Reasons to be very optimistic about the season

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  • Kelly The Dog
    Registered User
    • Jul 2002
    • 445

    Reasons to be very optimistic about the season

    First, it's much more fun and healthy than to be pessimistic, and because no one has any idea how it is going to turn out, I choose to look at what could be. There are reasons to be pessimistic, too, and I'm sure we can get some here to provide them. But here is the state of the Bills, unit by unit.

    1. Coaching. We really should be improved with Mularkey and Clements having a year under their belt, and the players (mainly Losman) with the skills they can use to their advantage, meaning creativity on offense. We didn't lose anyone as a coach and I find it hard to believe that our coaching will not improve.

    2. DBs. We didn't have Vincent at safety until the last couple games and immediately he made an impact. Having him the whole year plus a training camp to learn the position should make us better back there. McGee was forced into a starting position a little before he was ready and it showed but he also should be much better than last year. He's a ballplayer and a playmaker. Thomas and Greer with an extra year, along with Baker as a reserve, should all make this a better unit overall, and it was pretty good to start with. Nate should excel as he came into his prime, is in contract year, and has Vincent behind him.

    3. LBs. I see no reason to think this unit will perform at any different level than they did last year. They will, however, probably make a few more tackles 4 yards back instead of 2 because of the loss of Phat Pat, but there is no reason for any worry about one of the better units in the league. This unit stays the same as last year, when they were strong.

    4. DL. Phat Pat may indeed be a big loss. That said, we should gain a little in the pass rush from Edwards. If Tim Anderson can stuff adequately we shouldn't lose much. I do see a gain, however, in Kelsay's play after a year as a starter and there is no reason to believe that Schobel will not be as good or slightly better coming into his prime. This is a small but not crucial loss on the line because of Pat...

    But overall the defense should be as good as it was last year. A little less stout against the run and a little more efficient against the pass. The base unit is coming into their third year together and Jerry Gray proved his mettle last year as its coach.

    5. WRs. We should be significantly better here this year simply because it took Evans about half the season to get up to speed, which is burning. Adding more speed with Parrish can create mismatches. We didn't lose anyone, we gained a half year of Evans at his best and we gained speed and play-making. This is a better unit than last.

    6. TEs. All depends on injuries and how Campbell and Euhus return from them but we are being told they will be 100% by training camp and again, we simply should be a better unit with Everrett replacing Neufeld and with Jason Peters jumping in at the end of the line in double TE formations. Plus we only had TEs in our offense for 3/4 of the season because we lost both in the same 12th game. Losing Neufeld and gaining Everett who can run, as well as Euhus coming on after starting slow but showing promise makes this a better unit than last year.

    7. RBs. We're better here, too. Willis for the entire year barring injury makes us a completely better team. Who knows what happens with Travis and who cares, unless Willis goes down but we're simply in better shape as a unit because Willis is a stud and will be healthy and start the season FAR better off than we were when we went 0-4. Shelton has a year in the system and no reason to think he won't play as well.

    8. QB. Most here, myself included, think we're better off here, too, if only for addition by subtraction. I expect JP to be very Flutie-esque: Gain a lot of first downs with his smarts and his feet, have trouble throwing touchdowns in the red zone, make some bonehead plays and bad throws at inopportune times, but OVERALL provide better quarterbacking than we had. And he doesn't have the noodle arm that Flutie dd, so he can get the ball deep to Evans and Moulds and Parrish enough to keep the defense honest. Teams will not be able to blitz us as much in all likelihood. We will be able to do so many more things and get the ball to our playmakers because of his mobility and because of the way MM and TC and SW will use him when they couldn't get Drew to do it. I don't predict greatness or even good stats, but I expect production and moving the ball and scoring some points. I think we will get better quarterbacking than we had last year.

    9. OL. We took a blow not replacing perhaps our best lineman which isn't saying much. We should be able to run the ball slightly better, however, with Willis healthy and Bennie Anderson and with most of them having a year under McNally's guidance. Teague improved significantly as did Big Mike. If our LT doesn't kill us, which is possible, we should be as good as we were last year based on three things: less skill because of JJ, a little better run blocking because of Anderson and McNally and Williams getting better, and mostly, because Willis's running threat and Losman's legs will mask some deep problems (like Flutie used to) that other teams used to be able to take great advantage of.

    We should have better coaching on offense now that they have been here a year and know the players. We should be able to run a little better with a healthy Willis the whole year. We should get better QBing. We have more playmakers, more firepower, more weapons and better ways to use them than last year.

    11. Special teams. There is simply no way that we are as good on special teams as we were last year but we can be close. It would be hard to believe we will get 5-6 touchdowns like we did last year but mostly it all comes back intact so we won't lose much. Parrish could be exciting and dangerous. Moorman and Lindell will likely be the same, one excellent and one dangerously inconsistent. Our coverage teams should do well. This is basically a wash or slight downgrade simply because it will be hard to match, not because we lost any talent.

    Granted, this isn't counting injuries and things could completely fall apart, at any of these units, but we were a whisker from the playoffs last year, kept away by a bad start, a bonehead play by Nate, a bad slip by Travis, a bad call on a TH touchdown, some bad calls by the coaches and bad quarterbacking. And yet still should have been in the playoffs in the toughest division in football.

    We're in good shape, we're better than last year, and this is going to be fun. Go ahead, bash away.
  • ddaryl
    Everything I post is sexual inuendo
    • Jan 2005
    • 10714

    #2
    You had me at

    "Reasons to be very optimistic about the season "

    Comment

    • Luisito23
      Men Have Superbowl Gold, Legends Have Platinum Hearts!!!
      • Apr 2003
      • 7434

      #3
      1st. I'm gonna start by saying ....I definetly agree with everything you said and if they bash you then they bash me cause this post makes alot of sense in every way..... 2nd. I wanna say............

      GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      "Expect rejection, but expect more to overcome it."
      ***Marv Levy.***


      "Coach Levy is one of the most inspirational people that I have ever known."
      ***Thurman Thomas.***


      "You're not going to find a more classier, down-to-Earth person away from the field than Marv Levy. He's a guy who's pretty much made me what I am today as far as a professional player and a person."
      ***Jim Kelly***


      Marv Levy's Website

      Comment

      • Tatonka
        Registered User
        • Jul 2002
        • 21289

        #4
        you forgot one thing..

        Coaching..

        Mularkey and company will be better after a year learning the ropes and a year in which the players came to truely believe in the guys running the show.. no more rookie mistakes and the like..

        great post though.

        "All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity." ~ Gordie Howe

        Comment

        • Kelly The Dog
          Registered User
          • Jul 2002
          • 445

          #5
          Originally posted by Tatonka
          you forgot one thing..

          Coaching..

          Mularkey and company will be better after a year learning the ropes and a year in which the players came to truely believe in the guys running the show.. no more rookie mistakes and the like..

          great post though.

          You mean except for my very first point and paragraph on my list?
          1. Coaching. We really should be improved with Mularkey and Clements having a year under their belt, and the players (mainly Losman) with the skills they can use to their advantage, meaning creativity on offense. We didn't lose anyone as a coach and I find it hard to believe that our coaching will not improve.

          Comment

          • Mr.Right
            Buffalo's favorite "TROLL"
            • Jan 2005
            • 267

            #6
            Don't get your 'hopes up', Bills fans!


            The 2005 Buffalo Bills will be lucky to finish the season with a .500 record!

            Comment

            • Slim
              Registered User
              • Apr 2004
              • 7597

              #7
              Originally posted by Mr.Right
              Don't get your 'hopes up', Bills fans!


              The 2005 Buffalo Bills will be lucky to finish the season with a .500 record!

              i believe were a better team this year. And last year we went 9-7, we started off 0-4 last year, were not going to have a start like that again. And for all the Losman doubters, all he has to do this year is throw for 200yrds, 1 td per 1 int, pergame, and hes practicly outproducing Drew.... haha i doubt your niners will win 5 games

              Comment

              • Bill Brasky
                Drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls
                • Jan 2004
                • 66218

                #8
                I am optimistic that ticket prices went up and our team will probably win less games

                Comment

                • ShadowHawk7
                  Ground your Jets Vilma, no way you're shooting this guy down.
                  • Mar 2003
                  • 2274

                  #9
                  Yo, great analysis Kelly.
                  "It's not whether you win or lose; it's how you play the game."
                  -Vince Lombardi

                  Comment

                  • Bill Brasky
                    Drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls
                    • Jan 2004
                    • 66218

                    #10
                    1. Coaching. Yeah, that year under GW's belt really helped us. Apparently sitting on the sidelines for one year still hasn't helped TD or MM realize this team still hasn't fixed any of it's problem areas.

                    2. DB's need to start getting more INT's, and they're not getting any younger.

                    3. DL... the same DL that could stop Pitt's 3rd stringers from running all over us even when we had Williams and a playoff spot to fight for?. Get real, this DL is depleted... Edwards, over-paid Schobel who forgot how to pash rush when his wallet got bigger, and aging Sam Adams who will get double teamed to death. I hope our LB's are ready to carry even more of a load than they did last year.

                    4. TE's, probably even worse than our line situation. None of these bums can block or catch, and if they can, they haven't proven it yet.

                    5. RB's... as long as Willis stays healthy and we don't have to resort to whoever's behind Henry we should be ok. However, w/o decent blocking he could be in for a rough year as well.

                    6. QB. Losman hasn't proven anything yet. And behind this line, I doubt he'll get to prove anything this season other than his ability to take a bunch of sacks. Only thing it will help him with is he will learn how to scramble better.

                    7. OL. I really don't feel like beating this dead horse anymore. I'd rather take 5 of my largest dumps of all time instead of the line we have right now. At least the stench would deter some of the pass rush.

                    I'm normally very optimistic about the team, but TD has shown that he is completely inept at fixing or addressing any of the problems this team has had... I guarentee when the Bills take the field this season and continue to have the same problems we've been having (blocking, pass rushing, coming up w/ clutch plays when needed) fans will finally go into uproar mode... at least I hope they do. We've been "rebuilding" for the last 5-6 seasons, we're one of the few teams that haven't made the playoffs in the last 6 seasons, and we won't make it this season. Then we'll get to hear more of the same excuses during the offseason just like this year.

                    Comment

                    • Kelly The Dog
                      Registered User
                      • Jul 2002
                      • 445

                      #11
                      1. Coaching. Yeah, that year under GW's belt really helped us. Apparently sitting on the sidelines for one year still hasn't helped TD or MM realize this team still hasn't fixed any of it's problem areas.

                      Except that GW looked bad coaching from the start. Mularkey looked better and better. I didn't base it on just the fact he has one extra year but on the fact the team got significantly better as did his calling of the games and the way the offense started to jell.
                      2. DB's need to start getting more INT's, and they're not getting any younger.
                      That is just nonsense, we led the league in takeaways and we added Vincent for an extra half season
                      3. DL... the same DL that could stop Pitt's 3rd stringers from running all over us even when we had Williams and a playoff spot to fight for?. Get real, this DL is depleted... Edwards, over-paid Schobel who forgot how to pash rush when his wallet got bigger, and aging Sam Adams who will get double teamed to death. I hope our LB's are ready to carry even more of a load than they did last year.
                      The DL is arguable how much of a decline there will be, if any. Losing one guy cannot be called depleted, especially when his replacement is better at one area. Kelsay should be better. Adams got double-teamed all the time and played better done the stretch than he did early. He shows no signs of aging.
                      4. TE's, probably even worse than our line situation. None of these bums can block or catch, and if they can, they haven't proven it yet.
                      These bums caught 7 TDs in 12 games, more than any TE unit since 98, and this was with a terrible passing team and bad quarterbacking. We just upgraded with a talented rookie over a useless nobody.
                      5. RB's... as long as Willis stays healthy and we don't have to resort to whoever's behind Henry we should be ok. However, w/o decent blocking he could be in for a rough year as well.
                      Hard to argue with someone who claims our RBs are lousy because if two of them go down we don't have a third guy to be a pro bowler. We will also have better run blocking then we had last year and he did pretty good
                      6. QB. Losman hasn't proven anything yet. And behind this line, I doubt he'll get to prove anything this season other than his ability to take a bunch of sacks. Only thing it will help him with is he will learn how to scramble better.
                      he doesnt have to be great, he only has to be better than drew and the 25th offense in the league.
                      7. OL. I really don't feel like beating this dead horse anymore. I'd rather take 5 of my largest dumps of all time instead of the line we have right now. At least the stench would deter some of the pass rush.
                      It will be reasonable, as it was last year. It gave holes to Willis and it gave Drew time to throw, he just couldn't do it well.
                      I'm normally very optimistic about the team, but TD has shown that he is completely inept at fixing or addressing any of the problems this team has had... I guarentee when the Bills take the field this season and continue to have the same problems we've been having (blocking, pass rushing, coming up w/ clutch plays when needed) fans will finally go into uproar mode... at least I hope they do. We've been "rebuilding" for the last 5-6 seasons, we're one of the few teams that haven't made the playoffs in the last 6 seasons, and we won't make it this season. Then we'll get to hear more of the same excuses during the offseason just like this year.[/QUOTE]
                      We were one bonehead just knock the ball down on fourth and forever play from being in the playoffs in the toughest division. We will be better this year.

                      Comment

                      • chubluv
                        BillsZone bowling team MVP
                        • Jan 2003
                        • 11565

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Kelly The Dog
                        First, it's much more fun and healthy than to be pessimistic, and because no one has any idea how it is going to turn out, I choose to look at what could be. There are reasons to be pessimistic, too, and I'm sure we can get some here to provide them. But here is the state of the Bills, unit by unit.

                        1. Coaching. We really should be improved with Mularkey and Clements having a year under their belt, and the players (mainly Losman) with the skills they can use to their advantage, meaning creativity on offense. We didn't lose anyone as a coach and I find it hard to believe that our coaching will not improve.

                        2. DBs. We didn't have Vincent at safety until the last couple games and immediately he made an impact. Having him the whole year plus a training camp to learn the position should make us better back there. McGee was forced into a starting position a little before he was ready and it showed but he also should be much better than last year. He's a ballplayer and a playmaker. Thomas and Greer with an extra year, along with Baker as a reserve, should all make this a better unit overall, and it was pretty good to start with. Nate should excel as he came into his prime, is in contract year, and has Vincent behind him.

                        3. LBs. I see no reason to think this unit will perform at any different level than they did last year. They will, however, probably make a few more tackles 4 yards back instead of 2 because of the loss of Phat Pat, but there is no reason for any worry about one of the better units in the league. This unit stays the same as last year, when they were strong.

                        4. DL. Phat Pat may indeed be a big loss. That said, we should gain a little in the pass rush from Edwards. If Tim Anderson can stuff adequately we shouldn't lose much. I do see a gain, however, in Kelsay's play after a year as a starter and there is no reason to believe that Schobel will not be as good or slightly better coming into his prime. This is a small but not crucial loss on the line because of Pat...

                        But overall the defense should be as good as it was last year. A little less stout against the run and a little more efficient against the pass. The base unit is coming into their third year together and Jerry Gray proved his mettle last year as its coach.

                        5. WRs. We should be significantly better here this year simply because it took Evans about half the season to get up to speed, which is burning. Adding more speed with Parrish can create mismatches. We didn't lose anyone, we gained a half year of Evans at his best and we gained speed and play-making. This is a better unit than last.

                        6. TEs. All depends on injuries and how Campbell and Euhus return from them but we are being told they will be 100% by training camp and again, we simply should be a better unit with Everrett replacing Neufeld and with Jason Peters jumping in at the end of the line in double TE formations. Plus we only had TEs in our offense for 3/4 of the season because we lost both in the same 12th game. Losing Neufeld and gaining Everett who can run, as well as Euhus coming on after starting slow but showing promise makes this a better unit than last year.

                        7. RBs. We're better here, too. Willis for the entire year barring injury makes us a completely better team. Who knows what happens with Travis and who cares, unless Willis goes down but we're simply in better shape as a unit because Willis is a stud and will be healthy and start the season FAR better off than we were when we went 0-4. Shelton has a year in the system and no reason to think he won't play as well.

                        8. QB. Most here, myself included, think we're better off here, too, if only for addition by subtraction. I expect JP to be very Flutie-esque: Gain a lot of first downs with his smarts and his feet, have trouble throwing touchdowns in the red zone, make some bonehead plays and bad throws at inopportune times, but OVERALL provide better quarterbacking than we had. And he doesn't have the noodle arm that Flutie dd, so he can get the ball deep to Evans and Moulds and Parrish enough to keep the defense honest. Teams will not be able to blitz us as much in all likelihood. We will be able to do so many more things and get the ball to our playmakers because of his mobility and because of the way MM and TC and SW will use him when they couldn't get Drew to do it. I don't predict greatness or even good stats, but I expect production and moving the ball and scoring some points. I think we will get better quarterbacking than we had last year.

                        9. OL. We took a blow not replacing perhaps our best lineman which isn't saying much. We should be able to run the ball slightly better, however, with Willis healthy and Bennie Anderson and with most of them having a year under McNally's guidance. Teague improved significantly as did Big Mike. If our LT doesn't kill us, which is possible, we should be as good as we were last year based on three things: less skill because of JJ, a little better run blocking because of Anderson and McNally and Williams getting better, and mostly, because Willis's running threat and Losman's legs will mask some deep problems (like Flutie used to) that other teams used to be able to take great advantage of.

                        We should have better coaching on offense now that they have been here a year and know the players. We should be able to run a little better with a healthy Willis the whole year. We should get better QBing. We have more playmakers, more firepower, more weapons and better ways to use them than last year.

                        11. Special teams. There is simply no way that we are as good on special teams as we were last year but we can be close. It would be hard to believe we will get 5-6 touchdowns like we did last year but mostly it all comes back intact so we won't lose much. Parrish could be exciting and dangerous. Moorman and Lindell will likely be the same, one excellent and one dangerously inconsistent. Our coverage teams should do well. This is basically a wash or slight downgrade simply because it will be hard to match, not because we lost any talent.

                        Granted, this isn't counting injuries and things could completely fall apart, at any of these units, but we were a whisker from the playoffs last year, kept away by a bad start, a bonehead play by Nate, a bad slip by Travis, a bad call on a TH touchdown, some bad calls by the coaches and bad quarterbacking. And yet still should have been in the playoffs in the toughest division in football.

                        We're in good shape, we're better than last year, and this is going to be fun. Go ahead, bash away.


                        We are in 5th place
                        Clump is on the IR
                        Chubluv average is 167
                        Yaz average is 179[/B]




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                        Comment

                        • finsrclowns
                          Registered User
                          • Apr 2004
                          • 1408

                          #13
                          Originally posted by jfreeman
                          1. Coaching. Yeah, that year under GW's belt really helped us. Apparently sitting on the sidelines for one year still hasn't helped TD or MM realize this team still hasn't fixed any of it's problem areas.

                          2. DB's need to start getting more INT's, and they're not getting any younger.

                          3. DL... the same DL that could stop Pitt's 3rd stringers from running all over us even when we had Williams and a playoff spot to fight for?. Get real, this DL is depleted... Edwards, over-paid Schobel who forgot how to pash rush when his wallet got bigger, and aging Sam Adams who will get double teamed to death. I hope our LB's are ready to carry even more of a load than they did last year.

                          4. TE's, probably even worse than our line situation. None of these bums can block or catch, and if they can, they haven't proven it yet.

                          5. RB's... as long as Willis stays healthy and we don't have to resort to whoever's behind Henry we should be ok. However, w/o decent blocking he could be in for a rough year as well.

                          6. QB. Losman hasn't proven anything yet. And behind this line, I doubt he'll get to prove anything this season other than his ability to take a bunch of sacks. Only thing it will help him with is he will learn how to scramble better.

                          7. OL. I really don't feel like beating this dead horse anymore. I'd rather take 5 of my largest dumps of all time instead of the line we have right now. At least the stench would deter some of the pass rush.

                          I'm normally very optimistic about the team, but TD has shown that he is completely inept at fixing or addressing any of the problems this team has had... I guarentee when the Bills take the field this season and continue to have the same problems we've been having (blocking, pass rushing, coming up w/ clutch plays when needed) fans will finally go into uproar mode... at least I hope they do. We've been "rebuilding" for the last 5-6 seasons, we're one of the few teams that haven't made the playoffs in the last 6 seasons, and we won't make it this season. Then we'll get to hear more of the same excuses during the offseason just like this year.
                          negged
                          finsrclowns

                          Comment

                          • Bill Brasky
                            Drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls
                            • Jan 2004
                            • 66218

                            #14
                            Quote:
                            Except that GW looked bad coaching from the start. Mularkey looked better and better. I didn't base it on just the fact he has one extra year but on the fact the team got significantly better as did his calling of the games and the way the offense started to jell.

                            How did MM look better? Was it his brilliant coaching moves made against the sub-par part of the schedule we played? Name one brilliant coaching move he made against a decent opponent that really made a difference in the outcome?

                            Quote:
                            The DL is arguable how much of a decline there will be, if any. Losing one guy cannot be called depleted, especially when his replacement is better at one area. Kelsay should be better. Adams got double-teamed all the time and played better done the stretch than he did early. He shows no signs of aging.

                            How exactly is Edwards better than Pat Williams?

                            Quote:
                            These bums caught 7 TDs in 12 games, more than any TE unit since 98, and this was with a terrible passing team and bad quarterbacking. We just upgraded with a talented rookie over a useless nobody.

                            Of course it would be more than anybody from 98, cuz there hasn't been a legit TE on this team since JR. And the only reason they got 7 TD's, if you consider that a lot between 2 TE's, is because we couldn't run in the redzone, because of our OL. It's easy for defenses against ****ty OL's to pass rush the hell out of you in the redzone, esp when the QB was fitted w/ 30lb cement shoes in the backfield. And it's very easy for any TE to get easy dunk TD's in the red zone, in any passing offense, esp the one we had. I know cuz I used to play TE. I haven't seen anything from them that makes me confident. Hopefully the rook can come out and impress, but it won't be right away.

                            Quote:
                            Hard to argue with someone who claims our RBs are lousy because if two of them go down we don't have a third guy to be a pro bowler. We will also have better run blocking then we had last year and he did pretty good

                            I never said our RB's were lousy. And I never said TH would go down, he won't be here or he will hold out, which makes the guy behind him essentially our #2.

                            Quote:
                            he doesnt have to be great, he only has to be better than drew and the 25th offense in the league.

                            Still, he has very little pro-game experience, and he's never played behind this line for 16 games. He couldn't even make it through preseason last year. He needs time to adjust and learn and I don't think he'll be successful behind this line becaue they won't give him that time. A good QB knows that his OL is his best friend... when's the last time a team w/ a OL like this won a playoff game, let alone got to the playoffs. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have any protection you won't get anywhere.


                            Quote:
                            It will be reasonable, as it was last year. It gave holes to Willis and it gave Drew time to throw, he just couldn't do it well.

                            Willis made his holes, that's why he's better in this system over TH. Willis has more play making ability than TH. This OL will give us nothing but a headache and a bad case of larengitis (sp?) after every game.

                            Quote:
                            We were one bonehead just knock the ball down on fourth and forever play from being in the playoffs in the toughest division. We will be better this year.

                            And that bonehead plays in the vaunted secondary you've been praising this entire post.

                            Comment

                            • Bill Brasky
                              Drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls
                              • Jan 2004
                              • 66218

                              #15
                              Originally posted by ddaryl
                              You had me at

                              "Reasons to be very optimistic about the season "

                              Comment

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