hondo in seattle

Exactly. Sometimes he's just too indecisive. Other times, though, he's buying time with his legs. What bugs me about this post is that most of us here on TBD were worried about RT long before the season began. Yet DW did nothing. I'm not a Doug basher and he's done good work acquiring Lorax, Z. Brown and others. But it's disappointing that he couldn't find us someone better than Mills for RT.

It was nice to watch TT have a good game especially under those conditions. The crowd was loud, the offensive line was having problems keeping him clean, and we weren't lining up our best WRs. And it was good to see Robert Woods have a good day. But these observations don't take the sting out of the loss. As much as a midseason game can be "must-win," this was a must-win game for us. 5-4 with a bye week to get healthy would have meant we were still realistically in the playoff hunt. This loss really hurts. I liked when Tyrod slammed his helmet at the end. Sometimes he seems like a passionless guy and I think players want a fiery QB-Leader. Of course, I would have rather seen him jump for joy because he'd just completed a TD throw. But I'm in the camp that this was a team loss. Even great QBs (and Tyrod is not a great QB) come up short at the end of games. Tyrod put up 25 points and led an offense that produced 400+ yards against a very stingy defense. He did his part. Others didn't.

Good post. There's no doubt that racism still exists in America in conscious and unconscious ways. But not every anti-black person statement by a white person is racist. I suspect Carp's wife would have posted the same remarks if the player who hit her husband - and then demonstrated such a nonchalant attitude about it - was white. It's reasonable to believe she's just mad her husband was hurt and his career threatened on a dirty play; and that race played no part in her tweet. She deserves the benefit of the doubt. The evolution of the word "thug" is interesting. Originally. "thugs" were members of a criminal organization in India. Members liked to win the confidence of travelers, join their caravans, then kill their target by strangulation in order to rob them. The word originally meant something like "deceiver." The term changed to describe a criminal with violent tendencies or anyone who likes to pose and posture as if the threat of violence is real. Now some are saying the term has racial overtones - and there is a real problem there - though many still use the term without any anti-black bias. Despite Sherman's Stanford education, I can see how someone would call him a thug in a colloquial way after watching that play. Given the recently-evolved racial bias of the term, I can see why others would object. I try not to use the word any more but don't damn those who do.

I suppose that's true given the low ratings. But Seattle has become, under Pete Carroll, a perennial playoff team. And Russell Wilson has some national star power. I thought Seattle had enough appeal to draw more viewers than this. I was wrong. The Seahawks - unlike the Bills but very much like Broncos or Saints, for example - are a state team. In the state of Washington you're kind of expected to be a Hawks fan. Whatever the cause, it's a shame more people didn't tune in for a great game.

Seattle - with a population of about 3.7 million - is the 15th biggest metro area in the US. How is that small market? Seattle is bigger than these NFL cities: Minneapolis, San Diego, Tampa, Denver, St. Louis, Baltimore, Charlotte, Pittsburg, Cinci, KC, Cleveland, Indy, Nashville, Jacksonville, NOLA, Buffalo, Green Bay. And Oakland if you separate Oakland and the East Bay metro area from the San Francisco/peninsula metro area which has its own team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

I never thought I was a Kool Aid imbiber until I read this post. Even Sully is more optimistic.

It's hard to know exactly how involved Jerry is. And if he is indeed better, it's because he has years of experience. He was awful at first and eventually got better. So I guess the OP's point is that we need to leave DW in place for many years so he can gain the requisite experience to be as good as Jerry.

Simple. We need a good GM to acquire good players. And a good HC to build a good coaching staff that gets the players to play well together as a team. Right now, we probably have an average GM and an average HC giving us an average W-L record. The coach doesn't need to be a SOB. Pete Carroll is a good coach and he's not a SOB. Leadership style isn't as important as leadership ability. Marrone was more like Belichick but was mediocre. Rex is more like Carroll but has also been mediocre so far.

My fear is this: Rex proves to be an average coach and DW proves to be an average GM. The Pegulas won't fire either quickly because neither is downright bad. But average + average = average. And average doesn't get you into the playoffs.

I'm 57 years old and am from a family where people often live into their 90s. The last time I was in Buffalo, I bought a sweat shirt that reads, "Just one before I die." I doubt I'll get even that.

I just don't know how you can label a .500 franchise a "joke." The NFL is highly competitive and filled with some very capable people. We're middle of the pack, not the best, not the worst. I guess we're a joke if you look at the playoff drought. But the owners, personnel department and coaching staff are all relatively new and you can't hold them accountable for that. They are accountable for this very average season so far. You could argue the Browns are a joke. The Bills are just another mediocre team.

I think Murph is good at his job. Sully seemingly gets paid to be negative. Murph gets paid to be positive. But Murph's's no more positive than many on this site. Some fans just prefer optimism and he strikes me as one of those types. If I had to be stuck in an elevator with someone, I'd much prefer to be stuck with Murph than Sully.

Tom Brady and the Patriots hang 41 on the Bills at home and we should have run more? It did seem odd that we were throwing the ball when our WR corps was so depleted. I just figured it was because ALynn knew we needed to score a lot to keep up with Brady. I was more upset in the Miami game where we should have pounded one of the worst run defenses in the NFL with MG.

I disagree with Rex being a .500 coach no matter what. Rex will post an above average W-L record (less than .500) with an above average roster. He'll post a below average W-L record with below average roster. I do agree that he's a very average coach. If we keep Rex, it'll be on Whaley to turn the team into a winner.

Ayn Rand and Monty Python both within the first few responses. Love my fellow Bills fans! But the OP's point is a fair one to make: the wins and points draw say that when these two teams went head to head, they came out even. Sadly, we all know which team is actually better regardless of the results.

A desperate move by a team that is in fact desperate. Percy might not be good for a whole season, but maybe he can last a half of season. If he stays healthy for just 3 games, that might be long enough for Woods and Sammy to get healthy.

Average coaching and an average roster lead to a .500 record.

In years past, I hardly cared about Goodwin's status. But him being cleared for this game is very good news considering what our WR corps looked like in the Pats game.

Maybe the reality is that his ceiling as a passer is low. Maybe he's a more effective runner than passer. To play to his strengths, maybe the right progression for him is (1) throw to primary, (2) run.

Just a little. There might have been a tiny amount of flawed logic in your OP. Just a dash of homerism, maybe.

Of course it does.

I think Rex's record says he's a purely average head coach. He wins more games than he loses when he has a good roster. He loses more games than he wins when he has a bad roster. He coaches .500 ball when he has an average roster. I can't hate a guy for being average at his job in such a competitive profession. But it did bug me when he was smiling over the challenge flag at the end of the game. How can you smile when you're team got embarrassed in front of a home crowd? Competitors don't smile at a loss.

My wife says she likes when the Bills lose because I turn off the TV in disgust at the end of the game and drown my sorrows in frenetic yard work and household chores. Today I grabbed a machete and started hacking a trail through our backyard forest. When we win, I watch football all day to luxuriate in our victory. F**k football today. I don't want to see any scores or highlights to remind me of this shellacking. And this is enough of TBD; I'm going back to hack some more trail.

I'm 4-3 on predictions this year because I've predicted the Bills to win every game. Not this time. They have their best offensive weapons playing and healthy. Our best offensive weapons will be watching from the sidelines. Even at full strength, they're the better team. Pats 33, Bills 10.

Great guy, great coach, very sad news. Gives lie to the myth that if you keep your brain active, you'll keep Alzheimers at bay.