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Tag: Buffalo Bills
Continue reading “What NFL Handicappers Should Have Learned From the Preseason”
Continue reading “NFL Betting Odds: Colts Vs Bills Lines & Game Preview”
It is easy to get excited about new QB Donovan McNabb if you are a Washington Redskins fan, but the bigger move by the team in the offseason was bringing in head coach Mike Shanahan and GM Bruce Allen to restructure the organization from the bottom up. Shanahan brings a winning attitude as a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos to the favored Redskins (-3) against the Buffalo Bills in their opener on Friday and owns one of the most impressive preseason records of any active coach at 41-19.
Continue reading “Preseason Football Betting: Bills Vs Redskins Preview”
This is a very interesting time when it comes to NFL win totals betting. They have been posted for a while now, so the initial action has bet out any obvious errors, but the public hasn’t yet paid a lot of attention to them. That likely means that the futures are somewhat more accurate now than they will be before the fans jump on the public teams. Because of that, looking at the odds right now shows us some very interesting trends and opinions. Based on the line movement and the prices available there are hints of some strong and interesting opinions held by those who have made bets so far. Here are 11 win totals that have seemed to have one-sided action so far. In each case the one-sided action can be a clue that the total is likely to change as the season nears, and it gives us something to think about when it comes to the teams (odds are form Bodog):
Continue reading “NFL Regular Season Win Totals Betting: A Look at the Early Moves”
The head coaches get all of the attention in the NFL, but who they hire as coordinators has at least as much bearing on the on-field success of the team as their own performance. Coaches all have different styles, but for many teams the head coach acts as the CEO who oversees operations, and it’s the coordinators who actually work with the players, implement the strategy, call the plays, and have the direct impact on the outcome of games. The media tends to spend most of their time dwelling on head coaches, though, spending the limited coordinator time they do have on the high profile stars. By looking beyond those big names and getting a sense of some of the significant under the radar coordinator moves that have been made in the offseason bettors can have an edge over those who aren’t paying attention. Here are three significant coordinator changes that you’ll want to consider as you prepare for this upcoming NFL season:
Continue reading “Offseason Coordinator Changes NFL Bettors Should Take Note Of”
The Buffalo Bills are a team I really want to like. I’ve been to a game at Ralph Wilson, and I thoroughly enjoyed it – it’s a pleasant stadium with good sight lines and very good tailgating in my experience. They’ve had their share of iconic players over the years, and they often seem to be on the verge of big things. They’re the poor little cousin of the NFL, so as a guy who always likes the underdog I have an obvious soft spot. With their latest move, though, I’m afraid that they may have finally lost their minds. If you missed it, Chan Gailey has been named coach of the team. Yes, that Chan Gailey. Brutal.
I decided to write about this today because I was very pleased to see that Kansas reportedly interviewed Turner Gill from Buffalo yesterday. Gill was a celebrated player at Nebraska, so he is very familiar with the Big 12 and respectful of the history and tradition. Gill is a guy on the rise, and he definitely appears ready for the big time, so I think he would be a very good fit. His offense at Buffalo also looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in the Big 12, so it would be very fun to see what he could do with access to better talent. I also think Gill deserves the chance because he took a risk last year that I wish more coaches would take. He was very hot last year after winning the MAC unexpectedly, but instead of jumping at a job, including potentially hisalma mater, he chose to stay loyal for another year at Buffalo. That risk didn’t pay off for him because Buffalo fell out of contention and out of the public eye, but it’s not like he forgot how to coach so he shouldn’t be punished for an inevitable element of college football. Maybe him getting a prime job this year would encourage more rising coaches to exercise patience and show more loyalty to their stepping stone programs.
Continue reading “College Football Coaching Changes – My Two Cents”
Three big personnel moves occurred in the NFL yesterday, and each of them is worth a discussion:
Ronnie Brown – The Dolphins’ impressive but fragile running back has been put on the IR, and that means he’s out for the season. This time it his right foot that is the problem. Back in 2007 it was his right leg. Maybe he should just amputate that leg and start over again. Needless to say, this is a big blow for an already fragile team. Only three teams have run better than the Dolphins this year, while only two teams have passed worse. Add in Brown’s impact as one of the only players in the league who can effectively run a wildcat and you have a big hole. They aren’t totally without hope – they still have Ricky Williams and he has looked good this year. Williams is a far more straight ahead, less versatile back than Brown is, though, and it’s doubtful that Williams will be able to lead a similarly effective running attack – if he can even stay healthy for the rest of the season.
Ryan Fitzgerald – Perry Fewell needed to make an impact quickly as the new head coach of the Bills, and he found the easiest way to do it – he changed his quarterback. The ineffective Trent Edwards has been benched in favor of the ineffective Ryan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has had significant play in three games so far this year, and the team has earned two of their three wins in that time. He has thrown twice as many touchdowns as interceptions, and has completed less than half his passes, so it’s not a perfect solution. The Bills have been a truly terrible passing team this year, though, so it won’t hurt. None of it gives me any reason to even consider backing the Bills now or into the future.
Bruce Gradkowski – It took far too long, but the Raiders have finally come to their senses. They have benched JaMarcus Russell and given Gradkowski the reins. It’s not just a fleeting thing, either – coach Cable says that Gradkowski will be given a real chance to settle in and play. Gradkowski is not a great QB and he is in a brutal situation, so this isn’t going to make a significant change for the team. It still was the only thing to do. Russell has been absolutely terrible, and he is making absolutely no progress while he is playing. He probably won’t make any progress when he isn’t playing, either, but at least he won’t be making more truly terrible plays and crushing his final shreds of confidence and self respect. I can’t imagine that the team will be anything other than relieved by the change – it might even give them a boost. The good news is that Gradkowski barely has to do anything to be just as good as Russell.
The Bills did the inevitable thing today when they fired head coach Dick Jauron. He was just 3-6 this year and 24-33, in his career with the team after three straight 7-9 seasons. Jauron had no long term future with the team, and he had played his last ace when he fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert right before the season started, so it was just a matter of time. There are reports that Jauron and the team were both caught off-guard by the move, but I don’t see how they could be. The fourth quarter against Tennessee last weekend was quite possibly the worst quarter of football a team has played all year. After they had played a solid game to tie it at 17 through three quarters they allowed 24 unanswered points. 14 of those points came from two interceptions returned for TDs, and in both cases the receivers did a pathetic job of earning their money on the plays. It was a clear sign that the coach had lost the team, and the only thing that made sense at this point was to make a change and get a head start on next year.
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