When the Bills finished 9-7 and 2nd in the AFC East under Doug Marrone in 2014, it looked like the team might be on to something. But Marrone left the organization and was replaced by Rex Ryan, who led an 8-8 squad in 2015 and was in the midst of a 7-9 season when he was dismissed before it ended.
Ryan has been replaced by Sean McDermott, who becomes the eighth coach to try and restore this team’s powerhouse status. He’ll do so with a QB who hardly received a vote of confidence and a defense that got worse each of the last two seasons, despite being coached by a defensive-minded leader.
So just exactly where does this once proud franchise stand? Dennis Moody, a contributor with Buffalowdown and owner of his own blog, the Bills Blues, stopped by to share some thoughts.
Zoneblitz: At 7-9 last season and 8-8 the year before, the Bills have seemed on the brink of competing for the playoffs. Was firing Rex Ryan the right move?
Moody: This is a tough one for me to answer. Let me preface this by saying I would never have hired Rex in the first place. I live in Long Island, New York and saw first-hand the circus that Ryan brings to town. That being said, I believe every head coach deserves at least three years to prove themselves with a new team especially when they are switching the defense from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 multiple scheme. It takes time to get the right personnel on the roster. The only way I think a coach should be fired in under three years is if they prove completely inept or if they lose the locker room. Neither of those things happened so I would have given Rex one more year if I was Terry Pegula. All that being said, the Buffalo Bills fan in me is glad he is gone and I’m excited for the team to get back down to business now that the circus has left town. (more…)
Did the end of the 2015 season carry over into 2016? Or were injuries the cause of the team winning six fewer games?
And does the 2016 season leave Marvin Lewis on the hot seat, coaching for his job in 2017? With several off-season changes, including an offensive line that has incurred a 60 percent turnover, can he lead another winning team?
Anthony Cosenza, an editor with Cincy Jungle, joined us to share his insights.
Zoneblitz: The Bengals fell from 12-4 to 6-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010. What went wrong?
Cosenza: It all depends on who you ask. Injuries to star players including Vontaze Burfict (plus a two-game suspension), A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert all played a role in the six-win drop-off. While I think that played a role, I think the Bengals’ frugal ways in free agency caught up to them last year, as did the lack of dividends in recent draft classes that once seemed promising.
Major turnover at the assistant coach ranks, including Hue Jackson (offensive coordinator) and secondary coach (Vance Joseph) also didn’t help matters, as the units often looked confused and/or stale — particularly at the end of the year. As far as on-field issues, the offensive line play may have been the most surprisingly egregious of any unit. That definitely caused problems for the offense.
However, while all of these factors contributed, I maintain the opinion that this team had a major problem getting over the heartbreaking playoff to the Steelers to end the 2015 season. After such an implosion, the team kept Marvin Lewis at the helm and one has to wonder if the message fell on deaf years after his 0-7 playoff record. (more…)
Cincinnati won the NFC North in 2015 and finished the season a heartbreaking couple minutes from advancing to the divisional playoffs. That fell apart in 2016, as injuries and inconsistency dropped the Bengals to 6-9-1.
That means after 14 seasons, Marvin Lewis has a solid winning percentage, but the team still has not advanced in the postseason under his leadership. Can the Bengals rebound and make another postseason run? And even if they do, what will it take to get the team’s first playoff victory in the 21st century?
Larry Spicer, a contributing writer for Stripe Hype, joined us to share some thoughts.
Zoneblitz: The Bengals fell from 12-4 to 6-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010. What went wrong?
Spicer: The loss of Hue Jackson was a major one for the offense and cannot be understated. The offensive line struggled mightily last season. Although Brandon LaFell and Tyler Boyd did an admirable job, with the injuries of A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert, the offense lacked playmakers that opposing defenses really feared. Add to that inconsistency in the running game. I felt that though the defense struggled early, they really picked up as the year went on. (more…)
One of the worst kept secrets in the league this offseason has been the Texans’ reported desire to give Tony Romo one last chance to make a Super Bowl run. But his retirement announcement Tuesday came out of the blue and the Texans’ backup plan apparently is Tom Savage. The third-year youngster has played in five games with two starts.
Now, he is reportedly the starter-in-waiting for a team that has a defense with Super Bowl aspirations and offensive skill talent that went underutilized due to the ill-advised signing last off-season of Brock Osweiler.
Is Romo really done? And is Savage a sufficient backup plan? Or do the Texans need to expand their search and find a way to bring a more veteran presence to this otherwise solid top-to-bottom roster?
Andy: Tom Savage? Really? The Texans’ plan for 2017 revolves around Tom Savage?
No disrespect intended to the young QB-to-be, but … really? You blew the 2016 season waiting for Brock Osweiler to blossom. You wasted DeAndre Hopkins waiting for Brock Osweiler to happen. And you botched the Super Bowl worthy season put forth by a Texans’ defense that was great even minus the great J.J. Watt.
I’m not 100 percent convinced Romo is done. But I’m also not sure how much I care. I made the argument over the weekend that Colin Kaepernick might be a better option than Romo for this Texans team. I’ll stand by that now. Maybe even Jay Cutler deserves a look. Maybe Savage is ready. But you cannot – you simply cannot – go into the 2017 season with the talent you have and only Tom Savage as a legit option to be the QB, not if you want your team and fan base to buy in. (more…)
Just a year after being 15-1 and going to the Super Bowl, Carolina struggled to a 6-10 record in 2016. Several things fell apart, including Cam Newton, who struggled through an injury- and inconsistency-riddled follow-up to his MVP season.
Can the Panthers get things back in order and make another deep postseason run? Or was the year as runner-up the outlier? Brian Beversluis, a staff writer with Cat Scratch Reader, joins us with some thoughts.
Zoneblitz: The Panthers followed up a Super Bowl season with a 6-10. How would you assess what went wrong in 2016?
Beversluis: Injuries were obviously a big deal. Losing Michael Oher to a concussion all year was a major issue that threw the offensive line into shambles. In 2015, Oher stabilized the line and left only right tackle Mike Remmers as a weak link. In 2016, Remmers had to play left tackle, something he’s definitely not cut out for long term. Remmers has value as a swing guy (why he got paid in Minnesota) but he has no business there at LT all the time. Then their back up RT Daryl Williams got hurt too, forcing Pro Bowl right guard Trai Turner to play RT. They also eventually lost Ryan Kalil and his back up at center. Obviously for an offense that likes to take shots down field, that’s a problem. It caused Cam to take a lot of hits and allowed teams to load the box.
On defense, losing Josh Norman and having to field two rookie corners and unproven commodities at nickel threw the secondary into disarray, and the front seven struggled to get pass rush early on due to teams taking advantage of that.
Zoneblitz: Cam Newton wasn’t terrible in 2016, but despite the return of Kelvin Benjamin, he didn’t come close to matching his magical 2015. What happened there? (more…)
The 2016 season was not kind to the Chargers, nor its fans. On the field, San Diego failed to finish games, resulting in a 5-11 record that included nine losses by one score. Off the field, the team, the league and the city were unable to come to an agreement on stadium issues.
So, the team’s long-rumored move to Los Angeles has commenced.
Will a new home and a new head coach help turn this team’s fortunes around? Or does Anthony Lynn’s team have more problems that need to be fixed to expect a one year turnaround?
Richard Wade, managing editor of Bolts from the Blue, shared his thoughts on those and other issues facing the soon-to-be Los Angeles Chargers.
Zoneblitz: We’ll focus primarily on the field, but the 800-pound gorilla in the room is the team’s move. What are your thoughts on the transition to Los Angeles?
Wade: As a native San Diegan and lifelong Chargers fan the transition to Los Angeles has been awful to experience. A big part of the enjoyment of sports is the shared experience with family, friends, and community. With the team packing up and leaving, that shared experience has been taken apart. Also, the manner in which the Spanos family has handled the move has been embarrassing to watch, so there is really very little to feel good about when it comes to supporting this franchise in 2017.
Zoneblitz: The Chargers were, in my opinion, one of the league’s more confusing teams in 2016. It went 5-11 but lost nine of those games by one score. How would you assess this team and what went wrong?
Wade: The Chargers’ inability to close out games can mostly be traced back to two things: terrible coaching and inadequate depth. Head coach Mike McCoy was one of the worst I have ever seen at managing the clock and understanding game situations. He directly cost the team multiple games. Also, the roster that general manager Tom Telesco put together had some very capable starters at most positions, but the depth was poor to nonexistent and that showed up in the second half of games early on and was even more exposed as injuries started to pile up. (more…)
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