Mr. Cynical
08-17-2004, 07:17 PM
Buffalo
In the middle of the 2002 season, the Bills offense and defense crossed each other going in opposite directions. To that point, the Buffalo offense was the hottest in the league; it proceeded to play poorly in the second half of 2002, and in 2003 crumbled to the lowest-scoring AFC team. In seven games last season, the Bills offense failed to record a touchdown, putting up a grand total of three points in its final two outings. Meanwhile, the defense rose from weak at the beginning of 2002 to the second-best unit in 2003. And considering how awful the Bills offense was -- repeated listless three-and-outs, sending the defenders back onto the field -- the defensive finish is all the more impressive.
So what happened to the two units? The defense gradually improved by adding better players and abandoning the gambling "46" look that the former coach, the tastefully named Gregg Williams, stuck with too long. Now the Bills field a conservative, position-oriented defense, and TMQ believes conservative defenses are best. And though sports pundits groused that big-deal acquisition Lawyer Milloy did not post an interception, Buffalo finished second against the pass, which Milloy might possibly have had something to do with. Ten defensive starters return from 2003 and the new guy is the very polished Troy Vincent, so this unit may show cohesion rare in the waive-a-rama era of the salary cap.
Over on the offensive side, the football gods spent the last season and a half punishing the Bills for what this column calls The Preposterous Punt. Buffalo played New England in 2002 in a monster game, trailing by 10 points at home in the third quarter, facing fourth-and-2 on the Patriots' 32, the tastefully named Gregg Williams ordered -- a punt. To the moment of The Preposterous Punt, Buffalo was 5-3 and its offense hot; since that moment, the club has been 9-15 and its offense stone cold. The football gods have exacted vengeance for this mincing fraidy-cat call.
Now the tastefully named Gregg Williams has been replaced with the serious-pun-potential Mike Mularkey. Since gentlemen who have never been head coaches usually fare poorly in their first season, Buffalo fans are likely to face yet another season of rending of garments and gnashing of teeth. The new authority figure with most potential to elevate the Bills' fortunes is not Mularkey but Jim McNally, who takes over the offensive line. McNally worked wonders with undrafted who-dat OLs at Jersey/A. In Buffalo, he inherits a unit of highly drafted, overpaid under-performers who last year allowed a league-high 51 sacks.
Fun fact No. 1: The Bills have gone 43 straight games, almost three full seasons, without an interception by one of their safeties.
Fun fact No. 2: Searching high and low for a replacement for Jim Kelly -- or, as the Smothers Brothers used to say, "We searched high, we searched low, and we searched when we felt normal" -- Buffalo has invested four recent No. 1 draft picks in quarterbacks in the Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe and J. P. Losman deals. Somebody better look good behind center.
Love that last paragraph. :xplode:
Link (http://nfl.com/news/story/7585972)
In the middle of the 2002 season, the Bills offense and defense crossed each other going in opposite directions. To that point, the Buffalo offense was the hottest in the league; it proceeded to play poorly in the second half of 2002, and in 2003 crumbled to the lowest-scoring AFC team. In seven games last season, the Bills offense failed to record a touchdown, putting up a grand total of three points in its final two outings. Meanwhile, the defense rose from weak at the beginning of 2002 to the second-best unit in 2003. And considering how awful the Bills offense was -- repeated listless three-and-outs, sending the defenders back onto the field -- the defensive finish is all the more impressive.
So what happened to the two units? The defense gradually improved by adding better players and abandoning the gambling "46" look that the former coach, the tastefully named Gregg Williams, stuck with too long. Now the Bills field a conservative, position-oriented defense, and TMQ believes conservative defenses are best. And though sports pundits groused that big-deal acquisition Lawyer Milloy did not post an interception, Buffalo finished second against the pass, which Milloy might possibly have had something to do with. Ten defensive starters return from 2003 and the new guy is the very polished Troy Vincent, so this unit may show cohesion rare in the waive-a-rama era of the salary cap.
Over on the offensive side, the football gods spent the last season and a half punishing the Bills for what this column calls The Preposterous Punt. Buffalo played New England in 2002 in a monster game, trailing by 10 points at home in the third quarter, facing fourth-and-2 on the Patriots' 32, the tastefully named Gregg Williams ordered -- a punt. To the moment of The Preposterous Punt, Buffalo was 5-3 and its offense hot; since that moment, the club has been 9-15 and its offense stone cold. The football gods have exacted vengeance for this mincing fraidy-cat call.
Now the tastefully named Gregg Williams has been replaced with the serious-pun-potential Mike Mularkey. Since gentlemen who have never been head coaches usually fare poorly in their first season, Buffalo fans are likely to face yet another season of rending of garments and gnashing of teeth. The new authority figure with most potential to elevate the Bills' fortunes is not Mularkey but Jim McNally, who takes over the offensive line. McNally worked wonders with undrafted who-dat OLs at Jersey/A. In Buffalo, he inherits a unit of highly drafted, overpaid under-performers who last year allowed a league-high 51 sacks.
Fun fact No. 1: The Bills have gone 43 straight games, almost three full seasons, without an interception by one of their safeties.
Fun fact No. 2: Searching high and low for a replacement for Jim Kelly -- or, as the Smothers Brothers used to say, "We searched high, we searched low, and we searched when we felt normal" -- Buffalo has invested four recent No. 1 draft picks in quarterbacks in the Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe and J. P. Losman deals. Somebody better look good behind center.
Love that last paragraph. :xplode:
Link (http://nfl.com/news/story/7585972)