Talley56

O's fan here, wish I could be excited about KC's run but they had to do it against us. Disappointed but at least one of my teams finally figured out how to make the playoffs. Now it's the Bills' turn.

I think the loss to the Ravens a few weeks back is going to come back to haunt them later in the year. Whoever doesn't win the AFC west between Denver and SD will most likely get one wild card spot, I still think the Bengals win the AFC North despite their recent struggles, and that leaves the last wild card spot which will probably be between them and the Ravens (and maybe us????) That loss to the Ravens may end up being the difference.

^^This, I don't see the Jets suddenly making a playoff run so if they can beat the Pats and at the same time decrease their own 2015 draft pick I'm all for it.

We have a really good set of WR's. Watkins, Woods, and if he stays with the team Williams. Most teams in the NFL would love to have that trio. The problem is they haven't had a QB good enough to consistently give them the ball. They've had one that misses that's so inaccurate he'd probably miss the ground if he spiked the ball and one that can maybe get the ball in their general vicinity from time to time. We have talent we just don't have a good enough QB to lead that talent.

I would say a trap game is when you still have a legitimate shot at the playoffs and you lose to a team that you are better than/should have beaten. Whether it happens because you over-looked that team or are still upset over losing the last game, either way. And I would say this can definitely be a trap game especially if Teddy Bridgewater plays more like he did against the Falcons and less like he did against the Lions.

BB: I don't care how badly we beat Cincinnati!!! I'm still irate no one gave us any calls against KC and we were exposed in an actual fair fight!!!! Refs: We know Bill, we know, and we are very sorry about that. Any call that's even remotely close for the next 5 games will go your way. BB: They darn well better!!

I've come to the conclusion that poor officiating is as much a part of the game as anything else. At the end of the day, the 49ers still get the win and nothing will change that. As frustrating as it can be to play well and work your tail off only to lose a game on a blown call it's just something we have to accept in sports whether there really are conspiracies or the refs just simply make a bad call. Though I do think penalties should be reviewable and that might change some things in the end officiating is an element of the game.

And what really bothers me is that these refs had the nerve to go on a lockout 2 years ago for more money.

The defense didn't play great and certainly made mistakes but come on, to say it lost the game? If you really think about it, take away two big plays: The TD pass to Tyms to begin the second half (which was actually pretty well covered it was just a better throw and catch) and the TD pass to Lafell at the end and you take away a lot of their offensive production. And if you want to blame offensive struggles on bad calls what about the completion to Edelman on 1st and 15 on that last TD drive where Edelman shoves McKelvin and should have been called for offensive PI? Also, I thought the defensive PI on Duke Williams on the play where Gronk got hurt was pretty ticky-tack.

Kevin Sumlin maybe? I know he turned down some offers but just a thought. As for Harbaugh, still not buying the whole idea that he will not be back with the Niners next year.

Perhaps, but if a thread hadn't already been started on Chandler I was going to start one. I think he takes so much criticism that it's only fair he gets credit. He may have alone kept us from getting smoked in this game. He's always been a reliable target IMO. No, he's no Gates, Witten, or Gonzalez, he's had his issues and made his mistakes but I just feel like more often than not he's made plays and been a solid TE. Blocking on the other hand may be an issue for him.

I thought our o-line got away some pretty key holds today but on the other end there were some absurd calls that hurt us. Two offensive PI's on the same drive were hideously bad: Sammy called for a pick when he ran into two defenders just simply running his route then Woods barely touches a defender and gets called for a push-off (made worse by the fact that Edelman blatantly shoves Mckelvin and nothing is called on him). I won't even go into whatever the heck they called Hughes for on that unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. While I feel like those should be mentioned, at the end of the day, it was our own mistakes that killed us. The three turnovers in the first half, particularly CJ's fumble with 6 seconds left. Then giving them the sideline pass on the next play knowing that's what they would be doing to get into closer field goal range. While they did outplay us in the second half I feel like those first half mistakes snowballed into the second half. The Pats were just, as usual, better than us.

I might suggest the Bengals unless you're hoping to use them in a later week. They are going to be angry after last Sunday night and I don't think Carolina is really a 3-2 caliber team.

All of these receivers have had competent to really good QBs throwing to them for most of their carreers. Can you imagine what Sammy's numbers would be like if we had a QB who could hit him in stride?

And stop headbutting players.

I felt like EJ got away with intentional grounding earlier on that last drive so I don't think we have much to complain about when it comes to officiating.

The last time I can think of where we played a former Bills QB was in 2001 when Flutie played for the Chargers and beat us on a last minute TD run. Anyone have a more recent moment I'm not thinking of?

This is a little melodramatic. The line didn't play great but EJ had enough opportunities where he didn't face pressure and still made bad throws.

All in all, I think we've looked like the best team in the division in the first three weeks, with respect to the fact that the Jets haven't played yet this weekend. We lost to a good Chargers team today while the Patriots barely beat a weak Raiders team. The Dolphins got manhandled by the Chiefs who until today hadn't resembled last year's team that made the playoffs. NE won at Minnesota and while they dominated that game the Vikings were without Adrian Peterson. Meanwhile, we go to Chicago and beat a much better Bears team. Not saying we are going to win the division, but I like how we've looked all things considered and I'm certainly not giving up on us.

"LA is never going to get their hands on our teams"

You know, I voted Orton, but as someone who has not been impressed with EJ (even in the games we won) I think we need him to stay in and get better. Orton would be a band-aid. Giving EJ time and experience in hopes that he eventually turns the corner might be frustrating right now but would be our best chance at seeing things get better for this team down the road.

The line wasn't great today but EJ definitely threw a number of bad balls when he had plenty of time and space to step into his throws. He just isn't good. The only different between him and Fitz/Trent/all other previous QBs we ran out of town is that he has significantly more talent around him to work with on both sides of the ball than they did. Today, that talent just didn't show up.

I think we need to play well at least into November to start getting respect. That was about the time we started falling apart the last two seaons where we started strong. Assuming we can keep up this strong start, November will be the month that should tell us whether this team really is different or whether this is just another 2008/2011.

As far as CBS goes, I'm not sure how we are 6 spots below a team we beat on the road, below an 0-2 team, and the Cardinals, who IMO haven't beaten the combined quality of competition we have, are at number 3. But it's too early and we have 14 more games to jump ahead. We do better when people doubt us anyway.

And look who's at number 2.