1billsfan

The hardest part about the combination of a young team and a perennial losing organization is learning how to handle the fourth quarter pressure. It's one game and I think they gain a lot of confidence from this loss. The AFC sucks this year and if this bunch can get it together they can make the playoffs. I'm still very much excited about the 2013 Bills.

Which was very smart on Marrone's part. When you get the "professional" prediction people laughing at the Bills chances (which is what we've all been seeing) you definitely show that to the team as motivation. That stuff works when you have that kind of overwhelming ammunition. I expect a very lively underdog today.

I totally disagree... Peyton Manning just threw 7 TD passes. Last year you had three rookie QBs who performed like HOFers. With the new rules, defense in the NFL has become as relevant as defense in arena football. IMO, the Bills will rise or fall this year (and the coming years) on EJ, CJ and the WRS.

If I predict them to win, and also the score, and they end up losing then it's almost as if I bet on them and I'm doubly ticked off. Both for being wrong and also that they lost. ...and I don't like predicting losses, so I'm not even going to bother doing it. That's just me though, I don't care if anyone else does it.

I think that the Bills deserve to be huge 11.5 underdogs if only because of Brady vs rookie QB factor. However, I'm very excited about the big potential of the young players. I really can see the potential there for a shocker Bills win. That stadium is going to be nuts and if the Pats defense lets them have some success on offense, the energy will be unreal. I'm not predicting a score or who will win because I just want to enjoy the positive energy of this team. Even if they get blown out, which is possible, I really like the direction this team is heading in.

Dude plays safety. No team, NONE are going to pay a huge contract for a safety unless he's Ed Reed in his prime. Byrd and his agent are so stupid. You might get away with this when you're an left tackle, but a safety???? The NFL doesn't pay safeties. That's why they're always getting drafted so high. It's a very replaceable position.

There are only a few NFL teams which have defenses that are so good they can overcome the new rules changes and be impactful game in, game out. NFL defenses have been rendered pretty much toothless by the new rules. I think it's the biggest reason you had the three rookies RGIII, Luck, Russell Wilson look like all time greats in their first seasons. Your QB has to really suck not to put up good stats in the NFL. Even Fitzpatrick's last three years here he averaged Jim Kelly's best seasons in total TD passes.

Those stats are little bit deceptive. Many teams that face the Pats get a lot of garbage points and yards in the second half of games when they're trying to play catch up. The truth of the matter is that in the NFL, 90% of defenses simply don't matter as much in the outcomes of games like they used to be. This is due to the rules changes favoring offense. The Bills will probably win or lose the game because their offense was better against the Pats "average" defense than was the Pats offense against the Bills "average" defense.

There are reasons for genuine optimism ... - low expectations puts very little pressure on him (this is a big factor IMO) and his teammates - new "can't touch em" league rules are extremely favorable to QBs, especially ones like EJ who are big, fast and mobile. - Bills are playing at home - they have players who can take it to the house on any play Having said that it's so hard to predict week one games let alone what a rookie starting QB will do. Much easier to predict what Brady will probably do. All in all, I'm so glad the Bills are being portrayed as such huge underdogs. I think the Bills play a very good game because they have such little pressure and there will be so much emotion. The NFL lives off of favored teams not taking opposing teams seriously enough. It's human nature.

I disagree. The NFL is a QB driven league. Washington was the Buffalo Bills of the NFC before they got RGIII. Look at how far away the Colts were in 2011 without Manning. What this team needs is for EJ Manual to become a franchise QB to be a contender again.

Is it really incompetence if you don't even show up to do your job? I think Clint Eastwood perfectly summed up this embarrassing presidency... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoqKdWY692k

You can lay blame on low information voters and the MSM. The Muslim Brotherhood are enemies of the United States. The White House and Obama has treated them as partners. You strangely also have McCain and Graham wanting to pull funds going to the Egyptian military who are fighting the brotherhood. Our enemies. This is no longer the same America we grew up in. DC (including the GOP) is sadly on the side of evil. This is what you get when stupid people vote en masse.

Is it really a leap? How many fans here want Kolb to still get another chance? One person? I think it's obvious that the team would be almost 100% backing Manuel at this point. They probably can't say anything publicly because that would be disrespectful to Kolb who seems like a good guy. Sure I may be wrong, but I just think it's logical the team wants Manuel as their starter.

After last night I highly doubt that's the case. I really think that Marrone's going to be naming Manuel as the starter very soon and the team, fans and media will move on from the Bills' "QB competition" talk.

I don't think you realize how important the 3rd preseason game is. That game is is the dress rehearsal for the regular season. The Bills will name Manuel the starter very shortly because they know he will be playing into the third quarter. Which is what most starters do throughout the league. Also, the locker room is probably already 100% behind Manuel. The coach would lose all credibility with the team if he started Kolb, so that's another reason it won't happen. EJ Manuel is ready. That doesn't mean he's ready enough to beat the Pats (so what, not a big deal in the grand scheme of things), but he's clearly ready to be the starter.

With so much change the Bills are at a very distinct disadvantage to teams who have veterans players at key positions. That's just the way of the NFL. These young Bills will probably need some time to simply learn how to win games at this level. We as fans need to have some patience. As far as the Pats game goes, the Bills should be big underdogs going against Brady and Belichick with a whole offseason to prepare for our team. I hope our fans refrain from picking them to win that game. Let's embrace the underdog role!

I totally agree with that, I just felt that there was a strange backlash to this year's group and with EJ being the first QB pick in the first round, he received way to much bashing from the draft experts. I've got no predictions, but I do know that I'm very excited to see EJ Manuel this year!

I think that there was a lot of weird misguided anger at this year's QB class in general because it came right off the heels of the Luck, RGIII, Wilson draft. No one wanted to put their necks on the line for anyone in this class being 1st round worthy. They didn't want to be laughed at with arguments containing stupid comparisons to last years QBs which would come. This seemed obvious to me because, where was the hand wringing with the run up to and after the draft of Locker, Gabbert, Ponder? There really wasn't any. Teams were desperate for a QB and it was ok back then to do so in 2011. Not the case in 2013 though...lol So here you have this stud QB in EJ Manuel who was obviously a notch below Luck and RGIII, yet still had the physical size and skills and possesses off-the-charts leadership qualities. A guy who had to deal with the news his mom having breast cancer beginning his senior season yet still was able to get the job done with a very good season. Thank God there was no media groundswell for EJ Manuel because the Bills wouldn't have had any shot to draft him even at #8. I keep hearing that he has that indescribable "IT" factor. Well you know what? That "IT" factor is what all the great QBs have had. If this is true then this franchise will soon to be back on top in the AFC, and if that does end up happening, maybe in some strange way we have those idiot NFL pundits to thank for Manuel ending up a Buffalo Bill.

So correct. Kolb was insurance if the Bills didn't get their franchise QB in the draft, or if they did, he was insurance in case he wasn't ready to be an NFL starter. I think not only is EJ Manuel ready to start, he gives the team a better chance to win than Kolb. So IMO, the competition is over.

Good! I want more of that! My fear is that the Bills continue to look pretty good in preseason, start getting a lot of sunshine blown you-know-where, and then get totally dominated by the Pats in the first game. Let's face it, no matter how good they look this preseason, they are, and should be huge underdogs to the well-entrenched Patriots who, along with Brady and Belichick, have had a whole off season to get ready for the Bills game. I hope Bills fans here keep it real, refrain from picking the game, and this team goes into that Pats game with a real "we've got something to prove" attitude.

They both made asses of themselves with the "he was playing against 2nd-3rd stringers" argument. Woods, Choice, Smith and Dickerson (the guys EJ was throwing to on the last drive) aren't NFL starters. Bayless, who forever loves QB jokes Tebow and Romo, was gushing over Barkley's play and said it was proof he was a steal and he should have been the first QB taken in the draft. The problem with that argument is that Barkley was also playing against 2nd, 3rd and 4th stringers. That completely undercuts his argument made against Manuel a few minutes earlier. Off topic...I hope that the Bills encourage EJ throw the ball downfield in the next game. We all get that he can handle the "dink and dunk" stuff. The sooner he starts gaining confidence in hitting the long ball, the sooner this team becomes an instant AFC playoff contender.

Since the opposing defense would be completely caught off guard by doing something like that, IMO it really wouldn't be a worth while practice. Confidence comes when you can succeed in a situation when the opposing team knows what you're going to do.

I think that people either aren't looking at or are minimizing the kind of pressure that EJ Manuel was under in comparison to Jeff Tuel. Manuel was faced with being 1st round QB pick, under "real" game pressure in that two minute drill and he flawlessly nailed the landing. Tuel had virtually no pressure and was able to come in as a late round pick who was told you can let 'er rip in a rapid fire passing system and against a team that was clearly ill prepared for that kind of pace. I'm not saying that Tuel isn't THAT good, he may be THAT good. I'm just saying that there is a huge difference in the level of pressure the two rookie QBs faced. I'm very happy with both QBs. However, until EJ Manuel gives the Bills reason that the NFL game is too big for him (which I doubt very much will happen) he's THE MAN.

Right now I think it will be Christie. Reasons are... 1. Sad but true, in this age of low information voters, presidential campaigns are more about personality than policy. Christie has one and the other GOP contenders don't. 2. Christie can fight back at Hillary without looking like a just another mean old GOP white guy. 3. He's much more relatable to middle America in a way that Hillary isn't. 4. He can run as a Washington DC outsider that the other GOP contenders can't. That includes Jeb Bush. The VP candidate will no doubt be a women and Haley seems the choice right now although it could end up being the NM governor. BTW, I live in NJ and I'm not as big a fan of his as I used to be since he's turned more left. I just think that even with his conservative cred loss flaws, he's the only plausible one who could beat the Clinton machine.

Been living under a rock since 2008? It has nothing to do with financials. CNN and NBC's ratings have tanked since Obama took office way back when. They care much more about their "elite" street-cred (ie politics) than financials. CNN and NBC's movies will no doubt be "love letters" to the next democratic presidential nominee. They're clearly doing this to help Hillary and for the adulation and prestige of the NYC, DC and LA types. I don't see how you can even argue this point.