hondo in seattle

Yep. If a team has a low 3rd down conversion rate, it would probably have a low 4th down conversion rate. A team like that should punt in most 4th down situations, whereas a high-powered offense might be better off going for it.

I think you're right because I believe Rodak has picked against us every week. So far, sadly enough, it hasn't been a bad strategy.

K-9, I actually agree. I'm just tired of waiting for the next Jim Kelly. I'd like us to double the probability of finding a franchise QB by taking another QB in the next draft. I'd like to have more than one egg in the basket.

So far, EJ has not proven himself a bust but neither has he proven himself to be a franchise QB. Given the importance of the position, I would draft a QB early next year. Between the two, hopefully one shows himself capable of the job.

I know a lot of people complained how Chan used CJ but look at how productive CJ was last year versus this. I liked the way Chan ran that offense. Fitz's limitations were clear to everyone, include opposing defenses, yet Chan fielded a credible offense. Where he failed was in finding a credible DC.

The Bills are 24th in the league in points per game. Considering the following, I'm not sure that's horrible production: * Our starting QB is a rookie who plays like one. * Our starting QB has been injured. Our other QBs have been a PS player and UDFA. * Our RBs have been dinged up. * Our offensive line is only so-so. * Our TEs are only so-so. * Our WRs have been injured. Also, let's remember that Hackett is still learning. Presumably, he's going to get better with more NFL experience.

The leadership shadow of the HC is exceptionally important. I don't see any problem with Marrone blaming himself for the Bills woes and, at the same time, holding the position coaches and players accountable. I like that he's putting a lot of stress on winning. As fans, we're only exposed to a small fraction of what the HC says and does. But that little fraction is actually encouraging. What may not be encouraging is the result on the field. But I'm not sure what people were expecting. If Bill Cowher had been our coach instead of Marrone, he might have squeaked out an extra win or two but no more than that. Marrone isn't making excuses so I'll make excuses for him. We've had three QBs under center and none of them have been very good: two rooks and a PS player. Our offensive line isn't great. Our WR corps and secondary have been ransacked by injuries. And we're implementing new offensive and defensive schemes. I think it's way too early to conclude that "Marrone-ism" - whatever that is - doesn't work.

He had control when he hit the ground and at that point he was down by contract: play over. What happened after the play was over shouldn't matter. That was a catch.

My stats: 9 times this year, I had hope at halftime. 7 times this year, I still had hope at the 2 minute warning. 3 times this year, I actually got to celebrate a win. Countless times I've muttered something like, "I really got to stop being a Bills fan." I'm tired of so-called moral victories where we outgained our opponent, or took a good team to the wire, or would have won a game except for single play, bad call, or injury. Forget nobles failures, Coach Marrone. Please give me some ugly wins.

Given that he does analytics as a hobby, it wouldn't surprise me that he offered some insight into the Bills that impressed Brandon. While the other candidates talked notionally, Lyons was able to state things in the interview that were potentially useful to the club. Also, I think it's fair to say that not all great players come from Div I powerhouses nor do all great analytics guys come from Big Three consulting firms. I can't see - given the paucity of the information we have right now - how any of us can yet determine whether or not this is a good hire. I'll wait and see.

An interesting thought: Brees in a Bills uniform. FJ and CJ would have space to run because defenses would be afraid of our QB's arm... SJ and Woods would be stars because Brees would connect with them even when they were covered... Some of our defenders would become bona fide stars because winners are made into stars.

Every team has players who are NFL superstars. But how many teams have tailgating superstars like Pinto Ron? He's been in a number of NFL films and even has his own wikipedia entry! ***** According to the SI survey (2008), half of Bills fans will tailgate for 4 or more hours. No other city comes close. I've also heard anecdotally that the Bills have more people partying in the parking lot during games than any other NFL locale. When you think that Buffalo metro has a population of a million and 100,000 are at the Ralph, it's pretty impressive.

Seattle is dead last in some rankings! I'm tyring to prove we're #1. Obviously it's all subjective and rational arguments can be made for Arrowhead, Lambeau, etc. I'm hoping to find rational arguments in print for Buffalo. Btw, I thought this was cool: Buffalo Bills – Ralph Wilson Stadium Tailgating Score: 9 out of 10 Reason – Some people park their campers and RVs as early as Friday for a Sunday early afternoon game… and leave the day after the game. For many, a tailgate that some estimate draws twice as many people in the lots as the stadium, is one of the top 50 things you have to do before you die. With large lots surrounding the stadium, the unbelievable scene spreads in a 360-degree circle around the facility. Touch football games can be found in every aisle, and special tailgate vehicles with built-in grills, sound systems and hot tubs on flatbed trailers make the rounds. (http://www.tailgatingideas.com/nfl-tailgating-cities/#sthash.L3Exi0fM.dpuf)

My fellow Bills Fans, help me settle a bet. I was arguing with a friend here in Seattle about fans, tailgating, etc. And I told him more than one article has rated Bills fans the best tailgaters in the NFL. He denies it. I win dinner if I prove him wrong. More importantly, I strike a blow for Bills fans everywhere defending our honor, despite losing 4 consecutive Super Bowls and not making the playoffs since the invention of the cell phone. What I have so far is that back in 2008, SI put a couple guys in a RV and sent them out to tour all 32 venues. They rated the Bills #1 in tailgating: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/specials/fansurvey/2008/tailgating.html That may be enough to win the bet but I want a slam-dunk victory and know there's more evidence out there. There are lots of best tailgating lists but most aren't written by someone who actually visited all the venues - and therefore don't rate us on top. But I recall someone - besides the SI folks - actually visited all 32 teams to rate the tailgating and also came up with Buffalo as top of the list. There may be other articles about the superiority of Bills tailgating and Bills fandom in general, but my googling is leaving me high and dry. If anyone can add to my argument, I would greatly appreciate it.

Did he have any holes to run through? I really think this offseason we need to look to upgrade our O Line.

As I recall, the Cowboys didn't have impressive wins in the regular season the first year they faced us in the Super Bowl. They squeaked by some weak opponents while we rolled over people. They still spanked us in XXVII. Good teams find ways to win. The Saints have been doing it consistently. We have not. Advantage: Saints. But, brother, this would be an awesome win for the team if Marrone and guys could pull it out.

Growing up in Cheektowaga, my best friend was a huge Lamonica fan. So much so that he became a Raiders fan when Lamonica was traded. To this day, he still follows the Raiders more than he follows the Bills. He considers the Lamonica trade the biggest blunder the Bills FO ever made. It seems like Lamonica is a sweetheart of a man who's sincerely grateful for the good things that have come his way. Ken - thanks for the link and excellent article. Nice work.

You can look at pretty much any game this year and say if just one play was different, the outcome would be different. We were perilously close to losing all three of our wins; and perilously close to winning all four of our losses. I'm hoping we become so good some day that we can win games without any one play being decisive.

So King didn't want KSK posting pics of his daughter? What father would? I think his overall body of work is pretty solid. He's both interesting and reasonably informed. Maybe it's a matter of expectation. I don't expect national media types to be experts in all 32 teams. They'll typically study the winning teams the most and develop a cursory familiarity with the rest of the NFL. King is no worse than his media brethren in that regard. But he's better connected than most sportswriters. When a story starts to break, he'll often get on the phone and talk to someone with firsthand knowledge of the situation. I don't agree with all his opinions but I think he's good at what he does.

And didn't it make you 'feel good'? Regardless of the author, it seems the Bills players sense a difference. So even though the Bills are only 3-4 in close games this year (or 3-3, depending how you keep count), I thought the article was encouraging. At the same time, I worry about falling to 3-6 with two very tough games in front of us. What will locker room morale be like then? On the other hand, if we're 5-4 a couple weeks from now, those guys will believe in each other and their coaches like never before.

Yep. Every game has been interesting down to the final 2 minutes. I guess that means we're a profoundly mediocre team. Not good enough to crush opponents. Not bad enough to get crushed. So we should be either 4-3 or 3-4. But now what? With NO and KC looming, are we going to fall to 3-6? I'll be real excited about the potential of this team if we can go 1-1 in our next two games.

Memory is a funny thing but what I remember is that he developed some kind of rare eye or brain problem that caused him to lose his peripheral vision. He still had his athleticism but couldn't find holes or see pursuing tacklers like before. And yep, he looked great his rookie season. While the Bills have been historically bad at QB, we've been awfully good at RB. It seemed like Miller was going to advance that tradition.

I agree with the Big Cat. Given the talent on the team, the Bills produced. Maybe over-produced. With Bobby April handling Special Teams and Fewell helping DJ on Defense, we had a good coaching staff. What DJ was lacking was (1) an OC, and (2) players. While his it's-hard-to-win-in-the-NFL public persona seemed uninspiring, the players seemed to lay it on the field for him.

Aren't the Eagles 3-4, same as the Bills?

I got on this bus after the Browns game. He should have never been hired in the first place. Just looked up the stats... We're 28th best in kick return average. 12th best in punt return average. 7th best in kick return coverage. 28th best in punt return coverage. Our average ranking for these ST units is about 19 of 32. We're a bit below league average but not as much as I had guessed. http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerPuntReturn/position/defense/order/false