I agree completely. This is a make or break year. I can see Ross blowing this regime out after this season, unless they have already coddled Ross by telling him they need more time and he bought it. The Tuna can be persuasive like that.

 

It's interesting to see what all the others think.

 

may the offensive line get right & run Ricky run
so we can open that passing game up for Henne

 

I do believe Ross cares about winning but I think he focusing more attention on Staduim rebuilding (ie Waterpark , future superbowls) then putting pressure on Bill to win Now.

 

Man, I hope the Bills really are as bad as Prisco thinks!!

For us, lots of questions, but if they are answered affirmatively, we could go 12-4. If it goes the other way, we could be 7-9 again. Let's get it started, I can't wait to find out which way it goes!

 

never underestimate the adversary
better to assume that we are the under-dogs in this game
the Bills will not simply lose a game in Buffalo
we're going to have to win it & decisively

 

I doubt it. He is all about the "Fan Experience". The best thing for the fan experience is to win games. Lose 8 or 9 games again this year, and next year, he might be looking at some blackouts. Hes a smart guy and he knows this.

 

Ross cares about winning just as much as the next owner, but I think he wants to maximize fandom and the fan experience as much as possible, no matter what the record, 1-15 or 17-0. He didn't become a billionaire by making bad decisions.

 

I agree with most of his rankings... personally, I'm not sold on the Cowboys this season. I just think Tony Romo is a bit overrated. I don't think he's terrible, but I think he's probably closer to 'average' than he is to 'great'.

I also think Prisco has the Falcons rated too high. However, there are always teams that 'make the jump' from one season to the next, and the Falcons could certainly be one of those teams. I'm just not sold that they are. I'd swap them and Baltimore on his ranking list.

The Ravens are my Superbowl pick this year.

 

id agree with where we are. makes sense.

 

Prisco is a dumbass.

 

i agree. If we're rated anything less than #1, the writer is a flaming idiot

 

You got it backwards Amigo. We do not have Adrian Peterson, or Chris Brown or Turner as RB. You can take your pick of any 5 offensive lineman in the NFL and put them on our Oline. Ricky and Ronne are not bruising type of runners by any means. Neither has the speed to outrun Defenders, on a regular basis, on the edges. Ricky and Ronnie are what they are. Good RBs that work well when there is not many people in the box. Then yes, they are fine but to get the people out of the box you need to have a good passing game, not great, but good.

Tell ya what, go back and watch this pre season games. If the receivers actually held onto the passes that WERE right in their hands, the Running game would have opened up a lot. If Henne did not under throw or over throw, HALF the ones he did and IF the receiver caught them, the Running game would have progressed even more.

Those that have concern over the receivers holding onto the ball and Henne not under or overthrowing receivers, is a legitimate concern. Maybe he needs more work to settle down, not sure there but I do know the wildcat has been figured out and thats why it was invented in the first place, a gimmick, keep the D guessing. Unless Henne and the receivers start to click, the running game is not going to carry this team or any other team in the NFL with the type of RB we have.

Every defense in modern football is set up to stop what first ? The run, ours included. There is no defense around anymore set up to stop the pass first, not even against Manning. Stop the run, make them throw the ball. I admit, with Manning he can kill you but with Henne ? Its safe to say, at this point in time, any team we play is going to stack the box and make us show we can throw the ball and catch the ball. When that happens on a regular basis ? Yes, we punch them in the mouth with a running game. Until it clicks, people are going to be moaning we stink, we suc, the Oline blows. When in fact, it really is on the shoulders of our QB and receivers to get the whole thing rolling.

Look at any team you want in games. If their QB is not a threat to the defense ? They surely are not going to be able to run the ball, no way.

 

Actually, Prisco is one of the more level headed, down to earth writers. Been reading his stuff for a long time. His predictions are not always correct, no ones are but when you read his stuff you realize after awhile the guy really does like football and really does get down to the brass tax so to speak.

I agree 100% with him, our season, our playoff run, our success, now is in the hands of Chad Henne. He will make us or break us. The Defense ? well, like everyone, I am praying Nolan knows his doo doo.

 

I completely & respectfully disagree with what you posted
it begins in the trenches, then when you get the push, you can run the ball which, in turn, opens the passing game
Ricky & Ronnie in tandem are a force to be reckoned with behind a strong offensive line
& that is the key to the offense

 

Sure they do, Flacco completes a lot of passes. Go down the list, Vikes look solid, Farve completed a lot of passes, Gore rips it up, when their passing game is working. Best evidence of my point is Steven Jackson.

One of the best RBs in the NFL, gets his yardage but rarely gets in the endzone and the last three years one of the lowest scoring, most loss teams in the NFL. Why, Bulger was horrible and when he threw it good, his receivers dropped the ball. He does not throw it good to often though.

Watch this year, with a decent QB, Bradford, watch Jackson run around like a loose horse. I will wager you a hot dog and a pop the theory I put up is sound 23. You take Flacco out of the equation in Balt ? Rice is not going anywhere too soon or too quick.

 

Baltimores receivers actually hold onto the ball too. As of yet, our deep passing threat is void of being a deep passing threat. Flacoo can unleash it on target and often. No Manning but, good enough to keep the Safetys and Corners working hard for aliving.

 

We will agree to disagree then. Have all you want in the trenches but when you play a 3 -4 defense with 4 lbers and even a corner up, there is more people on D then the offense has people to block them. Take Manning out of Indianopolis, then, tell me what that team would look like.
Take Farve out of Minn. last year, tell me what that team would do or what Peterson would have done. Crap, take Brady out of NE, tell me how their running game would work. Like I said, agree to disagree and a hot dog and pop is on the line.:up: As you can see, I am a high roller:lol:\
By the way, I am not knocking our Oline, I like it, take a little time to getl better but as time goes on, its only going to get better.

 

disagreed...you really think you can find better than who is in control of our franchise....better check yourself and realize what you got.

Legitimate question?..how many years do you give a new franchies's front office to rebuild a team coming off 1 and 15 and completely void of talent".

well, We've played 2 full season's since then and won 18 games doing so.

They should have 4 season's before you talk with the kind of BS that's in this post.

 

Didn't we have the #4 Running game in the NFL last year with below-average QB play?

 

Correct, and it translated into 7 wins and 9 losses. Guess we could have the number 4 ranked running game for the next 5 years. No problem but how much of a comfort will that be going 7 and 9 every year ?

The argument, if you want to use the term argument, the Pass opens up the running game vs the Run opens up the passing game, has been going on for a long time. There will always be people making their point on both sides. The NFL put another nail in the coffin for Offensive lineman this year by putting the Umpire in the left side of the backfield.

Now you have Two officials in the backfield watching the offense. The one on the left side is not a killer but it certainly has upped the amount of holding calls this pre season, moreso then I have seen in recent years. the LT and LG spots are critical in pass protection and know what ? They all hold on occasion. The difference being now is the Umpire does not have to worry about getting run into, getting run over or getting rolled up. He can now pay his full undivided attention to the entire left side of the offensive lines. The little bit of time the starters played this year and I believe last count was Long had three or 4 holding calls on him. Its not only going to hurt us, its going to hurt all offenses, especially those that love the no huddle offense. Remember, the umpire also spots the ball then has to get back into position waaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the backfield.

He is only in his regular position with 2 mintues left in the half or in the fourth quarter. The is also gives a huge advantage to the D line. Their holding calls have gone down, Why ? because now the umpire is in front of them and the Oline is blocking the view. Seen on more then half dozen occasions where a D lineman held an Olineman that was going to the second level or pulling. Advantage, defense. Sorry to ramble on, most of this had nothing to do with the original thought.

 

Prisco

PP did a better job this time around.

 

Would you rather he focus on football operations or try to get a few more fans to want to come to games?

I'll choose he stick to what he is doing and let the football guys run things with an open check book like he's done.

 

Sam Bradford sucked, had one good game, and now he's the real deal according to these guys. Henne had a similar performance with more drops. These guys afford cushion to those they love and constantly denigrate small name players. Jokes.

 

I can't really agree with this. Everyone stacked the box the entire season against us last year. We still ran the football. Actually I 100% do not agree with you.

 

Umm I think it's you that might have a couple of things backwards here. Ricky and Ronnie are exactly what you say they're not. They are most certainly bruising Rb's by every stretch of the imagination. Peterson, and especially Brown are the exact opposites. Using speed to avoid contact as much as possible. Both Brown, and especially Ricky can get to the edge and they combine the ability to hit it up between the tackles as well. They both have seen nothing BUT 8 or 9 men in the box for the last 5 yrs and the Dolphins have been a pretty solid running team when both are healthy.

Sure! It goes both ways though. If it were not for Ronnie and Ricky still gaining good yardage per carry against a stacked box for the last 5 yrs or so the passing game would have even been worse. BY FAR

Agree the passing game needs to click but totally disagree about the type of Rb's once again...

I'm dying to see teams stack the box against this offense now! That's exactly how they could begin clicking because the addition of ONE Wr changes everything with this offense. The only thing that can kill it will be the offensive lines play. The Qb does not have to be Manning'esk. He just needs to play within the system, and if by chance Henne falters completely, there is another Qb that can move this team down the field and score.

The offense will be much better this year barring some major injuries. The defense is what we need to hope clicks..

Having a Qb like Manning is an added edge for any offense but there are not 32 Mannings in the league. Never will be at once and yet Manning has only one Super Bowl ring.

Having a good Qb is what most teams can only hope for but with a legit threat on the outside, teams will dare less to stack the box. That's a fact and the offensive line will dictate if this team can run, not so much our Qb.

 

Like I said, and we won 7 football games. Now, if winning 7 football games is the benchmark then I do not care if no one agrees with me or not. Its pretty simple.

 

Ah, another that loves top rankings on a unit but is willing to take 7 wins and 9 losses as the norm. Thats fine. Another thing that will kill the offense is receivers constantly dropping the ball and not getting the ball downfield, deep. That will equate to
drum roll please 7 wins and 9 losses, again but heck, we will still have a top running game, eh ?

 

The gist of what you said is we have to pass to run or teams will stack the box and we will not be able to run. You, I, every Dolphan and practically the entire NFL watching world knows that is just not true. End of story.

 

Players they love ? I hate Oklahoma but anyone that can hammer on the keyboard and says Bradford sucks ? Well, I guess you are the all knowing then. Tell ya what, watch what they do to Arizona. I am not saying Henne is a bad QB I am just saying our passing game has to start clicking. As of late, it hasn't, thats fact not denigrating small name players. Which, I never heard that term, small name players. I would have to think a guy that started at Michigan as a QB is not a small time player as you put it. Small time player came out of your mouth, not mine.

 

Yes. We need to be a better passing team. I really don't have a clue as to the plan.
We were good in two TE sets. Now we have 1 1/2 TEs. Are we a three and four wide team? We needed max protection quite a bit. That move will take that away.

Bringing in Marshall and going wide will not allow teams to stack the box. That would help a running game that already worked JUST FINE when teams were stacking the box.

The question is "will Henne have any time to throw the ball"?

We just won't know what is going on until Sunday unless someone has some kind of inside news on the subject.

 

With the exception fo 3-4 instances in pre season, Henne had plenty of time to throw the ball. Like I said, in the passing game, it all goes the way the QB goes and how good the receivers hold onto the ball. Two or three dropped passes can change the complection of many games.

 

Maybe I need to review the games again. I remember constant line breakdowns and Henne on his ***. The same reason we max protected last year so much. I do not see any amount of line improvement thus far over last season. Without extra players to block, Henne will not have all day to throw even against the crappy Bills rush.

If by a miracle I am proven wrong, I will be very happy to be wrong.:up:

 

Prisco has always been a flaming idiot.