shoretalk

It comes down to coaching ... we have players who are at least minimally capable of playing in the NFL. In fact, I would argue that this is far from being the worst collection of defensive players in Bills' history but I have never ever seen a team more poorly prepared to play in game situations. The schemes are confusing if they even exist. If Edwards is not fired the day after the season ends then something is terribly wrong. I'd fire him now ... hire Merriman as interim coach and have him draw up schemes on a chalk board because at least he'd fire up the team. I really cannot blame our injury devastated offense because they know that every time they give up the ball our Defense is going to allow the opposition to have a time consuming drive that usually leads to a score and then the opposition's defense comes back with fully charged batteries to attack our offense.

Those are excellent choices but it really comes down to one major flaw: When you have a defensive scheme that never stops an opposing offense then the rest of the team will lost its ability to go out and win games. I really believe the talent is there to at least on occasion cause a few three and out's but EDWARDS just doesn't know what he is doing. I have never had a season when I felt so disconnected from my team. Maybe the early start when everyone was healthy is responsible but I can't watch them ... I think we needed Merriman more than we realized as an on-field cheer leader and inspiration. He could coach better than the crew we have now. Where's the pride? Where's the agressiveness? When we stopped the Chargers before the fake punt it seemed like the D was fired up but then they just slumped back.

I will place myself in the group that was soooooooo wrong about Miller. Watching him last night had me thinking of all my comments about hoping that Denver would pick him because I didn't think he'd be a great pro ... I was wrong but I won't be trading my Dareus' jersey in either. I think both of these guys will be travelling to some Pro Bowls together. But, I will admit when I was wrong and this time I was soooooooooooooooo wrong. Go BILLS ... and Go Bronco's (until they play the Bills).

Well ... yea, I have 'Buffalo Pride!' Clearly Colin is not going off the ESPN airwaves unless his ratings collapse and his brand of 'let's talk colin' rather than let's talk sports goes counter to the other programming on ESPN. However, my point is that for all the whining about Cowherd, Buffalo fans living in Western New York can have an impact as to whether WGR carries the show or not. I realize that this might be a hard concept for you to understand but local businesses are trying to sell to local customers and if their business is associated with something that the local market does not like then they can lose customers. Therefore if a significant number of customers (Again, it is clear from your posting that you may not understand all of this but others do.) inform a local business or businesses that they will not 'do business' with them because of the negative association there is a good chance the business will disassociate. That's happening today on ESPN as a major advertiser did not want to be associated with the Penn State game.

He is less than a mediocre talk show host whose personal ego exceeds that of any other talker on ESPN radio/tv. Once again I urge my friends in Buffalo to pressure the management of the station that includes coward on their schedule to take him off. Write and call local advertisers and ask them if they support someone who puts Buffalo down. I just don't listen to the man when he comes on the air ... I gave him a couple of tries but between his ego and his hate of Buffalo it was a simple decision to just not listen.

And JOHN Y BROWN ... we had a winning team with great attendance ... they dump the players and blame poor attendance for stealing the team from Buffalo. Loved the Braves ... haven't been to an NBA game since and am so celebrating the mess the league is in now!

This is truly a defining game because if we win there should be no doubters left ... however, I just heard an interview on Rochester radio where the guest basically said we haven't played any team with a decent defense so far. The Jets are rested and drooling so this is a game where the 12th man and the team have to be on their game! I so wish I could be amongst the 70,000 ... The defense has to make a statement ... the offense has to use its repetoire and we can shut Ryan up.

Frankly .... I expect the team to speak for itself! The ZEBRA's cannot overcompensate the work of a team that plays its heart out and doesn't make mistakes. This may be the worst year of officiating ever! And, the Bills really have been victimized by bad calls as much as other teams in the league. I heard a theory that the ref's are on such an overload from all the new petty and bureaucratic rules that it is almost impossible to officiate any more. They have too many things to worry about plus the camera is always on them so they are doing double and triple checks in their minds rather than just making the call! So, I say ... it's up to Chan and even more so Edwards and the team to bring about this victory on Sunday! GO BILLS ...

are you CRAZY????? First, the cost would be prohibitive. Who is going to pay for a dome? You talk to your local version of the reactionary tea club? They are not about to endorse a tax increase to cover a domed entertainment center and if you think there are a collection of us anxiously wishing we could pay a seat license fee for a ten game season you really are crazy. I don't know any football fan who does not compliment the sight lines at THE RALPH and I have never felt like I was sitting in a second rate stadium (To me football is an outdoor game and the Bills get an advantage with our weather that only wusses can't tolerate while watching a game.). The walls are not crumbling ... the toilets work ... and the food has improved. I go to a football stadium to see a football game ... even as I have gotten older I know how to dress for bad weather days and nothing is more glorious than to sit in the stadium with the sun shining down on a beautiful fall day! And, we sell out THE RALPH so a dome wouldn't bring in more fans. Actually a winning team creates more fans ... So ... no no no to a dome! If we could travel back in time 40 years then I would say a Falls stadium would be my second choice of a location right after one in downtown Buffalo. I hope that 10 years from now I will still be travelling to THE RALPH to get one of the best ticket deals in the NFL and cheer on my team! That will hopefully be relishing memories of the FITZ led Super Bowl teams!

It is truly amazing how WRONG this board's naysayers were about the offensive line's potential. Time is a key ingredient in the development of a lineman and they do not always succeed in their first professional setting. However, if you let them go through their mistakes and provide good coaching then amazing things can happen. I think those who used the excuse that Fitz gets the ball off quickly have started to notice the holes this line is providing for Freddie plus the continued protection against the best pass rushers the league has to offer. We have a group of seven that might be the best in the NFL. Wood is having a pro-bowl year at center and Levitre is just incredible. But then there is Pears who just does everything right and Urbik and Hairston and Reinhart plus Bell has been solid. Buddy and Chan ... have to give them credit. The naysayers need to choose another team to whine about because this line is going to blow out the opposition game after game!

It was also clear that Aikman has some major issue with Gailey. His partner in the booth kept saying good things about Chan's time in Dallas but Aikman tried to dminish them ... perhaps he is on Jerry Jones' payroll still.

since two of their remaining games are with the Bills and since they are the Dolphins ... there is no way in the world I would cheer for the Dolphins ... I love it that all those brilliant experts who picked the Bills for a solid last and that the Dolphins would be in the race are so so wrong. Would be wonderful for the FISH to end up with no wins ... SQUISH EM!!

Frankly Nix is not under any gun ... except the misfocused shotgun sights of the naysayers on this board. What Nix has done primarily through his selection of Chan Gailey but also in his successful idenification of quality non-drafted players is change the mindset of One Bills' Drive into a 'WE ARE WINNERS' attitude. Nix's return is when things began to change. It is the rare draft pick who will be an instant superstar and in fact it usually takes college players a few years before they make an impact on the field. And, he has brought in free agents with attitude (Even Merriman who might not be playing has been a major contributor towards teaching mindset and to helping recruit a player like Barnett.). Having players who can step in when injuries occur is a true mark of a general manager who knows what he is doing. Just look at Green Bay last year. I have no problem seeing our young players get in the game because the original starters go down and what I like is that they are having an impact. THE NIX CREW: Nick Barnett, Danny Batten, Alex Carrington, Scott Chandler, Marcell Dareus, Andra Davis (Again, his impact has been in his teaching skills to the young players more than on the field), Dwan Edwards, Chris Hairston, Kellen Heard, Spencer Johnson (I think Nix brought him in), Donald Jones, Shawne Merriman, Arthur Moats, Kirk Morrison, David Nelson, Eric Pears, Chad Reinhart, Justin Rogers, Naaman Roosevelt, Da'Norris Searcy, Kelvin Shepherd, Brad Smith, Lee Smith, CJ Spiller, Torrell Troup, Kraig Urbik, Chris White, Johnny White, and Aaron Williams. I left out Thipen because he was really Gailey's pick and also some of our new free agent pick ups. But, not a bad group of 29 players who Gailey has been able to mix in with the likes of FITZMAGIC, FREDDY, STEVIE, Kyle WILLIAMS, WOOD, LEVITRE, and company. A new BILLS ... a new ATTITUDE ... and it's time for you NAYSAYERS to head off to Miami for a team that reflects your approach towards football and life!

For all you dreamers and schemers ... T Boone is 83 years old! Unless he plans to will some of his fortune to Thurman we have nothing to get excited about. Pickens if I remember right is a big OSU fan ... and Thurman is a OSU hero. But, if Thurman can convince T Boone to give Thurman and/or Kelly a small little package of a billion or so to buy the Bills ... that wouldn't be too bad and heck, T Boone can't spend all he has in the time he has left anyhow.

Can't believe I fell for it too ...

Unfortunately, it seems every broadcast crew is not able to accept that the Bills have the talent to be winning. Nothing was worse than the Cincy game and Tasker was part of that broadcast team; those two made me ill. Remember, Billick and Rosen were playing to the big city market ... that's what the NFL cares about most!

We threw everything short because that is how you beat the Eagles ... a bad offensive line is not part of a team that is regularly putting up more than 25 points a game. Time to recognize that we have a solid starting five with two strong back ups.

Who is Poz? The guy on Jacksonville who is having trouble covering rb's and te's out of the back field and always running after ball carriers instead of into them?

It's funny ... but if Jones is out for a while ... I think TO works for us ... better than RUVELL MARTIN ... although I love Namaan proving he belongs out there with the big boys!

Frankly we won the game because of the way we played in the first half, Gailey's game plan stuck it to the Eagles and Wilson played some incredible football. To be so overly critical and then say we won it because of that one interception follows the pattern where you can say we lost every game even though we won it or we won every game even though we have a losing record (something that was just said on the Eagles post game show). The Eagles play-by-play man, Merrill Reese, screamed that the game was handed to the Bills on the offside. Obviously, we have some serious defensive problems to resolve but I am so thankful we made the choice of Gailey as our head coach! We are 4-1, a third of the way through the season ... who would have thought? GO BILLS!!!!

Alright, I am still the glass half full guy and I had a gut feeling that today would be the ending of that undefeated season of ours. Hard to imagine having to do interviews with media around the world and not get too full of oneself. But, as I watched today's game there were three things that truly turned my stomach and I am waiting for recover to set in. #1. The officiating. The call, which overruled the first call on the field, that Stevie Johnson had trapped the first down catch had not credibility at all unless someone had money on the game. Every replay angle countered the call that he had either trapped it or never had control. The referees reversed game momentum ... and frankly did a horrendous job with the entire game. #2. The broadcast crew. Sadly, Steve Tasker was one of the duo. Is he afraid to tell his partner that he is full of it when he rants on and on about the Bills not being good. At one point of the game one of them said that the "Bills were really losing the game because you can't count an interception ..." They were almost as bad as the officials. #3. The defensive game planning and strategy. I agree with another posting about McKelvin in that I can't figure out what Florence is not covering the #1 guy. McKelvin is lost out there ... he has no football sense and is going to continue to cost us. But, the entire defense seems comfortable laying back and letting other teams march up and down the field. These are bigger players and supposedly more aggressive ones but we have seen three teams in a row move without difficulty against these Bills. And, if New England had gotten the ball back sadly I think they would have scored again. Not totally in a panic mode ... and think we can beat the Eagles but those 'BIRDS' are going to be playing desperate football next week at THE RALPH. The question is ... will our Bills D play just as desperate?

:thumbsup:

JOHNSON's (available nationally) has some really good ones ... of course when I am in Buffalo got to have my SAHLEN's dogs and I don't think they make WHITE HOTS.

Who is that Maybin you noted? I have no memories of a football player by that name. If I remember correctly he had a role in a fright film from the last decade but I have relegated him to an asterisk.

The Bills have one of the best (if not the best) Red Zone conversion rates in the league. It takes a strong OL to accomplish that. To the naysayers, I join the chorus asking you to name a couple of lines that are clearly better than the Bills' OL. And, don't say it's just three games or use last year's line play as your defense. If you don't think we are one of the 3 or best OL's in 2011 then state who is ... be bold rather than just choosing to be the half-empty glass person who can't ever support the team you claim you are a fan of.