transient

I would take this kid over those two again in a heartbeat! The Buffalo Bears... uhhh... hand off to George? Jackson, he breaks... ummm, man this is terrible... through the New England* Saints secondary... Boom goes the dynamite!!

I think Ron Pitts also called Fred Jackson by the name George at some point. I agree that it was almost as painful to listen to as it was to watch.

I'm with you all the way on Sullivan. I think he will turn to dust if we ever have a winning season. I read the news online, and can tell within the first two to three sentences of an article if it's Sullivan's by the fact that it basically spells out "someone pissed in my Wheaties." Granted, not much good to say in a while, but even in the few weeks when things are going well each season he doles out misery. It's as if he gets paid by the adjective with negative connotations. Versus hockey is essentially ESPN's old crew. Nothing I hate more than going from RJ to a bunch of idiots who think they can entice new fans with pointless, unimaginative catch phrases that make me want to sew their mouths shut and beat them with a goalie blocker. Gotta also give a shout out to Fox's crew from Sunday, Ron Pitts and John Lynch. I think someone was screwin' with them by changing player's first names on their sheets, cuz they didn't know 'em. Either that or Jackson changed his name to George, among other f-ups.

An 0-3 team that will likely be without their starting QB, based on his comments after the game. Not that Pennington is a world beater, but Henne is not likely to be lighting up defenses any time soon.

Been pointed out before, but bears repeating, no huddle is not hurry up. AVP and TE have varied the pace of this offense over the past two games. Gives TE time to read defenses, but ball is frequently snapped with only seconds left on the game clock. Three and outs were the norm last year, they just took more time to discuss unsuccessful plays in the huddle without as much time to audible out of them after. drewbreeesss, shouldn't you be preparing for the game and not wasting your time posting on a message board? For the record, I don't think outlining how the Saints came by their points does anything to invalidate their offense, however the number of turnovers certainly factors in to the number of points they put up. As far as the article explaining that they used a "conservative gameplan," this does nothing to refute the idea that Detroit and Philly continually turning the ball over aided the Saints in racking up points, and also for the most part does not address their special teams play or their defense, therefore not really a "flip-side."

I love the fact that all those who are saying Jackson should start are using his games this year compared to Marshawn's from the last two as a comparison. The offense was so amazing the last 2 years that both OCs are gone, and we have more than one actual deep threat for Ds to worry about this season. I applaud Jackson's efforts that last 2 weeks. When your starter is not in the game, that is exactly what you want your backup to do, but until I see how ML performs in this offense I am not writing him off as the starter. He averaged 80-90 yard per game with 8 men in the box, and he caught 47 passes last year, so I'm not convinced that his vision or hands are as bad as what people remember. I'll agree that his blitz pickup is lacking, but c'mon, the guy's a player... I don't get why so many people are panning him. The whole dancing behind the line thing, if I recall, had a lot to do with the defenders in the backfield or the OL getting no push a majority of the time. Hard to average 4.1 yards per carry for the year when your not moving forward.

I'd take Frank Reich any day, that Kelly guy's a bum!

Would highly recommend all of the Buffalo related options mentioned in addition to: Coulter Bay around noon on a Saturday to watch the woman in white walk by. Thursday in the Square (or is the season over at this point?) Pearl Street/Flying Bison for a taste of local brews!! Sterling Place on Hertel for one of a dozen great microbrews on tap and an amazing burger the size of your head (if you can catch it on a day that it's open.) Maybe not attractions, but certainly things that I personally miss!!

After the way the Pats* were talking him up after the game, and the total yards that Fred put together, I wouldn't be surprised if defenses start to take note before ML returns.

Everyone has done things that they are not proud of, but you learn from the consequences. I have a similar resume to yours in my late teens and early twenties. At some point the light bulb goes on and you figure it out, usually after you're forced to face the consequences of your actions. However, there is a HUGE difference between immaturity and assualt, sexual assault/rape, and what should have been repeat drunk driving offenses. This man was never made to face his consequences for reasons that are beyond absurd. I hope kharma exists for the sake of all of the people he's screwed over in his life. Sorry, not meaning to preach, just still disgusted...

Found this on facebook, and laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Figured this guys view of life would fit with those of some members of the board. Enjoy! http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays

"It's not because I have the name Johnny tattooed on my butt -- he's an old sailor buddy, and if you went through what we did, you'd understand."

Personally, given the addition of Springs which may have been in part a response to our signing of TO, I believe NE's* intent was not to let us get anything deep. I don't think they counted on their D-line to look as poor as it did. They also did not deviate from this strategy during the game. In the end, were it not for the obvious, it would have cost them. However, if they would have stacked the line and dropped the double coverage of TO and LE, it likely also would have cost them. I don't know that all teams will have the defensive depth or schemes double TWO receivers effectively for the entire game without getting burned. Also, now that AVP has seen this, he will hopefully add a few options that take advantage of some of our other receivers in deeper patterns, and force teams to play a little more honestly on TO and LE, or get burned by Reed, Parrish, or Jackson. I had mentioned in another thread that I would love to see them motion Jackson out of the backfield to the line to use as a fourth or even fifth receiver, as they used to do with Thurman.

An inside source told me that Ryan's old man told him to offer up a bounty on Brady* and Belichick*, and then to punch his own offensive coordinator in the face on the sideline during the second half.

You could paint TSW on your ass cheek for recognition, as they'd undoubtedly get you on the scoreboard.

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!!