2010-09-20 08:35![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
digitaldiscipline
digitaldisciplineFrom last week's Gregg Easterbrook column:
Buck-Buck-Brawckkkkkkk (Game Plan Edition): For the three-plus seasons Trent Edwards has been Buffalo's starter, the Bills have employed the most hyperconservative game plans since the 1923 Army-Navy game. (A 0-0 final, if you don't recall.) Edwards rarely even glances up the field; in all Buffalo pass patterns, the checkdown guy is the primary receiver. Would the new coaching staff change this? No: Sunday the Bills employed a hyperconservative game plan of checkdown, checkdown, checkdown. When all passes are ultrashort, the defense can choke up against the rush, and nothing works. Buffalo has now scored 10 points or fewer in seven of its last 17 home games. The Bills rather delicately declared their offense's performance "not encouraging when it came to results."
Going into the 2009 offseason, Buffalo's problems were quarterback, offensive tackle and the need to open up the game plan. Coaches and management did nothing; both were fired when the season ended. Going into the 2010 offseason, Buffalo's problems were quarterback, offensive tackle and the need to open up the game plan. The new coaches and new management did nothing. What is it about the Bills' organization since the Super Bowl run? Doing nothing has become its Zen.
I was actually able to watch the Buffalo/Miami game in week one (because the Tampa game wasn't a sellout, we got regional coverage instead). We're all used to my rampant egoism around here, but, seriously, if my hand was fully healed, I'd be a better fucking quarterback than Trent Edwards. When you have deep threats like Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish, it doesn't do anyone any good to use them as decoys and distractions, especially when they're cutting their routes off at eight or twelve yards instead of stretching the defense.
I honestly think the current team could go 0-16, because the defense and special teams can't save the day every single time.
In somewhat related news, the Madden 2011 demo on the Xbox 360 is really, really nice, so it might be time to update from Madden 07. The NHL 2011 demo (also by EA Sports), on the other hand, felt lackluster, sloppy, and sluggish, so I'm going to stick with NHL07 (at least until I finish the ten-season achievement; and, yes, I play every game by hand; I'm somewhere in November of 2012 these days).
Hockey season: Soon, but not soon enough.
Buck-Buck-Brawckkkkkkk (Game Plan Edition): For the three-plus seasons Trent Edwards has been Buffalo's starter, the Bills have employed the most hyperconservative game plans since the 1923 Army-Navy game. (A 0-0 final, if you don't recall.) Edwards rarely even glances up the field; in all Buffalo pass patterns, the checkdown guy is the primary receiver. Would the new coaching staff change this? No: Sunday the Bills employed a hyperconservative game plan of checkdown, checkdown, checkdown. When all passes are ultrashort, the defense can choke up against the rush, and nothing works. Buffalo has now scored 10 points or fewer in seven of its last 17 home games. The Bills rather delicately declared their offense's performance "not encouraging when it came to results."
Going into the 2009 offseason, Buffalo's problems were quarterback, offensive tackle and the need to open up the game plan. Coaches and management did nothing; both were fired when the season ended. Going into the 2010 offseason, Buffalo's problems were quarterback, offensive tackle and the need to open up the game plan. The new coaches and new management did nothing. What is it about the Bills' organization since the Super Bowl run? Doing nothing has become its Zen.
I was actually able to watch the Buffalo/Miami game in week one (because the Tampa game wasn't a sellout, we got regional coverage instead). We're all used to my rampant egoism around here, but, seriously, if my hand was fully healed, I'd be a better fucking quarterback than Trent Edwards. When you have deep threats like Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish, it doesn't do anyone any good to use them as decoys and distractions, especially when they're cutting their routes off at eight or twelve yards instead of stretching the defense.
I honestly think the current team could go 0-16, because the defense and special teams can't save the day every single time.
In somewhat related news, the Madden 2011 demo on the Xbox 360 is really, really nice, so it might be time to update from Madden 07. The NHL 2011 demo (also by EA Sports), on the other hand, felt lackluster, sloppy, and sluggish, so I'm going to stick with NHL07 (at least until I finish the ten-season achievement; and, yes, I play every game by hand; I'm somewhere in November of 2012 these days).
Hockey season: Soon, but not soon enough.
