JoeF

Congrats Fitz---

I heard that....he also works his ass off...

I know this has been discussed so many times...but after experiencing the game of a lifetime live, I wanted to add to the elation with a new thread. - Fitzy doesn't have the strongest arm, while he is sneaky fast he is not fleet a foot, he is not an Adonis physically -- but he has two things that make him not just good but a top 10 QB. 1) There a lot of QBs in the league who are considered great (Cutler, Vick, Romo) who are see and throw QBs -- Fitzy is a read and throw. He trusts these young receivers to read the same thing he is reading and to get to the spot. There was a NE Blitz in the third quarter where Fitzy threw to a spot about 20 yards downfield on the sideline to Jones about two strides before Jones made his break...Jones made the break--the ball was a little high so no catch--but it was classic read, intelligent QB--the kind of QBing you only get with intense knowledge of a system, film study of the opponent and being totally in synch with your WRs. All these guys Stevie, Chandler, Nelson, Jones--have wonderful football smarts -- they are in synch with their QB -- they will play their ass off for him because they know if they work hard in the film room and on the field -- they will have the chance to make plays. 2) Fitzy plays with passion--the girly scream aside -- he is focused on getting the most of every play and when it doesn't work -- he makes a tackle on an INT or when he is not directly involved -- he will throw a block on a Smith run. - Overall this team is built on smart players -- players who can study film--see trends--adapt on the fly on both sides of the ball. Jarius Byrd is a great example. He has made so many plays this year by recognizing formations and being in the right place to make a tackle that saves a huge play. Erik Pears gets great leverage on speed rushers and bull rushers because he studies and positions himself well...George Wilson learns how to gain inside position by studying.. It seemed like the "ball bounced our way" a few times more on Sunday--particularly on Scott's and Florence's interceptions--but I believe that those bounces are due to hard work Wednesday through Friday and not just luck. This is a smart football team who gets the most from under-publicized athletic ability. Nix, Whaley, Gailey are getting this right--a 4.3 40 doesn't mean much if you can't be in the right place at the right time--give me a 4.5 who works hard and is smart....if we keep on this path--we might have some fun in our future.... Sorry for the diatribe but still on a high from Sunday about 4:20 PM..

We need to take it up a notch as fans to...--let's bring the A++++ fan game to the Ralph on Sunday. Let's not let the Pats get to sweet 16...be so loud Brady can't check at the line---

I love it when Scott Chandler does his vagina leap...come out now Scott

Bills fans don't need face pain, fake shoulder pads with spikes, black and silver, pirates, etc to be scary....we just act like ourselves. All the make up and accessories in the world can't hide a Northern California softy.... Make them all eat nuclear wings with a boilermaker chaser.....

Jasper is our Swiss army knife lineman....who eats Swiss Chocolates and Swiss Steak...

We are making way too much of how this transaction went down and ignoring the fact that in May of this year Chan said this... http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article374016.ece - He said wide receiver Lee Evans, who put up career-low numbers last season, needs to get more consistent running routes. Gailey also wants to expand the type of routes Evans is asked to run. "He's been more of a deep threat," Gailey said. "I've got to get him to do a better job of becoming an underneath threat. I've got to do a better job of that." If Chan cared deeply about this trade--he would have been blunt like he has been. JW/NGU--love you both...but Evans was not a valued commodity by the football people...

You speaking from experience Nanker?

Mansfield Wrotto WTF are you doing?

He had about 6 mind numbingly horrible throws...one was slightly tipped. The first pick (a pick 6) was a lack of a read on the depth of a drop of the OLB who made the pick. There were three others that were woefully behind the receiver and the interception in the endzone was either a bad route by young Aiken -- or just a total mis-read by Thigpen. There were also about 4 drops that should have been catches but his completion rate even with those 4, is still about 50%. On the plus side, the deep throw to Aiken on 4th down was a great use of legs play by Thigpen and a great adjustment by Aiken. Its tough to say on a couple of the bad throws if it was a route issue or a read issue. Remember the receivers have some ability to adapt routes to what they read and you have to hope the QB reads the same thing..sometimes in the pistol or modified pistol this happens on the fly. An off throw might be an accurate throw depending on what the QB read. The fact they cut Hubbard in the first round may reflect the couple of drops he had but also a lack of knowledge to pick the right read. So Thigpen had an off night on Saturday. I was impressed that he shook it off and showed the resolve to bring the team back. Winning when you are not at your best is a great trait because the nights like Fitz had on Saturday (perfect accuracy) are not going to happen every night. I left the game with more respect for Thigpen than I came into it....I think he is a serviceable back up who could win games in a injury situation.

sarcasm on

Batten down the Quarterback

Jags are tanking it to give us false hope....

You long term season ticket holders get everything.... Here is what they sent me...

Slight shakes in RTP,NC

What if he was taking on a boarder to help him afford the steroids he was smuggling across the border?

Jim that's a great signal for the shift...wouldn't have thought of it

It was like "Buddy--get someone in here now" There are three guys I would look at and get in here today (off day): - Flozell Adams - He is old-Dallas gave up on him but he was still serviceable last year in Pittsburgh-one year $2.5M - Max Starks-coming off injury - worth the risk of an incentive heavy 2 year deal -- $3M guaranteed with escalators that could double the total contract value to $6M - McKinney-call Rosenhaus today and tell him that McKinney will get a $500K bonus to sign today -- but by cut down if his conditioning is in check he will get $3M guaranteed or if not he is cut...This exceeds Drew's demand but puts the responsibility on the player to get in shape by the end of the preseason We need a vet NOW... Listen to the coach..

http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2011/08/09/why-merriman-is-a-team-leader/ Interesting...maybe the line will be better prepared to face a real NFL rush. Kudos to Merriman for taking advantage of a "Teachable moment" with a young OT.

His latest tweet! NickBarnett NickBarnett God has blessed me once again to be part of a great organization.. Great coaches, Great staff, Great players and more importantly great fans

A lot of teams are going to take advantage of the 3rd QB rule by getting a "jack of many trades" in that role. The Bills got the best of the lot in Brad Smith. It was really being a first mover to take advantage of a new rule. Buddy and Chan aren't sleeping they are just trying to overcome the image of a loser. There are still UFA's out there at RT, ILB, TE, SS that can help this team...at some point in time it becomes a significant buyers market and players start to come here. I still haven't lost faith in this front office--but they will not just sign guys for the sake of signing them.

I loved the image of Poz more than the player. We got killed up the seam every year he and Whitner were in place. Table stakes for a LB is that they can tackle and Poz could--we need more than that. Hopefully we find two ILBs to pair with Shep and Davis that can play. There is more supply than demand this year. We will get some bargains, not mortgage the future and continue to build through the draft. Even with this--#51 you have a fan wherever you go... BTW -- let's start working on extensions for Fitzy, Stevie, Levitre and Wood...