Bob in STL

??? I think that Levy's staff was as good or better than Knox's. Also, Ralph has pretty much let his coaches pick their own staff. He does seem less willing to pay extravagantly for coaches (unlike Snyder and some others).

Actually the kept Thomas over Eric King (one of TD's dreft picks). Thomas has more experience and from the looks of it he plays the game very hard.

Good point!

Good post. There is a lot more to the play of interior lineman than stats. Triplett played well. Kyle Williams already looks like the real deal. I think that McCargo will develop as well. I think the talent on DL is good. I am not nearly as excited about out OL talent though.

Sure it's great. nI was born in '58 and know about "the rivalry". I will say this, the rivalry has cooled down lately but when both teams get to contender status it will heat up.

Bingo! Patience is needed with some of these guys. Why develop them for 3-4 years and then let another team benefit from it? Lindell - Ever since we got a new LS he has been much improved. I has pleased to see the Bills re-sign Denney. He is solid against the run and can play inside if we need him to. Re-signing him was better than any of the other options out there at the time. I was skeptical on the Josh Reed re-signing and we shall see if he continues to develop. Wire - I think we all know he is in the team because of the emphasis on special teams.

If your interpretation is correct then it was the right cll. Very close. These calls always seem to go against us. Next time we need to rebound from the penealty and score anyway. That is the mark of a mature team.

Which begs the questions: 1 - Were our veterans that over rated? 2 - Was the defense that poorly coached last season?

It is a combination of both. The Bills still have much work to do.

They sure do look better prepared then the Mularkey Bills, and they are executing more plays. There is still a long ways to go but so far I am pleased with the progress. I never expected the defense to looks so good this early in the season.

I didn't know him but I sure liked his posts and his humor. This is just tragic. My prayers go out to his children.

The Dolphins. No reason should be needed but it goes back to the Shula years and 0-for-the-70's. My disdain for that team has never subsided. Marino, Duper and Clayton, Cox, and Louis Oliver only added to it. 2nd is the Patsies. II just can't help but wonder how they get so much good fortune. I have never seen one team get so many calls in their favor. Think about "just give it to them", the dead man fumble recovery, the "tuck rule", holding Marshall Faulk and company on just about every play in the Super Bowl and still getting away with it, Marcia Brady, Teddy Bruschi, and those obnoxiuos fans with those obnoxius accent.

so ... you don't like Troy?

Best post yet ...

True that you don't need to use all high picks but the best lines in Bills history and the best lines today still tend to have Pro Bowlers on them. For the Bills, I am talking about guys like Billy Shaw, Stew Barber, Joe D, Reggie McKenzie, Joe Devlin, Jim Ritcher, Will Wolford and Rueben Brown. Every now and then you strike gold with a Kent Hull or a House Ballard but many of the top players are first rounders or at least day one picks.

You never know. Bellichek may need a guy like Merz for the rematch in Buffalo.

Pretty harsh assessment. He strikes me as a class act, someone who took the time to help the rookies.

I can see it now, people will complain because he's boring.

They are probabay saying we must be woefully weak to be starting so many rookies. I have a feeling that in two more years they may be eating some crow.

Except for John Skourpan.

Every move is a wrong move to someone.

A lot of people call Sunday's game a late game collapse by the OL. Late game? They were completely dominated from 9:25 of the 3rd quarter to the end of the game. That is 24 minutes and 25 seconds or 41% of the game. In that time they failed to open a hole on 4th and 1, scored 0 points, had 0 first downs, gave up 2 points on offense, and gave up 2 very key sacks. I am hopeful that the OL problems for that last 41% were more related to schemes than sheer talent, strength, and will. If not it will be another long season.

The story of their game has to be: 1) no push on the 4th and 1; 2) a sack for a safety; and 3) a sack on our last possesion. They were horrible in the 2nd half which to me offset a very good first half. Improved over last season? Maybe, but last season is a poor measuring stick. I think they can develop as the season progresses but if I were Marv my prioirity for the off season would be to upgrade the talent at LT, RG and LG.

Joe, I am not a fan of McGahee's attitide but unless Willis is really hurt bad I think you stick with him. I think he can make more big plays and is a back that usually gets better as the game goes on. From my vantage point the Bills OL got mauled in the second half ... starting from the failed 4th and 1 and continuing for the rest of the game. They just did not run block or pass block very well. It is imperative that McNally and Fairchild look at the film and find out what NE did in the second half. Hopefully is was not just getting beat man-on-man and is something we can correct with blocking schemes. As for A-Train, he looked good and I would like to see him get more carries. Maybe he is the short yardage back we have been looking for? Final note, the defensive player that blew up the 4th is 1 was Vince Wolfork. He penetrated deep and slowed the play up behind the line of scrimmage. I think he is from "the U" so I would not totally knock the UM players.

Yeah right. Keep drinking the Cool Aid. They were worried about protecting a 10 point lead so the gambled a way a potential 13 point lead for a lower potential 17 point lead. Then they did not execute the 4th and 1. As most of you know, I was against the call, but so be it .. the coach showed some balls and set some expectations for his team. After the failed 4th and 1 we were out gained by 205 yards to 5, outscored by 12-0, and we never even got another first down. Lets look at how many points the Losman led Bills actually scored in the 2nd half last season. Then consider that we had the worst red zone offense and the 31st ranked offense in the league. 1st and goal from the 6 would have been great but still no garauntee that we score. It amazes me that people think that we would have won had we scored that "potential" touchdown.