Punch

That's a terrific story, Promo. I was also at the game, with my father. I still remember the big grin on his face when the PA announcer mentioned that Thurman's 186 rushing yards were a new Conference (both AFC & NFC) Championship Game record---- and when he pointed out how the backs of Derrick Thomas' and Neil Smith's jerseys were soaked from getting knocked on their asses all day; possibly hyperbole on his part, but the point was made--- the Bills dominated the Chiefs that day. We sat in the endzone and all 3 of Thurman's TDs were right in front of us. It's still my fondest memory of attending a Bills game.

You said 1 good game doesn't show consistency--- but he's played 4 good games, which obviously shows some semblance of consistency. I'm not exactly getting excited that Fitz is our franchise QB, I'm saying he's been generally consistent in 4 starts. He was obviously talking about Brees' early career struggles. If you want to take the win on this one because he mistakenly typed "before New Orleans", then have at it.

I understand that he said "before New Orleans", but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that when he referred to Brees' early struggles with San Diego he was referring to the actual seasons in which he struggled, which roughly correlate to the same number of starts as Fitzpatrick at the beginning of 2010. I may have conflated the point because it's specifically been discussed in other threads, but that's the way I took it.

Comparing 13 seasons of NFL accomplishments to those of a 22 year old kid that should still be in college like Maybin is not really an apt comparison. I hate hate hated the draft pick and don't necessarily feel he will ever live up to expectations--- but if you're going to compare him to London Fletcher it should be in the proper context: Fletcher only started one game his rookie year and contributed next to nothing overall (just like Maybin). And although he attended a Division III school he did stay for 4 years (unlike Maybin and part of why he was a terrible draft choice). Fletcher did start at the beginning of his 2nd season but didn't exactly light the league on fire. Fletcher had 2 extra years of college experience and a full year of physical development on Aaron Maybin. If anything, this comparison says the Bills should give him time to develop rather than cut him outright, because he could potentially blossom into an NFL player as Fletcher did--- the expectations are just much higher for the 11th pick in the draft than they are for a DIII hopeful. Again, I'm not optimistic that it will happen but I'm not going to rush to toss him to the side.

Donte Whitner would be the Ronnie Lott of the "Twitter Defense".

Troup is playing pretty well already, but Carrington so far is a work in progress. That doesn't mean the linebackers aren't a mess (although I like Moats' progress, too.

I'm pretty sure the poster was referring to Brees' first 2 seasons as a starter where he clearly struggled, which you left out, and which also roughly equate to the same number of starts Fitz had prior to this season: year atts comps pct yards avg tds ints rating 2003 205 356 57.6 2,108 5.9 11 15 67.5 2002 320 526 60.8 3,284 6.2 17 16 76.9

I'm talking about the reaction from the media, which bounces back and forth between castigation and coronation. I think the reality lay somewhere in between. I'm not declaring him a "true #1", but he makes plays when the quarterback gets him the ball. It's not alchemy.

Lindell did struggle early on with the Bills at times, and I think it was between the 2004 and 2005 seasons that he altered his plant foot slightly during field goal attempts. He was a completely different kicker after that and I've always associated the change with the adjustment to his kicking mechanics.

Yeah, it's strange that there have been so many threads/posts commenting on how terrific Fewell is doing in NY--- don't the Giants have, arguably, the best front 7 in the NFL? It's interesting that he's doing so well now and I didn't dislike him all that much when he was here, but his success with the NY Giants wouldn't equate to success with the current Buffalo roster. I don't see how it's debatable, nor was it possible for him to remain as merely the DC after serving as the interim HC.

Do you not think Fitz has been generally consistent during each of his 4 starts this season? His QB rating was at 99 (not that stats tell the whole story) before the Baltimore game and there were some fans already calling for him to be the guy, possibly longterm. The Baltimore game was much better than his previous 3 starts but he certainly wasn't doing terribly before.

It's interesting how all of a sudden "Lee Evans is a premier receiver", as the article mentions. All it takes is for a QB to trust him and throw the ball his way and he's no longer a waste of money and trade fodder. Maybe he's not "worth" the exorbitant salary, but when he's involved in the offense he makes plays. Another thing to credit Chan for, as far as I'm concerned.

It's specifically in regards to a college football promotion, but Schopp and the Bulldog have implied they'll be asking some "uncomfortable" questions relating to Doug's tenure in Buffalo. http://player.streamtheworld.com/_players/entercom/player/?id=WGR And... another whiff! Nothing controversially at all. Everytime they have an opportunity to ask the tough questions, despite their constant harping on particular subjects such as Flutie, they balk. It's understandable I suppose, but still, they seemed to give the impression the segment would be a little more... colorful.

Not saying video of the breasts shaking was disgusting... just wanted to be clear.

She's a delicious dish, that's for sure!

What's even more ridiculous is the fact that Joe Flacco, obviously from the same game, was nominated. Flacco, passing at home against probably the worst defense in the NFL, as opposed to Fitz on the road against the 3rd ranked D. Of course Fitz had 2 interceptions and Flacco had 0*, and the Ravens also won the game... which are likely the main reasons. I bet if the Bills won Fitz would win the vote outright.

Who is that in your avatar: Hayden Panettierre?

If you're thinking about the Romo injury last night I think that's actually the perfect example of an injury where a QB was in a dramatically vulnerable position after delivering a pass. I don't know that any NFL player, regardless of position, wouldn't sustain an injury after having his shoulder driven into the ground.

Moats and Coleman have already been mentioned as deserving reps--- for the record, Moats and Maybin are both 22, having been born one month apart, and Coleman is 24. Maybin is a kid. Moats certainly showed more against Baltimore than Maybin has shown in his entire career combined--- but he is still one of the kids. That is literally all he has going for him at this point, and why he was the focus of this thread.

I think most of us do... I certainly would like to see him get more touches. I also think Chan is bringing him along this way intentionally. Did you see Rob Gronkowski ignore his blitz pickup assignment last night for Dallas? Tony Romo has a broken clavicle and is out for 8-10 weeks--- ie, the season. Spiller was awful in that regard, but has steadily improved. IMHO, giving him the ball 20-25 times per game this early in the year will not dramatically alter the Bills fortunes for 2010 but will only serve to add unnecessary miles to his treads. He should be getting those kinds of touches by the end of the season, so we can enter 2011 with a complete, all around, and confident RB. Maybe it's not the approach a lot of teams have taken, but I think it's reasonable considering the current state of the team. If he's still averaging 4 rushing attempts per game in a few weeks, I'll be pretty disappointed. For now, not so much.

It's safe to say the Bills aren't contending for a Super Bowl in 2010---- there are a number of young raw and unproven players in the front 7 on this roster that could use some development time. It's reasonable that the coaching staff use the rest of the year to determine whether or not Maybin and others (Moats, Coleman, Troup, Carrington) can contribute in the NFL. I'm not optimistic that it happens in the case of Mayhem, but the OP isn't completely off base in speculating that there may be a shred of a chance the light goes on for him. To this point, Aaron Maybin has been useless--- to that we all agree. In all likelihood, that's how his NFL career will end. But there are still a few more weeks this season to be absolutely 100% certain.

More condescension, eh? I feel you.

Maybe it's not on page 3 of the discussion but they've already been brought up earlier in the thread.

He'll likely survive the week, but not the season.

Are you saying Edwards was responsible for him not getting on the field or just that Trent couldn't make him look good enough to justify his presence as a regular? Either way, I lump Stevie in with Fred Jackson and Jabari Greer before him: quality guys that astute fans were clamoring for which were nonetheless summarily ignored by Jauron and company until injuries struck or it was obvious they deserve a shot.