MadBuffaloDisease

Well with McGee playing CB more, I'm worried about him getting injured. But being a Pro Bowler, he's a great kick returner. I'd just like to see Smith get a shot to see if he could do a decent job there.

If Drew is gone, I seriously hope you're right.

Well then, if they're not afraid of the QB and the passing game, they should OVERALL blitz more, and get more QB sacks. Bledsoe was sacked 1.6 times a game when McGahee was starting, which as I've said, works out to 26 sacks for the season, which is what Tom Brady took.

It's not. It's Drew.

The Steelers under Mularkey rarely got more than the top-3 WR's involved. And the players beyond Moulds and Evans aren't exactly great, so it's partly system and partly the receivers.

Primary punt returner (and why not kickoff returner, at least to save McGee?) definitely. As a WR, he's as much an unknown as anyone. I don't know if the Bills can afford to hope he develops, but that's their decision.

If the Bills think that RW is a good WR and can get him in the 4th, I say go for it and don't worry about his college connection to JP becoming a bad thing. Another WR JP trusts can't be a bad thing, and if JP can rely on RW and open things up because teams can't concentate on Moulds and Evans, so much the better. And I think Josh is done and Aiken still hasn't shown enough yet to be anything more than a 4th WR.

Uh, why? If he'll get released after the '06 season, why extend him for 2-3 more years? It just makes the hit from the unamortized signing bonus that much larger when he IS let-go.

Yes the TEAM won them, and that team included Bledsoe. To think that JP will do as well, or better, based on evidence to the contrary, if fanciful thinking.

1 year. He's signed through 2007.

The only constant over the past 4 years for the Pats has been their coaching staff, with the loss of only a position coach or two. Now they're losing Weis, Crennel, and are about to lose Mangini, who Belichick wanted to replace Crennel, and whose interview for the Raiders' DC job last year he blocked because of that reason. They could also lose Pepper Johnson if they lowball him like they're doing Mangini. I've always been of the opinion that the loss of Weis would be huge, but I thought that Mangini would replace Crennel and that there would slight to no dropoff from Crennel, seeing as how Belichick was on him. Now they really don't seem to have many viable candidates to replace all 3 coaches, and as has been shown, the Pats have won big games without some of their big name players over the past 4 years. http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/...articleid=68207

I posted this elsewhere (i.e. about the runs for losses) and someone said it was an erroneous stat. In any case, the O-line needs to be improved a lot in run-blocking. Too many times they failed on 3rd and 4th and short/1 for my liking. And the difference between McGahee and Sanders is that McGahee has the power to muscle ahead when nothing's there, whereas Sanders knew he could juke and jive his way to yards a lot of times. If the stat is true, I'd be more inclined to believe it's a function of the O-line.

I wondered when clump would make his grand appearance ! Is this a paycut of sorts, clumpy? Just curious.

Yeah, I don't find the "Lossman" nickname particularly funny. I have no rooting interest in seeing him fail because he IS afterall, a Buffalo Bill. If the Bills part ways with Bledsoe, I'll have no choice but to put my support behind JP and hope he starts looking better than he has.

Hopefully he'll join JP in Buffalo, and the same for Evans and Reed (whose time is running out). I didn't realize that his contract has only been surpassed by Harrison's since he signed it.

So Bledsoe had nothing to do with the 9-7 record, right? Whatever. Bottom line is JP has proven NOTHING. Actually what he HAS proven is really scary, and NOT in a good way. To give him the starting job and not making him earn it is a frightening proposition. Ideally the Bills get Drew to take a paycut and compete for the job with JP, and may the best man win. But contrary to some opinions (and we all know what THEY are like...), the Bills could do a LOT worse with JP.

It is. And I've already said that Drew didn't play well, but he wasn't the only one by a longshot as I tried to show. And yes the INT was bad, so I guess I can excuse the defense for giving up the FG that resulted from it, but again, 19 points against a 2nd and 3rd string offense when you've given-up just 16.1 points against 1st string offenses all year long is unacceptable no matter HOW you look at it. Well the one thing that throws things off a bit is the $12M the Bills will be able to spend on offense. I dare say that with the moves I expect the Bills to make, Bledsoe would have led the Bills into the playoffs easily (barring unforeseen injuries), and they may allow JP to have a Roethlisberger type of season (not in number of wins, but being able to win without him shouldering the load).

True that. Prior to that almost-9 minute drive by the Steelers' 3rd string offense, the TOP was virtually equal (go to NFL.com and look at the gamebook if you have any doubts). The defense scored a TD, but they also gave up 16 points to the Steelers' 2nd string, and 6 points to the 3rd string. That for the top defense in yards per play given up and who prior to that game was allowing just 16.1 points per game (both stats against FIRST STRING OFFENSES) is UNACCEPTABLE. Then there were the ST's who had a performance rivalling the worst days of Ronnie Jones. Still more was the O-line failing to get McGahee more than 1 yard on 1st down everytime except once, and thus putting them in 2nd and long. Then there was the lack of a TE threat. And WR drops and stupid penalties. And wimpy play-calling. But no, the reason the team lost is because of Bledsoe. Right.

Fair enough. I can accept that. What I CAN'T accept is people saying that JP will be no worse than Drew. There is absolutely NO proof of that at all. And if the Bills don't improve the O-line, get a decent 3rd WR, and a good TE, I'd have no problem predicting a sub-.500 season with HP as the starter.

Yep. But are the excuses finished? You seem pretty confident that JP will be better. Do you think the Bills will win at least 10 games next year? And if so, would you be willing to bet money on that (not necessarily with me but anyone)?

Are they?

Inserting Losman into the lineup will fix that. Bledsoe caused the O-line to run-block like shiite AND receivers to drop passes.

As Parcells likes to say, "potential means you haven't done anything yet." I'll take a 9-7 record with a line that couldn't run-block well, receivers who liked to drop passes (24 of them, to be exact), and NO TE's for half the season, over a guy who has "potential," at least until he moves beyond having "potential" and actually DOES something.

The point being, even a rookie and a journeyman QB could have run this offense and would have been better then Bledsoe, according to some. And the Bills could sign Matthews back again (unless he signed with someone else, or retired).

Naw, with JP it will be "well we're rebuilding now. But he's still better than Bledsoe!" Hopefully JP steps up to the plate BIG TIME if the Bills cut Drew.