hondo in seattle

I think Pegula sits back and assesses the team's personnel and org structure as the season unfolds. I don't think he'll be in a hurry to replace anyone or insert anyone between Brandon and Whaley. It's really premature. If Brandon-Whaley-Marrone begins to work, leave it alone.

I suppose I'd rather see the Fins atop the AFCE rankings than the Pats. But I still hope we whip you by 30 this weekend.

HIs way of saying: Don't ask me anymore questions? Very funny video.

Miami might be the slightly better team but I don't think they're as good as their hype. Nor are the Bills as bad as the national media thinks. (NFL.com, for example, has the fins at #9 and the Bills at #21 despite identical records). Although the talent edge goes to Miami, the game is in RWS and the Bills are pumped. So I expect a close, tough game that could go either way. As a homer, I have to take the Bills - by 1.

I've been involved in the buying and selling of companies. Usually, in my experience, the buyer (in this case Pegula) doesn't usually maintain a close relationship with the seller (in this case, France). Do you become friendly with - and seek advice from - the people who sell you things? I guess the better question is... Do you have any information that Pegula and France have become friendly?

Exactly right. Pegs is getting the Bills. Some day an owner may need a fellow owner as an ally. Why poison your relationship with Pegula for no good reason? The vote will be unanimous.

This list is legit. All four were hugely exciting at the time. I recall the Bledsoe signing was another exciting time. Probably not top five but still pretty impressive (though I didn't personally get caught up in it). A lot of fans seemed to think Bledsoe was the missing piece and for about half a season, they were right. If the Bills go on to win a Super Bowl under the Pegulas, this sale moves to #1 with the advantage of hindsight.

Huh? Given the way Ralph set up the lease and the trust, he made it both difficult and unlikely for out-of-towners to buy and and move the team. I'm sure he did all this with Mary's willing cooperation. Bidding would have gone hundreds of millions higher if not for the restrictions Ralph and the Trust put in place. Mary, many thanks!

Thank you Ralph (may you rest in peace) and Mary for keeping the Bills in Buffalo all these years and making it possible to keep the Bills in Buffalo for many more.

I hope he spends the rest of the season evaluating Brandon & Whaley. If it seems their on the right track, leave them alone. Overall, I've been pretty happy with the talent Whaley has brought to Buffalo. Unfortunately, the two biggest questions are "Do we have the right coach?" and "Do we have the right QB?" But we've got to allow a new, young GM a whiff here and there - if either of these are actual whiffs.

So who's going to name their next son "Terry" and next daughter "Kim"?

There are two long established trends were facing: the Pats make the playoffs and we don't. It's way too early in the season for me to think either trend is broken yet. But I rub my lucky prayer beads and pray to the football gods daily.

I have a low tech I.Q. But I'm in if there's a collection.

Chris Conte Cannot Tackle. Bears fans know this, of course. But they did not need to see Conte getting pushed down the sideline by Fred Jackson in overtime like a shopping cart through the produce aisle. (bleacher report)

And Cutler completed something like 70% of his passes. The D played good enough to win yesterday. But only barely. (Is the Monday after a win too early for "nattering negative nabobs"?)

I can only echo Big C. 3 catches for 31 yards if I recall correctly. And another catch called back. Then there was the long pass which was inches from being a great connection. While he didn't produce any spectacular plays, Sammy did look like he belonged out there. He ran good routes and looked confident. And I didn't notice the ribs slowing him down though maybe they were. Decoy? I don't think he's established enough to be an effective decoy.

This surprises me. Some people thought Brown was good enough to make CJ and/or Freddy expendable. Wonder what the story is.

Chris Simms - the ex NFL QB turned football commentator - said this, "I guarantee the Bills lose to the Chicago Bears... EJ Manuel, do I have to say more?" Nope, Chris, you don't. Your foot is solidly in your mouth already.

There were times I thought Schwartz's defense was too passive - too little pressure, too few blitzes, too many open check-down options - but overall I have to agree. Giving up 20 points against a potent Chicago offense is a solid outing.

Today we live in an alternate universe... EJ Manuel: 7.9 yard per attempt. Tom Brady: 4.5 yard per attempt. (Or is the shape of things to come?)

Yep, I noticed. Instead of getting plays off in 15 seconds, the Bills were often close to Delay of Game penalties. Given the number of 3-and-outs we had last year, slowing the pace down seems like a sound decision.

Agreed. Despite the stats, it seemed there were too few holes. Sometimes I wonder if Hackett is the bigger problem. Spiller's yard per carry has tanked since Hackett took over. I'm not sure Hackett knows how to draw up plays that create space for the backs without the offensive linemen winning every one-on-one battle.

The Bills Backers of Seattle were chanting, "FREDDY! FREDDY! FREDDY!" after that one.

Bills overcame 100 yards in penalties and still won. No nattering now.

Based on 2013's stats, our defense is 61 yards per game better than theirs. Their offense is about 44 ypg better than ours. Not sure how this produces a line of Chicago by 7. There's been a lot of media buzz about EJ's poor play this preseason and the feud between Marrone and the FO. Mostly I think this is a bunch of crap and the team will be very focused and prepared. I say "mostly" because EJ really is a question mark. I don't think he'll regress from last season but I'm not convinced he'll take the big step forward we need. In another hour I'm driving to watch the game at South Lake Union in Seattle with a bunch of other Bills Backers and we'll find out.