No PlayOffs/Blame Staff

[juice]

TD has been called out for not addressing the Line issues in the OffSeason by everyone here but was there something he could have done to address the Line issues as late as the start of the preseason?

Had TD pulled the trigger on a Henry Trade we could have bought in some Line help and the Willis/Travis situation would'nt have been avoided and Willis would have been well on his way to a 1500 yard season.

If Willis was carrying the Rock from day one I believe we would have split those first 4 games at least to go 2-2 and would be looking at .500 or better with the offense progressing as a unit and the O-Line Jelling with a True starter at LG instead of the backups that TD and MM have fielded.

A top 5 Defense and the #1 STs unit should at least have you in the playoff hunt in week 12.. Many have tried to hang the fault on Bledsoe, but this team has had personnel issues from day 1 of Training camp. First it was Puscillo then it was L. Smith at LG, the truth is that neither of these guys should be a starter in the NFL.

It seems not to be a coincident that the QB output and consistancy seemed to coincide with the the O-Line learning to play as a unit.. I wonder if TD is gonna hang Drew Bledsoe out to dry to take the blame like he did with R. Brown last year.. and then make it look like it all comes down to the player not wanting to take a paycut?

[Crisis]

Hindsight.

Did anyone really want Willis #1 with Henry coming off a great year, and Willis being 1 year removed from a reconstruction of his knee?

[juice]

Hindsight.

Did anyone really want Willis #1 with Henry coming off a great year, and Willis being 1 year removed from a reconstruction of his knee?I could go back into some Pre-Season posts where there many who thought that Willis was the Future and many people knew that Travis' Trade Value was at it highest point before the season.. Many folks were of the thought that Willis was ready and willing the move should have been made.

I see you weren't posting in early Training camps but this topic was often discussed. Not HindSight but Insight.

[justasportsfan]

I could go back into some Pre-Season posts where there many who thought that Willis was the Future and many people knew that Travis' Trade Value was at it highest point before the season.. Many folks were of the thought that Willis was ready and willing the move should have been made.

I see you weren't posting in early Training camps but this topic was often discussed. Not HindSight but Insight. Henry was the best offensive player on this team last year. By your logic let's trade WM next year since he's turning out to be the best this year.

Willis was not ready at the start of the season.

[TedMock]

All of this would've been great had we known how Willis would hold up. The problem is that Willis was a big gamble, and we had to be extra careful. Henry's a solid back, and trading him earlier would've been a real bad idea. His trade value will never be that high again, so we had to at least consider it. However, Willis' knee was still not right and relying on a guy who's not ready to play could've been a disaster. We did the right thing keeping Henry at that time. It's just unfortunate for us that Willis' timing wasn't on the same pace. Either way, the guy's doing awesome while still playing on a knee that's not quite there yet. So we end up with a 4th rounder instead of a 2nd rounder. I'll take a healthy Willis and a 4th rounder any day. Think of losing the higher pick as insurance. No, I do not think that we would've received a 1st rounder for Henry. Corey Dillon was good for a 2nd rounder, and he's better than Henry.

[juice]

Henry was the best offensive player on this team last year. By your logic let's trade WM next year since he's turning out to be the best this year.

Willis was not ready at the start of the season.Many of You have been running that "LOGIC" line since the Pre-Season when I first bought this up.. Where's the logic in a 1400 yard RB's trade Value falling to a 3rd or 4th round pick?

The staff needed to make the decision to improve the O-line and improve this teams chances to win 2 of those first 4 games.

Henry getting injured again this year was the exact reason he should've been traded.. Football is a game of decision making and taking chances, TD fumbled the ball in this instance.

[Ebenezer]

Many of You have been running that "LOGIC" line since the Pre-Season when I first bought this up.. Where's the logic in a 1400 yard RB's trade Value falling to a 3rd or 4th round pick?

The staff needed to make the decision to improve the O-line and improve this teams chances to win 2 of those first 4 games.

Henry getting injured again this year was the exact reason he should've been traded.. Football is a game of decision making and taking chances, TD fumbled the ball in this instance.
if TD had traded TH and then McGahee gone down in the second game people would have been screaming...stop trying to create controversy.

[Demon]

What If's can go a long way. What IF Willis plays week 1 and breaks his leg? Mularkey would be hated more then Gregg Williams ever was.

Maybe Mularkey didn't feel he was ready? Milloy was hurt. We had other problems with the team but the bottom line is, everything is now clicking so why bother debate it? We're looking very good for the future. And a bright future I might add, with Losman, Evans, Willis and Mularkey!

[shotgun]

juice <<< stop your god damm crying shi* happens .. u now come out about the 0-4 start.. i am so glad we have mcgahee f*() henry he is not a back like mcgahee the bills just kicked a$$ yesterday and u come off talking crap big deal all i know is the bills are looking good for next year .. if u want to biT&* about coaching or a team be a cards fan shut the f up and leve it be jesus .... and u know what all the coachs did a great job yester thay get a great big ball from me the only goat i see is u ...


some people should just keep things to there self

[juice]

WM said he was ready from game one what are you talking about?

If he wasn't ready he would've been listed on the injury report.. The staff chose to start Henry behind L. Smith thinking he could be productive as he was behind the LG we had last year... They were wrong and apparently Willis was ready looking at his performances even in the Pre-Season games, Did Edgerin James take the second season off?

[Forward_Lateral]

Stupidest thread ever. What if, what if what if. Not trading Henry didn't make us blow 2 games in the final minutes. Not trading Henry didn't cause the refs to screw us out of a win in Oakland. We had a rookie head coach, a bunch of young players, and not a lot of experience as a unit. Gimme a break.

The O-line didn't cause us to lose those first 4 games, the TEAM did. I don't hear anyone *****ing about the O-line now, sometimes things take time, did you really expect Mularkey to come into town and snap his fingers and suddenly have a contender? Unfortunately, things don't work that way.

[juice]

Stupidest thread ever. What if, what if what if. Not trading Henry didn't make us blow 2 games in the final minutes. Not trading Henry didn't cause the refs to screw us out of a win in Oakland. We had a rookie head coach, a bunch of young players, and not a lot of experience as a unit. Gimme a break.

The O-line didn't cause us to lose those first 4 games, the TEAM did. I don't hear anyone *****ing about the O-line now, sometimes things take time, did you really expect Mularkey to come into town and snap his fingers and suddenly have a contender? Unfortunately, things don't work that way.Henry's lack of production costed us dearly.. What team will you watch in Jan? Not the Bills.. Blame the staff not ESPN because we get ignored by the National Media.

But Like Shotgun said (I Think) the Bills are looking good for next year.

[Ebenezer]

Henry's lack of production costed us dearly.. What team will you watch in Jan? Not the Bills.. Blame the staff not ESPN because we get ignored by the National Media.

But Like Shotgun said (I Think) the Bills are looking good for next year.
how did not trading TH prevent Nate Clements from knocking down that ball to Jimmy Smith? Until you can answer that one, please stop.

[juice]

how did not trading TH prevent Nate Clements from knocking down that ball to Jimmy Smith? Until you can answer that one, please stop.Did Travis have either 100 yds or any TDs this year?

Until you can give me a reason I'd suggest you give it up, Eb.

[Forward_Lateral]

how did not trading TH prevent Nate Clements from knocking down that ball to Jimmy Smith? Until you can answer that one, please stop.


Not to mention the TD that about 4 Bills' defenders should've knocked down. Maybe it's Henry's fault that Milloy broke his arm and missed that game too?

[Forward_Lateral]

Did Travis have either 100 yds or any TDs this year?

Until you can give me a reason I'd suggest you give it up, Eb.

He would've had a TD vs Oakland, but the refs and our replay advisors messed that up.

Nobody is arguing that Henry is the less effective back, what we are arguing is your insistance that not trading him caused us to start out poorly.
Unless we could've traded him for Indy's, K.C.'s or Denver's O-line, it wouldn't have made much difference.

[Ebenezer]

Did Travis have either 100 yds or any TDs this year?

Until you can give me a reason I'd suggest you give it up, Eb.
'cause he hasn't been able to find a hole in a wet paperbag. the guy is tougher than nails but he has terrible field vision...he runs directly to where the play is called and rarely can turn it or bounce outside. at the start of the year the line struggled and he was not able to overcome them or his own problems in order to run for 100 or a TD.....your turn.

[justasportsfan]

WM said he was ready from game one what are you talking about?

If he wasn't ready he would've been listed on the injury report.. The staff chose to start Henry behind L. Smith thinking he could be productive as he was behind the LG we had last year... They were wrong and apparently Willis was ready looking at his performances even in the Pre-Season games, Did Edgerin James take the second season off? Where are you facts?

[juice]

'cause he hasn't been able to find a hole in a wet paperbag. the guy is tougher than nails but he has terrible field vision...he runs directly to where the play is called and rarely can turn it or bounce outside. at the start of the year the line struggled and he was not able to overcome them or his own problems in order to run for 100 or a TD.....your turn.And how did Henry gain 1400 yds the two prior seasons.. Dont tell me it was because of all of the Pro Bowl caliber lineman we had those years?

[juice]

Where are you facts?Willis is 17th in total rushing yards with only 5 starts.. The proof is in the Stats Justa.

[EDS]

And how did Henry gain 1400 yds the two prior seasons.. Dont tell me it was because of all of the Pro Bowl caliber lineman we had those years?

I don't understand what you are trying to argue here. McGahee was a huge, huge question mark heading into this season. No way the bills trade away there best offensive player of the previous two years with no proven replacement. It would have been one thing if McGahee was able to play in 2003, but he didn't. I just think it would have been much riskier to trade Travis prior to the '04 season and take the chance that McGahee would work on then to keep Travis and have him lose trade value.

At any rate, no team would have traded an established player - let alone a starting caliber offensive lineman before the start of the season. Maybe McGahee would have made a difference in the first few games but I think the running games improvement is also a factor of the offensive line getting some additional experience in the system - meaning even McGahee would not have been as good at the start of the season as he is now because the line play has improved.

[Kramer]

This is really quite a dumb conversation that we are having. A worthless thread.

[justasportsfan]

Willis is 17th in total rushing yards with only 5 starts.. The proof is in the Stats Justa.Haha! That proves he was healthy after camp? Mere assumptions on your part Juice. Last time I checked you don't work for the bills and don't have first hand info. Did you even go to camp?

[juice]

This is really quite a dumb conversation that we are having. A worthless thread.You sa "...we are having" like you actually added something to the discussion.

Don't you agree that WM is a better back and would've been more productive as a starter than TH.

Do you agree that there is a lack of talent on our O-Line?

Would you say that TH has lost trade value during this season and now that he's hurt he isn't even worth a 3rd to any team in the NFL?

[TedMock]

WM said he was ready from game one what are you talking about?

If he wasn't ready he would've been listed on the injury report.. The staff chose to start Henry behind L. Smith thinking he could be productive as he was behind the LG we had last year... They were wrong and apparently Willis was ready looking at his performances even in the Pre-Season games, Did Edgerin James take the second season off?

Edgerin struggled big-time for awhile. Now he's back 100% and looks great. Don't forget that Willis was saying he's ready last season when he was still walking with a limp. You're absolutely right in stating that Willis is the better back, that TH's trade value will never be as high as it was at the beginning of the year, and that Willis is much better with this weak o-line. These are all facts, but we're also looking at all this in hindsight. Don't forget that every time we turned around we were reading about how Willis' knee still isn't 100%, and how they're going to have to bring him along slowly, etc.. Maybe he would've been fine, but maybe he needed one more month of little activity for his knee to be able to handle the pounding albeit it's still not 100%. If he starts from day one, and plays at this pace, then yes; we win two more games. However, if he's not ready and cannot handle a full load in the first couple of games and we trade Henry, we're screwed even more. I think the smart thing was to wait and find out if Willis can go. He can, so now we can trade Henry. We lost bargaining power in the process, but it's a heck of a lot better than losing a talent like Willis. It was an insurance move that we weren't in a position to take a chance on. The good news on the lines is that many good one's are not taken in the first round, so we should be able to find some decent talent in rounds 2,3,4. Hopefully we'll even have another 4th rounder for Henry. I'd really like to find some linemen via free agency, but this may require a tough personnel move to free up some cap space.

[juice]

This is really quite a dumb conversation that we are having. A worthless thread.A worthless thread but not a worthless article.. Kramer with another worthless post.

www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20041130/1051393.asp

[justasportsfan]

A worthless thread but not a worthless article.. Kramer with another worthless post.

www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20041130/1051393.asp


"McGahee wasn't ready for full-time duty at the onset of the regular season. Travis Henry was still the No. 1 back and coming off consecutive 1,300-yard seasons. He was the starter. McGahee was unproven and his injured knee was untested beyond the preseason and a four-TD performance in a scrimmage against Cleveland. "

thanks for bringing up the article :lol:

[juice]

"McGahee wasn't ready for full-time duty at the onset of the regular season. Travis Henry was still the No. 1 back and coming off consecutive 1,300-yard seasons. He was the starter. McGahee was unproven and his injured knee was untested beyond the preseason and a four-TD performance in a scrimmage against Cleveland. "

thanks for bringing up the article :lol:4 TDs in a scrimmage seems to suggest otherwise.. "McGahee wasn't ready" is the writers point of view, either he was on the injury report or he wasn't, the Staff made a Bad decision that became a team distraction and caused our 0-4 start.

[justasportsfan]

4 TDs in a scrimmage seems to suggest otherwise.. "McGahee wasn't ready" is the writers point of view, either he was on the injury report or he wasn't, the Staff made a Bad decision that became a team distraction and caused our 0-4 start.he was facing the 2nd or 3rd D. Besides it was a redzone scrimmage where they start at the redzone. It's not like he had to travel from the other side of the field to the other. Like I asked before, have you even attended camp?

Give it up juice, you haven't given us any concrete evidence that WM was 100%. Besides, our OL was in horrible shape at the begining that Wm wouldn't have made a huge difference.

Saying he was ready was also YOUR point of view.