hondo in seattle

Since their inception, I think the Bills have won something like 46% of their games. So, personally, while acknowledging it's a long season, I'm happy to celebrate a 67% winning percentage.

+1 However we may want to dissect different plays, I think FireChan is on target (though I'm not sure how you perform surgery on rockets). EJ isn't good yet. I hope he becomes good. I think he may. But he wasn't good in the winds of the Ralph against SD. Kelly was challenged in those same winds and tended to put up good numbers anyway. Not always, but often. EJ needs to learn. Eventually, some posters here on TBD will say they were right about EJ and some will have to admit they were wrong. I think it's all random luck. None of us know with any certainty how much EJ will improve over time. I'm not sure the coaches who work with him every day can answer that question yet. I think we all need to watch, wait and see. The only reasonable argument is how long we wait before handing the offense over to Orton or someone else. But anyone arguing that EJ is going to be great is suffering from Wishful Thinking. Anyone arguing that EJ will never be great is suffering from Eternal Pessimism. As fans, we always have opinions but certainly no one yet knows.

The first time I heard of "Buffalo Wings" is when I went away to college. My college friends were giving me crap about Buffalo, saying the city had nothing to offer. Then one kid said there was ONE thing good from Buffalo: Buffalo Wings. At that time (1977), no one knew what he was talking about - including me.

We don't need stats to see that Hackett is bringing EJ along slowly. It's obvious watching the games. The questions is: is it the right strategy? When you don't throw down the field, it allows the defense to load the box. Obviously, it becomes harder to run the ball. But because opponents don't worry so much about defending the whole field, it becomes harder to pass the ball, too. I wonder if EJ would be more successful if he threw down field more often. Clearly there are advantages to attacking the entire field of play. Then again, we're 2-1 and tied with the Pats for 1st place in the AFCE. Maybe Marrone's and Hackett's conservatism has some merit.

Bills rebound. Bills 27, Texans 10.

Would we feel differently if the season unfolded differently? How would we feel if we lost against SD in the first game in the season? But we won the next two games - against the Fins and Bears? Would we all be more optimistic right now? I know it's the most recent game, but is the SD loss really more representative and predictive than the two wins?

Because: (1) Hackett has no idea how to draw up plays for a scatback like CJ. In his last year with Chan, CJ ran for over 1,000 yards at 6.0 yards per carry. He'll never equal those numbers with Hackett as OC. This year's he's only averaging 4.0 ypc - a drop of 2.0 yards per carry. (2) Our O Line doesn't create holes. They're not bad in pass protection but they suck in run blocking.

It would have been nice if the refs through a flag for this at least once.

You're right. But... While I'm not solidly in the sky-is-falling camp, what bugs about yesterday's loss is how bad we looked. Our Pass D had problems. Our entire O had problems. And we were undisciplined, committing 100+ yards of infractions which kept SD drives alive and ruined the rhythm of our offense. In sum, we didn't look like a 2-1 team. Hopefully yesterday isn't a harbinger of what's to come. But right now we're tied with the Pats for first place. Our record is the same as the SB Champions. The skies ought to be sunny today.

Rivers who was clearly the better QB yesterday didn't become a good QB until his 5th year in the NFL. http://www.nfl.com/player/philiprivers/2506121/careerstats I don't think Orton is a bad QB. But he needs more time to learn the offense and EJ needs more of a chance. With a 90.8 QB rating, he's hardly been putrid. We're 2-1. EJ played a contributing role in those 2 wins and he also played a role in the loss. He was neither the primary reason we won 2 games nor the primary reason we lost to SD.

True enough. But as a reminder, Rivers didn't even start until his third year in the NFL. He didn't become a good starter until his 5th year. EJ's rating is 90.8. Rivers' rating his 1st year starting (3rd year in the league) was 92. Rivers' rating his 2nd year starting was 82. Then things finally clicked. His rating has been over 100 five of the next 7 years. Personally, I'm going to be patient in my judgement of EJ. http://www.nfl.com/player/philiprivers/2506121/careerstats

It's a bad loss because we looked so bad doing it. Our Pass D looked weak. Our entire offense looked weak. And we were undisciplined - being flagged for over 100 yards in infractions yet again. If it was a hard-fought loss in OT, we could still feel good being 2-1. But today we didn't look like a 2-1 team, nor did we look like a team that would compete in the AFCE. Let's hope we look like a different team next week.

And blitz more so our DBs don't have to be locked on for so long.

EJ was bad but he wasn't god awful horrible. Statistically he completed 59% of his passes for 6.1 yards per attempt. This was a team loss. I don't think Schwartz had a great game plan Our secondary certainly could have played better. I don't think Hackett knows how to draw up running plays that create space for CJ. I think the O Line was bad. And I think the penalties destroyed offensive momentum and kept SD drives alive. EJ's play was subpar but there's a lot of blame to go around. I don't think we would have won if Orton was in the game and I don't think Orton should start the next game.

Evans was a classy, loyal player. And a great deep threat whose stats were hurt - as has been noted - by bad QB-ing. I'd cheer loudly if I could be there.

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We'll have a better understanding how good Schwartz is as a DC after this game. So far the Bills are limiting their opponents to 15 points per game. Shutting down the Chargers, though, will be a bigger challenge than shutting down the Phins. It will be fun to watch.

I'm staying on the bandwagon until I'm knocked off. Bills 23, Bolts 14

WINNER!

2011 absolutely weighs on me. I'll enjoy each win. But I won't allow myself to think about the playoff race until the season is at least half over and we're still in contention. I remember when we were 5-2 thinking we weren't as good as our record. But, on the other hand, if we could manage to finish last 9 games with a 5-4 record, we'd still probably be in the playoffs. 5-4 seemed doable. No math for me this year. I'm taking it one week at a time.

Going back 7 years, PFF graded the best Pass Rushing Productivity scores for defensive lineman. Scores were awarded for whole seasons. Scores are determined by sacks, hits & hurries as a percentage of total snaps played. Jerry Hughes' 2013 effort was ranked 3rd best over that time among edge rushers. (Brandon Graham's 2012 season was ranked #1). Kyle Williams' 2013 season was ranked 8th best among interior linemen. Last year, we got two guys onto the seven year Top Ten lists which is impressive. Can we do it again this year with Schwartz's scheme? Btw, Mario had no season in the Top 22. I believe we have 6 sacks so far this year. This is solid. But at this pace we'll have 48 sacks at the end of the year, somewhat less than last year's total of 57. (Of course two games is a small sample). https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/07/14/pof-pass-rushing-productivity/

It's true that none of this really matters but it's fun to see how national NFL commentators rank us - and why. Besides, as fans, I think we want our team to get some respect.

Bleacher Report has us at #14 (can't post link)

Junk yards don't just get piled on the Bills. They're part of every game and I suppose even out by the end of the year. But the point is taken - our D played really well. The series where the Phins lost yards on 3 consecutive plays was beautiful to watch!

I've never been a Chandler basher but I sure didn't expect him to make that catch.