R. Rich

Now that would be interesting.

Stop drinking Budweiser.

What a tragedy.

Why?

Aside from the highlighted typo (I'm sure you meant to say something else), it's like being in a time warp. Just don't put it in overdrive this time.

And now for the late edition. Sorry, but I DVR'd the game and didn't watch it 'til this morning. Maybe I should've just deleted it, huh? Anyway... Brian Brohm, come on down! You're the next QB to get grilled by the good folks of TBD. Welcome. Did you enjoy your first taste of the bitter substance we call Bills football? Probably not, and who could blame you? Well, you did make a few decent throws where you stood in there and, even knowing you'd get blasted, made throws down the field. Then again, you also had you share of Trent-esque checkdown throws, too. I also liked the bootleg action on early downs to the fullback as a way to catch the defense off guard. All in all, I'd say you were decent. Unfortunately, this team needs better than decent quarterbacking to turn their fortunes 'round. Maybe more reps will improve things; we'll see. If the new regime wants to retain your services, that is. Marshawn Lynch did something other than drop a pass that was put right in his hands: he ran for a yard a carry (3 catches for 3 yards). The Bills got considerably more offense from fullback Corey McIntire (4 for 28). Now hold on a minute; that doesn't mean McIntire is all that. As a lead blocker, he does virtually nothing to clear the path for the RBs and doesn't do much more as a ballcarrier. As for Fred Jackson, not a very good showing. I did like the blitz pickup on a third down play late in the 2nd quarter, but he couldn't really get it going on running plays (39 yards on 13 carries), wasn't a factor in terms of the passing game (2 catches, 14 yards), and let rookie Lawrence Sidbury just rip the ball out of his hands and return it for a score (was that knee down on the return?) that basically ended the game. Lee Evans led the way for the receivers. Yay; 5 catches, 43 yards. He also missed a block on a short yardage run late in the 2nd quarter (he went down the line to pick up one of the pursuing LBs and blocked nobody as Jackson got clobbered for a loss). Terrell Owens got to his 1,000 catch milestone (yay Owens!) and had a total of 4 catches for 39 yards. It would've been nice to, as Steve Buerlein pointed out, see Owens either fight to come up w/ the pass on the bomb that was intercepted or @ least break it up to where it was just an incompletion. Ah well; next time, I guess. There was a James Hardy sighting too, as he made one catch for 9 yards. No catches from TEs Shawn Nelson or Jonathan Stupar. I know, I know; next time. What more can we say 'bout the offensieve line? Ugh. You think things can't get worse, and then Jonathan Scott goes down w/ yet another injury and is replaced by Andre Ramsey. He distinguished himself by getting an illegal formation penalty by not lining up on that thing they call the line of scrimmage. Considering his red zone gaffe from the week prior, was anyone surprised? On the other side, there was Kirk Chambers, who was good for a false start penalty (shocking, isn't it?) and a hands to the face penalty where he decided to just rip Falcon DE/kicker Kory Biermann's helmet off his head. Maybe he was trying to get a personal foul called on Biermann for taking his helmet off? I dunno. In the middle, Geoff Hangartner had his share of trouble anchoring on passing downs and also in getting out on runs to the outside. But @ least he would try to hit someone, which could not always be said for Mr Bad Temper Aggression himself, RICHie Incognito. There was a short yardage play 'round the 2 minute mark of the 2nd quarter that featured Incognito getting beat right off the snap, w/ his guy making the tackle and w/ Incognito looking guilty as ever as he stood over the fallen Fred Jackson. Andy Levitre actually stayed on his feet a good while in this game, as he usually lands on the turf due to leverage issues (too much lunging instead of being in proper position w/ good balance). Maybe there's hope yet. Aside from the workmanlike performance from Aaron Schobel, the D line did nothing in this one. Again, I see Marcus Stroud being handled by a single blocker way too often. Now, he did come off a few blocks to disrupt things on a few occasions, so it isn't totally bleak. Kyle Williams must have hit the wall, 'cause he wasn't hitting much else in this game. Well, maybe the turf on a few solid blocks, but that's it. Spencer Johnson may have had the most impact of the interior DL for the Bills and that's mainly due to him blocking the FG attempt. On the side opposite Schobel...??? If there was another DE out there, I didn't see 'em. There was one play that Schobel wasn't too stellar on, though. On a 3rd and short play w/ 1:10 to go in the first half, Schobel and Williams were easily blocked down and the LB (we'll get to that in a sec) missed an initial tackle attempt, but did make the tackle.....after the runner had gotten the first down. The linebackers were maybe a step better than the DEs minus Schobel. I mean, I did see those guys out there. Paul Posluszny and Chris Draft made a few tackles, but nothing special. Draft's neutral zone infraction kept an Atlanta drive going (and yes, he did line up in the neutral zone). Nic Harris did a decent job of dropping back in coverage, but man, does he have issues in run support. It was Harris who whiffed on the above mentioned third and short play, going for the back's out move, then watching him go up and forward for the first down before he hung on for dear life to make the tackle. This game illustrates the point that I've made several times 'bout this unit clearly: they are too small. They cannot shed blocks and neutralize any plays going to the edge. The only way they can be in on negative or zero yardage plays is by playing the gaps, thereby leaving the edge unprotected since the DEs are usually rushing upfield (to the OT's outside shoulder, usually). Good thing the secondary guys are decent in run support. If not, this run defense would be legendary in how bad they'd be. Speaking of the secondary and run support, props to both Donte Whitner and to George Wilson for making plays in running plays to the outside. Whitner smacked the runner down and shut down a play to the right while Wilson made a shoestring tackle that saved a likely touchdown. As I said, were it not for efforts like this from the secondary, the Bills' run defense would set a record no one would likely touch in terms of yards surrendered and one which they would never be able to live down. In terms of coverage, I thought Drayton Florence won more battles than he lost, even though he gave up a few big plays and a late TD. Reggie Corner seems to be the goat of the week, but I caution those of you sharpening up your pitchforks. Corner does okay covering the slot, but if you put him on the island outside vs any kind of good receiver, you're going to pay for it. The Bills chose to do that very thing against the guy who has more receiving yards in the past few years than any other wideout in the league outside of Larry Fitzgerald in Roddy White. Nice strategy, huh? I will say this: he had a really nice pass breakup in the latter stages of the first half, so it's not like he has zero ability. Ashton Youboty also struggled mightily. On one third down completion, he looked 'round as if he was lost. What do I mean, "as if"? He WAS lost! Whitner also did little to stop anyone in terms of coverage. So, to sum it up, they're not bad in run support, but they have issues in terms of coverage. Special teams were hardly special, either. Brian Moorman had some booming punts, then drilled a line drive to Atlanta that became a big return. In the return game, not much from Roscoe Parrish or from Fred Jackson. Jackson averaged 18 yards per kick return while Parrish had 3 fair catches and a return negated by a penalty. The true highlight for this unit was Spencer Johnson's block that nearly became a George Wilson TD were it not for Reggie Corner's knee hitting the turf before he lateralled it backward. That one could've been a momentum swinger, as it would've made it a 10-7 score @ the half. Then again, w/ the Bills offensive woes, there may have been no stopping what happened in the second half, even w/ that TD. As for the coaching, what was up w/ running the reverse play w/ Owens instead of Parrish or Evans? Why not use more play action and mixing things up to give Brohm a fighting chance instead of setting him up to fail by putting 'em in predictable situation after predictable situation? Why punt the damn ball on 4th and 3 when you were only 37 yards away from the end zone? No going for it; why? Were you afraid of losing your playoff positioning? Heck, you could've even tried kicking it from there. Lindell has a strong enough leg, especially in an INDOOR facility! A very Jauron-like effort from this group. Okay, so on to the finale vs Indy. The Colts have plenty of their own drama this week, as the angry mob has turned on St. Polian for wasting a shot @ an undefeated season. I'm sure if Colts fans weren't blinded by their ridiculous rage, they'd see how spoiled and childish they seem w/ this. Not quite Steeler fan-like, but close. Your team gets 10-12 wins yearly. You're in the playoffs yet again. You win your division almost as a rite of winter. Get over yourselves! One last note: props to rookie Jairus Byrd for his selection to the Pro Bowl. W/ the way selectees opt out of playing recently, and alternates galore get the nod, it hasn't really meant much lately to be a Pro Bowl player. But Jairus, you definitely deserve to be mentioned as one of the top safeties for the 2009 season. Congrats, and Go Bills!

WTF??? The Story of the 2009 Buffalo Bills

Proof positive.

By throwing for 475 yards and 5 TDs per game while constantly on the run, of course. Duh.

Hahaha!!!

Wolf is retired and Reese is a paid consultant for New England.

It is quite important to have a good QB situation in today's NFL. Problem is, too many people lose sight of everythng for the sake of that position. Based on the talent that should be available in this year's draft, I honestly cannot say I'd forsake a stud LB like McClain (if he actually declares and IF he's available) or a big DT like Suh (huge IF), Cody, or even McCoy. Not to mention a tackle like Okung (again, if he's available) to solidify a position the Bills (including their QBs) NEED to see solidified for any of the QBs that should be available. I don't see Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen, or Sam Bradford as a "franchise" QB in the mold of Rivers, Manning, or Roethlisberger. Maybe they are, but to me, it makes more sense to build up the horrendous O line, add some more bulk to the interior of the D line, and add not only badly needed size, but also athleticism to the LB corps FIRST.

TBD?

As soon as I win the lottery, I'll take care of it.

Hahaha!!! Nah. Jason Brown.

Considering he was knocked out for the season after 2 games, it's unclear as to how much of an upgrade he would've been.

I hear ya. I can recall when the fans just knew the Bills should draft Mike Nugent.

I'm not even that concerned w/ Bradford's shoulder injury as I am the fact that he could very well be yet another Big 12 QB w/ huge stats that flames out in the pros, like many of the 9 other Big 12 QBs drafted since 1996. Maybe he's different from the others, but it's a leap of faith right now. Sorry, but I'd rather have the OL, DL, or OLB upgrade.

I sure hope I'm wrong, but Stroud appears to be on the decline. Too many times this season, I've watched as one guy has taken him out of the play. He has had his moments, but he has not been a stout presence in the middle of the Bills defense. Maybe next season will bring more talent 'round him and a stronger effort from him and we'll see better results. Let's hope.

Actually, I think he ran a 4.49 @ the combine.

Stroud should stand up and say that this team needs a better MIDDLE. Period.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Sorry, but I just don't see this crop as a bunch of can't miss prospects along the lines of guys like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, or Philip Rivers. Sometimes, the best QBs in the draft are just that, and not "franchise QBs". Every draft does not produce franchise QBs, and the sooner people realize this, the better. The same folks that throw 'round warnings like "don't draft players from Texas or Penn State" have no qualms whatsoever wanting to draft a Big 12 QB, when we've seen a littany of guys from this conference come into the league and flame out. That doesn't make much sense to me. I look @ the top available players in this year's draft, and there is no QB I'd be willing to take over a space eating DT, or a freakishly built OLB, or a stabilizing OT, many or all of whom could be available to the Bills when their turn comes up to draft in Round 1.

His post highlighted the need to draft a "franchise QB" in the first round. Kurt Warner does not fit that bill. In fact, the guy that they did draft in the first round to be their "franchise QB" is currently riding the pine.

Funny you should reference the Arizona Cardinals when making this statement.