mjt328

Still think Byrd isn't worth a contract?

It's always one player, or one aspect of this team pulling us down. We can't put together a complete game. The defense is playing good... Check. The offense is capitalizing on turnovers... Check. The special teams ruins everything... Check.

What was that? Jets are still in this thing.

Alonso with a fantastic play!!!

As soon as I praise McKelvin, he gives up a big play...

McKelvin has been a shut down corner over the last 5-6 games.

Freddie's knees just haven't been the same over the past 2-3 years. He seems to go down with virtually every hit in the knee.

Hackett got really conservative in the Baltimore game, and we almost let them back in the game. Don't be afraid to put the ball in the air and go downfield.

Huge hole by the O-Line.

Ugly throw. will give Manuel credit though. He knew the blitz was coming and got the ball out really quick.

Not a good pass. Touchdown anyway.

I'm pretty sure we have run on 1st down every time so far today.

Impossible to tell where the ball was. Yay for us.

Punting from within our 40. Again.

EJ has two passes downfield today, and both times he's stared the receiver down bad.

Gilmore has been a massive disappointment since coming back.

How is 3 and out not a bad drive?

Agreed. But I'm getting tired of complaining about EJ and Hackett.

Honestly, I don't see our D-Line getting pushed around much anymore. And most All-22 reviews that I've read this season are saying the same thing. Kyle, Marcel and Branch are all having very good years stopping the run. Most of the big runs are failures in gap responsibility, and breakdowns due to our aggressive play-calling.

My point was to dig deeper into the stats. A lot of people see "Ranked 30th in Rush Defense" and assume that nothing has changed from past years. In reality, we are allowing a full YPC less than last year. Detroit is currently ranked Top 10 in rushing defense. However, they have only gone against 203 rushing attempts. The Bills have seen 296 rushing attempts. Bills are allowing 4.0 YPC. Detroit is allowing 4.5 YPC. I must ask...Do you not feel the defense has improved this year?

Yeah, I realized that, but didn't want to take the time to re-rank all 32 teams. The main point is... offensive turnovers/special teams returns are directly leading to a whopping 5 PPG for the opponent!!! That's almost a touchdown every week.

These numbers are through Week 10: RUSHING DEFENSE: The Bills have allowed a total of 1,173 yards on the ground (Ranked 30th in the NFL). Of course, this sounds terrible as usual. However... They have also faced the 2nd most rushes in the NFL (only 1 rush behind Jacksonville). If you go by Yards Per Rush, the Bills have allowed only 4.0 YPA = Ranked 13th in the NFL. Not too bad after all. PASSING DEFENSE: The Bills have allowed a total of 2,386 yards in the air (Ranked 25th in the NFL). Broken down by Yards Per Attempt, those numbers improve yet again -- to 7.1 YPA (Ranked 15th in the NFL). I think it's also important to point out the injury factor. The Bills played without Stephon Gilmore and Jairus Byrd (both were out Weeks 1-5) and Leodis McKelvin (out most of Week 3 and all of Week 4). Since all four starters have been in the lineup (beginning with Week 6 against Cincinnati), the Bills have only allowed 6.3 YPA. If applied to the entire season, that would be good enough to Rank 5th in the entire NFL. TURNOVERS/SACKS: The Bills are ranked 2nd in the NFL in sacks with 33. They are tied for 12th in the NFL with 16 turnovers (13 interceptions and 3 fumbles). Those 13 interceptions ties them with Denver, Seattle and Carolina for the league lead. POINTS ALLOWED: The Bills have allowed 259 points (Ranked 29th in the NFL). If you break that down per game, they have allowed 25.9 points (Ranked 24th in the NFL). At first glance, this looks pretty bad. But if you look closer, you will see that: > Buffalo's offense has given away 3 defensive touchdowns (2 against KC and 1 against Cleveland). Special teams has allowed 1 touchdown as well (Cleveland). If you take these points away, the Bills have allowed 23.1 per game - ranking them around 14th in the NFL. > There have been 7 times where the opponent has gotten the ball inside Buffalo's 35 yard line (either off an offensive turnover or punt/kick return) and the defense has held them to a field goal. If you take these points away, the defense is averaging only 21.0 points allowed - ranking them around 8th in the NFL. SUMMARY: - Despite the team's 3-7 record, the defense has improved immensely under Mike Pettine's leadership. Their aggressive nature has them racking up lots of sacks and forcing lots of interceptions. - The poor statistical rankings are heavily influenced by the poor play on offense. - Injuries in the secondary were significant. Since the starters have returned, the defensive backfield has played excellent.

The criticism about EJ Manuel isn't just a reaction from "bad games" against Pittsburgh or New York. Through his 6 games, people are seeing SERIOUS problems with his fundamental throwing ability. He's not just making stupid rookie mistakes. He's not just getting confused by defensive coordinators. He's standing in a clean pocket and throwing 5 yard passes into the dirt. He can't seem to throw a catchable ball anywhere near the sidelines. And he already seems scared to go downfield, for fear of making a mistake. Guys like Andrew Luck and RG3 get a bigger pass on bad games, because they have also shown (numerous times) that they are capable of greatness. So far, Manuel's claim to fame is drive against Carolina (where he dinked and dunked down the field, then got a pass interference call). The only other thing Bills fans have to go on is the mysterious "IT" factor that some say he's got.

This is 2013. Not every good NFL team is the "physical" type that pushes teams around on the line of scrimmage. Indianapolis (with Peyton) was a powerhouse for years, and they were about as finesse as you get. We do have a good nucleus on this team. If EJ could complete ANYTHING yesterday, you might have seen some running lanes open for Fred and CJ. And the defense played pretty well through 3 quarters, until it was clear the game was lost. The missing piece has been (for 14 years) and continues to be - Quarterback.

How do we know this? There is no written rule that states you CAN'T draft a QB in the 1st Round two years in a row. At some point, an NFL franchise has to have the balls to buck the trend. Why can't it be us (for once)? Carolina drafted Cam Newton 1st overall after taking Jimmy Clausen in the 2nd Round only a year earlier. The Redskins took RG3 2nd overall, then doubled up with Kirk Cousins in the 3rd Round. In an era where Luck, RGIII, Wilson, Dalton, etc. are leading playoff teams as rookies, why are teams so STUBBORN to stick with a sinking ship for 2-4 years? It's absolutely ridiculous. What's the worst thing that could happen? You kill EJ's confidence? Well, guess what. If he can't handle competition for his spot, he was never going to be the guy anyway. Don't want to waste another 1st round pick? Well, your team isn't going anywhere without a top QB, so technically you are wasting all of your picks by waiting around for a lost cause. And if by some miracle you end up with TWO good QBs, you can easily get a 1st round pick back (and probably more) by making a trade.