PolishDave

Here is what I think needs to happen: 1) EJ needs to give both the fans and the coaches some proof (on the field) that he is a rising talent or else be demoted to a number two quarterback going into next season 2) Marrone needs to regain the respect and attention of a team that he appears to be losing (or may have already lost) 3) Coaches need to give more playing time to other players who might be starters next year

And I'll stand down from my soap box. And you can underline it and frame it. I have zero respect for Coach Tuesday. Grow up people. Ralph bashing is un-classy and makes you look stupid. Seriously stupid.

All I have to say is that I wish Tomlin was on our sideline during the Music City Miracle........We would have been in the Superbowl again.....

I didn't mind Caroll that much until the Seahawks played the Bills, faked a punt and ran up the score. Now I want to fight him. Coupled with that and the fact that he used to coach against the Bills in the AFC East, and I hate him now. I am hoping like hell that it doesn't end up Seatle vs. Patriots or I will have to root for the Seahawks (lesser of two enemies).

Wouldn't mind at all if the Bills moved toward Rochester as a way to increase their fan base. I would still support them fully. If they moved out of Western NY I would abandon the NFL entirely. No more family football Sundays. No more Sunday night football. No more Monday night football. No more Thursday night. Every year on opening day of the NFL season I would throw a keg party at my house where we would burn flags and jerseys of the whatever team they became. And anytime I met a person who supported that new team, I would feel an immediate sense of dislike for that person. And I would golf a lot more on Sundays.

NFL refereeing in my opinion sucks in about half the games played. The truth of the matter is that the refs often completely miss calls that could be game changing calls if they see them and throw the flag. For example in the Falcons game there was a play I saw towards the end of the game, (one of the last two drives made by the Falcons) where Darius was obviously being held on a breakaway pass rush. Instead the play ended up being a big pass play for Atlanta. Nobody else seemed to see this. Not the refs. Not the commentators. Just me imagining things I guess. I see plays like that all the time, illegal blocks, defensive holding, offensive holding. Some get called some don't. It is all up to the almighty ref. And yes it is very common for the refs to make game changing calls that are very questionable. More times than not, the schmuck commentators will wait to see how the review goes and then say the ref made a good call or a good no call. It is maddening to watch. They NFL obviously thinks we don’t realize the “good ole boy” system of the commentators backing up the refs decision for the good of the league. And don’t you just love it when a team needs a miracle to stay in a game and that miracle is delivered by one of the guys wearing stripes? That is why people think there is a conspiracy. It really makes you wonder. Are they just doing this to keep the games more exciting? For the good of the league? It really is plausible. Isn't it? The fact of the matter is that NFL officiating sucks. It has sucked for as long as I can remember. I am convinced that it will continue to suck going forward. You can’t fix stupid. And the hard part to swallow is that so much of it causes a game to go one way or the other. And no it is not a Bills thing specifically. Officiating sucks across the NFL. The refs determine the outcome of many, many games by their decision to throw a flag or not.

No way to know for sure one way or the other ultimately. But here are some things to consider: 1)Home crowd noise in the Ralph is far superior. Crowd noise in the Rogers Center is a complete non-factor. 2) Home crowd noise when the Bills are on defense can disrupt communication between the opposing QB and his receivers resulting in mistakes/penalties against them, unplanned usage of timeouts and turnovers. 3) Home crowd noise when the Bills are on defense can disrupt communication on the offensive line resulting in mistakes and/or penalties against them. 4) Home crowd noise ignites emotional sparks in players which helps our team build momentum and helps their team give up their momentum. 5) Familiarity and game day routine of playing in at the Ralph - Do you think players are more comfortable playing in the Ralph or in any other stadium? Do you think that helps the players or not? 6) Playing in a dome is exactly what the Falcons are used to doing and exactly like the conditions they practice under. Playing in real weather logically would make the Falcons feel more "out of their element". Would any single one of these factors have made the difference in that game? Impossible to know for sure. But arguing that these things don't matter is pretty delusional I would say. The truth is that they might have mattered. Why do you think every team in the league refers to it as home field advantage?

That's not how I saw it. I saw it as two plays made by defenders who knew they needed to cause a turnover or else lose the game. They made the plays that had to be made. The Falcons were lucky that the Bills players minds were not thinking about ball security in those crucial moments. I wonder if after the Stevie fumble, did Hackett or Marrone go to his playmakers and remind them that ball security is of upmost importance at this point? I am guessing neither of them did. Yes these players should automatically know that, but it is easy to forget about ball security when you are trying to make a play on offense. Would that have made the difference with Chandler? Maybe, maybe not. But then after it happens and the Falcons get the ball back, why isn't our defense out there holding up the ball runner while other guys try to strip the ball? The Bills looked like they were playing normal defense to me with zero emphasis on creating that possible game winning turnover. I thought that both times it looked like the Falcons defenders were obviously going for the strip. And it worked. Hats off to them. Neither Stevie nor Chandler are habitual fumblers. I think in both situations they just got outplayed by a mindful defender who wanted the ball at least as badly as he wanted the tackle.

I'm a season ticket holder and I refuse to attend these Toronto games out of my own little protest against it. All of my season ticket holder friends take the same stance and also protest the Toronto games with their non-attendance. We want the game back in Buffalo. But our only recourse is to not support the Toronto game and to voice our opposition to it. The cheers of the home crowd helps prop your players up to play better and helps demoralize your opponents. No doubt that could have helped today. If that game was in the Ralph, it is possible that the 14 point lead turns into an even bigger lead because of the emotional bonus effect from the crowd. Maybe that is wishful thinking. The effect of crowd noise on teams definitely gives a distinct advantage to the home team though. I am mad that I got screwed out of rooting for my home team in my home stadium for this game. This would have been a nice game to see at the Ralph.

I think this years' team would have been a playoff team if it had good consistent quarterback play this year. EJ did miss a number of throws today that should have been better. But, at least they got him to throw the deep ball a few times in the second half. I still hate how often he checks down. I would rather have him throw the long ball on 3rd and 15 rather than see them try to turn a 3 yard screen into a first down there. If I was coach, EJ would be spending an hour each morning and another hour each afternoon alternating long ball passes to Graham and Goodwin day after day after day. He should be so used to throwing that route that it is second nature to him. If he can't learn to do that, he will never be the guy I want.

I guess it is a natural instinct of mine. I am loyal to my country "Proud to be an American". I can't imagine not being patriotic especially on a day like today. Happy Veterans Day I am loyal to my hometown team. "Bills fan to the core." It is part of being a real Western New York'er.

Sharpen your knife and start learning braille now. He has been captain check down from the get go. In the first few games EJ played I thought the same thing. I thought the coaches weren't allowing him to open the game up with his arm. Then I saw Thad Lewis chucking the ball a lot. And I saw Tuel winging the ball around. That answered my question about that. Do you really think this offensive staff has one foot on the brake for EJ yet they are telling the other guys to chuck it? No friggin way. They want EJ to throw the ball down field. He just doesn't do it. He throws to the guy running a 2 yard route on 3rd and 5. EJ doesn't move the chains well and he doesn't throw touchdown passes often enough. In my opinion those are the two most important things a QB is supposed to do for your team. Those two guys backing up EJ may not have his pure athletic talent, but they are better football players and better team players in my opinion. If I lose a game I want my guy to go down kicking, scratching, clawing and fighting throughout the entire game. All we get out of EJ is "Oh well. I guess we lost. Ho hum. Loddy dah."

True dat! If EJ is so talented then why does he look like he should be the 3rd stringer? He has been propped up to be the savior for this franchise. And plenty of fans on this forum and other forums have treated him like he is that savior. So far all he has proven is that in is best game he is mediocre. And why isn't his team rallying around him? He is not a leader at all in my opinion. He doesn't inspire his team mates. He does not make the people around him play better. He just isn't making the plays he should be making to inspire confidence in him at all. How can people honestly remain confident in him when he plays that game against that piece of crap Steeler defense? Whatever confidence I had been building up for EJ just got ripped out of me and kicked out of me during that game.

Stevie is the best receiver the Bills have. He stays. No question. Did you see Stevie's postgame interview with Murphy? http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Stevie-Johnson-My-frustration-level-is-a-10/217dcd86-9164-4f88-b135-def73340db34 Looked to me like the veteran players are now defeated mentally. Coach's fault for that. If your team doesn't want to win and doesn't want it badly, how the hell do you expect to win? When EJ is in at Qb this team looks like a team just going through the motions of football without any spark or emotion. I think that lack of leadership at the helm and lack of a "win or die trying" attitude spreads to the rest of the team and diminishes everyone's performance. Stevie is good. He is just sick of losing. Look at his interview and how he talked about needing to win as a team. This team doesn't play as a united team.

I doubt they draft another QB high unless EJ continues to truly suck the rest of the year. If he really sucks the rest of the year, they will be more likely to draft another one early. If he doesn't totally suck and is just mediocre then I suspect they will try to find a veteran from another team to come in and compete for starting QB position again just like they tried to do with Kolb this year. Then whichever QB wins the job will play whether it is that new veteran guy, EJ, Thad or Tuel. I would be really interested to see how things are going in practice. Did EJ look better than Lewis and Tuel this week in practice or not? It is hard to believe that he did after watching that debacle of a football game. Are they starting him just because the fans expect him to start? Did starting him really give the Bills the best chance to win? If it did, then yikes! Wish I could get a good feel for what is happening in practice.

I like your idea. I would do it this way though. Have open competition in practice. Whoever plays the best in practice this week gets to start the next game. Give them a chance to be the number one at whatever position. Next week do the same thing. And the week after... Time to find out who should be here next year and who should be gone. I would still play to win these games. I am a season ticket holder and I don't want them to intentionally throw any games. I paid for those seats so I could help cheer my team to victory, not pay to watch them totally give up.

I told my wife during the pregame show (once I heard it was windy in Pittsburgh) that if EJ has a bad day throwing the football that the EJ lovers would be out there blaming the wind. Looks like that came true. Man that was an easy prediction. I bet half the people on this board made the same prediction. As far as the running game goes, you are not going to have a consistently good running game week after week unless you have a deep threat in the passing game too. Without a deep threat (which EJ seems to lack) the defense will be able to stuff the run more times than not. Defenses simply do not respect EJ as a homerun passer. And they will continue to disrespect him until he consistently burns some teams for it back to back. And I don't see that happening,....probably ever...

Amen.... The only reason fans are giving him a chance is because he was a #1 draft pick... Look how everyone wanted to kick Tuel to the curb after being thrown into that Cleveland game.... The fact of the matter is that there are no good quarterbacks on this team...at least not NFL playoff caliber....that much is obvious... Just give me a friggin guy who wants to win a game...both those backups played like they wanted to win.....EJ hasn't... EJ is ho hum la de friggin dah in every game........the people who love him call that maturity...lol......

Rust....whatever......... I want a QB who acts like he cares whether the Bills win or lose and I bet the players want that too.... It didn't look like the players cared today at all...especially the Bills quarterback... At least Thad gives a crap.....at least he plays with passion......at least you can see Thad is giving you all he's got for whatever it is worth...... You can't say that about EJ... I was ready to put Thad in at the half....the Bills needed a win today as bad as they have ever needed one...if you expected to keep the rest of the season interesting and meaningful.... And if you can't win against that Steelers team today.....well, what the hell.....pissed...

A couple more games like that and I will be ready to kick this QB experiment to the curb. Talk about a setback. Who knew EJ would look this bad after missing those games... You have to wonder how he looked in practice this week...Did he look in sync or not? Hard to believe he looked good in practice and came out playing that game. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a new captain checkdown..... Every single game matters in the NFL.....every single game.....this one sucked and it hurt bad..... Hard to believe we actually downgraded in quarterback from last week and the week before and the week before.......pissed.....

Has anyone else noticed in recent years that it seems like fans are making more noise when we are on offense than defense? It drives me friggin crazy. There are lots and lots of inexperienced fans at the Ralph. I thought that knowing when to get loud was like football 101 or something. Apparently not.

I was a season ticket holder for years before I ever went to any away Bills game. After going to my first away game, Detroit I think it was, I was surprised how cool other fans can be. I know that fans at the Ralph are very belligerent to opponent fans. I assumed that was normal in other stadiums. As I began attending more away games I came to the realization that Bills fans are usually pretty darn rude at the games in Orchard Park compared to other places. Since then I have gone out of my way to welcome fans here from other teams as long as they seem cool. Nothing is cooler than being at an away game and meeting cool football fans from that city. Share a little food. Share a little beer. So, now I try to pay it forward to people who come to Buffalo. If they are cool, then be cool back to them and show them a good time. I'll even buy someone a $9 beer because other guys have done it for me in other cities. If you see a BIlls fan being a meat-head to other people, embarrass him by reminding him how un-classy he is. If enough people do that, we will see things start to change.

No sir... I think I know the commercial you are talking about .....But, you must be thinking of some other Dave...

When you are trying to master a skill you have to actually do the work in order to really get better. Don’t you? Think about it. If you are trying to learn to play guitar, are you better off watching someone else play it or are you better off practicing it yourself. If you want to become a better auto mechanic, are you better off watching someone else change brakes every day or are you better off changing the brakes yourself? If you want to become a better sports coach, are you better off watching someone else coach for two months or are you better of getting out there and coaching your own team? Yes there are certain “mental” aspects of the game he can continue learning from the sideline. But, the mechanics of how you react in the pocket when facing a live opponent can only really be learned through practice. He needs a lot more practice (in my opinion) in live fire situations. I am sure with the amount of time EJ has spent on this team he is very much up to speed mentally on what is supposed to happen on the offensive side of the ball. If he isn't, then the dude has a brick for brains. What he needs is more practice against live opponents where your mistakes and successes are amplified. That is when you really learn. There is little doubt in my mind that this injury has caused him to “not progress” as fast as he could have without the injury. And like other fans, by the end of this season I want to know without a doubt, whether EJ is going to be an above average QB or not.

The Bills have the advantage of playing at home. Plus the Bills have beaten the Chiefs badly in their last two meetings. So I think the Bills have a good shot at winning based on the mind-game alone. At some point during this game I expect the Bills to demoralize the Chiefs. If the Bills can get on a roll, the memory of the last two beat downs the Chiefs took will creep into their players' minds. The Chiefs will start to second guess whether they are for real or not and begin wondering why they can't beat a team like Buffalo whom they think they are more talented than. And if that happens, people around the NFL will silently think "Nope....the Chiefs aren't Superbowl caliber......" And they will start forgetting about the Chiefs like they have every other year in recent memory. And I am going to enjoy this little fantasy of mine while I can, because we all know that it is entirely possible that either the Bills offense or Bills defense forgets to show up for the game.