rpmfla

I believe he is quoting from the movie Animal House where the John Belushi character says that while trying to give a pep talk to his frat bros. It is a joke.

I thought I remembered that there was sort an ultimatum by the owners after last season that Rex would stay if they made the Playoffs this season and gone if they didn't. If he is let go they are simply sticking with their previously stated course.

Yeah, I thought I remembered the defense seeming to be very good and with promise to get even better if they stayed together for a few seasons. Then we hire a coach purported to a defensive genius and the defense goes to total crap. I've been a Bills fan since the OJ and Ferguson days and have supported them even when they were awful, but I detest this man as a coach and I question a lot of the players they have brought in, so for the first time in my life I am actually hoping they will lose games so there are major changes made. So far, so good.

Bills win because I want them to lose (because I want Rex gone) and rename the the Ralph to "Lap Band Stadium" (with only one very narrow entrance and exit).

My vote was based on two things... 1. I didn't like the hiring of Ryan in the first place. 2. The team is worse than last year (especially the defense...and by a wide margin). I didn't care for Marone's personality but I thought he did a good job, and I really respected the defensive coaches. Rex is very smooth in front of the cameras but I did not like him bringing his retread coaches with him. His coaching record expresses mediocrity.

I'd say the hair tackle was the most unique play I've seen. It didn't have a big impact on the outcome but was just a very cool play. The commentator said that hair is considered part of the uniform and therefor it is a legal tackle. It is difficult choosing a play of the game but the first touchdown was big as it got them off the schneid.

I mistakenly thought we'd have one of the best receiving groups in the league...and that was even without expecting Watkins to dominate and 7/11 to develop as he has. I guess I'm guilty of over-optimism at the start of every season, but I thought I was being more realistic this year. Now it looks like 8-8 is the best they can do.

I tuned in a little late to the game and the first thing I heard was "3rd and 24 for the Dolphins". The first play I saw was them getting 27 yards for the first down. I just knew that was a bad omen so I totally expected them to lose...but I really did not expect the total lack of success on offense. That was the worst I have seen this group play on offense. They looked very much like a team whose players have not ever even met each other.

I heard TBD in the AM this morning on the way to work and EJ was brought up. Tiki started out by saying "I think they swung and missed with Manual" then he went on to say that he had a great college career, had a good first training camp until he got injured, played ok when he came back and then got injured again...so we really don't know if he'll be good or not. I thought that was funny since he started out with an absolute then back-tracked.

he's just trying to light a fire under Kouandjio

At the risk of jinxing them for next week, I wanted to point out the surprising play of the defense...with extra surprise for how well the pass defense has played. Going into the season I felt like the paucity of quality DBs etc. would result in opposing QBs having a field day against the Bills. I thought it was by far the Bills' weakest element. They have looked much better than I expected. If this year's Bills can minimize the penalties which seem to be happening at the worst possible times (when the other team has been stopped or when we just got a big play) and continue to stay close in turnover differential I think they could make it to .500.

Yes...yes he is. If I remember correctly he had one of the lowest scores ever on that test they take before the draft. I still think he can succeed, but he will not succeed because of his intellect.

I was getting too stressed watching the Bills games live so I decided to get NFL Rewind and only watch the wins. I'm not getting my money's worth. So, from what the write-ups say and posters have been writing here, it seems like I don't need to watch the 2nd half...or at least not the 3rd quarter. I know if I were watching live my heartburn would have been kicking in toward the end and I would have been saying to my wife "here we go again". Now that I know they won with some big plays by the defense, I can smile when Miami is driving down the field in the 4th. Call me a wuss, but I have lived a long life of frustration watching the Bills fail in surreal ways.

I understand your frustration, but it is not Fitzpatrick that is 18-31 and 2-14. It is the Bills. Putting those records on one player, even a QB, is ignoring the facts. Look at all the losing seasons OJ Simpson had with the Bills, but you'd have to agree he was one of the best runningbacks of all time. Now, obviously Fitz is not the OJ of QBs by any stretch, but it takes an extraordinary QB to win with a poor supporting cast. I think Fitz is a good QB but needs a good team around him to be successful. He is not a superstar who can carry a poor team on his back (like maybe Payton Manning).

I have to admit that I stopped watching the NE game after the Pats went up 10-0. After that beginning I expected to read about a blowout. I would like to see Fitz throwing the ball well but I don't know if I could enjoy watching a rewind of the game knowing how tragicly it ends. I can't help but like Ryan as a person when you watch interviews with him. He just comes accross as a genuinely modest, intelligent, good guy. I always want good people to excel, so it has been tough to watch him lose game after game as a Bill. One of you mentioned in this thread that he is now getting used to his new mechanics and is throwing the ball with more accuracy and velocity. I hope you are right in that assessment...it would be great to see him succeed. I will be tuning in to watch the Thursday night game. Go Fitz and go Bills.

Yes. But the brightness is dimmed by the rediculous degree to which the Bills got totally blown out. This was not just losing, this was castration. Back when the Bills had a lot of losing seasons but lost a lot of close ones along the way, I may have said once or twice "geez, I hate losing all of these close games, sometimes coming on the last play or the result of a blown call...I think getting blown out would be less stressful!" I take it back.

Chan and Nix both seem like grizzled long time NFL guys so I thought they knew what they were doing. I try to always look on the positive side, but this team has gone so far past losing into the twilight zone of epic embarassment that I just can't believe it. Losing is one thing (and one thing we have gotten used to as Bills fans the last several years), but to lose in such one sided games is really straining my loyalty. Being from upstate NY, how can I not be a Bills fan? Being a Bills fan, how can I not be a masochist?

Being a Bills fan = masochist. It is not just that they are losing, it is that they are setting records for losing along the way. It is like each week a new team gets to surpass team records by moving up and down the field with little resistance. This is utterly embarassing! What is that old saying, doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result is insanity? I am not that knowledgeable about defensive schemes so I have no answers, but the Bills coaches are not inexperienced and they don't seem to have any answers either. One thing that is happening in the locker room has to be that some guys are beginning to question whether they are being set up for failure. I just can't believe that the athletes on other teams are so rediculously better. At this point I tend to blame the coaches, but firing coaches is a sure way to write off the season. They are not simply losing, they are getting embarassed big time. I am always optimistic during training camp and pre-season but I no longer believe. I didn't expect them to win in SF (or against the Pats) but I sure wasn't expecting embarrasment of these proportions. I honestly think a college team would do just as well against the Jets, pats, and 9ers.

Thanks for the clarification. I thought it might mean that the resolution was not up to par. I haven't had any issues yet. I have redone my front room in the house as my media room, with a projector and motorized 120" screen, played through a touch screen PC. The visual quality is definately not as sharp as it could be but is lightyears beyond what it used to be. They have come a long way in a short time and I am loving it. I always was a proponent of ala-carte programming instead of packages with tons of stuff you don't want, so the rapidly growing internet as entertainment provider, especially in sports, is fantastic. I happen to be a Bills fan who now lives in Florida (not by choice, I'm being held here against my will), so having access to these games...even a couple days delayed...is great. The bonus of the games lasting less than 2 hours and no long commercial breaks is icing on the cake.

I just wanted to add comments about Rewind...absolutely loving watching a game without the commercials! What do you mean by "need to scale"?

I hope that getting back to the Ralph will turn this team around in a positive direction. I feel that the weakest aspect of the team is our secondary...due to youth, inexperience, or simply poor play...and that is going to continue to be an unpredictable factor week to week. How much better they get throughout the season is anybody's guess, but until they show improvement the Bills will struggle to stop teams. It doesn't matter how good of a pass rush you have if the other team's receivers are wide open. I'm hoping the offense puts up enough points to overcome our porous secondary, so... Bills win a close one 31-27

I think they should have a field goal kicker that can also kick off deep into/out of the end zone. Three kickers is a luxery the Bills cannot afford. Four QBs and 3 kickers is a waste of roster spots. I'm hoping this is a temporary situation.

As a Bills fan for many years, I have learned never to ask that question. It can...and probably will...get worse.

I grew up in Upstate NY and have been a Bills fan all my life. I now live in Tampa but remain a Bills fan. I did not buy into the hype that the Bills would suddenly be relevant and make the playoffs after such a long stretch of mediocrity. Most teams in professional sports do not change drastically from one season to the next. There are exceptions but the norm is that teams evolve, devolve, and generally improve over time. The Bills have been mediocre for a very long time, and have not had much of a tragectory up or down. One regime fails to be replaced by another regime, and so on. I know I don't sound like much of a fan, but I have followed and rooted for the Bills going way back to OJ and Joe Ferguson. I am the type of fan who can enjoy watching their team as long as they compete as hard as they can...whether they win or not. Those 70's teams were a lot of fun to watch even though they were not perenial playoff contenders. Being a Bills fan requires a certain level of masochism, but we tend to stick with the teams we grew up with so I'll remain a Bills fan through the tough times and hopefully they provide enough positives to maintain hope. A blow out loss on opening day to a division rival is a bad way to start what was predicted by experts as the first Bills playoff team in a long time. Of course, a true Bills fan shrugs off this pain like a duck shrugs off water. We are so used to disappointment that this type of performance is not shocking. Our favorite team has repeatedly found new ways to kick us in the gut...it shouldn't matter what the so-called football experts say about the Bills making the playoffs. If the Bills win the Superbowl in my lifetime...great...but as a fan for almost 40 years, I have come to accept that I am a fan of a cursed franchise.

I purchased the NFL Rewind so I have to wait until Tuesdays to watch the games. I am probably going to watch it tonight (without any drugs or alcohol to numb). Being a Bills fan all my life has been an exercise in masochism. Even the Super Bowl years were painful. I can brag that my team made 4 straight SBs then under my breath I mutter that they lost them all...but should've won one of them. I am old enought to say I was a fan (as a kid) of the Bills when OJ was great (see, the masochism theme continues!) and Joe Furguson was my favorite QB. They may not have won it all but they were sure fun to watch. I was a fan of the fullback who blocked for OJ but can't recall his name.