All this talk of Playoff history has made me sad!, this is what I do!

[Patrick76777]

I’m feeling pretty down about the team right now. I know the JP guys are loving things but I kinda have to scratch my head when some kid taken in the 7th round from Harvard comes into his first game ever and throws for 3 TD’s and 310 yards and we’re supposed to get all pumped because our guy is showing progress in his 10th time on the field by going, 16-29 for 197 yards and a pick.

Does our O-line stink, Sure! they’re not good, but with the weapons we have, If a good NFL QB is on our team, we could be 7-4 instead of 4-7.

But things are never going to change on our current course.

1. The media runs guys out of town and we buy into it.
-It’s been going on for years, Chuck Dickerson ran Glenn Parker out of town on a rail. The guy went on to be the MVP of a 13-3 KC team and played in another Superbowl with the Giants. Last year it was Bledsoe, who’s having a pretty nice year in Dallas right now. The year before it was Gregg Williams.

Every year, the local media picks a guy and bashes him endlessly. The fans buy into it and by the end of the season we’ve got pitchforks at the stadium demanding his head.

This year it’s Sam Adams and to a lesser extent Nate Clements. Just watch next year when Seattle or Minnesota are 8-3 at this point with Sam Adams helping to plug up the middle of the field. We’ll be here wondering why we can’t stop anybody on the ground with Justin Bannen and Tim Anderson!

I’m not saying that some of these guys didn’t have to go, but it’s kind of tough to build a team when every single year you’re firing a major piece to the puzzle.

2. We’ve all become Salary Cap experts!

This point kind of ties in with the first one. You can’t get into a conversation with a Bills fan about Free Agents without said fan saying the phrase, “If we can get him for a good price”.

Yes, I know, we got into this trouble because John Butler was spending big bucks. But now we’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. Besides for Moulds and Spikes, TD hasn’t signed or “more importantly” resigned any big time players.

Butler got in trouble for signing marginal players to ridiculous salaries. The John Holicik’s and Gabe Northern’s of the NFL don’t deserve the big time bucks. But I’ve got news for you, The Nate Clements, Pat Williams and Eric Moulds of the world need to be resigned.

If TD continues on the way he does in the past, Sam Adams, Eric Moulds and Nate Clements will walk at the end of the season. He’ll work on the biggest weaknesses from this season, but he’ll feel that his past drafts will cover the departures of the above mentioned players. So we’ll reinforce the O and D lines (with marginal players and draft picks mind you) but as fans we won’t understand why teams are passing all over us and why JP can’t hit WR’s. We’ll have McGee and some Undrafted FA who looked good in spot duty this year starting at CB and we’ll have Roscoe Parrish, who had a nice catch in a few games this year, starting opposite Lee Evans. That’s just not going to work.

It’s just like the year that we let Peerless Price walk. TD honestly believed that 2nd year Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw could fill the void. What a joke! Now, I can’t say that I didn’t like the move, because we did get McGahee out of it, but what about signing a FA to fill in for Price. McGahee didn’t play snap that year and TD knew he wouldn’t. So he took 95 catches and a bunch of TD’s off the offense and didn’t replace it and he wondered why the O struggled that year.

Then the following year, the only move he made was drafting Lee Evans, knowing that it would take some time for him to get used to the speed of the NFL. Lucky for us, Lee picked it up a lot faster then most and was good for the second half of the season, when, surprise, the offense picked up again.

Now say he trades Price to Atlanta, gets the pick to take McGahee, but in the meantime signs a veteran WR to fill the void left by Price? Maybe we’re better in 2003 and maybe it doesn’t take until week 9 to start winning in 2004.

This leads to point 3

3. Why does there always have to be a fall guy?

The offense wasn’t great last year, but they were doing enough to win the games. But we needed a fall guy. Afterall, we missed the playoffs again, We have to fire somebody. So fire the QB. Afterall, we drafted a guy in the first round who’s “can’t miss” and has played 12 total NFL plays. This guy’s ready to go.

Who’s the fall guy this year? The players I mentioned above?, Mularkey? TD? Why not fire all of them. That way we NEVER get continuity. We’ll just always be in Flux!

Why cut Sam Adams? Because he’s had some injuries this year and he’s frustrated that we’re not winning and he disagrees with Mularkey? I’ve got news for you guys. Although none of us are battling injuries, we’re all frustrated that we can’t win and we all disagree with just about everything Mularkey does. ADAMS SHOULD BE OUR HERO!!!!!

Cut Eric Moulds? Because he’s making too much money! I’ve got more news for you guys, 75% of the teams in this league would kill for an Eric Moulds on their team. Philly would crap if we cut this guy!!!!!!!!!! They’d pick him up in 4 seconds! Lee Evans is good, but Josh Reed and Parrish are not ready for that role. JP will have just about no targets this year.
You’ve got to re-do this guy’s deal. Give him a ton up front and back load the crap out of a nice 6 year extension.

Nate Clements? Why, because he had a bad game in SD when our whole gameplan was shutting down LT? When asked for the top 3 CB’s in the NFL, Chad Johnson said Nate was one of them. The league leading WR just left Buffalo with 3 catches.

Adams is already under contract, You can backload Moulds and keep him around at a decent cap number. Nate’s going to cost you, but it’s a move we have to make.

If at least 2 of these guys are not on the roster next year, we’ll be lucky to win 5 games next year.



So what do I do?
-I resign Clements, keep Adams and rework Moulds.
-I get a healthy Kevin Everett and hope that he turns out to be the big play Tight end we’ve been missing for 15 years.
-I keep Peters in town all year and have him master RT.
-I tell Mike Williams he can take a Huge pay cut or take a hike
-I start Duke Preston at Center for the rest of this year and keep him around with Peters,
-I draft LT with our first overall pick, Preston, Peters and the new guy are now the anchors of my O-line for the next 12 years.
-I keep Villerio as one of my guards and offer the other position to Teague or the Guard I’m drafting in the 3rd round.
-In the second round and with my other 3rd rounder I’m taking the best D-linemen on the board (As long as they’re not white).
-I’m only signing 2 Free Agent’s and one of them will be the best DT out there. He’s going to sit right next to Sam Adams and wreak havoc.
-Spikes is coming back better then ever, I don’t care what you guys say!
Posey and Crowell can battle it out in Training camp for the other OLB job. Best player gets it.
-I don’t touch the DB’s except to cut Coy Wire, TODAY!
-And the last move. I sign a veteran back up QB. I like Holcomb but he can’t get it done. I don’t break the bank doing it. I’m not looking at a superstar. Maybe a young back up that never got a chance. A guy who’s still got a chance to be good but never blew anybody away. A guy like Trent Green was when he first signed with St. Louis before he got hurt. I let that guy go head to head with JP in mini camp and Training camp. Best guy wins. It’s JP’s 3rd year, if he can’t beat this guy out in TC, he doesn’t deserve the job.

One more thing, I’d love to fire Mularky and get a Fassel or someone like him in here, but I don’t want to start over. I want to make the necessary chances and make a run at this thing for a few years. Changing coaches at this point in time will result in having to take a step back before we take a step forward.

[LtBillsFan66]

Great post. Agree completely with the voids TD doesn't fill.

I think Vincent and/or Milloy have to be replaced too.

[Earthquake Enyart]

I love you Pat.

[DraftBoy]

Well said but I think we have more holes than the few your choosing to fill, and your not even thinking of other possible scenarios that could be likely, like WM demanding a renegotiated contract, how do we keep he and Clements. I like your attitude on Spikes and I know he'll be back and have little doubt he'll regain form. Also you dont mention our lack of depth at the CB posistion, we got King and Greer, and they are serviceable but Id prefer a vet at nickle. You also dont mention our lack of depth at really any key posistions; RB, WR, OL, DL, QB, S...two big injuries and we are in deep trouble. There is alot more to be done personnell wise then what you are suggesting imo, but those are good starts. Though I am of the opinion that we clean house and restart with a real rebuilding process through the drafts, not through FA.

[Patrick76777]

Great post. Agree completely with the voids TD doesn't fill.
I think Vincent and/or Milloy have to be replaced too.




I love you Pat.


Thanks guys!

And this coming from 2 of the most reasonable guys on the board. I just need Dozer to come in and agree with it. And he will!

[Earthquake Enyart]

I still think TD needs to go. His benign neglect of the OL has me to the breaking point.

[Iehoshua]

I’m feeling pretty down about the team right now. I know the JP guys are loving things but I kinda have to scratch my head when some kid taken in the 7th round from Harvard comes into his first game ever and throws for 3 TD’s and 310 yards and we’re supposed to get all pumped because our guy is showing progress in his 10th time on the field by going, 16-29 for 197 yards and a pick.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then. I wouldn't be so quick to judge Mr. Haaaavard after one great performance.

I'm not 'pumped' about 197 and an INT, I'm just anxious to see if Losman can develop or not. Unfortunately for us, right now the offense of the Rams and the Bills matches up like this:

Jackson > McGahee
Holt > Moulds
Curtis > Evans
Bruce > Reed

So, if Losman had the o-line and all the weapons Mr. Haaaavard has, who is to say Losman wouldn't have done just as well? Then again, maybe Losman does worse! The point is, one game is not going to tell the tale. However, I think we all have to agree the Rams offense is superior, if not, then let me be the first to inform you; the Rams offense is superior to the Bills, in all facets.

[Earthquake Enyart]

People seem to forget how lousy the OL was when TD got here.

It's about the same now.

[Patrick76777]

I still think TD needs to go. His benign neglect of the OL has me to the breaking point.
My whole post is basically loosely predicated on TD getting the boot and me taking over!

I just know he’s going to let at least 2 of those guys go and we’ll be terrible next year. That’s when Ralph will give him the boot and we’ll have to start over!


And DraftBoy, Thanks for the input but I didn’t go too deep into it because I didn’t want to be here until 4 AM. I realize that other moves would have to be made. If you didn’t notice I didn’t even touch day 2 of the draft.

[Jeff1220]

Nice post Pat. I'm convinced. :up:

[Patrick76777]

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then. I wouldn't be so quick to judge Mr. Haaaavard after one great performance.

I'm not 'pumped' about 197 and an INT, I'm just anxious to see if Losman can develop or not. Unfortunately for us, right now the offense of the Rams and the Bills matches up like this:

Jackson > McGahee
Holt > Moulds
Curtis > Evans
Bruce > Reed

So, if Losman had the o-line and all the weapons Mr. Haaaavard has, who is to say Losman wouldn't have done just as well? Then again, maybe Losman does worse! The point is, one game is not going to tell the tale. However, I think we all have to agree the Rams offense is superior, if not, then let me be the first to inform you; the Rams offense is superior to the Bills, in all facets.


I’m not saying that JP will be bad or even that this kid will be good. It’s just disheartening to see. I’ve been waiting for a performance like that from JP and I haven’t seen anything close.

And I said that I realize that our O-line wasn’t that great.

And you said that Jackson is better than McGahee so it ruins your whole argument.

[Patrick76777]

Nice post Pat. I'm convinced. :up:


Thanks man!

[Patrick76777]

Dude, if you went to all 32 NFL GM's and asked if they'd rather have S. Jackson or W. McGahee, all 32 would pick Willis. Hands down!

[THATHURMANATOR]

I’m feeling pretty down about the team right now. I know the JP guys are loving things but I kinda have to scratch my head when some kid taken in the 7th round from Harvard comes into his first game ever and throws for 3 TD’s and 310 yards and we’re supposed to get all pumped because our guy is showing progress in his 10th time on the field by going, 16-29 for 197 yards and a pick.
Does our O-line stink, Sure! they’re not good, but with the weapons we have, If a good NFL QB is on our team, we could be 7-4 instead of 4-7.
But things are never going to change on our current course.
1. The media runs guys out of town and we buy into it.
-It’s been going on for years, Chuck Dickerson ran Glenn Parker out of town on a rail. The guy went on to be the MVP of a 13-3 KC team and played in another Superbowl with the Giants. Last year it was Bledsoe, who’s having a pretty nice year in Dallas right now. The year before it was Gregg Williams.
Every year, the local media picks a guy and bashes him endlessly. The fans buy into it and by the end of the season we’ve got pitchforks at the stadium demanding his head.
This year it’s Sam Adams and to a lesser extent Nate Clements. Just watch next year when Seattle or Minnesota are 8-3 at this point with Sam Adams helping to plug up the middle of the field. We’ll be here wondering why we can’t stop anybody on the ground with Justin Bannen and Tim Anderson!
I’m not saying that some of these guys didn’t have to go, but it’s kind of tough to build a team when every single year you’re firing a major piece to the puzzle.
2. We’ve all become Salary Cap experts!
This point kind of ties in with the first one. You can’t get into a conversation with a Bills fan about Free Agents without said fan saying the phrase, “If we can get him for a good price”.
Yes, I know, we got into this trouble because John Butler was spending big bucks. But now we’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. Besides for Moulds and Spikes, TD hasn’t signed or “more importantly” resigned any big time players.
Butler got in trouble for signing marginal players to ridiculous salaries. The John Holicik’s and Gabe Northern’s of the NFL don’t deserve the big time bucks. But I’ve got news for you, The Nate Clements, Pat Williams and Eric Moulds of the world need to be resigned.
If TD continues on the way he does in the past, Sam Adams, Eric Moulds and Nate Clements will walk at the end of the season. He’ll work on the biggest weaknesses from this season, but he’ll feel that his past drafts will cover the departures of the above mentioned players. So we’ll reinforce the O and D lines (with marginal players and draft picks mind you) but as fans we won’t understand why teams are passing all over us and why JP can’t hit WR’s. We’ll have McGee and some Undrafted FA who looked good in spot duty this year starting at CB and we’ll have Roscoe Parrish, who had a nice catch in a few games this year, starting opposite Lee Evans. That’s just not going to work.
It’s just like the year that we let Peerless Price walk. TD honestly believed that 2nd year Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw could fill the void. What a joke! Now, I can’t say that I didn’t like the move, because we did get McGahee out of it, but what about signing a FA to fill in for Price. McGahee didn’t play snap that year and TD knew he wouldn’t. So he took 95 catches and a bunch of TD’s off the offense and didn’t replace it and he wondered why the O struggled that year.
Then the following year, the only move he made was drafting Lee Evans, knowing that it would take some time for him to get used to the speed of the NFL. Lucky for us, Lee picked it up a lot faster then most and was good for the second half of the season, when, surprise, the offense picked up again.
Now say he trades Price to Atlanta, gets the pick to take McGahee, but in the meantime signs a veteran WR to fill the void left by Price? Maybe we’re better in 2003 and maybe it doesn’t take until week 9 to start winning in 2004.
This leads to point 3
3. Why does there always have to be a fall guy?
The offense wasn’t great last year, but they were doing enough to win the games. But we needed a fall guy. Afterall, we missed the playoffs again, We have to fire somebody. So fire the QB. Afterall, we drafted a guy in the first round who’s “can’t miss” and has played 12 total NFL plays. This guy’s ready to go.
Who’s the fall guy this year? The players I mentioned above?, Mularkey? TD? Why not fire all of them. That way we NEVER get continuity. We’ll just always be in Flux!
Why cut Sam Adams? Because he’s had some injuries this year and he’s frustrated that we’re not winning and he disagrees with Mularkey? I’ve got news for you guys. Although none of us are battling injuries, we’re all frustrated that we can’t win and we all disagree with just about everything Mularkey does. ADAMS SHOULD BE OUR HERO!!!!!
Cut Eric Moulds? Because he’s making too much money! I’ve got more news for you guys, 75% of the teams in this league would kill for an Eric Moulds on their team. Philly would crap if we cut this guy!!!!!!!!!! They’d pick him up in 4 seconds! Lee Evans is good, but Josh Reed and Parrish are not ready for that role. JP will have just about no targets this year.
You’ve got to re-do this guy’s deal. Give him a ton up front and back load the crap out of a nice 6 year extension.
Nate Clements? Why, because he had a bad game in SD when our whole gameplan was shutting down LT? When asked for the top 3 CB’s in the NFL, Chad Johnson said Nate was one of them. The league leading WR just left Buffalo with 3 catches.
Adams is already under contract, You can backload Moulds and keep him around at a decent cap number. Nate’s going to cost you, but it’s a move we have to make.
If at least 2 of these guys are not on the roster next year, we’ll be lucky to win 5 games next year.
So what do I do?
-I resign Clements, keep Adams and rework Moulds.
-I get a healthy Kevin Everett and hope that he turns out to be the big play Tight end we’ve been missing for 15 years.
-I keep Peters in town all year and have him master RT.
-I tell Mike Williams he can take a Huge pay cut or take a hike
-I start Duke Preston at Center for the rest of this year and keep him around with Peters,
-I draft LT with our first overall pick, Preston, Peters and the new guy are now the anchors of my O-line for the next 12 years.
-I keep Villerio as one of my guards and offer the other position to Teague or the Guard I’m drafting in the 3rd round.
-In the second round and with my other 3rd rounder I’m taking the best D-linemen on the board (As long as they’re not white).
-I’m only signing 2 Free Agent’s and one of them will be the best DT out there. He’s going to sit right next to Sam Adams and wreak havoc.
-Spikes is coming back better then ever, I don’t care what you guys say!
Posey and Crowell can battle it out in Training camp for the other OLB job. Best player gets it.
-I don’t touch the DB’s except to cut Coy Wire, TODAY!
-And the last move. I sign a veteran back up QB. I like Holcomb but he can’t get it done. I don’t break the bank doing it. I’m not looking at a superstar. Maybe a young back up that never got a chance. A guy who’s still got a chance to be good but never blew anybody away. A guy like Trent Green was when he first signed with St. Louis before he got hurt. I let that guy go head to head with JP in mini camp and Training camp. Best guy wins. It’s JP’s 3rd year, if he can’t beat this guy out in TC, he doesn’t deserve the job.
One more thing, I’d love to fire Mularky and get a Fassel or someone like him in here, but I don’t want to start over. I want to make the necessary chances and make a run at this thing for a few years. Changing coaches at this point in time will result in having to take a step back before we take a step forward.
Possibly the best post in zone history. :bf1:

[Mitchy moo]

All I know is WM better tell his agent to shut his mouth this year about a new deal. WM is writing checks his body can't cash.

[L.A. Playa]

I agree with most of your post but If the Bills keep Sam Adams and Eric Moulds they will need to get rid of Mularkey, from what I have seen Mularkey has no control of teh team and that is harder to get back rather tahn just bring in a new head coach

[Patrick76777]

I agree with most of your post but If the Bills keep Sam Adams and Eric Moulds they will need to get rid of Mularkey, from what I have seen Mularkey has no control of teh team and that is harder to get back rather tahn just bring in a new head coach


Winning has a way to do it!

[L.A. Playa]

I dont think Mularkey is capable of turning around what he has already deystroyed, just from what I saw close up at the San Diego game, there is very little team unity and if anything the unity is mostly against the coaching staff

[RedEyE]

Great post Pat. I'd make you GM today if I had the power.

[LtBillsFan66]

I don't think TD has what it takes to build a team. I'm sick of the "cap jail" excuse. That was long ago already.

[L.A. Playa]

The Bills have always needed and have really never had an ass kicker coach, a guy who you know and respect as the boss, like a Parcells or a Coughlin. They need someone to take control and have its my way or the highway attitude, but then they need a new GM to actually give the coach that power and not be his puppet

[LtBillsFan66]

Levy wasn't an ass kicker.

[L.A. Playa]

In my personal opinion the Bills of the Super Bowl years where the most talented team of all time, their weakness was lack of discipline and they got out coached in every Super Bowl game, Levy was a good coach but didnt have what it takes in the big game

[Iehoshua]

I’m not saying that JP will be bad or even that this kid will be good. It’s just disheartening to see. I’ve been waiting for a performance like that from JP and I haven’t seen anything close.

And I said that I realize that our O-line wasn’t that great.

And you said that Jackson is better than McGahee so it ruins your whole argument.
McGahee -
RUSHING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>Att</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg2"> <td>2005</td><td>Buffalo Bills</td><td>11</td><td>10</td><td>236</td><td>948</td><td>4.0</td><td>27</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>57</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
RECEIVING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>No</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>40+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg2"> <td>2005</td><td>Buffalo Bills</td><td>11</td><td>10</td><td>17</td><td>119</td><td>7.0</td><td>17</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>6</td></tr></tbody> </table>

Jackson -
RUSHING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>Att</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg3"> <td>2005</td><td>St. Louis Rams</td><td>11</td><td>11</td><td>192</td><td>845</td><td>4.4</td><td>51</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>44</td></tr></tbody> </table>
RECEIVING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>No</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>40+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg3"> <td>2005</td><td>St. Louis Rams</td><td>11</td><td>11</td><td>36</td><td>281</td><td>7.8</td><td>27</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>12</td></tr></tbody> </table>
I would give the edge to Jackson due to TDs and the receiving threat, not to mention slightly higher average per carry...

[Patrick76777]

McGahee -
RUSHING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>Att</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg2"> <td>2005</td><td>Buffalo Bills</td><td>11</td><td>10</td><td>236</td><td>948</td><td>4.0</td><td>27</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>57</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
RECEIVING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>No</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>40+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg2"> <td>2005</td><td>Buffalo Bills</td><td>11</td><td>10</td><td>17</td><td>119</td><td>7.0</td><td>17</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>6</td></tr></tbody> </table>

Jackson -
RUSHING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>Att</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg3"> <td>2005</td><td>St. Louis Rams</td><td>11</td><td>11</td><td>192</td><td>845</td><td>4.4</td><td>51</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>44</td></tr></tbody> </table>
RECEIVING <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="bg1" valign="top"> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>No</th> <th>Yards</th> <th>Avg</th> <th>Lg</th> <th>TD</th> <th>20+</th> <th>40+</th> <th>FD</th> </tr> <tr class="bg3"> <td>2005</td><td>St. Louis Rams</td><td>11</td><td>11</td><td>36</td><td>281</td><td>7.8</td><td>27</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>12</td></tr></tbody> </table>
I would give the edge to Jackson due to TDs and the receiving threat, not to mention slightly higher average per carry...

I don’t know what’s worse.

That you actually believe this or that you spent time looking it up!

Weren’t you the guy talking about how much better that St. Louis O-line was when you were defending JP?

[Iehoshua]

I don’t know what’s worse.

That you actually believe this or that you spent time looking it up!

Weren’t you the guy talking about how much better that St. Louis O-line was when you were defending JP?
It took 30 seconds to look up...

I wasn't defending nor attacking JP either, just stating that Mr. Haaavard's one hit wonder shouldn't make anyone discount JP's future.

[DraftBoy]

I don’t know what’s worse.
That you actually believe this or that you spent time looking it up!
Weren’t you the guy talking about how much better that St. Louis O-line was when you were defending JP?


Anybody who thinks STL has a better OL than we do needs to get some help. They've allowed more sacks this season and even in this past Sunday's game they allowed Mr. Harvard to be sacked 5 times.

[Novacane]

Rob Johnson had 1 big game too.

[Iehoshua]

Anybody who thinks STL has a better OL than we do needs to get some help. They've allowed more sacks this season and even in this past Sunday's game they allowed Mr. Harvard to be sacked 5 times.

I'll still take Orlando Pace over anyone on the Bills current o-line.

[TacklingDummy]

Nice post Patrick. The best post I have ever read on here.

It is sad that the Rams 3rd string QB from Harvard has played a better game in his career then what the Bills future franchise QB has.

Hell its sad that the Jets 4th string QB Bollinger is better then our QB.

[Mahdi]

Anybody who thinks STL has a better OL than we do needs to get some help. They've allowed more sacks this season and even in this past Sunday's game they allowed Mr. Harvard to be sacked 5 times.
IMO opinion STL does have a better O-line than Buffalo. Ya they allow sacks but their QB is not constantly getting pressured. If JP isnt getting sacked he's being hurried and constantly pressured. Also, although they dont run the ball much they run block better than the Bills do aswell.

[TacklingDummy]

So what your saying is that a 3rd string QB coming off the bench, never playing a snap in the NFL, drafted in the 7th round, played at Harvard should do better then a QB who has played 9 games in the NFL and who was drafted in the 1st round, just because he has a better o-line?

19 for 30 for 310 yards 3TDs and 1INT is impressive for a 3rd string QB coming off the bench and playing his first game. Hell, did the kid even get any snaps in practice the whole year?

[G. Host]

Great post proving you are not a lemming Patrick!

:10:

[gr8slayer]

I agree with almost everything. Although Coy Wire is not much of a starting SS he is one hell of a special teams player and should be kept on the team IMO.

I quite honestly dont want Clements if he is going to cost us top three money (unless the cap number goes up).

But the most important thing we need to upgrade is the OL. Losman is clearly the future and we need to do all we can to help him be the best he can be.

[Tinboy]

I’m feeling pretty down about the team right now. I know the JP guys are loving things but I kinda have to scratch my head when some kid taken in the 7th round from Harvard comes into his first game ever and throws for 3 TD’s and 310 yards and we’re supposed to get all pumped because our guy is showing progress in his 10th time on the field by going, 16-29 for 197 yards and a pick.


I agree with you a 100% but I'm actually not surprised that Fitzpatrick played a good game. He was picked by serval experts as potential sleeper and I saw a report about him last season och NFL Network.

[Spiderweb]

People seem to forget how lousy the OL was when TD got here.
It's about the same now.

Jennings was a very decent player (when he wasn't hurt, which was often). Ruben Brown was a better guard than Anderson or Villerial (sp?). Bad, yeah, but has it improved? I can't say it has......It's still terrible.

[BillsFever21]

If we had a real NFL coach we would be 7-4 not 4-7.

[Patrick76777]

If we had a real NFL coach we would be 7-4 not 4-7.


I don't disagree at all!

[TacklingDummy]

Mark it down, you heard it hear first. JP will NEVER lead the Bills to the playoffs. Even if he did get good in a couple years (Which I doubt) the Bills won't have any talent on the team around him. Moulds, Clements, Adams, Fletcher all want out of Buffalo, and after next year Im sure Willis and Spikes will want out of Buffalo also. No one wants to play for a loser. Isn't that why Spikes came to Buffalo? He was sick of losing in Cincy and thought Buffalo was a good place to go.

Its been 5 years with no playoffs and by the looks of things it could be another 5 years or more.

How fans continue to pay to go see this garbage I will never know. TD has done a good job at 2 things....1) Selling tickets....2) Ripping the hearts out of Bills fans.

Ever since I can remember being a Bills fan (20+years) I have never felt this so depressed or hopeless about them or the future.

[X-Era]

I’m feeling pretty down about the team right now. I know the JP guys are loving things but I kinda have to scratch my head when some kid taken in the 7th round from Harvard comes into his first game ever and throws for 3 TD’s and 310 yards and we’re supposed to get all pumped because our guy is showing progress in his 10th time on the field by going, 16-29 for 197 yards and a pick.

Does our O-line stink, Sure! they’re not good, but with the weapons we have, If a good NFL QB is on our team, we could be 7-4 instead of 4-7.

But things are never going to change on our current course.

1. The media runs guys out of town and we buy into it.
-It’s been going on for years, Chuck Dickerson ran Glenn Parker out of town on a rail. The guy went on to be the MVP of a 13-3 KC team and played in another Superbowl with the Giants. Last year it was Bledsoe, who’s having a pretty nice year in Dallas right now. The year before it was Gregg Williams.

Every year, the local media picks a guy and bashes him endlessly. The fans buy into it and by the end of the season we’ve got pitchforks at the stadium demanding his head.

This year it’s Sam Adams and to a lesser extent Nate Clements. Just watch next year when Seattle or Minnesota are 8-3 at this point with Sam Adams helping to plug up the middle of the field. We’ll be here wondering why we can’t stop anybody on the ground with Justin Bannen and Tim Anderson!

I’m not saying that some of these guys didn’t have to go, but it’s kind of tough to build a team when every single year you’re firing a major piece to the puzzle.

2. We’ve all become Salary Cap experts!

This point kind of ties in with the first one. You can’t get into a conversation with a Bills fan about Free Agents without said fan saying the phrase, “If we can get him for a good price”.

Yes, I know, we got into this trouble because John Butler was spending big bucks. But now we’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. Besides for Moulds and Spikes, TD hasn’t signed or “more importantly” resigned any big time players.

Butler got in trouble for signing marginal players to ridiculous salaries. The John Holicik’s and Gabe Northern’s of the NFL don’t deserve the big time bucks. But I’ve got news for you, The Nate Clements, Pat Williams and Eric Moulds of the world need to be resigned.

If TD continues on the way he does in the past, Sam Adams, Eric Moulds and Nate Clements will walk at the end of the season. He’ll work on the biggest weaknesses from this season, but he’ll feel that his past drafts will cover the departures of the above mentioned players. So we’ll reinforce the O and D lines (with marginal players and draft picks mind you) but as fans we won’t understand why teams are passing all over us and why JP can’t hit WR’s. We’ll have McGee and some Undrafted FA who looked good in spot duty this year starting at CB and we’ll have Roscoe Parrish, who had a nice catch in a few games this year, starting opposite Lee Evans. That’s just not going to work.

It’s just like the year that we let Peerless Price walk. TD honestly believed that 2nd year Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw could fill the void. What a joke! Now, I can’t say that I didn’t like the move, because we did get McGahee out of it, but what about signing a FA to fill in for Price. McGahee didn’t play snap that year and TD knew he wouldn’t. So he took 95 catches and a bunch of TD’s off the offense and didn’t replace it and he wondered why the O struggled that year.

Then the following year, the only move he made was drafting Lee Evans, knowing that it would take some time for him to get used to the speed of the NFL. Lucky for us, Lee picked it up a lot faster then most and was good for the second half of the season, when, surprise, the offense picked up again.

Now say he trades Price to Atlanta, gets the pick to take McGahee, but in the meantime signs a veteran WR to fill the void left by Price? Maybe we’re better in 2003 and maybe it doesn’t take until week 9 to start winning in 2004.

This leads to point 3

3. Why does there always have to be a fall guy?

The offense wasn’t great last year, but they were doing enough to win the games. But we needed a fall guy. Afterall, we missed the playoffs again, We have to fire somebody. So fire the QB. Afterall, we drafted a guy in the first round who’s “can’t miss” and has played 12 total NFL plays. This guy’s ready to go.

Who’s the fall guy this year? The players I mentioned above?, Mularkey? TD? Why not fire all of them. That way we NEVER get continuity. We’ll just always be in Flux!

Why cut Sam Adams? Because he’s had some injuries this year and he’s frustrated that we’re not winning and he disagrees with Mularkey? I’ve got news for you guys. Although none of us are battling injuries, we’re all frustrated that we can’t win and we all disagree with just about everything Mularkey does. ADAMS SHOULD BE OUR HERO!!!!!

Cut Eric Moulds? Because he’s making too much money! I’ve got more news for you guys, 75% of the teams in this league would kill for an Eric Moulds on their team. Philly would crap if we cut this guy!!!!!!!!!! They’d pick him up in 4 seconds! Lee Evans is good, but Josh Reed and Parrish are not ready for that role. JP will have just about no targets this year.
You’ve got to re-do this guy’s deal. Give him a ton up front and back load the crap out of a nice 6 year extension.

Nate Clements? Why, because he had a bad game in SD when our whole gameplan was shutting down LT? When asked for the top 3 CB’s in the NFL, Chad Johnson said Nate was one of them. The league leading WR just left Buffalo with 3 catches.

Adams is already under contract, You can backload Moulds and keep him around at a decent cap number. Nate’s going to cost you, but it’s a move we have to make.

If at least 2 of these guys are not on the roster next year, we’ll be lucky to win 5 games next year.



So what do I do?
-I resign Clements, keep Adams and rework Moulds.
-I get a healthy Kevin Everett and hope that he turns out to be the big play Tight end we’ve been missing for 15 years.
-I keep Peters in town all year and have him master RT.
-I tell Mike Williams he can take a Huge pay cut or take a hike
-I start Duke Preston at Center for the rest of this year and keep him around with Peters,
-I draft LT with our first overall pick, Preston, Peters and the new guy are now the anchors of my O-line for the next 12 years.
-I keep Villerio as one of my guards and offer the other position to Teague or the Guard I’m drafting in the 3rd round.
-In the second round and with my other 3rd rounder I’m taking the best D-linemen on the board (As long as they’re not white).
-I’m only signing 2 Free Agent’s and one of them will be the best DT out there. He’s going to sit right next to Sam Adams and wreak havoc.
-Spikes is coming back better then ever, I don’t care what you guys say!
Posey and Crowell can battle it out in Training camp for the other OLB job. Best player gets it.
-I don’t touch the DB’s except to cut Coy Wire, TODAY!
-And the last move. I sign a veteran back up QB. I like Holcomb but he can’t get it done. I don’t break the bank doing it. I’m not looking at a superstar. Maybe a young back up that never got a chance. A guy who’s still got a chance to be good but never blew anybody away. A guy like Trent Green was when he first signed with St. Louis before he got hurt. I let that guy go head to head with JP in mini camp and Training camp. Best guy wins. It’s JP’s 3rd year, if he can’t beat this guy out in TC, he doesn’t deserve the job.

One more thing, I’d love to fire Mularky and get a Fassel or someone like him in here, but I don’t want to start over. I want to make the necessary chances and make a run at this thing for a few years. Changing coaches at this point in time will result in having to take a step back before we take a step forward.

Tons to think about here. However, 2 points you made simply cant be overlooked.

1) You brought in a total of NO FA o-lineman. Explian that. Mike Williams as the #4 pick has been mediocre with ups and downs at best. You want to start all over again with a draftee who wont do jack for another 3 years? That makes no sense especially when there are a few guys who are worth top dollar and are on the right side of 30. Makes much MORE sense to sign one of them to boost our crappy o-line. And yes, its crappy. It crappy in part because of talent level, in part because of the lack of a set of starters to jell, and in part because of schemes that dont help us. But the talent needs to be upgraded, theres no doubt about it. Bring in a FA, but those guys you were talking about will all say, "we dont have the money to sign ____". Well, that my next point.

2) Its inevitable in this business that you let vets go and turn the cash into younger players. Its a cyclical thing that must be done. The key is to realize when they are declining, whne you need more out of that position, and making UP-grades. Your plan keeps the same basic o-lineman here, thats not upgrading its status quo which is predominantly the reason we are in this mess as you illuded to by talking to the lack of a replacement for players like Pat and Peerless. You are exactly right, but also wrong. Lets not forget that another team with much much more success behind there belt made those choices on aging vets and got BETTER. Thats the Pats, who moved 2 of their players to us who then did not do that much for us. The key is to turn the players over but get younger AND better. We havent done that, we have let the players leave, most of them young actually, and then brought in mediocre guys or promoted backups, thats WRONG. Whne we let one of them leave we need to UP-grade. This talks to your point about a vet QB.

3) The QB spot was an area you talked about. I think everyone saw that losing Drew would be mean losing experience and yes leadership with the other players. We knew that. And yes, we tried to replace that with Holcomb. Your comment is to UP-grade Holcomb for a guy who can start. Again, your second guessing the decison made long ago which is that JP is our future. He MUST start and play to find out if he is good. You seem to be illuding to a scenario where you would be quick, and in my mind too quick, to yank him in favor of your vet which will do nothing for our long and probably short term success. However, losing experience and KNOWN players is an issue. But, we cannot sacrifice getting better talent wise to get to a SB so that we can stay "comfortable". This game is a marathon whne it comes to talent. If you are not constantly moving, so to speak, by upgrading and getting better, you are losing and getting worse. There is NO version of just keeping the same. It doesnt work.

To me the issue isnt around player turnover and whether it should happen at all or not, its the MANAGEMENT of the turnover thats improtant. TD has failed to get UP-grades, has left us standing still while other teams continue on with the marathon towards the SB goal.

We MUST turnover some of the older, more expensive vets. But, we must do it with sensibility and not just to do it. We should move players when we can get BETTER and younger replacements. We should move players if necessary to UP-grade not fill in or down grade with our fingers crossed.

We are in a bind because our level of talent is not on par with our competition. That is NOT the same as Pitt. They may have had a bad game with guys like Faneca against Indy, but they have PROVEN with MANY MANY more games that they are very very good on the o-line. We have yet to do that. We are not the same.

Some of the fan favorites and vets must leave for the good of the team. They cost more than they are worth in talent level. We must carefully cut guys that can be replaced with real upgrades. Ruben for Bennie was NOT an upgrade, neither was Pat for no one, or Peerless for no one, or soon to be Clements for no one. If Moulds leaves, he should be replaced with a guy just as good as he is today but much younger with a chance to get better. Me-shawn, and Terry Glenn are examples of players who were good but now are very ho hum. Im not so sure tons of teams would be licking their lips to get Moulds, I think they would add him but he would look alot more like Me-shawn and Terry than Torry.
A few cuts to get the funds to get BETTER players. Mike Williams, Fletcher, maybe Moulds.