jethro_tull

break!

bend but don't .........

loving some boobie

f yeah!

good for something...

chicago area for the past 25 years. hated the bears at first then kind of liked them because the fans in this area are knowledgeable and many of my friends / acquantences actually started to like the Bills and enjoyed watching them, especially from 1989 to 2000. i respect bears fans because they respect other teams and only really dislike one team- green bay. as for the bears now- I am apathetic at best.

EJ actually resembles a starting quarterback because the run game gives him numerous 3rd and short yardage situations. The defense is on its heels not knowing what coverage to put in becaues the Bills haven't been able to achieve consistent 3rd and short yardage in over 15 years Manuel caps of a nice one with 2 minutes to play, earns the nickname "Afternoon Drive".

Heck no- he'e only played 5/8 of a season.

Agreed. McClellin as the strong side linebacker is puzzling- almost as vulnerable to the pass as Chris Kelsay was (maybe not quite that bad). I'm in far west Bartlett and watch the games at home. When they turn the corner I'll be out and about a little more!

I stayed away from the front four because they aren't the liability of the back 7. Jared Allen could have plenty left in the tank and remains an iron man having not missed a game in the last 6 years and registered 11.5 sacks last season. May have lost a step vs. the run though as his tackles are down. Lamar Houston (5th year, free agent from the Raiders) is a very good run stuffer on the left side. Jay Ratliff at nose tackle is basically a second string player who will be staring for the Bears. RDT Stephen Paea is a home grown Bear in his 4th year who has not shown very much either. Basically the Bears D starting 11 has (2) pro bowl players, one out of gas, one with something left, 2 or 3 players that are decent and 6 or 7 players that are pretty much 2's or 3's at best.

see response in post#6. agreed but in this case we're talking a mix of players past their prime / declining speed and reaction time and those that haven't proven themselves yet. of course the local fan base is calling for DC Mel Tucker's head on a platter which may be somewhat deserved as well. many are fearing that the defense may finish worse than last year's 30th place.

Giving up (2) number one picks and (1) third round pick in the last (5) drafts have contributed to this problem. In addition, the Bears had to fill other holes (e.g. WR, TE, OL) in order for their "sell the farm" investment to have a chance of paying off. Their Sam LB, Shea McClellin, is not very good at pass coverage and opens the door for TE passes on first and second downs. The defensive personell is still a liability until proven otherwise.

It ALL hinges on the OL. No defense can be on the field for 45 minutes beause the offense can't move the chains.

Short answer- An extreme mix of too old and too young because of the continued fallout of the deal with Denver for Jay Cutler. Linebackers that are too old and lack the speed and reaction time of their youth- example DJ Williams starting ILB, 11th season; the formerly great Lance Briggs, starting OLB, 12th season. Or they are too young and lack experience, example Shea McClellin, starting 2 down OLB, 3rd season, and Nickel LB Jon Bostic, 2nd season. A very below average LB corps. In the backfield you have the same thing- Charles "Peanut" Tillman, starting RCB, 12th season; Tim Jennings, starting LCB, 9th season and Brock Vereen, starting FS, in his rookie year. These are the questions the Bears had to address going into this offseason and they have not answered a single one of them. This could play into the Bills offense wheelhouse of short quick slants or seam passes just beyond linebacker depth. If the Bills OL can patch it together of course.

When he was hired I looked up the stats of the Jets when he was o-line coach. Unfortunately a case could be made that the O-line regressed under his tenure. In 2002 (Marrone's first year) the Jets offense was 15th. In his 4th and final year, the offense was 29th.

I'll cancel the dam DTV and the golden ticket for oher reasons before i do for the bills. Namely conviently adding the sunday ticket MAX to my bill even though i never had it or ordered it in previoue years. only took about 45 minutes on the phone to fix it. another thing they did was back charge some online PPV items from 2009. my bill last month was 223.00 and ususlly its 125 or so.

They are still watchable, competitive and entertaining in enough of the games to make it worth it for me and definitely showed some improvement last season. start talking about a 3 or 4 win season or less kind of team and it's a no go.

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