WhitewalkerInPhilly

Dancer's hip? ... IT'S A LEGITIMATE CONDITION!

I can't believe that the transition from the (honestly weak) D-line last year and what we have this year is without Williams being added. Our numbers a little low from the fact that we laid an egg in Game 1, and in game 2 we got gouged in run yards since we played 1.5 quarters simply making sure the deep pass was gone. Up until then, there was no running game, and in Game 3 we shut down Trent Richardson. Now, you can argue that Anderson or the return of Kyle Williams is doing more, but I still think we have a formidable D-line and Williams is getting better every game he's back.

This thread is probably a lost cause, but if I make a new one it'll be closed in three posts... 1) Pressure on Brady! This is obvious, but it has multiple factors. If, indeed, Logan Mankins is not going to play, the Pats line looks surprisingly weak. After all, this is the group that allowed the Cards to push them around. If we can beat their offensive line with 4 playerss like Wanny likes it gives us two things A) Allows our young CB's support, especially while we're in the nickel, allowing us to double team Welker and B) Forces Gronk to block. Tom Brady had all day Sunday night, but Gronk only had three targets because he was blocking so much. All in all, that takes out Brady's receiving targets and gives us more flexibility to throw in a blitz every so often. 2) Keep the ball running. Yes, Fitz did a pretty good job through the air last week and had his second straight INT free game. But the quickest way for people to get him off balance is BLITZ, BLITZ, BLITZ! An effective run game, and screen game makes the Pats look, and will buy Fitz time. Now, we don't quite know how the injury status of our RB's is.Chan says Jackson should play, but how effective will he be? I don't want Spiller out there if we have a viable option by rotating in Choice and Freddy. After this, we go on a two game road slog against very strong defensive teams (Cards and 49'ers). If we're going to have a chance, both of them need to be healthy. 3) Keep the spread going The spread still plays to our strengths. Our O-line is looking A LOT better this year, but it still prevents teams from stacking the box. Spiller AND Jackson can take it through the middle now and if teams try to cheat, Fitz can audible in a pass play. With that, and a heavy dose of #2 we might actually stand a chance.

The odds of the Patriots putting Mallet in are the odds that the Bills leave Brady mewling with pain and unable to stand. Anything else, and they have him in.

Well, it certainly makes sense geographically. But playing the Steelers and Bengals twice a year is a pretty trick proposition. At least we wouldn't play the Ravens twice a year...

Interesting! It's good to see both Spiller and Jackson practicing. If they can be rotated in with Choice (neither should be made to carry the load if they aren't 90%), we might be able to stay alive on offense. But the Patriots injury report is even more interesting. I think we all knew Hernandez would be out, but if Mankins and Edelman are out this week, that could lead to some possibilities. The Patriots already have a pretty banged up O-line, and they were using Gronk as a blocker in a lot of the Ravens game. (only 2 catches) Without Hernandez, their 2 TE formations aren't as effective, and they've been going 3 WR. If Edelman is out, they are going to be pretty far down their depth chart there as well.

Look, I'm happy for him. I really am. But it's kind of like finding out that your college sweetheart has found someone while you've been shacking up with a someone hotter and lower maintenance. Sure, it would be better to have both at the same time, but probably not worth the inevitable spending.

Yeesh, what is with the Welker hate? Sure, he's reaching the end of his career but he definitely has a decent few years left during which we can recruit a solid WR core. Because, let's face it, our current group is sub-par. A third round pick would be a great deal.

Until I we get corroboration I'm not buying it. The move makes NO sense at this point in the season.

I don't really give a half a hump who won or not. But we're talking about two primetime games on back to back nights with extremely contentious officiating. If this doesn't end the lockout, the next stage may be an all out brawl.

"The Controversy Which Ends the Lockout"

No. Which is why I am paying very close attention to Fred Jackson's injury report. I simply don't see Choice making himself a big enough threat to make the Patriots to do anything besides blitz the crap out of Fitz. If we get Fred back, it opens up more opportunities. We've spent a lot of time with ways to run effectively, and if Freddy is 85%, our offense can do something. Whether or not the D can stop Brady is another matter entirely.

HA! Not to the idea of Bills winning, but after the thrashing just two weeks ago, I would be shocked if they weren't out for blood.

I think Young, unfortunately, has a point. Now, I'm not against having new blood. I wouldn't have a problem if these replacements were being broken in slowly, but they're NOT. They are being handed full control and they are clearly not ready. I'm not talking about missed/blown calls. Those happen with the old refs, on both sides. They are happening more, but if that was the only problem I wouldn't care. What I care about is that games are stretching to crazy lengths. What I care about is that we find out after the fact that refs had clear conflicts of interest. (a Saints fan reffing a Saints game, a ref with an Eagles player starting in fantasy football) What I care about are the scrums which keep erupting (Bills second TD, Ravens/Eagles, MNF). These are all problems, and they are going to get worse until some superstar gets his clock cleaned and we have a new Kevin Everett (if it has to be someone, God forbid, please let it be Brady), field-wide fistfights break out, or someone is proven to be throwing games.

Is the NFC stronger than the AFC? Quite possibly. Does that make this an ideal season for the Bills? I don't think so. We *might* have a slight edge playing the West, which was a weaker division last year but is looking pretty strong now, but I really think the most competition for a spot will come from our own division or the AFC North. With a division loss against the Jets, we're going to have to thrash the Dolphins both times and win at least one more division game to be in the running. The AFC north has cleveland at the lowest rung, but all of them they get to play the Chiefs and Raiders, as well as an aging Peyton Manning learning a new system. I don't think the NFC is going to help with that too much.

The best? I don't know. We still aren't phenomenal at power running. When you watch the game against the Chiefs, most Spiller runs came out of the spread. But there still is something to be said for our rushing strategy (as long as Fitz can make them pay by calling an audible if they keep 8 men in the box) and our pass protection looks good. We've allowed ZERO sacks, and are tied for second in number of QB hits. I think playing Houston and San Fran will tell us exactly how good we are.

Wow, thread resurrection! But indeed, we saw a very different gameplan this time around and I was thrilled. I've been advocating for Spiller for two years now, so I am *thrilled* to see him coming into his own. And Jackson will be coming back in a few weeks, and he's better at power running so I think he'll balance them out. We have two fullbacks, good blocking tight ends and an O-line which has allowed *zero* sacks in two games, has the least number of QB hits, and helps a bevy of runners for 6.4 yards a carry on the ground. I'm sure we've been over this to death, but two weeks in we lead the league in rushing yards, yards per attempt and have the leading rusher. And this has been against a stout Jets run defense and a (considered capable) Chiefs run defense. I'm not worried about being a "run first" offense. You can definitely do it and make the playoffs, as that has been the Ravens and Jets trademark style for years and they have been fairly regular playoff fixtures. What I am worried about is the fact that you need a stout defense, which we don't have yet.

I think there is no doubt that the man in streaky. If you could bottle what he had on those Oakland/New England comebacks last year... But no. I'm entirely happen when "Good Fitz" is able to make some throws, not putting him to too far beyond his comfort zone, and then we run the crap out of the ball to help him. Fitz can also leg it pretty well himself.

I know Ravens fans were livid about some of the calls the refs made, especially calling back a touchdown for "offensive pass interference" when it was the defender. Having one admit he's an Eagles fan...I can hear the Ravens howling already

I love it. The man has done nothing but push for the last two games and has done it well. Did you see the path he cleared for CJ on the second touchdown? Seeing him in action, I would have been happy with him as our first round pick. I'm thrilled to have him as our second.

But at least it will be until after the Bills play them at home. The Pats are coming up on this for their three game stretch with a horrible O-line, meaning more shots on Tom Brady: the Baltimore Ravens at Baltimore (an extremely tough, defensive team), the Bills at home (with the D-line finally coming alive) and then against the Broncos (a Brady/Manning duel). These are all games which I'm thinking NE could realistically lose.

I'm just wondering, since I wasn't getting the Patriots/Cardinals game yesterday, what did they do to make them so effective? They held Brady to one touchdown, had him throw one pick and hit him with four sacks. Has anyone seen a breakdown of the game yet?

Here's hoping that Wanny is looking at that game tape now. Also that Hernandez is out in two weeks.

Again, we shouldn't be too optimistic but seriously we could start making a case. We're still waiting for all the number to come in, but I think Spiller may be the leading rusher in the league at the end of week 2, and he's done it on less than 30 handoffs. He's averaging 10.1 yards a carry. That's a FIRST DOWN a carry. People won't be able to afford treating him as less than elite for long.

I know there was some worry about him protecting the blind side, but the man looked like a stud, both as pass protecting Fitz against Hali and helping Spiller run. Did you see that block he laid out on CJ's second touchdown? Priceless. Gilmore is looking better, but Glenn has looked like a beast against some very good pass rushers.