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Archive for January, 2012

NFL – Bills’ Season Review – Part 1

04 Jan

In reviewing the Buffalo Bills’ 2011 season, I’ve decided to break down the posting into 4 parts – critiquing the front office and coaching staff in Part 1, the offensive players by position in Part 2, the same for the defensive players in Part 3, and suggestions for possible trades, free agent signings and draft choices in Part 4. Here is the first installment, and with my wild card playoff predictions to be posted on Friday, parts 2-4 will be posted next week.

Front Office

General Manager Buddy Nix now has 2 draft classes in the books for this franchise, and the results of his drafts are mixed. The play of C.J. Spiller late in the season was promising, and along with the consistent progress Marcell Dareus showed all year, I’m willing to officially proclaim Nix’s first round choices as hits, rather than misses. Six of the nine players picked by Nix in his intial draft are still with the team, but only Spiller, Alex Carrington and Arthur Moats have made much of a contribution. The other three – Marcus Easley, Torell Troup and Danny Batten – have all had any progress hindered by injuries. The 2011 draft, on the other hand, appears to be a pretty good one, based on production during the season. Dareus, Aaron Williams, Kelvin Sheppard, Da’Norris Searcy, Chris Hairston and Justin Rogers all made significant contributions, while Johnny and Chris White played some on special teams. Michael Jasper was drafted as a nose tackle but after being added to the practice squad was switched to the offensive line. He is obviously a long-term project but the organization must see some value in him. On a side note, Dick Jauron’s last draft in 2009 is widely considered to be terrible since Aaron Maybin was a bust, but the 3 picks following him were Eric Wood, Jairus Byrd and Andy Levitre so that draft produced 3 solid players.

The experiment of signing Shawne Merriman looks like a lost gamble at this point, but Nix deserves credit for taking the chance. Merriman is signed through next season and coach Chan Gailey has said he fully expects him back next year, so there is an outside chance, although very slim, that he could still contribute something. Signing Nick Barnett after Paul Posluszny left was a major upgrade, and Brad Smith looked like a good addition to the offense and kick return game until injuries forced him into the lineup as a receiver, where he had mixed results. Still, Smith’s versatility should be an asset in 2012. Tyler Thigpen was signed as a backup QB but was never really needed. Three of Nix’s scrap heap finds from 2010 – tight end Scott Chandler and OLs Kraig Urbik and Erik Pears – raised their games to new levels this season and look like solid future additions.

Coaching

I still believe Chan Gailey is the right head coach to lead the Bills out of the wilderness, but the seven game losing streak, inconsistent play of the offense, and regression and overall disorganized play by the defense all have to fall under his accountability. He made a quick move after the season by replacing George Edwards with Dave Wannstedt as defensive coordinator, but my question would be – if  Wannstedt has any answers to fix the unit, why didn’t he suggest them to Gailey THIS year. After all, he is supposedly the assistant head coach. That being said, any change to what was being done with this defense this year is a positive. I thought it was very telling that, after the Bills clobbered Denver behind a rousing defensive effort, the unit’s players were universally praising the fact that the scheme was simplified for that game, allowing the players to use their instincts and play rather than overthink. It seemed to me that all season the players looked confused in the scheme. After simplifying things, you saw Chris Kelsay play the best game of his career, Jairus Byrd show the ball-hawking skills he displayed in his rookie year, and rookies like Dareus, Williams, Sheppard and Rogers all looking active. One other feather in Gailey’s cap, in my opinion, was his decision to bench Stevie Johnson after he was flagged for another celebration. I like Gailey’s style – he’s old school, is honest when addressing the media and has the respect of the players, mostly because he is a coach who knows what he’s doing. His disciplining of Johnson will further that respect.

 
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Classic Team Logo of The Day

04 Jan

Logo of a team that plays in the National Football League, the San Diego Chargers. This logo was used from the first year the team played in San Diego, 1961, through the team’s American Football League years, until 1973, when they were already part of the newly merged NFL. Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman led the team for most of the years this logo was used, and their players included AFL legends like John Hadl, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln, Lance Alworth, Ron Mix, Ernie Ladd and Earl Faison.

 

Classic Sports Card of The Day

04 Jan

1984 Topps football card of former NFL receiver Frank Lewis. Lewis started his pro career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but when they drafted Lynn Swann and John Stallworth in the same year, he became expendable and was traded to the Buffalo Bills. He had played 7 seasons in Pittsburgh and played on 2 Super Bowl-winning teams, and was thought to be winding down in his career when he was traded. However, he played another 6 years for the Bills and was a solid player, even being named to the Pro Bowl in 1981.

 

NFL – Bills’ Game Review

02 Jan

Sunday’s season finale for the Buffalo Bills in New England proved one thing – the team is perfectly capable of competing with the Patriots for one quarter of an NFL game. Beyond that, the difference in quality between the two organizations is wider than the Grand Canyon. It’s almost a good thing that the Bills blew a 21 point lead and not only lost, but were hammered 49-21 in the game, because now when the team’s staff does its’ post-season evaluation, it won’t be clouded by any false promise that the team finished strong with 2 consecutive wins and are somehow on the right track.

This season in the NFL, a lot of teams came back from big deficits to win games, including the Bills early in the year against the Raiders and these same Patriots.  But for a team to blow a 21 point lead and wind up losing by 4 touchdowns, well, that team needs to pull out all of the weapons in its’ losing team arsenal to accomplish that, which is what Buffalo did on Sunday. Poor tackling, blown coverages, no pressure on the opposing QB, interceptions galore (including one returned for a score, of course), another ridiculous, selfish celebration by Stevie Johnson and loads of mistakes in every phase of the game did in the Bills. A side note on Johnson’s antics: Personally, I thought the “Happy New Year” message on his undershirt was funny and in no way “taunting” of the opponent, but he knew it was going to draw a flag and did it anyway. Kudos to Chan Gailey for punishing him by benching him for the rest of the game. It was the right move and tells me that he won’t allow anybody to put himself over the team’s interest.

The Bills have lots of things to fix if they’re going to turn things around in 2012, but the biggest thing is somehow finding a way to get this team to stop doing all the little things so terribly, most of all losing their composure during games. They need to find some veteran players who have experience playing in winning organizations, either through free agency or trades, and infuse them into their roster along with the promising young players. I plan on posting a season-ending “report card” on the team later this week detailing the problems in 2011 and possible fixes for 2012. Rather than write any more depressing comments on the loss to New England, I’ll wait until then to critique the team.

 
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Classic Team Logo of The Day

02 Jan

Logo of a team from the old World Football League, the Portland Storm. The team played in the league’s inaugural 1973 season but folded halfway through the ’74 season. Their general manager was former San Diego Charger lineman Ron Mix, and the team’s roster included some former AFL and NFL legends, including Pete Beathard, Ben Davidson and Marty Schottenheimer.

 

Classic Sports Card of The Day

02 Jan

1986 Topps football card of former NFL running back Marcus Allen. A six-time Pro Bowler in his career, Allen played for the Raiders and Chiefs for a total of 15 years, and was one of the greatest all-around backs of all time. He was the first player to amass 10,000 yards rushing and 5,000 receiving in a career, and also passed for 6 career touchdowns on halfback option passes. He was MVP of Super Bowl XVIII, and his touchdown run against the Redskins in that game is one of the great plays in championship game history. Allen was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.