Desperate Calls show that Gregg Williams is a desperate coach

[Ebenezer]

Two glaring calls stick out from yesterday's game that show that GW is running scared for his job. The ill-fated blocked punt attempt and the TD by TH. He is so desperate to instill confidence in his team and make them look better than they are that he is risking winning. The penalty let Cincy back in the game and if Henry fumbles GW looks like a dunce. It is football not surgery. Don't make it harder than it has to be. Marv Levy's number 1 rule was "Don't be stupid". GW thinks he is so smart that he is being stupid.

...And, let's not even go near the ancillary stuff...dropped passes, corners playing 10 yards off the receiver; on 3rd and 4??? Josh Reed still starting...please, stop the insanity. He is coaching them as if they are still 3-13...this team was supposed to have been built to win this year.

[LtBillsFan66]

[The Spaz]

Blocking a punt with a lead is a desperate call????

[TedMock]

I thought the blocked punt call was a good call. If Wire doesn't commit an elementary mistake we have the ball and kill the clock. It's just a matter of where we have the ball. I don't really like GW either but I thought that was a good call by Danny Smith. Whenever any team is struggling you try to give them their confidence back. I liked going for the TD to do that. All teams go through ups and downs regardless of coach. When going through the down times you have to figure out how to get confidence and momentum back. I really don't think either call was that of desperation. Cincy has played everyone tough and I don't think anybody should have thought we'd beat them 38-3. They've been in every game and getting better.

[helmetguy]

Why not just let 'em punt it and we kill the clock that way? Once the penalty occurred, and the Bengals got a second life, it apperared that the D quit on GW. He's lost this team, and any successes they've had come from playing for pride. The Boo-Birds at half-time were what got 'em fired up after the break.

[jdbillsfan]

I think everyone needs to ease up on GW for this. They wanted to pressure the kicker, not give him too much time to punt, maybe get a block, help with field position etc.

I don't think he was thinking Coy would make a bone headed play like that when he made the call to put pressure on the punter.

[TedMock]

That was on Wire's stupidity, not the call. The reason I say this is because you trust Wire not to do things like that and why not put a dagger in their hearts when you have the chance? The defense came right back on the field tired with horrible field position so Cincy had an easier opportunity to score. I don't think GW's lost the players. Wire put the D in a bad position. He won't do it again.....overall, he's an intelligent player and has played well on ST's but that was definitely a lapse. I agreed with the boo-birds coming out because the offense played so poorly in the first half. There were just way too many dropped balls the last few weeks. It's getting ridiculous.

[helmetguy]

Read Sullivan's column in the Buffalo News. He's got direct quotes from GW about that. Guess what?

Ever heard THIS before?: "...and we didn't execute it very well."

Sullivan: "As usual, it wasn't a matter of coaching, but of execution. Wire made a mistake, the way Sammy Morris messed up the fake punt and Henry botched the halfback option pass."

Ease up on GW??? NO WAY!!!

[TedMock]

"....and we didn't execute it very well." of course I've heard this before every single week from 50% of the NFL head coaches and players. It's a typical sports cliche'. I did read Sullivan's column and I still don't get how people blame the coach for what Wire did. Sullivan's always bad mouthed the Bills personell but that's besides the point. Henry didn't really botch the halfback pass either, Pucillo got shoved into him when he threw it. Too bad, Reed was wide open although he was also wide open on the flea flicker too but dropped it. I'm as frustrated as you are but I see these plays wide open and a stupid mistake by a player ruining them. Was it GW's fault Reed dropped it? Was it GW's fault that the guard got blown into the passer? I said that I haven't been impressed with GW but Coy Wire deserves 100% of the blame for that play.

[LtBillsFan66]

Ted and jd.

Thanks for injecting some sanity in here.

This witch-hunt is sickening. AND I'm NOT a fan of Gregg at all!!!

[Novacane]

Originally posted by billsfanone
Ted and jd.

Thanks for injecting some sanity in here.

This witch-hunt is sickening. AND I'm NOT a fan of Gregg at all!!!

I'm no greg fan either. I think I made that point last week. However, BF1 is right. *****ing about that punt block is *****ing just fot the sake of *****ing. There was nothing wrong with that call if Wire realizes he ain't gonna get there and pulls up.

[Dozerdog]

Well, the Bills were pinned on their own goal line a bunch of times that day. Cincy was punting with the wind- sure we could have just let them punt it, and either fair catch it or have them down the ball again deep in our own territory.

If we go 3 plays and out (big stretch there, eh?) we punt into the wind and they get more field position.

I would attempt a block there- why not? Ity was not a desperate call. Geesh Eb, at this rate, anything other than taking a knee would be considered "too risky" in your book.

[Ebenezer]

Originally posted by Dozerdog
Well, the Bills were pinned on their own goal line a bunch of times that day. Cincy was punting with the wind- sure we could have just let them punt it, and either fair catch it or have them down the ball again deep in our own territory.

If we go 3 plays and out (big stretch there, eh?) we punt into the wind and they get more field position.

I would attempt a block there- why not? Ity was not a desperate call. Geesh Eb, at this rate, anything other than taking a knee would be considered "too risky" in your book.

The bigger picture is that he is not making good coaching calls. You can blame Wire for the act of running into the kicker but GW made the call to go for the block. There isn't a quality coach out there that would have made that call in that position. Sorry, it just doesn't float. He is running out of chances. If you don't think TD is critically evaluating GW the same way you are sadly mistaking. And, if TD isn't then he may not be doing his job either. There are MAJOR fundamental problems on this team. Good teams just don't make these types of mistakes. If the talent is as good as advertised then this is a playoff caliber team. This team could not beat the 96 Bills that lost to Jax in the playoffs...think about how far it is from the SB teams. People want to "put in perspective" and say we won the game. Yes, we won a sloppy game. And if that game were played today Cincy might win it. And if we played that way against KC, Denver and maybe Minnesota (among others) they would eat our lunch and ask for dessert. This team is not playing well. Calling for a block or going for a TD when not needed is a sign that GW is doing risky things to instill confidence in this team. That is desperation. He needs to instill confidence in them by constructing a good game plan, instilling discipline so there are fewer drops and penalties and letting them build off a SOUND wind. That is not happening. The bet here is that he is losing players every week.

[mikemac2001]

Im sick of reed but He is in his 2nd year i dont feel he should start anymore but he should be our number 3 Get him some confidence building passes and use shaw at number 2 ...for the call it upset me but u know danny smith Came to him with it. it was coy wires mistake....i first blamed williams but realized he cant be blamed for a bone head move.

[helmetguy]

Right on, Eb! Too many people are missing the big picture here. If (according to GW) execution is the crux of the problem, how is it to be corrected? By incorporating MORE stuff in the game plan? Week after week, that is exactly what the brain mistrust is doing so that, by game day, there's even more to concentrate on than good sound fundamentals. EVERYTHING looks good on paper, and GW will tell you that his preparation and breakdown of the opponent showed that the new stuff was just the ticket; that they'd be caught off guard. MESSAGE TO GW!!! HELLO??? How about getting back to basics. Let the talent and skill do the talking, and leave the cutsie stuff to the Jills.