Al Davis > Ralph Wilson Both have been in charge of their teams for the majority of their teams existence. Now look at their records. Al might seem crazy at times but Ralph is cheap when it comes to coaches. The reason the Bills are in the mess they are is because of Wilson. Anyone who interviews with the Bills quickly finds out how much control they will have and what they will be paid. The smart ones head for the door. Look at all the previous Bills head coaches that are still gainfully employed in the NFL and well respected. Schotty has improved and hopefully Rex has control of the situation. Schotty needs to be consistent and stay away from those "if this works I will be on Sports Center" plays. If not then we are screwed.
I posted an article before you returned in another thread, but Schottenheimer specifically said that during the Indy game Sanchez's light came on, and there was a *Yureka!* moment. Basically, Sanchez came up to him after a few misses and asked for an easy play to set him back on track, to which a stunned Schottenheimer replied "Absolutely!" Everyone blames Schotty for making Sanchez attempt ridiculous throws, all the while ignoring that maybe the problem was that Sanchez was ignoring his progressions and just making stupid throws. According to Schotty, that's exactly what the problem was. And if we go back through the season, prior to "color-coding," on a number of occasions Schotty specifically said that Sanchez was making the same mistakes and putting up poor throws on bad decisions. Of course, everyone just ignores that because it doesn't help support the "Hate Schotty" arguments. I agree with people who say we didn't mix in enough screens and play-action in the middle half of the season. However, I asked often during those times if there was a possibility that Schotty just didn't trust Sanchez enough. It's really easy to assume the kid could do the job when there was no evidence one way or the other. No one here was attending practice though. Perhaps Schottenheimer was scared to have Sanchez taking his eyes off the field on a play fake. But everyone here seemingly knows better than Rex, or Mike T. or the players who seem to like Schotty, or Sanchez who has only ever praised Schotty. Or even the other professional teams that have sought BS' attention.
Well, Sanchez has been doing it better lately because he wasn't doing it at all early on. He was locking onto his supposed hot read and not even making progressions, you can see that just by looking at his helmet on any given play. The playcalls that changed were that they took out a lot of the seam routes and double move routes and made his passing playbook a lot higher percentage, like Mr.E said. What is different in the playcalling (and this is what I really like about how Schotty has adjusted his playcalling) is that he switched from a heavy dose of gimmicky stuff and went strictly for misdirection lately, and and started using the run to set up the pass instead of vice versa - it has worked with flying colors. I like what he has going for this offense now. It wasn't like this at the beginning/middle of the season.
Interesting post... I hadn't heard of all the things you are talking about, but it is good to shed some light on it if it has come out and public. Still, the anti-Schotty movement goes back further than this season. And it has always been sketchy... is it the OC and the playcalling, or is there something else afoot with the players? There have been some games and instances where you gotta question the offensive game plan, but maybe it wasn't all him afterall. We have played very well down the stretch... some of that has certainly been the benefit of good execution by the players... and Schotty's midirections have been near genius of late.
You definitely have the most balanced view of Schottenheimer of anyone on this board. I've said it before, and it usually gets lost because I'm so busy trying to defend the guy, but Schotty is not immune from blame. Seattle is a stain on his record. I don't give a damn who the QB is. Brett lost the game, but he was given every opportunity to do so. That's on the playcaller. There are examples across his tenure that damn Schotty, but overall, a lack of consistency at the QB position is to blame IMO. This is the primary reason I believe he turned down the Bills. This is the first opportunity he's had to mold a franchise QB since Brees, if not Rivers. (I don't know whether he had anything to do with Rivers.) He's got the chance to build the offense he wants to, with a QB capable of not just physically handling the system, but who is also intelligent enough to understand it. It's like having Chad Pennington's head with Kellen Clemens' arm. I look forward to the next few years of Sanchez playing under Schottenheimer. It's going to be exciting.
You generally have a pretty fair opinion of most things... not one-sided at any rate so it isn't lost on everyone. He's had a lot of excuses has been one of my comments/complaints. I'm not the savviest football mind by far, so it gets hard sometimes to see what the problem is ... when you believe you have the talent as we have had for a few years, you come to question the leadership when things don't come together. But the offense has had a lot of transitions and changes, and like you said at QB it has been pretty unstable. But with the way the season has turned itself around toward the end I am coming around to Schotty more. The excuses are starting to look more like real reasons. It should be good for both the OC and the Jets to stay married a little longer.
at first i was surprised to see such loyalty.. especially since he risked fucking up our entire offense while attempting to show off how "clever" his play calling could be.. but then i thought about it.. and as stated above me.. its just because its buffalo.. if a better team comes along... which wouldn't be hard to do.. watch how quick WE will have to be interviewing OCs..
Nah, I never assumed that. I always felt you had your finger on the pulse of it with him. You were critical of the specific issues that I was also critical of. The big difference between us being that I spend a lot of words defending him, whereas you just go with the facts and let them stand on their own merit.
Thanks man. That's truly appreciated. Bingo. I'm not looking forward to a time when I can sit back and say "I told you so" but I am looking forward to grinning when I see "Schotty's a freakin' genius and Sanchez is the next great QB" comments in just a few years. He's had excuses. More than deserved, but many that were deserved. It looks like both he and Sanchez have turned a maturity corner this year though. They understand each other and can work as a cohesive unit. It might not pay off this January, but I look forward to a big payoff in 2010 and 2011.
