What is wrong and how does the team fix it...

by Buff69King on Oct 11, 2009 10:05 AM EDT Comment 20 comments

The first place to start is at Quarterback. Trent Edwards looks just like Todd Collins did a few years ago, holding the ball scared to make a mistake or take any criticism if he makes a bad throw... at least with JP Losman we had a guy who wasn't the greatest talent, but whose heart was in the game. Losman was not afraid to go deep and put the ball up down field like Edwards is. Terrel Owens has not been stellar, but neither has Lee Evans who signed a big contract deal. The primary reason? Trent Edwards is checking down and throwing short passes or handing off. With the amount of talent in the backfield and at wide receiver, the Bills should be capable of putting alot of points on the board, but as they say in poker "A scared man can't win." That sums up Edwards right now. The Bills should have paid Brett Favre instead of TO.

The next problem is the coaching staff. Dick Jauron stands there with his vacant deer in the headlights stare void of emotion. If the team makes a bad play he paces a few yards on the sideline and stares again. What kind of guidance, leadership and coaching ability is he bringing to the table? Appearently nothing significant. Alex Van Pelt, who was not even successful as a Quarterback himself is calling plays and running the offense? Can we find someone with a little bit better resume? maybe someone who can win or at least knows what winning is like? The only coach that is doing his job and demonstrates emotion and leadership is Bobby April. Go out and get John Gruden or Mike Shanahan, they have Superbowl rings and know how to win.

So what about the defense? Since they lost Paul Pozlusny and Leodis McKelvin they cannot stop anyone. I understand that Posluzny is the heart of the defense, but he is injury prone... missing 4 or more games in 2 seasons. We need depth, instead odf trading away guys like London Fletcher, Nate Clements, Takeo Spikes, Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield... why not have some depth and have a guy come off the bench that can play rather than a slow undersized guy that would not make most teams in the league? We drafted Aaron Maybin who made one play in preseason and then disappeared... why draft a guy that can't contribute and make plays? Draft guys that can contribute and keep good players on the team.

This FanPost was written by a registered user of Buffalo Rumblings. Its views do not necessarily reflect the views of Rumblings' editorial staff, but are just as valued as our own.

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This will sound stupid BUT,

The best way to fix it is to win some games. I am not going to argue any of your points, becasue many of them have been discussed at length. To answer your question, How does the team fix it" is by winning some games. Remember last year going 5-1, then finishing 2-8, remember the emotional swing. Why can’t things be opposite this year. Highly unlikely but they could be. Lets pick one thing at a time to fix. Brians post earlier in the week. Getting back to basics. Lets not let our youth be our weakness. Key to this season is Trent’s leadership on the field. Watch how he plays this game after such a poor performance last week. This is the key, regardless of opponent.

Excuses are a sign of weakness!!!!!!

by VanScottM on Oct 11, 2009 10:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

We didn’t trade away a single one of those guys. They all left in FA. I will say we should have resigned them. In fact I think all of them wanted to be in Buffalo but Nate.(Can’t blame them for Takeo he looked miserable the past 3 seasons). I don’t get calling out Aaron Maybin either.I don’t think he’s been given a fair opportunity, probably because we don’t really need him right now. The D-line is actually our only strong point. Not to mention he’s only played 4 professional games plus 1 year starting in college. I won’t get into to my personal feelings of why the two big name coaches you mention are my least favorite options. Special Teams have been dogging it this year too. They’ve had one play and I don’t feel trick plays really count for much. No consistency in running plays like that.

My proudest moment as a bills fan was watching Don Beebe chase someone down in a blowout. Is that sad?
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by partyboybackformore on Oct 11, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i’m afraid i now firmly believe trent edwards isn’t a good quarterback—at least for this team. he’s simply afraid to throw the ball and that’s bizarre for a qb. i’d say the team needs to start from scratch, but i think they’re just one good/great qb away from being playoff contenders. they need a defensive line to be a serious threat. let the tim tebow countdown begin. this season is over.

by chaucer on Oct 11, 2009 3:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I could not agree more with this

- Our Defensive Line has been playing stellar so far… and Maybin hasn’t even begun to reach his potential…

- If our secondary can get healthy: McGee, McKelvin, and Florence are all respectable corners. Our safetys aren’t bad either. And I’ve loved what I have seen from Byrd so far. If these players can stay healthy next season we should have a respectable secondary.

- I don’t think you could find a better rushing duo in the NFL. Especially when you consider the line they are behind.

- I also don’t think you can find a better duo of receivers in the NFL.

- I have high hopes for Shawn Nelson.

- Our O-Line, despite its youth, looked decent in the first few games (before all the injuries set in). Levitre and Wood are rookies and have been doing an adequate job. They should only improve next season. Our center is not great, but certainly an improvement from last season. It’s a shame how Butler and Bell got injured this season. Although they certainly were not the best tackles I have ever seen, had Butler stayed healthy, I honestly believe he would have turned into an adequate veteran OT. Bell’s experience will hopefully transform him into an all purpose back-up next season along with Scott.

- As for the linebackers, let me just say that a healthy Poz and Mitchell are certainly adequate players for the position in the NFL. You have to love Ellison’s work ethic, but he isn’t a starter. With that said. He IS an excellent backup and someone I feel we should keep. To be honest, I was a believer in drafting a linebacker in an early round last year. If we had a Clay Matthews, Cushing, or Kruger… I think this linebacking group could have been one of our strengths (again assuming Poz and Mitchell stayed healthy). Truth be told, we need a third linebacker… desperately, and we’ll either need to draft one or get one in free agency next season.

BUT THE BIGGEST POSITION CHANGE WE NEED IS AT QUARTERBACK. An offense is only as good as the QB lets it be. If you look at all the offensive firepower we have and see how its been grossly underutilized this season, its hard to see how that statement isn’t true. Trent is a game manager, at best, and nothing more. I don’t care WHO comes in next season as our GM or HC, until we replace him, we will never have a good offense( especially considering the offensive playmakers this team has…) I could throw out 30 different QBs who could perform better given the talent on this team. His performance has been absolutely ridiculous. He plays for his stats and nothing else. The guy is the living embodiment of Dick Jauron as a QB and it makes me SICK. There will be plenty of QB talent this coming draft and hopefully – barring a complete team turnaround- we will be able to pick up a Bradford or Clausen

Overall, this team has been banged up. But if healthy, this team has more than enough talent to be contenders next year. If we make these improvements for next season we will have a winning team.
1. New QB
2. Picking up a third starting LB.
3. Picking up another OT, ideally a starter, but who knows, maybe Bell or Scott can use this season to their advantage…

by flutieflakes007 on Oct 12, 2009 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dick Jauron

What kind of guidance, leadership and coaching ability is he bringing to the table?

I couldn’t disagree with you more about Dick Jauron. I think he is one of the finest leaders in the NFL. Outstanding guy, and his players play hard for him. Jauron wasn’t the one who muffed the punt or jumped off sides this week. Yelling when something goes wrong does not fix it.

I firmly believe the Bills can turn this season around. They have the offensive talent, they just have not started clicking yet. A new coordinator will take some time to develop. There is no better receiver combination than Lee Evans and TO in the NFL. Right now, hey are not producing, but I dare you to name one team with two true number 1 receivers.

by buffaloboy90 on Oct 11, 2009 10:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wow you got problems if you think they can turn this season around. One team with two true #1 recievers-Arizona Cardinals, Boldin and Fitzgerald, way better than our combo buddy, you obviously don’t know anything about football IF you’re being serious right now

by csc06258 on Oct 11, 2009 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I get and even appreciate optimism, but Evans and TO being better than Fitz and Boldin is laughable.

I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute

by kaisertown on Oct 12, 2009 2:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

o and by the way lee evans is a number 2 receiver in this league.

by csc06258 on Oct 11, 2009 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well Buffalo definitely isn't one of those teams with two numbers ones....that's for sure

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Oct 12, 2009 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i don’t think evans is a number one receiver.

by chaucer on Oct 12, 2009 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

One team with two true #1 recievers-Arizona Cardinals, Boldin and Fitzgerald

1. Anquan Boldin is not a quality number one. He does not have the speed. He has great production, but he’s not a number one.

Lee evans is a number 2 receiver in this league.

2. I disagree with you here. I think most people who know a lot about the NFL would tell you that you are incorrect here.

wow you got problems if you think they can turn this season around

I think optimism would be a better word to describe my attitude towards the Bills.

you obviously don’t know anything about football

I hope you feel good about yourself.

by buffaloboy90 on Oct 11, 2009 11:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Boldin is a sick receiver, and your assessing speed as being a key factor in being a number 1 receiver? Then Reggie Wayne isn’t a number 1 receiver because im pretty sure he runs in the 4.6’s. But Evans is a great number 1 cuz he runs in the 4.3’s? Your starting to sound like the Raiders and look how they are. You probably think Heward-Bey is a better wide out than Crabtree because he is faster don’t you.. Crabtree ran a 4.6 but was still the best wide out to come out of college and a true #1 receiver. And I don’t feel good about myself because this team is horrible and there are people like you who are satisfied with Dick Jauron as your head coach. Three 7-9 seasons and a 4-12 season this year at best is really great buddy. No offense I love you cuz your a Bills fan but seriously get your facts straight.

by csc06258 on Oct 11, 2009 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As a rookie, with Jeff Blake and Josh McCown starting at QB, Freddie Jones as the second leading receiver (he was the TE) and Marcel Shipp and his 3.6 ypc as the starting RB, Boldin had 101 catches, 1,377 yards and 8 TDs. I’m gonna go ahead and agree that Boldin is, in fact, a number one WR.

by kaisertown on Oct 12, 2009 2:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would also say Moss and Welker are a better combo. But seriously think about what you said, if we have a great wide out corps like we do and great running backs then why aren’t we doing better? Thats because this game is 50% coaching and Jauron is not competent. We are also missing O tackles and a Q.B.

by csc06258 on Oct 11, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's a pretty flawed argument

One guys has production but doesn’t run a 4.3 so he’s not a “number one”.

The other guy runs a 4.3 but doesn’t produce, so he is a “number one”.

Evans is a great deep threat and has not proven to be consistently good at anything else his entire career.

I’d take a guy like Boldin over Evans every day of the week. He makes tough catches in traffic, breaks tackles, scores TD’s and makes big plays on his own. That’s what true number one’s do.

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Oct 12, 2009 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

lee also cannot run after the catch very well, he is just a simple deep threat receiver, which is good but he is no Boldin, or fitz or calvin johnson or any of those, those players are true number 1’s that are dirty. We hoped we got that in Hardy and time will tell.

by csc06258 on Oct 12, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs