BuffaloWings

But that was precisely my point - someone had complained that Haley called the timeout after the ball was snapped, which is not possible. All I was saying was that IF that is happening (where the coach can get the timeout called after the snap is made), then that needs to be investigated. Chill out...I'm not the one complaining that this "rule" lost the game for Buffalo - I know it works both ways, but at least Gailey called his timeout long enough before the snap that they didn't even run the play. And yes, it's still a stupid rule, no matter who uses it.

1000% agree with you on Steve Johnson and Kelsay, but not close on Spiller. Yes, I do think they're not using him enough yet, but while he didn't show it too much yesterday, he's still a dynamic player. I think it's only a matter of time before he gets the first team reps.

:thumbsup: For everyone who is only looking at the record and draft position, I present you with the above post. I don't care if they get the top draft pick - that doesn't mean a damn thing if you don't use it right. I just want this team to keep competing and keep looking like a legitimate NFL team. I wouldn't say they're "good" right now, but they are getting better. And we certainly can't say they're the worst team in the league anymore.

Did you watch any second of the last 2 games? Yeah, we're 0-7. Yes, Fitzpatrick may not be the QB of the future. Yes, the season is pretty much over. But have a little perspective...the Bills were widely considered the worst team in the league about 3 weeks ago. They had given up on every play. Now at least they're showing some fight. Records mean nothing right now. The Bills aren't going anywhere this year, so we might as well be proud of the guys on the field who are busting their ass on every down.

What I like about the last two games is that these guys are fighting. Perhaps the change to Fitzpatrick started this, but this team is not giving up on the field. They're moving the ball on offense and starting to get back to their bend-but-don't-break defense. I see a lot of fight in these players now when at the low point, there was none. If they keep playing like this, they should win 2 out of the next 3 games. Draft position be damned!!!

All of you are missing a key point...the rule changed a few years ago so that the coach is allowed to call a timeout. It used to be that only the players on the field could call a timeout. Now that this is allowed, I don't know how they get a timeout if the play starts. Can we presume that the coach knows when the ball is going to be snapped and calls the timeout immediately before that? Probably not, so I would think that the coach just guesses. If they're allowed to stop the play once the ball is snapped, then that needs to be changed. The rule that should be eliminated is the one allowing coaches to call timeout. Either that or disallow timeouts called by the sideline with less than 10 seconds on the play clock. Something...ANYTHING to stop this stupid tactic.

You're forgetting that - as well as he's been playing - Fitz is not a long-term #1 QB. If he really was, then he would have stuck with St. Louis or Cincy. Plus, considering that Gailey made Tyler Thigpen look good, you have to give some credit to Chan for putting the offense in this position. I love the way Fitz is playing, but when you compare it to the lack of confidence that we saw from Edwards, it's simply a breath of fresh air. A QB is clearly a major need on this team. Do you really think that Buddy & Chan believe that Fitzpatrick is the QB of the future? He's not terribly old (turns 28 in November), but not young, either. I just don't think he's the franchise QB to rely on. Maybe I'm wrong, but just remember what we've been seeing over the past few years. He may be smart, but he's not Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees.

I actually thought that Jauron had a lot of draft power, even with Marv on board and certainly after he was gone. For some reason, I had the distinct impression that DJ held a lot of weight as far as personnel decisions. Given that Marv was a figurehead and Brandon knows squat about personnel, seems to make sense that Jauron had a big say as to who to draft. Either way, Modrak has to wonder how thin the ice is.

Can we give it up with the "I want Wade back" wishes? Like vincec said, he left Ralph on bad terms...no way he comes anywhere near WNY. Not to mention, why would we want a fired DC as our new DC?

Exactly. Wade's got a job for the rest of the year - I really don't see Jones firing him mid-season. If Jerry still wanted Jason Garrett as HC, then I can see this happening. But I don't think he even wants that anymore. Still say none...slim would be generous. Wade won't come back to Buffalo as long as Ralph is around, even if Ralph was willing to make amends.

This. It would be quite the belated Christmas present.

I knew those days well...Reich should have been starting, too. I admit I was a bit hesitant about saying nobody would complain if they went 19-0. Somebody wouldn't be happy that Spiller carried the ball in the wrong hand or Fitzpatrick's spiral is a bit wobbly or Gailey didn't tell us why he went for it on 4th down...

Bingo. Once replay was re-initiated full time, I've seen more & more refs afraid to make a call. At minimum, on close plays, they're hesitant to make a call, so they make some call and assume replay will fix it. It's not always the case, though - coaches are sometimes out of challenges or don't throw the flag soon enough. Then we all live with the bad call. However, I disagree with your last statement. We have the technology to get the calls right, so we should use it. It's like karate - never use it unless absolutely necessary. Maybe we should then tell the refs that there is no replay? Also agree. We all know refs make mistakes and they should be subject to evaluation like every other human being that works for a living. We shouldn't have the attitude that if a ref makes a bad call, it'll be fixed anyway.

Yep - as soon as they win a couple of games, people B word. If they keep losing, people B word. The only way the Bills can win over their fans is to go 19-0.

Sunday night was a perfect example - Percy Harvin's catch in the back of the end zone would have won the game for the Vikings, if his second foot wasn't clearly out of bounds. The right call was made and the right team won the game. Replay worked there and it's worked in hundreds of other spots. The refs really pulled out the rulebook for Pittsburgh, though. It's not like there was a huge pile digging for the ball, either - about 3 Dolphins and maybe 2 Steelers (including Roethlisberger). The officials have no defense for themselves when make calls like this - they either make themselves look corrupt or incompetent.

Let's not go talkin' crazy stuff here.... However, with the way the O played on Sunday, if the defense develops anything that resembles a pass rush, Kirwan might be on to something.

I think we have to be careful about this - there are two sides of the fence on this issue and everyone seems to be hurdling it. There is an apparent fine line between tough hits and illegal (I won't call them dirty) hits. Schlereth is a bit hypocritical here. He can't have his cake and eat it, too. Tough hits are the ones that the NFL is selling and marketing with that video. They're physical & violent, but legal. That's the part of the game that Americans love to watch and ones the NFL should sell. Illegal hits are the ones we saw with Harrison & Merriweather last weekend. Those are ones that are designed to injure an opponent and should be penalized on the field and via fine/suspension. They can not only injure another player, but significantly affect that player's health (short term and long term)...forget about how it affects that player's team. I understand Schlereth's point about fining a player for something that the NFL is trying to sell, but the Harrison hits are NOT what the NFL is trying to sell. They want to market the violent, exciting hits that aren't intended to injure someone. Harrison admitted that he was trying to injure someone...that's not what the NFL is about.

Let it all go. It's in the past. Nothing we can do about it now.

I'd like to see the Bills win just to shut everyone up about how badly they're going to lose. It's sad when we've gotten to the point where we're wondering how bad they're going to lose instead of IF.

This still doesn't mean you should be leading with your helmet. If you look at some of the replays of these hits, you'll see the defender clearly leading with his head. If these guys have been paying attention over the past 20 years, they should know that leading with your head can result in spinal injuries...Dennis Byrd being a perfect example. All they need to do is keep their head up and they won't hit like that. Agreed that the league needs to define what's legal and what isn't, but we can't completely absolve the defenders of any blame. Again, I go back to the way they're hitting. Ronnie Lott rarely (if ever) would lead into the hit with his head. Seriously? They probably did act hastily, but when you have three impact players who now have concussion-type symptoms and can not help their respective teams, then it becomes an issue. Something needed to be done and a precedent needed to be set. Believe me, I'm all for the non-pussification of the league (and America, for that matter), but you can't tell me that hits like either of Harrison's or Merriweather's should not go punished. They hit dangerously. Not necessarily wrong, but dangerously.

It's not so much that the children that can't take it, but other adults find out that parents spank their kids and turn it into a domestic violence case. When spanking is used as punishment for the child doing something legitimately wrong, I have no problem with it. It's not supposed to be used to instill fear of being hurt, but fear of being embarrassed. The pussification we're talking about is when the other adults can't handle it. I was and I'm sure many of my friends were spanked in their childhood. Pretty much all of us turned out just fine. For those who didn't, it probably had little or nothing to do with spanking.

Bingo - this is the main problem. ESPN talked about it Sunday night, also. If you tackle the right way, the concussions and injuries decrease. I'm in favor of the fines. Players like Harrison are just out there to make plays (in his case, hurt people) and generally ignore their coaching. What I'd say to Harrison? "Go ahead and retire. Good luck finding a job making more than 5 figures, forget about anything above 6 figures. There will be about 600 guys lining up to take your job, too."

And greedy.

At least this will help my fantasy team. I say play the game.

Isn't that why he signed TO? Tell me how that worked out.