R. Rich

Quiet as it's kept, so are the Buffalo Bills... See? Well....I don't know if I'd go that far, but they do have needs on that side of the ball. Agreed that they did give it a good try. Now, imagine that kind of effort w/ a consistent, scary pass rush added to it. It's easy if you try. There's a difference 'tween pointing out a few flaws in someone's game and making the broad and incorrect generalization that they're a "bust". As I said, nothing wrong w/ pointing that stuff out. The Stillers have a guy in Roethlisberger who holds onto the ball entirely too much, to the point where even when he has ample time to do something (like RUN if there's nobody open), he still hangs on and gets sacked, which makes the novice (too drunk to remember anything beyond getting up to go back and forth to the bathroom) fan say how Pittsburgh's O line sucks and is always @ fault. Yet, the guy wins a ton of games (of course, his team has a PASS RUSH) and has been instrumental in his team winning a championship (while he played a stinker of a Super Bowl, he was dominant in the AFC title game that got the Stillers there). It's possible to be not quite perfect and yet still good enough to be a winner. You do need help, though. No argument from me. Even Shaun Rogers, a guy who is having a good season (though not quite the Joe Greene-esque season the media portrays), showed flashes (right, Duke Preston?), but did not dominate. Just a guess here, but the guy is probably every bit as gun shy in getting to/running through a hole as past Bills QBs have been to just let the ball fly down the field. Why? 'Cause they know they're 'bout to get killed. Marshawn runs hard, but I think he just expects to have 3 guys hanging on him as soon as he gets the handoff. Watch the game again; you may even see him clutch @ his heart due to seeing the "Mack truck like holes" he had to run through, something he has seen before.............in college.

Man, was it nice to get to spend an entire weekend in Erie w/ my family! I got to spend a ton of time w/ my goddaughter and to see my other niece and nephew. We had a nice family dinner on Sunday and got to hang out and watch the Stillers beat San Diego. It was great. As for what happened on Monday.... As crazy as it sounds, I can't really bag on the job of the O line, for the most part. Marshawn had the most daylight he's seen probably all season and they even kept the "Same Ol' Bills"-type penalties to a minimum. That said, there were still signs of weakness (Duke Preston being put on his face a couple times by Sean Rogers and company), but that's to be expected. Our interior D line also did a pretty decent job. There wasn't much up the gut for Cleveland @ all. I even saw Kyle Williams have some pretty impressive plays in there. Now, the outside guys.....yikes! I think the word is out league-wide on Mr "I'll Follow Any Play Down The Line And Break Contain" Ryan Denney. He still seems to have trouble diagnosing and reacting to that fairly new play called the reverse. As for the edge rush....was there much of one? The heat the Bills were able to put on Quinn (I'll get to him later) was w/ the LBs blitzing up the A gap. Speaking of, nice play by Kawika Mitchell on the near pick by Simpson. Oh yeah, the secondary. Way to go, Terrence McGee! You were left on an island w/ a pretty dangerous receiver (when he doesn't have his drop spells) in Braylon Edwards and managed to have some nice breakups and provide solid coverage. When Greer went down, I heard some whining 'bout the secondary from some fans, but I thought McKelvin did a decent enough job when in there. Just catch those INTs when they come your way!! As long as you stay in Buffalo, you won't see many of those chances (see Pass Rush, Lack Of). Oh, and Reggie Corner, when you go in on a blitz, try not to overshoot the target: the quarterback. That's the whole point, man. I don't know 'bout you all, but I still see the wideouts having some trouble getting open, especially on the underneath routes. Still, there were plenty of times when there seemed to be something open down the field (James Hardy in particular but also a few times w/ Steve Johnson) and it was missed by the QB. Even the fans were trying to point out when there were open guys down the field deep. But....Trent didn't see it. It was almost like watching guys like Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, and JP Losman w/ the pat, pat, pat...sack stuff. Ugh! I'd love to see the Bills try to throw deep, even if it doesn't work. They have to try to loosen coverage. They're wasting the main aspect of the receiving corps: speed. I don't get it. And as for the Golden Boy who won the game, Mr Quinn? Yeah, he was sensational. I don't know what impressed me the most of his performance: the 14 of 36 completion ratio, the overwhelming 26 minutes and change he and the Browns were able to grind up on the clock, or the 3 out of 13 third downs they were able to complete w/ him @ the helm. I guess it was the zero turnovers he had thanks to a couple near misses by McKelvin and Simpson. Oh well. Let's just call him great 'cause he was able to lead his team to victory blah blah blah blah. I will give props to the Browns' real hero: Phil Dawson. Sitting in the endzone/tunnel side, I had a feeling of deja vu as I saw that FG go in w/ room to spare, just as Nick Folk's TWO FGs did last year in the Monday night game. Same endzone, too. Aren't I and many others (End Zone Crew, cablelady...you know what I mean) lucky? Notice how I didn't start this time w/ the "All is well!" crap? It isn't. The more I see of the Bills, the more I realize how far they are from being a true contender for a championship. There's no quick fix here, folks. We're in for more of the same: waiting for things to get better. Good thing I keep that "there's always next year" handy. Oh, and one last thing: someone was certainly right a week or so ago when they posted how Marshawn Lynch was such a bust. What a pathetic performance by a useless first round pick. Well, when his Emancipation Day arrives (the day his contract ends), I'll wish him the best and I'll look to see the first of his string of 1,500 yard rushing seasons behind a line that can get push to someplace other than the front door of the Big Tree Inn. Your time is coming, Beast Mode. I just wish it could come in Buffalo.

So, this is finally the game where you two kids get together???? If not, you'll never hear the end of it from me, and you know that.

Same here. Row 13 of Section 123.

Just Graham being Graham on the way to another league title game. In 6 NFL seasons, he played in 6 NFL title games and won 3. Oh yeah, in those 4 AAFC seasons, he only won 'bout........4 AAFC titles. Ridiculous.

Maybe.

Now see, you may believe you're making your point by coming back repeatedly and stating why you don't want to see these types of threads/posts. Others may see it as "needless/useless repitition". It's really a "live and let live" situation. Trust me; I had to deal w/ a similar situation years ago when many on this board were so sure that all of the Bills' ills would be cured by drafting a kicker in the 2nd round of the draft. Like I said, live and let live.

The Experience is now back together again. Noel Redding died 'bout 5 years ago, I think.

Too bad. I saw him play not too long ago when the Experience Hendrix tour stopped in DC. Great show. RIP, Mitch.

I don't have any problem w/ him pointing out that there's numerous posts on a particular topic. I have the same problem basically every offseason: too much emphasis on trivial crap. What do I do? I just look to other forums such as the college football forum or the sim league. I don't take the "I don't wanna discuss this, so nobody can/should discuss this" frame of mind. There's gonna be ranting and raving from pissed off fans, especially fans of a team working on a full decade of missing the playoffs. No degree of whining 'bout it will change that. I suggest to those who don't like it to find another forum. Or, they could just take the radical step of ignoring the posts/threads they find offensive.

Hey, it might help! I'll be arriving 'round noon tomorrow. Hope to see some of you there.

Wow. I remember playing a little league game in the Rubber Bowl many moons ago. We may have even won.

It's supposed to be funny.....right?

You're good, dib. Have @ it.

Didn't he get inducted the same year as Thurm? I dunno; we left the ceremony early.

Those years, plus the years where the illuminata contracted the inner circle to hire the cigarette smoking man to give Elway assistance from the grassy knoll.

Nah, don't get off the soapbox. Go on and give the good folks their topics for discussion today.

Right 'round the time that the play on the Miami head coach's name stopped becoming so hysterical.

Sigh. This is going to be like the issue my wife and I have w/ our 2nd date; we'll never agree. Though I would put them @ 1 (Unitas) and 1a (Graham). But, I see I'd be off a bit after that (going by your list), as I'd have Elway next. Yep, even before Montana.

Oh, so you're trying to be exactly like the current Bills regime, are you?

No! I won't take your stats, and I don't agree w/ your statements! All is well!!!!!

Well, they did have a couple of other fairly decent QBs in Cleveland in (former league MVP) Brian Sipe and (Hall of Famer) Otto Graham.

You didn't.

It's fun to do, I guess, but I really don't care 'bout that stuff. I do care 'bout the team I've rooted for going on 3 decades now possibly being not one iota improved over the past 2 seasons. The O line is having problems moving people off the ball. The D line gets little to no rush. The tight end is missing. The wide receivers get open occasionally, and drop passes when they do find themselves open. Injuries are hitting the core of the team, and a team that was once known for its tenacity and grit, not to mention its toughness in bone chilling weather, looks somewhat disinterested out there @ times. Maybe this stuff will go away in another 3 years (which I guess will put us @ 12 years out of the postseason?), or maybe it will only get worse. They can solve the problems, but it's going to take more than "we just gotta make plays"; it's going to take a serious committment to upgrading the pass rush and the interior O line for starters.

Good comparison. After all... They've got Kevin Mawae, we've got Melvin Fowler/Duke Preston They've got Albert Haynesworth and Tony Brown, we've got Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams They've got Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jevon Kearse, we've got Chris Kelsay/Ryan Denney and Aaron Schobel They've got Alge Crumpler, we've got Robert Royal The difference? Coaching.