ChasBB

From what I've read, seems the complaint in Chicago is that things just seemed stale or "old". No thanks. If that's the feeling he left everyone with in Chicago, I'm sure he'd bring that to Buffalo with him. No thank you.

+1 Seriously, if any team at any point in NFL history was ever lost by the coach due to swapping a kicker or punter, it doesn't say much for the team. Kickers are lucky to have jobs at all. The changing of a kicker or punter should have absolutely zero impact on the rest of the guys actually doing the hitting and getting hit. And if for some crazy reason, the punter is the emotional leader of your team, then you've got some serious deficiencies on the roster.

Orchard Park realtors must love this -- every 3 years a nice set of premium properties go on the market.

To Nix's credit, I suspect he really wanted to take Cam Newton had he been available. Of course, we'll probably not know -- at least not for a while.

Mods, can this thread be pinned -- like forever!? 10+ years of domination in the division -- much of it likely due to the Pats being cheaters and essentially getting away with it. This post can serve as a constant reminder that the past decade has been tainted.

Kind of reminds me of how Johnny Rauch used OJ as a decoy -- maybe not quite that bad, but along the same lines. You got a guy with a high level of talent, you got to get him the ball.

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I don't believe in moral victories, but I'm not putting this on Fitz -- he played a fantastic game in a hostile environment. He showed something today. Hated to see that pick -- looked like a miscommunication or else he just didn't see the guy. Statistically, Buffalo even did better than New England -- a win would have been so sweet and that's the bottom line, but Fitz played a heckuva game.

I did finally watch this week's press conferences Belichick this morning. He doesn't look like he's going to crack up in praising Buffalo, but he never looks at the reporters in the eye. He just looks down most of the time while heaping praise on Buffalo -- a sure sign he doesn't even believe himself what he is saying.

Yeah, I've noticed that, too. I didn't actually watch any press conferences this week, but you can kind of sense when he is sincere in his weekly praise of the opponent or not and in Buffalo's case, he is not, imo. He has to say all the right things, but he knows he can outsmart our coaching staff any day of the week.

Every year I was one of those voices that said the Bills should always try to win no matter what. Well, that's it. I'm in your camp now. There's been nothing but ineptitude at QB ever since Jim Kelly retired. I've had enough. I'm perfectly fine finishing 3-13 and landing a top 1 or 2 pick to use on a franchise QB.

I guess I'm still unclear how a wrist injury causes one to go half-speed on his feet, but oh well.

I still like this simple rule for rating QBs -- WINS

Agree. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. I did question paying this much money for ANY one player. If the guy gets hurt, you've got SO MUCH invested into ONE guy -- it's a big risk. To have that player turn out to be a prima donna has really got to sting management. Nix has been playing it smart and NOT making a big splash in free agency for the past few years based on the belief that you build via the draft and fill in here & there via free agency when the situation fits. I'm sure Nix believed Mario Williams to be the exception to the rule as did probably most of us fans. Williams appeared to be a proven commodity in this league and it was reasonable to think there would be return on investment -- that he'd be the guy to put us over the top. His lackluster play must have Nix absolutely kicking himself for going against his own guidelines for building a team via the draft as opposed to making a big splash with the Williams signing. With all this money tied up in Mario Williams, it's got to have an impact on the ability in the future to retain other talent on the team. Had Williams had the decency to simply be a professional and put forth his best effort each and every week, it probably would have seemed like the best move of the decade. Now, unfortunately, the move is looking more like a disaster in the making -- another Dockery type of move, but even magnified. If Williams would take on the leadership role he was supposed to, this could be an entirely different story. Instead, he comes across as someone who just doesn't care about why he was brought here. His insistence on playing left defensive end should have been the first clue. And I'm not questioning whether that is the best place for him or not -- I really don't know. My point is that a true team player just says "I'll line up wherever coach decides" instead of insisting on playing a certain position. At this point, he is a colossal disappointment. I don't blame Nix. I feel bad for Nix for getting screwed over by Williams. In retrospect, Nix probably should have stuck firmly to his own philosophy of building through the draft, but I can't fault him in trying to make what could have potentially been a brilliant move. Pissed at Williams for basically being a jackass. Even if his wrist is hampering him, that's no reason to stop running when the play is behind you. As Kelsay says, you got to get bodies around the football -- ANYTHING can happen and if you have more guys around the ball carrier than the opponent, then there's a good chance your guys are going to recover a fumble or whatever. To me, it looks like Williams just stops competing as soon as he believes he's out of the play -- that is unacceptable of a professional player. It's a hustle sport and the guy that hustles is more times than not going to be the victor. I hate these huge guaranteed contracts. There needs to be some sort of out for teams when a player pulls this crap.

What I say is mostly in jest. I suspect one of the main reasons that someone as specialized as a long snapper is retained is for practice/preparation purposes. The big downside to having a regular player do long snaps is that guy having to split his practice time between his regular duties and practicing long snaps and forcing the kickers to practice on a separate schedule from everyone else and so on (which probably already is somewhat the case given that most special teams players also have at least backup roles at regular roster spots if not starting roles). Mainly, what I'm saying is that if the NFL suddenly decided to cut the 53-man roster to, say 50, then you'd have to seriously look at the long snapper position and re-evaluate that need. On the other hand, if a bad snap results in a lost Super Bowl or something serious, all could indeed be lost. Nice quote - point taken.

Throw in the long snapper, too. What, can't find ONE guy on the roster who can be both a regular starter and do long snaps?

Agree -- backups doing a decent job.

True I'm not really counting the fullback position, so we really just have three. Just hope they can stay healthy. Yeah, I know what you mean, but at the same time it was a pretty hard lineup to crack. I just think he has some upside. But injuries at other positions force these types of moves and not much can be done.

http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2012/10/15/packers-claim-rb-white/ Hate to see him go. He didn't get on the field a whole bunch, but was solid depth. This decision to carry two kickers and four quarterbacks can hurt depth at other positions and here's an example.

Arizona was also coming off a Thursday game and had extra time to prepare for Buffalo -- that shouldn't be forgotten. While the Bills certainly did nearly all they could to throw the game away at the end, it was still a deserved victory and not completely lucky. Great that Carrington got enough of his hand on the ball to send it into the upright. Seemed like he played a nice game, too. What a game-saving play by him on special teams to block that kick, though!

ha!

Looking forward to what Bradham brings on D.

Ah, we're on the same page then!

I actually have to agree. As a rule, I wouldn't want to see the team play this way. 95% of the time, I want to see good sportsmanship and so on. HOWEVER, given how Brady gets special protection by the NFL and given how he has literally humiliated this team over-and-over-and-over again, I have no qualms about taking some shots. However, I wouldn't wait until late. I'd do it 1st series -- make him scared for his !@#$ing life. Make him think every time he drops back he's going to get decked whether he's holding the ball or not -- take a few 15 yarders for the sole purpose of shaking him up. It will likely put us behind a touchdown early, but he won't be the same player after that.

First of all, it wasn't just Chan. It was an organizational decision and it was the right one. The only thing messed up was the timing -- it should have been decided during training camp. Even if they were both even in camp, you have to go with the guy with more upside.