john

Thanks Beerbal. I see we have lost 2 years in a row. Let's break that losing streak and steam roll the Seahawks. Bills 27 Seahawks 14

When was the last time you were super excited after opening day? Super disappointed? What were your expectations for last years opening day? How about this year? When the Bills beat the stuffing out of the Patriots, I think it was 31-0, I really thought Buffalo was going to make the playoffs and be a strong contender to win the AFC. Then two seasons ago when the Bills let the Patriots come back and steal the win after being behind for 3 quarters, I thought to myself, "here we go again, different season, same ole' Bills!". Last season I was so excited to see what the Bills would do after hearing all the camp reports (especially the one from John Clayton) talking about how good JP looked running a more wide open attack. We all know how that panned out. This season I am optimistic once again to see what Buffalo will showcase on Offense. For some reason I really do have a lot of confidence in Turk to open up the playbook and play to the strengths of this team. Just the fact that Farchild is gone is room for optimism I think. Also, the fact that everyone knows that a year in which the Bills backslide would doom Jauron, also provides me with some comfort. I think he will throw caution to the wind and not play so conservative. Anyway, I'm just super amped for the season to get under way and I wanted to share these thoughts with you and hopefully some of you will respond. Here is to a great season for the Bills and I know win, lose, or draw, we will all be wearing our hearts on our sleeves and supporting Buffalo no matte what happens on the field. Go Bills! John

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know Buffalo's opening day record for this decade? And for the record, I feel more confident about opening day this year then I did last year. There was no doubt in my mind that Champ Bailey and the Bronco's Defense was going to shut down or at least hold our Offensive in check the entire game. Seatle has a good Defense but I do not believe they have the ability to hold us down the way Denver did. Go Bills! John

I don't remember much about Jay Fiedler except that he was a mediocre QB. I just looked him up and the stats do justify this assertion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Fiedler He did 'lead' the Dolphins to 3, 10+ win seasons and he took them to the playoffs three times. However, he threw nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns and his 1 td to 7 int's in three post season games imply that he was never good in the clutch. Also, remember that during his reign as qb for Miami, the Dolphins had one of the best defenses in the entire NFL and the defense often times would seem noticeably frustrated when the offense sputtered and failed to score points. All in all you are right. Jay was a pretty steady QB who probably didn't get enough credit. However, even with a great defence, he was never going to take them to the promise land. Let's hope Edwards ends up being a lot better quarterback then Fiedler. Otherwise it will be back to the drawing board I'm afraid!

You may be right. They certainly are always a well coached team under Gruden. And Graham also surprised me last year with how well he performed when he was pressed into action. His being able to duplicate last season will go a long way in determining the Buc's success this year and I'm just not sure if he will be able to carry the load for a full season....

I don't think Caddy is going to be able to come back from his horrible injury and Garcia isn't getting any younger. This may be the year that Galloway finally starts to show his age( it has to happen sooner then later, right?) and I just don't think they will win a lot of close games. However, perhaps their D is better then I gave them credit for, thanks for correcting me there. I just don't equate them to being as good as they were when they won the super bowl.

The Bucs seem to be hyped up a bit this year in the media and I just don't get it. Sure, they always have a pretty good to great Defense but nothing about their Offense scares me and I'm pretty sure their Defense is no longer among the elete. Just my two cents....

l've been to several games at Bank of America Stadium. State of the art stadium with out a bad seat, even corner endzones are better then most places I've visited. My only gripe is that the fans seem to be far too mellow and 'ritsy' for my taste. Unless the Panthers are in the redzone or vying for a big 3rd down stop, no one ever stands up and you see a lot of 'golf claps'. Not knocking the fans. They are as loyal as they come but they are just not of the same breed as Bills fans.... On a side note I've picked up Delhome as my back up QB in two of my fantasy leagues and I have a feeling that he may end up being more then just a viable back up this year. And even though I hate to admit it I've skipped over Evans a few times as well. I hope I end up regretting that as this is one example of poor fantasy drafting that I would welcome in a heartbeat!

I couldn't agree with you more. They always seem to do well in games that they should lose but they turn around and lose the games they should win. I guess they play down or up to the level of their competition instead of playing consistant football over the course of a season. I don't think their are a lot of fans left who are still sold on John Fox.

I'm a Bills fan living down here in Carolina country so I can speak on this topic a little bit. No one knows for certain how Jake Delhome will respond from his surgery until the pads go on and the games start, but it is being reported left and right that he is in the best playing shape of his entire career and his mental outlook right now is superb. He just has this real passion for the game that you don't see in very many players anymore. Steve Smith will certainly cause secondaries night mares once again this season and adding a young/quick receiver in DJ Hackett and a very reliable possession receiver in Muhammad will make Carolina's Offense more potent then it has been since their super bowl season. You are right that they lost two talented players from the D.line but it has been spoken (but behind closed doors) for the last two seasons that both players have slowed down tremendously and this may be a case of addition by subtraction. They both take too many plays off now and become winded far too quickly. In my opinion they will be good enough on the line and at the 2nd level to be very competitive on Defense. The real question comes @ corner back where they are quite young and have underachieved to this point. Sorry, all I get down here is Carolina news/press all the dang time. I can't wait to fly up to Buffalo to catch a game this season! Go Bills!

you mean we can expect more then the dink and dunk, right? I totally agree with you here. If we have another kelly holcomb on our hands I'll just shake my head and go grab a beer.

I've heard this said quite a bit in reference to a James Hardy, who ever that is . I couldn't resist. I do however beleive he will be a good receiver with the potential to be a great one...

Good post BillsVet. I'm right there with ya and agree 100%. While I am usually more a glass is half full kind of guy, years and years of being let down by the Bills is slowly starting to change the way I head into this years season. Unlike last year when I fully expected a strong playoff run, this year I am doing my best to have zero expectations for anything regarding this team. If they play well and make the playoffs, great! If they play poorly and look like a team that is still clearly rebuilding, fine, at least I didn't set my self up for disappointment again. I'll never forget how pumped up I got after listening to Clayton hype up JP last offseason. It's comparable to how great I felt after the Bills started off 2-0 with crushing defeats against the Pats and the Jags, only to get beat by Miami and blown out @ KC a few weeks later. The one thing that the Bills have lacked on a consistent basis over the last 5 years has been any kind of a rhythm in the passing game. Hopefully 3rd down conversions will be more plentiful this season, last season was like trying to pass a bill thru Congress. Anyways, I feel like I am going all over the place with this post and I apologize for that. I'm so excited for the season to start that I felt the need to post. Normally I just read and enjoy all the posts without actually contributing myself. And I must be honest, though I'm trying not to be hopefully about this season, chances are, because I am a Bills fan, I will believe beyond all hope that the Bills WILL make the playoffs until they are finally mathematically eliminated from the chase. Keep heart Buffalo fans. We are the best fans in the world!

Exactly! How things 'look' in the off season is not usually a good indication of how things will turn out during the regular season. I also remember JP making several mistakes and throws into the dirt during preseason and this really got me wondering how well he had really progressed following the previous season. Also, though Edwards looked very good in pre season action, I knew it was against 3rd and 4th stringers and I didn't read too much into it. All in all it doesn't matter what we think about JP and Edwards. We could sit here and debate their strengths and weaknesses all day long. I backed JP 100% when he was the starter and now that Edwards is the starter, I will show him the same support. Let's hope that no matter who the starter is game one of the season, the starter week 16 will also be the starter going into the playoffs and we will have ourselves a franchise QB in the making. If not, it will be time to start the QB draft process again..... Go Bills!

Actually, I recall a much different story from last year's OTA's. I'm pretty sure I remember John Clayton doing a story from Bills camp where he stated that JP looked razor sharp running the offense. I specifically remember that he said JP was hitting his receivers in stride and that he didn't remember seeing a single pass hit the ground. After hearing his report I was so incredibly excited about the offense the Bills would be running and I had high hopes for the playoffs (we all know how that turned out). As for this year, I have heard mixed reports about Trent Edwards. I've read where he has had good days and bad days. Sharp passes and good decisions wrapped around interceptions and bad decisions. This is to be expected with the installation of a new offensive with new plays, new philosophies, and a brand new offensive coordinator. Knowing what I know about how difficult it is to change an offense in one offseason, I expect Buffalo to start out slowly right out of the gates and then hopefully things start humming along 4-5 days into the season. I know we all want Buffalo to start off red hot this season, but that may not be realistic. It certainly is a possibility, but I'm trying not to wear my rose colored glasses this season. Go Bills!

Adam, you make a good point. The deep out is considered to be a true test of how strong an NFL QB's arm is going to be at this level. However, I had to chuckle a little bit when I read '50 yard bomb on the deep outs at the sideline.' I don't think I've ever seen a QB throw a 50 yard out at any level of the game. I think a true indicator of strength can be measured by the ability to get the ball out quickly and on target on a 15 or 20 yard out. I just don't think there is a QB in the game that can throw an accurate 50 yard out. Maybe I am wrong. Example?

Did anyone catch this gem in the same article regarding the great Jim Kelly? "Much like Namath had once been the bachelor prince of the city, Kelly was the toast of upstate New York. He led Buffalo to an unprecedented four straight AFC championships between 1990 and ’93. Despite never emerging triumphant in a Super Bowl, Kelly remained popular, having earned a reputation for partying as hard as he played. Wrestling diva Missy Hyatt alleges that the two shared a sexual relationship, but her tell-all book, “First Lady of Wrestling,” doesn’t paint a very flattering picture of the quarterback’s prowess. Suffice it to say, his quick release wasn’t limited to the “K-Gun” offense." haha, thought that was funny. Go Bills!

Thank you for your feed back JinVA, I really do appreciate it.

no kidding? Why was he banned?

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I tried searching for this and came up with nothing. Can anyone tell me what happend to ICE? I used to post regularly on this site back in 04' and 05' (been away for a while and had to re-register) and I remember ICE as one of those posters people either loved or hated (or loved to hate!). The last I remember, something happened and ICE posted a tirade that concluded with him saying he was going away and never comming back. Is this the last anyone ever heard from him? I'm just curious and would love to know. Thank you to those who can provide insite. John in NC