and Kelsay combined for 5 sacks! THAT is impressive. Also, the announcers kept saying that Denney was in position to catch that interception if Crowell wasn't there. Do you remember Gray, and his formations in which Schobel was so wide he was practically in the stands? Gray seemed like a great guy, but was over his head imo. Fewell otoh hit the ground running, and as you say.....with rookies. 779212[/snapback] Mularkey is not a "players coach". For some reason he did not inspire the players, especially the veterans who know him for the tool that he is. Moulds had a good rep until mularkey came along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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