MRW

Agreed. 3 straight runs is really not setting yourself up for a successful 4th down play.

Well, technically, we gained 4 yards, didn't we? I would've liked to have seen them mix it up on 3rd down, play action or roll out, with the expectation we'd go for it on 4th.

I am not a fan of run-run-pass, but I'm also not a fan of pass-pass-pass. A run on first or second down at least mixes things up a bit. Even if they did do run-run-pass and ended up with 3rd and 6 or 3rd and 7, at the very minimum Trent would not have been dropping back into the end zone to pass and the safety could've been avoided. Sometimes that's really the best you can ask when you're pinned back deep. You're right on about Reed and Royal. Reed has been clutch and he's probably the guy I would like to see them go to in that situation. Royal is just a huge disappointment; if he were halfway reliable that would be an area I'd expect him to contribute as well. But that just adds to my thinking that running should've been in the mix in that area of the field. I like Parrish and Evans a lot, but they're not the best when you need 10 or even just 5 yards from your 2.

It's been asked before but I'll ask it again - where is the play action? Miami had just scorched us with it on their opening drive. Why was that not considered on second or third down instead of plowing into the line again?

I think you're way off on this one (I don't have any serious disagreement with your other points). The first drive of the second half, the Bills really ran the ball quite well. Then it was abandoned. And in the other games this year, the running game has gotten stronger later. At the very least, they may have picked up enough positive yards to get Trent out of the endzone. I think the way the Bills got away from their running attack was completely inexplicable, and they needed to find a way to keep it in the mix. They were only down 4 at that point!

I don't want to get into bashing other fans. jduncan1 and I disagree on the state of the team right now, I see an opportunity for them to bounce back, he sees them putting out a lackluster effort and losing to an inferior opponent. It's a valid point; doesn't make him any less a fan.

Don't get too hung up on 1st place vs. last place. Top to bottom I think this division is incredibly improved from last year. And while the Jets are above Miami in the standings I think the Dolphins are playing better football right now. It's a long season. The championship isn't decided in October, and the real test for the Bills is coming now (as I was expecting). The 4-0 start gave them a little leeway to deal with bumps in the road like this. The Bills are fully capable of bouncing back from this loss and have the opportunity in the next two weeks to take control of the division.

He had his typical solid game in many respects. I don't fault him for the INT at all. But the fumble on the sneak was absolutely boneheaded and was a huge turning point in the game.

Would've been nice, but so far I've been managing to keep my expectations for this team low and have been pleasantly surprised. I thought their 7-9 record last year was the product of beating up weak teams like the Jets and Dolphins, so to see them get some solid wins this year has been beyond what I was looking for. If they can't turn it around and come out of this intra-divisonal series in good shape, though, I'll be disappointed.

Well, the Bills are either contenders or pretenders. I really didn't expect to win all three of these divisional games and get to 8-1. In many ways this game was the least important of the three games. If they bounce back and win next week (and I think the Jets team is actually a worse team than the Dolphins) they'll be playing NE for the division lead. Every team has ups and downs. Did you really expect the Bills to just run away with the division?

My brother said, and I'd have to agree, that he puts the safety on the coaching staff to a large degree. Where was the running game? Why the panic and the pass-pass-pass mindset?

I will say this, Edwards should've been paying attention last year when Losman fumbled away his starting job in Jacksonville. It's pretty apparent that this team needs mistake-free play from the QB to win games, so hopefully Edwards is learning.

After Edwards' INT they seemed to completely abandon the run. It made no sense to me. First drive of the second half, run it down Miami's throats, have some mixed results with the pass on subsequent drives, then once we're down 4 just go all pass all the time. Very poor job by the offensive coaching staff in the 4th quarter.

Yeah, until he holds out.

Where's the dis on Stroud?

The classic example to my mind is the Tampa/Oakland Super Bowl.

I don't care if the Bills were his fifth, sixth, or thirtieth choice as long as he keeps playing with the intensity he's had so far.

I think Whitner wanted to give Edwards a compliment and didn't really think through the implications of what he was saying. Don't get me wrong, he very well may not think much of JP. But I would hope a team captain wouldn't publicly dis a teammate.

Seriously, did some people get a different broadcast of last week's game than the one I watched? I ask because I see so many people saying something similar to the above and it bears no relation to what actually happened.

I don't think it's a good idea (and I think this is pretty much conventional wisdom) to go for 2 until halfway through the 4th quarter at least. A lot of scoring can happen in a very short period of time in this game, so why go for 2 and risk losing a PAT when chances are you're going to be putting up another field goal or TD?

If that's true I hope they can learn to do better in the future, just think of all the great moments in Bills history made possible by the team rallying around a backup QB.

You know what, it's great that the team has confidence in Edwards. I do too. But him getting hurt shouldn't be an excuse for that absolutely abysmal display I saw from the defense last week. Trent Edwards being out did not lead to Arizona scoring every time they had the ball in the first half.

This is a horrible horrible game. Raiders need 20 yards for the FG attempt and can't complete a simple screen. Ridiculous.

I would give this much more credence if the defense had started strong (or even mediocre) last week and had gotten worn down by the inability of the offense to stay on the field. But given the way the game last week unfolded this really looks to me like a case of making the game fit a preconceived storyline vs. actually fitting the facts. JP was not great last week. But this continued focus on his play vs. Edwards as if QB play was the determining factor in the outcome against Arizona IMO ignores the facts, and to argue that the play of the quarterback was the only difference between last week and this week is simply inaccurate. Is Edwards better than Losman? Absolutely, and moreover he seems to be improving every week while JP still has the same mix of up-and-down plays that have defined his career. But I don't think anyone should overlook the improved play of the team as a whole in order to make an argument about the QBs.

No. Really, it wasn't. You're the one who brought up JP, no one else mentioned him, and he didn't play this week. So, relevance to this game - zero.