[London Fletcher Announces Retirement]

Guy was a beast. Just amazing durability at the linebacker position. Let's hope he gets to enjoy a healthy retirement.

[What is your EJ Manuel Confidence Level?]

20%. Having said that, he's been better than I expected so far (though I obviously didn't expect much). He has stretches where he looks the part and gives me some hope that he can be a serviceable starter. I don't see any chance of him being "elite", but he can maybe grow into an Alex Smith kind of game manager.

[Bills and top 15Teams in the Power rankings]

5-9 in a mediocre division/league.

[Tom Donahoe- was he really that bad???!]

I don't think he's as bad as people have made him out to be. Like every other failure in the last 14 years, you can trace his (and his coaches') demise(s) to the lack of above-average QB play. Stock those 2003-2005 teams with a capable QB and you'd have a some playoff runs in there.

[Kelly 86 vs. Manuel 13]

The link to the Bills' glory days youtube video kept me up a few hours past my bedtime last night. Man, I miss those days. I had forgotten just how good Thurman and Andre were in their prime.

[EJ Dooms Bills Until 2016 Season]

My eyes and gut tell me that the OP will eventually be proven correct, but it is hard to justify completely giving up on EJ at this point. He's been terrible about 50% of the time, but he's also had stretches where he looks like a legit above-average QB. Sort of like Locker in his first couple of years. I'd give him another year and then prepare to draft one of the QBs in 2015 - a draft that should contain names like Winston, Mariota, Hundley, etc.

[Starting our own tradition]

I will say Marrone has made us more competitive on a game to game basis. You can see it in the yardage totals. We were routinely dominated in total yardage under our past regimes - often even in the games we won. We are now able to play almost every team pretty much straight up - it's just a play or two here (or a too conservative playcalling stretch) that is keeping us from reaching our potential. Ignoring our loser history, I would say that this is a team that is on the rise and only a year or player away from being a legitimate playoff team. It's not like under Jauron or Gailey, where it was a 50/50 proposition that we'd be butt-raped by our opponent on any given Sunday. Now I fully expect us to have a chance at victory every week, even against "elite" opponents.

[Mike Tomlin Incident]

There's some new video out that clearly shows what Tomlin was up to. Such a shame, I like him as a coach but he clearly was trying to interfere with the play. That's not a step someone makes so they can see the jumbotron, that's a step someone takes to block a path.

 

http://pittsburgh.cb...ers-punishment/

 

I still can't definitively say he is intentionally interfering with the play. It is so friggin strange watching it unfold, I just can't believe he meant to do what he did.

 

On the other hand, I mean, I suppose it's possible that he instinctively did it without giving it any rational thought - just a complete brainfart without any consideration for the consequences of his action.

 

Again - just really weird stuff there.

[Remain Calm, all is not as lost as it appears]

I am an EJ "hater" but I thought he looked like a passable game manager the past two weeks. He's shown enough to merit another year of development imo.

[Official 2nd Half thread Bills vs. Falcons]

Any chance we can ban every single board member who just cheered a Gilmore injury?

 

Agree. What kind of sh#thead roots for a guy to get hurt?

[Official 2nd Half thread Bills vs. Falcons]

Hate to say it, but I'm glad Gilmore is down.

 

Jesus. U are a sick f#$%

[Official 2nd Half thread Bills vs. Falcons]

Can't believe anyone thought this would be an easy win. Lol. There is no such thing as an easy win for a 4-7 team with a below average coach and QB.

[possibly the best player in the NFL this year]

I was one who believed he was washed up. Frankly, the previous three years he was a turnover machine and horribly unclutch in end-of-game situations. He is playing much better this year and if not for some late game defensive breakdowns, the Chargers would be at 8-3 or so. He is definitely NOT a game manager. Reminds me a lot of Kelly in that he's immobile, strictly a pocket guy, and willing to take big risks pushing the ball down the field.

[Bills' Remaining Schedule Not Lookin' So Easy Now]

12-7 baby

 

So what happens between the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl that leaves us stuck at 12-7 for the season?

[Bills' Remaining Schedule Not Lookin' So Easy Now]

However, if the offense can eliminate turnovers and the defense remains tough, we have an excellent chance to get to 9-7 and maybe end the playoff futility!

 

Lol. What are you smoking dude? We are 4-7 for a reason. There is absolutely nothing that should make anyone believe we can win three straight games, let alone five. I think 3-2 over the next five is the best we can reasonably hope for, but I expect we'll go 2-3 down the stretch (wins over Jax and Miami).

[Fan fell from 300 level to 200 level]

Guy is lucky to be alive. Jeez.

[Win #4 - Who gets your game ball?]

D - Kyle Williams

 

O - Hackett

[For those of you who gave up on EJ.....]

Rob Johnson and Trent Edwards had some decent games too. Not close to being sold on Manuel at this point.

[Release Tuel]

"He has no escape-ability with his feet and he will not make any plays in this aspect of the game in the NFL. Tuel does not feel pressure well and does not throw the ball well into the face of pressure."

 

I don't know. I thought he looked solid in both of these respects yesterday. The one thing they nailed is that his ball does seem to float. I can see him becoming a Kelly Holcolmb level kind of backup QB. Not starter caliber, but certainly worth keeping on the roster.

 

Also, just curious, but how would we be rating Tuel's performance today if the coaches had just taken the ball out of his hands on that goalline series and we had run the ball three times before kicking a FG to go up 13-3? Further, say TJ doesn't cough up the additional 7 and we win the game 16-9. I'm guessing we are talking about Tuel's potential and that he looked better than Thad.

[A Few Thoughts About The Game, in no particular order....]

I don't understand all of the "cut Tuel" guys. It was his first NFL start and it happened to be against a 8-0 team with a good defense. He made a couple of terrible mistakes, but he otherwise played well. Showed good pocket presence and the ability to work through his progressions. I can see him being a quality backup in this league with a little more seasoning.

[combined record of next 6 opponents]

Every win means nothing but a later draft position.

 

exactly. team isn't going anywhere this season. i'll continue to take these competitive losses if it means better draft position.

[Going to Nov 3 Chiefs game. R 1 year olds Free if on lap?]

I took my 1 year old to an MLB game and he ended up getting run over by some drunk idiot and smashing his head on a concrete wall. I will never take little ones to a professional sporting event again until they are much older.

[Official 2nd Half Thread - Bills and Fins]

We are gonna win this.

[Are Superbowl Wins a Fair Way to Rate QBs?]

If a guy truly had a scrub team around him and still put up good/great numbers I think it can be overlooked (see Peyton Manning). I think it's telling though how a guy performs if/when he reaches the biggest stage. Does he underachieve, overachieve or meet expectations when the lights shine brightest? That's why I'll never consider Jim Kelly one of the elite all-time greats. He had a ton of talent around him, but they collectively came up so small in those Super Bowls.

[ESPN NATION: QB Watch...Bills]

I think it's more, "hey, Thad played a pretty good game compared to what we've seen from Manuel. Why not let him play a few more games to see if we've stumbled upon something special? If he regresses as most assume, then reinsert Manuel and move on from the Thad experiment."