jad1

I think it's more that they wanted to ease the rookie into the lineup, and then realized that the style of offense they want to run needs a deep threat. It's a mistake, no doubt, but the mistake is that the coaching staff failed to realize early enough that this guys is ready to contribute now.

Keeping Williams wouldn't have helped the situation at all. It remains to be seen if TD made the same mistake twice in hiring a coach. Right now, it doesn't look good.

And if Evans and Losman prove to be the real deal, who cares?

The truth of this probably lies between the Bills being an A-1 defense and them being a sucky bunch of chokers. They're not an A1 defense, because an A-1 defense slams the door in the situations you mention. At the same time, they have held the score down in 3 of the 4 games they played. If you can team them with an offense that scores 20-24 pts a game, the defense will help lead the team to a winning record. The Bills style of offense and defense don't mesh that well right now. You can make both points that if the D shut down the opponent in the 4th quarter, the Bills would be 3-1 AND if the Bill could score 20 points a game, they'd be 3-1.

I guess a positive I would add is that teams are going to have to start respecting Evans deep when he's on the field, and that should move the opposing defense back, which will help the running game. Of course, Evans has to be on the field for that to happen.

The real question is, though, is are teams starting to view Evans as a threat? Can they send extra guys when he's on the field? He's caught three bombs in his last three games, two for TDs. How many more does he have to catch before opposing DCs realize that they have to throttle back the blitz and drop the safeties when he's on the field? And when will Mularkey realize this and keep him on the field as much as possible? In a pretty dismal season, this is something that seems to be working. Donohoe drafted Evans as a deep threat, and he is one, and it could pay dividends if the coaches play it the right way.

You're completely right. This guy gets open deep with ease. Throw three or four times to him in the 1st quarter, and watch the defense ease off the line of scrimmage. Man, I really hope Mularkey is just going through some growning pains right now. He needs to get things like this nailed down by mid season to prove he can hang with real NFL coaches.

Yeah, and the Steelers also got the state to build them a brand new stadium. You think increase stadium revenues had anything to do with their change of heart about signing FAs? By the way, Donahoe has signed way more FAs with the Bills than he did with the Steelers, mainly because his owner has let him. There's a lot of reasons to criticize Donahoe about right now, but this isn't one of them.

"Run and Stop the Run" -- Marv Levy, ad nauseam, 1986-1996. Doesn't matter who the opponent is, or who their QB is, this is the goal of all NFL teams. And the fact is, without a running game, despite an overall mediocre performance, Bledsoe had the Bills ahead with 2 minutes left in the game. If they didn't respect him before the game, they sure as hell do now. Bledsoe still has the ability to beat a team with a couple of throws.

How about saying that JP is a rookie who has missed 10 weeks of practice and hasn't thrown a pass in a game situation (preseason) since mid-August? I can't wait to watch the guy play either, but rusty and inexperienced isn't a good combination in the NFL. You might be able to get by by being one or the other, but not both at the same time.

I don't want to disrespect Losman here, because I really do believe the guy is the answer at QB for the Bills immediate future. But, don't you think that Losman's missing practice for 9 or 10 weeks at the beginning of his rookie year sets him back? I think he'll be ready to start next year, but his being rusty and inexperienced doesn't bode well for helping much this year.

I watch other teams play, but unless it's the Bills (always root for), the Pats or Dolphins (always root against), I watch as an interested, independent observer. I have no problem discussing the strengths and weaknesses of other teams, and calling out good players from other teams, but I would never "adopt" another team. To me, adopting another team, like the Colts, means you would choose to watch the Colts over the Bills because they have a better record. That's something I'd never do.

I don't know if Losman is ready to start this season or not, after missing weeks of practice time with his injury, but from what I did see of him in preseason, he is well worth next year's first round pick. And, to me, McGahee outplayed Henry yesterday. I think the offense could improve if he got more carries and playing time. I'm not saying that he'll save the season, but I do think he could make things better.

Uh, we have heard from Ralph, and he's pissed. Like us, he's tired of the lackluster play, and believes the smashmouth football is boring the fans. He want's to see a change in the level of play. Nice theory though.

I'll bet that a lot of Cowboy fans are pissed right now that Parcells made that trade and gave up the chance to draft Steven Jackson.

Man, if that happened, I would just freak out! Let's hope the Bills win 28-14 so I don't have to wear my tin foil hat all day Monday.

What's there to scream and yell about on a photography and AV forum?

The Bills seem like they've been stuck in idle for the past few years. In 2002 it looked like they turned the corner, but ended up regressing. Mularkey needs to prove that he can guide the team over the next hurdle. That's the story of this season.

One of the original Buffalo logos (not the helment one) pictured a football player in front of a buffalo, framed in an oval, football shape. The number the player is wearing? 31

Yeah, you're an expert in losers.

Actually, the line opened a good-sized hole on the right side, but Henry tripped. But that doesn't fit his storyline, so why bother with the facts?

Did you see him on 60 Minutes last night?

I would add re-signing Shoebel. This guy is proving that he is not a difference maker, and TD should have let him whither on the vine during the season. He'll end up with 10 sacks,against 4 teams, though and everyone will say that he's a rising star.

In the mid 80's the Bills had back to back 2 and 14 seasons due to "what could have been." The Bills record during Kelly's first season was 4-12, thanks to "what could have been." You consider these things as a cause of the Bills poor play, but they are actually the result of poor play. It would be a hell of a lot easier to turn the season around if it were only Bledsoe's fault.

Right now I'm praying to the football gods that Mularkey is on a (short) learning curve and that he's not another dud like GW. I'm hoping that this guy can pull a Del Rio type turnaround this season, but that QB bootleg call is giving me serious doubts.