Jkgobills

The enthusiasm is related to watching the Bills play today, like the team we hoped they would be this season. Great defense (a shut out in the NFL is quite an accomplishment) that attacked the QB. An offense that focused on running the ball. The passing game is a mess. I agree with you that Thad shows the makings of a fine backup QB. CJ drove me nuts with that play at the end of the first half, and he needs to get it together for next year or it will be his last year in Buff ( he reminds me a lot of Reggie Bush during his time in New Orleans). Rare athleticism, maddening on field performances at times followed by amazing (infrequent) plays. But beating the Fins twice this season will make the most surly of fans celebrate for a day. Despite the fact that we are in year 14 of the rebuild.

CJ was a "luxury pick" when we selected him 9 overall to a team that already boasted Freddy and Lynch. Over the course of his career with Buffalo CJ has looked the part of a luxury weapon on the offense. Great to have for what he can do with his unbelievable speed, and athleticism but not a player to build your offense around. However, we are a better offense with both him and Freddy next year than with Freddy alone.

Looks like we are both on the naughty list this year

Like the Steelers during Big Ben Rookie campaign

I haven't bought his jersey, because I was scared it would somehow mess up his career! Then it would hang with my Bledsoe, Lynch, Puz jerseys.

Fred Jackson is a positive in every sense of the word. He is very talented, tough, hard working, smart, and a team leader. He gets the hard yards, and can make big plays in the red zone. This is what has allowed a RB from Coe College work his way through NFL Europe, to the Bills active roster, and outplay two high first round picks at RB (lynch and Spiller) during their time in Buffalo. No idea how much he has left in the tank, but it seems that Fred is the type if man and player who will leave it all on the field when his career is over. When people down here in ACC land ask me why CJ Spiller doesn't get more touches for the Bills..... I tell them it's because he us not as good as Fred Jackson.

Win, and make Brady cry like Ralphie does to the bully(Todd Farkas?) in "A Christmas Story"

thanks for your post Bill 1. The D line looked incredible today. Stunts, twists and edge pressure. Branch is a big part of this unit's success. I hope we retain him. He was a good acquisition by our front office. 2. McKelvin having an amazing year, has allowed Gilmore to make some mistakes without them being deadly. Sure glad we re-signed him and admittedly I thought we were crazy at the time, I think Gilmore will be a force next year, and we will have a great tandem. However, he was lucky that Hartline forgot how to catch the ball on that one play. 3. Kiko is fun to watch. He looks like he has list about 10 pounds over the course of the season (all of it muscle). After a full off season of strengthening and size building he will be even better next year! My biggest goal for him is to survive the remainder if the season un hurt. His might be the first Bills Jersey I buy since Lynch. 4. Robey is another great pick up by the front office this past year. He played his backside off today, and has been steadily more noticeable out there the past several weeks. 5. I almost let my kids hear some bad words when CJ ran that play out of bounds after Miami had just used their last timeout if the half. I saved it, and kept myself off Santa's naughty list. CJ looks to be a change of pace kind of guy, not a 20 touch per game kind of guy. 6. Mario has been good since his wrist surgery last year, and is a beast in this system. Looks like another good decision by our front office. 8. Have to agree with you on Thad and EJ, Unfortunately, Thad doesn't seem to have the accuracy of an NFL starting QB. However, he seems to have the total package to be a great backup/ situational starter. Another great pick up by our front office. If EJ does not clearly distinguish himself from Thad next pre season, then we don't have a starting QB on our roster. I will save the to draft or not to draft debate for another thread. 13. Any chance to sweep the Fins beats out a draft pick any day. Next week beating the Pats would taste real sweet to the vets on the team that have lost some heart breakers to them.

Win! Beating the Fins and the Pats and potentially messing them up for the playoffs would bring me Joy this Holiday Season. The draft won't bring me the possibility of Joy or misery until April.

Earlier in the thread a few posters mentioned that Spiller comes out after running the ball more than 10 yards, or if he touches the ball 2 plays in a row he comes out of the game. This has been something that has been going on with him in previous seasons as well. Certainly it doesn't appear to be a lack of conditioning based on his appearance. It doesn't appear to be a lack of will or heart either. Maybe there is something wrong with him ( I have seen asthma mentioned....has this been confirmed?). Maybe it is a matter of body composition and muscle fiber type ( he looks like he is all fast twitch fibers, which have incredible burst but poor endurance....think of a 100 meter sprinter). He is a vital part of our team, and a weapon on an offense that doesn't have many. He has played throughput the season with a painful high ankle sprain and showed great heart. In an offense that uses him correctly he will be very effective. Just not sure if he is capable of the endurance necessary for more than 15-20 total touches a game.

Brady and P Manning are masters of pocket mobility while maintaining proper throwing mechanics and posture. It pains me to give Brady a compliment, but that SOB is good. I have tried to block the horror that was Mike Williams from my mind. Your comparison of an O line player and a QB is intriguing and in this case quite valid. Both Williams and Manuel came into the league with the size, strength, and athletic skills that made the Bills spend high draft picks on them. Williams was undone by his poor technique, and a lack of passion for the game. Manuel has the passion, but is plagued similarly by technique issues.

Thank you for the post Bill. Enjoyed the win today. We have lots of holes to fill on this team, and the O line needs some help. Why we can't stop the run on defense is a question that is hard to answer, but it's a lot of fun to watch this defense crush a QB and the passing game in obvious passing situations. Can you imagine this defense and how many sacks they would have if they ever had a two score lead in the fourth quarter on a regular basis?!

Throughout the course if the season, EJ has looked better on throws to receivers that are from the right hash marks to the right sideline than he has on throws to the left side of the field. Today was no exception. Surely, we can all recall some good/great throws to the left side of the field...like the two long throws consecutively against the Jets down the left side for the TD drive. However, the general trend on EJ is he has thrown better to the right side of the field. This is due to his mechanics and footwork issues. A right handed QB will naturally throw better to the right side then the left, especially if the QB has issues with mechanics. (Remember Fitzpatrick?). The fact that this has not improved over the course of 10 starts is concerning. Is any one on the board able to think of a QB who has overcome these type of issues? Frankly, we need EJ to be "the guy" at QB. We have enough other holes to deal with. Hope he is, but I can't think of a player who has overcome the mechanical issues/flaws that he has and become a franchise QB. Can anyone think of an example?

Great first year for Kiko, and he needs to be an important part of this team for years. I hope they limit his snaps for the next 3 games. He is an undersized linebacker that uses speed and quickness as his main weapon. Looking at Alonso he looks like he has lost 8-10 pounds of muscle since the pre season began. Typical of a young player, and he will have a chance to regain lost muscle and more in the offseason. We don't need our own RG3 situation with Alonso. Don't turn a tweaked, sore knee into a ligament tear.

Taking him would be a good move. If nothing else it would help the team compete with Tom Brady in regards to "hot wives/ girlfriends" . Maybe that is what we have been missing these past 14 years?!

That might just work!

Have had this conversation with many folks over the years, and have long ago decided that if they leave WNY I am no longer a fan. Further, I have decided that I will use this opportunity to become a fan "free agent". Teams I will consider for my Fanhood have to be the following: 1. A direct flight or short drive from Raleigh to a fun city 2. Have a history of organizational competence 3. Be a team I have not spent time despising (Dolphins, Pats, Steelers, Jets) 4. Can't be the titans as I have not yet recovered from "home run throwback" Hope the day never comes!

The thing about Goodwin is watching him separate from the defender on a go route when the ball is in the air. Today's catch and the one Tuel threw to him were similar in that regard. Not only is he world class fast, he seems to be able to use it in the game. He is "football fast".

Yeah, forgot about that game...380 yds passing over 100 rushing... It all came in the second half when Clemson already had a huge lead right? I turned that one off after the first half. My happiness with today's rout of the Jets must have momentarily messed up my memory I stand corrected...his second best game in the past two seasons

+1 I actually had to leave the room for a moment after the Jets scored. Thought for sure we were going to find a new way to "seize defeat from the jaws of victory". Came back in and couldn't believe how EJ completed 2 long passes for the score! Closed out any hope the Jets had.

Thanks Bill, always enjoy your post. The Bills D line was great with disruptive pressure all day. Agree with you that Geno Smith is going be hurting tomorrow. It was great to see the Bills Defense make a rookie QB look like a rookie QB. The d-line pressure and Byrd's play were a huge part of making that happen. Credit to the players, credit to the scheme. Our rookie QB had his best showing of the year. Some encouraging things there. Hope he can keep it going and build on this performance. I have my doubts, but I keep rooting for him and as you said IF he is the answer at QB we are close to being a good team!

It was encouraging to see EJ complete a variety of passes in tough weather conditions. 20-28 and two TDs in 20 + mph winds is impressive by any measure. He showed the arm to drive the ball through the wind. However, my favorite pass he threw all day was a touch pass to a RB where he had to throw it over a defender and drop it into the hands of the RB with the pass rusher in his face. I don't think the play amounted to anything of significance but it showed great touch, poise and awareness of the offense by EJ. Skepticism regarding EJ's play will rightly remain in place, as today's game was the best game he has played in the past two seasons (including college). If he continues to show the ability to deliver accurate deep sideline throws (by that I mean not 10 yards out of bounds) and as an earlier poster said the "ability to do the little things" over the remainder of the season, he will show that he is developing into a true franchise QB. If today's game was an aberration and the remainder of the season looks like previous games, he is not the answer. To answer the original posters question, I feel the same about him now as I have all year. I have my doubts, I keep rooting for him, and today he rewarded us with his best showing of the season. I want him to be the answer at QB, because I want the Bills to win. If he is not the answer at QB we are that much further away from winning.

I know he is....I can still hear him yelling at the TV .

The investment in first round picks in regards to compensation is not what it once was. This allows teams to better recover from mistakes made drafting players. Your concern for developing 2 young QBs in regards to limited practice time is a good point. However, it should not prevent the Bills from drafting QBs early until they find their guy. Nothing about EJ in college or so far at the NFL level indicate that he will be a top 10 NFL QB. He has lots of time and opportunity left this season to prove that he is a top talent. Lets hope he does, but many of us have doubts. Should he not make significant strides over the next 6 games, the Bills would be foolish not to take another QB early in the draft. The Bills (or any NFL team) can't win without a franchise QB. The other pieces of the team that have been assembled, and are in place can't and won't wait for 2-3 seasons to determine if EJ is the answer.

Parents both from Buffalo, I was raised in Rochester. I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't a fan. Lucky enough to go to a lot of games in the late 80's and early 90's with my Dad. Moved to NC after college and would find a bar to watch games (later Direct TV Ticket), and would break down the game each week with my Dad. Bills Fanhood has its' bonds. When my Dad was dying of cancer he told me that he "wished he had enough time to see the Bills win one Superbowl". I told him that "none of us have enough time to see them win a Superbowl". I told that story during the eulogy at his funeral, and it brought laughter from all attending (a church of mostly Bills Fans). Fanhood isn't logical, it's emotional. For if it was logical, most of us would root for an organization that was better run and was deserving of our passion