What the Hell????

[venis2k1]

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/6380802

"Tom Donahoe, Bills general manager
Gregg Williams, Bills head coach
When a team tries to change the style of its play after having so much success on offense, it might be asking for trouble. The Bills want to become a ground-control, defensive-oriented team. That's a far cry from the wide-open, pass-happy system from a year ago. The Bills were in the playoff hunt late in the season with that style but didn't accomplish enough to let the team keep playing that way. So they put much of their offseason focus on improving the defense, while letting the top speed receiver (Peerless Price), starting fullback (Larry Centers) and starting tight end (Jay Riemersma) leave. Then they drafted a running back in the first round in Willis McGahee, who won't help them this year, barring a miracle, as he battles back from major knee surgery. Donahoe is a sharp talent evaluator, but his Pittsburgh roots that say run the ball and control the clock might have gotten the best of him when he decided to revamp this team. As for Williams, he has one year left on his contract, and the team has not given him an extension. That's not a good thing. "


How the hell can they make this offseason sound so bad. :madshake: This is why I hate to read.

[Dozerdog]

Typical Pete Prisco-

Not one to look under the surface. I think his football knowledge extends to the sports radio call in circuit. I guess he just doesn't realize that all pass, no ball controll and defense won't get us past 8-8

[venis2k1]

I dont think any team will EVER be a "ground-control, defensive-oriented team. " with bledsoe under center.

[Doc]

Prisco is a Pats shill. How can a team win the SB one year, then miss the playoffs the following year WITHOUT losing anybody important, if not seemingly improving, and NOT have anyone on the hotseat? Just another stupid "expert." I've given up reading their tripe because retrospective analysis shows that they're no better than the avid fan when it comes to predicting things, and the only real purpose they serve is to pass on "inside information."

[Turf]

Baltimore won a Super Bowl with no offense. Tampa was mediocre at best. Defense wins championships. We're closing in on that.

[TigerJ]

Pete Prisco is paid to ask questions like that. They don't necessarily have to be that valid. They only have to elicit a reaction. He's done that, I think we can agree. My reaction is that I think Buffalo is after a "tweaking" of the offence rather than a wholesale change. I think it probably bothered TD (and rightfully so) last year when teams were able to take away the deep ball late in the season and Buffalo proved incapable of running a control type offence. I can't imagine DB and Gilbride giving up a vertical game without a fight, but I think both of them have to see the value of being versatile enough that when your opponent takes away one aspect of your game, you can do something else well enough to hurt him. Has anyone seen any comment by TD that the Bills won't pass the ball deep this year? I personally don't think Pete has done his homework all that well. Neither Remiersma nor Centers were the contributors to the Bills offence that they had been in the past. Perhaps Prisco doesn't even realize that. I hoped Buffalo would replace Price's speed with speed, but I don't think the vertical game is dead. For the purposes of CBS Sportsline, it's more important for Prisco to be opinionated than to be a flawless prognosticator. He does that very well. I'm amused that since Prisco wrote this, I've seen comments suggesting he's a shameless Dolphin fan and a shill for the Patriots. I haven't seen anyone claim he's in the corner of the Jets yet. I really don't care who he might root for, if anyone, or what he thinks for that matter. We'll see this fall if TD knows what he's doing.

BTW, last year over at finheaven, fin fans were up in arms over Pete Prisco bashing the Dolphins. We Bills fans who visited them ridiculed them to no end for their thin skin. I'd rather not give them reason for payback this year.

[Doc]

Well as an M.D. I could say that Prisco suffers from gender indentity crisis, but do I really mean that or am I trying to elicit a response? To me that makes his opinions worthless because they already have a built-in excuse, i.e. it was meant to be controversial, not necessarily true.

[imbondz]

"The Bills want to become a ground-control, defensive-oriented team. That's a far cry from the wide-open, pass-happy system from a year ago"

I could give a rat's a$$ what Prisco says. But, there's nothing more frustrating, and dominating than an offense who runs the ball and controls the clock. The Titans last year are an example of a team who won games because they controlled the ball on offense. They certainly weren't a dominating defensive team. But they led the league last year in time of possession, tied with Pittsburgh. Teams didn't have the ball long enough to score a ton of points on them-

I don't want a pass happy O, give me a team who averages 20 points a game but holds onto the ball so long the opponent never has opportunities to score.
It takes a disciplined team to stick to a running game. That's what I'd like to see-

[The Spaz]

Like I always say Pete Prisco is a complete ass clown! Go Bills!

[The Natrix]

Originally posted by venis2k1
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/6380802

Donahoe is a sharp talent evaluator, but his Pittsburgh roots that say run the ball and control the clock might have gotten the best of him when he decided to revamp this team.

I actually don't think this reads all that negative, what are you guys so upset about?

[The Natrix]

TD used the deal he was dealt in Peerless Price, so what is he going to do with him? Not utilize him in the last two years of his rookie contract?

All Prisco is saying is that when we had an offense designed for passhappyness, it fluorished and the same will happen when the power run game is implemented.

[ryjam282]

I agree, he is just someone who isn't a fan and just likes to stir things up to get his name used...Prisco said this, so it makes him look better and more people know him. We will all see this coming year how well this will work.

GO BILLS!!!

[WG]

I agree w/ ya Natrix. I don't think it's all that negative although it does show exactly what I've spoken about in the past. These national level media guys know less than we do here as "amateurs" and I use the term very loosely here on these boards!!!

I do agree w/ him, and anyone thinking to the contrary is fooling themselves, that this year's draft won't help us much this season if at all. I cannot imagine Kelsay w/ his purported weaknesses doing much more than we got last year at best at that position from CA. McG won't play, Crowell won't start, and if it came down to Aiken making a difference then we've got far bigger issues.

His analysis, as Tiger suggested, of JR, Centers, and others indicates that he knows little about the Bills.

As to ball control, we don't need to get carried away w/ running, but very clearly there were many times that we had more success last year running than passing and many times when we should have run vice passed, and yet we didn't. That needs to be resolved! Quickly! It cost us games and almost cost us more in at least two cases.

We need balance but the crux of the best teams are very clearly a good rushing game first coupled w/ defense. The two compliment each other nicely whereas the passing game does not compliment the D hardly at all.

As to us stretching the field, that's silly. What will open up the deep threat this year is the fact that we'll have guys all over the field instead of merely 20-yards+ out. Reed will be the short-medium guy, Moore can do the short, and Moulds will be the deep guy along w/ occasional contributions by Shaw or another at #3. Add in Henry out of the backfield, and it'll be nuts!

The single biggest factor in how effective and efficient our O is this season will be Gilbride and his decisions! He has the ability to screw it up again by trying to make Bledsoe the hero, or he can run first, pass for balance, and do whatever is working instead of trying to force Bledsoe and the passing game for whatever reasons he has! That's why I don't like this notion of Gilbride being both QB coach and O.C. IMO, w/ his track record, it's a conflict of interests.

That may very well result in more one-on-one matchups for Moulds, and I don't know about y'all, but I'll take that all year long! If they double up Moulds on those deep routes, that'll mean that someone will be open short or the running game will be wide open.

I'm not worried about our O at all other than for Drew playing Santa Claus in the matchups that we most need to win! If he can control his stupid mistakes and bumbling INTs/TOs, then we'll be fine on O.

I'm not sure we all realize it, but we may in fact, at least as starting offense goes, have the most balanced O in the league this season. I can't think of a team that has a better one. Miami's may be just as good this year. Denver's too since IMO Plummer is about equal to Drew. But again, I'd say they're equal or close, not better.

[Gunzlingr]

:lol: longest.... post..... ever!

[BillsNYC]

Originally posted by gunzlingr
:lol: longest.... post..... ever!

don't tempt him :D

[WG]

Like it was...

:D

[Cntrygal]

Originally posted by gunzlingr
:lol: longest.... post..... ever!

:phew:

Actually... not even close. :couch:

[WG]

Indeed!

:biggrin:

But if you're not all satisfied....

[Stewie]

Originally posted by Wys Guy
Denver's too since IMO Plummer is about equal to Drew. But again, I'd say they're equal or close, not better.

Plummer has played for six seasons. He has had 3 seasons with more int's than TD passes (50%). He has had one season with a rating above Drew's career average. He has had 2 seasons throwing above 3000 yards in the regular season. He has NEVER had a season completing above 60% of his passes.

I won't go over drew's career cause those numbers have been hashed and rehashed here, but, how can you say they're basically equal.

Plummer has been a below average NFL quarterback. Drew has at LEAST been average, and probably closer to above average.

[Doc]

Plummer equal to Bledsoe? That's a laugh and a half. The only way they'd be equal is if Bledsoe had his right arm tied behind his back.

[Doc]

Oh and as for the offense, I see the Bills using 3 wides, a HB, and either a TE or FB (the guys they have at these two positions can both block and catch the ball) when they're outside the redzone, and inside the redzone replacing 1 or 2 of the WR's with a TE, 2 TE's, or a TE and a FB. Henry was most effective in a spread offense and with that formation, which is kind of like a K-gun, Bledsoe can audible between pass and run.

[WCoastFin]

Thats about the smartest thing Ive ever seen Pete Prisco say!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by Wys Guy
Indeed!

:biggrin:

But if you're not all satisfied....

NO!!!!

[Jan Reimers]

We all know we'll be much better on defense, and why did we replace non-bblockers Riemersma and Centers with Campbell and Gash (not to mention drafting Willis) if we weren't going to a power running game. Last year we were an exciting 8-8, this year we'll be a more staid 12-4.