hondo in seattle

What would have been better... A Hue Jackson/Schwartz tandem? Or a Roman/Rex tandem? Right now, it's hard to feel good about the latter.

Right now, a Schwartz/Hue tandem sounds awfully good. Schwartz did better with this defensive personnel than Rex has so far and Hue put up a lot of points on us (and a lot of points on some other teams).

This has got to be frustrating for DW. While he has made some mistakes, overall there's enough talent on this team that we ought to have a winning record. Roman has been doing the work with the O that he was paid to do. But on D, Whaley handed Rex the keys to a Cadillac that Rex transformed into a Yugo. Maybe he'll get this turned around - I hope so - but so far Rex's work here has been hugely disappointing.

This is what scares me more than anything else. The Jets have gotten better since Rex left. Our D has gotten worse since he's arrived. It's worrisome.

I had similar thoughts. Or what if we had hired Greg Roman as HC and he retained Jim Schwartz?

Maybe it's a matter of dismantling something to rebuild it. But right now, it's hard not to miss Jim Schwartz. Our D look overwhelmed out there. Rex ought to get the vets together and ask them: "Why were you more effective last year?"

It's hard to understand how a defensive mastermind can take over a talented squad and produce something this putrid.

And Sammy's calf. I'd prefer a match-up of healthy Bills versus healthy Bengals instead of banged up Bills versus 'the healthiest team in the NFL.'

12th paragraph of his 1905 monograph, "Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen"

For those who might be interested, here's an article about the origin of the insanity quote: http://www.news.hypercrit.net/2012/11/13/einstein-on-misattribution-i-probably-didnt-say-that/

I agree with your opening statement on motivation but... Despite whatever feelgood posters you may have seen, Einstein did not ever say that cliche about insanity. And young players improve all the time - especially QBs. Jim Plunkett played - by far - the best football of his career in his 30s. More recently, Carson Palmer at age 35 is probably playing the best football of his life. Drew Brees took maybe four years to evolve from a woeful rookie to a great NFL QB.

No NFL game is ever a "lock" and Chris knows that. The media uses these terms because it's more interesting/fun to talk in absolutes and superlatives. "Elo" - Nate Silver's model - says we have something like a 47% chance of winning. We might not be the probable winners, but there's a significant possibility we'll win. I'll be rooting for that. Chris will laugh and admit he was wrong if the Bills prevail and the media machine will go on.

Well, lets see.... Cincy is undefeated. Their D is only giving up 20 points per game while their O is rolling behind a formidable offensive line. The Bills, on the other hand, are all banged up and playing mediocre football. So, of course, I predict the Bills to win 27-13. I think EJ pitches well in relief and I think our D finally lives up to expectations in this big game at home.

Johnny will be Johnny. I feel sorry for his parents.

I'm with Maddog. I really don't care who starts unless TT's knee really is screwed up in which case I want him to sit. TT has a live arm and is a dynamic runner. But he needs better pocket presence and better vision finding open receivers. EJ looks much improved and I'd be interested in seeing what he can do in the regular season. Whichever one starts will hear me cheer him on - if he has extraordinarily good hearing since I'll be watching in the comfort of my home in the Seattle suburbs.

Do young QBs really get better with playing time? It's a novel concept!

I don't know if "fires" is the right verb here. But he did have a nice touch.

I tend to agree with the stoic approach of playing with pain. If pain was the only consideration. But hammy problems are serious and easily re-injured. If it's not healed, he can't play. He won't be effective, he'll aggravate the injury, and he'll spend the next month or more on the sideline.

I'm no doctor but I think in the case of hamstrings, doctors rely on lot on the observations of the patient. If Shady's anxious to get back on the field because it's a big game, he might lie to the doctor and say everything feels great. In which case, the doctor will clear him to play. Hopefully Shady didn't do that.

Guerrero has been Tom's friend and fitness guru for years. I'm sure he's given him lots and lots of sound advice over that time. But when he gets on TV citing a fictitious study that proves his product cures cancer, he's crossed the road into quackery. And when he claims to have a product that prevents concussions, but has no scientific proof, he's a quack. This is not about contest of Eastern vs.Western medicine. This is about integrity, and Guerrero has a problem.

I thought this quote by Sammy was interesting.... “I understand that these guys are young. What you really have to look at is in five or six years, no, they’re not going to be Eli but they’re going to be elite. When you look at Eli, he might be out of the league in four or five years. So when I’m healthy and I’m going into my years, I’ll have a top quarterback who can throw the ball. So that’s how I look at these guys.... Once these guys grow the next three or four years, if they’re still here, you’ll definitely see those high numbers.” Here Sammy (1) seems to have realistic expectations, and (2) seems to have high confidence in the potential of both TT and EJ.

I apologize if someone already mentioned this but I didn't read all 16 pages of this thread. Both Woods and Watkins are saying publicly that they're getting open but not getting the ball. While fans and the media have often raved about the performance of TT, there seems to be some discontent among the wideouts. Maybe because TT isn't very tall and has difficulty seeing over the linemen... or maybe because he just doesn't have a lot of experience yet... or maybe because protection is breaking down quickly... whatever the reason, he's not finding his WRs.

Dead on. Agree. I think some of the ideas circulated by the local press (i.e. Bucky and Sully) are ludicrous. The notion that Whaley went rogue and traded MC with Rex's knowledge or input, for example. I can't imagine that scenario. And then the idea that Rex is going to play TT even though he's seriously injured because he has so little faith in EJ. That's just dumb. We can argue all day if EJ will ever be a good starter in the NFL but - based on his regular season record and demonstrated improvement this preseason - he's a legit backup. If TT cannot safely play, EJ will start. And it's not a big deal - just another backup coming in for an injured starter. Happens all the time. But Bucky and Sully want to turn this into a drama-fest with DW cast as the villain.

Nate Silver's Elo has been the most accurate model so far and it's saying the Bills have a 47% chance of beating Cincy. A coin flip, more or less. Elo also says the Bills have a 45% chance of making the playoffs. Another coin flip. http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2015-nfl-predictions/ Nate Silver, if you remember, is the probability/statistics guy who correctly predicted the outcome in 49 of 50 states in the 2008 presidential election and 50 of 50 in the 2012 election. But he first gained fame doing baseball stats.

Polian is a smart guy but - Yikes! - we're only 5 games into the season. Some teams have had soft schedules. Some have had tough schedules. Some have new HCs, OCs and DCs and are still working on things. Some team have had injuries. Some are going to suffer important injuries. And some no-name players are going to step up before the season's over. No stat, or group of stats, are going to accurately predict the postseason at this point. That's part of the fun of being an NFL fan. There are always surprises.