Thurmal34

This thread has spiraled out of control with Kirwan's TJ comment. Let's get back to the meat of his tweet, FredEx and CJ. How will they be used together? What kind of mismatches can be created? How many formations do we have with them both on the field that either guy can get the rock and the D not know which guy to key on? These two elite backs are clearly the strength of our offense. How can we utilize them best to win games?

Well done, keep up the good work!

Good God. McNabb is cooked. Cooked! No thanks!

Left Williamsville at 7 years old due to my Dad being transferred to NE for work. I didn't grow up in B-Lo, didn't attend the local schools, and never had a chance to decide to leave or stay when it was time to get a real job. However, when people ask me where I'm from, my reply is "well, I grew up in CT, but I'm from Buffalo. The reasons I love Buffalo are myriad. Buffalo to me is T-Giving, Christmas, and Easter at my grandparents' house on Huxley Drive. Buffalo to me is a visit to the zoo when my younger brother somehow ended up inside the gazelle (or whatever it was) area . Buffalo to me is a trip down the 400 to West Blood Rd in East Aurora to visit cousins over the holidays. Buffalo to me is my grandmother's condo in East Aurora after my Grandfather passed. Buffalo to me is the Ralph with my brother, dad, uncle, cousins, and then later in life friends from NE. Everytime I'm in Buffalo, whether it's for a game or to visit family, or both, it just feels like home. That's why I love Buffalo.

So in other words, Spiller said the Bills are close to being one of the 12 teams that makes the playoffs. Meh. Move along, nothing to see here.

That was Kyle Love and that was a sick block. The trouble is, particularly on the road vs Cincy and at home vs NJJ last year, when he was lined up in the backfield as a lead blocker, our run game was telegraphed. Now, don't get me wrong, if you are good enough to telegraph what you are doing and get the yardage anyway I'm all for that. My favorite kind of football is impose your will even when the opponent knows what you are going to do. However, I felt like Chan tailored his gameplan in those two games to what he thought was the opposing D's weakness rather than to the Buffalo Bills' strengths. With C Mac on the field it told the D one of two things; we are either going to try to run or we are going to fake run and then pass with fewer receiving options than we really should have out there. Dickerson, if he makes the team, can line up in the same set that C Mac lined up in last year in those aforementioned games and make us so less predictable in that same formation. You would prolly never have him block Kyle Love on a goal line carry, but suddenly that formation that was so broken vs Thinthy (to quote Dan Deirdorf) and NJJ becomes very dangerous. Would it be possible to keep 4 RBs (FJ, CJ, Choice, C Mac) and an H-Back?

LOL I hate to be that guy, but that game STILL sticks in my craw. That was our game!

I would love to pile on, believe me i would, but these guys kicked our ass in our own bulding last year in the one game that we needed more than any other. We were 5-2 and coming off a blowout win. We were the toast of the league. We had a division game at home against a team that had been deep in the playoffs the last couple of years, a great chance to prove we were legit, and we got spanked. Look, I get that Fitz was fresh off the broken ribs and I also get that we played them tough in the first half. However, when push came to shove, they beat us badly, and at home to boot. Forgive me if I don't bask the current mess that is the Jets until we beat them soundly (or beat them at all) and finish ahead of them in the division. They can implode all they want in June, but if they lay the wood to us on 9/9, this "tirade" of Holmes' won't mean schit. Lets beat them on the field before we laugh at them off of it.

Vince Young is not a threat to Fitz. What has Vince Young done this decade to warrant being a threat to Fitz? Gailey, however, might be a threat to Fitz. IMO we have, at worst, a top 5 in the NFL RB tandem. If we get down a mere 7 or 10 and Gailey starts leaning on Fitz over CJ and FJ b/c in his opinion "we needed to make up points" that will hurt Fitz far more than VY's potential will. Chan needs to feature the strength of our team and trust in the running game even down 14. Let Fitz be the smart QB that he is without dropping back 45 times per game. Let Fitz complete safe, smart passes and let our two stud RBs do the rest.

Nothing. That's the lesser known, yet still epic, beige leather blazer! Christ, we have got to be the only team in the league with a GM that has a multi colored array of leather blazers. There is a spearing contest with Hogboy on the line here people, someone produce the pic!

Can we veer off in to "crazy things Nix wears?" First one to post a pic of the maroon leather blazer wins a spearing contest with Hogboy!

So we should not play to our strengths on 3rd and short because "everyone else is doing it"?

Why not stay a running team when Fred's backup is just as good as FJ, if not better? All I'm trying to get at here is that our two best offensive players are running backs. If Chan is true to his word and tailors the offense to suit his best players, shouldn't we expect an attack that features a heavy dose of both FJ and CJ? Look, I love Stevie, I even have his jersey, but in all honesty who is the better player, Stevie or CJ? If Chan can objectively look at this club and see it's being built for pounding the rock and limiting Fitz to 25-30 throws per game, we will excel. Maybe even win the division. Yes I said it. However, if we get down 7 or 10 in Q3 and Chan starts going 3 and out on pass plays, that's going to be frustrating. Being down 17-21 in Q3-Q4 is one thing, fine, pass away, but IMO you win with your best players. IMO our best player on O is FJ and our second best player is CJ. We should make teams pay for that, not let them relax when they have a 7 pt lead and know Fitz is going to throw to far less talented players three times in a row. We handcuff ourselves.

Hondo I hear you about using the pass to set up the run. However, I think our backs (and our OL, if tasked properly) are good enough that we can use the run to set up the run. In the days of Thurman, we used to be able to convert key 3rd and 2 slash 3's on the ground when everyone on the opposing team, in the stadium, and watching on TV knew the ball was going to Thurman or KD23. We got it anyway. IMO that's what Buddy is building us for. The question is will Chan be flexible enough to adjust to that style? What it comes down to, IMO, is those key short yardage plays. Will Chan drop Fitz back and toss to Donald Jones on a big Q3/Q4 3rd and 2 or will he simply hand it to FJ or CJ and shove it down the other team's throat? IMO even if our line isnt "dominating" yet, out backs sure are. Let's feature our two best players.

We have two stud running backs and "meh" QBs and WRs. We have a D (on paper, I know) that should finally be less than paper meche. We have added some depth to a solid but thin OL. We play in the northeast and fortunately host a succession of dome/warm weather teams down the stretch run. Our two best offensive players are running backs. Will Gailey leverage our two best offensive players and get them at least 15 touches per game each? Or will he get down by 10 and claim he "had to pass" (see Tenn game last year)? Fitz has shown to be better when his attempts are in the 30 or less range. IMO Buddy is building us to run more and pass less. Will Chan play to our perceived strength?

Originally from Williamsville, now in Wenham, MA.

What happened to Buddy's maroon leather blazer? Haven't seen it since pre draft 2010. Anyone have a recent sighting, or for nostalgia's sake, an old pic? Clearly Buddy would never have drafted Gilmore had he been wearing the maroon leather blazer!

Right, this is what I'm saying. It's been so frustrating not being able to get off the field against these types of offenses. All offenses are going to struggle from time to time, even the Saints and Pats. In our conditions, division, and city, building a D like the Ted/Fat Pat/Winfield/Cowart defense of 99 is what is going to win us enough games to make the tourney. I dont want teams to fear The Ralph b/c we might outscore them, I want teams to fear coming here b/c they know we will bury them with a flurry of mean nasty defenders.

or, like the local chowds say, "Nuttin' from nuttin' but yer mother makes a tough mozzerella!" This. Maybe not necessarily this year, but certainly in 2013. I'm excited about this pair's future. Big, physical, talented, and young. The future looks bright!

Don't they have 0 picks on Saturday? I mean they have good depth I guess, but yeesh, 4 picks in the entire draft?

I think the Pats did well with Jones and Hightower, but I have to say I was very surprised to hear that they have no picks at all on Saturday. I mean it makes sense with Brady aging, and their depth isn't too bad, but to have only 4 picks is kind of weird.

I dont think mentioning Easley is a justification for taking Gilmore over Floyd. It's simply a reminder that he is indeed on our roster and has potential. If the Bills thought Floyd was the right pick, they would have taken him. They didn't. They recognize the D still needs help. Personally, I love the commitment to defense the Nix regime has shown. I'm so freaking tired of getting gashed by mediocre offenses.

I think this is important to point out. We dont need rocket scientists, but this is a high character, intelligent locker room and Gilmore's academic and low key creds fit right in with what we are building.

I think it's great. We now have a pair of big, talented, young corners to pair up for years to come. The draft is a marathon, not a sprint. This guy is Antoine + 5" and 20 lbs. By 2013 Williams and Gilmore will be a coveted pair of corners. A year or two of seasoning and by 2014 they can be elite. Strong move. Defense wins in Dec and Jan in our conditions.

It's pretty simple. Stevie is our #1 and would also be for many teams in the league. By that criteria alone he's a #1. However, he's not elite (LarryFitz, Megatron, etc) and therefore some folks will bump him down to a #2 for that reason, which is totally fair. The trick now though is that Stevie is at the point in his career where even if we draft Blackmon or Floyd (obviously both are more "physically" talented) he will still be our #1 based on experience, rapport with Fitz, and leadership. Sometimes a team's #1 WR isn't always their most talented guy. See Steelers, Pittsburgh - Hines Ward and Mike Wallace. Clearly Wallace is more talented but Ward remained "the guy" for a duration. Not the case anymore, obviously, but the bottom line is the #1 WR label = more than just "being the best guy on the team". Stevie is a #1 for us, and that's all that matters.