Gray Beard

Corey always looks like he is having fun. He is a monster on special teams. That block on Kyle Love (#74) last week should be in a highlight reel. Too bad it wasn't Wilfork that he hit that time. I remember they used to pass to Sam Gash out in the flats every so often and it almost always got them a first down. I wonder if they could try that with Corey.

I don't put too much emphasis on power rankings, but Don Banks has the Bills at 7 and the Bengals at 28. Apparently he is considering things other than statistics after three games.

I feel it should be a combination of the all the choices. Fitz knows that the O-line is good but not great. Therefore you must get rid of the ball quickly. Both Thigpen in pre-season and Brohm at the end of last year held the ball too long and paid the price (I know they were playing behind second string lines at the time). A rookie will have to learn to get rid of the ball quickly or run for his life if he wants to avoid getting sacked. Fitz is also among the best in the league at reading defenses and making audibles. That is the result of film watching and experience. That is the kind of thing that should be learned over the course of a year or two with Fitz as a mentor. Kind of like Aaron Rodgers waiting for his turn behind Brett Favre in Green Bay. If a good QB is available, then he should be drafted, but right now it is not a priority. We all know that Fitz will make a few bone headed throws and sometimes the ball seems to slip out of his hand, but that seems to be a worthwhile tradeoff for somebody with his knowledge and instincts. I hesitate to credit too many of his abilities to experience, since he really has only had about two seasons as a starter. I feel as though he still has room to improve, especially if he can restrain himself from making some of those bone headed throws.

That video was included in the Hot Clicks segment on SI.com yesterday. Some good lines, but mostly horrible. It appeared only a day or two after the game, so kudos to the people who made it so quickly.

I've been wondering if anything happened to Spiller during the game. He was barely on the field during the second half. Is he hurt? Is he in Gailey's doghouse? Were they just playing a conservative strategy that didn't involve him? Were they afraid to use him in such a high pressure situation? I kept looking for him and he was hardly ever on the field. Any ideas or insight? thanks.

At the post-game presser, Fitz wore a shirt that looked like it had a picture of his three kids on it. That's good stuff!

Fitz made the tackle after the first interception.

Where was Spiller in the second half? I kept screaming at the TV because I thought that Spiller on screen plays would have been effective. I know Jackson had a great game, but I would have thought that some Spiller action would have been a good change of pace.

It seems as though most teams play with an empty backfield much more than in the past. With five receivers, there will almost always be a match up with a receiver being covered by a linebacker. That will usually favor the receiver until he gets hit. It's almost like a receiver is expected to sacrifice his body over the middle more and more. I have been wondering if that is leading to the offense having an advantage that hasn't been typical as recently as a year or two ago. Your premise that the defense is slower at adjusting due to the lockout and the lack of practice could also be a valid explanation that will support my theory. If that is the case, in a few weeks the coverage will get better with more film watching, coaching, mid game adjustments, and practice time.

I never thought it would happen. I almost gave up at halftime. I hang my head in shame.

C McIntyre just popped somebody!!

My son will come over and we will grill some steaks and watch the game. He's 21 years old, and that has been the tradition his entire life. Even though he goes to college and no longer lives at home with us, he still comes home for the games. We live in the Utica area so we get the games on cable from the Syracuse CBS channel. If the game is blacked out we get the Jets on CBS, but when that happens we will usually watch the NFC game on Fox.

You shouldn't have to go too far west to get the Bills in a bar. I'm in the Utica area and we get the Bills because our CBS station on cable is from Syracuse. If the game is blacked out, then we get the Jets, since the Syracuse station just barely reaches west far enough to be in the blackout region. That just doesn't seem right to me, but I have been living with it for many years at this point.

McLovin gets burned too many times. Bills lose 34-24. McLovin loses his starter designation.

Great post! I remember that game very clearly. I also remember that the sports reporters made a big deal out of the fact that he was from Harvard. After that first game, he didn't do nearly as well. The commentators and analysts all said that teams could game plan for him after seeing him play. I have always been a big Fitz fan though, and I am psyched that he is the Bill's quarterback.

Getting back to the idea of raining on the parade... something that bothers me is that Urbik is hurt. The O-line is already a concern. Now it seems like a big problem. There aren't many bodies available right away. Chris Hairston, Chad Rinehart and Colin Brown are listed in the depth chart as back-ups on the O-line. I know Rinehart came in after Urbik went out. What happens if somebody else gets hurt?

"90% of the game is half mental." - Yogi Berra. A baseball reference, but it seems appropriate.

I agree with this completely. I also believe that about halfway through last season Evans became discouraged and his willingness to get in harm's way became an issue. Several people on this board made references to his alligator arms and his reluctance to come back for the ball. Perhaps it was a mutual decision with Nix, Gailey and Evans that a change in scenery was a good idea. A veteran player who is obviously discouraged probably would not be a good influence in the locker room. I don't blame him. To spend the best years of your career on a team that is constantly rebuilding is not what a first round pick would want.

New England is like a machine. I don't think they gloat or rub anybody's nose in it when they win. (I could be wrong on this). The Dolphins are in disarray and I predict the Bills will finish with a better record than them this year. I find it hard to get too mad at them these days. In my memory, anger at the Dolphins peaked when Jimmy Johnson was their coach, before he became a spokesman for "Male Performance Enhancement" pills. It's the Jets that get me angry these days. Their coach and quarterback are so smug and arrogant, I really would like to see the Bills wipe the smiles off their faces.