hondo in seattle

Exactly right. And one of the reasons the Pats are throwing team is because they have arguably the best QB of all time. We all agree that it would be awesomely helpful if Tyrod became a better QB. But comparing his passing output to Brady's is fairly meaningless.

Tyrod (44) has more bad throws than Fitz (34). That's worrisome. But I'd still like to see yards-per-dropback numbers for TT. He deserves credit for the designed passing plays he transformed into positive running plays.

IMHO Mighty Taco has lost its edge and has become too much like Taco Bell.

I'll watch and then ask myself, "Why did I waste three hours of my life watching this game? Am I a masochist? Why do I punish myself this way?"

UC, I give you credit. You knew you were going to get clobbered posting this idea but you did it anyway.

It's feast or famine when the Bills O gets the ball. Simplifying, either a big play helps us get points on the board or we go three and out. While we're 10th in points per drive, we're only 25th in yards per drive. And we're losing the battle of field position: giving up 2.5 more yards per drive than we're gaining. We're good enough on both sides of the ball to be 4-3 but we need to get better. Losing all our opening day WRs to injury doesn't help. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/drivestats

Surprised that the statisticians and computers are giving us a roughly 50-50 chance. Flesh-and-blood humans seem much more pessimistic in their odds. This might explain it.

I'm with you... both the biggest surprises and biggest disappointments are on defense. I will add that I'm not surprised Lorax and Zach are capable players. I am surprised that have been playing like outright superstars. Another big surprise, of course, was learning that Roman was fired. I didn't see that coming. I was wondering if last year maybe Richie prepared like crazy because he had a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Maybe this year he just didn't work as hard - and his age might be becoming a factor.

Landry does launch himself at Williams. But he actually looks like he lets up a bit. This is an NFL athlete. Under the circumstances, he could have hit Williams much harder than he did. Illegal play? Maybe. Dirty? I just don't think so.

I hate to be pessimistic but I'm prone to agree with FireRex here. Rex and staff are going to have to do some great film study/game planning/play calling to pull out a win this week. And if only combined with some inspired performances on the field. We may play an angry, talented opponent this week without our best defensive player and our best two offensive players. A fan can always hope. But I'm feeling less hope - despite the home field advantage - this week than any previous week this season.

While I don't think Tyrod played a great game (despite what PFF says), I don't think we can lay the blame at his feet either. We lost for a number of reasons: we were out-coached on both sides of the ball, our 3 top WRs didn't play, our star RB was hurt, our OL played poorly, our DL and LBs played poorly, and we were missing our best defensive lineman... And for all that, we only lost by 3 points. If we were entirely healthy, I think we would have won. But we weren't - that's life in the NFL - and with tough games against the Pats and Hawks coming up, this defeat really sucks.

So far, TT looks like an efficient QB who can effectively manage a run-first offense. But there are times when the Bills are losing and need to move down the field with an aerial attack. In those times, it's easy to lament.

You might be right 26CB. But I'm not entirely convinced so - especially given Landry's reaction - I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think Landry's dirtiness is as nearly well and clearly established as Burfict's, for example. I know if I was A Williams I'd be asking myself "How did I not see that coming?" more than I'd be asking "Why did that m*th*r f*ck*r lay such a cheap hit on me?"

Back in the day, a guy once hit me in the neck so hard I couldn't breathe for maybe 30 seconds. For a moment, I actually thought I might suffocate to death. In another game, he hit me as I was going high for a ball. I saw stars as I was turned upside down and landed square on my head. Nearly 40 years on, that guy's still a close friend. In the heat of battle, when you're making split second decisions, things happen.

Every game we've won, we've won by more than a TD. Every game we've lost, we've lost by less than a TD. Does that mean we're bad at tight games? Or does it mean that when we're good, we're much better than our opponent. But when we play poorly, we're only a little worse than our opponent?

Agree with all of this. Suspect we started Shady to bring the Miami into the box so we could throw the ball. A better approach probably would have been to start MG and run the same kind of offense we've been running.

I'm thinking Lynn started McCoy knowing he was not 100%, hoping that would force Miami to put 8 in the box thus opening up the passing game. The plan clearly didn't work. I think MG should have started and that the Bills should have continued doing what they've been doing during the win streak: run-first, run often, pass when the box gets crowded. Lynn could have had a better game plan but Rex and the Run D get the blame for this loss.

The old fashioned passer ratings tell us something, but they're imperfect. Noticing this, ESPN went out and created an even more imperfect system. By the way, Tyrod is #9 in QBR right now. Does anyone really believe he's having the 9th best season of any NFL QB this year? Saying this slightly differently, if the NFL invalidated all QB contracts and held a special draft, would Taylor be the 9th QB taken? QBR rankings say he's the 9th best (and had him #7 last year).

Agreed. Hogan makes more sense in a Pats offense that revolves around the short passing game than a Bills offense that revolves around the run.

Here's what worries me. Roman, a flawed OC for sure, is said to be a master of designing running plays. I'm guessing the plays Shady is running were all drawn up by Roman. From what I've seen and heard, Lynn's success has come because (1) he has the team learn/practice/run a more limited number of plays thus improving execution, and (2) he might be a better play-caller than Roman. But without Roman to design these running plays, will our rushing attack eventually falter without him?

I sadly remember Ronnie Harmon's drop. But I had forgotten how great this game was before that.

Without being in the locker room, I don't know how we can judge whether or not Bills players are willing to play with injuries. Without being a team doctor or trainer, I don't know how we can judge whether or not a player should sit out.

OJ was a great back for a relatively short period of time. Emmitt Smith and Curtis Martin were very good backs for long periods of time. They all made the it into the Hall in their first year of eligibility. Brady has both longevity and peak productivity going for him. And not just a statistical leader, Brady's won championships. He' unquestionably a first-year guy. As far as the selectors will be concerned, Spygate and Deflategate are easily overlooked rain spots on a beautiful Ferrari or a couple of specks of dust on a Van Gogh. I know we like to hate the man, but who scares you more in the AFCE? Tannehill? Fitz? Even past his prime, Brady is in another league when compared to most other NFL QBs.

A "complete adherence to the fundamental interpretation" of any of the Big 3 middle eastern religions (not to mention Hinduism and some others) will not mesh well with western values. The laws contained in the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus are often odd and sometimes harsh. * You can have slaves, but you can never make a relative a slave. * You can have sex with a slave but only under certain conditions. * If you have sex with a woman during her period, you will be ostracized from the community. * You can't even undress a woman during her menstrual uncleanness. * You can't wear clothes made of 2 kinds of material. * You can't eat fish (anything with fins or scales). * You can't cut your hair or shave. * Anyone who tries to turn you away from God, or worship another God, must be killed. * If anyone worships another god, even if they're a relative, you must kill them. * Women must be submissive to their husbands. * People with flat noses cannot go before the altar of God. * If a man lies with another man, both must be killed. * If a man cheats on his wife, or vice-versa, both must be killed. Yikes, our ancestors were hard people! Fortunately, most Christians, Jews and Muslims these days are not fundamentalists.

Look, dude, if you're calling me a kitty, I'm going to push back. I fought in a war. Guys in other uniforms tried their damnedest to kill me and my men. We lived in extremely difficult conditions. I don't think my life or values qualifies as "pussified." And my old fashioned American values say it's wrong to promote any kind of violence against someone because of their religion. Brighter times emerge when we don't care about someone's race or religion but only their individual character. I'd be willing to do this. You get your 10 best friends together. I'll get mine - all like-minded combat vets. Put us all in a dark forest, swamp or desert and we'll see who's pussified. You're wrong and can't logically prove you're right so you resort to name-calling. That's not good American behavior.