Utah John

This is what getting better looks like. Sometimes teams get to this point and slip back, and sometimes they keep getting better. A winning record is nice, like shaking hands with your sister.

Chan Gailey for OC. I think the bigger question is, who will be the DC next year? Schwartz will be a HC somewhere. Possibly Buffalo depending on how Doug v Doug works out.

The trade never made sense from a football perspective. Yes we got a QB and WR, but we gave up a QB and WR (Glenn Bass). Lamonica and Kemp were two different QBs forcing defenses to be ready for either one. Flores was more like Kemp, and both Flores and Kemp were nearing the ends of their careers, so we quickly went into the abyss that didn't end till Joe Ferguson showed up. We liked the abyss so much we went back in until Jim Kelly showed up. Apparently we're convinced the abyss has our name on it because we've been there ever since. I don't know whether the stories about Lamonica's chasing women were true. I grew up in West Seneca, and used to drive past some apartments on South Fisher Road, and my Dad always said that's where Lamonica lived. Those apartments never looked like much (they're still there) so from a bachelor pad perspective I think he could have done better.

As productive as Watkins has been -- and setting franchise records under these circumstance certainly qualifies -- I think he's not playing to his potential. Instead of running his routes full out and expecting the ball to be where it's supposed to be, he's at 90% of full speed because he knows he will usually have to make an adjustment to complete the catch. Most of the key big catches this year have been balls higher than they should have been where the receiver stopped running and leaped up to make a great acrobatic catch. Well that's exciting and all, but usually that means not many YAC, and in time it will get our WRs killed. EJ and Orton are just about equally guilty of this.

There aren't enough people in the world good enough to be starting pitchers to fill all the rotations on all the major league baseball teams, and there aren't enough people in the world good enough to be franchise QBs in the NFL. The teams that have those franchise QBs are the ones in the playoffs -- just look at the standings. Half the league is moaning about their deficient QBs, Until we fix this, and beat out all the other wannabees in the same situation we're in, we'll be scratching at the door. It's great to have a strong defense for a change, but we need one of those good QBs. If you want to talk about panicking, look what Washington gave up to get RGIII. Granted that poor guy was seriously screwed by his coach, ruining his career to play in a playoff game instead of protecting his body and going for long-term success. But RGIII has shown he doesn't really have the vision or judgement to make it as a top-notch QB. The Skins gave up the store and now the cupboard is bare. Maybe it didn't make sense to give up so much for Watkins without already having the answer in hand at QB. Sure it would be nice if we could wait for Beckham and keep the first next year. But odds are the Bills would have screwed that up, and next year's as well. At least now they've got the really good #1 WR they've needed since Eric Moulds left. Or Andre Reed left, take your pick.

Orton wasn't superior. EJ was inferior. There's a difference.

A couple of points. First, the Bengals won last night which I think would have eliminated the Bills already even if they beat Oakland. That's no excuse for losing to Oakland, but the Raiders are turning it around at the end of the season like a lot of crummy Bills teams used to do. Anyway it was the Houston and KC games, not the Oakland game, that sunk the Bills this year. Those two losses were inexcusable. Second, maybe it's rose colored glasses, but I see a much better team this year than last year, particularly D and ST. The offense has good to great skill positions except QB, and a bad line. The guards are lousy -- did you see Urbik completely fail on getting out to block for a screen on Sunday? -- and the tackles and center are only average. It will take a big investment to get the O line up to average. Third, Orton played like a wuss the last month. One play on Sunday, he ran backwards at least 10 yards because the pocket had collapsed. Only when he noticed that no one was chasing him did he turn around and make a play. He missed way too many open short routes, the kind that keep drives going and the D off the field. JUST LIKE EJ. Except EJ plays with a lot more heart and athletic ability. It might be that Marrone switched from EJ to Orton after the Houston game to keep from losing the locker room, but my opinion is the players see the bad QB play and know they're not going anywhere, and start tanking. Watch out, Marrone, if you don't fix this you'll have a disaster on your hands. Finally, I think Hughes, Searcy, Easley, Wynn, and maybe Hairston come back. CJ comes back only if the Bills hire Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator. He's the only one who ever figured out how to let Spiller get loose on a regular basis.

The best part of having Brady on the Bills would be he wouldn't be beating the Bills with the Pats. He always seems to play well against us, no matter what problems he has from time to time against others. Even with him sitting on the bench, we'd be better off. But we did this several years ago, when Bledsoe was getting old and the Pats got a first round pick from us for him, when they already had Brady ready to go. I think Belichick will let the Bills have an aging Brady when he's got the next guy ready. We'll get a year or two, and that will be that.

All those top QBs would have to be replaced. Which team would let a good QB go and settle for a 2016 1st rounder of a Bills team that would figure to be very good or better in 2015? What would they do for QB play in the meantime. What you need to find is a team that's collapsed and figures it's time to rebuild, and is willing to put their QB play down a notch temporarily. Perhaps Carolina would do. But our late-round first for an overall #1 talent? We'd have to sweeten the pot. What would it take? Jerry Hughes? Kiko? Robert Woods? If we're really talking "bold move" it might take giving up some real D talent. And then what to do about the offensive line? Let's bring in some other guys off the street and let Doug Marrone coach 'em up. Yeah, what could go wrong?

It's bothered me all year, not just with the Bills games, that there's so much emphasis on illegal contact. I think the league went overboard on emphasizing those rules, probably because elite passing games are good box office, and I hope they tone that back down in the future. What I saw yesterday was what was normal a couple of years ago for how DBs play, and it made for a better game. When a QB and receiver can practice timing and distances and know they will never be disrupted, that's not real tackle football. A DB should be allowed to influence the route, which forces the QB and receiver to make instant adjustments. A really different skill set, and one that requires more athletic ability and less ballet.

SBD. (George Carlin fans will get it.)

And Prince Phillip would have had quite the surpise.

Maybe he's suggesting a trade to Jacksonville. Say what you will about Gronk's wild personal life, if he was a Bill we would LOVE him.

If Marrone won't fire Hackett, then Whaley fires Marrone. Whaley is a smart guy who understands what the team needs. Trading for Brown seemed like a stretch but he's intended as Spiller's replacement. Trading for Mike Williams looked OK but then Chris Hogan outplayed him and won the game day slot from his special teams experience. Chris Williams was a swing and a miss. Jerry Hughes for whatshisname...are you kidding me? Whaley should be brought up on charges. Preston Brown and Nigel Bradham, and Kiko coming back, along maybe with Spikes although Spikes seems to have tailed off -- great D line, great LBs -- just need another CB and maybe a backup safety. Concentrate on the O line in this year's draft and get lucky with a FA QB, and suddenly Whaley will look like a genius and even Marrone will look smart. IF they replace Hackett.

The Bills being the Bills, if they hadn't taken Watkins and waited till their regular pick, they would have passed on Beckham and picked some bust. If it took them two firsts to get Watkins, it was worth it. Not to mention the pain we'd have this coming spring when they picked another loser. I'll trade the two losers for Watkins, you betcha. Beckham doesn't have EJ and Orton throwing to him, I should point out. Even if we had him instead, he'd be getting open and then ignored, just like Watkins. I have nothing but praise for Watkins' toughness and attitude. And of course his talent. He really does have amazing hands. He plucks the ball out of the air and that's that. Except when he doesn't focus, and that will get better. The ribs will heal and assuming no injuries from the waste down, he'll be a superstar in a year or two. 8 now, 9 next year, 10 after that.

1. Kiper's track record is about as good as GM's picking QBs in the sixth round. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. 2. If there are no franchise QBs in this spring's draft, then the hit from trading our 1st rounder is not so bad. Right? I mean, if we were missing out on Andrew Luck from this move, then OK. But we're not. And we weren't going to be so bad with this defense to be contending for a top five pick this year anyway. 3. MM is a good prospect, better than Jameis. Could be really good, and will not be a bust. We would never be able to get him anyway. I think he's going to the Jets, and I'm not happy about that. With MM and Chris Ivory, and a new HC, the Jets could get turned around quick.

Does everyone believe Mike Williams is actually hurt? He seemed fine at midweek and was expecting to play, then this mysterious calf injury popped up, but he was nowhere to be found to talk about it. I'm thinking this is BS, that Marrone has just decided to shut this kid down. Why, heaven only knows. Or Marrone and Williams know but they're not talking. Why waste a draft pick to trade for a guy, then sit him most of the season? If Gay wasn't going to kick and Williams was actually OK, I'd like to see him on the roster and on the field. He's a question mark so far, and hasn't been in enough games to show what he can do. My best guess is Marrone isn't happy with the way Williams talks to the media. Instead of making him a healthy scratch, which is bad enough, Williams sees Marrone hiding behind this phantom injury (in my view of things) just to piss Williams off a little bit more.

I am fairly sure that's every Bills fan's favorite referee, Walt Coleman, who he's dedicating that gesture to.

I think it's way too early to tell whether Manziel will be a successful pro. He looks to me like he has the tools to be a taller version of Russell Wilson. Too bad for JF he doesn't get to play with Seattle's defense, or Marshawn Lynch. I am not sure whether Hoyer or Manziel gives the Browns a better chance to win. Generally bright sparks like Manziel come in an have the wow factor for a while, but at the end of the season you look back at a mediocre W-L record. JF would probably be better long-term if Hoyer finishes out this year and starts next year as well as the starter. Most rookies need time to absorb the game, not flounder while things zip past them. If JF had started and the Bills knew that would happen and so could game plan for him, he might not have survived.

Different rhythm pattern, but based on the Nationwide commercials: (Note I posted these last night if they look familiar) Chicken parm doesn't taste so good, when your jaw is wired shut. Nationwide is on your wide, but Manning's on his back.

Two new slogans: Chicken parm doesn't taste so good when your jaw is wired shut. Nationwide is on your side, but Manning's on his back.

The power rankings have the Packers, Patriots, and Broncos in the top three spots every week. They switch them around now and then for the sake of doing something, but it's always those three at the top. The question is, how far will they drop after the Bills beat them?

It's interesting to see the different replays. The CBS replay showed the full action, where Manziel was clearly bringing the ball back into his body when Williams hit him. The ball was NOT moving forward, it was moving toward his body. The continuous motion replay shows why Carey and the broadcasters and so many NFL players said it was a fumble. The stop action highlights linked to the Blandino whitewash were clearly selected to give the impression Manziel had the ball moving forward in a passing motion. That forward motion supports the NFL's position, but the forward motion is what did NOT happen. So the Bills won by a lot and everyone's happy, but Kyle Williams loses credit for a sack and a forced fumble, another Bill loses credit for a recovered fumble for a TD, and Schwartz loses credit for his defense making that play. Those stats have a lot to do with getting selected for the all-star game, the Bills still have an outside shot at the all-time sack record, and Schwartz looks a little less glamorous interviewing for HC jobs next year (OK that last is a good thing). Williams and the Bills might really be disgusted at this at the end of the year.

In Mario's first season with the Bills, he had an injured wrist. Watch him when he plays, now that he's healthy. He really uses his hands to control the offensive lineman. Without his hands at full strength, he couldn't do what he does. Also that first year the NFL started out with the incompetent replacement refs, and the OT for NJJs was committing foul after foul on Mario for hands to the face, without getting called. Now those factors have gone away, but Mario didn't become Super Mario right away either. He got sacks but a lot of them were QBs being driven into him by other guys. This year, lately, it's different. He's dominating OTs and forcing opponents to double team him as much of the time as possible, opening the door for the others. I think all four on the D line are great. If you put any of them on a weak line, however, where the opponents could double team them every down, they would just be good, tough players. We used to have lines like that, with one good pass rusher who wasted his career fighting through double teams every game (e.g. Schobel). All four of them must thank their lucky stars they're on a line with the other three. Their agents must be delighted, too, waiting for big paydays.

Fortunately the Bills overall aren't doing well enough to get Mario the cover of SI. The kiss of death for a generation.