transient

I suspect that you're right with regard to NE's* defense. I envision them looking a bit like NO did last year, put up a ton of points, but gonna need every last one to win. I get the feeling that Belichick* may be reading a few too many of his press clippings about being a coaching genius, because that D lost an awful lot of talent for him to be trading Seymour in the eve of the season, even before losing Mayo. Monday night reminded me a bit of the NE*/Miami game last year where they just COULD NOT stop what was coming at them.

Uhh... Gleason's a hockey writer, for the most part, so I don't know if he is exactly the definitive voice in this argument to back your opinion. Purely from an every down back standpoint, and not as a situational player, I think Lynch deserves the nod. As several have pointed out, he played very well last year and made it to the ProBowl in a season where the Bills could not throw the ball to save their lives. Every defense was stacking the line to stop him, which leads to negative plays and a lower average yards per carry across a full season than for players like Jackson who see the field more in third and long type situations (where you can utilize his experience, blocking, and receiving ability.) Additionally, if I recall, from a receiving standpoint a lot of those receptions for ML were the same checkdowns that everyone is so pissed about, and usually occurred because the play was about to get blown up anyway. Not a great way to pad your stats. Obviously this past preseason was a disaster, and the offense as a whole and the line specifically looked a million times more competent on Monday night. It will be interesting to see what happens when they design a gameplan around Lynch's strengths, as they did for Jackson. That being said, I'm not anti-Jackson, and would actually love to see them line up in a 4 receiver set, and motion Jackson out of the backfield to the line a la the Thurman years. Overall, I think a 60/40 Lynch to Jackson ratio would end up benefiting Jackson, because Lynch is a mother- to bring down and Fred could more easily tear through a worn out defense. ML reminds me of a bigger version of Travis Henry (who, in terms of tackling difficulty, was compared to a bowling ball with spikes protruding from it rolling downhill in a pre-draft analysis... love that analogy,) only with more speed and better hands. Lets just hope in the end he turns out more like Jackson than Henry on a character level.

Personally, I felt like AVP/Edwards were trying to set the Pats* D up by killing them with screens and draws and trying to get them to cheat up toward the line of scrimmage, but it just never materialized. Since NE* never showed the ability to stop the short stuff, there was no need to try and force opening it up. Also, it was a revelation just to SEE those screens and draws that seemed to gather dust since last decade (Kelly in AVP's ear before gameday?) Regarding TE's command at the line, I agree that they are running the no huddle more to give Edwards the time to look over the defense, and less to increase the pace of the game (especially considering most snaps came with only a few ticks left of the play clock) much as they do in Indy.

Uhh... are they projecting lows in the 40s by 8pm?

I felt sick to my stomach after reading that article. What a failure of justice on SO many levels. Certainly made me lose respect for anyone involved in this whole fiasco, including Holmgren. This is the type of idiot that is going to kill someone, it's only a matter of time, whether due to his total lack of respect for humanity or his reckless disregard behind the wheel. I wonder how many people would vouch for him then. Anyone with a sister or a mother should feel outrage anytime a local sports team overlooks such deep seeded character flaws in the interest of what is ultimately so trivial as ability to play a GAME. The fact that anyone beside what should be fellow inmates know this piece of garbage's name is a travesty.

It is not the ultimate TMQ, it is common sense in this game situation. I get the idea of trying to run the clock down to the two minute warning, but consider this for a second... 6 seconds on the football field is a lifetime. McKelvin has what, 4.4 speed? For him to run the clock down to 2:00 minutes and get down at first contact you are counting on him getting to at least the 40-45 yard line untouched. Watching the replay, initial contact on that play is at 2:03, which is where everyone is saying he should have gone down. Given that the clock stops with change of possession, we're in the same boat as if he took a knee in the endzone, only with increased risk of a fumble. Now consider that, as everyone has pointed out, the hands team is on the field meaning no blocking... unlikely in that situation to make it close to the 40 before getting hit. Now consider that the only chance NE* had was to cause a fumble, there are no blockers, and every player on NE's* coverage team is out for the ball... chances of fumbling go way up. In addition, McKelvin fumbled the previous kickoff, which either means 1) it happens, 2) he's having an off night, or 3) the Pats* have an idea of how to get the ball out of his hands. On top of that, the Pats* couldn't stop the high percentage stuff we were running all second half, what makes you think they would have been able to do it on the last drive. They should have taken it 1st and 10 on the 20. Edit: Looks like Armchair types faster than I do. Hats off to ya!

This is exactly what I wanted to see. First and 10 at the twenty and now stop us! To those who are saying that the mistake was in LM fighting for the extra yards, the fumble was recovered at 1:57... if he doesn't fight for those yards and instead goes down at first contact the result is likely the same as taking a knee in the end zone, as clock stops at the end of the play on change of possession, so instead of 2:06 it would have been 2:01 or 2:02 (especially in NE*.) Further, every player on the NE* kick coverage team was no doubt instructed to hold him up and strip the ball, therefore making the odds of a fumble go UP in this situation! I don't know the statistics, and maybe its the pall of this game that is making me feel this way, but I would venture a guess that kick returns and punt returns result in more turnovers per play than plays from scrimmage, especially in these situations.

How is manning up and picking up 2 first downs afraid to play football. Your talking about running the ball out from 5 yards deep in the endzone with your hands team on the field at a critical time in the game. When your fielding it that deep, you need to get it out of the shadow of your goal line, for one, and the kicking team usually has a bead on you around the 15, and with your hands team on, you've got no blocking. If you need to pick up an extra first down then DO IT!! How is that conservative. And the fact that McKelvin put it on the ground earlier, to me, means its a risk. Obviously those odds weren't so strong, cuz... it happened.

Yes, run out the clock. The Bills were actually moving the ball with some degree of consistency, tonight. If not for some ill timed dropsies, it would have looked even better. NE appeared to be having a hell of a time defending those screens. Are you telling me that taking a knee in the endzone and sticking with what was working wouldn't have been preferable to taking the risk of exactly what happened happening. At the very least you punt afterward and the Pats* have to go the length of the field and score a TD instead of twenty five frickin' yards.

This is what is eating at me right now. Regardless of the :06 left on the clock before the two minute warning, as numerous people have pointed out earlier your hands team is in there... AND you are ripping off chunks of yardage with screens, draws, delayed handoffs, and consistently doing this while running the play clock down to the last :03 seconds... TAKE THE KNEE AND PICK UP THE EXTRA GODDAMN FIRST DOWN LIKE A REAL TEAM. If you don't, PUNT THE BALL AND TAKE YOUR CHANCES. McKelvin had no business, whether it was a coaches decision or his own, running that ball out from 5 yards deep in the endzone!! Not in this game under those circumstances!!

A year away from football worked real well for Maurice Clarrett and Mike Williams (ughh, not THAT MIke Williams.) What was that saying about those who fail to learn from history...

Hopefully our next staff will be about maximizing the potential of the players around them instead of a systems coach (which would guarantee another year or two of rebuilding to get the roster to fit their needs.)

Good thing this guy is a columnist and not an on air personality, cuz it would be awfully difficult to convey objectivity with "Tom Terrific's*" c*&k in his mouth.

Unfortunately, we may all be done with this team when Ralph is gone.

Not what you want to hear, but I doubt the thread that DJ's career is hanging from is as thin as we fans would like to think it is. I get the impression that if the team shows progress, which is a very subjective term, that he will be back.

After the Bills preseason game against the Steelers, I looked into how the Titans', Packers', Bears', and Steelers' Ds had fared to that point in preseason. In 12 games they had given up a combined total of 10 points in the first quarter, and leaving out the Titans, not one of the other three had allowed more than 10 points in the first half. In fact, in 16 quarters of football, the Pack, Bears, and Steelers had given up only 25 points combined. The point that we played against good defensive teams is valid... though our offense did pad those stats.

2009 Bills: If our head coach starts out 0-5, just hope that he doesn't go 0-6...

2009 Bills: Keeping you occupied until hockey season starts! 2009 Bills: Payin' em with what's left of your sanity. 2009 Bills: Our suicide hotline number is printed in bold on the back of every ticket we sell.

"If there is any attempt for either contestant to cheat, especially with cmjoyce113, who is a dirty, dirty, tramp, I am just gonna snap. Do I make myself clear?"

The truth lies somewhere in this thread. After 3 games the Bills will be 0-3, 1-2, 2-1, or 3-0 and DJ will be coaching the team or he will be fired. At this point I've dropped the unrealistic expectation that this is a playoffs or bust season for DJ and the Bills (which happened to coincide with the unofficial confirmation that the team is heavily rebuilding this season effective 10 days before the start of the season.) With lowered expectations I am free to enjoy the season without frustration, and might just be pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They might just look like a team by the end of this year, who knows. By doing all of this now, hopefully they identify a few glaring needs for the offseason while seeing if the young guys can play.

Hey, don't they do that in arena league football? I think that would be funny as hell to see our man in motion essentially getting a ten yard headstart to build up speed. Can't be any less effective than the last 6 regular season games, or all of preseason.

I initially thought DJ firing Schonert was done out of desperation in an effort to keep his job. Given the fact that he then appointed AVP to OC, cut LW and intends to go with Bell at LT, I'm now wondering if he didn't get some sort of assurance from RW regarding his job security. These just don't seem like the kind of "win now" moves someone would be making if their ass was on the line.

After the firing of Schonert I was of the opinion that Jauron was making a desperate move to save his job. Cutting Walker, promoting AVP, and the apparent expansion of the youth movement in giving the LT spot to Bell has me concerned. Has anyone else started getting the uneasy feeling that Jauron may have gotten some assurances with regard to the security of his job? You can't possibly make these moves when your ass is on the line, can you?

B(ill)B(elichick*) Fan 4LIFE, you have outed yourself. No true Bills fan could wish for the embarrassment of the team they root for, because, regardless of what you think of the FO, coaches, or players, deep down you want them to succeed because when you invest your time and emotion in a team it HURTS when they don't. Outwardly rooting against them should enrage true fans. You're that A@#HOLE in the stands that harps on one player, or one call, or one WHATEVER and ruins the game for the rest of us. I have no delusions of where the team is headed this year, but MAN am I hoping they surprise me. I can tolerate when people get down on moves that seemingly make no sense from the fans perspective, or when players are stinkin' up the joint, or when coaches don't seem to have a clue. And I have loudly bemoaned moves I thought they should have or shouldn't have made. I hope for the best with this team despite frequently expecting the worst. You or anyone else who actually calls themself a Bills fan and then has the audacity to publicly hope for them to spectacularly fail can PISS OFF!

Turftoe, no offense, but is your avatar droppin' a deuce? (my bad if that's a personal photo, or family, or something)