an interesting article on GW

[ryven]

http://wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=1505118&nav=0RagIpvZ



Tell me what you think.

[ryven]

Let's start with the offense. After getting rid of Mike Sheppard following Williams first season, the team hired Kevin Gilbride. Gilbride has control over the offense and the play calling. Williams is involved, but on Sundays it's Gilbride calling the shots. It's Gilbride deciding to throw on third and short, to give up on the run, and to not run in the red zone. And if it's not Gilbride, it's Bledsoe with the control. They've given Bledsoe the chance to check out of run plays and switch to a pass if he thinks the defense warrants it. Too often Bledsoe gives up on the run and puts the ball in his own hands. Even if it's Williams philosophy going in, two different guys have more power over the offense on game days.

As for the defense; Williams came in as a defensive genius from Tennesee. He brought in his buddy Jerry Gray, who knew his system. Even though they are on the same page, Tom Donahoe added Dick Lebeau this season. Lebeau has a major influence over the defensive schemes and calls as well. There are a combination of philosophies trying come together in one defense. As a result, at times the defense looks like it does not have an identity. It certainly has not gotten the most out of their talent this season.


To me a good head coach would step in make decision(sp?) no matter who's in charge of what. All though would it help anything?

[TedMock]

I don't necessarily think Moobs sucks as a coach. I think he may prove to be a good coordinator only and not head coach material a la Norv Turner. Moobies' biggest fault is trying too hard not to step on toes. He needs to put his foot down with Gilbride. Gilbride's our biggest weakness right now, not Williams.

[Billzz]

GW's gonna get canned anyway why not grow a pair of testicles to match his titties and maybe we will see what he's made of.

[WG]

ryven,

You've completely missed the author's points on the portions of the article that you just quoted. That's the part that I was gonna quote.

KG is TD's hire, NOT GW's. As such, GW is between a rock and a hard place. I'd wager you dollars-to-donuts that KG got promoted to QB coach last year b/c of TD not GW and that if GW comes down too hard on KG he'll hear it from TD. The entire thing is an awkward situation that tells us that TD's too controlling of on-field stuff and staffing. I mean we must be the only team in recent league history w/ an "Asst. HC" What kind of crap is that?

We all know that at least to some extent LeBeau is sticking his hands into the D. Otherwise he's simply collecting his paycheck for nothing. It also explains how with greater talent the D is not playing proportionally better than last season if at all.

And on O, this guy only reiterates what everyone here has said too, that Gilbride and Drew are making horrible coaching calls and audibles and b/c KG is TD's guy, not GW's, GW's hands are in fact tied. Since Drew is KG's boy he's protected under the "I love KG" act of 2002. I can only imagine that KG's promotion, totally undeserving BTW, will attest to that.

At this point however, if I were GW, as a lame duck, he can only improve his lot by publicly stating that he's calling the offensive shots and at least strap on some nads and preserve some semblance of integrity. None of the fans are gonna mind if he does that and for sure it's not gonna hurt. And on the outside chance that the O responds to that, he'll only look good both for challenging TD's little fiefdom here and for also doing proverbially what Buddy Ryan did physically a decade ago.

The single largest issue in this team's poor performance is Kevin Gilbride. Yes, GW has issues, but nowhere near the ones that Gilbride has. Gilbride has managed to skate as a result of the first 5 or 6 games of last season which essentially made the entire season respectable, but now that the media has a long, long trend, 18 games, to look at, that luster has long since worn off and Gilbride is finally taking the heat he deserves.

But just the fact that GW won't stand up for himself and continues to make dumb statements in the media is bad for him and doesn't say much for him being the "head guy" here. But Gilbride, and soon to be LeBeau, are the real issues here, and if we, TD, and the team are not careful, the next few years will be wasted due to TD's stupidity and power kick. We certainly don't need anymore of TD's "genius" moves, do we!

I say clean house entirely after the season. Fird TD, Williams, Gilbride and every single O coach. I don't particularly care if the fire Gray and the D staff since they seem to be doing OK apart from LeBeau's "contributions." Fire LeBeau too. Why he was hired to begin with is beyond me. He had years in Cincy to prove whatever it was he was going to prove and came up more than lame! Why do we need or want that here in Buffalo is beyond me! Hiring him is an open admission that we suck at selecting talented coaches.

Then let's put Modrak in at GM, find a real HC. I'm sure Modrak wouldn't have such "power struggles" with his HCs and would give them the freedom to do what they need to do. He's a personnel guy, and that's primarily what we need out of a GM in Buffalo these days.

The TD experiment is all but over IMO. We've determined that "marketing" is fine in a year following an '00 type of season, but that that marketing needs to be tempered with decisions that are gonna make us competitive, not continually try to sell tickets and make stupid moves that resound well initially in the media but do little for improving the team's most dire needs in on-field performance. I'm tellin' ya now, I'm gonna take a very close look at what TD does for next season, and if any one of the following occurs, I'm not renewing my seasons:

Gilbride is still on the team in any capacity whatsoever.
LeBeau is promoted to HC or DC.
Drew is extended.
GW is left in at HC. Whether or not it's his fault, he's ineffective.

Any one of those 4 things happen and I'm not renewing. I cannot imagine that I'll be the only one and I would have a difficult time believing that ST sales are gonna improve. I'll still go to games, I just won't buy STs. I'll pick them up for $10 in the lot and pay what these performances are worth.

[WG]

Originally posted by Billzz
GW's gonna get canned anyway why not grow a pair of testicles to match his titties and maybe we will see what he's made of.

That ain't a pretty picture. :D

I FULLY agree w/ ya zz!!! He looks like a wuss by not doing that. He should at least attempt to preserve some integrity.

[WG]

BTW, I think that article was very, very good and that we're gonna see many more of them between now and the end of the season. At some point Ralph is going to have to step in.

I think it would be totally ironic if Ralph is the one who lined up Modrak, and if Modrak ends up replacing TD, Mr. "I'm gonna hedge my bets everywhere by hiring multiple talents at the various coaching positions." It would be poetic justice.

BTW, this thing w/ Gilbride was totally predictable as well. These last two seasons have been classic Gilbride.

[RedEyE]

Originally posted by Wys Guy
ryven,

You've completely missed the author's points on the portions of the article that you just quoted. That's the part that I was gonna quote.

KG is TD's hire, NOT GW's. As such, GW is between a rock and a hard place. I'd wager you dollars-to-donuts that KG got promoted to QB coach last year b/c of TD not GW and that if GW comes down too hard on KG he'll hear it from TD. The entire thing is an awkward situation that tells us that TD's too controlling of on-field stuff and staffing. I mean we must be the only team in recent league history w/ an "Asst. HC" What kind of crap is that?

We all know that at least to some extent LeBeau is sticking his hands into the D. Otherwise he's simply collecting his paycheck for nothing. It also explains how with greater talent the D is not playing proportionally better than last season if at all.

And on O, this guy only reiterates what everyone here has said too, that Gilbride and Drew are making horrible coaching calls and audibles and b/c KG is TD's guy, not GW's, GW's hands are in fact tied. Since Drew is KG's boy he's protected under the "I love KG" act of 2002. I can only imagine that KG's promotion, totally undeserving BTW, will attest to that.

At this point however, if I were GW, as a lame duck, he can only improve his lot by publicly stating that he's calling the offensive shots and at least strap on some nads and preserve some semblance of integrity. None of the fans are gonna mind if he does that and for sure it's not gonna hurt. And on the outside chance that the O responds to that, he'll only look good both for challenging TD's little fiefdom here and for also doing proverbially what Buddy Ryan did physically a decade ago.

The single largest issue in this team's poor performance is Kevin Gilbride. Yes, GW has issues, but nowhere near the ones that Gilbride has. Gilbride has managed to skate as a result of the first 5 or 6 games of last season which essentially made the entire season respectable, but now that the media has a long, long trend, 18 games, to look at, that luster has long since worn off and Gilbride is finally taking the heat he deserves.

But just the fact that GW won't stand up for himself and continues to make dumb statements in the media is bad for him and doesn't say much for him being the "head guy" here. But Gilbride, and soon to be LeBeau, are the real issues here, and if we, TD, and the team are not careful, the next few years will be wasted due to TD's stupidity and power kick. We certainly don't need anymore of TD's "genius" moves, do we!



Great statements. My sentiments exactly. :bf1:

What's the point of Williams being there if he hasn't the power a true HC deserves? He's obvioulsy not a good PR man. Mike Sheppard sucked, Jerry Gray has been hazy, but Williams was never given the power to correct his mistakes. TD forced both KG and DL down his throat. Now he sits back and watches this "stew" burn. Three football cooks, with 3 different recipes.

However, this is also GW's time to shine. His contract is on the line regardless. Why not strap on that set of "nads", walk into TDs office and say, "I can save this team if given the chance. Give me the power and the control that I deserve." ? After all, what's the worst that could happen? - GW could be thrown out of TD's office?.....The team could continue on it's losing skid?.... TD saying "Ok, it's your team".........

The fact that he hasn't done this, shows me a lack of leadership.

GW has to take the first step, but I'm now begining to think that he just wants to collect his pots and pans and step out of this kitchen.

BTW, Bledsoe is not the QB that Manning is and Kelly was. He can't be trusted to call the plays at the LOS and I think that this is one of the main reason that his performance has dropped recently. KG needs to be leashed, and Bledsoe needs a SOLID QB coach. This team needs to focus on the run and just forget about the passing game for a while.