FLFan

Great post. Thanks for being the voice of reason. I am mad because I will have to avoid the media coverage and this board for the better part of the week until all the angst works itself out a bit. Rationality generally returns in enough quantity by Friday to make bills news and discussion tolerable again. Cheers. Go Bills!

I think it is up to you to explain the ridiculous premise of your post. Enlighten us with the basis for your conspiracy theory please.

Well, as long as we do not overreact.

Although he did get beat badly by Aiken for the first Ravens TD.

I know at least 1 that would not.

This sounds like it could be a while. They may have to activate Wood next week if so, but I am not sure who to cut ...

Watkins was out of the game for nearly 3 quarters last week and Harvin was just fine. Hogan picked up the slack on the other side and even made a long pass play. I think they have enough weapons in the passing game to compensate, even if they double Harvin deep. That said, I would love to see Goodwin play to keep the D honest with real speed on the other said.

There has been a great deal of negative chatter on this forum this week regarding Dixon. I get it - he did not have a good game last week. However, I think people may have forgotten how he attained near folk hero status last year. He was absolutely our best back for a significant portion of last season, with Spiller failing and Jackson hurt. Even when Jackson returned, he was clearly not the same and Dixon was the most reliable back. I am certainly willing to give Boobie some time to work himself out of whatever his issue is. I suspect lingering effects from the calf injury he suffered which kept him out of the pre-season. He is likely going to need some time to regain top form. Given his willingness and ability to play special teams, his running style, work ethic, and leadership I would much rather have him than Brown.

I am trying to temper my enthusiasm, but I just do not see the Giants winning this game. Eli has not thrown an interception yet this season, and he has had only one sack. Both of these stats will change this week. The Bills should be able to throw the ball very effectively against the Giants and will be able to run enough. I would like to be cautious, but this has the potential for another beat down. Bills 33 - 16

Green Bay ran the same type of play near the goal line at least twice last night. Once there was a penalty called on the other time no penalty. The crew last night explained the rule as the WR cannot block before the ball is in the air. Rogers, like Brady, is getting the ball off very quickly. On McCoy's touchdown, I thought it was very close, with the block coming maybe just a fraction early. They got the benefit of the doubt on that play, but it has worked against them often enough, so I will take it.

Philbin has a real loser aura about him. He will definitely get the blame for this supposedly talented team under achieving and rightly so, but I certainly do not think their front office deserves any kudos either. Pettine is a dead man walking in Cleveland too, but they may give him the year.

Agreed. I am more and more impressed with the young man each week. I was very impressed with how he reacted to the NE game, not only in the 4th quarter, but after the game and throughout the week. He is exhibiting some real leadership on and off the field.

Bills survive furious comeback attempt from Pats* at the end - 26 - 25 Bills.

There is no reason for a Pats* "fan" to be nervous unless they behave like an obnoxious m!@#$. In that case, they should stay home.

"Lighten up, Francis"

Their offense is literally predicated on pick plays. It is what they do. While all teams do it to some extent, to me at least it seems that the Pats** abuse the rules. To me this is another example of Belicheat deliberately coaching his offense to be over the edge on interpretation of the rules and daring the officials to call it, which they rarely do. I guess you could either call that smart coaching or inept officiating depending on your point of view.

Well, as long as he is committed to a plan ... Seriously, I watched a bit of Hard Knocks and every time I looked at or listened to O'Brien I thought of Doug Marrone. I got the chills and could not watch anymore. Does not say much for Houston' prospects.

As I recall, the Bills did that once, but I do not remember if it was last year or the year before. In any case, Williams lined up against Gronk when he was on the line and would not let him release. NE adjusted by splitting him out, where you do not want Williams or Hughes to be. Anyone else remember this?

It certainly sounds like Mike Schoop is qualified for Boston radio.

That's good news. If he had not passed the concussion protocol, he would not be out there. I am sure he will be reevaluated after activity today to make sure there are no further issues, but a very positive sign.

I thought it would be interesting to look at any potential matchups between the Pats** and the Roman coached 49rs offense over the past few years. There is one example: http://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore.html?gid=2012121614 SF won 41 - 34, running for 180 yards. Kaepernick has only 208 net yards passing but 4 touchdowns. Brady passed for over 400 yards and lost. I do no remember seeing this game, but from the stats you could deduce: - Opportunistic defense forced 4 Pats** turnovers - 2 fumbles and 2 interceptions. Sacked Brady 3 times. - The 49rs got out to an early lead, stuck to the run, passed when necessary or advantageous, and capitalized on turnovers. Limited their own turnovers to just 2. From the offensive standpoint, I expect we see a similar approach. I expect the Bills D to be even better. Nothing earth shattering here but it is an interesting comparison given the Bills current offensive and defensive DNA.

So when the Bills beat the Pats** will they be ranked number 1?

If only he were playing ...

I thought Wood looked pretty good - worth developing. Brown's contract is up after this year - UFA. Not sure about Boobie.

It appears Bills Fan in Beantown also had 108 for 6, but with a 57m guarantee, so you are not in the clear yet, but great guess anyway.