thurst44

works for me

Or it's just as simple as they know Tyrod is the QB and want to see whether EJ is worth keeping as a backup.

You mean like the three drives in the 4th quarter to essentially win the game last week? You mean his absurdly good td to turnover ratio? Fans' expectations for QB are insane, but then again, there were people pulling for Reich to start back in the 90s. EJ is playing because they want to see what they have in him as to whether he's worth bringing back as a cheap back-up. It's probably as simple as that.

47 tds vs. 15 turnovers, 100 qb rating in last 4 of 5 games, yes, considering the line of crap quarterbacks we've had over the last few years, I would like to not hastily move on, particularly when the best options include Mike Glennon or a 3-year injured 37yo Tony Romo.

It took Bill Belichick over a decade to make it to DC. Andy Reid took 15 years. Adam Gase has had a pretty impressive first year; he also started in 2000 and only became an OC in 2013. It's actually pretty standard length of rise . Ok, maybe it doesn't usually take a millennia, but it should be something that he's both seemingly immortal and had a football job 850 years before the sport was invented.

Define "well." Last year, he was the most accurate for throws of 40 or more yards. He has 37 tds against 12 ints. He's had a QB rating of over 100 in four of his last five games. Numbers aren't everything, but he's in his second year and at some point we have to give a guy a real chance, especially one who has been performing at this level.

In most cases, I'd agree, but the announcers implied that their kicker had suffered from a bit of the yips, so the spontaneous nature of this kick probably helped him. It was the perfect time to freeze him.

Well, I agree that he should have a new staff. I doubt he would keep Thurman, and there's a good chance he'd want to put his own mark on the team. As a rookie head coach, I'd love to see him with a veteran DC. C'mon Philly, overreact with Doug Pederson so we can bring back Schwartz. Not to derail this convo (but many have already brought this in), but what the heck does Tyrod have to do to show "progress"? He had 3 tds/0 ints and 329 yards and brought them back from a huge deficit (not his fault his coach couldn't call a timeout to ice a yippy kicker). 4 of his last 5 games he's had a passer rating above 100, and his total tds/total turnovers is beyond impressive. Also, this schedule was hardly "baby soft." At worst, it was average and they played to their schedule's averageness. They played eight teams with winning records and eight teams with losing records. They had three west coast trips, which is insane. On the other hand, that was balanced a bit by a game where they came off their bye against a Bengals team on short rest. And I know there's going to be people who are going to talk about how dooooooomed we are for next year because next year's teams are impossible where this year's schedule was easy.

You mean his 37 tds against 12 interceptions, with well over 1000 rushing yards and 10 rushing tds? He was the most accurate qb on passes over 40 yards last year. He's in his second season and as has been shown in other threads has comparable stats to many elite qbs over his first two years as a starter. I'm not saying he's elite, or will be so. Nor am I saying that he does not have flaws. But if we're going to ever have a franchise qb, we have to actually give them a chance. I just can't help but feel if he were not wearing a Bills uni and had the same bonafides, some fans who trash him mercilessly here would be falling over themselves to replace whatever qb we did have.

No, I'm in New York, the Jets are truly as bad as their record indicates. Not that the Bills should take them lightly, nor could they not lose (or beat the Steelers, Raiders, and Fins and lose to the Browns and Jets, for that matter).

I predicted 3-2 ... ... and got as many games wrong as possible for that result (only picked the Cards game right). So I'm going with either Bills 59, 49ers 15 or 49ers 21, Bills 20. (just a gut feeling either the Bills blow them away out of the gate Michigan v. Rutgers style with McCoy, Taylor, and Gillislee combining for an obscene amt of yards, or Bills start slowly, 49ers terrible run D finds its groove, and we can't quite make it back to tie and lose in classic heartbreaking fashion).

Hughes and McCoy should be no-brainers. If Zach Brown and Lorax continue to lead in tackles and sacks, they could sneak in despite not being household names (especially Lorax if he racks up a few more sacks as his story could become a national legend between the nickname and his affability). Darby is getting a fast rep. Kyle is playing at the level of his past pro bowl years, but not building stats; however, he could still make it on rep. I could see Cordy Glenn finally making it from the line. If I were to guess now: Hughes, McCoy, Darby, K. Williams, Glenn. Or, the correct answer: None. They will all be busy getting ready for the Super Bowl!!!

Was just about to create my first topic ever with something like this. This is where Whaley earns his pay ... picking up players -- high picks who have underachieved -- on the cheap. Also, while he's not the best on the team, let's not forget The Lorax ... a friggin' 33-year-old journeyman known for special teams and he beat out Manny Lawson for the starter spot and has 4 sacks (along with tremendous special teams play). I half-jokingly predicted he would get 10 sacks after his pre-season, and he may just do that.

ok, bleep the idea that this season is over!!!!

And they might have just won it...

Walter Powell!!!!

Ha, just texted that exact thing to a friend!

This is why we can't have nice things (or don't deserve nice things, or something banal like that). Seriously, we constantly whine for this QB who will save us, but when a QB comes along who in his first season's worth of games has 23 tds, 7 ints, and nearly 600 rushing yards, we're ready to throw him to the curb for the next thing b/c of two games -- one of which wasn't all that terrible and included two accurately thrown scores of over 70 yards.

How do you figure?

Neither Gilmore nor Revis can cover third WRs apparently

Talk about a reversal of fortune!!!!

Actually, the Bills started 0-4 in 2004, then 1-5, and just missed the playoffs. You're pretty much right, but absolutes bug me more than they should...every time!

Fair enough, but I don't know that I agree with your premise here that the only way to win is with an aggressive passing offense. If all great teams have this, while it does mean you should build with strong cornerbacks and an impressive pass rush, but there is a logic that you go against the prevailing grain. However, Sunday's game doesn't really help my argument here, so we'll see. Hopefully, Watkins playing through pain can exploit Revis the way he has in the past (and the way Green did last week) and they run a balanced offense. Again, this was just one game, a concerning game, but nevertheless just one at the beginning of the season. And it's not like Tyrod has never thrown long in the past. Wasn't he the most accurate QB on passes above 40-yards last year.

This makes sense. Concern makes sense to me. Cujo will be tested. Then again, we've faced the Jets DL before and lived. Although, I'll admit, if you're worried, I'm a bit more worried, as like 538 in politics (which as it says above is relatively rosy for the Bills, and started off with them as 8-8) you always strike me as one of the most level-headed posters .

Actually, the last two years we won the opening game, in a blowout and in a rousing comeback fashion, so what pattern? They're actually still a game over .500 in the last two seasons and a game. It's not that I don't see that they looked bad, it's just this hyperbolic nonsense of hopelessness when football is historically a game where teams just have bad games sometimes. Plus, everyone is convinced that the offensive malaise of one game is permanent, yet there's no positive features to the fact the defense actually had a great game, particularly given how long they had to be out there given all the 3-and-outs. Let's see how Thursday goes at the VERY least before defining this team based on one game. Perspective: I went to a game where the Bills lost to the Dolphins 37-10 at home (it was raining and i had a killer cold and tests the next day, so sucked all around) and were embarrassingly outplayed. The Bills went to the Super Bowl that year.