R. Rich

I don't mind takin' a shot on a QB, but I don't believe it MUST be done @ #8. There's a good chance they could end up w/ another Blaine Gabbert, Akili Smith, or even Sanchize by goin' so high for one. Do your research on the guys who should be there in Rounds 2 or 3. Seriously folks, the draft does not conclude w/ the 32nd pick.

Depends. Is there someone who may develop into or even happen upon the scene (ala Kaepernick or Wilson)? Perhaps. Is there a, "You'd be foolish to pass 'em up in the first round" type like Griffin and Luck last year? I don't believe there is.

"If you don't already have a franchise QB, you don't pass one up." -Jacksonville in 2011 -NY Jets in 2009 -Cincinnati in 1999

Check the first post of this thread for details of the mock draft.

Already taken, clump.

This is where you can sign up for whichever team you'd like to draft for. All teams are available except for Buffalo, which will be done via a poll. Keep in mind that this is the overall draft order: THIS DOES NOT REFLECT ANY TRADING OF PICKS MADE! TBD 3 Round Mock Draft Information can be found here: http://forums.twobil...ft-information/ Draft Order Kansas CIty - clumping platelets Jacksonville - PastaJoe Oakland - R. Rich Philadelphia - PastaJoe Detroit - Canks Cleveland - section122 Arizona - BILLS#1 Buffalo-PICKS WILL BE DONE VIA POLL NY Jets - Bill from NYC Tennessee - section122 San Diego - Ramius Miami - clumping platelets Tampa Bay - Ramius Carolina - Triple Threat New Orleans - R. Rich St. Louis - R. Rich Pittsburgh - cosmo Dallas - BILLS#1 NY Giants - KD in CT Chicago - JPS Cincinnati - section122 Washington - clumping platelets Minnesota - clumping platelets Indianapolis - R. Rich Seattle - clumping platelets Green Bay - BB2004 Houston - R. Rich Denver - R. Rich New England - section122 Atlanta - NewEra San Francisco - NewEra Baltimore - NewEra

When was he here?

The 3 round mock draft will begin on Monday, April 22 2013 'round noon. Rounds 2 and 3 will be on Tuesday, April 23 2013 and will also begin 'round noon. The times listed are Eastern Standard Time. TEAM SIGN-UPS There will be a thread posted on Wednesday, April 17 2013 where people can select which team they would like to draft for. Teams will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Like always, we will do a consensus pick for the Buffalo Bills, whose picks will be decided by the results of a poll. TIME LIMITS For the first round, you will have a maximum of 10 minutes to make your selection. Trades are allowed, as long as the agreed upon trade is submitted within your 10 minute time limit. For the second and third rounds, you will have a maximum of 5 minutes to make your selection or to submit an agreed upon trade. Everyone is welcome to participate. Please be mindful of the other participants, though. We want this draft to be successful and run smoothly, so if you have any concerns about having the time to participate, please PM me before we begin. Any GM that fails to submit a pick or agreed upon trade in their allotted time will FORFEIT THEIR PICK! If there are any other questions or concerns about the mock draft, feel free to PM me. Have fun!

Looks like 'bout half of our previous owners are comin' back. That would leave 'round 13 spots in the league. I will select new owners on a first come, first serve basis, but the owners, whether they're new or returnin', MUST be aware of what the league entails (check out the league subforum to learn more 'bout the league-link is posted in the first post in this thread) and MUST be active. Good luck to all participants.

Try it again.

Check your messages.

Too bad, Glenn. Although the game was moved to San Antonio, those of us who still made the trip had a blast. Hopefully this time, you can make the trip and not have to deal w/ any USAir snafus. Oh yeah; we'll be headin' to Heinz Field for the Stillers game. I wouldn't mind goin' to Cleveland to see a game. I've never been to the new Browns Stadium-only that nasty dive Municipal, one of the worst stadiums I have ever been to. I'll have to see where that game falls once the full schedule is released.

The sim league is similar to fantasy football, 'cept in the sim, you manage an entire team: skill players, linemen, the whole thing. It's as close to being an NFL general manager as we can get. There's a salary cap to manage, injuries to deal w/, and free agency to go through, as well as a rookie draft. If you need any more details, check out the Simulation League subforum. I'll post a link to it in the original post in this thread.

Psycho Ward 86 and I have been lookin' forward to this game for some time now. It's one of the two roadies we'll make in 2013. Care to guess where the other one will be?

We are re-bootin' the sim league, so we are lookin' for a group of 24 owners. If any of the owners from the first three seasons want to renew their teams, feel free to indicate it here. Just let me know which team you want to renew. The software used for the sim should be released via download to me in 'bout 3-4 weeks. I should get a release w/ all of the player rankings by the middle of this month. Once I do, I will post the rankings in the Simulation League subforum: http://forums.twobil...ulation-league/ Good luck to all who choose to participate. Former GM Renewals 1. Erie (R. Rich) 2. Texas (BlueFire) 3. Colorado (Ramius) 4. Indianapolis (The Jokeman) 5. Cleveland (Like A Mofo) 6. Edmonton (SHOUTBOX MONSTER!) 7. West Virginia (FutureBillsGM) 8. Green Bay (valle7878) 9. Philadelphia (justnzane) 10. Southern (SABURZFAN) 11. Louisiana (Devin) Prospective New GMs 1. TakeYouToTasker 2. LVBillsBackr 3. NYCBoozers 4. section122 5. Billsrhody 6. tipopticxe 7. tristn98srm 8. Derek in Va 9. Numark 10. PastaJoe 11. Canadian_Bills_Fan 12. Alphadawg7 13. Swiftalo12 14. 910BillsFan 15. NDBUFFCUSEFAN

Wow. Letdown doesn’t begin to describe what happened last Sunday. A golden opportunity to not only take a solid lead in the division, but to also push New England into the cellar…….wasted. Much like the ’04 season, the Bills got some nice victories against lesser competition and then got smacked back to reality by a legitimate playoff contender. Well, @ least this time it wasn’t the contender’s backups inflictin’ the pain. I got to watch this one @ Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon VA w/ a ton of rabid Bills fans. Both the restaurant inside and the alley outside (where we were w/ the big screen TVs that we could barely see due to the bright sunshine and inadequate shade) were packed to capacity. I even got to meet author Jeffery J Miller, who was there to promote his book, “100 Things Bills Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die”. I bought a copy, and Jimmy’s is one of the 100 things listed (#66)! We had a blast….’til the second half. Ah well, on to the game… Ryan Fitzpatrick is certainly the mystery wrapped inside the enigma. For those who say he cannot throw the ball deep, I counter w/ his picture perfect throw to Fred Jackson (4:41 mark of the 2nd quarter) that went for 34 yards. Fred had to lay out to get it, but it was right over the shoulder and TO THE OUTSIDE so that the defender had no shot @ the pick. It wasn’t his only good throw, either. He had one where he hit Scott Chandler for a 6 yard gain (12:38 mark of the 1st quarter) where he fit the ball ‘tween Jerod Mayo and Patrick Chung. He had another good one on a third and 6 play (5:50 mark of the 1st quarter) where he hit Steve Johnson for 16 yards and a first down. He made a nice read and a nice throw on the slant route to Donald Jones (11:18 mark of the 3rd quarter) on the 68 yard bomb. His TD throw to Chandler (9:51 mark of 2nd quarter) was sweet both for the throw, which was right over the top of the defender, and for the play call itself, since it was right after Jairus Byrd stripped Rob Gronkowski of the football and the Bills decided to go right after New England. Loved the aggressive call by the coaches there! However, here’s the problem: he had a bunch of throws that were poorly conceived and/or executed as always. He had T.J. Graham wide open for a big gain (13:04 mark of the 2nd quarter), but underthrew the ball and it was picked off by Devin McCourty. In the second half, it got worse. McCourty picked ‘em off again (11:33 mark of the 4th quarter) when Fitzpatrick locked onto Steve Johnson, who wasn’t anywhere near open. He badly missed Steve again (4:02 mark of the 4th quarter), overthrowin’ it deep to the middle, where Tavon Wilson made the easy pick. Even worse was the horribly thrown ball to a wide open Steve Johnson (7:17 mark of the 4th quarter) where it appeared the Patriots had blown the coverage. Steve was runnin’ all alone down the field and Fitzpatrick still couldn’t get it to ‘em. What really irks me is that for most of these plays, the offensive line (more on these guys later) did a great job of givin’ Fitzpatrick time to throw the ball. He just is too erratic to be relied upon. He gives you great plays, but he also gives you atrocious plays, and he gives ‘em both to you in the same game on the daily. I said this earlier in the week, and I still feel it is true: the Bills will not take the step to become a legitimate threat to the Patriots and the other top teams in the AFC/NFL ‘til they get a QB who can be relied upon to win games. Fitzpatrick, to me, seems like little more than a backup forced to start. Fred Jackson had some good plays and some not so good plays. He made that great catch I mentioned earlier (4:41 mark of the 2nd quarter), and a brilliant jugglin’ one handed catch and run (12:41 mark of the 3rd quarter), but he also got rocked by Brandon Spikes (who did the same to C.J. Spiller @ the end of the first half on a pivotal play) and coughed up the ball (as Spiller did) @ the 13:34 mark of the 4th quarter. Fred also had a very nice blitz pickup (13:15 mark of the 1st quarter) on a 7 yard scramble by Fitzpatrick. Problem for both backs was that the good plays were too few and far ‘tween. Like Jackson, Spiller wasn’t able to generate much in terms of a ground attack. He did have a nice run on a draw play (4:00 mark of the 2nd quarter), but in addition to his costly fumble after the hit by Spikes (1:20 mark of the 2nd quarter), he had trouble in blitz pickup, as Donta Hightower ran ‘em over and forced Fitzpatrick to scramble for no gain (4:42 mark of the 2nd quarter). Dorrin Dickerson made a really nice catch and run (3:18 mark of the 1st quarter) on a well called screen pass that went for 25 yards. He also made a 12 yard catch for a first down (9:00 mark of the 4th quarter) on 3rd and 8. Steve Johnson had a rough game. He and Fitzpatrick seemed to be a bit out of sync @ times, such as on the blown coverage play I mentioned earlier (7:17 mark of the 4th quarter). They did connect on a nice third down conversion (5:50 mark of the 1st quarter), but not much more. Steve was held badly on a play by Sterling Moore that went uncalled by the officials (7:24 mark of the 3rd quarter) and he also missed on a block (10:42 mark of the 2nd quarter) that blew up a run to the right side by Jackson. Donald Jones made the most of his few opportunities, especially on that slant route he caught and took 68 yards to the house (11:18 mark of the 3rd quarter). He added a 22 yard gain later on (3:53 mark of the 3rd quarter. Brad Smith emerged as a receivin’ option in the passing game and not just a wildcat QB that doesn’t throw, comin’ up w/ a nice TD catch toward the end of the first half (2:06 mark of the 2nd quarter). Scott Chandler had a good day both blockin’ (his block led the way for Graham’s 10 yard gain @ the 14:22 mark in the 1st quarter) and receivin’ (TD grabs @ 9:51 mark and 3:35 mark of the 2nd quarter) to highlight the receivers. The offensive line did very well in pass protection in this game. As a unit, they were solid in keepin’ the pocket clean. Things got rough once Kraig Urbik got injured, as he was doin’ a good job of gettin’ out on screen plays. In particular was one @ the 3:18 mark of the 1st quarter where he and Eric Wood got out in front of Dorrin Dickerson, leadin’ the way for a 25 yard gain. Chris Hairston had a really nice block on Jermaine Cunningham @ the 9:51 mark of the 2nd quarter on Chandler’s 24 yard TD catch. The guy who really had the rough outin’ was Erik Pears. Man, did he have a long day. Not all was bad, as his block helped lead the way for Jackson on an 11 yard run on the game’s first offensive snap (15:00 mark of the 1st quarter). He also got to Vince Wilfork and stuffed ‘em on an 8 yard completion by Fitzpatrick to Graham (6:49 mark of the 1st quarter). But, he had his share of struggles too. He got called for holdin’ on Cunningham (10:42 mark of the 2nd quarter), was beaten bad off the edge by Cunningham (10:19 mark of the 2nd quarter), and needed help from Chad Rinehart to stop the rush on the next play (10:13 mark of the 2nd quarter) in a rough 3 play stretch. In terms of run blockin’ things weren’t so good. Very few holes and New England’s linebackers (Hightower, Spikes, Rob Ninkovich) were able to beat blocks and get to the ball carrier. It’s not time to panic just yet folks, but when it comes to the dominant play of the Bills’ defensive line, as the late Clara Peller would say, “Where’s the beef?” They had a couple good games against KC and Cleveland, but in the division games, where the team needs ‘em to shine the most, they have failed to impress. Mario Williams is the primary culprit, as he has failed to show he can constantly get off blocks and into the backfield, somethin’ I’m sure the Bills envisioned when they made Super Mario the highest paid defensive player of all time. I keep hearin’ how he’s tyin’ up blockers and allowin’ others (like Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus) to have opportunities to get to the QB. Sorry, but I call BS on that. From what I’ve seen, Mario is bein’ single blocked most of the time, somewhere ‘round 23 times in this game alone. He did have a couple good plays, like when he helped to stop the Pats for a 1 yard loss (12:11 mark of the 2nd quarter), when he teamed w/ Kyle Williams to blow up a screen pass to Shane Vereen (7:45 mark of the 2nd quarter) and force the incompletion, and when he teamed w/ Kyle Williams and Dareus to break down the pocket and sack Brady (3:00 mark of the 2nd quarter). Problem is, that’s just not enough production for someone so highly touted and someone who has accomplished much in a short career span. Most of my notes have the same comment: Mario single blocked by Sebastian Vollmer….again. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself: 8:57 mark of the 1st quarter 4:06 mark of the 1st quarter 3:30 mark of the 1st quarter 10:00 mark of the 2nd quarter 0:15 mark of the 3rd quarter All of these plays were plays were he was single blocked by Vollmer. No chip, no double or triple teams, just one on one and he got beat. Repeatedly. The interior guys didn’t fare much better. Kyle Williams had a couple good plays, such as the sack he got on Brady (3:00 mark of the 2nd quarter), a play where he forced Brady to throw the ball away (12:18 mark of the 2nd quarter), and a nice knockdown of a Brady pass (13:58 mark of the 3rd quarter). But there were plenty of plays where he was engulfed by the blockers, such as the play where he and Dareus both were just stuffed @ the line of scrimmage on the completion to Gronkowski where Byrd bailed ‘em out by comin’ up w/ the strip (10:00 mark of the 2nd quarter), the play where Dan Connolly took ‘em off his feet on a run that went for 13 yards (10:13 mark of the 3rd quarter), and another 11 yard run by Ridley (0:15 mark of the 3rd quarter) where Nate Solder blocked down on Kyle and sealed ‘em off. Plus, there was the personal foul (4:49 mark of the 3rd quarter). You just cannot go for the lower legs in a situation like that. Sucks, but it was the right call. Dareus also spent plenty of time bein’ knocked off the line, such as the aforementioned Ridley run, where Connolly and Ryan Wendell combined to take Dareus ‘bout 6 yards down the field and away from the play. Even Mark Anderson had problems gettin’ off blocks and settin’ the edge (Gronkowski pinned ‘em inside on that same Ridley run). When the Bills stuck w/ their nickel package and had Spencer Johnson and Alex Carrington inside, things just got worse. Donald Thomas, who started in place of the injured Logan Mankins, blew Carrington up on Ridley’s 6 yard TD run (6:53 mark of the 1st quarter), the Patriots’ first openin’ drive TD of the season. He got overpowered again on an 8 yard Ridley run (6:52 mark of the 2nd quarter). Spencer Johnson got put on his a** on a 7 yard Ridley run (9:03 mark of the 2nd quarter) and basically got overpowered and outrun (even by….Tom Brady??? @ the 4:00 mark of the 3rd quarter on a 4 yard “TD” run that should’ve been down @ the ½ yard line). Overall, not a strong effort from the supposed strength of the team and one of the supposed best units in all of football. The linebackers also struggled in this game. Nick Barnett ended up w/ 15 tackles, but had issues in coverage (got juked on the play action pass to Daniel Fells @ the 9:55 mark of the 1st quarter that gained 18 yards), trouble comin’ off blocks (Wendell took ‘em out on a 10 yard Ridley run @ the 9:28 mark of the 2nd quarter),missed tackles (got burned on cutback run by Bolden @ the 12:49 mark of the 4th quarter), and took some poor pursuit angles (overshot a play @ the 12:56 mark of the 2nd quarter that allowed Bolden to get to the second level and gain 12 yards). Same goes for Bryan Scott. He overshot plays (Ridley run @ 9:28 of the 2nd quarter, Bolden’s run @ 12:56 mark of the 2nd quarter), got caught up in traffic and couldn’t shed blocks (Ridley run of 8 yards @ 6:52 mark of 2nd quarter), and struggled in coverage (horrible miscommunication on the Gronkowski TD @ the 15:00 mark of the 4th quarter). Kelvin Sheppard was the invisible man, mainly due to the coaches usin’ a nickel scheme that took ‘em out. They went for extra pass coverage, especially against Gronkowski, but the Pats were smart enough to just run on ‘em instead. The Bills, for some strange reason, would not come out of this package. Props to Stephon Gilmore for a good job out there. He broke up a pass for Brandon Lloyd (3:30 mark of the 1st quarter), though Lloyd would return the favor later (beat ‘em on 3rd and 10 for a 17 yard gain @ the 7:41 mark of the 2nd quarter). Still, he made other solid plays, such as a great pass breakup (13:26 mark of the 4th quarter), a near INT due to a great break on the ball (0:42 mark of the 1st quarter), and another near INT in the end zone (11:51 mark of the 4th quarter), plus a great hit on Gronkowski to stop a potential TD (14:08 mark of the 3rd quarter). Jairus Byrd forced a Gronkowski fumble (10:00 mark of the 2nd quarter) and another from Wes Welker (2:25 mark of the 2nd quarter). George Wilson, Bryan Scott, and Justin Rogers all had headaches tryin’ to deal w/ Gronkowski, w/ Wilson inexplicably lettin’ Gronkowski get past ‘em for a TD late (15:00 mark of the 4th quarter). Aaron Williams had a nice breakup early (11:27 mark of the 2nd quarter) and was victimized by a near perfect TD pass from Brady to Lloyd (4:09 mark of the 4th quarter) where his coverage was as good as you can get, but the pass was just right in the spot it needed to be and the defender couldn’t get to. Welcome to the Buffalo Bills, Shaun Powell. He had one really nice blast (7:20 mark of the 3rd quarter) for 54 yards. But, he also had one go off the side of his foot (2:03 mark of the 3rd quarter) that only traveled 28 yards. Overall, he averaged just under 40 yards per punt. Not bad for his first game. Coverage units weren’t spectacular, but didn’t hurt the team either. Returns were nonexistent due to great kickoffs by the Pats. As far as what the coaches called, I really didn’t understand their stubborn refusal to come out of the nickel package, even when the Patriots had 2 tight ends on the field in an obvious run formation. They kept smallish LB/DB Bryan Scott out there, and they paid for it w/ huge runs off tackle w/ Scott usually bein’ washed out by blocks from the OL. When the Bills ran a quick out to Graham (7:24 mark of the 3rd quarter), why didn’t they try to run a pick play to clear the path for Graham? The Pats do this often w/ Welker (they did it on a memorable conversion last year in the game @ RICH that the Bills won). There was another time I wondered why the offense ran a power play to the short side of the field (6:24 mark of the 1st quarter) when the defense was slanted that way….and there was no lead blocker? When the Pats ran (basically) that same run play on the Bills, they had a PAIR of lead blockers and pulled an O lineman to lead the way as well. Theirs worked; ours didn’t. Hmm… I did notice a few non-calls too: Steve Johnson got grabbed on a third down play by Sterling Moore (7:24 mark of the 3rd quarter) and on McCourty’s second INT (11:33 mark of the 4th quarter), Spikes blasted Chandler w/ a blow to the head that was missed by the refs. Oh, and who buys Welker’s account of just who Brady was addressin’ w/ his “**** you *****es!” comment after his 4 yard “touchdown” run? If you haven’t heard it or read it, he said he was addressin’ teammate Brandon Lloyd. Riiiiiiiiight. So, the Bills missed the opportunity to go ahead of New England by a pair of games and to take the lead in the division. Well, those are the sorta things bad teams do: fail to close out. I am still hopin’ that the Bills are in the process of turnin’ the corner and becomin’ the kinda team that can win those types of games, or close teams out when they have ‘em on the ropes (like a 14-7 lead late in the first half and the ball 6 feet away from takin’ a 2 TD lead). I just see ‘em makin’ the same ol’ mistakes though. It’s like a bad rerun that you can’t stop from bein’ replayed over and over and over and over. And now, they have to go on the road for two big ones vs San Francisco and Arizona. I’ve watched all of Arizona’s games so far this year, and I’m tellin’ you all, they are scary good, especially on defense. They blitz early and often, they fly all over the field, and they are extremely aggressive. You know, all of the things we had hoped from the Bills’ defense. San Fran is a well coached team that is solid in all areas of the game. They will both be very tough games for the Bills to win. It isn’t impossible, but will take a dedicated effort for four quarters, which is what they couldn’t come up w/ last Sunday. Time to shake that one off and get ready for a brutal two game stretch. Good luck, Bills. I remain a faithful and loyal fan….no matter how frustrated a fan I am.

T-minus 1 day and counting!!!! Tomorrow is the big day! Today: lunch @ Duffs, some shoppin', then Oktoberfest in Hamburg. Maybe a stop @ Danny's afterward. Have fun!

See ya @ noon.

T-minus 2 days and counting!!!! We arrived in town and checked into our hotel last night. Lookin' forward to seein' everyone this weekend. Go Bills!

Ugh. That’s all I got. Ugh. See ya next week! Just jokin’. Well, another season begins, another deflatin’ performance by our Buffalo Bills. Is Yogi Berra hangin’ ‘round here, ‘cause it sure seems like déjà vu all over again. Still way too early to give up on the season and close up shop, so I will not give last rites to the 2012 season. Many of us “old timers” have that “been there, done that” feelin’ w/ the way this season kicked off though. I am stayin’ w/ my tried and true concept of “hopin’ for the best and expectin’ the worst”. That way, if I am wrong, then I am pleasantly surprised. Well now, on to the game…. We may as well start w/ the lowlight: the play of Ryan Fitzpatrick. There were a few positives to point out, and here they are: He looked good on a 13 yard completion to Scott Chandler (11:08 mark of First Quarter) He had a really nice throw on the out to Chandler (4:31 mark of Third Quarter) that went for a 4 yard TD. Although it was “too little, too late”, his 29 yard TD toss to Steve Johnson (6:06 mark of Fourth Quarter) was thrown right on target, just over the droppin’ LB and in front of the DB. Now, here’s some of the bad: The first INT by Darrelle Revis (9:56 mark of First Quarter) was due to a pass that was way too late on an out route. The second INT by Kyle Wilson (2:31 mark of First Quarter) was one of those “never should’ve thrown it” passes that was again late and behind intended receiver David Nelson. He just missed throwin’ another INT w/ a horrible throw that was well anticipated and nearly picked off by Antonio Cromartie (13:56 mark of Second Quarter). While the turnover wasn’t his fault, the throw to CJ Spiller (1:57 mark of Second Quarter) was yet another pass that was behind the intended target. Spiller had to turn back in order to catch the ball, and you gotta wonder how that would’ve turned out had the pass hit ‘em in stride. Cromartie’s INT return for a score (13:51 mark of Third Quarter) was a poor pre-snap read by Fitzpatrick, who didn’t see Cromartie drop off his guy to make that play. Another INT was averted by David Nelson’s quick actions (7:33 mark of Third Quarter) when Jets LB David Harris missed the chance @ the pick and deflected the ball right to ‘em for a 10 yard gain. To sum it all up, Fitzpatrick looked awful. Where is the improvement, now that he’s had a full season as a starter? Why, if the rib injury was the main factor in his INT-fest @ the end of last year, is he still throwin’ passes that should be and, in many cases, are picked off? Had Cromartie and Harris held onto those passes they jumped routes on, Fitzpatrick would’ve had 5 INTs in this game. Pitiful. On to the lone highlight of the game: the performance of CJ Spiller. I know he has his detractors, but for this one game, back up off ‘em! He gave the team their only spark. I’ve said before that if he gets the blocks that allow ‘em to get to the second level, Spiller can make things happen. He certainly did that on his 56 yard TD run (9:17 mark of Second Quarter), cleanly gettin’ to the open field (more on that later) and breakin’ LaRon Landry’s divin’ tackle attempt and David Harris’ strip attempt to take it to the house. Spiller had a beautiful 51 yard run (6:52 mark of Third Quarter) where he again got to open field due to solid blocks (more later) and, again, made things happen, gettin’ to the 1 yard line. For the game, CJ had 169 yards on 14 carries. So, takin’ out his two huge runs, he still had 62 yards on 12 carries, a very sturdy 5.17 yard per rush average. He did get the ball stripped from ‘em on the aforementioned pass from Fitzpatrick @ the end of the Second Quarter, but the pass was behind ‘em , and he got stripped RIGHT out of his turn to go forward. It was a good defensive play. Fred Jackson had a rough outin’, even before the injury took ‘em out. He lost 3 yards on a run (10:37 mark of First Quarter) on a play where Erik Pears and Donald Jones missed blocks and left Jackson hangin’. Jackson himself missed badly on a lead block (6:02 mark of First Quarter) where Spiller got 3, but could’ve gotten more w/ that block. He gained 7 yards on a run (11:17 mark of Second Quarter) that ended w/ Landry knockin’ Fred out for a few weeks (3-6??). Tashard Choice got some action late and did very little. Not many notes on the wideouts, who did very little in this one. David Nelson, before his season endin’ injury, did have the nice play on the deflected pass and Steve Johnson did score late in the game on a very nice throw by Fitzpatrick, but not much else to praise. Scott Chandler did make a nice 4 yard TD grab and had another solid 13 yard grab earlier in the game (11:08 mark of First Quarter), plus he had a few nice blocks, one in particular was his solid lead block on Spiller’s 51 yard run (6:52 mark of Third Quarter). Props to the offensive line, who really did a nice job openin’ holes in the runnin’ game and givin’ Fitzpatrick time to throw the ball. On Chandler’s 13 yard reception (11:08 mark of First Quarter), they all did a good job of keepin’ Fitzpatrick’s passin’ lanes open to find his target and to keep ‘em clean and upright. On the 56 yard TD run by Spiller (9:17 mark of Second Quarter), Kraig Urbik had a beautiful block on Marcus Dixon that also clogged up Bart Scott and didn’t allow ‘em to get to the ballcarrier. Cordy Glenn had a beautiful drive block (11:17 mark of Second Quarter) while Urbik and Hairston made good seal blocks on Jackson’s 7 yard run that ended w/ his knee injury. And on Spiller’s 51 yard run (6:52 mark of Third Quarter), Glenn, Eric Wood (who pancaked his guy!), Urbik and Hairston all had excellent blocks that sprung CJ. Overall, a solid debut by these guys. On the other hand, a not so solid debut for the vaunted Bills’ defensive line. A unit that was hyped for most of the offseason and pre-season, these guys were barely decent. They did have a few plays, but were sorely lackin’ in terms of a pass rush. Heck, Chris Kelsay, pushed to the bench w/ the signin’ of Mark Anderson and Mario Williams (more in a bit on these guys), had as good a game (if not better) than the guys who replaced ‘em in the startin’ unit. Kelsay and Kyle Williams combined on a nice stop of Tim Tebow (6:46 mark of First Quarter), limitin’ Tebow to 4 yards when it could’ve gone for more. Kelsay also stopped Shonn Greene for a 2 yard loss (4:26 mark of Third Quarter). Mark Anderson got sucked in on a misdirection play (11:53 mark of First Quarter), but recovered well and strung the play out, ultimately forcin’ Mark Sanchez to throw the INT to Bryan Scott. Anderson also stumbled on a well called inside twist (6:42 mark of Second Quarter) where Sanchez threw for a 5 yard gain and a first down. Had he stayed upright, it looked as if he would’ve gotten a sack or @ least pressure up the middle. Kyle Williams got engulfed by Mario Williams’ buddy, Austin Howard on a 12 yard run by Greene (7:30 mark of First Quarter). Kyle teamed w/ Marcell Dareus and Mario Williams (4:26 mark of Third Quarter) on a play where they actually forced Sanchez out of the pocket. He did escape, but fumbled the ball due to a strip by Kelsay that nobody from the Bills could recover (more on this later). Now, on to Mario Williams. He claimed that Howard spent the day placin’ his hands in his face, and that he informed the refs of this to no avail. I did watch to see just how flagrant Howard’s hand placement was. Here’s some of what I saw: Mario did seem to get hit in the face on the first offensive snap of the game (14:57 mark of First Quarter), an incomplete pass by Sanchez. On the 3rd and 6 play of the same series (14:16 mark of First Quarter), he was single blocked by Howard. No hands to the face. On a 2nd and 7 play @ the Jets’ 33 (12:50 mark of First Quarter), he was again single blocked by Howard. No hands to the face. On one of the few blitzes in the game (8:41 mark of First Quarter), he was single blocked again by Howard. No hands to the face. On 2nd and 6 from the Bills’ 33, he did get chipped by the RG (7:39 mark of First Quarter). No hands to the face. On 3rd and 6 from the Bills’ 33 (7:34 mark of First Quarter), he was single blocked by Howard. No hands to the face. This is just the first quarter, folks, and I have one play where he got hands to the face and one where Howard got help. Face it, Mario got handled by Howard. Period. The linebackers were okay. I say okay in that they didn’t cost the Bills much, but they didn’t earn ‘em much, either. There were plenty of tackles by Nick Barnett (9) and Kelvin Sheppard (8), but not many “wow” plays. Barnett was slow to react on a drag route by TE Jeff Cumberland (12:50 mark of First Quarter) that resulted in an 11 yard gain. He also got sucked too far in on a bubble screen by Santonio Holmes (8:32 mark of Second Quarter) that went for a 17 yard gain. He did shoot the gap and make a solid tackle for just a 3 yard gain (12:29 mark of First Quarter). Sheppard overshot a play (8:17 mark of First Quarter) and Bilal Powell ended up w/ 4 yards instead of a loss or no gain. He also got washed out on a run by Greene (7:30 mark of First Quarter) that went for 12 yards. Arthur Moats had a nice read (7:28 mark of Second Quarter) where he scraped down and made a tackle to limit Greene to 4 yards. As for the defensive backs…ugh. Tough game. Stephon Gilmore got his, “welcome to the NFL” by….a rookie? Yup, Stephen Hill took Gilmore to school. He caught ‘em flat footed (14:16 mark of First Quarter) and caught Gilmore w/ a vicious forearm that put ‘em out of position and allowed Hill to get a 7 yard gain and a first down. He was also beaten bad on Hill’s 33 yard TD grab (15:00 mark of Second Quarter), where he bit on Sanchez’ pump fake. Aaron Williams didn’t fare better. He tried, but didn’t get nearly a good enough jam on Holmes (7:39 mark of First Quarter), who probably would’ve scored had Sanchez got ‘em the ball. Thank goodness it was incomplete. Williams held Hill on a 3rd and 6 play @ the Bills’ 33 (7:34 mark of First Quarter) that kept the drive alive. Leodis McKelvin had a brutal outin’. The Jets went after ‘em early and often. Jets wideout Jeremy Kerley beat McKelvin for 21 yards (8:41 mark of First Quarter) and then again on a 12 yard TD (6:07 mark of First Quarter). The safeties both did very little. Jairus Byrd appeared to shy away from contact on the bubble screen play (8:32 mark of Second Quarter), though he did have a few tackles in run support. Special teams? Not so special. McKelvin dropped a potential kick return after the Kerley TD catch (6:02 mark of First Quarter). Luckily, it was just a touchback instead of a turnover. The Bills called a timeout before a 4th and short play (12:56 mark of Second Quarter), only to lose 5 yards on a delay of game penalty out of the timeout, THEN give up a 68 yard TD return to Kerley. Horrible pursuit angles by Bryan Scott, Chris White, and Ruvell Martin on that one. The lone special teams highlight came from kickoff specialist John Potter, who kicked one out the end zone on the kickoff after Spiller’s TD (9:06 mark of Second Quarter). Coaching wise, I have some questions. Why was the entire back 7 playin’ nearly 5 yards off the ball w/ nobody controllin’ any gaps on a run by Powell (8:17 mark of First Quarter)? Why is it that the Bills have issues w/ comin’ up w/ loose balls? (5:57 mark of Second Quarter and 15:00 mark of Fourth Quarter) And, considerin’ how Gailey said Fitzpatrick was never in danger of comin’ out of the game, “since he can’t get any better by standin’ next to me”, why is it that TJ Graham can’t see the field? You drafted the guy in the third round ‘cause you felt he had the deep speed your team sorely lacks. Why can’t he get his chance to develop? When the Stillers brought in guys like Emanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, and Mike Wallace, did they sit ‘em, or did they play ‘em? Ah well, it’s only one game. Wow; didn’t take long to pull out the ol’ “it’s only”, did it? I’m still lookin’ forward to the matchup on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs and to the tailgate. It’s more than just a time to eat and drink: it’s our TBD Family Reunion. Dysfunctional as we may be, that is. Speakin’ of dysfunctional, the Chiefs are experiencin’ woes of their own. Their fan base is tearin’ their team apart, just like the Bills’ fans. Someone’s gotta win, right? See y’all this weekend.

T-minus 7 days and counting!!!! One week from now, we'll be @ the tailgate!! Lovin' it! Here's hopin' we will be discussin' how the Bills destroyed the Jets.

Nah. We'll do Rochester as always.

What? No Rachacha?? Blasphemy!

T-minus 10 days and counting!!!! It's nearly time! A week from today, we'll be on our way up to WNY for Home Opener Weekend. Lookin' forward to seein' my TBD peeps.

One prime for me.