off topic Buffalo Bills 2015

[TrueBlueGED]

No love for Ronald Darby, Hoss?

I think he's going to be my go-to next season for when people freak out about something during the preseason.

[tom webster]

Well the defensive line hasn't been a bright spot. The linebackers have been solid but nothing to write home about. The offensive skill positions have seen injuries and poor play for the most part aside from Charles Clay. The offensive line has been questionable. Tyrod Taylor has been solid but the injury is worrisome for a guy like him. Colton Schmidt has been a bright spot.

 

So the punter and the corners? :P

(Don't freak out, I'm mostly kidding)

 

A) I wasn't going to freak out

B) I'm not worried about Tyrod's injury yet because I don't think it as an injury tied to his stature

C) McCoy is starting to come around and should be even better with some rest.

D) When you list things like that it kind of does feel like there is not a lot of bright spots

 

However, while I understand all the doom and gloom and depression over this team, it is a team that should be healthy coming out of the break and still with the ability to put themselves in solid position for a playoff spot heading into the last quarter of the season. It really is about the next two games and thats king of what I thought heading into the season. I didn't expect to get to this point the way they have, but...

[Hoss]

A) I wasn't going to freak out

B) I'm not worried about Tyrod's injury yet because I don't think it as an injury tied to his stature

C) McCoy is starting to come around and should be even better with some rest.

D) When you list things like that it kind of does feel like there is not a lot of bright spots

 

However, while I understand all the doom and gloom and depression over this team, it is a team that should be healthy coming out of the break and still with the ability to put themselves in solid position for a playoff spot heading into the last quarter of the season. It really is about the next two games and thats king of what I thought heading into the season. I didn't expect to get to this point the way they have, but...

Tyrod's injury wasn't tied to his stature but it was tied to his style of play. That's what worries me. He can't be relied on if the injury lingers or his play suffers.

McCoy is coming around but I'm not ready to label him as a season-long bright spot to this point.

 

Looking at individuals/position groups there isn't much to get excited about as far as performance goes. There's definitely some talent but not a lot of production. 3-4 is a HUGE disappointment. About as bad as they could be right now considering their opponents.

[TrueBlueGED]

Tyrod's injury wasn't tied to his stature but it was tied to his style of play. That's what worries me. He can't be relied on if the injury lingers or his play suffers.

McCoy is coming around but I'm not ready to label him as a season-long bright spot to this point.

 

Looking at individuals/position groups there isn't much to get excited about as far as performance goes. There's definitely some talent but not a lot of production. 3-4 is a HUGE disappointment. About as bad as they could be right now considering their opponents.

Disappointing for sure, but I think you're overstating it quite a bit. When you look at the teams we've lost to, the Jags are the only one you could say is clearly inferior, and at least two of them are clearly better.

[qwksndmonster]

Just looking our for my fellow brothers and sisters who are shackled with this Bills fandom anchor like me. They could bring back the resurrected corpse of Vince Lombardi and I still wouldn't be sold on a playoff team until it actually happens, nor should you. I know you don't want to admit it, but 16 years of irrelevance does mean something on a multitude of levels.

Sold on a playoff team? I don't think you're hearing me.  This team had playoff potential.  They blew it already but the talent was there.  That's not me saying that the playoffs are going to happen.  There can be middle ground. I can't admit it because it means nothing to me.  Every time the Bills missed since 2008? That means something to me.  Less and less, these days, as I'm trying to stop watching the Bills.  Why do you feel anchored to them?  PA moved on from his Bills fandom.

I love how you competently place your apostrophes. Bringing sexy back to SabreSpace.

I also hold the record for highest % of posts edited.

[TrueBlueGED]

Sold on a playoff team? I don't think you're hearing me. This team had playoff potential. They blew it already but the talent was there. That's not me saying that the playoffs are going to happen. There can be middle ground. I can't admit it because it means nothing to me. Every time the Bills missed since 2008? That means something to me. Less and less, these days, as I'm trying to stop watching the Bills. Why do you feel anchored to them? PA moved on from his Bills fandom.

While reduced, the playoff chances are not blown. You've seen the AFC right?

[qwksndmonster]

While reduced, the playoff chances are not blown. You've seen the AFC right?

I'm operating under the assumption that you need 10 wins to get into the playoffs (unless your division is BS).  No way this team only loses 2 games for the rest of the year.

[Johnny DangerFace]

I'm operating under the assumption that you need 10 wins to get into the playoffs (unless your division is BS). No way this team only loses 2 games for the rest of the year.

I think 9 might do it.....maybe 8 lol

[Hoss]

Disappointing for sure, but I think you're overstating it quite a bit. When you look at the teams we've lost to, the Jags are the only one you could say is clearly inferior, and at least two of them are clearly better.

Looking at their schedule:

 

Beat the Colts. At the time this looked huge, but the Colts aren't nearly on the level we thought they were. Won a game they should have.

Lost to the Patriots. Fair. Patriots >>>>>>>>> Bills

Beat the Dolphins. The Fins were in shambles at the time and ended up firing their coach a few weeks later.

Lost to the Giants. Not a game they should be losing if they want to be a playoff contender. Not a terrible loss but it was a toss up game and they came up short.

Beat the Titans. BARELY got by a bad team. A win is a win.

Lost to the Bengals. Fair. Bengals >>>>>>> Bills

Lost to the Jaguars. WHAT THE HELL!? THE JAGUARS!? THEIR OWNER IS MARIO!

 

 

So a brutal loss, a loss they probably "should" win if they want to be in the playoffs and then everything else fell into place as it can be expected to. No stolen games.

[calti]

The Bills are looking more like last year's NY Jets than an improvement on Doug Marrone's winning season Bills of 2014;     And EJ Manuel had a terrible game against an awful opponent - he's about as big a waste of a draft pick as Aaron Maybin was.   

the problem with an awful organization like this(its still ralphs crew to a great extent) is that it cant recognize what people with basic common sense realize right away.

EJ had awful football instincts from the start...and FS fans knew it--and most of us knew--but this horrible organization always realizes it tears and years later.Which is exactly why we haven't been a decent team in 16 years.Its a very very difficult task to miss the playoffs for that many consecutive years.Takes extraordinary incompetence.

Tpeg will hopefull wash away any remnants of the ralph regime very quickly.

[Jsixspd]

I'm operating under the assumption that you need 10 wins to get into the playoffs (unless your division is BS).  No way this team only loses 2 games for the rest of the year.

Today was one of those 'must win' games for the Bills to have any real chance of making the playoffs.   The Bills can't afford to throw away wins against poor teams.  I was just looking at their remaining schedule and trying to see where those 6 or 7 wins would come from;  and I'm not seeing it.    

 

Besides, they lost today to arguably the worst team in the NFL;     To me that makes discussing "playoffs" and the BIlls an "LOLWUT?"  sort of thing.   :)

[tom webster]

Today was one of those 'must win' games for the Bills to have any real chance of making the playoffs.   The Bills can't afford to throw away wins against poor teams.  I was just looking at their remaining schedule and trying to see where those 6 or 7 wins would come from;  and I'm not seeing it.    

 

Besides, they lost today to arguably the worst team in the NFL;     To me that makes discussing "playoffs" and the BIlls an "LOLWUT?"  sort of thing.   :)

The !969 Super Bowl winning Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills who were 1-12-1 that year. It doesn't matter who you lose to, they only count as one. You may be right, it might be folly to think playoffs but to suggest its impossible because they lost to the Jags is uninformed.

 

Terms like "kind of game good teams win", "trap game" must win" will soon be stricken from our vocabulary

Edited October 25, 2015 by tom webster

[Brawndo]

I'm not advocating a change, but John Wawrow reported earlier in the week that the Pegulas are looking at all aspects of the Bills Football Ops. Is it possible that Whaley does not survive into the offseason?

[ubkev]

I'm not advocating a change, but John Wawrow reported earlier in the week that the Pegulas are looking at all aspects of the Bills Football Ops. Is it possible that Whaley does not survive into the offseason?

Well, he is 0 for 3 on first round picks.

[Jsixspd]

The !969 Super Bowl winning Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills who were 1-12-1 that year. It doesn't matter who you lose to, they only count as one. You may be right, it might be folly to think playoffs but to suggest its impossible because they lost to the Jags is uninformed.

I know - and the Patriots got demolished by the Bills in the first game of 2003 31-0, and went on to earn a 14-2 record, and a Superbowl win and the Bills were 6-10.     But again, that's the Patriots - not the Bills.  

 

I'm just adding in an awful loss to a terrible opponent to the mix of everything else that's bad, and been bad, about this team.   The team is performing worse this year than last year - and they didn't even make the playoffs last year.  It makes me laugh to even think about them earning a playoff berth as dysfunctional as they appear.    

Edited October 25, 2015 by Jsixspd

[tom webster]

I'm not advocating a change, but John Wawrow reported earlier in the week that the Pegulas are looking at all aspects of the Bills Football Ops. Is it possible that Whaley does not survive into the offseason?

 

 

I'm obviously on record as supporting Whaley but I do think he made a big mistake in handling the Cassell/Manuel situation and may have blinders on with respect to EJ. . I have no problem either way although I think he has done enough well to merit staying.  What I hate though is the basing the decision on specific decisions. Its about the record! Darcy was about winning transaction when all that should be important is the overall product. Don't we want a guy who will take risk? That isn't settling for mediocre? Guys who make decisions and take risks are going to make mistakes.

[TrueBlueGED]

Looking at their schedule:

 

Beat the Colts. At the time this looked huge, but the Colts aren't nearly on the level we thought they were. Won a game they should have.

Lost to the Patriots. Fair. Patriots >>>>>>>>> Bills

Beat the Dolphins. The Fins were in shambles at the time and ended up firing their coach a few weeks later.

Lost to the Giants. Not a game they should be losing if they want to be a playoff contender. Not a terrible loss but it was a toss up game and they came up short.

Beat the Titans. BARELY got by a bad team. A win is a win.

Lost to the Bengals. Fair. Bengals >>>>>>> Bills

Lost to the Jaguars. WHAT THE HELL!? THE JAGUARS!? THEIR OWNER IS MARIO!

 

 

So a brutal loss, a loss they probably "should" win if they want to be in the playoffs and then everything else fell into place as it can be expected to. No stolen games.

I don't really disagree with your analysis here, only with the apocalyptic characterization from the previous post.

Separately, Matt Cassel up to 175 yards, 3 picks, and 0 TDs.

[Hoss]

The !969 Super Bowl winning Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills who were 1-12-1 that year. It doesn't matter who you lose to, they only count as one. You may be right, it might be folly to think playoffs but to suggest its impossible because they lost to the Jags is uninformed.

 

Terms like "kind of game good teams win", "trap game" must win" will soon be stricken from our vocabulary

You're correct. Fans (myself including) do get caught up in the opponents a lot, but it's hard not to when you're team has been so bad for so long. It gets compounded when you see that they haven't won a game they shouldn't yet this season. Losing to the bad opponents just means you'll have to step up against the tougher opponents to get to the playoffs. Right now I see no reason to expect the Bills are capable of doing that.

 

I'm not advocating a change, but John Wawrow reported earlier in the week that the Pegulas are looking at all aspects of the Bills Football Ops. Is it possible that Whaley does not survive into the offseason?

If this team misses the playoffs I see no reason Whaley should keep his job.

[musichunch]

I said a few days ago that the Jags are not the pushover that people made them out to be. We should beat them, but if we come out flat we can lose.

 

Well we had a pretty flat 2nd quarter to say the least. On the fumble return McCoy didn't know the blocking scheme and you can see him asking EJ what it was. This is the moment that EJ needs to realize his RB does not know who to block. Instead EJ is aloof, glancing at his wrist, and in his head about whatever. Sure enough McCoy needs to run across the center to get to the blitz and boom fumble. Yeah McCoy screwed up, but a 3rd year QB needs to recognize what was going on. 

 

Tough game. Bad sequence of events. Good comeback. Lots of plays that went against us (McCoy fumble). Some classic NFL game fixing with the PI flag (they love to keep games exciting for the advertisers). 

 

Hey, we almost pulled it off and the narrative and mood would've been totally different. I don't like the job Rex is doing, but this team should be 5-2 if the NFL/refs didn't get involved with their WWE antics. 

[Eleven]

I think it was in last year's thread that I said I would give EJ 40 games (two and a half seasons) before evaluating him.

 

I was close.  It took 39.

 

Dump him.

[qwksndmonster]

I think it was in last year's thread that I said I would give EJ 40 games (two and a half seasons) before evaluating him.

 

I was close.  It took 39.

 

Dump him.

Aye.

[Taro T]

Must-watch on stuff like this:

 

 

 

Obama needs to levy an Executive Order stopping taxpayer money for stadiums. My ideas: limit the percentage and total $$$ a team can get from the public, require them to open their books if they're requesting taxpayer money, require votes for approval and require some revenues to go towards repaying the tax breaks given.

^^^ Beat me to it. Link above.

:unsure:

 

Uhh, you realize that EO's only control/guide the actions of Federal employees (in the executive branch) not State / Local government employees and also that spending bills at the Federal level originate from the Congress and also thst since the '70's the executive branch can't get around Congressional intent by just simply deciding to not spend appropriated money, right?

 

Appreciate the sentiment, but it would be an extremely empty gesture.

I don't really disagree with your analysis here, only with the apocalyptic characterization from the previous post. Separately, Matt Cassel up to 175 yards, 3 picks, and 0 TDs.

BUT if only the Bills had kept Cassel, ummm, well guess he could have started the series after the EJ fumble to let him regather himself. Maybe that would have been enough to keep the game a W, but that's not a given. Other than that, doubt that Cassel would have helped much.

[LastPommerFan]

The problem isn't that we should have kept cassel. The problem is that we blew two first round picks on a guy who would bring playing g what is in effect a luxury position, but can't because he's always hurt.

[inkman]

I don't really disagree with your analysis here, only with the apocalyptic characterization from the previous post.

Separately, Matt Cassel up to 175 yards, 3 picks, and 0 TDs.

I can't believe Whaley traded him. :wallbash:

The problem isn't that we should have kept cassel. The problem is that we blew two first round picks on a guy who would bring playing g what is in effect a luxury position, but can't because he's always ###### hurt.

Ok so when Whaley is gone we can stop bitching about it right?

I think it was in last year's thread that I said I would give EJ 40 games (two and a half seasons) before evaluating him.

 

I was close. It took 39.

 

Dump him.

I really thought he may turn into a serviceable player. He just isn't accurate.

Ronda Rousey on fox looks pornographic. Not that I'm complaining.

[TrueBlueGED]

The problem isn't that we should have kept cassel. The problem is that we blew two first round picks on a guy who would bring playing g what is in effect a luxury position, but can't because he's always ###### hurt.

 

Can I disagree with your classification of WRs as a luxury position without re-hashing the Watkins trade itself? Because I would like to do that.