Coastie

Oh no, there goes my tailback again.

Not all firsts are equal. Without Benjamin, Panthers pick next year could easily be a top 10 while without Nelson the Packers pick next year would still be near the end of the first round, just to mention a couple of the teams discussed here. All that said, I doubt we could get a first unless someone has a van full of receivers run off a cliff.

Listened to the talking heads on TV but so far no one I saw mentioned if the penalty is on the offense. Line up to go for two, false start, are you committed to go for two from seven out or can you then line up for a 38 yard PAT kick? I would think you would be able to decide where you want those five yards added but have not heard anyone say so clearly.

I think part of this is because when your pass defense is bad enough everyone gameplans against it, your run defense is not challenged. You saw the Bills had very effective passing offense against the Jets this year, in fact our best two passing days I believe. Hope springs eternal for this Bills fan but Ryan would not have been my choice.

Perfect point and let me validate it a bit, on Richard Sherman's famous pass breakup, he was beaten and a better passer (not quarterback, passer) drops that ball "in the trash can" for a touchdown. Without a doubt Sherman's athleticism and ability to close is the reason he was able to recover but the truth is he was beaten. There is no doubt that one play has changed his career. One play where the QB doesn't get enough air under the ball changed his LIFE.

I thought about them and decided to make it a push in my mind, driven by my fear of anointing Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods so early in their career. I do think the Bills receivers have the higher ceiling.

Is this the book you are talking about The Frankish Reich? If so I may have to order a copy, it sounds interesting. Fooled by Randomness : The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2001, Hardcover)

Don't post here much but I do read quite a lot and felt this would be a good place to ramble a bit. Three weeks ago the Bengals were widely being hailed as the most balanced team in the NFL, one of the five best. And then A.J. Green hurt his toe. HIS TOE. And three weeks later Dalton has become very pedestrian. Bernard is finding an extra defender in his previously open running lanes. The defense is spending more time on the field defending worse field position. And as best as I can tell, because a WR hurt his toe. The Buffalo Bills have a better record than the Seattle Seahawks. Unit by unit I would only give the advantage to the Bill's defensive line and the place kicker (if you want to count him as a unit). Other than that, they best or equal us in every area. And the Bills have a better record. And it is this capriciousness that flummoxes me. A yellow flag thrown or picked up. A field goal missed or one made from 58 yards. A fourth down pass that shouldn't be caught but is and a ball dropped that should be caught. A fake punt executed perfectly. And suddenly the world champs are a half game worse than the Bills? I guess it is this that ensures I am filled with hope every preseason, that keeps me planted in front of the TV every Sunday. And I know I will be praying to the Gods of capriciousness to keep letting a break or two fall the Bills way and maybe, just maybe, if they are feeling real generous kinda throw a few wrinkles into the carpet in front of the Patriots. Because if what many thought was the best team in the AFC can be derailed by a toe, there is surely hope out there for us Bills fans.

Oh nothing sinister, she just made very large, very strong drinks at EM Club prices and enjoyed watching the sailors get trashed. Our way to cut down on the cost of getting drunk on a Coastie's pay in a tourist town was to "Go see Satan" before we hit the bars on Duval Street. 15 minutes and 10 bucks later we were ready to go.

I had just reported aboard the CGC Mohawk stationed in Key West, FL. The crew was mostly gone on leave so I ended up at an beachside Enlisted Man's club on the Navy base as the only one there in Bills blue. Be assured I took a lot of flack in the first half but I never considered leaving. I did chose to dull the pain by partaking of too many oversized 90 cent kamikazes from a bartender I would later affectionately dub "Satan." So I am a bit fuzzy about the comeback itself, only a few moments crystal clear. Instead I have a clear memory of an emotional ride such that my enthusiasm won over the squids around me and they began pulling for the Bills to finish the miracle and by the time they had I was voiceless. Of all the strange places I have watched playoff games (Cuba, Kuwait, Coast Rica, the Bering Sea and other numerous times at sea) that is easily my favorite memory.

I despise the self-aggrandizement and insulting trash task but I have accepted it has become much more prevalent in "them young whippersnappers." Of course there were mouthy players in every generation but it is so much more common and even condoned now. As much as I despise it, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it so I have just learned to turn away so to speak when these bozos get their moment and wait for it to end.

The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact I agree with you in general as I believe the former is a direct result of the latter.

I know it is fun to try to psychoanalyze these people from a distance and judge how they handle situations but the fact is we can't. There is too much we don't know. I can draw parallels between a BM3 who worked for me and what happened to her after we lost our BM2. Her work and attitude went to crap. I had to try numerous ways to motivate a grown adult and no single tool fit every situation. And despite being there, I was never able to KNOW what tool would work in any situation. I just hope the coaches are searching for the right tool to get to Dareus because I would like to have him back, especially if he gets his head right.

I agree, definitely faded a bit down the stretch but I have to hope it is a high motor guy hitting the rookie wall and next year will be different.

Our longest kickoff return was 28 yards? 28 YARDS? I don't... I mean how can... seriously? 28 yards? I agree with all ya'll, the key word is accountability.

This is the nagging fear in my brain. Missing half the preseason, a third of the season with multiple injuries. I pray they are just flukes because I see a lot of potential in EJ if he can get a full year of play.

1) Seahawks - I was stationed in Seattle for 5 years, was at the playoff game for the Romo fumbled snap and loved seeing them beat the Cowboys 2) Broncos - Manning is just too damn likeable to pull against. And I have a soft spot for the Broncos because they got the AFC off the SB snide back in the day 3) Bengals - My regional team and lots of friends and acquaintances are fans

My understanding is this now forces Denver to play to win whereas they may have rested players if we pulled off the upset in an early game.

Just win baby! I want nothing more than to poke a hole in the Patriot balloon and hearing the whining noise as the airs whistles out. It is time.

The Packers are a perfect example. His inability to be on the field has definitely caused a regression in the Packers offense. I don't believe anyone could dispute that with a straight face. As an individual has Rogers regressed? Don't know, wasn't the discussion in any way form or fashion. The discussion was the offense, not an individual and having an absentee quarterback affects the offense. And yes, I recognized the snarky tone but where you erred was in posting a statement that is not directly analogous (an individual's regression versus an offense's regression) but highlights a situation that, I believe, supports my position.

An inability to stay on the field is a regression. Maybe not a regression of talent and a very small sample of one year but the only sample we have. Ej may never miss another game to injury in his career but at this point missing one third of the season/preseason to multiple injuries is troublesome. And since the QB and OC are both rookies was a regression not the realistic expectation? I do not discount the possibility next years QB play and playcalling will improve (in fact I expect/hope both to improve) but I refuse to use next year's potential to rose-color this years performance. As I said, I can't argue the numbers you put up, I can only express what I have seen. Inconsisent playcalling, QB unavailability and O-line holes are all steps back to me.

What I have seen as the ways the offense has gotten worse is CJ was utilized much less effectively, Freddie is a year older and as effective as he was this year, Father Time is undefeated. EJ looked every bit the rookie and can't stay on the field. I do see some hope for the receiving corps as Woods looks like a legit NFL receiver, Goodwin has flashed speed and could turn into a big play maker like we haven't had for a bit although Stevie remains Stevie. Gragg hasn't shown himself to be anywhere near as good as Chandler so we remain average there and as always seems to be the case, the offensive line is a mix of good and bad and blase. I pray for the year we have five legit NFL starters in the line. Playcalling, specifically as regards CJ is worse and I do think the OC has on occasion tried to get cute with the playcalling and over-thought the obvious. These observations are what I see and very subjective and the numbers may show something else but never forget: "There are lies, damned lies and statistics." Mark Twain

Oh what bittersweet memories are those. I forgot how enjoyable it was to watch Reed and Metzelaars.

Manziel might be right for the NFL but he won't be happy in Buffalo. My view is he wants to play hard and party hard and Buffalo is not the city for him to do that. The result will be the team gets a potentially talented player whose inability to put play over party will result in poor performance and neither side will benefit. I could be wrong, Manziel may mature or already be more mature than I believe he is but it is more risk than the team needs when you consider the already considerable risk involved with any high draft pick.

Going to the sports bar at the casino with my brother and our friend who are Bucs and Lions fans respectively so they can watch their matchup. Me, I will be wearing my old Colts Manning jersey and pulling for our entire division to lose while we get healthier. Oh and most likely losing about four hundred bucks on video poker.