SB Nation User Blog: thefourwinds

Bob Sanders' influence in the draft?

thefourwinds — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:54:47 -0000

You know, with the discussion coming up again about taking Jairus Byrd when Everette Brown was still on the board, I've been wondering how much influence Bob Sanders had in the decision. Not so much Sanders saying, "Pick this guy" or "Don't pick that guy," but more along the lines of Sanders coming in and saying, "I see what you've got in your current D-line; I know I can coach them up to be more successful, especially with the addition of Maybin."

What do you think? How much influence did Sanders (and the FO's beliefs about Sanders' coaching abilities) have in the decision to pass up more D-line help (either DE or DT)?

Poll

Will Bob Sanders be able to orchestrate a significant improvement in D-line performance this season?

Maybin to work out with Ray Lewis

thefourwinds — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:40:11 -0000

Maybin to work out with Ray Lewis

This is encouraging.

Secret Surgeries

thefourwinds — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:39:51 -0000

Secret Surgeries

Ross Tucker's article about Oakland's Javon Walker potentially sheds some light on what happened between the Bills and Angelo Crowell last season.

Hall of Famer Bruce Smith charged with DUI

thefourwinds — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:17:35 -0000

Hall of Famer Bruce Smith charged with DUI

Man, now even the former Bills are getting into the Bungles act. All these arrests are just insane.

Is Versatility always a plus?

thefourwinds — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:59:49 -0000

I have to admit I've become almost numb to any new post about the Oline, but there's one aspect to the Oline that no one has yet discussed (as far as I've seen). Actually, it's been discussed, but it's always mentioned in a positive light. However, I see a potential downside. It's in this little word called versatility.

I'm actually very positive about the additions the Bills have made to the Oline in the offseason (Hangartner, Wood, Levitire). But I keep hearing how great it is that the Bills have picked this or that player because he is versatile (can play a number of positions).

Ok, I'm no line expert, but isn't the teamwork and communication on line calls hugely important? How big is it if someone is making mental errors because they're used to their responsibility at one position, only now they've had to switch to another? With all the position switching occurring on this Oline, there has to be a downside in consistency. Can't the Bills have a few players who play one position and play it expertly?

I know that depth is needed for the sake of injuries, but I just can't kick this nagging feeling that switching the position of every player on the line has a significant downside, and that no matter how smart these players are, the resulting confusion could be detrimental to Edwards' health.

Could have gotten Shanahan for less!

thefourwinds — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:22:40 -0000

Could have gotten Shanahan for less!

Man, this irks me to no end. Shanahan had three years left on his Denver contract, including a stipulation that Denver would have to pay the difference to continue making him within the top 3 highest paid coaches in the league. And even with that, the Bills wouldn't even consider going after him?!?!?!?! My frustration with RW increases by the minute!

Awesome QB post at Arrowhead Pride

thefourwinds — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:31:54 -0000

Awesome QB post at Arrowhead Pride

Check out this fantastic post at Arrowhead Pride about an oft-ignored stat for QBs coming out of college. I thought the post was worth rec-ing and worth a look over here as well.

In case anyone was wondering

thefourwinds — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:02:32 -0000

In an effort to NOT think about anything related to the Bills right now....

I'm not a huge fan of Peter King. I don't really consider him a good writer, and he doesn't seem to ever have much good football insight. I only read his column for the sheer volume of information in it.

Usually when I read his columns, I want to respond by calling him names I shouldn't use and just generally have to allow myself to cool down after reading him. So it surprised even me when I saw something he wrote about Cris Collinsworth in his MMQB column (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/11/16/week11/1.html - see Quote of the Week II on pg 2) that prompted me to ask him a sane question (did King think Collinsworth would ever consider coaching, or was he happier doing what he was doing?).

Well, if you saw King's MMQB Tuesday edition column, he actually responded to my question (and gave a helpful answer even): http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/11/18/mail/1.html

Distinction between getting beaten and giving the game away

thefourwinds — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:07:26 -0000

There's been a lot of talk after the last two Bills' losses about the Bills giving the game away themselves rather than getting beaten by other teams. I think this distinction is highly subjective and frankly doesn't produce much helpful analysis or discussion. On the contrary, it seems driven by homerism more than anything else.

Think back to the Bills' wins this season. One could argue the Seahawks gave away the game by poor tackling and by sloppiness (not paying attention on the fake field goal). The Jags also tackled poorly, and failed to score TDs on several drives when they either got only FGs or came away with nothing (like the Garrard INT to end the first half)

The Raiders had their game at the Ralph well in hand, and offensively "gave up" when they went 3-and-out to allow the Bills to drive and kick the winning FG.

The Rams also had their game with the Bills in solid shape but gave up a poor pick 6 to lose the lead.

The Chargers had three turnovers against the Bills. Didn't they give the game away?

I think it's a silly distinction to draw. Teams lose and win because of all these things. One could easily argue that the better team on that day was pressuring the other team into making those mistakes (the same thought process applies to committing penalties). Edwards' pick 6 against the Jets was forced by a pass rush that was superior to the pass blocking.

Last year, the Pats went 18-0, but then they lost the Super Bowl. Because of that, they are no longer the defending league champions. The Giants were the better team on that day. Simply put: you are exactly as good as your record shows (or, in the playoffs, you are only as good as your last win).

When Edwards has time, he makes good decisions with the ball. If the receivers get open faster, if the line provides more time, if the running game works better, the pick 6s won't happen. But all these things are happening because defenses are successfully poking their fingers in the Bills' weaknesses.

Why argue about such an unclear, unhelpful distinction?

Edwards' right-hand man

thefourwinds — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:27:54 -0000

Edwards' right-hand man

This is a great article about Hamdan's friendship with Edwards, but very strange given JP is nowhere to be found in this story. I've thought all along that JP would finish the 2008-2009 season in Buffalo - his experience and abilities are too important in case anything happens to Edwards this season. Does anyone think the timing of this article means we might actually see the Bills trade Losman before the deadline? Buffalo has shown that they are all about team chemistry, and Losman can't be helping the team chemistry right now.