rpcolosi

you obviously dont understand the difference in playing positions.

here's a very a good assessment of the Bills from ESPN: http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7026017/nfl-power-rankings-overrating-buffalo-bills-new-orleans-saints Sprow's analysis that we are around #9 on power rankings and not 6, is both fair and objective. Our defense still has a lot of holes in it and needs to really shut down a good offense to start showing how complete a team we are. KC does not qualify as a good defensive win. He mentions that we need to stop playing from behind early on but are predicted to win around 10games this year, which he praises.

in hindsight we should probably thank Marv and Co. for Fitz, Stevie, Freddie.... but without Gailey - i dont think this trio ever sees their real potential. Gailey is the whiz in all this, a coach with guts, a chip on his shoulder and a hunger to win while producing great men, not just great players. Completely respect the guy on a Dungy/Reeves/Joe Gibbs level (sans super bowl of course). sure beats "its hard to win in the nfl"

he had our only pressure on brady today. Guy played well. Was held by Solder at least 2 times I saw, one resulting in the TD to Welker to tie it up at the end. People need to stop expecting sacks and start looking at how teams are doubling him up, as happened again today (LT and RB). He's playing well. I suspect he'll sack sanchize a few times.

Getting lost in our hype for having a legit "big 3" on offense and a solid defense (they did as good a job as any on the pats today) - is the fact that Gailey is a hell of a coach. Seriously. He has a great offensive game plan and sticks with it, but knows how to make adjustments, especially at the half. He is out-coaching good football minds. On top of all this, just listening to his press conferences, the man instills good core ideals and principles in his team and players. This is a coach guys love playing for, clearly, who knows football and knows it well. To top it all off, he always talks about his players being good character football players, but unlike levy and jauron - he actually has players of this metal. He doesn't have the lynchs, ko simpsons, etc. He's got hungry, hard working, football savvy guys. I'm not sure its a playoff team yet, but I'll say that Gailey is a very good coach who really should be getting a ton of credit for turning this ship around. So far, Buddy nailed his one (and hopefully only) head coaching hire. Kudos guys. and I should note - DC was going crazy today. Cars honking horns to "lets go buffalo", guys wearing jerseys all over the city. Great to see!

for people wondering why Merriman isn't being "explosive" try teams are game planning for him, and some guys are holding him... our D line is solid, but still got gashed. i'd like to see some blitzes once in awhile.

i agree.... he consistently will play catch up after getting smoked on good routes, then makes plays for the ball instead of just getting between the ball and receiver. I hope we don't bring him back next year, and go with Florecen/Williams/Rogers/Corner/_____ . Heck, bring Yobouty back. next week will be a big test for george wilson and bryan scott covering TEs. Byrd will be alone deep a lot...

CJ Was an effing baller. FJ is the workhorse, but CJ is far, far from a bust. 15+ per carry? Guy is legit and a heck of a running back. Props to him and to Chan. love the use of both of the RBs effectively and setting things up with teh pass. DC is ROCKING!

a couple of big things: 1.) it's even more vital with Troup out that the 3-4 be successful in stopping the run this game. We can't keep KW/Dareus on the field all game in a 4 down lineman set and Heard isn't ready for the big time. 2.) Open the game up the same as last time - spread wide, get their big lineman and LBs in coverage situations and let fitz make quick, short throws. then start running FJ And CJ on draw plays 3.) Gailey has to beat it in their heads that last week is old hat. This team is a 4-12 team, not an undefeated team. People only care about what they do this week. 4.) I actually think a heavy dose of FJ and CJ will do wonders this week. Oak has a big front 7, but they aren't particularly fast outside the box. Getting CJ out on screens and off tackle would be a start. and finally - the crowd. Has to be jacked up, on its game, the entire 4 quarters. I think the 1 less hour of tailgating will give us more life - less guys passed out drunk in the nose bleeds! Win this game, and the Bills sell more tickets into Nov/Dec, gain more media attention, and set up the biggest game the Ralph's seen in years. Not to mention, give a 92yo man a reason to smile while in recovery. I don't care who you are or what oyu think of RW - we should all be praying and wishing the old guy well. It's never, ever fun to see a man that age break a bone and endure rehab. Get well old friend and GO BILLS!

gailey announced he'd be in the booth before the game

expect gailey to counter this with a spread attack again and draw plays with FJ, until they have to respect the pass enough to only put 7 in the box. then we'll move back to a single back or I.

A couple of things... 1.) I worried whether Thigpen was brought here to eventually replace Fitz "on the cheap" for the next few years. I think this will play itself out over the season. If Fitz has a similar season to last a 4 year 30-35mil contract is legit. 2.) Stevie rarely talks about loyalty to the Buffalo community and often hints at "taking care of my family." I love Stevie. I think he's exactly what the Bills need at WR. He's a lot like Andre but with better size - great routes, above average speed, charisma, etc. But I think he is like anyone - he wants to get paid his market value. And being a recording guy, he's the type that likely may want to test the market. Oddly, I think it might be TO and Chad 85 that help push him to stay in Buffalo. CJ played for a small market for awhile but still got paid, and TO seemed to thoroughly enjoy his time here. How this plays out will be very interesting... I think he may get a pretty big deal around 5 years at 30-35. 3.) FJ - I think Fred will have to have a monster season or holdout next year to get paid. It's just what it is. The Bills have had him by the balls due to NFL Europre's ridiculous rules. I'd like to see him get a 4 year, 16mil extension. It isn't a big raise, but doubles his current worth through age 35. It's not Kelsay money, but cutting Kelsay at some point will help foot this bill 4.) Wood, Levitre, Byrd will be next up. I think McKelvin will not be coming back to Buffalo once his deal is up. Finally - a few attractive things the Bills will do to try to keep players here - instead of giving a high annual salary, they will give a nice chunk in guarantees, ala the KW deal. Expect a large portion of Fitz and SJ to be guaranteed but low overall. Not paying Lee or Hangartner immediately frees up "cash" for roster bonuses this upcoming season, which is the move Overdorf uses to keep actual cash dished out consistent from year to year. He gets a lot of crap, but Overdorf is good at managing the numbers and has given us the freedom to spend on homegrown guys. It just comes down to saying invest the money into our guys, and I think, I hope, Nix has convinced Ralph this is the route to go.

do we bring back antonio coleman? Cut someone on the PS to make room for him possible? We'll need another CB with McGee hurt (can we cut him already?), so perhaps a few adjustments are needed, but I for one, if Coleman is still available, would love to have him back.

CJ is a player they will utilize in spots. Fitz will need to trust him when he's lined up in the slot, and we need to do a good job of utilizing him to chip on some downs and get the ball in open space. He's not an every down back, and thats ok. He is a guy that forces teams to account for him and has home run potential on every play. He's still learning his way, but let's not be foolish - it's game 1. Expect to see more of him, with freddi wearing teams down and CJ being able to bounce some outside runs like his TD score yesterday (which was a beautiful, beautiful run play off RT). Spiller and the words maybin/bust should never be in the same sentence. Maybin is a bust, Erik Williams is a bust. I'd even argue Mike Williams wasn't - was he what we needed from a #4 overall? heck no. But he saw the field and played adequately at RT. Maybin and flowers? there are your all time Bills busts. Right now, a good comparison of Spiller is to Eric Mould, IMO.

gailey schemed it to have a rb or te constantly helping bell. pears was left 1 on 1 a lot more. buffalo rumblings will do a nice breakdown of this during the weak im sure. wood whiffed a few times at C on run plays and had the botched snap early. levitre and urbik both looked very solid

the lee evans was moved for money is so stupid. if oyu wanted to save money, cut him before the roster bonus of $1mil kicked in. he should be on WGR with those a$$ clowns. he doesn't deserve to consider himself a jounralist, that would require actual reporting and research.

WGR has been hating on the bills ever since 97 rock got teh Bills games. lets not pretend their management looks at this as anyhting but pushing fans more towards the sabres, and less towards their moneymaker. just don't listen to them so they go out of business already and we get ESPN toronto to move in or something like that.

no one ever mentions this, but he was on pace to have a better year than Lee last season (yards and catch wise). Is it entirely possible the coaching staff was sick of Lee not wanting to run quick slants from the slot? I'm sick of guys like Sully constantly saying its "bean counters" and salary dumps. Look at PRODCUTION in Gailey's system. Lee didn't have it, but Roscoe did! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here! 2010 RP 8gp 33 400 12.1 37 2 20 1 0 2010 LE 13gp 37 578 15.6 54 4 26 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 1

Ahh I hate correcting people, but I guess I need to. Have you watched the Bills at all since spiller was on the team? ie the entire 2010 season? 1a.) He is constantly used as a screen back. 1b.) He is consistently being run off tackle and on toss sweeps (much harder to do in NFL than college) 1c.) did you miss the entire 2010 season where he returned kickoffs? the biggest thing I will agree with you on is running a two back set and splitting him out wide or in the slot. I'd like to see a lot more of that from this team. They utilized him towards the end of last year in that role, like that 30+ yard wheel route against the Pats. They also missed one or two to him like that as well in the season.

i'd rather invest some time trying to develop him than wrotto or howard. he's got size and some lateral agility.

Scouts inc Take: Cousins has been a three-year backup offensive lineman for the Ravens. He is a long-limbed athlete with flexibility and good knee bend. He is a bit of a tweener as he doesn't have great height for a tackle and is not very powerful for an interior offensive lineman. He appears to have improved with his overall technique, hand use and ability to leverage defenders. Cousins has the raw talent and tools to develop into a starting offensive lineman but will need to continue to progress in order to make that next step. I think he'd be a pretty nice addition, simply for depth and to maybe push Bell. He can't be worse than wang or hairston.

The problem has never been overdorf. It's been littman. Overdorf has done a very good job managing contract, esp digging out of the Donahoe mess. All that said, yes we have made some good moves, and really need 1 more solid draft (and a QB) to get this team to challenge for the 2nd best team in our own division. I will say this, however. It's an absurdity how awful our line is. I know its obvious, but after just watching the colts-pack preseason game, even their backups are significantly better than ours (perhaps its the QBs or systems masking weaknesses, but they looked goo). Nix will be wise to get some castoffs from other teams....

what's awesome is that he was part of the same training group as Merriman. Anyone think he might be, gulp, merriman insurance (ie move torbor back outside once shaune goes down)??

i don't fault FJ at all. Is he underpaid. 100%. Should they work to get him extended to age 33 (add 1 year on the contract and bring hte avg up to 3-4mil per). That's a nice pay day for him and a good increase from just over 2mil/per. i'm not an expert, but if he renegotiate to a new 4 year deal at 16mil, thats almost double his current salary, still less than spiller, and friendly enough for a low-mileage 34yo running back. if you're worried, front load the deal. but I agree with him, we should renegotiate. He was in no position to barter last time, and this is likely his last chance to get paid. He's a heck of a RB, and he is going to lose out on millions if the Bills don't renegotiate or trade him. oh - and never win a championship....

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