You know what I dont care

[Schobel94]

I dont give a flying ****what Bledsoe did last season, or for that matter, anybody else. The seasons over! It doesnt matter! All that matters is this season! I dont wanna argue about 2002 cuz its 2003! All I care about is what Bledsoe and Moulds and Spikes and Fetcher etc.. do in 2003, like Bill Murray in meatballs, IT JUST DOESNT MATTER! IT JUST DOESNT MATTER! If Bledsoe sucks hard in '03, then I'll get upset, but until then, IT JUST DOESNT MATTER!

[Tatonka]

but what do we have to draw conclusions on how he will play other than the past?

[Ingtar33]

I love this debate... Drew had one of the finest years in his career... and easily one of the finest years of any Buffalo QB (statistically, and the finest with the exception of the ‘90 or '91 Kelly seasons) yet Wys has succeed through some strange statistical hypnotism to get people to apologize for Drew's Season.

I will not apologize for it...
Wys, regardless of your weird voodoo like skills I will take on your statistical wizardry.

Bledsoe '02
61.5% completion percentage
4359 yards passing
24 TD passes
15 INTs
7.1 yards per passing attempt
86.0 QBR

[WG]

So I guess that means that you'd be fully content then Ing if Bledsoe tosses 12 TDs and 0 INTs v. Cincy, Jax, Houston, and Dallas, while putting up only say 11 TDs and 18 INTs v. the rest of our schedule, right!?

Just checking! B/c by your last statement that's essentially what you are saying b/c that's essentially the way Drew played last season.

And what's your hope, based on the fact, that he didn't play well v. a single playoff team, that we could even win a playoff game?

Past experience in the playoffs?

Can you site his tremendous record there?

Heck, Pennington, in his young career has already posted a better PO game than Bledsoe has in 10 seasons.



You'll see. I have little hope that a QB who's going on 31 is gonna "change his spots" at this point in his career, especially since he keeps making the same stupid mistakes over, and over, and over, and over, and over,... again!

But heck, WTH does past performance and trend mean, right!

And I'm the one who's accused of being one dimensional.

"Bledsoe '02
61.5% completion percentage
4359 yards passing
24 TD passes
15 INTs
7.1 yards per passing attempt
86.0 QBR"

Naturally there are no details or breakdown to that, eh!

Naturally! It's Drew!

[WG]

Just for you Ing, since apparently you missed it:

Division:

8 TDs/9 INTs; after that snow Miami game, 5 TDs/9 INTs/10 TOs in the other 5 games (2-4)

Playoff teams:

3 TDs/9 INTs/12 TOs!!!! (0-4)

Teams .500 or better:

13 TDs/15 INTs/18 TOs!!! (3-8)

Plain and simple, no matter how you argue it, those are not good numbers for any QB other than a very average QB at best!!!

In most of those games the sole TOs were Drew's!

What on earth is impressive about that? I just don't get it.

If that happens again this year, everyone's gonna be screamin' bloody murder! You can't just say "look at all the yards and attempts" amid 18 TOs to only 2/3 the amount of TD production. At some point you have to draw a line.

Does anyone really think that such a QB is gonna take us deep into the playoffs? I sincerely have my doubts. And in case you wanna know, ...

Playoff games:

Career 51.2%, 5.3 YPA, 6 TDs/ 12 INTs!!!

Game by game breakdown:

42%, 235, 4.7, 1 TD, 3 INTs
58.3%, 164, 6.8, 1 TD, 2 INTs
60.6%, 178, 5.4, 0 TD, 1 INT
52.1%, 253, 5.3, 2 TD, 4 INTs
50.0%, 139, 4.3, 1 TD, 0 INT
52.3%, 264, 6.0, 0 TD, 2 INTs
47.6%, 102, 4.9, 1 TD, 0 INT (half a game)

This is good???

Funny thing is that we're told it was the D that prevented us from going further, yet, now w/ a completely revamped D, and one that should be worlds better, and w/ everyone's hero LeBeau around, even you only predict 1 game better as the minimal satisfaction level for this season?

Tsk, tsk! Pretty low standards IMO! I'm a tad bit more optimistic than that if Drew is even half the QB you think and say he is!

[WG]

And of course I've skewed those facts and stats somehow no doubt!

Naturally! It's Drew!

[WG]

3 TDs/12 TOs vs. playoff teams!

WOW!

Boy, I sure hope he can do that again, especially in the playoffs. The D sure had an impact last season to make Drew do that!

[WG]

And it's too bad that all of those 15 INTs and 3 more TOs were all in 7 losses against 7 of the 8 toughest teams on our schedule!

Guess that doesn't mean much or is indicative of anything, eh?

Naturally! It's Drew!!

[WG]

Cordially,

[Kevikid]

i think the general mood on the board has gotten pretty crappy... it really hasn't been fun visiting the boards lately. bledsoe may have had some bad games against good teams, but how many quarterbacks don't? gannon is probably considered the best qb in the league, at least last year he was. his stats against playoff teams was mediocre at best.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/gamelog?statsId=430

and all these nfl sites have been going crazy over mcnair, and he too sucked against playoff teams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/gamelog?statsId=3114

i think there's a reason why quarterbacks struggle against teams with good defenses...doesn't take a genius to see that correlation. all these quarterbacks suck. we should go into the season with travis brown as the starter. heck, we should start mcgahee right away and build for the future.

[Billz_fan]

Originally posted by Kevikid
i think the general mood on the board has gotten pretty crappy... it really hasn't been fun visiting the boards lately.

I agree, To much banter over Bledsoe. Tampa won the Super Bowl last lear just like most of the teams that have ever won it. With defense. Tampa's offense was like 24th in the leauge.

Bledsoe is more than enough QB. It's the defense that is gonna carry this or any team into a sucessfull post season.

[BillsOwnAll]

wys why the hell do you like the bills you sit here ver year and tell us what we do bad not what we do good jesus. we improved so much last i dont care what you say...and were gonna be better this year.

[baalworship]

I think that Bledsoe's performance was amazing considering he was playing behind an offensive line with 4 OUT OF 5 STARTERS who had never played their respective positions in the NFL. That coupled with Vinklarek was a pass-protection disaster. Hopefully this "Golden" Ruel guy is good.


I am very positive about this year. As long as we stay balanced on offense we will put up some points this year. There are frustrating things about last year's offense. I think the things that stuck out late in the year were Red-Zone Efficiency and Short-Yardage situations. We better learn to smash the football for a yard on 3rd and 1, 4th and 1 situations.

[WG]

The point, the larger point, that I've been trying to make is a very simple one;

Why is it that whenever the team is discussed out of OBD, that they always insist and talk about it as if Drew was perfect other than "trying to do to much"?

Why do the D and Henry take all the heat for losses when the fact is that we won 3 or 4 games as a result of defensive play that we wouldn't have normally won w/ the offensive output we had w/o good D? And that we lost 3 games that the D did everything that anyone could reasonably expect from them while the O completely failed, mostly b/c Drew didn't play well to understate matters?

Why is it that we/the Bills continue to insist that we need to build this team around Drew?

Do any of you really believe that there aren't ~25 other QBs in the league, whether starters or backups, who could post those numbers that I've outlined above?

I mean put it in very practical terms; how many QBs out there who couldn't toss 3 TDs to 12 TOs in 4 games v. the Jets, Oakland, and G.B. And quite honestly, G.B. and the Jets really weren't all that great. If G.B. had been in any kind of division they would not have been 12-4 as they were a 10-6 team.

Again, how many QBs are there in the NFL that in those 4 games, again, not even against top playoff teams, would toss an INT at the 1 going in, 2 more to set the opponent up for 2 TDs at midfield, 1 more TO setting another up for their only and game-winning TD, and 2 INTs in a game to effectively ice the game after first having given it away by an INT for a score?

In 4 games mind you?

Is that some feat that only Bledsoe can accomplish? Frankly, I can see many QBs doing that, including many of the league's dregs. It's horrible play. 3 TDs to 12 INTs to recap.

Sure, some of those QBs mentioned above didn't play well in the playoffs. But what did McNair have around him and does the Titan coaches completely tailor their game around McNair? Do they put the ball in the air 600+ times and allow him to audible his way to more pass plays constantly?

Gannon, well, the Raiders had no rushing game other than a scat-back rushing game. Garner is not an UTM type and their weakness bore them out for what they were and will happen to us and would have happened to us. If nothing else, the Raiders last year, who relied on their passing about as much as we did except they had a better D and an easy schedule, should do nothing more than serve as a template for "how NOT to do things".

On Bledsoe's playoff performances, instead of simply looking at one season, go back and look at all seasons of each QBs playoff performances. Sure, you expect some good and some bad.

Can anyone show me above where Drew had a good game? Please! Just one? I see none. I see one game in which he didn't do poorly but it certainly wasn't good, especially when you look at how the TD was set up. You would think he had a nice long drive, but not so.

Look, the bottom line is that we had many things wrong w/ our team last year, but everytime some word comes out of OBD and very often here on these boards it makes it seem like "POOR Drew, he played so well and the rest of the team just didn't respond" when the fact of the matter is that if he had played anywhere close to the way people are talking, we would have won the division outright at 11-5 last season. I for one was very disappointed that we didn't amidst Miami's injuries keeping them from going 12-4 and the Jets and Pats being weaker than everyone thought.

But in order to improve for this season, the FO, team, coaches, and even fans (in order to put pressure on them) need to start calling things the way they actually are instead of how we wish it to be!

Yes, by purely raw standards I guess you could say Drew had a good season w/ 24 TDs to 15 INTs. BUT, when you figure that all 15 of those INTs and 3 more Fumbles were all in 7 of the most important games of the season, then it just doesn't look so hot. Especially when most of his production came against teams that were weak and honestly, teams that we really didn't need an A-Team or A-game to beat even though we often struggled right down to the end. Houston and Chicago!

Yes, Henry played well but had fumbling issues. But the truth of the matter is that of his 8 lost fumbles, only the one in the Denver game cost us. Yes, it's quite possible that if he still fumbles as much as he did this year that some of those fumbles will cost us. BUT, that wasn't the case last season, so to blame Henry for losses is wrong. He played well otherwise and really wasn't utilized in Gilbride's game plan in ~ half of our games which wasn't his fault.

Was our D bad?

Yes, at the beginning of the season it was! But it definitely improved to to tune of allowing only 10, 17, 17, 13, 10, and 9 points in 6 of our last 10 games. And v. Miami we only allowed 21. And in the N.E. game, if you remove the easy TD that Bledsoe set up by handing the ball to Seymour on an INT at our own 9 YL, the D only allowed 20, and 10 of those were off of offensive TOs as well. Bledsoe and Price.

So you see, the D really didn't play all that poorly down the stretch, yet the talk continues to be "if they step up."

I don't think that's fair to the defensive players who poured out their hearts and souls in an honest effort to improve while Drew never gets criticized for stuff that he does. He's like Clinton in that respect. He stinks up the joint and then blames it on others. The difference being is that it's not Drew doing the talking, but the team.

Well, I'm tired of the D taking heat and Henry too when they were the lesser parts of our game plan last year and when in fact our D played to a top-10 level over the last 10 games or so, and without the talent that many teams have!

This year we can expect more. But we're only going to produce more if someone at the top realizes all of these things. Right now the talk, and I believe it b/c it was the same nonsense spouted last year when I gave the benefit of the doubt.

But my question is "how long will this continue?"

If Drew sets up the Pats twice w/in our own 30 this season and we lose say 31-20, is the D gonna get blamed again? Or will Drew finally take some heat for what he does to put undue pressure on the D and put them in impossible situations when otherwise we would have won the game?

This can't continue like this if in fact we are really to get better. Many of you say you want to go to the playoffs. Do you want to win there? What indication is there that Drew can have a decent playoff game? Surely none of his past playoff performances offer any degree of hope! As well, none of his games while on the Bills vs. playoff caliber teams do! So where does it come from?

Why, if you want the team to improve, does everyone want Drew to be completely immune it seems to any sort of criticism as if he contributed nothing detrimental to the team last season or was not responsible for any losses?

Many of you keep comparing him to QBs based on overall stats. But how many of those QBs had an OL like we had and w/ no injuries to boot, a RB like Henry, a FB like Centers, and WRs like Moulds, Price, and Reed? What more could a QB possibly ask for. Yet, on 4,359 big yards, all Drew could do was get 24 TDs and average only ~ 1 TD/game over our last 11. Big deal!

Most QBs drool over having talent like that, and frankly, most could easily dust teams like Houston, Cincy, Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota, and even Miami w/o their starting QB and two starting WRs. So which game did we win other than the Miami game in Buffalo that was impressive? I see none.

Anyway, I've been recently accused of "not seeing the big picture", but I've gotta say, the ones who are not seeing the bigger picture are all those who refuse to see that Drew did not have a great season in spite of his aggregate stats!

We are not gonna improve this season folks, fellow Bills fans, if Drew remains immune to criticism all season long again, and Gilbride, GW, and TD continue to blame the D and other players for his failures as a QB.

Do we want to reach the Super Bowl and win it? I'm not so sure based on much of what I read! I almost think at times that placing Drew in the pro bowl based on yardage and attempt marks is a priority! Or yards for the receivers or highlight reels based on two big pass plays in the game even though we lose the game against an important team!

But in order for us to improve, no player is going to be able to be beyond reproach, including and especially Drew as the leader of the O. It's also not fair to Henry, the D, or other aspects of the team when they do what's expected and Drew sh**s the bed, and they take the heat for it! It simply isn't.

I'm not sure I've said this before openly, but IMO, if Drew cannot have good games both individually and collectively, against the following teams this season, then I'm not sure he should stay around as he wouldn't be a help, he'd be more of a hindrance:

Miami (2) when they'll be at full strength presumably
Jets (2) who really weren't that good last season
Pats (2) one of the most overrated teams in the league IMO
Tenn.
Philly
Giants
K.C. 16 whopping points due to a bumbling passing game against a woeful D ain't going to cut it this year. But even w/ our D, I doubt we'll hold them to only 17 again.

Anyway, if Drew simply cannot put up against those teams while "going to town" on teams like Houston, Jax, and Cincy, then we don't need him. In fact, we'd be better w/o him. I think Brown or even AVP can play better than Drew did last year w/ the talent that was afforded him around him.

BUT, I'm patient and realize that nothing's going to change this season and am comfortable w/ that. Really. However, IF, things don't change, then I'm expecting that the team will make the appropriate adjustment. If that means trading Drew, then so be it. If it means sitting him in favor of Brown, then so be it. But I have a hard time believing that there are too many QBs who couldn't at least match Drew's performances last season on 600+ attempts w/ the talent that Drew had around him. Indeed, some QBs outperformed Drew in terms of production w/o the talent that he had an on far fewer than 610 attempts and 657 dropbacks! That's a fact, just go look at th seasons' stats.

So where I come down on this is simply a matter of not making Drew a golden child that he's become and making him immune to any sort of criticism at all. Especially when other aspects of the team are forced to quietly bend over and take the heat for his shortcomings! I don't particulary care for that when the other players play their hearts out too!

Drew will have to show that he can play well in more than one game v. the East, preferably 3 or 4 games. Am I looking for 4 TDs in those games? NO! But not having more INTs than TDs would be nice and not throwing INTs inside the opponent's 10 YL would also be nice, or INTs that set up the opponent inside our 20 or 30! So I'm more looking for a "lack of errors" than for tons of TDs, although the TDs would be nice.

Same for the presumed playoff teams on our schedule;

Philly, Tennessee, and even the Giants and K.C. may be tough this season. As well, if Drew isn't going to launch TDs, then let's just make sure he doesn't have a ton of INTs, especially ones that hurt us.

That's all! I want to win as much as the next guy, and if the choices are placing 6 players in the pro bowl, having a QB who ranks at the top in yardage and attempts, and having a WR or two w/ great stats, OR having none of that but making the playoffs, winning the AFCCG, and then going on to the SB, then I'll take the latter. If Drew is capable of that, then Great! We'll do it w/ him! If not, then I expect the team to realize that he's doing more harm than good and make a move to replace him so that we can achieve that goal!

If that makes me pessimistic, then so be it! But I don't care about all the nonsense that many here crowed about last year; yardage, attempts and all that crap. I want a champion ship, and at least a division win, or if the Fins are better, then at least an 11-5 record and a strong chance of winning in the playoffs. But we're not gonna do that on the merits of passing nor w/ Drew playing the way he did last season!

And yes, we could easily have been 10-6 or 11-5 last season. All we needed to do was to beat K.C., the Jets once, that would have put us at 10-6. And a single win v. the Pats would have put us at 11-5. But Drew's poor games and untimely INTs cost us, more than what any other player did, those games! And we only put up 16, 13, and 17 points in those games.

Let's just hope that all of that doesn't happen again. Let's hope we build this O around Henry and that Drew doesn't end up w/ more than 500 attempts this season. Let's just hope that when the D holds opponents to under 20 that w/ one of the most explosive and talented and young offenses in the league, that we can put up at least 20 points!

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WG]

Originally posted by BillsOwnAll
wys why the hell do you like the bills you sit here ver year and tell us what we do bad not what we do good jesus. we improved so much last i dont care what you say...and were gonna be better this year.

BOA, that's a bunch of CRAP and you know it!

Why can't you and everyone else (for the most part) realize that good passing performances in 4 or 5 games v. the scrubs on the schedule do not make a good QB!

And for pete sakes, why on earth are you and everyone so averse to Drew taking any criticism when he didn't play well? It's as if he's everyone's child or something. Unbelieveable!

Here's what we do "good" as you stated it:

We run the ball well.
We played very good D over the last 10 games or so of the season, enough so that we would have ranked ~ near 10th in the league had we played that way all season!
We have talent on this offense such that it is one of the top-3 (conservatively) offenses in the league! Yet, production doesn't match!
We should also have, IMO, a top 5 NFL D!

Here's what we don't do "good":

We live and die by our passing game when the passing game is NOT what's ever gonna earn us a SB win! Ever! It's D and solid rushing that are required!
We don't run the ball enough due to poor offensive coaching/play-calling
We're not balanced
We pass FAR too much
Our coaching couldn't realize that when your RB is averaging 6 YPC and your passing game is struggling, when you're down by 1 and at the opponent's 40 w/ over 4 minute remaining, you run, you DON'T throw. (ending in an INT and costing us the game!) This or similar happened far too often.
We blame all other aspects of the team in favor of a marquee QB who apparently is beyond any sort of criticism and whom we are apparently willing to live or DIE by in spite of what's in the best interests of the team.
We don't give credit to the D for what it did last year when it won games for us or played well enough to win in games where the offense didn't put up!

Now, as you look over that list of "things we don't do good", you'll see that most of it is completely self-correctable. It has nothing to do w/ talent, but rather coaching and strategizing! It can be altered overnight if we so chose. Our D has added beef this season correcting it's inability to stop the run, so that has been addressed. Virtually everything else on that list has purely to do w/ poor judgement by someone at the top in coaching, and no, it's not GW. It's Gilbride!

I would like to see that corrected this season! Wouldn't you? But in order to do so, we have to quit making excuses for one of the root sources of the problem, eh. It's a huge state of denial for this front office and coaching staff, and even fans!