Mister Defense

Support for this comment, anything to back it up? I say that if the Bills end the year playing like this, and the defense continues to look like one of the worst, rather than the best, than the Pegulas cut their losses. It will be clear to the them that they made a big mistake.

Yes, but it seems really obvious. I hope it is. Mario is a dominant force on the defense, but just like almost all of the Bills players now, not on this defense. If the Bills now start getting rid of players not meeting their potential on this very poorly coached defense, the 7-9, 8-8 type of records the Bills will still be able to pull out despite their head coach will become 3-13, 2-14 after he is fired at the end of next year (though I am now thinking at the end of this year, despite the $$). I think Whaley and the Pegulas see what we see and won't let that happen, know, like us, that they have likely made a bad mistake in hiring their head coach. They won't jettison players that they know are good/great to bring in ones that better fit the scheme of a head coach who is on very thin ice this year and who seems destined to fall through soon. Just as a business should not let their top talent go because a poorly performing new CEO doesn't work well with those people. It is a recipe for a precipitous fall.

Give me a break: the facts that the Bills never beat the Patriots, and that they have not been in the playoffs in almost two decades, has zero, and I mean that literally, to do with the officiating. The Patriots are run like the Bills of the late 80s and early 90s so they win and win and win and win... (If Kelly had taken care of himself physically the way that Brady has that great streak would have likely continued well into the 90s.) The Patriots are a great organization that does almost everything right, while the Bills are not, have not. These threads, and related conspiracy theories, are the definition of sour grapes; absurd, ridiculous...

This is almost as disturbing as the original post. I think these must be some very uneducated and/or warped people... It sucks that the Bills have lost to Tom Brady and the Pats for soo long, but this may be the best quarterback to ever play the game, and still going strong. Who would want to beat the Pats just because he was out, injured? What kind of satisfaction would that be? Reading some of these posts, it's no wonder there is so much bad s**t happening in the world. He prays, and "every week", that Brady gets a "long term injury"! Yikes. How ignorant is this person?

Sean? Greg? Yeah, play really stupid, really dirty football. Good idea. This has worked real well when done this year... You can't beat someone? Cheat, play dirty. What an idiot. Who would want to win at any cost, sacrificing your integrity, your character. BS.

Those stats cover his last three years in New York. That is a decent sized sample. I think the statistic may be relevant and may be telling--the Bills have a very talented team and it is happening here, this year. It does seem to fit with his demeanor this past week, as after a win he seems to not handle it well, like his players don't handle things like adults on the field this year, clearly, as they are on their way to a record number of penalties. You never see a great coach do these things, give the other team ammo. We shall see the tonight and the rest of the year. He does seem to let wins and success go to his head, as they make his bravado come out--not good for a head coach, not from what I have seen in my lifetime as an NFL fan. Kind of reminds me of 'Coach' Dickerson before the Redskins blew out the Bills in the Super Bowl; don't throw sh** it in your opponent's face. Playing a good NFL team is tough enough. But, Bills 23, Jets 16. Go Bills.

I read this a few days ago, and just looked it up to confirm it: Rex Ryan's teams are 2-17 after a win in the last 19 games. Ouch. No matter the quality of the teams, that seems to be a pattern. I think he gets so excited, like a kid, after a win, that he (and, so his teams) are not focused enough the following week. And that is how this season has felt, a convincing win, followed by a big loss, games in which the Bills were, for the most part, dominated, not even in the game. It has shocked us because we see that potential, and then, POW, the Bills, and their fans, get knocked out. I am excited for tonight, looking forward to a big Bills win, and hoping Rex can overcome this trend. But, pretty powerful stat there when you also look at this season to date. If this happens again tonight, well, I am thinking that the Bills should begin to think of cutting their (yes, significant) losses and about moving on next year. And something like making Enemkpali a captain may shed some light on the 2-17 record; in this case, giving a good team, playing at home, and on a Thursday night, even more motivation. Rex is undisciplined, like the Bills are now.

from Rochester to watch the Bills game on a Buffalo channel? Batavia? Will the game be available later Sunday online or on TV?

No, as Wade almost always comes in a turns defenses around or moves them to their potential. He is extremely consistent in this work. He has been doing it for decades. A great coach brings out the potential in the players and team, just as Wade has done and Rex has not. I am convinced that if the Bills look like this throughout the year the Pegulas will just cut their (huge) losses, as they, like me, will then realize this is what they have purchased. Their initial instincts on Rex were correct..

One and done, after one of the most talented defenses in the league takes a huge step back, with almost no sacks, turnovers, big plays--and no chance against good teams. Ryan's time as a defensive guru has come and gone and will never come again. Yikes.

Yup, that would be great, a continuation of the type of big plays he made in preseason games.

Probably objective analysis there, but I am going the homer route myself after reading this, thinking that, after a superb defensive performance on the road last week this defense is highly motivated to prove that they are the best in the league. And this time at home. And for the entire game against a high quality opponent. The defense will take the game over, dominate, Manuel will shine, doing more of what he did in the preseason, and this will be a turning point in the Bills season and future...30-10

uh, yes, as that is why I mention Tasker... Broadcasters should be objective, especially when on the clock for their main gig.

Just now watching last Sunday's Football Night in America... Speaking to Chris Collinsworth, Bob Costas said that the Bengals at 5-0 could be 6-0 heading into the bye after playing Buffalo next Sunday. I am pretty sure Collinsworth responded by saying, "No question. A lock." Did anyone catch this? Correct in the quote? You would never catch Steve Tasker saying something so biased in his position at CBS, and the same could be said for almost all other national broadcasters. If he did say this, and I think he did, I hope this coaching staff is using it as motivation for Sunday.

Harvin 18 on an end around.

Well, maybe; aren't the Bills 3-27 over the last 30 against them? Total domination and cheating has zero to do with it.

Come on all, this is funny! And we could use some humor tonight.. (It looked like the Bills had weak personnel in all defensive positiions. Hope this bad coaching and game planning are not consistent with Ryan.)

It is the naming of Cassel as the backup that is inexplicable--after he was cut, after EJ was announced as the backup, and it seemed that the Bills were set with their #1 and 2. This is the kind of BS move that weak teams make, a Redskins kind of move. It will come back to haunt the Bills in my view. Reminds me of the Lynch treatment and trade a few years ago, one I said was the worst move I had ever seen the Bills make. Good sports teams use and treat their talent wisely, not like this. I hope Taylor is great this week and this year, but his arm strength concerns me. If he doesn't work out now Matt Cassel steps in! Yikes. Did our eyes deceive us in the preseason? This is a really interesting take, and I hope that you are correct. And that EJ is well aware of it if true.

Wow, what a BS move, a move made by a losing team, not a winning one. To do that to EJ, completely shatter his confidence after giving him some hope about his future with the Bills. Just got home and saw the headlines, so maybe reading about it will ease my mind, but on the surface at least it is the worst move this team has made in some time. Inexplicable.

As a Central New York resident, I like that Matthew Fairburn is on the job the last 2 (?) years. He is fact based and very objective, straight forward, in his reporting. Good variety of topics as well. The Syracuse paper has had the worst NFL coverage of any major newspaper I have read, so good to see that they made a small step in the right direction by hiring this good young writer to cover the Bills. He just needs to end his pieces in a stronger manner as sometimes they just fizzle out.

Good, wish that was the uniform they wear whenever possible--sharpest, clearest, and, to me, best matches my image of the Bills. Maybe not a great choice in a snowstorm though!

Just got home and saw this. Wow. Really surprising. Looking forward to reading all about this and the reactions. Could the conspiracy theorists be right!? Nah, but extremely interesting....

Huh? Have you even read today's article with Martin's quotes? He was a fragile mess, by his own volition. Just bashing for the sake of bashing here vince, with nothing of substance in your attack. And you go after all of TSW. So, I guess it makes sense that you feel this way as it is what you do here yourself--irrational bashing.

Thanks. Do you know why?

I tried to cut and paste the link on the post and then to use the link thing at the bottom. Both times it said that you cannot link to that site (Bleacher Report). But I see the link added above: how do you add the link? (For future reference.)