Chuck Schick

Crazy how one of the (potentially) best trades in the last 2 decades can be classified as stupid. By your reasoning the Bills should have traded UP to get Manuel if they really really wanted him- pissing away later/future draft picks in the process.

Some real good arguments on both sides. I guess it comes down to whether or not this team is going the right way. I think our biggest disadvantage is how many variables we are dealing with: Ownership, GM, coaching staff, QB, roster depth, etc. Even though that last loss to the Pats really sucked, I lean toward a feeling that things are in fact going the right way. Big changes were made this year. Many of them worked out, which is all you can reasonably hope for. But until we win 9+ games a year, it's hard to bang the drum too loud about it.

It's really all TV entertainment, with maybe the exception made for the handful of legit Super Bowl contenders. But based on reasonable expectations going into the year (which largely depended on CJ and Stevie carrying the offense), how can you not be at least a little more upbeat about the near future from this season's showing. (Again, based on reasonable expectations!)

Employers and employees are free to hire/fire/quit at will. I'm shocked that this comes as a surprise to you. You've never heard stories of people getting canned for inappropriate conduct on social media or while outside of work? DUI's alone have cost many people their jobs, even though it in no way affects their work performance.

I totally disagree. If you think any of the Bills players or coaches give even the slightest &@$! what is said on boards like this you're crazy. These guys are professional football players and want to perform and get paid as much as possible. Do you really think one of them would jeopardize this by thinking "oh, what's the use? We're going to lose anyway....". And citing Hosstetler and Dilfer is obviously proving the exception to the rule, not the blue print for success.

I thought Urlacher would be a bust. The idea of converting a safety from an obscure college program into an NFL middle linebacker sounded like a flop waiting to happen. Not sure what they fed him, but he put on the weight and obviously had no problem with the switch.

Not trying to sound like a jerk, but casual sports fans (and probably not-so-casual ones too) seem to equate calling plays in football to a catcher calling pitches in baseball. There are SO many variables that dictate what play is called, and even more that can make a play go well or poorly once the ball's snapped. A case in point is our old friend Kevin Gilbride....the guy ran what we all thought was just a horrendous offense while here in Buffalo. Then miraculously at age 55 (or whatever he was), he leads a dynamic offense to the Super Bowl a few years later. I seriously doubt he didn't want to do the same things in Buff, he just didn't have the talent, match-ups, etc to make it happen. My point is these guys have way more knowledge, information, and skill than we can imagine.

My read on Marrone is that his thing is consistency. His responses to the media are probably an exact echo of the way he communicates to his players at practice and in games. I don't see any professional athletes having a problem with that.

And how about the generally good judgment (or maybe dumb luck?) on the guys we DIDN'T sign over the last couple years. Robert Meacham, Fred Davis in particular.

I'm 43 and a lifelong Bills and Red Sox fan. Until 2004 I figured I was cursed by the sports gods. Every season was filled by "if only....." and eventual letdown. But when the Sox won the Series in 2004, a weird thing happened. Yeah, there was definitely a sense of joy and relief. But what surprised me was how dumb I felt for obsessing over getting that elusive title for so many years. In hindsight my best memories were listening to games on the radio as a kid, or talking about the team with my grandfather. And for the most part, the team was average at best during those years. The championship was nice, but not nearly the end-all-be-all I thought it would be. So I am trying my best to enjoy the Bills during this prolonged drought...maybe these will be "the good ol' days" for us sometime down the road. (Damn I hope not)

No..watch the replays again. Most of the picks were caused by defensive effort (tipped balls, good coverage). Plus, that's what happens when a team is forced to abandon the run. Yeah, a few big pass plays might pop, but you run the risk of bad things happening when the ball is in the air so often. That is not luck, that's football.

Lucky? Take a look around the NFL..90% of games are usually decided by a key turnover/penalty/ whatever. If you're looking for the clear-cut butt kicking, they're hard to come by, for ANY team. The run D was surprisingly awesome, and our DB's did a nice job of battling against one of the better deep-ball QB's in the league (sorry to those that insist Flacco "sucks"). And finally, it's not easy trying to chew up clock against a Defense that knows you're most likely going to run it up the gut for the last few series. Especially for a rookie QB that is still pretty limited (understandably so).

I'm thinking this HAS to be some sort of social experiment. Jerry Jabber is actually 4 or 5 guys with clip boards, administering a form of online shock treatment to all of us.

Oh man, you have gotten yourself and everybody else so confounded in this thread....he ISN'T comparing the Jets O to the NE O....his point was that our crappy D gave up 42 pts to a crappy Jets O on opening day 2012 and just 23 points to a strong Pats O this year. That would seem to indicate some degree of improvement. ???

Just wondering if you find yourself watching sports by yourself... Friend A: Yeah!! Mickelson just eagled #15 to take a 2-stroke lead! Jerry: Well......he would probably be in third place if Tiger hadn't hit that ball OB on #9. So it doesn't really count. Friend B: The Sox (or Yanks, etc) just tied the game in the bottom of the 9th! Jerry: It doesn't matter because they never win in extra innings. Friend C: Hey the Bills looked pretty solid in the last couple series! Jerry: ehhh, i think the Pats would have scored on every play if Hernandez was playing, Wanny was still our D-coordinator, it were cloudy instead of sunny, and we had drafted Geno instead of EJ. I'm sure they'll stink it up on the next series.

The same can be said about this supposedly "depleted" Pats team. If they end up 12-4 (which they most likely will, if not better), will you reconsider your position? I'm guessing not, and that Gronk's return will be the reason...please

The fact that he was named GM in 2008 was more an indictment of the organization, and Ralph in particular, than anything Russ did wrong. His current position is much more in line with his skill set. I think the guy has done a hell of a job considering some pretty strange job requirements thrown at him. It seems that finally there is some logic to the power structure of the organization, with people in jobs that make sense. Why in God's name would you want to blow that up now?

By "slow white guy". I'm guessing you just mean "white guy" as Hogan ran a 4.39 40. Glad you're not the GM or anybody with decision making powers.

Fair enough...I guess you should apply the same logic to criticizing a QB when he throws a pick, a PK misses a FG, or even when an O-lineman false starts. None of us can possibly relate to the pressures and circumstances these guys deal with. Zzzzzzzzzzzz