R. Rich

I hear ya. The Pats know when to get rid of players and still get compensation for 'em. Shrewd. I could roll w/ either scenario: staying put (if the pick is high enough) and taking a QB like Luck or Mallet or trading down and acquiring additional picks. Like you said, the Bills are way more than a player away from contention. As long as they hit the mark more than they miss it w/ additional picks, they could really go a long way toward building for their future.

Then again, people whine 'bout how the Bills never take what trade offers they do receive (allegedly). Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Fine. Get outta here, then.

Given the choice, I'd hope it would be an OT. I know Bruuuuce was a standout, but the truth is that he was the exception as a pass rushing DE in a 3-4, NOT the rule. The rush should come from the OLBs, so if they intend on upgrading the pass rush, I'd hope the Bills would look to grab a good edge rusher maybe in the 2nd round, kinda like what Pittsburgh did in taking LaMarr Woodley.

Maybe it has more to do w/ the folks who evaluate talent and less to do w/ some sorta "guilt by school choice" issue.

Doubtful, but I guess on any given Sunday...

Mike Williams?

I resemble that remark.

Seattle is rebuilding? I thought they were just rehabbing. That team had a slew of injuries and boy did they struggle. They got healthier and now they're not as awful. Washington? Sure they're doing well. All they did was fork over a ton of cash to a reputable coach and trade for McNabb. I honestly can't envision the Buffalo Bills being in a position to do either of those things, so it's good for Washington, but...

D'oh! I guess I was referring to Johnathan Stupar. Then again, the TEs are so nondescript, I guess it could be any of 'em. Good catch, though.

And so the winless streak continues, huh? That stinks. But, despite the Bills' struggles, I had a great time last weekend. I got to spend some quality time before and after the game w/ my family and I got to see many of the TBD regulars on game day. Lancaster Steve and his wife Lisa, Harvey, BuffaloBart (Pittsburgh game, not Cleveland!), Philster, Mikey, cablelady, sidbuff w/ wife and crew (great to see you, bro), my two favorites for football discussions on game day: Badolbilz and Lori, and last but certainly not least, William and his awesome NYC crew. Good times were had by all...I think. We'll do it up again for the Stillers game next month and we'll be there much earlier than the 11:30ish that my brother and I arrived last Sunday. On to the game... I thought Ryan Fitzpatrick was okay. He did overthrow a few passes that could've gone for long gains, but that's to be expected. The guy is a quality backup but not much more, so none of us should get too crazy over his shortcomings. I loved the idea to quickly strike after the turnover via the bomb to Lee Evans, and Fitz threw a very good pass on that one. There were a few times when you'd wish he would go through his progressions quicker (took a really bad sack by holding onto the ball), but again, those thing will happen w/ a guy who isn't a franchise QB. But give the guy props for not throwing a boneheaded INT by forcing a big play (another thing he has a knack for @ times) and for not trying to do too much and, in the process, make the kind of mistakes that blow the game wide open. Fred Jackson ran well, I thought. Could've been better, but the opportunities weren't there all day. His 31 yard run was nice! C.J. Spiller again showed flashes of potential. He runs well 'tween the tackles; not stutter stepping, but hitting the hole and then making guys miss when he can. He could learn to trust his blocking a bit more (be a bit more patient, especially on plays where they lead w/ a guard or FB) and get his blitz pickups down more, but he looks to be a really good young back. Corey McIntire has had some really nice lead blocks, which is even more reason for Spiller to develop patience in his running. Evans made some nice catches and even did the littl things to help Fitzpatrick out (like coming back to the ball, which hasn't been a strong suit for him). I like the way he's developing into a fine third down receiving option also. No longer is he, "Mr. 9 Route". Thankfully. Roscoe Parrish also is making some nice catches. He had a really nice third down conversion where he could've (and had, in the past) lost the ball coming down due to contact. Hopefully he'll continue to become a solid slot receiver. Problem is, the Bills still need someone opposite Evans to be a consistent option. Yeah, Steve Johnson caught a pair of TDs, but he still has those annoying lapses in his game where he drops passes and looks lazy in his route running. Maybe David Nelson? Maybe Johnson becomes consistent and reliable? We'll see. Shawn Nelson came back, though you wouldn't really know it. No catches, a drop, and no factor in run blocking. Then again, none of the Bills' TEs are that good in run blocking. This unit continues to be a huge weakness. [i'm an idiot: Johnathan Stupar, not Nelson, was the TE, and he actually did have a catch. One.] On to the offensieve line. Pass blocking still isn't that good, as Fitzpatrick was dropped three times and pressured quite a few others. Terrence Knighton is a real good interior pass rusher for the Jags! Or, @ least he was in this game. I will give props to Andy Levitre for a fine lead block early on. He does look pretty good getting out in front for the RBs. Still waiting to see more stout play from Geoff Hangartner and Eric Wood. These guys still allow far too much pressure up the middle. Cornell Green continues to get penalized @ very inopportune moments, like in the red zone. C'mon man; you're on OFFENSE! Know the snap count, fire out, and do your job. As for Demetrius Bell, he had a few decent moments, but still gets beat to the outside far too easy. The defensive line had another rough outing. I do think many of the issues w/ their performance in this one came down to fatigue though. Early on, Maurice Jones-Drew found little room to operate. But as the game wore on and the offense failed to produce or to @ least sustain drives (3 for 11 on third downs), these guys just wore out. Kinda like the way the Bills stymied Drew Brees last year, only to get worn down and have Pierre Thomas carve 'em up late. I thought Spencer Johnson did a better job of getting past his blocker and forcing plays away from the primary hole. Marcus Stroud still looks too slow and is not beating those blocks to either put heat on the QB or re-route the RBs. Kyle Williams got pressure inside by shooting the gap, but also got taken out of plays when he should've been holiding the point of attack. Both Torell Troup and Alex Carrington got some reps and showed some good stuff. Troup has very good strength, but his technique needs work. As I said after the game, he can stack, but he can't shed very well. There were plenty of times I saw him take on the blocks and clog up the hole. Problem was, he couldn't disengage once the RB got there to make the play. He'll get it w/ more work, I'm sure. I do think he can be a good NT for the Bills once he gets his technique down. Then there were the linebackers. Yikes. This is, in my opinion, the worst unit on the Buffalo Bills, and it's not even close. Sad to say, but that's how it is. Paul Posluszny has got to diagnose plays and get to the action earlier than he does. He and the other LBs have to do a much better job of taking on the blocks, shedding 'em, and getting to the action. They are late to plays, are not physical enough, and are woeful in pass coverage. If David Garrard was any sort of stud QB, Marcedes Lewis would've had a monster game against the Bills and the Jags would've blown the game wide open. He was like 7-Eleven; open all day. Props to Andra Davis for deflecting the pass and then getting the INT. Outside of that, there were ZERO impact plays from this unt. No forced fumbles, no sacks (one came by Stroud, the other was a corner blitz), and no tackles for losses. Badolbilz made reference to the good old days of the 3-4 w/ Biscuit and Talley and how we had quality guys like Ray Bentley too. He said Bentley would now be the best LB on this team by far. He's so right. For a team that runs a 3-4, the Bills are horribly equipped @ this most vital position. The secondary was solid in that they wouldn't allow the Jags' WRs to really get anything going. Mike Sims-Walker had a TD grab, but had 'bout 8 yards per catch on his other 3 catches of the day. The guy who really did the Bills in was Lewis, and that was mostly the LBs Lewis abused. Leodis McKelvin and Jairus Byrd got a bit more involved in run support, but that is still not a strong point for these guys. Donte Whitner had 10 solo tackles, but really didn't come up w/ any big time hits, crucial stops in critical moments (like third downs,goal line situations), nor did he force any turnovers. Special teams were not that special. Brian Moorman had a solid game, w/ nearly 44 yards per punt including a nice 61 yarder. Rian Lindell converted a pair of short FGs. Problem was the return units. Not much in the way of returns (no punt reutrns as kicked FGs or turned the ball over) and the kick returns were minimal. The coverage units had some good (only 19 yards yielded on 3 punt returns) and some not so good (an average of 36 yards per kick return, including a 51 yarder @ the start of the 2nd half). Coaching wise, the Bills still aren't quite there. They did get aggressive w/ the early fumble, which resulted in the 45 yard TD to Evans. That was good. But they still play things a bit close to the vest when they could be more open (on third/fourth and short situations). While Troup isn't as refined a DT as Williams, he does hold up better to double teams. I would love to see the Bills experiment w/ moving Williams to DE and start Troup @ the nose. Couldn't hurt @ this point, and you'd get to see more of your younger players. A lot of people will bash George Edwards for the defense's shortcomigs, but as poorly as the LBs are playing, the Bills should expect to see teams attack 'em like Jacksonville and New England did. It's there all day, so why not? So add another 0 to the pack, eh? Now that's 5 of 'em. I know, I know; 11 more to go, right? So what? I'm not rooting for the team to lose to lock up the chance to grab an Andrew Luck or a Ryan Mallet. I'm rooting for the organization to realize what they have and what they don't have in terms of personnel. They need LBs for this 3-4. They need a TE. They need a pair of quality OTs. They may even need to bring in another interior OL (either get a center or move one of the guards to center and bring in a mauler @ guard). They need a pass rusher, but since they're going to run the 3-4, that's why they need to bring in an OLB who can do that. Like what Dallas has in DeMarcus Ware or what Pittsburgh has in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Impact players is what is needed. QB? W/out question, but also @ the other positions I mentioned. The Bills are a long way from being ready to compete. The thing to watch for now is the development of the guys on the roster. I am hoping for the best, as usual. Meanwhile, not even this 0-5 start is going to put a damper on what was a very good weekend for me.

I posted the thread w/ all the details of the October 24th tailgate before the Bills-Ravens game in the Baltimore-Washington Area Events forum. Hope to see a bunch of you all there. Even w/ the crappy start to the season, I've already been notified by quite a few folks (even Pinto Ken) that they plan to attend. It should be a blast, regardless of what happens in the game.

Buffalo Bills @ Baltimore Ravens Tailgate 2010 Information DATE, TIME, PLACE The tailgate will be Sunday, October 24th, 2010 @ Sliders Bar and Grille, which is located @ 504 Washington Blvd in Baltimore. It's 'cross the street from Oriole Park @ Camden Yards and just ‘bout a block or so away from M&T Bank Stadium. The tailgate will begin @ 9:00am and will last 'til 'bout 1:30pm. Those who plan on staying @ Sliders to watch the game are more than welcome to stay beyond 1:30pm. COST The cost for the buffet will be $10.00 per person. MENU Here's the menu (all included in the $10.00 fee): Burgers Chicken Tenders Fries Chili Potato salad Cheese and vegetable platter Chips Pretzels Sodas and, oh yeah... WINGS!! DRINK SPECIALS In addition, there will be drink specials (not included with the $10.00 fee): 2 for 1 rail drinks (rum, gin, and vodka) $2.00 can beers (Variety of beers including: Bud Light, Yuengling, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, Miller High Life and Miller Lite, Natty Boh, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and…….Labatt Blue!!!) Hope to see you there!

Talk 'bout your "coulda shoulda woulda" players! Harris, the prototypical 3-4 inside 'backer, was taken 13 picks after the Bills took Posluszny in the '07 draft. Of course, the Bills were still floundering w/ their smaller and quicker 4-3 front then. Damn.

Hey, nobody said it was easy being a fan of the Buffalo Bills, did they? Things sure seem to be getting rough here. Fan apathy is on the rise as morale is on the decline. I see plenty of threads blasting Bills management, coaching, players, and, of course, ownership. Many folks seem to be like me; just numb to it all. It's tough for me to even get irate 'bout this. Seen it all far too many times. You think you're past it, but then more of the same rears its ugly head. The true "vicious cycle". What helps me deal w/ it is that, @ least for me, the Bills have become secondary to the experience. Whether it's going to games and seeing good friends (see ya this weekend, William) or just getting to spend a Sunday @ home w/ some good brews (yesterday was an Un-Earthly sorta day) and good food. Or even going to a sports bar, as I did for the Week 2 debacle (@ least I met a few decent fans....in South Jersey, no less!!), the event is first and the game second. Kinda sucks, but that's what has happened. Now, on to yesterday... Ryan Fitzpatrick showed he can run for his life farily well. Good; he needed to. The pass protection wasn't the greatest we've seen (we'll get to that in a few). Still, a few times in the game, he showed some flashes of good stuff. Problem was, the receivers wasted opportunities w/ dropped passes and poor communication (we'll certainly get to this later). Then again, I don't think Fitzpatrick is much better than a quality backup anyway, so... The RBs? Outside of a nice special teams hit from Corey McIntire, what else was there? Not very involved in the game plan (???), that's for sure. Next... Ah yes, the receivers. Lee Evans was nearly shut out (for all intents and purposes, he was) and just 'bout all of 'em looked pitiful. David Nelson's big third down conversion was nice, but again, there wasn't much to like from this group. Rough outing, to be sure. One thing I did notice was that there were times when all of the wideouts appeared to have quit out there. Guys letting defenders get inside position to jump routes and knock down passes, guys not fighting for the ball...stuff like that. Think of how Braylon Edwards fought so hard to keep Leodis McKelvin from coming up w/ a pick. It would be nice to see the Bills wideouts fight like that. Instead, they appeared....soft. Sure would be nice to have @ least a couple receivers willing to lay a guy out like Hines Ward. That kinda mentality (tough, but not dirty to where it costs the team in personal fouls) is badly needed. On to the offensieve line. Cornell Green and Demetrius Bell had all sorts of problems holding up the edge, and the interior guys were not much better. Andy Levitre whiffed BAD on a play that nearly got Fitzpatrick murdered. Eric Wood looked lost and confused out there. Both looked nothing, and I do mean nothing, like the purported bada** maulers they were said to be coming out of college. In fact, they looked pretty much like any of a number of average (and below) guards the Bills have had in recent years. And either these guys need to go back to basics to understand line calls, or Geoff Hangartner just didn't have a clue how to put the guys in the best position to protect the QB. Either way, it was some atrocious pass protection and subpar run blocking. Yuck. How 'bout that defensive line, huh? Ugh. Dwan Edwards and Kyle Williams play hard, but they really don't get the kind of push that is either going to hurry QBs' throws enough nor force RBs to bounce outside to the pursuit (haha!!). Welcome to the starting lineup, Spencer Johnson. While he was no world beater, he did appear to be a slight upgrade from Marcus Stroud. As for the new guys that we've all been begging to see more of, Alex Carrington and Torell Troup? Very little. Hard to tell from the limited action, but Carrington looked slow and un-athletic while Troup did not appear to do well trying to anchor the middle. Hopefully these things will be corrected w/ more opportunities. Hopefully. On to the unit I feel was the absoulute worst on Sunday: the linebackers. Awful, just awful. Reggie Torbor was probably the best LB on the field for the Bills, and he was just so-so. Akin Ayodele and Paul Posluszny had a bunch of tackles, but let's be real here, they were making tackles in the SECONDARY! I'm not impressed. Chris Kelsay continues to show that he is a DE in OLB's clothing and didn't even showcase some of his finer points, like stopping the run. He was embarrASSed on a pitch play to the left that once again caught him off guard. Funny how that happens. We got to see a bit of Arthur Moats, and it wasn't too shabby, but since he really couldn't provide pressure on Jets QB Mark Sanchez, it was another case of too little, too late. So through four games, this unit has shown that it isn't stout in the middle to stop the inside running game, cannot contain (Kelsay) to stop the outside plays, and perhaps most importantly, cannot provide quality consistent coverage against the TEs and RBs. To put it short, the LBs are the Achille's heel of the Bills. For a team that is running a LB-dominated scheme like the 3-4, that's not good. Now onto the best unit on the field yesterday: the DBs. Hold on there, that ain't sayin' much. These guys had a rough outing, though most of it was due to the...ahem...play of the seven guys in front of 'em. Drayton Florence and McKelvin got roughed up a bit (Florence looked real slow trying to cover LaDainian Tomlinson while McKelvin bit big time on an out and up by Edwards that went for a score), but also made do as best as a team w/ zero pass rush could. Both guys broke up passes (props to McKelvin for a great third down stop of Edwards) as did Reggie Corner (too litte, too late though). The safeties (Bryan Scott especially) will have visions of Dustin Keller in their nightmares for a while, as they could do nothing to stop 'em. Oh yeah, and Donte Whitner, being one of the "best tackling safeties in the league" as Dan Dierdorf said (?), was juked badly by Tomlinson. Maybe more tackling and less tweeting? Jairus Byrd again looked a bit late getting to the action and even a bit hesitant 'bout run support @ times. If he's going to emerge as the star of this unit, he's got to work harder and play better than that. Special teams were okay. The coverage units played fairly well, Brian Moorman was solid but not spectacular (would love to see the Bills pin the opponents back inside the 10 some time soon). I thought Roscoe Parrish was good w/ his punt returns and C.J. Spiller had a really nice return before Donald Jones' penalty screwed it up. Chris Ellis (no, not Sean Ellis, Greg Gumbel!) made a huge gaffe by trying to recover the kickoff and losing it back to the Jets. Thankfully, they missed the FG, but as it turned out, they really didn't need it. As for the coaching? Hey, what's the deal w/ not working the RBs in? When you consider how much they showcased 'em in prior weeks, it really was a head scratcher. Also, why not try to run more power plays? Maybe get Bell, Stupar, and McIntire out in front of one of the backs to try to break open the outside? Maybe a counter? It also appears that if the Bills are going to continue to utilize the dreaded wildcat formation, that maybe they could have a bit more variety out of it so that opponents can actually be caught off guard. If Chan Gailey's staff is really that much different than Dick Jauron's staff, now is the time to show it. And so, it's 0-4. I see some folks cheering for it, wanting the 0-16 finish. Why? I really don't know what that would accomplish. Thing is, the Bills could be heading in that direction. It's still a bit early, but there aren't many encouraging signs. Jacksonville? Even if they can't settle on a QB and look bipolar @ times, they still play extremely hard, much harder than the Bills have in four games. Detroit? They've given Philly, Green Bay, and Chicago very tough games. Looks like Jim Schwartz has his team gutting it out. Cleveland? They're a mess, but they also play hard, going @ it w/ division foes Cincinnati and Baltimore and coming out w/ a split in those games. So even though they could end up beating those teams, I don't believe any of those games would be close to easy to win. Are the Buffalo Bills "the worst team in football"? I sure hope not, but I just don't know. Regardless, I will hope for the best and cheer for them. I just won't die if they continue to lose. Good luck the rest of the way. Go Bills!

Before this gets lost in the whine storm, let me give you props on posting your thoughts w/ out the typical garbage that tends to lead to a free for all.

Well, I finally got to stay @ home and watch the Bills play after going to watch 'em in Week 1 and then going to a sports bar in South Jersey to see last week's game. So I guess this was my "home opener" of sorts. First off, Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was certainly more effective than Trent Edwards, so that's a good thing. Problem is, he is still prone to costly mistakes, like the Patrick Chung INT. Still, he was even more accurate than I would've thought he'd be, particularly on throws to the inside and into coverage (the throw to Roscoe Parrish on third down was very nice). While I still feel Fitzpatrick is a backup and not much more, he did have a solid performance yesterday. I thought the running backs performed very well today. They were given some good opportunities (O line props later) and made the most of 'em. Only a few things that didn't go so well: Fred Jackson wasn't able to get it going, and that's too bad. Considering how Marshawn Lynch has been running lately and the fact that C.J. Spiller is getting better by the day, that doesn't bode well for Jackson's long term outlook. Speaking of Spiller, he still needs work in blitz recognition, as he overshot the blitzing LB (up the middle). That'll hopefully come in time. After all, it's the toughest part of a RB's transition from college to pro. Also, Corey McIntire whiffed bad on a block that could've gone for a really big gain, but overall, he was pretty good. Props to Lynch for the tough runs (reminds me of his 4th and short conversion against Denver from his rookie year) and for finally showing some heart AND patience out there. It has made a difference. What a nice game from the WRs! Parrish had a great outing. In addition to the aforementioned third down conversion, he had the long 30 yarder after shaking the DB and getting more yards. He ended up w/ 83 yards on the day, showing that he can perform if given the shot. Lee Evans also made a few nice grabs. I am usually very harsh on Lee for his poor route running and for failing to either fight for the ball in coverage or failing to break off routes to come back to the ball to help out his QB. I saw little of that vs the Pats. Steve Johnson had the nice grab for the TD, then took a stupid penalty for celebrating. The Bills usually give up big returns after getting the elusive score, so to see Johnson do that was frustrating. There was even a tight end sighting yesterday! Yep, Johnathan Stupar caught a few passes to get in the mix. Hey, it's a start. Maybe one day the Bills will have a guy @ that position that can be relied upon to open up the middle of the field while also help out as a blocker, but for now, we'll take what we can get. A pretty good outing for the Bills' much maligned O line. Cornell Green and Demetrius Bell both had big penalties called on 'em (Green's holding call was more costly than Bell's false start though) but both had their moments in run blocking and (aside from Bell getting abused badly on one sack), weren't horrible in pass protection. I'm still not liking what I see from Geoff Hangartner in terms of lead blocks, but he and the other interior guys were more stout in pass protection than usual. There were some rough spots (Randy Starks nearly ran over Andy Levitre and just missed a sack on one play), but this was their best showing so far this year. Hopefully, they can build on their success in opening up the running game and continue to get better in pass protection. As good as the O line was, that's how poor the D line was. [broken record time] Kyle Williams continues to give a great effort, but he is not suited to be the mammoth A gap clogger that a 3-4 defense badly needs.[/broken record time] Maybe put him @ DE and use Marcus Stroud as a situational player? I dunno. I know that Stroud was horrible out there yesterday. Dwan Edwards made some tackles, but really couldn't get into the backfield to do anything. Then again, none of the D linemen could. Maybe that's why a team that averages 85 rushing yards per game wound up w/ 203 of 'em against the Bills!! Yikes. Being that this is a 3-4, I don't expect a ton in terms of pass rush from the linemen, but it would be nice to see 'em get in and @ least rush the QB's throws from time to time. Tom Brady had entirely too much time to throw the ball. Williams did get the sack, but that was 'bout it in terms of pressure from the entire D line. Continuing the theme of poor play: the linebackers. Chris Kelsay continues to show that he does not have the requisite skills (speed, change of direction, ability to stack and shed blockers) to be a really effective OLB in the 3-4. Like Williams, he's a good effort guy, but he just isn't getting it done on the field as an OLB. Then again, who is getting it done for the Bills? Certainly not Aaron Maybin. Speed 'round the edge is clearly his best trait, but he wasn't able to provide any pressure to Brady. Reggie Torbor fared only a bit better, getting in on a play for a loss. One. This position needs to provide the spark for a 3-4 front seven, and the Bills just aren't getting it from their current crop. Andra Davis did okay in the interior, but Keith Ellison had a rough go of it. The TEs abused him to the point where a safety had to be used to cover 'em. And when the Pats ran the ball to kill the clock, they went looking for Ellison, way too tiny to be an effective 3-4 inside 'backer. Akin Ayodele was decent and will probably see more playing time, but is as much a liability in pass coverage as the rest of 'em. The vaunted Bills secondary? Not their shining moment. Now granted, this was the Tom Brady-led Patriots they faced, but man did they get worked over. Drayton Florence had perhaps his worst outing as a Bill. Whether inside on Aaron Hernandez or outside on Randy Moss, he was late to the play a lot. Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin fared better, but even they weren't great. McKelvin got beat on Brady's big pass play to Brandon Tate that helped set up their go ahead FG late in the first half (we'll get to that). It didn't get much better w/ the safeties. Jairus Byrd came up w/ a fumble recovery but wasn't his usual sharp self in the deep middle (way too late on the bomb to Moss). Bryan Scott was given the task of covering the TEs after Ellison was burned, and he wasn't up to the task either. Rob Gronkowski beat him easily for a TD. Donte Whitner had as much luck covering TEs as Scott did, but he did have a really nice hit. That's 'bout it. Sure he finished w/ a bunch of tackles, but considering the Pats' dominance on the ground (doesn't even sound right!) and Brady's virtuoso passing performance, what good was it? Special teams did their job. The coverage units gave up 'bout 20 yards per kick return. Brian Moorman's only punt, a 33 yarder, was not returned. Parrish returned one punt for only 3 yards (got caught on the sideline w/ nowhere to go but out of bounds), but Spiller's 95 yard kick return was an exciting shot in the arm for the Bills (coming just after Brady drove the Pats down the field for a TD and 8 point lead). Rian Lindell missed on a 51 yarder, but was 3 for 3 inside of 40 yards. No big deal, huh? Yeah, tell that to Garrett Hartley. Chan Gailey decided to incorporate all of his RBs, and it worked pretty well. Maybe a bit more to get the defense's front seven out of position, such as play action or counters? Defensively, the Bills were outgunned. Nothing worked. Chalk it up to a work in progress vs a QB who is playing very well and being extremely well protected (Williams' sack was only the 2nd time Brady has been sacked all season). Bruce DeHaven is doing a great job in his 2nd outing. Keep it up. Okay, so it's 0-3 and the Jets are coming to town. Oh boy. It could be more of the same, as the Jets certainly can run, and Mark Sanchez is in a groove throwing the ball now. Better tighten up that defense, or it could get ugly. On the plus side, the Bills did score 30 points and they were able to get their running game going while also taking shots down the field in the passing game. Maybe they can pull off the upset and finally notch one in the win column. We'll see.

Wow; 11 years married, 13 years since our engagement, and 23 years together as a couple. Thank you.

nobody

Getting a bit heated here. Folks, it's okay to disagree, but do it w/ respect. Leave out the "clown", "jerk", and other colorful terms, please. As to the topic, I've seen bad behavior and good behavior while attending Bills games. There have been instances of kids being harASSed way beyond the point of "friendly give and take" (I can recall one pre-season game where a mother and her two children, who wore the opposing team's jerseys, were bullied to the point where they left early). It's one thing to say the team stinks or suck, but when you start to curse @ a young child or throw things (beer, trash, etc.) @ 'em, then you've crossed the line. That is not nor should it be acceptable behavior. Drunks @ RICH? Yeah, I've seen plenty. People throwing up? Seen that, too. No, it isn't 3 out of 5, but I've seen it. More than once. Those who think they can drink, get inebriated, and "don't bother anyone" probably aren't aware of what they see as harmless (staggering to and from their seat to use the bathroom 8000 times, spilling their watered down beer on people sitting 'round 'em), but in actuality, it is quite irritating and harmful to some. It's quite possible to drink and get a nice buzz, then go in and watch the game. I love a good craft beer, so I usually drink quality brews w/ anywhere from 8 to 9% alcohol each and those add up. Yet, I try not to slam 'em one right after the other. By doing that, I am able to enjoy the alcohol and still enjoy the game. I don't drink the swill they serve @ the games, so I just wait 'til I get back to the tailgate spot to have a few more good brews afterward. When I go to the game, I cheer as loud as anyone and have a great time, but I also do my best to respect the fans 'round me. It can be done. You do not have to sacrifice drinking to have a great time @ the games.

Sure there was. The Bills could've traded their first and second round picks to Carolina for Jake Delhomme. Then, they could've shipped the third and fourth picks to St. Louis for Alex Barron. That way, they'd have a pair of veteran players to fix some huge needs for the offense. Who needs early draft picks when your team "sucks"?

I heard something 'bout this fan vote mentioned on Sirius when I was driving back home from the game on Monday. I can only hope that this does not count in any way toward the voting, 'cause once that happens, it will become the Hall of So-So.

Well, I'm back from my trip and back @ work....ugh! Still, we had a blast visiting w/ our many good friends from TBD last weekend. Can't wait 'til the next gathering (for the Oct. 10 game vs the Jaguars). Now, on to the game.... We'll start w/ the hot topic item: QB. Man, did Trent Edwards stink it up! Like I said before the game, I don't think Gailey is going to "teach" Edwards anything he doesn't already know in order to play the position, but I do hope that he will help instill confidence in Edwards to become an effective leader. After watching the opener, I have serious doubts that this will happen while Edwards is in Buffalo. Prove me wrong, guys. Please! Problem is, Edwards is still doing the same things now (rolling out instead of stepping up in the pocket and firing the ball, looking short far too often, misfiring medium throws, especially while on the run) that he did before Gailey took over. As for the running game...there was one? The debut of exciting rookie C.J. Spiller was not nearly as exciting as we were hoping for. But, I wonder how much of that was due to a scheme that was force feeding 'em the ball and making the Bills every bit as predictable as the Jauron era teams. There were too many times that the Miami defense just flowed to where the RB was w/ no regard for anyone else on the field. It was brutal. Passing game? As Shao Kahn would say, "Don't make me laugh!" It was awful to say the least. And before we go back to clubbing Edwards, let's remember that there were precious few times in the game where the WRs were able to come off coverage and provide open targets. On the few times this did happen, yeah, Edwards kinda blew it (the Roscoe Parrish misfire on third down quickly comes to mind), but these young wideouts have to find ways to help the QBs out and get open. Is there anyone else I'm missing in terms of the woeful passing game? Lemme see: QBs, WRs, RBs......nah. I don't believe so. That's all the people involved in the Bills "passing game" as of now, anyway. The line. The more things change, the more they stay the same. They looked much like the offensieve lines we've seen in the Jauron era. But, are we surprised? The Bills didn't do a whole lot to upgrade in the offseason, so they apparently were hoping their guys would develop given more time together and more reps. Well.....they did bring in a new right tackle, though. Cornell Green; yikes! Outside of Alex Barron, did any O lineman have as horrid a performance in Week 1? Demetrius Bell is still struggling w/ the edge rushers, I see. I'm not sure what can be done there. The real downer was the play of the interior guys, the supposed strength of this unit. Too many times the QB had guys coming up in his face to rush the throws or to swat @ the passes. So, while I'd love to see Edwards (or any Bills QB for that matter) step up and throw it, it's tough to do that when there's 'bout 600 lbs of D linemen coming @ ya in that same spot. Eric Wood, Geoff Hangartner, and Andy Levitre all looked overmatched and, in pass protection especially, confused. It wasn't a pretty sight. As for the defensive line, things were a bit better. Two guys I watched quite a bit were Kyle Williams and Dwan Edwards. Williams is a great effort guy, but he is NOT an effective nose tackle in a 3-4. He is badly miscast in the role. If Torell Troup is anywhere close to being ready to take the field, he needs to do so. Now. Dwan Edwards also gave a good effort, but had trouble coming off the blocks to finish plays. I saw him get stood up a few times by the O line on pass rushes, and his footwork was pretty sloppy on running plays, especially where he needed to chase. First game issues? Sure hope so. Marcus Stroud had a decent game, but nothing spectacular. Still, he and the others did a good job of not letting Miami just grind out the win by killing the clock on the ground, so props to 'em for that. Spencer Johnson provided a bit of a rush from the right side. The linebackers were deceiving. If you look @ the stat column, you'd say they had a great game as they were in on quite a few tackles. Problem is, outside of Paul Posluszny's sack and a few times when Chris Ellis and Aaron Maybin were able to hit the QB and force an early throw, there weren't a whole lot of impact plays. Chris Kelsay in coverage is a sad sight. Too slow to react w/ woeful change of direction. I do give the coaches props for actually using more rushes up the middle instead of relying on outside pressure, as it was effective. Overall, I'd say the unit was good, not great. The secondary continued to show why they're the strength of the team. They could use a bit better judgment from Donte Whitner (still gets fooled too easily and gets out of position) and Drayton Florence (aggressive to a fault @ times), but overall, these guys did a solid job. Brandon Marshall did not go off on the Bills, in large part due to the job Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin (yes, William, THAT Leodis McKelvin!) did on 'em. I thought McKelvin was the best player on the team last Sunday. He may be getting it, which only makes this unit stronger. Special teams were quite busy. Brian Moorman did a decent job on his punts, but we would've loved to see a few more downed inside the 20. Rian Lindell was solid, hitting a 50 yarder and continuing to be reliable. Roscoe Parrish looked a bit more confident returning punts (thank goodness). The coverage units? Welcome back, Bruce DeHaven!! Keeping Miami to less than 5 yards on punt returns and 'round 14 yards on kickoffs? Wow! The coaching? No head scratchers (we'll get to the last one, folks), but nothing special. They did try to put more 2 back sets out there (I guess to get the most out of Jackson, Lynch, and Spiller), but w/ the lack of punishing run blocking, it was futile. Defensively, George Edwards did quite a bit w/ what some of us feared was a woefully inadequate unit, in particular in the front seven. Now, back to that safety. I will probably be in the minority (no pun intended), but I believe it was the correct call. Going for it on 4th and forever from the 1 is just plain stupid. Punting from the 1 is just a shade smarter. To give the team the best chance in terms of field position, it was absolutely the right call to make. Unfortunately, time was in short supply, so it didn't work out in the Bills' favor. Still, it was the right thing to do. Bill Belichick did the same thing when the Pats played the Broncos a few years ago and it worked like a charm. Then again, it was the Pats. Ah well. So, what did we learn? I wish I knew. I had said going into this game that the Bills had the 'mystery box' and it would be opened @ 1pm that day. Well, what did we get? The same old team from the Jauron regime? Something new and exciting? A work in progress, as is customary w/ such turnover in coaching and management? My optimistic side wants to chalk this up as a bad game, but there's still plenty more. But, my less than optimistic side is wary that this is just more of the same from One Bills Drive. We'll keep ripping through that paper. There's gotta be something in this box. Right?

T Minus... 3 days and counting!!!! Off work, getting ready to take my dog to the kennel, and then it's time to come back and get packed. Today is also 23 years from the day that Psycho Ward 86 and I first met.

That you did, RG. Hey, what's up w/ the website? Is it back up and running? I kinda liked going over there to check out the latest on my fellow CNJBBB bretheren. Is it time for another photo shoot? Hahaha!!! Excellent. I'll be attending that game w/ my brother. Now we know there's a great spot for wings to crash. Now that is great news. The tailgate is always better w/ Rich and Lisa there. BOTH Rich and Lisa's!