A couple of words from my mouth...

by krytime on Aug 5, 2008 3:00 AM EDT

I remember back during Super Bowl week, how much I couldn’t wait for the next season to start. And every day, it seemed so far away. Now, I catch myself scrambling, wondering “how am I gonna catch this game Saturday? I’m not going to be around a TV. I have to tape the game.” Yeah – you can laugh; I’m still using a VCR to tape games. Anyway, now I feel football is finally here…

Am I the only one who thinks the Bills’ dark blue practice jerseys should be the teams’ official uni? I can’t stand the unis that the Donahoe era installed. To loosely paraphrase Gregg Easterbrook, “Why move away from the most successful color scheme in the history of the world?” I love the simplicity of this jersey; it’s Penn State like. Pair it with the “Standing Buffalo Helmet,” and you have an improvement in my world.

I’m wondering if Fred Jackson should have his contract extended. He’ll never come cheaper than now.

Am I silly for thinking I might like Bell and Johnson? Then again, I liked rooks like Tony Driver, Dominique Stevenson, and Lionel Gates…

Who would have figured Schouman would end up being the starter at TE? I know they haven’t announced it yet, but I’ll bet a buck says it happens. Provided of course….

That this Peters “thing” is resolved. Without him, I don’t think they can afford to play a lighter guy at the spot.

Rule changes – I say the new “force out” rule does change the game. I for one am in favor of it. I think it’ll force some changes in offensive philosophy. Not at first, but eventually. It’ll definitely come into play though when teams are coming from behind.

Why do I keep hearing Hardy will make a difference in the end zone offense? From what I hear/read, he’s not having an easy go of it, as far as picking up the offense goes. Again, why is Turk intent on running such a complicated offense, especially when his skill guys are so young?

And why would Hardy and his contributions be limited to the red zone? If you ask me, I think his greatest chance to help the team is in the areas between the red zones. Let him run some simple routes that keep the chains moving; let him learn the pro game slowly. Putting pressure on him to be the team’s savior inside the twenties is a mistake, in my opinion…

Should Crowell’s injury issues be a concern? They have limited depth, at best. But it you’re Crowell, would you ever be inclined to “gut it out” during the season knowing you don’t have a contract the next year?

I’ve bashed Lee Evans on this site before. I still have some reservations on him. But, I do give him props for how he’s handling his possible contract extension. In my book now, he’s ok…

Loved the things I’ve heard about Mitchell. I have a feeling though he might not be the best FA pickup. I’m looking at Spencer Johnson to play a lot more than any of us had previously thought. You don’t spend that much loot on a guy and not feature him. A message to Mr. McCargo – its fight or flight time.

Whatever happened to Tyrone Robertson?

This FanPost written by a registered user of Buffalo Rumblings.

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Wow that is alot of stuff

Would that be considered mental constipation? LOL! I get that too.

1. I get excited almost every year. I can’t help it.
2. Yes, change the jersies back.
3. Go ahead and extend Jackson, though thanks to Peters at this point I feel like contracts mean nothing.
4. I also like Bell and Johnson, but I also liked JP. Foolish is nothing new for me.
5. Not excited about Schouman because he will probably become a ProBowler and hold out next season! LOL
6. Because Fowler is weak at center, we will miss Peters more than we should. You can’t have two weak linemen.
7. As I understand the rule, players in the air can be pushed out of bounds making it not a catch. More receivers are going to get crushed if they go up for the ball near the sideline. This will result in more injuries, less WRs going up for the ball, therefore less spectacular catches. I understand the difficulties in consistently enforcing the force out rule, but I am not sure this will make the game better.
8. We are desperate for a #2 WR and Hardy is tall
9. I agree. Short slants are in his future along with jump balls. If you don’t like pressure, get out of the NFL.
10-14 Repeated injuries is always a concern. Love Evans, Mitchell, and Johnson. McCargo may end up being nothing more than a good backup. I can live with that.

by Joe P. on Aug 5, 2008 10:01 AM EDT 0 recs

disagree

7. As I understand the rule, players in the air can be pushed out of bounds making it not a catch. More receivers are going to get crushed if they go up for the ball near the sideline. This will result in more injuries, less WRs going up for the ball, therefore less spectacular catches. I understand the difficulties in consistently enforcing the force out rule, but I am not sure this will make the game better.

I don’t see any changes. It’s not like the D was letting guys catch the ball before along the sidelines just because they knew they’d be called in off a pushout. The D will react the same way as before, trying to separate the ball from the receiver. It’s the O that may adjust, not throwing as many corner or sideline routes…

by Kurupt on Aug 5, 2008 10:55 AM EDT up 0 recs

Last season,

if a WR went up near the sidelines and was hit by a defender, that defender had to be sure that the hit did not cause the WR to go out of bounds. This caused defenders to try to wrap up and/or pull down the WR rather than running through the player and delivering a blow. This year, it is open season on WRs in the air on the sidelines.

by Joe P. on Aug 5, 2008 10:59 AM EDT up 0 recs

So they just let the guy catch the ball

and guided him to the ground in bounds? Defenders definitely were out to make sure the WR didn’t catch the ball in bounds. Let the refs decide based on their judgement if the guy was to come down in bounds, don’t just let him come down and then tackle him. I don’t get how that would be beneficial for a D….

by Kurupt on Aug 5, 2008 11:21 AM EDT up 0 recs

I am not trying to say they had to be nice about it,

but they couldn’t tee off and deliver a crushing blow as easily unless they were coming at the WR parallel to the sideline. Otherwise, the harder hit on a WR in the air, near the sideline, the more likely to draw the push out. IMO a receiver on the sideline has half the options to avoid the defender, thus making it easier for the DB to make the tackle.

Brian – If you get the chance, could you ask one of the coaches or players how this rule is going to change how they play?

by Joe P. on Aug 5, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up 0 recs

i don't get it

what do you mean by “draw the pushout”. You make it seem like the defense is better off if the player comes down in bounds. What is the difference between the WR catching the ball inbounds and geting pushed out in the air, or catching the ball in bounds and getting pulled down and tackled in bounds? They both lead to the same result for the offense and defense. It isn’t like defenses were penalized in any way for pushing a WR out of bounds.

by kaisertown on Aug 5, 2008 11:48 AM EDT up 0 recs

It is like drawing pass interference

there is a certain amount of acting involved in football. A WR who wants to land inbounds can jump and use their body in such a way to help them land in bounds. Or, they can allow and even help it to appear that the DB carried them out of bounds. The penalty was that a WR who was pushed out of bounds was awarded the catch and thus the yards down field.

by Joe P. on Aug 5, 2008 12:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

Re: rule changes

“It’s the O that may adjust” – That’s exactly what I was referring to. I think you’ll see less sideline throws. And again, I think you’ll see it come into play more with both offensive and defensive philosophies during the two minute drill.

by krytime on Aug 5, 2008 11:05 AM EDT up 0 recs

Which will help the defense defend the field more easily.

Thus fewer spectacular “Chris Carter” like catches. I will miss those.

by Joe P. on Aug 5, 2008 11:43 AM EDT up 0 recs

I agree with everything except …...

I’m pretty sure that Fred Jackson is an ERFA after next season still. Jackson will probably have no choice but to accept a 1 year, $520,000 deal and then he will still be a RFA after the 2009 season. It is worth pointing out that he is already 27 years old and I don’t think he is in the Bills long-term plans. Depending on how he plays he will be here for another 2-4 years and should see his role decrease over time. I guess that is kind of long term actually.

It certainly isn’t silly to like Bell and Johnson. They both have more long-term upside than the Bills two 4th rounders, Fine and Corner. It would be silly to assume that they can provide any positive contributions other than special teams during the next couple seasons.

With or without Peters, I think the TE situation will result in a time share where Schouman and Royal are in for specific situations and packages. I think it is a pretty ideal situation (considering what our TEs looked like a couple months ago) and for the first time in awhile the Bills might not have one of the 5 worst TE situations in the league ….. maybe.

I don’t think the Bills offense will be any more complex then your average NFL team. If he were installing a Martz or Saunders type of offense, I would be concerned.

by kaisertown on Aug 5, 2008 10:33 AM EDT 0 recs

Bills offense - complex

Maybe I phrased that a little wrong. I think you’re right when you say the offense itself won’t be more complex than an average NFL team, save for Martz/Saunders. What I was referring to is all of this alleged motion before the snap and the like. I understand the reason why they’d want to to it, but I still think with guys who are so young (ie – Hardy), it might be best to follow the KISS method.

by krytime on Aug 5, 2008 10:51 AM EDT up 0 recs

I don’t think motion makes the offense any more difficult for the players to run. Edwards yells your number and sticks his foot up in the air and you move to a predesignated spot on the field. It is one more bit of information to remember, but I don’t think it makes things that much more complicated.

Offenses are considered complex when they have a ridiculous amount of plays or when they have a lot of option routes.

by kaisertown on Aug 5, 2008 11:53 AM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, but some of these guys are not exactly Mensa material.

I completely agree about the option routes. That’s the kind of stuff you really need to be in synch with everyone…

by krytime on Aug 5, 2008 12:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

Talk about lacking Mensa requirements, there's our left tackle...

Couldn’t let this thread go without some bitter reference to Peters.
Seriously, I am more concerned about the complete change in line calls, and Peters’ ability to pick them up late in camp or early in the season, than Hardy’s ability to grasp the offense. As Geronimo pointed out in his thread, he’ll be way behind all the other linemen when he eventually makes it to Pittsford, and if they put him in right away, there are going to be mixups in pass protection and run block assignments.
Hardy won’t be in on every play anyway, and they’re going to give him time to learn the offense, in my opinion.

by Defensewinsgames on Aug 6, 2008 7:10 AM EDT up 0 recs

To add to the Peters/Mensa thought:

Peters only scored a 9 on the wonderlic.

by kaisertown on Aug 6, 2008 9:05 AM EDT up 0 recs

Egad!

I never heard that before? Where’d you did that up? Did you ever “take” one of those tests? I took a few sample questions once. They are pathetically easy. Scoring a nine is just…dumb.

by krytime on Aug 6, 2008 11:38 AM EDT up 0 recs

I heard it was lower

I might be thinking of Vince Young though.

Either way, both were less than 10…

That test is simple too….

by Kurupt on Aug 6, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

I heard that Frank Gore scored a 3. But I’m sure Miami didn’t recruit him for the Math League.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Aug 6, 2008 6:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

Jersies

The new uniforms made me nauseous when they first came out. Still like the ‘90’s era uni’s better. The only thing I would change about those is the white over white combo – just looked bland.

Anyway, I think they should extend Jackson, too. Like having players like him on the team. Invaluable in crunch time…

Hardy will make an impact if only because he’s so tall and can outreach most DB’s. That’s his real value in the red zone at this point. He just has to learn how to outsmart them getting off the line of scrimmage, and refine his route running. In short, yes, his game needs more polish, but that won’t prevent him from making an impact this season.

Pretty much agree with you elsewhere in your post – thanks for the blog.

Get the Bills back to the big game!

by Blitz on Aug 5, 2008 10:39 AM EDT 0 recs