My Meaningless Opinion

[R. Rich]

Well, we made it back last night. I did take plenty of pics, and I'll try to get 'em uploaded as quickly as possible.

 

We arrived in town either very late Friday or very early Saturday..........'bout 2:30am! Due to work issues, we couldn't leave 'til late Friday night. Saturday, we slept in a bit, did some shopping (screw you, Casual Male!!!), and hung w/ Alaska Darin and his buddy Rob ("What team do you root for again?") before heading over to the Hall for the enshrinement ceremony.

 

As we were heading into Fawcett Stadium, I finally got to meet my all time favorite Buffalo Bill: Kent Hull! He was very nice and was happy to chat w/ me for a minute or so and to take a photo w/ me. I don't ask for autographs, so the photo and the chat were more than enough for me! I also saw a few other Bills: Steve Tasker, Paul Maguire, Darryl Talley, Andre Reed (not the most pleasant fellow), and current guys like Brian Moorman, Rian Lindell, Ryan Denney, Trent Edwards, and Lee Evans.

 

I thought the enshrinement ceremony was good overall. Half of the speeches (McDaniel, Bruuuuuce, and, surprisingly enough, Ralph) were actually quite good. Staubach's acceptance for Hayes wasn't as good as it could've been (maybe the son should've done it?), and both Carl Peterson and Rod Woodson just rambled on and on and on and on and on and on and on.....

 

The ony TBDer I got to see on Saturday (aside from Darin, who was staying @ the same hotel I was and who sat next to us for the ceremony/game) was Jay Rubeo and the star of all Buffalo Bills events, Jay's son Ben. Didn't see him on the big screen this time, but he did seem to do okay w/ the players in terms of autographs. As usual.

 

Our Sunday started w/ a trip to the Hall to see the new busts and exhibits, then we headed to Cleveland to visit some family members we don't get to see much. We met for lunch, then headed back to Canton to meet up w/ Darin and Rob and go over for the game. Speaking of...

 

Good things:

Um.......well...........the throwback unis are better than the regular ones? Nah, seriously, I was impressed by the play of Eric Wood, Nic Harris, and Reggie Corner. Harris showed the ability to hit (shocking) and go through people instead of trying to drag 'em down flag football style. Corner made a few very nice plays, including the INT. Wood showed lots of nastiness (made a beautiful hit on the play @ the goal line.....to bad we threw a pass on the play AND it was knocked down!) and was what many people hope for: a guy who appears to be stout in the middle of the line. I also saw some flashes from guys like Ellis Lankster (great pass breakup where he went over the shoulder of the wideout w/out interfering!), Derrick Jones, Xavier Omon, and Posluszny (took better angles and was far more aggressive in pursuit, I thought).

 

Bad things:

Coaching Preparedness 101: Welcome to 2006. If this team has gotten any better in terms of making adjustments to what the opponent is doing successfully or in managing the game/clock during Jauron's tenure, then I haven't seen it. Wasting timeouts on field goal attempts? In PRE-SEASON??? Calling for a dive play from a shotgun formation w/ time running out in the first half (I sarcastically called that play to Darin before the snap...I had no idea they'd actually do it, though I probably should have)???? Where is the improvement in these fundamental areas? As for strategy, why do our LBs show a cover 2 read so often? Why do they not position themselves to attack the flat (Schobel could've used some of that on the bootleg pass play)? Why does it appear that they are coached to "read and react", much like Walt Corey's defenses, instead of reading and attacking on the fly? I'm not sure if the Bills simply don't have the guys to run their scheme as they want to, or if their scheme just simply is flawed. All I do know is that it isn't anywhere close to being effective. But, it's early, so there's time to tweak things. Hurry up, fellas. Also, our backup QB looked awful. Much work to be done there. Oh, and did Evans get fined for skipping the game? I know I saw him being interviewed on Saturday during the induction ceremony. Then.....nothing. No need for the milk carton treatment, is there? Hope not.

 

Anyway, after the game, I did get to catch up w/ a few TBDers: Jack, Lori, and Aussie (ever so briefly). Sorry I didn't make your tailgates. We'll make up for it next month @ the opener.

 

Hey Jack and Lori: know of any big ex soccer players from the Portland Maine area that are rabid Bills fans? Just wondering.

 

 

Well, that's one down and a few more to go. I'll get to see the pre-season Bills once more when they head to Heinz Field to meet up w/ the Stillers. I can only hope that the basics are covered far better for that game then they were on Sunday. Go Bills!

[Magox]

Thanks for the recap Rich

[MattyT]

thanks...I always enjoy your takes

[Lori]

I'm glad we ran into you after the game; that conversation may have been the highlight of the evening. Soccer. Portland. Hahahahaha.

 

Few thoughts on your thoughts:

Corner continues to impress. When the pick happened, I wasn't surprised at all to see that it was No. 27 heading for the end zone. How cool is it that he got to do that on his old high school field? And after seeing Wood on the field for the first time (he hadn't signed yet when I was at SJF), I would've even been okay with taking him at 11. Yeah, it's only preseason, but the dude looks like the real deal.

 

On the flip side: if the Bills don't have the guys to run their scheme in Year 4 of the Jauron regime, when will they? And after four years of drafting to fit the Cover 2, I'm not sure how many of them would fit any other scheme, either.

 

And when they called the timeout on the FG, I leaned over to Jack and said, "Different season, same team." We can always hope that they magically get better at clock management, I suppose ... but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

[UConn James]

Well, we made it back last night. I did take plenty of pics, and I'll try to get 'em uploaded as quickly as possible.

 

We arrived in town either very late Friday or very early Saturday..........'bout 2:30am! Due to work issues, we couldn't leave 'til late Friday night. Saturday, we slept in a bit, did some shopping (screw you, Casual Male!!!), and hung w/ Alaska Darin and his buddy Rob ("What team do you root for again?") before heading over to the Hall for the enshrinement ceremony.

 

As we were heading into Fawcett Stadium, I finally got to meet my all time favorite Buffalo Bill: Kent Hull! He was very nice and was happy to chat w/ me for a minute or so and to take a photo w/ me. I don't ask for autographs, so the photo and the chat were more than enough for me! I also saw a few other Bills: Steve Tasker, Paul Maguire, Darryl Talley, Andre Reed (not the most pleasant fellow), and current guys like Brian Moorman, Rian Lindell, Ryan Denney, Trent Edwards, and Lee Evans.

 

I thought the enshrinement ceremony was good overall. Half of the speeches (McDaniel, Bruuuuuce, and, surprisingly enough, Ralph) were actually quite good. Staubach's acceptance for Hayes wasn't as good as it could've been (maybe the son should've done it?), and both Carl Peterson and Rod Woodson just rambled on and on and on and on and on and on and on.....

 

The ony TBDer I got to see on Saturday (aside from Darin, who was staying @ the same hotel I was and who sat next to us for the ceremony/game) was Jay Rubeo and the star of all Buffalo Bills events, Jay's son Ben. Didn't see him on the big screen this time, but he did seem to do okay w/ the players in terms of autographs. As usual.

 

Our Sunday started w/ a trip to the Hall to see the new busts and exhibits, then we headed to Cleveland to visit some family members we don't get to see much. We met for lunch, then headed back to Canton to meet up w/ Darin and Rob and go over for the game. Speaking of...

 

Good things:

Um.......well...........the throwback unis are better than the regular ones? Nah, seriously, I was impressed by the play of Eric Wood, Nic Harris, and Reggie Corner. Harris showed the ability to hit (shocking) and go through people instead of trying to drag 'em down flag football style. Corner made a few very nice plays, including the INT. Wood showed lots of nastiness (made a beautiful hit on the play @ the goal line.....to bad we threw a pass on the play AND it was knocked down!) and was what many people hope for: a guy who appears to be stout in the middle of the line. I also saw some flashes from guys like Ellis Lankster (great pass breakup where he went over the shoulder of the wideout w/out interfering!), Derrick Jones, Xavier Omon, and Posluszny (took better angles and was far more aggressive in pursuit, I thought).

 

Bad things:

Coaching Preparedness 101: Welcome to 2006. If this team has gotten any better in terms of making adjustments to what the opponent is doing successfully or in managing the game/clock during Jauron's tenure, then I haven't seen it. Wasting timeouts on field goal attempts? In PRE-SEASON??? Calling for a dive play from a shotgun formation w/ time running out in the first half (I sarcastically called that play to Darin before the snap...I had no idea they'd actually do it, though I probably should have)???? Where is the improvement in these fundamental areas? As for strategy, why do our LBs show a cover 2 read so often? Why do they not position themselves to attack the flat (Schobel could've used some of that on the bootleg pass play)? Why does it appear that they are coached to "read and react", much like Walt Corey's defenses, instead of reading and attacking on the fly? I'm not sure if the Bills simply don't have the guys to run their scheme as they want to, or if their scheme just simply is flawed. All I do know is that it isn't anywhere close to being effective. But, it's early, so there's time to tweak things. Hurry up, fellas. Also, our backup QB looked awful. Much work to be done there. Oh, and did Evans get fined for skipping the game? I know I saw him being interviewed on Saturday during the induction ceremony. Then.....nothing. No need for the milk carton treatment, is there? Hope not.

 

Anyway, after the game, I did get to catch up w/ a few TBDers: Jack, Lori, and Aussie (ever so briefly). Sorry I didn't make your tailgates. We'll make up for it next month @ the opener.

 

Hey Jack and Lori: know of any big ex soccer players from the Portland Maine area that are rabid Bills fans? Just wondering.

 

Well, that's one down and a few more to go. I'll get to see the pre-season Bills once more when they head to Heinz Field to meet up w/ the Stillers. I can only hope that the basics are covered far better for that game then they were on Sunday. Go Bills!

 

It's quite evident that Dick Jauron still coaches this team. Nothing's changed. Not even the excuses.

 

And if they haven't gotten "the right players for their scheme" by now, then they're not ever going to. Either the coaches can't identify and communicate what they need, or the FO isn't fulfilling what the coaches want. My money is mostly on the coaching.

 

You get what you pay for, Ralph. DJ is a good person but he's a %$#*ing horrible HC given the job's responsibilities.

[stuckincincy]

Speaking of...

 

ST.

 

I noticed some indecision, so to speak, about the new 2-man wedge. rule. I seem to recall players looking about - who are the wedge guys? Me? You?

 

The end of the half - that irked me - the indecision by the bench.

 

I don't like this constant no huddle. Young, jumbled line. I want them all to be on the same page...in the huddle. Is this new Center spiffy at line calls? I wouldn't like to see a 300 pounder blast through and kill the QB because of confusion. Then what?

 

I would not risk that.

 

And I'd be sending in CB/S blitzes against TE if they run this gimmick during the season.

[Mark Long Beach]

ST.

 

I don't like this constant no huddle. Young, jumbled line. I want them all to be on the same page...in the huddle. Is this new Center spiffy at line calls? I wouldn't like to see a 300 pounder blast through and kill the QB because of confusion. Then what?

 

I would not risk that.

 

And I'd be sending in CB/S blitzes against TE if they run this gimmick during the season.

 

But it's not the regular season. What better way to get the o-line & everyone else on the same page but to run it nonstop during the preseason? We'll have a much better sense of how good/reliable it is by the time the regular season starts. Plus, if we NEED to run it, we'll be that much more practiced at it and are less likely to make a penalty at the end of a quarter.

[stuckincincy]

But it's not the regular season. What better way to get the o-line & everyone else on the same page but to run it nonstop during the preseason? We'll have a much better sense of how good/reliable it is by the time the regular season starts. Plus, if we NEED to run it, we'll be that much more practiced at it and are less likely to make a penalty at the end of a quarter.

 

That's a fair point. I see bad things if they try to make it a usual thing during the regular season.

 

I'm not worried about penalties. I'm worried about things like a young line (the defensive vets have the savvy to exploit that already), things like a new C, and crowd noise. How well do the signals get transmitted in a hostile environment? Can this be like calling an audible on every play?

 

Out of 32 teams, only one announces, beats a drum for a no-huddle?

 

I think they are doing it to gin up ticket sales.

 

If I am proven wrong - which would be good - feel free to resurrect my words and and shove 'em in my face.

[BarkLessWagMore]

I don't like this constant no huddle. Young, jumbled line. I want them all to be on the same page...in the huddle. Is this new Center spiffy at line calls? I wouldn't like to see a 300 pounder blast through and kill the QB because of confusion. Then what?

 

I would not risk that.

 

And I'd be sending in CB/S blitzes against TE if they run this gimmick during the season.

 

I saw Langston Walker quoted as saying he would not know where to stand if they huddled, that's how little they have practiced it. What if, god forbid, we are actually ahead in the 4th quarter and trying to burn clock. I realize you can do it from a sugar huddle, but it is much easier from a regular huddle. I could also see communication issues in especially loud road games. I really have no faith in our coaching staff to have this team prepared for any and all game situations. You know, like good teams.

[Lori]

I saw Langston Walker quoted as saying he would not know where to stand if they huddled, that's how little they have practiced it. What if, god forbid, we are actually ahead in the 4th quarter and trying to burn clock. I realize you can do it from a sugar huddle, but it is much easier from a regular huddle. I could also see communication issues in especially loud road games. I really have no faith in our coaching staff to have this team prepared for any and all game situations. You know, like good teams.

When Jauron mentioned that it wasn't necessary to practice the huddle, I remembered all the needless delay/procedure penalties the Bills take every season and thought to myself, Are you sure about that?

[UConn James]

When Jauron mentioned that it wasn't necessary to practice the huddle, I remembered all the needless delay/procedure penalties the Bills take every season and thought to myself, Are you sure about that?

 

True, that.

[Ramius]

When Jauron mentioned that it wasn't necessary to practice the huddle, I remembered all the needless delay/procedure penalties the Bills take every season and thought to myself, Are you sure about that?

 

That seems to be more of a jauron/turk inability to get the play into the QBs prior to about 18 seconds left on the play clock. Seemingly 75% of our offensive snaps started with the players rushing to the line trying to get the play off. It happened with both QBs, so that tells me its a coaching problem, NOT a QB problem. Lets not forget the evidence: 2006 vs tennessee, end of game jauron doesnt get a play in and we end up with a everyone running around everywhere and losman chucking up a hail mary. 2008 vs ne* i remember trent saying that dick/turk hadn't gotten the play into him before the helmet cut out, resulting in trent sprinting to the sidelines, sprinting back to run a worthless dive play. One preston fight later, the half is over without a FG attempt.

[Beerball]

Thanks for the recap Rich

Who?

[GG]

2008 vs ne* i remember trent saying that dick/turk hadn't gotten the play into him before the helmet cut out, resulting in trent sprinting to the sidelines, sprinting back to run a worthless dive play. One preston fight later, the half is over without a FG attempt.

 

Sounds awfully familiar to Sunday night halftime.

[Beerball]

You get what you pay for, Ralph. DJ is a good person but he's a %$#*ing horrible HC given the job's responsibilities.

Slightly off the topic, but not really...

 

The missed opportunities came back to mind while watching Ralph's induction. Some he can be 'blamed' for others who knows?

 

The three biggies were:

Chuck Knox

Saban

Polian

 

Then look at the incompetents we dealt with over the years as HC or GM.

[Just Jack]

Hey Jack and Lori: know of any big ex soccer players from the Portland Maine area that are rabid Bills fans? Just wondering.

Yep. I also know where to find a Kansas City jersey that stretches without breaking.

[aussiew]

Good to see you (and your fave Stillers fan) there Rich. Sorry you couldn't make it to our tailgate party. See you at the opener.