If Bledsoe stinks up the joint next year, and the bills finish 5-11, do we draft a QB

[BufBlue4ever60]

I think yes, because if Bledsoe does bad next year, then I dont think he is going to get any better. Lets hope we dont have to worry.

[Akhippo]

I say yes anyway. Maybe not a first rounder, but hopefully they have the luxury of having a second rounder that they can use on one. I give Bledsoe 5 years here to get it done, at the most. After next year hell have 3 years left. A perfect amount of time to groom a non first QB. What I mean by that is one that doesnt have expectations to start due to a huge contract. Look at Pennington. And if he beats out Bledsoe in his 2nd or 3rd year cant complain.

[LABillsFan]

It's stands to good reason the Bledsoe has about 5 years left in him. How good he'll be for the last 2-3 years remains to be seen, but to groom a QB to take over the reigns takes about 2-3 years.

The fact is with the exception of a few teams there is little patience with that position and few teams outside SD, ATL, DET, Hou, to name a few, seem to go after FA QB's instead of bringing them up within the system ala OAK, KC, MIA, . It's hard to sign a high pick QB pay all that money just to have him ride the pine for a year or two and then have him play for a season only to lose him via FA. If you draft a QB with your 1st or 2nd pick he needs to play to get your moneys worth, hopefully your OL is in tact so he doesn't get creamed and he produces. AVP is not going to take over after Drew is gone, Brown? If the Bills are high on Brown then they should put him at #2 and let him play in the preseason and scrubb time to get some experience. Forget about AVP as a QB, however he does have the intellegence to be a coach at some point.

I'd say hold off for right now, maybe not this draft but possibly the next, that way the team can review where it stands, Brown would have some film on him to review and the neccesity can be determined.

[Dr Phil]

Draft a QB in 2004? Possible. Even if Bledsoe has a great season.

[Bert102176]

we need to Draft Chris Simms this year he will probably be there in the 3rd round, the guy will be better than his father

[WG]

What if he stinks up the joint and costs us games and we go 10-6 and make the playoffs but lose in them b/c of him?

What then?

Keep him around for more of the same?

Unfortunately that's the track record, like it or not. He can get as many yards and attempts as he wants in the season but his postseason performances average just over 200 yards, less than 1 TD/game, and more than 2 INTs/game.

[4thAndLong]

Wys, aren't you the one who says stats mean nothing?

He was with a different team with those stats.

[WG]

I have no idea what you're talking about quite honestly.

All I know is that Drew chokes, and by that I mean personally, in the playoffs and against the best teams. It's a fact. I can be sorry, I can not hold that view, I can be all "Go Drew", but it's a fact nonetheless and one that's serious.

If you look at the games this season, we didn't beat a single team of consequence other than Miami in game 2 and even that is sketchy b/c Fiedler only played after Lucas came out.

Against all the best teams Drew made significant personal errors to give the game away in many instances. We only beat S.D. b/c we gave up on him and gave the ball to Henry and were only in a position to do so b/c of the D.

So I'm not quite sure what you mean. But it was a simple question. What if Drew chokes again v. all the better teams next season and costs us games either to prevent us from reaching the POs or in them?

Are we gonna simply ignore all that and continue to point to attempt, completion, and yardage records? Or are we gonna say perhaps Drew isn't the best QB for this team and where it is now? Or what...?

[WG]

If you're saying that the Bills are a different team, I fully agree. Yet, with more than he's ever had, he couldn't even match his TD production here with that. Why not?

Why do yards and attempts count more than TDs/points and scoring drives?

And yes, he was w/ a different team, but how does that affect his propensity to make extremely poor throws? It sure didn't change this year.

Go back and look at the box scores.

At what point was the Raider game out of control? What happened on the following drive?

At what point did the Bills go down to N.E. in that second game? Why?

Did Drew make any errors in the G.B. to cost us points and conversely to allow G.B. the chance at scoring some on top of that?

In the K.C. game, why couldn't we put up more than 16 points?

In the first N.E. game, why couldn't we put up more than 7 points?

V. the Jets in game 1, did Drew make any mistakes that virtually gave the Jets 7 points which if he hadn't done, we would have won in O/T?

Did Drew make similar mistakes in the second Jets game?

Answer those and you'll know what I'm referring to. I'm a pariah for mentioning this stuff, but it has merit and verity to it. But as long as people close their eyes and say "Rah, rah, go Drew", we will never address the situation. I'm not saying cut him, but what I am saying is not to make him the focus of the O. To the contrary. Ensure that he doesn't get 600+ attempts and make it in the 400s. Who cares if we don't have the league's leading WR tandem for yardage records. Records and playoff wins and a Superbowl performance don't, usually not, go hand in hand.

;)

GO BILLS!!!

(Not Go Drew!)

[4thAndLong]

Wys, he got worse when the weather got worst.

We didn't put up points in those games because Gilbride is an idiot. You and I both know that.

The 1st Jet game was his 1st game with his WRs...He had no chemistry with them. Those INTs were misques. (sp)

Oh please Wys....What did he do to lose the Miami game? Nothing.

His TDs are down because everytime we're in the 10...Gilbride calld pass every down forcing us to bring Hollis out.

[honey]

I read that post, Wys. I have to agree with part of it - run the ball more!!! I know Henry fumbled a lot at first, but he's improved greatly, and in the big games I think running the ball if Drew is having a bad passing game is the way to go. I'm still behind Drew for now, but I DO say draft a decent backup. If I HAVE to bring it up (and I know I don't but, still....), Drew Brees was a great backup the first (and only) year Flutie started for SD, and this year he's actually been quite effective. I think it depends on the quality of the QB you draft on how quickly he "gets" it.

On the other hand - let's see what Drew does next year, then I'm willing to give someone else a shot at it. But, really, it does usually take even a seasoned QB at least a year to get it "right". :)

[TigerJ]

I think it's a little early for this thread.

[WG]

Originally posted by 4thAndLong
Oh please Wys....What did he do to lose the Miami game? Nothing.

What did he do to win it? Not much either. He had 110 yards passing other than that one single TD pass to Moulds that really only happened b/c Madison thought the safety was going to pick up Moulds and didn't, at least not early enough. Henry had more rushing yards than 110.

Everyone wants to give him credit for wins over teams that we had no business even making it a game with even though we did, and then conversely no one wants to allow him any blame for losses.

In the first Jets game he tossed an INT to set the Jets up 1st and 10 at our 19 YL. If he doesn't do that, then the game doesn't go to O/T and we win.

He personally cost us the Raider game.

We lost to K.C. b/c we relied on the pass to much. WAY too much passing on downs on which we should have run.

We lost to G.B. b/c Drew threw the ball away to cost us 7 and then got sacked later on to cost us 3 more. Meanwhile, his other INT gave G.B. prime field position and momentum that they hadn't had and they responded by putting in their only TD of the game for 7.

Both Pats games were just about all Drew offensively and we stunk up the joint. It was Drew's INT to Seymour that put the Pats ahead 17-0 which proved to be the winning/tying TD.

He led us, this high powered Bills offense with Moulds, Price, JR, Moore, Henry, Centers, and a good OL to only 13 points through the first 57 minutes before we had to essentially say adios amigo to him and the passing game in order to run Henry and win.

We've heard how he audibled many plays. Did he audible into runs? I haven't heard that he did. Usually that doesn't happen.

Perhaps Gilbride is at fault, and I couldn't agree more that he is, but where are the quotes by Drew saying "We need to run Henry more?" Why didn't Drew lobby for Henry to get more carries? There were 8 games in which Henry averaged only 14 carries/game.

All season long the party-line Bills statement has been "Our best chances of winning are when the ball is in Drew's hands" when in fact, in fact, the opposite has been true. We're 1-5 when he throws the most, 5-1 when he throws the least.

He made game-changing horrendous errors in the games against the 8 best teams that we played and were 0-8 in. Against the worst teams, we were 8-0. This just in, we're not gonna face Cincy and Houston like teams in the playoffs next season. As well, if you review his games in the POs while at N.E., you'll see that the team, D and rushing game, generally played very well, oustanding in some cases, and he still played horribly on top of that. At some point the criticism has to stop bouncing off of him and he needs to start taking some of the heat more than in post-game interviews. If Gilbride isn't doing a great job, then Williams should have the gumption to correct that. Drew should say, "hey, Henry's running well and we need the balance. How bout if we cut down my attempts to under 30 or at least try." Did he do that? Or was he, the WRs, the team, the coaches, and its fans all more interested in setting attempt and yardage records?

Good questions IMO.

honey,

I hear ya. Drew is here for next season at least. Thus the risk involved in this trade. Forget the draft pick. The risk was in whether or not he would play differently than he did in N.E. So far, the answer is no. He plays poor teams reasonably well, but the better teams poorly and costs his team game-losing errors.

How long are we going to give him next season? I say that the fans still won't allow him to be criticized and that he is still immune to any criticism. But in my book, he gets 8 games. If nothing's changed, then at least we need to begin considering our options. IMO one of those would be to see what our backups can do. B/c if we're gonna pay $6M for average play, then there's no need to pay that kind of money for average play. And worse than average when you consider that the chances of Drew being able to string 3/4 games together against good-great competition in the playoffs are slim to none if history is to be our guide. If emotions are to guide us, then I suppose that's an entirely different story.

But $6M is not a lot for a QB who plays well. But for one who doesn't show up, or worse yet, craps the bed in the biggest of games, $6M is $5M too much. Next year Drew gets $5.5M and in '04 he gets $6M. If we want him after that we need to sign his extension. Barring some very significant changes, we'd have to be nuts to sign that thing.

As to Gilbride, if he's that bad, and I fully agree he is, then let's ditch his arse now, tomorrow. I guess these "postseason reviews" might be formality, but if I had to wager ZBs, then I'd say he's still around unless some team takes him as a HC. Wouldn't that be nice.

[DIHARD2]

What would be the difference in touchdowns if Bledsoe's receivers caught the ball in the end zone. Like I said before there are no status on dropped balls that should have been caught.

I think that next season will be a difference, yes it is too early for a thread like this.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[German]

I think we'll need to draft one anyway because Van Pelt won't be around much longer. If the new guy is good enough that he ends up taking over for Bledsoe in the future, great.

[wharfrat]

This thread reminds me of the "replace Jay" threads over at FH....they became much less common after Lucas started a few games. :rolleyes:

You've built an offense around Drew's arm, a damn good one too... If you guys can improve your Defense in the offseason, my guess is that you'll be very dangerous next year. JMHO

[DIHARD2]

German brings up a good point here. This is a draft that is loaded with good quarterbacks. And if there is a gem in the group, we have one of the best talent evaluators working for us. AVP is on his last lap, and we need to look for the future if nothing else, backup like again German had stated.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[Typ0]

I would not be surprised if we draft a QB this year and I can't wait until people start playing their voilins about the confidence in DB. The truth is it's very likely the best player available when we pick will be a QB especially since the draft is so shallow in some other areas. There probably will be some big runs on players at other positions early after the two so called "top rated" QB's are taken. We might be able to get an exceptional player in the second or third round.

[WG]

Originally posted by DIHARD2
What would be the difference in touchdowns if Bledsoe's receivers caught the ball in the end zone. Like I said before there are no status on dropped balls that should have been caught.

For some. But you still cannot blame Drew's inopportune INTs that cost us entire games on his WRs when he's the one who threw them. Besides, how many games do you want to throw away due to "non-catches in the endzone?"

Non-catches are a part of the game that needs to be overcome. If there were so many, then it was just another reason why we relied so inordinately and to our deaths on "Drew's arm." I dare say, Belichick and some other teams/coaches also "relied on" Drew's arm.

This team shouldn't have thrown the ball so much. Period. But, in Buffalo these days, I guess yardage records and records for attempts, and having two WRs w/ huge numbers meant more than wins. I don't know what else could have been the reasons.

As I see it, we could easily have won the division at 11-5, possibly even 12-4 if we hadn't done that. Are we gonna do it again vs. a tougher schedule next year too? B/c I'd say that beating the Jets and Pats are slim chances given the way Drew played against both this year. We can't afford to spot any team 4 games if we expect to make the POs next season.

[lordofgun]

Who cares who gets the credit as long as the Bills win? Not me.

[DIHARD2]

Typ0, when the rumor of Bledsoe coming to the Bills, at first, back on the BB board I was totally against it. I felt at the time the defense was a proper direction, but logic ruled on that decision.

Once Peppers was lost and we knew we could not get the first picks in quarterback, big Mike was the answer. So bringing in a reputable quarterback and one with Bledsoe's credentials was a proper alternative. So I'm not ready to give up on this experiment not just yet.

I to believe we will be able to pickup a very good young quarterback in the first through third round and maybe even later. I still haven't given up on Donahoe ability to wheel and deal for a first-round pick.

Bledsoe at the beginning seemed reborn but after the first New England game he fell back into his old habits of believing he is the only one who can win the game, like he was forced to the last five years in New England. So I think he started forcing the ball a lot more and his timing was lost along with his trust in his fellow players.

I do feel if AVP were to retire, I would like to see him offered the quarterbacking coaches position. I believe he has that much to offer.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[LABillsFan]

A new team, a new city, a new coaching staff, new friends,, it had to sink in at one point and the NE was that trigger. He has a lot to offer and TD didn't bring him here just to get by the next year or two. He now has a line that is used to playing together, and I've been on Gilbride since day one, but maybe, just maybe, KG knows that the line is young and needs to be develope before certain plays or blocking schemes can be installed. They have a year together now, next year will be against better teams, but the Bills will also be farther along as a team, let's wait and see.

[DIHARD2]

Wys, you rely too much on your stats, but only when they suit you and your theory. My point is Bledsoe's stats would have been different, and so might have been a few of the outcome of the games. With the same thought, if we would have had a few more defensive players with ability, those 35 point games would have been wins had our defense stopped our opponent.

We did not have a playoff quality or caliber team, and if we would have won our division, than I would have to say we have the weakest division in this year's standings. It would have been embarrassing for us going 12/4 and losing our first game in the playoffs because that's what would have happen.

We lost because we didn't have a defense that could stop anyone at the beginning of the season.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[Ingtar33]

Draft a QB? Simms in the 3rd? Bledsoe a failure?

I guess us Bills fans have to discuss something in the off-season.

First of all the avg. NFL rookie contract is for 3 or 4 years, and no "prospect QB" will want to be sitting on the bench for the first 3 or 4 years of their career. Since we are all talking about a 30 year old QB, Bledsoe probably has 3 or 4 more years in his prime. Additionally, figuring he is in a system which minimizes his weaknesses, and exploits his strengths (which I'm don't believe he is currently in), he could extend his prime years another 3 or 4 in addition (up to 37 or 38). Explain to me why you'd want to "panic" and draft a rookie QB who'd do nothing more than ride the pine for his whole rookie contract and when things go wrong, create another QB controversy (I had my fill of those with Flutie-Johnson thank you very much). Currently we are spending around 6 or 7 mil in cap space on our QBs (Drew at 5-6mil and AVP at 1mil), and a rookie QB in the first 2 or 3 rounds would be another 1 or 2 mil, why should we spend that? AVP is young enough that he will hang around for most of Drew's career here. We are in a wonderful position here; we wouldn't have to spend a draft pick (or more) on a QB for at least 5 more years. How many other NFL teams would kill to be able to say that?

A little note about this years QB crop, I'm going to look into the crystal ball and predict the round the top prospects should go in...

1st round
Leftwich, Ragone, Palmer, Simms, Manning
*Simms will make the first round due to the fact that he is 6'5" with a cannon arm, and is extremely smart (some like the Raiders will take him in anticipation of 2 or 3 years down the road).

2nd or 3rd round
Dorsey, Gesser, Thomas
* all three of these guys could make a push to get into the first round with good workouts, although I'd say that only Dorsey has a realistic chance at it since he appears to be Joe Montana's clone, and would dominate in a West Coast Offense (Denver could take him if Ragone is off the board by the time they pick).

[DIHARD2]

Ingtar33 I, agree with you that this thread is too early, but I believe this thread is hypothetically in discussion. I like AVP, but I would like to see a quarterback with mobility sitting learning. It wouldn't hurt to have a third string quarterback who is mobile sitting, in case of an emergency. After all, this is the NFL and the quarterback position is one of the hardest on the body when it comes to abuse. Bledsoe, has taken a lot of abuse physically this year.

What about a quarterback in the later rounds when the price really goes down, and if we find one who is a gem in a rough. I'm not saying there is one out there, but they're always is that possibility.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

.

[LABillsFan]

Jim Kelly's 1st. year with the Bills. A Vet QB to begin with led a previous 2-14 team to a 4-12 record.

Year GP/GS Att. Comp. Yds. % Avg. TD's INT RAT
1986 16/16 480 285 3,593 59.4 7.49 22 17 83.3

Bledsoe's
Year GP/GS Att. Comp. Yds. % Avg. TD's INT RAT
2002 16/16 610 375 4,359 61.5 7.15 24 15 86.0

Took a 3-13 team to 8-8

What does this mean? Probably not a whole lot but it goes to show you stats don't tell the whole story. Kelly went 4-12,
7-8, 12-4, 9-7 then the SB's. People were complaining about the Int's his lack of mobility, his cockyness, Like him or not he was the best thing that could of happened to the Bills because of his toughness and leadership. Qualities that Drew has.

We've just finished the 1st. year with Bledsoe. Are we ready to throw Henry away because of his fumbles, Teague because of his calls at the line, Winfield and Clements because they didn't have 10 ints each? Give the team a chance to develope!!!

[Typ0]

I don't really understand why people have such bias opinions. Picking a QB in the draft does not equate to "panic" or "the failed Bledsoe expiriment" but I guess that's the way most fans will see it. The reality is a good young QB could really help fill out our roster and give some protection against Bledsoe injuries while the young QB is being groomed into a quality nfl starting qb. Interestingly enough my only caveat here is this person will need to be ready to play not some six year project.

[Judge]

Short answer: No.

Long answer: He's only 31 after next season. He has at least 1 season left on his contract after next season. Even in the unlikely event he fails next year, we should not waste a draft pick on a QB when other needs/wants can be addressed while we have a high-caliber QB like Bledsoe on the roster.

[Cntrygal]

Originally posted by Ingtar33
Currently we are spending around 6 or 7 mil in cap space on our QBs (Drew at 5-6mil and AVP at 1mil), and a rookie QB in the first 2 or 3 rounds would be another 1 or 2 mil, why should we spend that? AVP is young enough that he will hang around for most of Drew's career here. We are in a wonderful position here; we wouldn't have to spend a draft pick (or more) on a QB for at least 5 more years. How many other NFL teams would kill to be able to say that?


Wouldn't that be sweet to have another team pay to do the initial grooming and then us pick up a young qb ready to make his mark - in a few years?

I don't think drafting a qb is the answer right now... we have other holes to fill.

[Judge]

Originally posted by Cntrygal


Wouldn't that be sweet to have another team pay to do the initial grooming and then us pick up a young qb ready to make his mark - in a few years?

I don't think drafting a qb is the answer right now... we have other holes to fill.

Didn't we try that with RJ?

I agree though- we have way too many other needs for this year and in the future as long as Drew is healthy and able to play- he's too darn talented to throw away, and is better than almost anyone else out there. He's our guy for the long haul.

[itsandthings]

Buffalo should sign Jake Delhomme. He is an UFA that can be signed cheap. Delhomme came from a small college program, but he has steadily made himself a better QB. He went to NFL Europe, played well the last few preseasons, and has filled in for Brooks on the rare occasion and performed well.

Delhomme could be the next "surprise" QB in the league. He has reached the point where somebody should give him a shot.

[BillsMan80]

The QB Outlook for College is not as good as I originally thought IMO...here's how I view it.

1st Round
-Leftwich, Marshall
-Palmer, USC
-Ragone, Louisville
-Manning*, Mississippi

2nd Round
-Boller, California
-Rivers*, NC State
-Kingsbury, Texas Tech

3rd Round
-Simms, Texas
-Grossman, Florida
-Dorsey, Miami
-Gesser, Washington State

4th Round
-Wallace, Iowa State
-St. Pierre, Boston College

5th Round
-Thomas, UNLV
-Banks, Iowa
-Romo, Eastern Illinois

Any others would be 6th, 7th, and UDFA Prospects.

[MelK]

Originally posted by BillsMan80
The QB Outlook for College is not as good as I originally thought IMO...here's how I view it.

1st Round
-Leftwich, Marshall
-Palmer, USC
-Ragone, Louisville
-Manning*, Mississippi

2nd Round
-Boller, California
-Rivers*, NC State
-Kingsbury, Texas Tech

3rd Round
-Simms, Texas
-Grossman, Florida
-Dorsey, Miami
-Gesser, Washington State

4th Round
-Wallace, Iowa State
-St. Pierre, Boston College

5th Round
-Thomas, UNLV
-Banks, Iowa
-Romo, Eastern Illinois

Any others would be 6th, 7th, and UDFA Prospects.

I don't realistically see 11 teams (1/3rd the league) spending a top 3 pick on a QB- not with all the other holes on their squads.


Teams that might draft a QB out of need in rds 1-3

Probable-
Bengals, Ravens, Panthers, Bears , , Cowboys

Possible- (Would like to, but have other areas of need to address with high picks as well)
Steelers, Broncos, Arizona, Seattle, Skins

Would like to get eventual replacement
Jacksonville, Oakland,


These guys are way to high on the board-
-Grossman, Florida (only Sp[urrier would take him high, and my guess is 5-7 th rd)
-Dorsey, Miami (Smart kid, no athletic enoughto be a starting NFL QB)
-Simms- 2nd day choice

[BillsMan80]

I understand how not that many teams would take QBs, however, that would be my value board based on team draft position, team needs, etc. Grossman is there because of Spurrier, Dorsey because I think some team will see what he did in college, and Simms simply because of his measurables and pedigree. If I was a GM however, I would agree with your views on Grossman, Simms, and Dorsey.

[WG]

Originally posted by lordofgun
Who cares who gets the credit as long as the Bills win? Not me.

Same here. That's been my entire point. I've already posted how Drew either cost us the game, 5 to be precise, or was instrumental in the losses, 2 more. I find it interesting that not one person has countered the basis for that. All that everyone has done is to throw up the same mud in the hopes that it sticks.


Originally posted by DIHARD2
Wys, you rely too much on your stats, but only when they suit you and your theory. My point is Bledsoe's stats would have been different, and so might have been a few of the outcome of the games. With the same thought, if we would have had a few more defensive players with ability, those 35 point games would have been wins had our defense stopped our opponent.

We did not have a playoff quality or caliber team, and if we would have won our division, than I would have to say we have the weakest division in this year's standings. It would have been embarrassing for us going 12/4 and losing our first game in the playoffs because that's what would have happen.

We lost because we didn't have a defense that could stop anyone at the beginning of the season.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

Again, and you are relying too much on what the media said at the beginning of the season. We did have a defense that could stop anyone over the last 10 games of the season. To deny that is to deny that the D won 4 games for us and was instrumental in contributing to another 2-3 wins!

In fact, it was a playoff caliber D during the last half of the season. Everyone just seems to ignore the performance of the D and give Drew the credit for everything. Drew can thank his lucky stars and kiss their arse that they won a few games "for him" or he'd/we'd have been 5-11 w/ our only wins over the leagues worst teams.

It was in fact the offense that was not playoff ready after 16 games. The D was fine. I don't see what you or anyone else is talking about there. If we had gone to the playoffs, what would have tossed us is this ridiculous continued reliance on Drew, his passing yards and attempts. We should have been 12-4 and the reason we weren't was b/c of him.

And now, all of a sudden, you wouldn't have wanted to be 12-4 and win the division b/c "the D wasn't ready for the playoffs?" Come on Dihard!!! You can do better than that...



Originally posted by LABillsFan
Jim Kelly's 1st. year with the Bills. A Vet QB to begin with led a previous 2-14 team to a 4-12 record.

Year GP/GS Att. Comp. Yds. % Avg. TD's INT RAT
1986 16/16 480 285 3,593 59.4 7.49 22 17 83.3

Bledsoe's
Year GP/GS Att. Comp. Yds. % Avg. TD's INT RAT
2002 16/16 610 375 4,359 61.5 7.15 24 15 86.0

Took a 3-13 team to 8-8

What does this mean? Probably not a whole lot but it goes to show you stats don't tell the whole story. Kelly went 4-12,
7-8, 12-4, 9-7 then the SB's. People were complaining about the Int's his lack of mobility, his cockyness, Like him or not he was the best thing that could of happened to the Bills because of his toughness and leadership. Qualities that Drew has.

We've just finished the 1st. year with Bledsoe. Are we ready to throw Henry away because of his fumbles, Teague because of his calls at the line, Winfield and Clements because they didn't have 10 ints each? Give the team a chance to develope!!!

To me it means we beat the 8 easiest teams on our schedule and were lucky to have had Chicago, Minnesota, Detroit, Cincy, and Houston on it and also lucky to have played Miami twice with Lucas as the QB and then also lucky that our D played so well in the S.D. game so as to allow us to completely give up on Drew in the 4th Q by being tied and to run Henry to a win. That's what it means to me!

What it also means is that this year's team is so vastly different than last years that it makes absolutely no sense to compare them. If last year's team had this year's OL then they would have been 8-8 too w/ Van Pelt and RJ at the helm. Maybe 7-9. But the OL, D, WRs, RBs were all superior to last years and no, that's not all simply b/c Drew was here.

Lastly, it also means that Drew is in his 10th season as a veteran who knows the league and has absolutely no shortage of experience. He had Henry, the league's 4th leading rusher, Moulds, Price, Centers (the most prolific receiving RB in the history of the game still playing at full tilt), JR, and Moore and a very solid OL with hardly any injuries worth mentioning and yet he still only outperformed Kelly, virtually a rookie with such a marvelous supporting cast as:

Riddick: who led the team in rushing w/ a whopping 150 carries for 632 yards and 4 big TDs.

Second year Andre Reed who wasn't anything yet, washed up Butler in his last season, and league standout Chris Burkett who collectivley posted 102 catches for 1,819 yards, and a big, big 13 TDs.

I can't believe that you are actually comparing a young, young Kelly, to Drew who's been in the league for years, a full decade.

[DIHARD2]

Wys, I'm not relying on what the media said, I'm relying on what I saw and what I herd. The fact is we did not have the defensive players that could beat any team of substance. The only team that we didn't score against was Green Bay. But the other teams we did score on, our defense wasn't good enough to stop the other teams from out scoring us.

You can blame Bledsoe or the coaches all you want, but I'm still going to stick with inexperience as our downfall this last season.

This argument will not be settled until the end of next year and hopefully you're wrong, as I know you hope the same.

I'm watching and listening to the game and I see and hear faulted in all aspects of our game, not only in our youths inexperience but the inexperience of our coaches as well.

Wys, you over analyze for some reason, but the simple fact is, all I care about is that we win also. I don't care how we win as long as we do, but I do understand why we lose, and that is inexperience, because inexperience is our fault, at this time.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[DIHARD2]

Wys, Indianapolis just got embarrassed buy the New York Jets, today. That is what I'm talking about, because that's where we would have been!!! Embarrassed!!! We would have been hurt even more if our rookies would've been demoralized the way Indianapolis rookies were today.

We didn't beat anybody with substance this year, they outscored our young defense...

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

[WG]

Then why go to the playoffs at all. Chances are decent that you lose to a team and it doesn't look good. I'll take my chances, eh. You can't be serious, you'd rather have not made the POs this eyar b/c we may have been embarassed? I agree, but it wouldn't have been b/c of the D!



Originally posted by DIHARD2
Wys, I'm not relying on what the media said, I'm relying on what I saw and what I herd. The fact is we did not have the defensive players that could beat any team of substance. The only team that we didn't score against was Green Bay. But the other teams we did score on, our defense wasn't good enough to stop the other teams from out scoring us.

You can blame Bledsoe or the coaches all you want, but I'm still going to stick with inexperience as our downfall this last season.

This argument will not be settled until the end of next year and hopefully you're wrong, as I know you hope the same.

I'm watching and listening to the game and I see and hear faulted in all aspects of our game, not only in our youths inexperience but the inexperience of our coaches as well.

Wys, you over analyze for some reason, but the simple fact is, all I care about is that we win also. I don't care how we win as long as we do, but I do understand why we lose, and that is inexperience, because inexperience is our fault, at this time.

GO!!!...BUFFALO!!!...

Well, apparently what I saw and heard were a little different.

Here's what I saw and heard:

A defense that allowed only 17 points other than a drive set up at our own 8 yard line due to a Henry fumble vs. the Texans in week 6.

Week 7: A Defense that played beside itself and allowed only 10 points v. the phins in Miami.

Week 8: A D that allowed only 17 points to Detroit.

Week 11: A D that held the league's #1 scoring O averaging almost 30 PPG to only 17 points for the game.

Week 12: A D that held the Jets to 17 points that weren't off of Drew's INTs setting up 2 Jet TDs to allow them to take a 17-3 lead and a D that held on yet another Drew TO/FUM to shut down the Jet O.

Week 14: A D that held the Pats to only 10 points that weren't off of offensive TOs. One by Drew setting up the Pats 1st-and-goal at our 6 and the other by Price fumbling setting the Pats up 1st-and-10 at our 28. How many errors do you expect the D to overcome?

Week 15: A D that held S.D. to only 13 points and in spite of a horrendous passing day allowed the Bills to be in it w/ 3 minutes remaining to allow us to scrap the "Drew led" passing attack in favor of something that worked to win the game.

Week 16: A D that held Green Bay, the league's 6th ranked scoring O averaging nearly 25 PPG, to 10 points, 7 of which were off of Drew's INT that set up the Pack at our own 39 YL.

Week 17: Holding Cincy to only 9 points.

So if you want to blame anyone for the Bills allowing points, how about assessing Drew his share of the blame for continually setting our opponents up w/ excellent field position on stupid INTs to give them plenty of "can't miss" opps at TDs.

That's what I saw and it isn't something that I'd be ashamed to take to the playoffs with me, particularly since we don't even have many marquee faces on our Defense.