Utah John

About Levitre -- this started as a statement that he's still terrible. He was NOT terrible when he was with the Bills. In fact he was pretty good, and his departure set the entire Bills' offense back. It wasn't his fault Tennessee offered him way more than he was worth. It could be that he looked better in Buffalo than Tennessee, which seems to happen to a lot of former Bills who leave in free agency, reflecting I suppose that the schemes they're using, how good the players around him are, injuries, and so on. If the Bills had decided to match the offer for Levitre, I don't think the Dareus extension would have been possible.

It's click bait. But fun.

Jaruis Byrd? Andy Levitre?

The FJ thing worked out a lot better for FJ than it might have, after all. I'm sure he took a big cut in pay, and he has to move his family, but he went to an NFL team that is going to use him. Beats getting cut in the last roster reduction, which is what probably would have happened. I love FJ as a player. One of my top 5 favorite Bills, and I can remember back to the 1964 team. I wish the Bills could have won the SB with FJ on the roster. But the talent on the field could be better with him gone, as much as I hate suggesting that. Getting back toward the topic, I don't think the players around the league will shun the Bills because they cut a 34 year old RB who managed to get signed by the Seahawks. Getting back all the way to the topic, does anyone know for sure that Cassel gets extra cash for this play?

huh? Am I reading this wrong? G & GS for TT Buf 1 and 1 You're reading it right, but the Matt Cassel page says the same thing!

Tyrod Taylor played great in relief, after starting QB Matt Cassel went to the bench after taking the first snap of the game. Well, isn't that what happened? Why would the Bills do something like that?

A comfortable win against a SB contender, and we're complaining? Here's what I saw. -- The Colts were not going to let Watkins and McCoy beat them, and congrats Pagano, Watkins and McCoy didn't beat you. But everyone else did. So three cheers for a lot of options at the skill positions. -- All Ryan cares about is winning. When the Bills got up 24-0 after a 5 minute drive to open the 3rd quarter, the Colts answered with a TD drive of their own. Were they getting back in the game? NO. The Colts were killing themselves by that slow methodical clock-killing approach. That drive took almost 9 minutes. After their TD they were down 24-8 and there were only 20 minutes left in the game. Sure they scored, but that's what they mean by a Pyrrhic victory, one that costs the victors so much that they lose the battle. -- The offense was quite effective in the second half. Not trying to score a lot of points, just trying to keep the clock moving and WIN THE GAME. -- The defense also shifted gears in the second half, with a lot more bend but don't break thinking. That let the Colts control the ball and get two TDs, but at the expense of running out the clock. This was a very professional, cutthroat approach on the part of the Bills.

First of all, let's concentrate on Hilton today. Gronk will be watching games today with a couple of babes for company. Second, about Gronk, let's see if we can get Bibi Jones to mess with his mind. She's the porn star who dumped him. Who knows what buttons she could push to distract him. Maybe the Bills could pass out posters of her (with enough clothes on to be legal) to the first 1000 fans. Even better, do one of those things where people in a section of the stands all have a small picture and they merge together into a big logo or picture. Whenever the Pats are on offense, show the Bib Jones display, and maybe even play "their song" over the speakers. Are we all in to win, or not? I suppose photoshopping Bibi Jones and Giselle whatshername in some interesting positions would be going too far.

Teams that pass well do better on slippery fields because the receivers know when their breaks will be. But teams that run well do better in windy conditions. I think rainy and windy conditions would ordinarily be a wash (see what I did there) but the Bills have the advantage with their much superior D line and their slightly superior O line.

I don't think it's a coincidence that after cutting Freddie, the Bills announced they'd re-signed Dareus. I think they needed those cap dollars to make the Dareus deal work. Did Whaley lie? Probably not. I think he may have changed his mind. The public reaction was so negative about the possibility of him being released, I think the front office didn't want to mess with the team's mojo. Since then, with Rex taking charge and the team taking shape, and the community obviously excited, I think the front office figured they could take the PR hit from releasing Freddie. The thing is, Jackson was probably the second best back on the team, and especially with Shady's hamstring questionable for the duration of the season, let alone today, I'm worried about the ground and pound strategy falling apart. Personally, I think the Steelers are going 5-11 this year. Their defense is terrible, and their performance on Thursday night, when they ran up a zillion yards on offense but found a way to lose, reminded me of a lot of bad Bills teams. I hope Freddie gets to play in a playoff game, and maybe even get a ring. His chances are much better with Seattle than the Steelers. If it was necessary for him to leave the Bills, things couldn't have worked out better for him. Good luck, Freddie, and I hope you have a great season and lose to the Bills in the SB.

Would you like red or green Kool-Aid? The one area the article didn't mention is the O line. I am happy with the starters but the Bills have almost no depth. If we lose two guards to injuries we're back to last year's situation, except the QB doesn't have Orton's experience. Well like everyone else I'm hoping for the best. There isn't anything in the article I can disagree with, but I think cornerback could be our Achilles heel at least until McKelvin returns. I'm very concerned that after facing Luck and Brady, Darby's confidence will be destroyed. Let's hope Rex and Thurman have something up their sleeves.

When the Bills QBs all looked all-pro against the Steelers in their preseason games, I figured the Steelers were just evaluating talent, playing ultra-vanilla formations, and not really trying hard. They didn't look any better last night. Brady looked great but I can't recall any difficult throws -- it was 7-11 all over the field. I remember Bills teams that could score a zillion and still find ways to lose, and this Steelers team looks like that. The Pats are just better coached. And what happened to Dick LeBeau? Did he bail because he saw a disaster on the horizon, or was he fired? Hard to believe the Steelers wouldn't keep the greatest D coordinator of all time. The Pats mind games continue. I suspect they knew they could outscore the Steelers and didn't do everything in their own defensive bag of tricks, just to avoid showing their hand to Buffalo. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Your NFL Sunday Ticket dollars at work.

When Rodgers was sitting for four years watching Favre, did anyone call him a bust? Probably no one cared what Rodgers could or couldn't do, since Favre was still so good. It's not fair to compare anyone to Rodgers, who I think is the best QB in the game, but what EJ has been going through, competing for playing time and getting opportunities from time to time, is probably better preparation than Rodgers had. That's not to suggest EJ will turn out better than Rodgers, but that there's no reason to write him off now. For all I know, TT will turn out great, and EJ will never get off the bench. That would be OK with me because it would mean the Bills are winning. TT has already done his four year internship, sitting behind Flacco, so maybe he'll come into his own this year. If not, it could be because he doesn't have a complete game. For one thing, he's only 6 feet tall, pretty short for an NFL QB. But if TT can't win with this defense, playing behind an acceptable O line and with excellent skill position players, maybe he'll never win. It might be possible that EJ's first year of excellence will be next year.

It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when we not only know Walt Coleman's name, but can point out specific games where his team has screwed the Bills. I'm afraid clayboy is right, that we'll be stuck with Coleman next week. The Pats are hard enough to beat, but with Coleman on their side, that makes it tougher.

I saw somewhere on the internet that we can beat the Colts by underinflating the footballs. Any truth to that?

Maybe we could send Seattle the sixth rounder we got along with Cassel from the Vikings, for our fourth and seventh, and get Fred Jackson back. The theory being we really wanted to keep Jackson but not at his salary, when we need cash for Dareus. So Jackson messed up Whaley's plan by getting signed, instead of becoming a cheaper version of himself, like Cassel did. So if Jackson is cheaper now, maybe we can afford him. Could be a good move with Shady not at 100%.

With the lousy way the Steelers were playing defense, our offense kept on making first downs, like I don't ever remember experiencing before. The bell could explain all the saliva in my mouth, I suppose. Arf!

I think most players get into the league wanting to play great, win SBs, and make the HOF. I think Byrd's goal is to retire a rich, healthy, uninjured young man. Considering the sad shape some former players are in by the time they hit 50, who's the fool? Byrd, or the guys who sacrifice their bodies and brains, and who are forgotten by most fans a few years after they're cut?

It will be a shame if Shady and Karlos Williams become the next Joe Piscopo. You young'uns won't remember this, but when the original Saturday Night Live cast moved on, the lead guy in the next gatch of cast members was a guy named Joe Piscopo. He wasn't bad, but he also wasn't Belushi, Aykroyd, Murray, etc. He once described himself as the most hated person in America. All because he followed some special and treasured actors. Shady and Karlos deserve to be thought of on their own, not as the guy who made Fred Jackson expendable.

I think the Colts won't do much special. The read-option has come and gone as a major weapon, but if I were them I'd brush up on defending it. Otherwise, TT might be more mobile than the average guy, but the Bills main offensive threats are the skill position guys -- Shady, Watkins, Harvin, Clay, and Woods. You can't cover all those guys if you're putting a spy on TT, who is going to have to prove to the league that it's a mistake not to pay special attention to him. The main thing is getting at least three of those skill position guys back so TT doesn't have to do this alone. I am pretty worried about our pass defense, particularly against Luck. Gilmore keeps getting injured, McKelvin is still walking wounded, and Darby...holy Toledo, he's going to get torched. As good as the Bills defense is against the run, it won't matter if all the other guys have to do is throw up a jump ball and walk down the field after the PI penalty. I figure Corey Graham is playing safety this year because he's lost a step, but he's still probably a better CB than Darby. The over/under on this game ought to be about 60.

Golden Wheels Dubenion (pre-68) Wagon Wheels Dubenion (post-68)

The coaches have been observing all four QBs for months. Would they cut one of the three main guys, and keep Simms instead? Could be. Let's see how Simms does against Detroit. Maybe they figure Simms is just as good as Cassel as the third stringer (not playing except in a disaster), and a whole lot cheaper.

It will be interesting to see if Freddie can beat out Marshawn once again. I hate the idea that the Bills will probably finally make the playoffs and Fred Jackson won't be on the team, but I think playing for Seattle will ensure him that his team makes the playoffs. I think the NFC West is collapsing (can't credit Arizona yet, and SF is a disaster) so Seattle should skate into the division win.

I'm a Fred Jackson admirer, but if it's the end of the road, I can't feel too sorry for him. -- 34 years old, in superb physical condition. -- Beautiful family. -- Millions of dollars in the bank (I can't see Fred being one of those guys who blows through his cash as fast as he gets it). -- The good will of an entire community. I hope Fred stays in WNY. He's a smart, articulate gentleman who would be a natural on television. Look how many mistakes Steve Tasker makes and he's still getting work. (And I'm a Tasker admirer, too. What a player.)