OldTimer1960

Pit is better than their record??? They gave up 55 points last week to Tom Brady and his band of no-name receivers. This team still lacks talent at several positions. You can't run the ball if there is no threat of a pass and Manuel hasn't shown anything to be excited about and the receiving corp is very weak other than SJ (with Woods out).

Game over. This team is awful

HOW CAN THAT HAPPEN? AWFUL!

I have been holding out hope that it wasn't true, but this really IS the same old Bills.

All the good feelings from the team hanging in with so many injuries through the first half of the season are fading away. Really starting to look like a team that isn't very good.

Gonna be a long second half of the season. Not that the first half was a joy ride...

I expected a lot of rust from EJ Manuel and that is exactly what we saw. Pittsburgh is selling out against the run and daring the Bills to pass. In order to get any run game going, they are going to have to hit some passes on first down. I just hope that it is more rust rather than that EJ is as inaccurate as he was in the first half. It doesn't help to have no decent receivers besides SJ

So much angst over that 7th round pick that they used to trade up. He was a raw 3rd round pick. He has been better this year, but I can't say I see him yet as a long term starter. He may develop or not - that isn't uncommon for 3rd rounders.

I have to ask who exactly they should have picked up once Kolb was injured? It is too easy to say "They should have had a veteran backup". Yes, great. They signed Kevin Kolb to be that guy. Kolb was injured and who was available?

Ugh, now Goodwin limping off the field... HOW MANY INJURIES CAN ONE TEAM HAVE???

Just too big of a handicap at QB to seriously challenge to beat anyone. I am amazed that they have been this competitive with their 4th string rookie QB in.

This game is over.

Man, they are really handicapped at QB. Tuel is not an NFL QB at this point. On top of that, the team around Tuel has mad some big mistakes. The defense has really played outstanding football to this point, however they are due for a let down with how ineffective the offense is.

Now we know why Easley hasn't played much.

How long before the defense just says "F - it" and throws in the towel. KC's defense has outscored the Bills offense. I know that they are severely undermanned with their 4th QB, now Woods injured and Spiller playing very hurt, but this game is really over at this point.

I think that Hughes is getting too much blame for coverage problems. There was a schematic problem or a missed assignment in the case where he ended up chasing Stills deep. It isn't reasonable to expect a de/pass rush LB to cover a WR - just about no LB could have covered that guy well. I thought Robey was fine - had great coverage and on one TD he just couldn't make the play on the ball - perfect pass. On the deep TD, I think he wag outsized in spite of good coverage - that is why he was not drafted. Think he is a nice depth guy, but his size is a limiter

Yes, this is exactly what I was worried about when Manuel first went down. The defense has fought hard every week and were making great progress, but when the offense is so anemic, it has to be hard for the defense to stay motivated knowing that there is no way they are going to win unless the D pitches a shutout AND scores some points on their own. Things could go downhill fast unless they find a way to generate SOME offense some how.

This is the problem when the offense is so undermanned. Thad Lewis has acquitted himself better than I expected, but he just isn't that good and without Spiller and with SJ hobbling half the time, there aren't enough weapons to threaten a decent defense.

I love that the team has fought to stay in this game, but they are just not good enough to compete with a very good NO team on the road.

So, with Thad Lewis playing QB,and the OL playing poorly, what exactly do you recommend?

Jared Cook has two catches and zero TDs more than Scott Chandler - while Cook signed a 5 year $35M contract. I am not seeing where 2 more catches and a couple of yards per catch are worth $7MM/year... Sean Smith signed a 3 year $18M contract this year. Maybe we should see what the Bills could do with their two starting CBs (who have both missed a lot of time with injuries), their top backup (Brooks) and their top S (Byrd) all missing most of the year so far... And if I am right, Grimes signed in Miami for $5.5M coming off a torn achilles and he was signed to replace Sean Smith, I think. It isn't like Miami kept Smith AND signed Grimes... That isn't chump change/bargain basement money - sure 3 different teams signed these guys - and maybe over-paid. I am not inclined to crucify the Bills for playing the first 6 games this year without 4 of their top 5 DBs (Gilmore, Byrd, McKelvin in-and-out, Brooks). What team could survive that?

Please stop, unless you can identify specific issues - including who they should have brought in as free agents at specific times. Before you tell us that they cheaped out and should have re-signed Levitre, please note that Titan's RB Chris Johnson is averaging 3.1 ypc with Levitre AND #1 pick OG Chance Warmick blocking for him.... If you are inclined to tell us that they should have a veteran NFL backup at QB, who was available after Kevin Kolb was injured that they should have signed? I am very sure that Byrd is working extremely hard so as not to disappoint you and incur your wrath. Your post is hilarious.

Regarding the offense: they have a rookie QB, 1 experienced WR and a bunch of rookies/very inexperienced guys beyond them. Do you think that could have something to do with the offense's performance? Special Teams: they have addressed the problem at punter. I feel bad for Crossman as the number of injuries - esp to DBS and losing Marquise Goodwin can't be helping him. New guys (brand new to the roster) have been playing STs each week due to injuries.

I think that they have handled things very well so far. I can't remember a team that has been decimated by injuries so badly so early in the season - and yet, the team has remained competitive and playing hard. The list of injuries includes: 1st and 2nd string QBs, 4 of top 5 DBs, top 2 RBs playing hobbled.... I haven't heard ANY excuses from either the coaching staff or the players. I think true bad luck has hit the team and they are persevering. For those that think the Bills "blew" the backup QB position, I argue - who should they have signed once Kevin Kolb was injured? I think the list of available "veteran backups" then was as bad or worse than it is now. Unfortunately, there are no good answers out there. If you are among those that wanted Matt Flynn instead of Kolb - you can see where he is now. So, what great backup CB, QB and LGs did you see that they should have signed? I sort of agree that Tebow (while not a good QB), might be able to allow the Bills to win a game or two with leadership and his unorthodox play. Yes, the Bills need a legit QB to play until EJ is healthy - who is available that the "bean counters" are preventing them from signing? Yes, Minnesota won the competition for Josh Freeman - but I don't think you can say it was because the Bills would not pay what the Vikings were willing to - nobody knows that at all.

No doubt that they should burn as much clock between plays as possible. The "shorter" the Bills can make the game, the better for the Bills' defense and the better chance they can stay in the game.