vincec

Bob Sanders doesn't do it. He's hurt more often than Poz is. You're right about the front 7 though.

I was a little surprised by the Ravens defensive strategy. I didn't count or anything, but there didn't seem to be many blitzes at all. Not what I think of when I think of the Ravens. In fact, I saw a fair amount of 3 man rush. I think that Fitzpatrick proved that he's too good to play that way. I think the Bills will be seeing a lot more pass rush in the coming weeks. Then we'll see what the OL looks like.

Exactly. If there is a franchise type HOF player available then you draft him. If there isn't, then who would want the 1st overall pick with the giant salary? If the Bills don't see anyone worth drafting, with all of their needs, then odds are no one else will either.

I would like to hear Gailey give an explanation about Carrington. I wasn't crazy about the pick but he looked OK during training camp. What happened that he's not even active???

Those are some well reasoned points that you make. It's hard to believe that more people are swayed by your arguments.

The coaching staff really botched some of its initial moves, no way to soft peddle it. Edwards as the starter, the switch to the 3-4, Cornell Green, and not starting Fred Jackson come immediately to mind. At least they are not afraid to say "my bad" and move on.

Here's Draftek's big board: http://drafttek.com/2011players.asp There's only one QB in the top 10 and he's probably not coming out. The top rated player is a DE, and there is a DT, OT and OLB in the top 10 so yeah I think that you can find someone to draft. What makes any of the "draft a QB at all costs" fans think that a QB will be the best available player available? It's ridiculous to say that taking a QB will be the best thing to do with the #1 pick at this point in the season. 1) you don't even know who will be available for the draft (e.g. Luck) 2) the college season isn't even over yet and players haven't gone through the combine (when draft positions always move around) 3) the current starter is probably the Bills best player on offense 4) you don't know if there is a player at another position that will grade out higher than a QB (se point #2 above). If you can reasonably respond to these items, I'm listening.

The best available front seven defensive player, regardless of position... unless you see a HOF caliber OT on the board, then you take him.

Open your eyes. Keep the guys who are playing well and replace the guys who aren't. It's not rocket science. Drafting a QB in the first round when you already have one who is playing well is like taking a RB when you already have two solid starters. How about drafting someone at the myriad of positions where the Bills are obviously weak like OT, OLB, DE.

How about Jack Del Rio when he gets fired in Jacksonville? I know he's not a 3-4 guy but he did a pretty good job as Carolina's DC and he has a ton of experience.

Fitz has 8 games left to make his case, but he's doing it so far. If he keeps playing like this, the Bills will not draft his replacement. He will be the guy.

He won't go until the end of the year so he still has time to show something, but he hasn't looked good so far. Coaching is critical. Look at what Gailey has done with the offense using basically the same personnel as last season. In fact, they are arguably worse personnel wise without T.O.

I think the NFL is playing this right. Keep the helmets and face masks. If people use them as a weapon, then eject them from the game + a one game suspension for first offense. I love hearing defensive players complaining about rules put in to protect offensive players. Maybe the NFL should bring back crack back blocks to the knees or double team blocks where one player holds up an offensive player and another takes his knees out.

They're trying to put their best front 7 players versus the run on the field at the same time. That's why Kelsay is in there along with four other linemen and that's why Poz is playing OLB- to get them on the field. The apparently think that they are both better than Torbor. Frankly, I think it's a crock. My first approach would be to play a lot more cover 0 and use 8 and 9 men in the box vs the run- try to stop it with numbers. I mean, they're supposed to have some good secondary players, right? They should try and get something out of that. I also agree about Kelsay playing DE.

It'll be an ass whooping. When you have a team only meeting and only one guy says anything (and he's in his first year with the team), I doubt that hanging a quote from an opposing player in the locker room will wake any extra emotion. It's pretty clear to me that the team knows they're bad and that they have no confidence. I seriously doubt that they believe they can beat the Ravens for any reason.

A glimmer of hope for the future.

It'll be an ass whipping, no doubt, but I don't think it'll be the most lopsided. Baltimore's offense isn't strong enough to hang more than 35 points against the Bills, so I think that the Bills will keep it closer than the Packers game.

Right back at you slick.

No. In the NFL offensive linemen cannot go downfield and block until a pass behind the line of scrimmage has been completed. If the do, then they are ineligibly downfield. This makes is difficult for them to get into position to make their blocks on most quick screens. In college (and high school), linemen can block downfield on any pass behind the line of scrimmage as soon as the ball is snapped (and defensive players can hit any offensive player that is coming at them until a pass is thrown). That is why you see so many bubble screens and jailbreak screens in college but very few in the NFL. #1 is basically what they allow in the CFL. It's a lot of fun to watch and allows for much more creativity, IMO. Granted, it would give the offenses a tremendous boost. The should at least allow offensive players to be moving before the snap as long as they are not going forward. This would eliminate much of the advantage while still allowing for more creativity in play design. It would also eliminate the ridiculous "false start" penalties. Unless an offensive player crosses the LOS, there should be no penalty, IMO. I mean, what's the big deal by a tackle flinching? What advantage has he gained over the defense? Especially when the defense can do it without penalty. Cool. There are lots of good ideas in this thread!

It's not related to the original post, but what strikes me from the article is how far off the current NFL trends the Bills defense is. Speed over size? More stunts? Blitzing from all angles? The Bills are busy rolling the clock back to the 1980s.

I agree. Merriweather's hit was outrageous. As another poster pointed out it was a pure head butt. He didn't even hit him with any other part of his body. He basically jumped up and head butted the receiver. Ridiculous. A blatant attempt to injure.

All I'm saying is they are definitely NOT "great." Great players make the players around them better. I don't see the Bills secondary doing that.

Here's a couple from me: 1) Allow multiple members of the the offensive team to be in motion before the snap, including forward motion. It makes no sense that the defense can be jumping around, changing looks, showing "amoeba" defenses while the offense gets called for illegal motion if they flinch. 2) Also, allow offensive players to block downfield on throws behind the line of scrimmage like the do in college.

This. Tom Brady's QB rating last week was around 69 and he is better and has much more to work with than Fitzpatrick. I want to know one thing, however, if Fitzpatrick plays well will any of the people who slam him reconsider their opinion of him or will they just spin it to fit in their view of the world?

If our secondary was really great then they would at least be a middle of the pack group without a pass rush. Almost anyone can look good with a strong pass rush in front of them. Great DBs make their pass rush look good by making the QB hold the ball- at least once in a while.