How do the Bills Improve?

[The_Question]

The Question wants to know what the Bills need to do to be more succesful in the upcoming season.

The Question is curious because he feels that on paper the Bills lost more talent than hey have gained.

The Question has some concerns.

Who has the answer?

~ The Question

[Mr. Miyagi]

Who has the answer?
:scratch:

[The_Question]

:scratch:

The Question wants to know what you're questioning.

~The Question

[Romes]

good question...

[The Spaz]

I question your brain powers answers to any question...

[patmoran2006]

It depends on what your definition of improvement is.

If your talking about wins and losses, you can almost certainly forget about it. Our front office approach, whether for better or worse this year and beyond; placed their priority on the future and not the present. That was made obvious by still having among the top 5 in salary cap room in the NFL yet not signing any free agents on defense, despite losing/trading Fletcher/Clements and Spikes.

Further evidence this team is being built for the future and not present occured on draft day; when we took a QB on day one and another RB in round 4 after drafting Lynch and having A-Train on the roster.

So unless some really lucky breaks come our way; you can forget about W/L improvement this year.

But what can improve is the production of our young players. Guys on defense like Whitner/Simpson/Ellison/Youboty/McCargo. If these guys can all get significantly better this year.. AND next offseason our front office commits themselves to being a winning team and adds some key vets at important spots. Then in 2008 this team could become a contender.

[Wys Guy]

The Question wants to know what the Bills need to do to be more succesful in the upcoming season.

The Question is curious because he feels that on paper the Bills lost more talent than hey have gained.

The Question has some concerns.

Who has the answer?

~ The Question
OK, I'll bit while my lasagna is heating up...

First of all define "successful?"

Clearly our (the Bills) definition of "success" is different than that of say Indy, San Diego, or the Pats for this coming season.

To be "more" successful for this season it is largely too late. We can begin to help ourselves to be more successful for future seasons. But doing it Levy's way" won't produce that, or if so, then only by creaping along, not in large strides. Have at it on that point. ;)

Success this season would clearly entail both Poz and Lynch meeting their expectations. A failure to see either of those happen let alone both, would be terrible for this team.

Since there aren't many other new players upon which we are relying for massive strides, Dockery perhaps, we can only hope that many of our already here young players step up and play better than they have and continue to improve for last year's rookie crop.

Only after the results there are known can we begin to discuss next season.

[Jan Reimers]

Pessimist view:

We lost two great LBs in Spikes and Fletcher, an All Pro CB in Clements, and an established RB in McGahee.

We gained a decent LG in Dockery, an overpaid boob in Langston Walker and a journeyman in Whittle.

The right side of our O-line will suck.

We won't be able to stop the run, because Darwin Walker won't help, McCargo is a bust, Williams is barely adequate, and Triplett is a major disappointment.

Poz can't come anywhere near replacing Fletcher and Ellison will never be Spikes, so our LB corps is much worse.

Youboty can't play, so we suck at CB.

Our safeties are OK, but Whitner was a reach, Simson was adequate, and Wendling will never turn into anything.

We are thin at LB and CB, not very good at TE, have no 2nd WR, and have to depend on rookie RBs.

Plus Marv is old, Ralph is cheap, and everything else about the organization sucks.

I'd give you the optimist side, but I'm tired of being hammered by those who know so much more than I.

[The last buffalo fan]

Are you married to The Answer?

[Jan Reimers]

Oh, I forgot that the DEs are weak, too, and the addition of Edwards will start an immediate QB controversy.

[The Answer]

The Question wants to know what the Bills need to do to be more succesful in the upcoming season.

The Question is curious because he feels that on paper the Bills lost more talent than hey have gained.

The Question has some concerns.

Who has the answer?

~ The Question

Didn't you get banned already?

Troll.

~The Answer

[The_Question]

Didn't you get banned already?

Troll.

~The Answer

Did I?

~The Question

[Jan Reimers]

Oh yeah, and every pick from the 3rd through the 7th rounds - most notably Edwards and Wright - were stupid and unnecessary and didn't address areas of need.

[The Answer]

Did I?

~The Question

Get lost troll.

~The Answer

[Night Train]

I hear you, Jan. Time to sing their favorite song.

" Here comes the sun and I say, it's all WRONG ! "

[Jan Reimers]

OK, the optimist view:

We got rid of 2 aging, declining LBs, a wildly inconsistent - and now overpaid - CB, and a not-very-productive RB with a bad attitude.

Crowell-Poz-Ellison will, by midseason, be as good or better than Crowell-Fletcher-Spikes.

The left side of our O-line will be killer, and we will find a more than adequate - and better than last year - right side from Walker, Whittle, Preston, Pennington, Merz and Butler.

We'll be better at DT with Walker and a healthy McCargo.

Youboty will be a suitable replacement for Clements. The Bills would have drafted a CB if they weren't confident in him.

Our 2nd year guys - Butler, Pennington, Merz, Youboty, McCargo, Whitner, Simpson and Ellison - will improve, as 2nd year players do.

Lynch and Wright will give us a better running game than last year.

JP's continued improvement will make all of our recievers better.

Kevin Everett will become a great TE - just kidding, that's too optimistic even for me. But maybe Schouman will be a decent pass catcher.

[TigerJ]

I can see The Question and The Answer are going to make quite a pair.

The Bills do expect that since they have a young team there should be more than the usual amount of improvement as young players mature at a rapid rate Whitner, and Simpson got a lot of playing time last season. They were pretty good for rookies, but should take a quantum leap this season. JP Losman will have his first consecutive season with the same OC, same QB coach and same offensive system in place. He should improve by quite a bit. McCargo and Williams were rookies last season. McCarge should be healthy, and the both of them should be quite a bit better. That may improve Buffalo's ability to stop the run and pressure the QB. A solid veteran in Dockery and another year of experience for Jason Peters should enable the Bills to run to the left much better. If Langston Walker is the guy the Bills think he is, and there is more competition at RG, maybe the line gets better as a whole, and maybe the TEs can get much more involved in the passing game, and that can only help.

On the other hand the Bills have to hope that Posluzny won't hurth them too much as a rookie and better play on the defensive front 4 won't expose too many weaknesses in young Youboty at CB in Nate Clements' old spot.

On balance, I think they have a chance to be at least a little better, but as we know, in the NFL there are no sure things.

[Earthquake Enyart]

Didn't you get banned already?

Troll.

~The Answer
:rofl:

Pot...... kettle....... black.

[EDS]

OK, the optimist view:

We got rid of 2 aging, declining LBs, a wildly inconsistent - and now overpaid - CB, and a not-very-productive RB with a bad attitude.

Crowell-Poz-Ellison will, by midseason, be as good or better than Crowell-Fletcher-Spikes.

The left side of our O-line will be killer, and we will find a more than adequate - and better than last year - right side from Walker, Whittle, Preston, Pennington, Merz and Butler.

We'll be better at DT with Walker and a healthy McCargo.

Youboty will be a suitable replacement for Clements. The Bills would have drafted a CB if they weren't confident in him.

Our 2nd year guys - Butler, Pennington, Merz, Youboty, McCargo, Whitner, Simpson and Ellison - will improve, as 2nd year players do.

Lynch and Wright will give us a better running game than last year.

JP's continued improvement will make all of our recievers better.

Kevin Everett will become a great TE - just kidding, that's too optimistic even for me. But maybe Schouman will be a decent pass catcher.

Is it o.k. if I think the right answer is somewhere between the optimistic and pessimistic views you have posted?

Does that label me as a "homer" or a "negative nancy"? Is there a term for those who occupy the middle ground?

[mayotm]

Is it o.k. if I think the right answer is somewhere between the optimistic and pessimistic views you have posted?

Does that label me as a "homer" or a "negative nancy"? Is there a term for those who occupy the middle ground?Yeah, the term is rational.

[mayotm]

Or, I guess rationalist.

[Jan Reimers]

Is it o.k. if I think the right answer is somewhere between the optimistic and pessimistic views you have posted?

Does that label me as a "homer" or a "negative nancy"? Is there a term for those who occupy the middle ground?
No, I'm probably between my 2 views as well. I'd like to think that all of my optimistic points will come through, but I know they won't. But I also feel the situation is not as bleek as the most negative posters paint it, either.

I just think of myself as a fan.

[Jan Reimers]

Maybe a reasonable fan. Not everything the Bills do is wrong, but we have weaknesses, and there is a lot of room for improvement.

[The_Question]

Get lost troll.

~The Answer

Do you have me mixed up with someone else?

~The Question

[SquishDaFish]

Yea with himself Question

[The_Question]

Yea with himself Question

Strange, isn't it?

~The Question

[patmoran2006]

Maybe a reasonable fan. Not everything the Bills do is wrong, but we have weaknesses, and there is a lot of room for improvement.
That's a good assessment.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Get lost troll.

~The Answer
:rofl: That's the epidome of the pot calling the kettle black.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Marv was coaching football and building championship teams before any of us were even born. You've got big ass balls if you think you know more about how to run the Bills than he does. WTF do you know. Hey that includes me okay?

IN MARV WE TRUST

[Jan Reimers]

Marv was coaching football and building championship teams before any of us were even born.

IN MARV WE TRUST
Well, not before I was born. . . But I totally agree with your point.

[The Answer]

This entire thread is nothing more than SPAM and needs to be moved to the appropriate forum.

~The Answer

[ParanoidAndroid]

This entire thread is nothing more than SPAM and needs to be moved to the appropriate forum.

~The Answer

:cry:


I think this thread illustrates the whackness of speaking or writing in the 3rd person and actually taking it seriously.

[The_Question]

This entire thread is nothing more than SPAM and needs to be moved to the appropriate forum.

~The Answer

The Question has to ask... Why do you feel that way?

~The Question

[patmoran2006]

Marv was coaching football and building championship teams before any of us were even born. You've got big ass balls if you think you know more about how to run the Bills than he does. WTF do you know. Hey that includes me okay?

IN MARV WE TRUST
So what.

Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl and Levy didn't. Does that mean he's a better coach?

Yanno.. I think it's rather PATHETIC that for people to feel good about our general manager, you're forced to compare him to PEOPLE WHO POST ON MESSAGE BOARDS.

sad.

[PECKERWOOD]

It depends on what your definition of improvement is.

If your talking about wins and losses, you can almost certainly forget about it. Our front office approach, whether for better or worse this year and beyond; placed their priority on the future and not the present. That was made obvious by still having among the top 5 in salary cap room in the NFL yet not signing any free agents on defense, despite losing/trading Fletcher/Clements and Spikes.

Further evidence this team is being built for the future and not present occured on draft day; when we took a QB on day one and another RB in round 4 after drafting Lynch and having A-Train on the roster.

So unless some really lucky breaks come our way; you can forget about W/L improvement this year.

But what can improve is the production of our young players. Guys on defense like Whitner/Simpson/Ellison/Youboty/McCargo. If these guys can all get significantly better this year.. AND next offseason our front office commits themselves to being a winning team and adds some key vets at important spots. Then in 2008 this team could become a contender.

Just because our philosophy on free agency doesn't match that of Dan Snyders it doesn't mean that we aren't willing to dish out the bucks to free agents worth tha weight. Derrick Dockery's 7yr/$49 mil deal along with Langston Walker's 5yr/$25mil deal were both paid in the top 5 of total amount of cash given to OL free agents this year.

[Night Train]

OK, the optimist view:

We got rid of 2 aging, declining LBs, a wildly inconsistent - and now overpaid - CB, and a not-very-productive RB with a bad attitude.

Crowell-Poz-Ellison will, by midseason, be as good or better than Crowell-Fletcher-Spikes.

The left side of our O-line will be killer, and we will find a more than adequate - and better than last year - right side from Walker, Whittle, Preston, Pennington, Merz and Butler.

We'll be better at DT with Walker and a healthy McCargo.

Youboty will be a suitable replacement for Clements. The Bills would have drafted a CB if they weren't confident in him.

Our 2nd year guys - Butler, Pennington, Merz, Youboty, McCargo, Whitner, Simpson and Ellison - will improve, as 2nd year players do.

Lynch and Wright will give us a better running game than last year.

JP's continued improvement will make all of our recievers better.

Kevin Everett will become a great TE - just kidding, that's too optimistic even for me. But maybe Schouman will be a decent pass catcher.

:bf1:

[The Answer]

The Question has to ask... Why do you feel that way?

~The Question

Your schict doesn't do much for The Answer - and this thread is lackluster to say the least.

~The Answer

[mikemac2001]

Didn't you get banned already?

Troll.

~The Answer

Just bc no one likes you doesnt mean you should be nasty

[patmoran2006]

Just because our philosophy on free agency doesn't match that of Dan Snyders it doesn't mean that we aren't willing to dish out the bucks to free agents worth tha weight. Derrick Dockery's 7yr/$49 mil deal along with Langston Walker's 5yr/$25mil deal were both paid in the top 5 of total amount of cash given to OL free agents this year.
Name me a SINGLE post where I ever said we should be like Dan Snyder and try to go after every big named free agent on the market.

It's not just the money.. Its the money that our FO gives year after year to TOOLS that set the franchise back.. If you're going to spend the money, spend it RIGHT. WTF has Langston Walker ever done to deserve $25 million? How has Kelsay earned $24 million- much more than Schobel makes? Why did we give Craig Nall a $1.3 singing bonus to be a clipboard holder? Why does Josh Reed get a $10 million dollar deal? How's Larry Tripplett's 5-year, $18 million dollar contract working out so far? How did those Tutan Reyes and Matt Bowens signings work out for us? Great move resigning A-train and then using TWO of your first four picks on RB's in the draft.

And on top of the STUPID signings, yes, we are ALSO CHEAP (and its possible and realistic). We're the only team in the NFL that has a known cash-to-cap philosophy. Of course the homers buy into it, to "not mortgage the future". But **** the present in the process right, because I mean the fans will continue to sell out for a mediocre team, as demonstrated last year, no?

Thanks to cash to cap, guys like Coy Wire, Mario Haggan and Jabrari Greer are smack in middle of the mix for valuable playing time; and guys like Peerless Price, and his 8.2 ypc (worst in the NFL over the past four years for a starting WR) is still starting.

Hogwash and horse-****. This team has a nice core of talent- but until a regime comes in that knows how to build a WINNER and an owner who spends more time worrying about his team than crying to the media- this will ALWAYS be a team with some nice young players that win 5-7 games every season.

[Wys Guy]

Hey Jan, very interesting couple of posts. Please allow me to respond using them.

First of all, does "pessimistic" or "optimistic" really have anything to do with it? Or is one's angle there entirely immaterial?

In WWI and WWII when America got involved the attitude was extremely optimistic. The war(s) would be over in a matter of months now that the Bills, ... er, ... a, Americans were now involved. Did that happen? Or was American soldiers' optimism unfounded?

One could think that their home will continue to increase in value over the next 12 or 24 months much like it had a couple of years ago, but that doesn't make it any more likely to occur, or in fact, almost completely unlikely. So in that way, "pessimism" or "optimism" has absolutely nothing to do with it now, does it.

In fact, if the "optimistic" view isn't substantiated, what's the difference between that and buying a Power Ball ticket and "BILLIEVING" that you're going to win the PB? Little if anything. It's all about substantiating and supporting one's opinions. To simply say that something will or should happen is not a substantiation, it's merely an unfounded [read indefensible] opinion as much as you or anyone else might like to disagree.

Moving on, let's address your points. First, those found in your pessimistic view. Also, to let you know, I agree and disagree with some of both, and you have also stated that you are somewhere in between. So merely allow me to take those statements to another level.


Pessimist view:

We lost two great LBs in Spikes and Fletcher, an All Pro CB in Clements, and an established RB in McGahee.

Is that true? What kind of players did we lose? Down below in your optimistic you say that you expect certain players to improve. Are we to assume that Spikes would not have improved in his second year after injury/surgery? Was Clements an all-pro CB? What were his skills? Do we have his equal in replacement? How will McGahee's loss hurt us? Were his performances so good that they will be missed? Does it take someone special to log what he logged?


Pessimist view:

We gained a decent LG in Dockery, an overpaid boob in Langston Walker and a journeyman in Whittle.

What is the history of the three? Is it any different that what you apparently declare that pessimists believe? Dockery enters his 4th season after playing decently, but did he distinguish himself in any recognizable way? Walker has managed to start only last season, his fifth. He has allowed quite a few sacks and holding penalties to rates that you would typically consider unacceptible by any other standard for any other player. Whittle is 32 and has been a career backup.

Those are facts Jan. Or aren't they? So where's the pessimism in merely accepting the truth there? Does your, or anyone else's opinion, alter those facts? What is the basis for the notion that all of a sudden, on a dime, those things will alter themselves?


Pessimist view:

The right side of our O-line will suck.

It wasn't good last year. We add Walker. [see above] Using facts, why should anyone expect improvement? I would frankly be thrilled if it did improve, but why should we expect improvement for some reason other than optimists "say so?"


Pessimist view:

We won't be able to stop the run, because Darwin Walker won't help, McCargo is a bust, Williams is barely adequate, and Triplett is a major disappointment.

Does any one of those players have a history of being able to stop the run? How was Walker's team last year in stopping the run? How do you explain that? Were we good last season in stopping the run? Were we average? Where did we rank there? Is Tripplett in your viewpoint, not a major disappointment?


Pessimist view:

Poz can't come anywhere near replacing Fletcher and Ellison will never be Spikes, so our LB corps is much worse.

If you refer to this season, what are the odds that a rookie (any rookie) plays better in his first season than about a ten-year veteran who was probably about as good as Dockery is at OL in the role of MLB? Did Ellison make an impact last season? If so, then how, specifically in terms of game outcomes?


Pessimist view:

Youboty can't play, so we suck at CB.

Can Youboty play? Will he play well? What will he give us? How do you know?


Pessimist view:

Our safeties are OK, but Whitner was a reach, Simson was adequate, and Wendling will never turn into anything.

Was Whitner a reach? There were many players taken after round one that ended up starting. Had we selected one of them, and had they started for us, would that have justified that player taken at 8th overall last season? How did Whitner play in coverage last season? How did Simpson play in coverage last season? Will Wendling ever turn into anything?


Pessimist view:

Plus Marv is old, Ralph is cheap, and everything else about the organization sucks.

Is Marv old by standards for his position? Is Ralph cheap? What is the evidence for his being or not being cheap? On any money spent, have the Bills reaped what typically are good returns for their biggest outlays?


Pessimist view:

I'd give you the optimist side, but I'm tired of being hammered by those who know so much more than I.

Does this mean that your views lie closer to the "optimist view" than the pessimist view since you're "tired of being hammered by those who know so much more than [you]?" I only ask b/c you said your views lay somewhere between the two, yet this statement makes it appear that your views more closely resemble the optimistic views that you lay out and barely if at all these, the pessimist views.


OK, not the optimistic views:


OK, the optimist view:

We got rid of 2 aging, declining LBs, a wildly inconsistent - and now overpaid - CB, and a not-very-productive RB with a bad attitude.

Schobel's a year behind one of those "aging, declining LBs," and also has consistency issues. By your reasoning then this should be his last season, correct? Is being overpaid an issue? Do the Bills presently have any overpaid players? If so, who brought them on board? Does it matter that they are overpaid since overpaying Clements you condemn?


OK, the optimist view:

Crowell-Poz-Ellison will, by midseason, be as good or better than Crowell-Fletcher-Spikes.

Who wouldn't love to agree with that? What is your reasoning behind that?


OK, the optimist view:

The left side of our O-line will be killer, and we will find a more than adequate - and better than last year - right side from Walker, Whittle, Preston, Pennington, Merz and Butler.

What is your basis for the latter part of that statement? Do any of those players cited have a history of doing what you say the optimist believes? How much can be done behind only a left side should your predictions, or rather the optimist's, predictions on the right side fall short?


OK, the optimist view:

We'll be better at DT with Walker and a healthy McCargo.

Why? What is the guarantee that McCargo will be healthy when he hasn't finished a full season in his last three seasons played? How good is Walker? Does he have a history of stopping the run? How was his team last year in stopping the run? He's 30 this year, isn't he? According to your statements above, if we're going to be consistent with your reasoning, he's on the verge of being, how was it, "aging and declining," no? Or does that not apply to him? Which brings up another point, how come at 32 Whittle is not "aging and declining" by your own statements and standards?


OK, the optimist view:

Youboty will be a suitable replacement for Clements. The Bills would have drafted a CB if they weren't confident in him.

How does the optimist know this? Can we say the same thing about drafting Wright in the 4th round this year? What's your basis for that statement that Youboty will be a suitable replacement for Clements? Did the team tell us last year that Tripplett would be a better player in this system than Pat Williams was and produce more? How do you reconcile that in light of your confidence in team statements? Did the team not have confidence in either Whitner or Simpson to draft Wendling? Was depth more pressing that starting needs elsehwere on the team otherwise?


OK, the optimist view:

Our 2nd year guys - Butler, Pennington, Merz, Youboty, McCargo, Whitner, Simpson and Ellison - will improve, as 2nd year players do.

Let's assume that's true. Does simple "improvement" mean all of your assertions coming to pass? How about other second year players around the league and on our opponents' teams, will they improve too, or are we the only team that that happens too? Will those players improve enough to be able to outplay their counterparts on the field? If not, then what?


OK, the optimist view:

Lynch and Wright will give us a better running game than last year.

Using your own logic and reasoning, why did we draft Wright if we, the team, has faith and confidence in Lynch? Shouldn't we have drafted even a third RB in case both don't work out? Wouldn't that have been really smart and wise? How do you know that they will give us a better running game than last year? We were told by the team last year that the OL and run defense would be better, yet those got worse. How do you reconcile team statements in that way?


OK, the optimist view:

JP's continued improvement will make all of our recievers better.

Then why did the team draft Edwards? Don't they have confidence in Losman? Isn't that statement inconsistent with your prior logic and team statements? Do we have all of our starting spots filled so well that we could afford to draft more depth otherwise? If not, would that be smart and wise?


OK, the optimist view:

Kevin Everett will become a great TE - just kidding, that's too optimistic even for me. But maybe Schouman will be a decent pass catcher.

Yeah, maybe. Maybe lots of things. What if he doesn't? What if he can't block? What if he gets hurt again like his playing history suggests is very likely?



Oh yeah, and every pick from the 3rd through the 7th rounds - most notably Edwards and Wright - were stupid and unnecessary and didn't address areas of need.

What areas did they address Jan? Starting roles or backup roles? Role playing roles, what? Did we not have starting roles to fill?

[Wys Guy]

Enjoy! Off to the Andrews Air Show. :)

[henrybacker]

It depends on what your definition of improvement is.

If your talking about wins and losses, you can almost certainly forget about it. Our front office approach, whether for better or worse this year and beyond; placed their priority on the future and not the present. That was made obvious by still having among the top 5 in salary cap room in the NFL yet not signing any free agents on defense, despite losing/trading Fletcher/Clements and Spikes.

Further evidence this team is being built for the future and not present occured on draft day; when we took a QB on day one and another RB in round 4 after drafting Lynch and having A-Train on the roster.

So unless some really lucky breaks come our way; you can forget about W/L improvement this year.

But what can improve is the production of our young players. Guys on defense like Whitner/Simpson/Ellison/Youboty/McCargo. If these guys can all get significantly better this year.. AND next offseason our front office commits themselves to being a winning team and adds some key vets at important spots. Then in 2008 this team could become a contender.

-Excellent post IMO. I'm glad I checked out this thread(and forum for that matter as the scout.com site sucked). It is nice to see there are at least a few people who aren't the kool-aid drinkers around.

[henrybacker]

Just because our philosophy on free agency doesn't match that of Dan Snyders it doesn't mean that we aren't willing to dish out the bucks to free agents worth tha weight. Derrick Dockery's 7yr/$49 mil deal along with Langston Walker's 5yr/$25mil deal were both paid in the top 5 of total amount of cash given to OL free agents this year.

-Can you please tell me how you felt about those contracts and also the reed/price contracts as well? Thanks in advance.

[henrybacker]

Marv was coaching football and building championship teams before any of us were even born. You've got big ass balls if you think you know more about how to run the Bills than he does. WTF do you know. Hey that includes me okay?

IN MARV WE TRUST

-And then there is this guy. I think I will be able to guess what his post is even before reading it from now on. Where do you rank Marv in terms of NFL GM's?

[henrybacker]

It's not just the money.. Its the money that our FO gives year after year to TOOLS that set the franchise back.. If you're going to spend the money, spend it RIGHT. WTF has Langston Walker ever done to deserve $25 million? How has Kelsay earned $24 million- much more than Schobel makes? Why did we give Craig Nall a $1.3 singing bonus to be a clipboard holder? Why does Josh Reed get a $10 million dollar deal? How's Larry Tripplett's 5-year, $18 million dollar contract working out so far? How did those Tutan Reyes and Matt Bowens signings work out for us? Great move resigning A-train and then using TWO of your first four picks on RB's in the draft.

And on top of the STUPID signings, yes, we are ALSO CHEAP (and its possible and realistic). We're the only team in the NFL that has a known cash-to-cap philosophy. Of course the homers buy into it, to "not mortgage the future". But **** the present in the process right, because I mean the fans will continue to sell out for a mediocre team, as demonstrated last year, no?

Thanks to cash to cap, guys like Coy Wire, Mario Haggan and Jabrari Greer are smack in middle of the mix for valuable playing time; and guys like Peerless Price, and his 8.2 ypc (worst in the NFL over the past four years for a starting WR) is still starting.

Hogwash and horse-****. This team has a nice core of talent- but until a regime comes in that knows how to build a WINNER and an owner who spends more time worrying about his team than crying to the media- this will ALWAYS be a team with some nice young players that win 5-7 games every season.

Bravo. I thought these were common sense items, but in the Bills community I feel they are rejected or excused.

[HHURRICANE]

It depends on what your definition of improvement is.

If your talking about wins and losses, you can almost certainly forget about it. Our front office approach, whether for better or worse this year and beyond; placed their priority on the future and not the present. That was made obvious by still having among the top 5 in salary cap room in the NFL yet not signing any free agents on defense, despite losing/trading Fletcher/Clements and Spikes.

Further evidence this team is being built for the future and not present occured on draft day; when we took a QB on day one and another RB in round 4 after drafting Lynch and having A-Train on the roster.

So unless some really lucky breaks come our way; you can forget about W/L improvement this year.

But what can improve is the production of our young players. Guys on defense like Whitner/Simpson/Ellison/Youboty/McCargo. If these guys can all get significantly better this year.. AND next offseason our front office commits themselves to being a winning team and adds some key vets at important spots. Then in 2008 this team could become a contender.

They must be building a cryogenic chamber for Marv and Wilson because at the rate we are rebuilding they might not see the final product.

I hope they both realize that you can't build a 49ers, Steelers, Bills, or Cowboy dynsaty anymore.

[mikemac2001]

They must be building a cryogenic chamber for Marv and Wilson because at the rate we are rebuilding they might not see the final product.

I hope they both realize that you can't build a 49ers, Steelers, Bills, or Cowboy dynsaty anymore.


True but you have to build something from the ground up and then add peices in FA ...we are now building our foundation not just signing guys and hoping they mold....We mold a team and ADD or Replace key players we lost...So yes POZ replaces Fletcher but not in a way to just fill in a guy for a few years...he is starting from ground up.

[Historian]

The Conjunction
The Interrogative
The Future Conditional
The Period
and The Exclamation Point

all feel we're going to do fine.

[BILLSROCK1212]

how does my friend...whowhatwhenwherewhy get banned and not someone like The_Question....I understand the answer not getting banned but shouldn't the 2nd coming of The_Question be banned?

[RockStar36]

Get lost troll.

~The Answer

You first.

[RockStar36]

how does my friend...whowhatwhenwherewhy get banned and not someone like The_Question....I understand the answer not getting banned but shouldn't the 2nd coming of The_Question be banned?

The Question started a legitimate thread about the Bills and the off-season.

[trapezeus]

Is it o.k. if I think the right answer is somewhere between the optimistic and pessimistic views you have posted?

Does that label me as a "homer" or a "negative nancy"? Is there a term for those who occupy the middle ground?

it makes your a "negative homer"?

[jmb1099]

:rofl:

Pot...... kettle....... black.
I about wet my pants laughing when I saw that too

[Mr. Pink]

I'll give a mixed bag review of things...

Areas we improved or should expect to improve include....

JP Losman with another year of experience should continue to grow and mature. Yes, I hated the guy, Yes, I didn't want him around. Facts are at the tail end of last season he finally started coming around. I fully expect him to grow further into his role as the franchise guy. I would have liked, as I'm sure he would have too, so more weapons in this offense though.

Running Back...Lynch should improve exponentially on Willis' paltry 3.9 YPC. And he also is a receiving threat out of the backfield, something Willis never was when he was here. This also should increase Losman's development and numbers.

Special Teams are always the strong point of this team, and I don't see them getting any worse then they were last year.

Areas that didn't improve, at least as of right now...

WR/TE outside of Lee Evans...We have no other legitimate pass catcher in this offense. Outside of Lynch and Evans...Royal, Price, Reed, Everett strike fear in no one. They're all average to below average players and we did nothing to improve on this aspect of our team. Outside of a late flyer on a guy named Schouman.

Defensive Line - We resigned and overpaid a rotational bum in Kelsay. Brought in Walker on the Spikes trade, who apparently wants a new contract...Why this wasn't worked out prior to his arrival is beyond me. The rest of the guys remain the same. We have guys who rack up sacks against poor competition then disappear against good competition. On top of the fact they're porous on the whole vs the run. The lone bright spot in all of this is left on the feet of a DT in McCargo who hasn't stayed healthy in the past 3 years and didn't show much last year, so he's basically in a development season.

LBers...I don't care what you say about Fletch. He was the heart and soul of this defense. He made tackles 5-7 yards upfield why? Because our front 4 was pathetic vs the Run. Ellison played admirably for a 6th rounder, but is that enough? Poz is a nice addition yes, but he's gonna run into the same problems of making plays upfield thanks to our front four. Thing is does Poz match Fletchs' production in pass defense? Crowell is the same as last year and the only guy right now where we know what we got. Also there is ZERO depth at this position.

Corners? I don't even know where to begin or go with this...But from starters to depth it's an absolute joke. Our best corner doesn't even fit this system, and that's where I'll leave it.

Onto what ifs, question marks, same....

Offensive Line, I'm not sure where to go on this one. Dockery should be an upgrade, sure. But then we wasted a ton of money on the weak link of the Raiders line. I'm not sure if he's an upgrade on Pennington. And judging by what Raider fan thought of him, he outright scares me. So this unit on one side is strengthened and the other is either the same or weaker, we don't know.

Safeties? Both Whitner and Simpson showed flashes last season and growing pains. Hopefully there's more flashes and less growing pains, but with our corners being as weak as they are do they both have enough to take up the slack? Huge question mark.

Positive outlook is...We grind the ball a lot, play the short passing game, lull to teams to sleep then BAM go uptop to Evans. We score on average 24 points a game and win games via offense. Also we sustain drives longer so we keep our suspect D off the field more.

Negative outlook is...Our D gets constantly shredded forcing JP and company to go into catch up mode. Lynch becomes a non-factor on the ground because we have to throw so much to get back in games and the liability in Walker gets exposed leading JP to get creamed.

Where do we fall on this?

In my opinion we have games on the positive and then games on the negative. With what I detailed above. We'll have a bunch of growing pains, show some flashes and be just below the .500 mark for the troubles.

[henrybacker]

good post

[Turbo.GUN.Hawk!]

We need to improve our defense, period.
Our passing defense wasn't that bad but considering both Clements and Fletcher are gone... well, our passing defense is not that decent anymore. Now, I really don't think I have to sate how pathetic our rushing defense is.

Right now Buffalo is totally dependant on what our offense can do. The whole Losman/Evans/OL passing unit showed some flashes last season, if Buffalo is actually able to reach a .500 or higher record it is going to be all because of our passing offense. Our rushing offense should improve now that we have a more committed RB and now that the OL is strong in the left side.

Buffalo is still rebuilding though and this season is going to be crutial for the future of the team (in terms of development). I still think our division is not that strong (the Jets are not that good and the Dolphins are a joke) and our schedule is favorable in the second half of the season. So cosidering all this I still think Buffalo can achieve a .500 or higher (not that high though) record.

[BILLSROCK1212]

The Question started a legitimate thread about the Bills and the off-season.from what i recall seeing my friend didn't post anything to disrupt the board he just posted an opinion.