What are your feelings on the Bills now?

[TigerJ]

I still believe there is talent on these Bills. There may be some holes, but I think there is sufficient talent to be a strong team. I guess that's what makes me more frustrated than anything else. If I was convinced they were talent poor, I would just resign myself to the fact that it's going to be a terrible season, like three years ago. But these Bills are better than that. Take away even some of the stupidity, lack of concentration etc. that we've seen the last 4 weeks and Buffalo could conceivably be 3-0. (Let's leave the officiating out of this discussion OK. I'll concede that may have made a difference too.) At 0-3, Buffalo is not mathematically out of the playoffs. It's way too early for that, but realistically, I don't see Buffalo going 10-3 the rest of the way, which is what it would take. I suppose, I would take some encouragement idf Buffalo went 9-4 the rest of the way, particularly if we finish strong.

So, how are you feeling to this point? Do you still hold out hope for the playoffs? What would it take to salvage something out of this season for you?

[Mr. Cynical]

So, how are you feeling to this point? Do you still hold out hope for the playoffs? What would it take to salvage something out of this season for you?I never had hope for the playoffs even before the season started. Mainly because:

Drew was still the starting QB
The Oline did not get any help besides Villarial
This is MM/TC's rookie year
That said, the season would be salvaged if JP starts as soon as he is healthy and WM is the primary ball carrier. Our record will still be 4-12 or so, but at least we would be building for the future.

One note on MM/TC: I have to say I am very nervous about them. Running a bootleg with Drew on a 4th and 3 is as bad a decision as it gets. Very GW/KG type move. Add to that the fact that MM was known to use trick plays in Pitt and I'm starting to wonder if it was a good move or not.

But hey, at least Moorman is playing like a champ. :D I couldn't be happier with his performance.

[Dozerdog]

I still believe there is talent on these Bills. There may be some holes, but I think there is sufficient talent to be a strong team. I guess that's what makes me more frustrated than anything else. If I was convinced they were talent poor, I would just resign myself to the fact that it's going to be a terrible season, like three years ago. But these Bills are better than that. Take away even some of the stupidity, lack of concentration etc. that we've seen the last 4 weeks and Buffalo could conceivably be 3-0. (Let's leave the officiating out of this discussion OK. I'll concede that may have made a difference too.) At 0-3, Buffalo is not mathematically out of the playoffs. It's way too early for that, but realistically, I don't see Buffalo going 10-3 the rest of the way, which is what it would take. I suppose, I would take some encouragement idf Buffalo went 9-4 the rest of the way, particularly if we finish strong.

So, how are you feeling to this point? Do you still hold out hope for the playoffs? What would it take to salvage something out of this season for you?

It's amazing how one unit corrodes the value of other positions. Because our OL is putrid, the talent at WR, RB and QB gets drastically affected.

On defense we are still rock solid despite the injuries.


While our coaches have made a bunch of rookie mistakes- I like the playcalling in this past game. There is a nice balance of run & pass, with us taking shots farther down field. Vs Jax, they got a bit cute with the trick plays, but we had a lot of good drives (damn turnovers & Penalties)


We had a 96 yard drive against the super bowl champions.

And finally- we have some special teams play!

While with this line our playoff hopes are gone - even though our W/L record is far from keeping us out. Only 3 teams look solid right now, making it a race for wild card spots.

[juice]

It's amazing how one unit corrodes the value of other positions. Because our OL is putrid, the talent at WR, RB and QB gets drastically affected.

On defense we are still rock solid despite the injuries.


While our coaches have made a bunch of rookie mistakes- I like the playcalling in this past game. There is a nice balance of run & pass, with us taking shots farther down field. Vs Jax, they got a bit cute with the trick plays, but we had a lot of good drives (damn turnovers & Penalties)


We had a 96 yard drive against the super bowl champions.

And finally- we have some special teams play!

While with this line our playoff hopes are gone - even though our W/L record is far from keeping us out. Only 3 teams look solid right now, making it a race for wild card spots.
Good post..
But I wouldn't say we are Rock Solid on Defense.. our Multi-million dollar DE looks to have gotten away with robbery, and we cant afford to play Wire this week against the JETS.. He's killing this team.

[TigerJ]

I agree, Dozerdog, that Buffalo shows flashes from time to time of potential dominance. Then the next series, our Bills commit penalties on three consecutive plays, or Travis slips and falls followed by an inexplicable play call or something else. We are beating ourselves. I wouldn't say it is a guarantee Buffalo would have won had they committed only half the penalties or made half the dumb plays, but I sure couldn't rule it out.

[jbisset]

I think we will have a long season because of the oline. We could also use a pass rushing DE and like everyone else less injuries. The main question is why didn't this organization address this issue in the off season? I believe that with a good – not very good – good Oline this team would be a playoff team.

[Jayhawk]

I still love the bills, but with only 3 games I think that we are terrible right now, but give it time.

[ScottLawrence]

I never had hope for the playoffs even before the season started. Mainly because:

Drew was still the starting QB
The Oline did not get any help besides Villarial
This is MM/TC's rookie year
That said, the season would be salvaged if JP starts as soon as he is healthy and WM is the primary ball carrier. Our record will still be 4-12 or so, but at least we would be building for the future.

One note on MM/TC: I have to say I am very nervous about them. Running a bootleg with Drew on a 4th and 3 is as bad a decision as it gets. Very GW/KG type move. Add to that the fact that MM was known to use trick plays in Pitt and I'm starting to wonder if it was a good move or not.

But hey, at least Moorman is playing like a champ. :D I couldn't be happier with his performance.


We should rebuild a little.

I would say with any other quarterback, our O-Line would be considered nothing worse then average.


We need a change from the top to the bottom.

I really don't see the point of holding onto players like Adams, Milloy, Fletcher, Moulds, and Henry when we can't win.

[BiLLSRuLE]

Until we lose 7 games, I aint givin up on this team :;

[NapalmDeath]

I had an interesting converstaion at work today with a friend of mine who in unfortunatly a Boston fan. (Red Sux, Bruins, Pats)

I seen him coming and he came up to me, and instead of rubbing it my face about the Bills loss, he asked me "What the Hell did Travis Henry fall over on 3rd down?" I was pretty shocked, because usually he runs his mouth about how "Great" the Patriots are, how the refs don't favor them, etc. I told him, the air must have tripped him up. He then told me, that he was actually worried that the Bills were gonna win that game, up until that play. I told him then, "I am not saying that the Bills would have won that game, but if Travis didn't trip over the air or whatever, it would of been VERY interesting after that. " He then came out and said "The Bills should at least be 2 -1 if not 3 -0 because the Pats D was bending ALOT" Then he smirked and said go Patriots.

But this is very true. IMO the Bills have not been beaten by any team this year except for themselves. That being said, I think that MAYBE if the Bills stop pissing in the wind when it is super gusty, and just play smart, who knows, maybe they can make the playoffs. I am not giving up hope yet... But improvements must be made NOW. And it doesn't start with Drew, cynical. It starts with the entire team to FOCUS.

[ryjam282]

Nice post Napalm, I agree. Now that the smoke has cleared from my ears, I agree.

With all the players we have, and the big names we should be a lot better team and I think we will get there. We just need a little time.

I tell you what, I would rather start out cold this year and get hot unlike last year where we dominated then cooled off quick........

[HenryRules]

I don't think we have a talented team and I'm not shocked (suprised, yes, but not shocked) by our 0-3 start.

Coming into the season, we knew we had:
- no pass rush
- an inability to create turnovers on D
- a below average K
- a porous OL
- 1 proven WR
- a below average QB
- a lack of depth almost everywhere
- inexperienced coaching staff (at the most important positions at least).

Now, 3 games into the season, pretty much every single one of those points has come back to haunt us.

People who say we're talented need to take a step back and really look at this team.

[don137]

This team while it is 0-3 has been in every game. No need to talk about Drew because nothing else can be said but the one thing that sticks out in all of these losses besides Drew and the OL are the mental mistakes and the lack of mental discipline on this team. Mis-communication, missed assignements, dropping passes, taking multiple false starts penalties, un-necessary roughness penalties, unsportsmanlike conduct, off-sides on fourth down, trying to intercept a pass on 4th down instead of knocking the ball away are just some of the examples that show this team is not focused and mentally tough.
This team says it believes in itself but then multiple times in a game has a brain fart that costs the team dearly.
If this team could play like a winner and really believe in themselves and start being more mentally tough then they could start winning. The teams in the early 90's had this mental toughness(it also who had Jim Kelly at QB ,who besides being a great QB, wasn't afraid to get in a person's face if they did something dumb). I am not sure if this team has a player that is not afraid to get in someone's face and get them focused on the game and winning. Unfortunately the leaders on this team are making these mental mistakes.

I believe/hope if this team can win a couple of games and get their confidence then maybe they will get more mentally focused. They can then turn this ship around to respectability.

[Kramer]

I think we suck, plain and simple. All the hope and excuses in the world does not erase our 0-3 record.

[chernobylwraiths]

I disagree with much that was said in this thread.

QB - If the Bills don't start to correct the mistakes and win a few games, Drew will/should be gone at QB. No sense in seeing what he can do on a losing team when we could be getting the rookie some much needed experience. Aside from that, I thought Drew looked decent in the Jacksonville game, bad in the Oakland game, and except for a couple plays and of course when the game was all but decided, I thought he looked good in this last game.

RB - I like Travis and think he is our starter still, but they HAVE to give the ball more to Willis. Plus, I think for the next few short yardage/goalline plays, we should see what the bigger, faster back can do. Travis is still running good, he just has had a couple bad plays that have hurt this team.

WR/TE - I loved that receiver that made the long catch on our first offensive play. I only saw him a couple more times in the game, where did he go? I love Moulds but he seems to drop the ball once a week. Reed only gets a couple thrown to him a week and he drops one, a couple more of those and he will be on another team next year. I like our TEs but they are unspectacular and they don't blow anybody away as blockers either. Would be nice to have a very good pass catcher OR a very good blocker.

O-line - It started looking a lot better in this game. Granted, they weren't blitzed much if at all early in the game, but they gave Drew pretty good protection for much of the game this week. Hopefully the injured players will return with no problem and continue to grow as a unit. Have only played four total games as a unit and are getting better IMO. Smith will take over as the line's whipping boy if he doesn't correct those drive killing mistakes soon.

D-line - Good with Adams and Williams in there. Average at best without them. We need more production from our ends and we damned well better start getting a pass rush out of the base 4 line without having to blitz as we have seen our safeties haven't been able to cover for very long.

LB - Best unit on the team. Fletcher should reign it in a bit and stop those stupid penalties. Spikes is very good as well and Posey has not made any glaring errors. Very good unit.

DB - The corners have been playing well. With Vincent out for a couple weeks, we will see how our other corners fair (McGee and Thomas). I wish they played closer to the WRs on the line and I would like to see them make more plays, but seeing as we aren't getting much pressure on the QB and our safeties aren't playing well in coverage. I think safety is probably our weakest position on the team. With Milloy down, it is an extremely glaring weakness that will continue to be attacked until we do something to remedy the situation.

Special teams - For the first time since I can remember, I am excited to see the ball kicked to us. I like Clements returning punts and think he will break one and McGee is the first REAL threat we have had back there in a LONG time. It is a bit of a concern that now we have both of our starting corners as our primary return men, but McGee showed just how important having a good return game is. With the speed Moorman has, I would like to see the punt as not necessarily always giving the ball over. If the other team thinks he might take off at any time, it will give our guys just that little bit more of an advantage getting down the field and covering the punt returner. Since Lindell missed his 42 yarder, he hasn't been given an opportunity to miss another from over 40. He will remain a question mark until he can put at least three in a row through over 40 and possibly win a game from that mark. I would really like to see a touchback once in a while also. Coverage units have been pretty good so far.

Coaching - Has made some very questionable calls; not trying for a field goal in game one, 3rd down pass at the one in game one, not asking for replay of Henry TD in Oakland, QB sneak in this last game. All in all, I like the play selections, I would still like to see the downfield ball at least a couple times per half to keep the defenses honest. Plus, if the running game is working, don't try for a medium range pass play, either go long or a very short and quick pass. Incompletions kill those drives as much as penalties do. Scrap that damned quick out to the WR from under center. More screens, and if you are going to run a reverse, try Evans.

[Halbert]

1. There's plenty enough talent to make this a playoff contending team.
2. A mind boggling collection of mistakes at the absolute worst possible moments have them winless.
3. The playoffs are a pipe dream.
4. Bledsoe is NOT the problem here, but still needs to give way to Losman very soon.
5. Next year is looking good for a playoff run (groan).

Prediction: Bledsoe signs with Dallas in the offseason, leads them to playoffs.

[Drewpac]

I never had hope for the playoffs even before the season started. Mainly because:

Drew was still the starting QB
The Oline did not get any help besides Villarial
This is MM/TC's rookie year
That said, the season would be salvaged if JP starts as soon as he is healthy and WM is the primary ball carrier. Our record will still be 4-12 or so, but at least we would be building for the future.

One note on MM/TC: I have to say I am very nervous about them. Running a bootleg with Drew on a 4th and 3 is as bad a decision as it gets. Very GW/KG type move. Add to that the fact that MM was known to use trick plays in Pitt and I'm starting to wonder if it was a good move or not.

But hey, at least Moorman is playing like a champ. :D I couldn't be happier with his performance.

I agree with almost everything you've said. I too never believed we had a shot at the playoffs this year. Bad O-line + Bledsoe = 3-5 wins; Good O-line + Bledsoe = 5-8 wins.

I disagree about the coaching staff though. I think these guys will be good. Yeah, the call on 4th and 3 was a bonehead move but rookie coaches tend to make mistakes like that. MM will learn from it and play it much more conservatively the next time he gets a chance.

[mybills]

Napalm - I'm surrounded by Pats fans..they ALL thought they should have lost, they were all disappointed with the way their team played..and especially disgusted with that fumble. They also all said Buffalo looked "great" for the most part. I watched at home, and people were calling me from the bar to tell me those things. :idunno:

Others - I don't understand giving up on your team this early. Their biggest fault is that they fall apart at the end of the game. If they can get that addressed, we should be pretty damn good this year. Someone mentioned the pass rush..I think even that has improved since last year. Alls I can say is that I'm still watching, rooting for and backing my team! :up:
:gobills:

[Drewpac]

Napalm - I'm surrounded by Pats fans..they ALL thought they should have lost, they were all disappointed with the way their team played..and especially disgusted with that fumble. They also all said Buffalo looked "great" for the most part. I watched at home, and people were calling me from the bar to tell me those things. :idunno:

Others - I don't understand giving up on your team this early. Their biggest fault is that they fall apart at the end of the game. If they can get that addressed, we should be pretty damn good this year. Someone mentioned the pass rush..I think even that has improved since last year. Alls I can say is that I'm still watching, rooting for and backing my team! :up:
:gobills:

Don't get me wrong. I will always root for the Bills and hope that they win. But I just don't think we're going to see much of it this season.

It's not easy to address the "fault" that you mentioned. Falling apart under pressure isn't a correctable mistake. As someone who has participated in organized athletics my entire life I can tell you that once there is an attitude/atmosphere of losing in a locker room, it is tough to get it turned around during a season. Winning breeds winning and losing breeds losing. I think that first loss to the Jags hurt the team much more than we'll ever know.

[Tatonka]

Good post..
But I wouldn't say we are Rock Solid on Defense.. our Multi-million dollar DE looks to have gotten away with robbery, and we cant afford to play Wire this week against the JETS.. He's killing this team.

it is amazing how many times one person can repeat the same thing so many times that it becomes totaly obnoxious..

first it was 895 posts about ruben

then 084503845 on wire

then 903904820380984534 on reese..

now you have a woody for schobel.. i believe this was post number 16985 in the last 3 days about him.

WE GET IT.

[RedEyE]

Great thread Tiger.

While I firmly agree with you about the talent level this team possesses, my first thought is no, the Bills will not find themselves in the playoffs. 0-3 is too difficult a position for this type of team to recover from. Offensively, they still have much to prove. It's no secret that the way to beat this Bills team is to blitz them. As a whole (OL, RB's, WRs, play calling) they struggle on picking it up and preventing it's failure from constant reoccurance. We all know that Bledsoe has zero mobility, and that the OL is extremely porous on occassions, so opposing defenses will continue to blitz them until the Bills man-up and put a stop to it.

I also think that the offensive scheme might be a tad too simplistic and perdictable. The blitz can be useful to an offense if the offense responds appropriately. IE, WR's reading the blitz and immediatly finding the short routes, RBs picking up the right blocks, more 2 TE sets, a few more Play-Action pass plays, and a screen or two could very well get this offense flowing. However, in order to do any of these things mentioned, the Bills have to first be able to run the ball well. I'm having a difficult time understanding why they are not running it well. OL again?...probably, but there are ways of getting around that as well.

IMO, if the Bills get the run moving, they will be a very dangerous team. Henry is a bruising back that needs to be handed the ball 25 - 30 times a game in order to produce good numbers. His best performance usually comes in the 4th qrtr when defenses are beat down. Unfortunately, they are too busy playing catch up, and don't often find themselves in a position to utilize the best of his abilities.

Introducing McGahee should change that. Where is that 1 - 2 Punch we were suppose to see? I've noticed that every time McGahee comes onto the field, the Bills pass. Let's get him more carries, at least 5-6 a game and see what that does to the predictability aspect of this Bills offense. Throw him in there on a 1st down or two and send Henry in as receiving back on an the occasional third down. Perhaps I've been watching the Bills for too long, but even I can figure out what the play is going to be before it happens. The defenses we've played must love the Bills obvious formula. I for one truly do not.

No playoff soup for this team.

[The_Philster]

it is amazing how many times one person can repeat the same thing so many times that it becomes totaly obnoxious.. .true :;

[socalfan]

I don't think this team is playoff material.

During summer camp if guys like Jennings had been working more with the offensive line instead of goofing off and pretending to be a defensive back in practice maybe the offensive line would be better. Or if Drew had paid more attention during practice instead of rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, maybe there wouldn't have been as many broken plays. Or if Milloy had been helping out the younger defensive backs instead of sunning himself and being that selfish leader, maybe Wire would have been farther along.

[Mr. Cynical]

I don't think this team is playoff material.
And yet you gave me neg rep for saying the same thing earlier in this post. :idunno: