jethro_tull

I was at RWS last week and it looks really nice from the outside, like a modern stadium. The entrance area used up a lot of the parking lot and extends closer to the street. I like the look of the "black wings" of the entrance structure. The Bills Store also looks very nice and again extends the stadium to make it look larger. The new scoreboard screen by the main entrance is absolutely enormous and presents a large black wall to the street but I heard they are going to add graphics. Would be nice if anyone could post some pics or links. OK, found this link quite easily- describes exactly what I saw in person last week. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/10-big-changes-unveiled-at-Ralph-Wilson-Stadium-/0a114437-77aa-4834-8b6d-82fed2e1d8b3

Agreed but hopefully used more often in the regular season and sparingly / not at all during the P/S.

Reviving this thread. The OL needs to run block better. How many times did the Bills starters gain (4) yards on first down vs. the Bucs? Not many. And when that happens- your offense is in the hole and likely to be a 3-and-out 68% of the time: Conversion rates When you examine the success rate of converting second and third downs over the past three years, you can see why getting 4-plus yards on first down is the key: Down/distance Success Pct. Second-and-1-5 yards 56 Second-and-6-9 yards 27 Second-and-10-plus 17 Third-and-1 67 Third-and-2 52 Third-and-3 49 Third-and-4 47 Third-and-5 42 Third-and-6 41 Third-and-7 37 Third-and-8 32 Third-and-9 32 Third-and-10 or more 20

true. but consider how the line affected down and distance. how many times did ej throw into third and long? third and long is a gift to the defense because it is an obvious passing down and is has a low conversion rate for many teams- Conversion rates When you examine the success rate of converting second and third downs over the past three years, you can see why getting 4-plus yards on first down is the key: Down/distance Success Pct. Second-and-1-5 yards 56 Second-and-6-9 yards 27 Second-and-10-plus 17 Third-and-1 67 Third-and-2 52 Third-and-3 49 Third-and-4 47 Third-and-5 42 Third-and-6 41 Third-and-7 37 Third-and-8 32 Third-and-9 32 Third-and-10 or more 20 Absolutely agreed. The Bills sign the headline makers and ignore the O-Line. Again and again.

EJ ain't jay cutler- but even jay cutler plays horribly when his offensive line and receivers let him down. recall the bears woes of a few years ago. Football is a team sport and the offense begins and ends with the strength of its offensive line. may fans misunderstand this. The Bills have let this area slip for far too long and have favored signing the so called headline making impact players. unfortunately even the best impact runner or receiver is not effective unless the OL is not the team's weak link. EJ may never be as good as manning, brady, etc, QBs who do better with a poorer supporting team than others- but he also is not as bad as his abilities show in these recent games. The OL is the biggest problem on the team. period.

As witnessed by the ease of which the Bills moved the ball against the Bucs second stringers. EJ had more time to throw, was more comfortable, threw the ball much better. The first half was text book offensive line struggle. Run for little gain (OL can't penetrate), run for little gain, third and long- obvious passing down- defense blitzes or rushes 4- slant or seam route. QBs cannot thrive under those conditions. Vanilla offense cannot adjust to those conditions. EJ may not be the best QB to deal with those conditions but he and the offense would be one heckuva lot better if third down was not always an obvious passing down and he had more time to throw when it was time to pass. Basic football.

So do I ! (far west burbs). Much discussion in media and water cooler about Mccown remaining the starter. Personally I preferred Jay but not everyone. How else do you think he landed a starting position and contract? Regardless, he does not blow!

a cross between rollerball and throwback cleveland browns

no sir. mccown gave jay cutler a run for his money last season and outplayed him on several occasions. there was a serious QB debate on the bears when cutler became healthy.

Not yet- but he's played only 5/8 of a season. It's the Fitz / Trent reference that caught my eye. He's already much better than Fitz "one hopper" and Trent checkdown.

say what u will about tampa 2nd string d but ej's passes are better because he has more time The OL is the key to anything positive this season.

please....

its the exact same offense as chan- 1,2, slant or seam.

field level, club level, heck even the upper level

eff me already.

spiller is back and we need him. no stupid trade talk

i want one of those effing dairy queen blizzards

in fairness lovie knows how to field a defense. kind of wishing ....

slowly inching my way to the aisle of the ej manuel bandwagon. they may still win as a team though, the d will keep us in games and ej doesnt turn it over. he also plays better later in the game and is just good enough to make an occasional big play.

It seems like the reporter has great respect for Jim Schwartz based on how he had his team (the Lions) prepared for the Bears, how well he knows the Bears as well as an up close and personal account of his game management style. If he can carry that over to the Bills and help them prepare for the Bears, you could make a reasonable case that this could be an advantage for the Bills in the opener against the Bears. I believe this is a reasonable and intelligent argument for a slight Bills advantage and makes them less of an easy win for the Bears.

Is that what he's thinking? Let's see how the season pans out. All they need is 7 losses or less.

"Media Bias" IMHO means the practice by so called media experts who dismiss the Bills out of hand without any understanding of what they are about as a team- just because they are the Bills. A lazy, uninformed opinion. No work or investigation involved in sizing up what the Bills have done to their roster, coaching staff, front office, etc. This is exactly what happened during some instances of local reporters discussing the opening game. Some other more informed sports talk show hosts mentioned the Bills and was familiar with the careers of Sammy Watkins, EJ Manuel and liked the way the defense looked last year. Being a Chicago reporter he also knew that the Bears lost both games last season to the Lions, and that Jim Schwartz was now the Bills DC. He clearly did not believe this game would be an easy win for the Bears.

Even Rex Grossman (recently signed by the Browns) would have a backup upgrade. The fact that the Bills are in this position, devoid of a quality backup QB, the most important positon on the roster, is just complete GM incompetence. I am not blaming the current staff. - The issue shouldn't cost anyone their job because it was the fault of the previous GM. If the coach is unhappy with the roster and he requests the GM to find him someone, then he is in the clear (unless the record takes a serious nose dive).

the fact that Tool and Thud are on this roster is a tribute to the biggest failure of the buddy nix tenure

Trestman is cerebral and building trust but he is less passionate and does not relate to the players as well. Discipline is a concern (as it was for Marv, truth be told). The Chicago media have long expressed the concern about his ability to relate to the players. This kind of shows up where the strategy side (offense) is clearly outshining the more brute force emotional side (defense). Also, believe me he has said some head scratching things in press conferences. Marrone is a passionate coach who is a players coach and relates to them extremely well. He wears his heart on his sleeve and takes accountability for the team and is no dummy. IMHO he runs the perfect balance between brains and emotion. May have the occasional goof with the media but that is not high on my list of desirable coaching attributes. Both were ready for their shot. I like Marrone's chances for success and unless Trestman gets his defense in gear he will wear out his welcome in a hurry.