Dr. Who
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Posts posted by Dr. Who
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2 minutes ago, JohnC said:
I don't think there will be much KA action at the trade deadline. Maybe a marginal transaction? What I will be more focused on is what happens in the offseason. I expect that Olofsson will be gone and Okposo will retire. So, there will be roster spots to fill. I'm hoping for a deal that will add a Tuch like talent, big and fast, and more, to better round out the talent mix. Assuming that the goalie issue has been resolved with UPL and Levi staffing that position, I expect some action by the GM after the season.
I'm hoping for a bit more than marginal, but the tepid response is a KA specialty. He sure as hell better add a top 4D as well in the off-season.
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3 minutes ago, Thorny said:
The amount of talking we do on this will kind of be funny given that it’s very likely we don’t see a major change in the manner in which KA conducts his business. I do think we see a run back of most things and I actually also kind of think some of the numbers are pointing potentially to a reasonably strong stretch (+) in garbage time (-) which would be fun. But may ultimately make the aforementioned KA strategy even more likely
Ah, yes, there's even a dark cloud in the silver lining.
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21 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:
Based on my original post in your response... I don't agree with everything you said but I do agree with a lot of it, probably more than half.
My view is the number one thing this team needs is a really really good veteran Defenseman. Someone 27 to 30 years old... Legit top four, Maybe a top two guy. Those are very very hard to get. Especially with a lot of them having no trade clauses. I'm not saying it's easy but that one is on Adams to get done. If he doesn't, I think the defenseman on this team would grow into a very good defense group, but it would take a couple of years. A veteran right now accelerates that.
And as for the schedule being weak recently.... Well all of the factors I brought up, Tage and Cozens not producing, they've been there the whole year. Against good teams, against bad teams. The stats I quoted were for the entire year, about those those two at least, not just the past couple of weeks.
If anything, the week schedule recently supports my point of view.... As Cozens has only started producing against the weaker team's recently... His numbers were even worse before the run of easier teams in the past month or so.
The home versus road record, that has baffled me. But again I don't think Granato is coaching worse this year. They had the same issue last year when they were one point away from being a playoff team. If it's an issue, it's not because he is coaching worse than last year... It's he's doing the same thing as last year.
KO I think should be gone replaced with someone younger. Zengus, I'm perfectly happy with his play and I'd bring him back for another year. I'm not caught up on the performance of a fourth line, but two new, young guys, with Zemgus, I'm happy with that
I would feel better with some changes to the coaching staff. Switch up some assistance, overpay and bring in an assistant who's really good. My point is I don't think it's all on Granato, and I don't think switching him out for a retread of what's available out there instantly makes this team better. Trade prospects to get a top four defenseman, bring some youth into the fourth line, bring in that experienced asst. coach, and I think you're 80% of the way there to doing what you need to do.
I've granted that Granato may be objectively coaching somewhat better this year. One can focus on any number of granular issues and perform analytics in the hope of discovering a secret formula. The holistic, intuitive evaluation is almost always likely to be more accurate, even when one cannot pin it down in the manner favored by analytics. (And surely, there are analytics that could be chosen to accommodate a different narrative.) Of course, it isn't all on Granato. I personally think he's a very nice fella who is probably more suited to be nurturing young players in the AHL. "Retread" is a loaded word with obvious connotations. One could replace that with "experienced coach with a track record of winning" and say the same thing with an entirely different coloration. I'd take Berube right now over Granato, and it isn't a terribly hard decision.
Regardless, I don't expect that. I am hoping KA will feel enough heat to spend some prospect cash for needed, ready-to-play upgrades. Alas, it will come too late to alter the trajectory of another failed season.
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1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:
Last year 3.57 goals per game for the team. This year 2.91. Difference of 0.66 goals per game.
Last year, Tage/Cozens accounted for 0.95 goals per game. This year 0.47. Difference of 0.48
So, as of last night, 73% of the missing goals from last year per game (0.48 goals per game of the 0.66 goals per game from the team) is due to just Tage and Cozens alone.
The entire rest of the team combined is soring 0.18 less goals per game (or, the rest of the team besides them is scoring one goal less every 5-6 games on average.)
My whole point is it really isn't much of a change in coaching from last year. The "fire Granato because we want a change crowd" will disagee with every post I make about this, simply because they want heads to roll but...
-The team is generating almost (maybe 1 less) shots per game as last year.
-The team is generating high danger and mid-range in front of the not shots almost the same as last year (maybe 1-1.5 less per game when I looked it up last week)
-Thompson and Cozens are getting the same number of shots as last year. Eye test...Thompson is getting PRIME, front of the net chances he isn't converting on, comments are made by numerous posters in the past few weeks during the gameday threads as everyone can see that. A change of coaching style hasn't impacted his chances...its just he isn't putting them in like the last 2-2.5 years.
-The rest of the team is getting just about the same number of shots as last year (maybe 1 less, if that), and they are scoring just about as much (0.18 per game less) If you consider your prime scorers, Tuch and Skinner, have missed more games than last year, that likely makes up the entire difference.
-PP looks awful though? Sure does. But as in another thread, Tage, Cozens, and VO account for just about the entire difference. Tage is getting his chances, he is getting his one timers. The PP doesn't look THAT much different than last year (Last years PP was basically feed Tage or VO the puck there wasn't any other movement or magic involved with it.) The difference? Tage and Cozens aren't converting their chances. The PP looked awful last year but was saved by Tage and VO one timers. That was the 'magic' this PP had.
If there is a change in scoring (other than Tage or Cozens getting chances but not converting on them) it is very minor. A fraction of a goal per game. But the defense of this team is MUCH better than last year.
I'm not saying the team had stellar coaching last year...maybe last year Tage one timers on the PP, Tage and Cozens overall covered up a rather bad team in other areas. My thought is this team might be SLIGHTLY better coached this year COMPARED to last year, they just aren't getting that Tage and Cozens production to cover up the bad things, but are getting BETTER overall defensive play.
When I posted this a week or two ago someone suggested that I was reaching for, cherry-picking numbers to just present one side of the story. I don't agree with that, this isn't a deep dive into the deep depths of new age analytics...this is pretty straight forward stats that, to me, are easy to understand.
I don't want to dismiss everything you said. It's easy enough to acknowledge that for whatever reasons, Tage and Cozens are having regression seasons, and that has significantly affected offensive numbers. Losing Quinn for most of the year is also a factor, as a leap forward was anticipated, and quite possible.
All that said, those who point to a weak schedule in much of the new year are correct. The lackluster numbers for a few key players on offense does not address the poor home record, the slow starts, the habitual hole of giving up the first goal, not to mention the obvious deficit of grit and toughness, a lack of snarl that permits the other team to consistently bully the Sabres.
Granato may indeed be marginally coaching better this year, but he appears to be enabling a culture of entitlement and hostility towards a long-suffering fan base that has plenty of reason to voice their displeasure. If your job allows you to play a game for millions of dollars, accepting that element of the implied contract ought not to be too onerous a burden.
All that said, the addition of a genuine top 4 D and some grit vets with more in the tank than the Latvian locomotive and KO could have been the missing ingredients in a year where UPL has emerged as a surprising stalwart goalie. That is on KA, who is always hedging on expectations, and pushing into the distant future the winning that is long overdue.
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1 minute ago, Sabres73 said:
Wow, didn't get that vibe at all. Maybe try a beer?
That's almost always good advice.
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I am cautiously optimistic. The cap going up somewhat more than expected gives some relief on eventually getting under the cap. I don't think fans' obsession with WR is misplaced. The WR room needs a significant upgrade at the X, and it is a very good draft at the position. They should take one early and another fairly early on day 3.
There are quite a few quality free agents at safety, and traditionally, it is not a position that commands high dollars. They will find someone or two and take one in the draft, as well. The best safeties will go before the Bills' pick in the third, so they would have to use #60 or wait on some decent fellas likely to be there in the mid-rounds.
I hope they wait till day 2 for DL. I think there are a fair number of DTs available, not so great at edge. There aren't too many obvious 1T, which is what we really could use. If Sweat drops to the second, that would be a fit. Keith Randolph, Jr. could develop into one, and you can get him on day 3.
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1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:
Please explain if it is on UPL. If he is number 1 in .GAA and sv% he is giving the team a chance to win each game. Do you expect him to score the goals needed to win the games too?
He probably thinks Josh Allen should catch his own passes, too.
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6 hours ago, Thorny said:
It’s yet another issue for Kevyn Adams’ “hindsight need not apply” pile. Taking a long form rebuild was *a choice*. That choice was, AT THE TIME, a risk specifically because of how the fanbase might react: Adams KNEW the rebuild was being positioned in that reality. Following an already exceptionally trying stretch. The risks were known. Extending this out and measuring in half-decade chunks was a calculated mistake.
To blame the fans is actually more absurd the more you think about it
If he doesn’t like it, they could, ya know, win. Or employ a strategy that doesn’t take 5 years to do so.
*no one said they needed to do a 5-year long-form tear down rebuild *. It is, entirely, on them.
Eichel asked out SPECIFICALLY because he got wind of Adams wanting to do this.
Honestly, all the malcontents have had success somewhere else. It was amusing (not for you) to bash Eichel as an entitled Boston chowder head, but in reality, the discontent has been vindicated, and now, ironically, the entitled continue to reside in blue collar Buffalo.
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10 minutes ago, Kristian said:
The Sabres could make the 1985 Oilers roster miss the playoffs….
It runs in the franchise now. This is the club where careers go to die.
A club where your only hope is escape, or a paycheck so huge, you can swallow your ambitions as an athlete, and be a “loser for hire”.
I think you missed the basic gist of the thread. We are moderating our disappointment and discovering glimmers of hope. Your lyrics goes with one of the dirge threads.
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1 hour ago, French Collection said:
They have plenty of prospects and draft capital to acquire NHL players. Get help now and let the prospects develop and try to crack the lineup as they grow.
This is true, but unfortunately, KA is like this about the prospects.
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16 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
Greybeard - Reminds me of a story, but to be brief I'll skip it and just say that I was once told we cannot say greybeard at work. It is offensive to women, men who can't grow beards, and elderly. Really.
Change is inevitable, it is constant. I know what you are alluding too with the younger folks but you have to adapt in the workplace and hopefully reign things in when they go overboard. The only way you can do that is to be seen as firmly on the team.
Which is why I have to question Granato and Adams on this booing topic. Someone should have explained to the players that this no salute idea was a bad idea. Tit for tat with the fans, your customers, is wrong.
What will Terry Pegula do now that Harrington put it out there? If I were Pegula, Kevyn Adams would be in trouble right now.
No doubt, you have to work with people shaped by the times, or retreat to the farm like Cincinnatus. (I live on a farm, and work remotely.) Unfortunately, it's evident Terry Pegula does not have the acumen to solve the problems his own agency has largely produced. What is utterly lacking is prudential wisdom, which is the capacity to judge what is best for a unique, particular circumstance.
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2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:It’s not about rights. I’m sick of people and their rights. It’s about leadership and accountability - there is none
It’s about an organization that is so bad for so long that the fans cannot take anymore.
It’s about a group of players, coaches, and managers that are collectively OVER THEIR HEADS with little hope in sight
The fans in Buffalo have been too easy if anything.
Again, the common denominator of all of this madness is down in Boca. What does he think? And why would Granato not put a stop to this? Or Adams not put a stop to it? Are they that soft too?
I am the greybeard on a project with a bunch of the Woke types. The juvenile behavior and sense of entitlement is remarkable, and that is not a simple reflection of youth. The culture is damaged in significant ways, and one sees the "snowflake" vibe in a lot of habitual attitudes in an entire generation.
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2 minutes ago, #freejame said:
What’s the point? They’ll just say my cholesterol is high.
Chocolate cake, beer, and salt are good for you. They've been lying to us for years.
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1 hour ago, Mango said:
I honestly don't know what to think about anything anymore.
Like, we clearly lack some bottom end depth/physical play. Guys who play big and tough. Girgs and Okie are part of that problem.
But if a team like Boston, winning the east right now, wants these guys....That said, I think there would be a lot less criticism of these guys if we had a Deslauriers and/or Reaves around.
I do think this team is a couple of clones away from being a lot better. At least the foreword group.
Benson- Thompson - Tuch
Peterka - Mitts - Quinn
Greenway - Mitts - Tuch
Deslauriers - Girgs - Okie/ReavesCloning Mitts is an interesting idea. Maybe they will then trade him, and play him on the 2nd and 3rd lines. I suppose you mean Cozens will play better if he wears Mitts' jersey. I dunno, maybe it will work.
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2 hours ago, Goldseatsaud said:
Deal them. They won’t sniff the playoffs
Either that, or one or both of them will suddenly be rejuvenated, they make the playoffs, through the usual Sabre factor in the known universe, the traded Sabre is supernaturally elevated in the post-season, wins the Cup, and is awarded the Conn Smythe.
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16 minutes ago, SabresBillsFan said:
I just don’t understand this thinking hiring unproven GM and way too many coaches that can talk a good game but not get the players fired up to play every night. This whole coaching staff needs to go and we need a proven tough coach and better assistant coaches. The whole culture needs to change. If I owned this team I would be pissed. I would say this is unacceptable and if you like to keep your job then you better put the work in. What gets me is when you have a winning team your revenue and building start filling up.
The problem with the truly stupid is that they don't know that they don't know. What is exasperating is the combination of stubbornness and apparent apathy.
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58 minutes ago, Night Train said:
Diggs started dropping balls on a regular basis the 2nd half of the season. That was surprising. This whole mercurial act is getting old. While the D needs the most overall help, the O needs WR's with hands. At least 2 more. If some team wants him for a pick, move him. He may be near the end of his good overall play and he has a heavy cap hit. If not, shut up and focus.
Who is going to want to take that cap hit off our hands, and I don't want to pay someone else to take him? I think the best hope with Diggs is that injuries affected the second half of the season, and that he returns to something approximating prior form. He's not the player he was a few years ago, obviously. They need to add a WR early that can grow into a #1, and then at least one more with plus talent. I think Brian Thomas, Legette, maybe Franklin and Worthy are the best options early. I like Mitchell, too, but he lacks explosive burst, and I recently read there are some character and injury concerns with him.
There are a lot of day 2 receivers that are appealing. It's a deep draft at the position, so no excuse not to give Josh more and better weapons. My secret luxury pick, I'd love to get Braelon Allen, a huge power back, at #99.
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11 hours ago, Buffalonill said:
I mean you guys definitely need to make josh happy this year I feel he will ask to be moved aka like Stafford
I'd be surprised, but I suppose it is possible. But I don't think it will come to that. Folks in Buffalo will come with pitchforks for the whole bunch at OBD if that happens.
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21 hours ago, Buffalonill said:
If not Brian Thomas is nice but I feel he's way too much OBJ Personality going to be great but hiss ego Will be his downfall
He might be there at #28. I don't know about his character flaws, but I'll take your word for it. Lot of WR talent in this draft. I think we need to grab several, and one in the first. McD will be tempted to go DL, but they have to prioritize giving Josh premier weapons. He doesn't have the top-flight speed, but Adonai Mitchell is another big receiver I like. He catches everything, so he's an immediate upgrade over Gabe Davis.
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4 hours ago, Buffalonill said:
Do whatever is possible To trade up for Nabers He's Going to be the greatest receiver of all time
I really like him, but I can't see Beane spending the draft capital to make it happen.
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I think he's too qualified for Terry P. to consider, but the nostalgia streak might countervail the resistance to professional competence. Anyway, I vote yes.
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1964, a popular year in these parts
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2 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:
Eagles down 17-0 to the Giants. Yikes what has happened to them?
We broke them. They used up all their zebra karma and good fortune against us.
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2 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:
He's sick and its the holidays, how can anyone fire a coach like that? 😩
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Rumor: Brady Tkachuk available
in The Aud Club
Posted
Rosen, Cozens, Kulich, and next years first.