Players or the System?

[berndog5]

Hi Everyone!!
I am a huge Bills fan in Western Canada and via satelitte I have watched every Bills game over the past 4 years. I have been a huge Bills fan since I was in diapers. Over the years I have noticed that the teams that are successful are not the most talented, but the best coached and the most cohesive.
The Bills over the past few years have been lacking on the leadership side with regards to the coaches. Wade Phillips lost his players over his indecision with the Hollywood Rob and The Mullet situation and GW did not have the mentallity to handle the day to day coaching abilities. You can see with our defense's steady improvement that the leadership provided by LeBeau, Krumrie, and Gray developed our "D" into a strong unit (yes the FA's helped however without coaching and leadership the unit would still have been subpar).
With the addition of MM and our new offensive coaches do you think they can provide the leadership neccessary to succeed?
I watched Clements as a CFL QB and as he came to the end of his career he was instumental in developing the back-up QB to be the next starter. He is a teacher and I belive he will be able to implement the appropriate game plans to put our offense in position to improve, but can the rest of the staff aid the players to improve?

[mybills]

Welcome berndog5! :bigwave:

I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

[shelby]

Welcome to the Zone!

i like what i've heard about our new staff thus far. MM is highly motivated to win. Free Agency moves and the draft will be very important to put the final pieces together. i am hopeful that next year we will have a winning record, and hopefully a playoff berth...but a lot of that will depend on Bledsoe's success in whatever new system is implemented.
TD knows he can't afford to :angry: this coaching choice up, so i am feeling pretty positive that he chose the best man available for the job.

[Pride]

First off, welcome!

Secondly.... you bring up a good question. Personally my opinion is, both. i think what you are seeing is a league with great parity, and because of free agency and the salary cap, it should stay that way. What you are seeing happen is the bad teams who hire a new up and comer head coach are starting to play well, and the coaching is making the difference (Cinci, Carolina, etc). However, the days of the dynasty are NOT over. If Vermeil doesnt leave the rams a few years back, they become a 2-3 time superbowl winner. Martz has ruined that club, but they had the talent to win often. Also, I truly believe that the players assembled in buffalo, managed with cap friendly deals, and if coached well, can be a powerhouse in the AFC for a few years to come.

You look at Indy, and if they get a Defense (which they are building) they could also be a perrennial powerhouse.

For a few years, when parity was the biggest thing, the head coaches made the difference. Now that the GM's have a good handle on the cap and how to manage it for the long term, you will start to see players staying put more often and helping to create the dynasty once again. Although Dynasties will be measured by SB wins, but now domination of games throughout the season, as scores will always be close.

[superbills]

Hey berndog, Welcome!

I, too, have high hopes for Mularkey and Company. The thing I like about Mike is he was once a player, which, while not necessary to be a great coach, I think helps in understanding the psyche of your players and how to adjust to that come game day. Greg had all the organization and "book smarts" you could want, but when it came down to being on the battlefield, it all fell apart.

Greg had never been there, he had never fought the war his players fought, and he folded under the pressure that his players had to deal with week in and week out. Being a coordinator, he only had to worry about half of the game. He needed to get someone who could help him manage the other half, that being the offense. Well, he committed perhaps the biggest offense (we can argue all day about who's decision it really was to hire the guy) by letting Kevin Gilbride run amok all over our offense. The help that he so desperately needed to complete his team essentially turned into a coordinated "KillDrive" mutiny that sabotaged us when it mattered most.

Mularkey has already impressed me by making smart choices in whom he chooses to surround himself with to get the most out of this team. It is evident that he realizes that his success depends on filling in the gaps in his experience so that here are no holes or glaring weaknesses that can be exploited. It's the mark of a true general and, as the litany of head coaches that have come out of some particular regimes attests, great generals surround themselves with able officers.

[ryjam282]

I believe it is solely the system that makes the player great. Prime example is Ryan Leaf. I know I may take a bunch of flak for this one but in college he ran one type of offense and really understood it and excelled greatly in it. Then when he got to the pro's he got into a completely different type of system that relied on quick decisions and pre-snap reads. He obviously couldn't do that. I believe if he was put into a similar type offense he would have been a decent QB. Not great but decent like a Jim Harbaugh type. He had the size and an enourmously strong arm. Just my opinion but I really think it is the systems and not the players.

Ryan

[superbills]

Originally posted by ryjam282
I believe it is solely the system that makes the player great. Prime example is Ryan Leaf. I know I may take a bunch of flak for this one but in college he ran one type of offense and really understood it and excelled greatly in it. Then when he got to the pro's he got into a completely different type of system that relied on quick decisions and pre-snap reads. He obviously couldn't do that. I believe if he was put into a similar type offense he would have been a decent QB. Not great but decent like a Jim Harbaugh type. He had the size and an enourmously strong arm. Just my opinion but I really think it is the systems and not the players.

Ryan

I wouldn’t' say it's solely the system, some players win in spite of the system they are surrounded with. Take Marino, for example. If the Doll-fins had added some semblance of a running attack to their passing game, there's no doubt that Dan would have at least had a shot at a championship. The system failed him, but he put up hall of fame numbers in spite of it.

I agree with you on Leaf and this is the flip-side of the system argument. I do believe that a strong system can turn a mediocre player into an MVP, i.e. (as much as I hate to admit it) Tom Brady. The "max-protect-and-run-even-though-your-backs-are-crap" system that Belichek and Weis have instilled has elevated Brady's game by playing to his strengths, which is giving him time to see the field and relying on that damn-near-impossible-to-stop five yard out. This is where I agree that Leaf could have benefited from a system that played to his strengths. I'm still not sure that "Cryin' Leaf" had the mental wherewithal to make it in the NFL, though. However, I think he deserved to have a chance to prove himself without the pressure he faced.

[TedMock]

I think it's both. IMO a good coach doesn't have one system a la Steve Spurrier or Kevin Gilbride. All players have strengths and weaknesses and it's up to the coaches to work with the talent given. Is Larry Centers a better fullback than Sam Gash? NO! They both have huge strengths over the other. Centers fit into KG's "system" better than Gash did. However, if we ran a power offense, Gash would've been the better fit. Josh Reed, Mark Campbell, etc.. would've been just fine in a different system. Peerless Price worked in KG's system but wouldn't work in others. So, it's both. Players and coaches need to figure out what each guy is good at and what they're not good at and run plays that utilize their strengths and do not expose their weaknesses.

[mybills]

Originally posted by TedMock
Players and coaches need to figure out what each guy is good at and what they're not good at and run plays that utilize their strengths and do not expose their weaknesses.

:bf1: :up:

[BAM]

:welcome: dude!

how's the weather out there