hondo in seattle

I envy all the big screen TVs. I'll be watching online on my laptop here in cloudy Seattle.

"Online" wasn't invented yet when I was in. Never saw a single Bills game in Korea or Saudi Arabia. I'm glad this weekend the brave folks in uniform can see the Bills beat the Pats. Good Bless our troops! Go Bills!

A pic of a very determined Freddy running through Pat defenders vainly trying to bring him down.

+1 He doesn't have a really strong arm. He says sometimes he likes to let receivers make plays. From a fan's perspective, this often looks like his long balls are being tossed up for grabs. Those concerns aside, I really like Fitz. He seems very capable of reading defenses and making quick decisions. And he's something of a coach on the field, making little adjustments with the receivers.

The Pats should be favored given their Coach, QB, recent Win-Loss record overall and against the Bills. But as I wrote earlier, many expect a track meet. Here are a couple typical predictions from PFT: Patriots at Bills Florio’s take: The Patriots have beaten the Bills 15 straight times. New England coach Bill Belichick said that the guys who won most of those games will be watching the latest installment of the rivalry on TV. But not Tom Brady. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time is playing like a guy who thinks he can retire someday as the consensus greatest of all time. Florio’s pick: Patriots 35, Bills 27. Rosenthal’s take: Raiders-Bills last week felt like an old AFL shootout. Patriots-Bills should be more of the same, except the old AFL Patriots weren’t very good. This New England group, even without Aaron Hernandez, can win shootouts with anyone. Rosenthal’s pick: Patriots 38, Bills 31.

I agree with you but want to point that a chip on your shoulder isn't going to make you a productive NFL player. It requires talent too. For whatever reason, the talent of these guys was overlooked by other teams.

Fitz is goofy & silly sometimes and screams like a 12 year old girl. But he's self-confident and instills self-confidence in the players around him. He's a good, if quirky, leader. Thanks for the link.

The national media types I've seen/read are predicting a track meet for obvious reasons. Both Offenses are scoring a lot of points. Both defenses have some weaknesses. Given the following facts, most the national guys are justifiably expecting the Pats to edge the Bills in a close high-scoring game: * The Bills haven't beat the Pats since Fitz was studying for Economics 101 * Brady has been amazing so far this year. * Whatever their flaws, the Pats usually win no matter who they are playing. The way to silence our critics is to keep winning.

I would be shocked too, but then again, on any given Sunday...

This is a monumental game. I think the Bills make the playoffs if we win. This is based on two arguments: 1. Lessons Learned. The Chiefs game taught the Bills to close the door on a weaker opponent. The Raiders game taught the Bills perseverance. A win against the Pats would teach the Bills they can play with the Big Boys. 2. NFL Arithmetic. If the Bills beat the Pats, we will only need to go 7-6 the rest of the season to earn a wildcard berth. This team is talented enough to finish 7-6.

ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAY Maybe Brady gets injured. Maybe Fitz and Freddy play the games of their lives and Bills hang 42 points on the Pats. The Pats Offense against the Bills Defense looks like a mismatch. But the Bills Offense has actually scored more points this year than the Pats and the Pats D looks vulnerable. Maybe we win in a track meet. I'm also hoping the D surprises us. Our game plans the first two weeks were designed to stop running teams. Will Edwards/Wannstedt dial up something completely different for the Pats that slows Brady down??? Maybe Merriman's shoulder gets better and this week they set him loose to reek havoc in NE's backfield. Maybe McKelvin redeems himself with two drive-killing picks. I'm not predicting a Bills win this week but I hope for one knowing there's a realistic chance.

Thanks all for the information. I hadn't realized the injury was this serious. It explains a lot.

This is very true. But I have been impressed with the run blocking. Last year I felt Freddy got all his yards on his own. This year he's had some nice holes.

Thanks for the link and the work you put into this BUT... Any rating system that at Tomlinson as the greatest back of all time is clearly flawed. Perhaps you weigh fumbles too much. I also saw you ranking of greatest rushing seasons ever. I suggest you take a closer look. When OJ ran for 2,000 yards, the next best performance was something like 1144 yards. Never in the modern era has a RB nearly doubled the output of the next nearest back. Usually the rushing leader is ahead of 2nd place by only a few yards. I think there's no question OJ's 1973 campaign was the greatest season for a RB. It's hard to compare performances from one era against another because of rule changes and the evolution of offensive and defensive schemes. Not only did OJ play a 14 game schedule, the hashmarks were further out toward the sidelines in those days, often creating a very cramped short side of the field. Moving the hashmarks inward helped offenses. Needless to say, there have been other rule changes since OJ's day - most favoring the offense. I think yours is a noble attempt. But I don't think there's a scientific method for rating RBs of different eras. Your algorithm might be more valid when evaluating contemporaneous backs.

+1

Peter King has us at #11 in Monday Morning Quarterback.

I love this quote from McKelvin: "I played great defense. I just didn't make the play." That sums up his day and maybe his career. Often in position, he doesn't make the play. That's NOT great defense. I'm hoping McGee returns and stays healthy and that A. Williams proves he deserves his high draft position and earns a starting spot.

Buddy needs to wake up? Given that the Bills were weak nearly everywhere, why should an edge pass rusher be the #1 priority in Buddy's drafts? Should we reach like we did with Maybin? Or take the best player available at any of our many need positions? Seems to me that Buddy is doing fine so far transforming the Bills into a talented, competitive team. But the job is far from finished. Give the man a little more time.

I disagree about the D-line. The Raiders ran 30 times for 131 yards. That's not chopped liver. And the front seven didn't generate any heat on Campbell. He wasn't sacked once and was mostly untouched. I also disagree somewhat about the George Wilson remark. Seems like the Raiders exploited McKelvin most of all but I don't think anyone in the secondary can claim to have played a great game. The Brady & the Pats will crush us if we don't improve.

I agree. The D played horribly in the 2nd and 4th quarters. Both the pass and run defense exhibited problems. But now is not the time to dissect this or worry about the next game. Now is the time to celebrate!

Chronic, congrats on your moral courage for coming back here. It was an awesome game and could have gone either way. Both offenses looked great or both defenses looked crappy - not sure which. Good luck on the rest of your season. Hope to see you again in the playoffs.

I wouldn't rate it above THE COMEBACK but it was a truly awesome game. The Bills D looked horrible in the 2nd and 4th Quarter but in a way this was good. The Bills needed to learn to deal with adversity. This game teaches them to never give up. It's got to be a great confidence & character builder.

What a great game! What a scary ending!

Well, Chronic, it was a great game! Your offense looked good. Your D looked terrible. Best of luck the rest of the season.