jad1

If Shouman runs his routes better than the other TEs or reads and makes better adjustments to the defense than the other TEs, then Edwards might be in trouble if his hot read or check-down receiver is not where he is supposed to be. I doubt, though, that Edwards is saying, 'my buddy Shouman is gone, now I'm going to throw to my next best buddy Owens.' Fine, Nelson, and Stupar are going to have to step up and do the job that Shouman was doing, and Edwards will be fine.

I don't know, who's to say that keeping Brees on the bench for a year didn't hurt or delay his development? SD watching Flutie bumble his way to a .500 record wasted a year of Brees' contract, which let him eventually walk as a FA. If they let Brees struggle and gain his bearings a season sooner, they could have made the decision to either keep him, saving draft picks they used for Rivers, or they could still have planned for Rivers and traded Brees. In the end, a QB either has the ability to play in the NFL or he doesn't. There are probably as many QBs who are successful after being protected as there are QBs who became successful after being thrown to the wolves. Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco are all successful QBs because they have the talent, ability and mindset to play QB in the NFL. Sticking them on the bench behind some journeymen or having them struggle through their inaugarial season isn't going to change that.

0-2 in the division (dammit).

That's pretty scary since it's the same system with basically the same players they've had for the last two seasons. As always, the scheme seems to be to have the ends swing around wide. They seem to be in a containment mode, and Maybin has this down pretty good right now. You have to wonder why they would be trying to contain Leftwich, though who really is no threat to leave the pocket. I'd like to see Schoebel and Maybin run more stunts with the DTs, especially since Williams has stepped up his game.

Owens has done a lot to move the 8th man out of the box, something the Bills offense hasn't been able to do since Bledsoe had his hot streak. Edwards needs to keep hitting his receivers like he did today to keep that extra defender out of the box. More than anything else, this has helped the young offensive line gain a foothold, which is great to see. AVP has also done a great job. So maybe Owens and a new coordinator has improved the team since preaseason. Keep in mind, though, that the team still hasn't beaten a winning team in more than a season and a half. The Bills are 0-7 in their last seven games against the AFC East. Beating teams like Tampa isn't the key to getting to the playoffs. It's necessary, but the Bills are going to have to finally stand up and beat winning teams if they want to make the playoffs. Could have more been done in the preseason to prepare the team to finally get over the hump against the AFC East and winning teams? That remains to be seen.

He made some mistakes and took some bad hits, but like Stan mentioned above he played with toughness and heart. The big carry-over from this game is that he hit both Evans and Owens deep. That will keep 8 men out of the box, freeing up the running game and making the OL's pass blocking assignments easier the next game. I'd still like to see him take a shot in the end zone inside the 20, but there's always next game.

Secure the kickoff, run the ball, win the game. Simple, ain't it?

Nice job Freddie.

See, it's not that hard!

McGee is playing a good game.

Glad that Owens is there to be a red zone weapon.

Yeah, why should we expect an NFL QB be able to complete a pass 15 yards downfield to our All Pro WR?

Edwards sucks.

That was a dumbass call by the Bucs. Time for the Bills to take advantage of the field position.

Economics. It will cost over a billion dollars to purchase the Bills and build them a stadium in a new city. You, like everyone else, mention LA. LA has spent the last 50 years looking for private money to build a new football stadium and has failed to do so. State funding is a pipe dream since California is already billions of dollars in debt, and currently has three NFL teams that play in old, out-dated stadiums. There are no legitimate purchasers in or purchasing plans for LA, and this has been the case since the Raiders returned to Oakland.

This could have been a very exciting season if the team made a coaching change in the offseason. It looks like the Bills have some defensive talent, but it's hard to tell when they are forced to place a bend-but-don't break defense 90% of the game.

Regardless of Ralph's health, the Bills aren't moving anywhere. The franchise has hit some hard times, but it's not dying.

If the regular blocking unit was out there, sure. But not with the hands team out there.

So in the fourth year of Jauron's reign, you're saying that we shouldn't expect the Bills to be able to beat the Pats? And if that is what you're saying, what is the timetable for a Jauron win over Belichick?

I agree with you. The game situation called for the team to protect the ball and burn NE's timeouts. If they managed a first down, the game is just about over. If not, NE gets the ball back on their 35 with 1 timeout and about 1:35 left, needing a TD. You have to have confidence in your defense to win in that situation.

I don't know, I'll believe it when I see it. I agree with many of the positives that you saw about the team, and I'll add that the team finally has the WR talent to move the 8th defender out of the box, which helped out the young linemen today. But at the same time, regardless of the spread, or the young players, or the penalties, or the injuries this team had an 11 point lead late in the game, and regardless of how well they played to that point, they reverted to the boneheaded play that we've seen too often in the past in similar situations. The team lacks a general awareness under Jauron that most good coaches instill in their players. This team looks like they'll knock off their share of inferior teams, but they lack the ability to get over the hump playing the better teams in the league.

And who is responsible for instilling that awareness in a player?

So when should we expect the Bills to win a game like this?

After having the same coach for the last four seasons, is it wrong to start to expect this team to win this type of game, to beat a good team? The Bills had a hell of an opportunity this evening. The Pats are going through massive changes on their defense and Brady is obviously rusty. Belichick opened up the running game by double covering both Evans and Owens. Not many expected it before the game started, but the way things played out, Buffalo should have won the game. In the end, it looked like Buffalo's defense was tired and too predictable. The refusal to blitz or mix coverages hurt the Buffalo at the end of the game. And, a minor complaint, after losing to the Pats 12 straight times, you would have think that the coaching staff would have figured out that whole Faulk/3rd down thing.

The Bills have become a team that will always give the opponent a chance to win the game. Most good teams (and some bad teams) seize that opportunity. And you're right about the depth. Cover 2 schemes should be built from the line of scrimmage out. The front seven should be deep and talented, so that the lighter pass rushers don't tire out at the end of games. The Bills have focused their drafts on the DBs though, and not surprisingly, the team has trouble applying a pass rush at the end of games.