Fan in Chicago

I am confident that this is the week we put it all together and beat the living daylights out of the Vikes. Stevie out to redeem himself, Spiller back, Evans wanting to prove he is still relevant, Favre with no where to throw but to a Bills DB - a recipe for a big Bills win.

Considering he also 'uncovered' Maybin, I would keep him in the dog house a bit longer...

Though I must say I would like to see Fitzy hit the out routes with more consistency. And we still haven't seen his abilities tested in cold, windy and/or rainy conditions.

The difference between being fiercely competitive and arrogant. You find both in all walks of life and the latter kind may find success in their chosen field but suffer overall in life and have a tendency to fall hard. And PTR - This year has been all too painful as I have spent the better part of a few months wallowing in the pain of a terrible project. If only I was able to separate emotion and focus on the next one, I would have been a happier person. Or were you talking about football ?

I am a big fan of #20 myself. One thing I am not sure you have mentioned is something Gailey said about Fitzy a few days back that he has that ability to instantly forget a bad play and move on. It is highly desirable quality - the power to get over a poor pass and focus on the remaining game.

If he was on the Bills, he would be looking for a job today. Truly pathetic game yesterday.

Count me in as one who is unpleasantly surprised. Even before this news, it was weird when Kubiak came out with a wishy-washy press conference response which essentially meant 'boys will be boys'. Then I believe he gave the game ball to Johnson in effect offering no retribution to his actions. The event looked like an old fashioned brawl and the league's action is inconsistent with its demonstrated 'tough love' philosophy.

Yes but do you recall the talent he had at his disposal especially on Defense ?

9. Last season and early part of this season, I had stopped caring. And since the past few weeks, losing has started to hurt again. Which is a good thing. 11. This was my most glaring observation yesterday. I kept waiting for the clutch catches from Evans that would pull us out of trouble but none came.

I have defended Evans so far but was sorely disappointed today. He came up very small today and was virtually non existent. Not sure where the Evans we saw a few years back has gone. But I doubt Fitzy misses him consistently. Perhaps the criticism against him is valid after all. Hope he turns it around. On a day when Stevie was having the dropsies, his veteran presence and catches would have been a great help.

I will bite. I wasn't and still am not on the 'at all costs' side but to say that we should turn away from drafting OL high is being short sighted. We still cannot gen enough push to make a critical 3rd and short. While we are much better than last year, I wouldn't shy away from drafting top flight OL talent in the earlier rounds.

Yes I watched the game. The D bounced back after the first quarter nicely and played an inordinate amount of time while holding them to 3 more points in regulation. I do not fault the entire defense but do blame the gaffes by Kelsay, Stevie Johnson and McK for the inability to put the game away. Make no mistake this is a team of no-name players who just gave one of the best D's in football (led by the great lebeau) a run for the money. And this just a few weeks after scoring 34 against the ravens. Do not underestimate what we have achieved in the second half of this season.

Not only this game but the remaining ones against the Jets and Vikes will be telling as well. As for draft plans for next year, I think this regime seriously believes in BPA and as I have said before, I don't like a slavish adherence to one particular strategy. Which means that if the BPA is not at a position of need, either 'reach' for a pick placed a couple of spots lower or trade down. I hated the Spiller pick and nothing so far has made me change my opinion, despite me desperately wanting to be proven wrong. Back to your topic on OT, if Bell plays even adequately the rest of the year, we can get somewhere close to a happy place with the BPA plan. The choice between OT (and by that I mean LT), LB or DE will be equivalent. A franchise QB trumps all ofcourse, despite the stellar performance of Fitzy.

Do you really believe that ? We hung 34 on the Ravens, taking them to OT. Then we lost close games to teams with good winning records. Then we won two in a row scoring 49 points in our last game. Don't you see a pattern of a hard playing team that can give even the good teams a run for the money ? I think the Ravens game was actually the beginning of our turnaround and we are just seeing a tough bunch playing together as a team and performing far above their individual talent levels. So, the Ravens game was close NOT because they overlooked us.

Thanx. I disagree with the ruling anyway ... I won't be surprised if Gailey came forward and said he would pay the fine for Stevie

That was excessive celebration ? really ? I suppose the league must be fining Packers players for the Lambeau Leap also ?

And the third ....

(Assuming you are all volunteering) You do realize you aren't helping your own candidacy, don't you ?

Sure, if I wasn't married.

This entire discussion reminds me of the one when Moulds and Price were doing so well together. The feeling was that Price was a legitimate #1 receiver, a notion that was disproven much to the chagrin of the Falcons. We should see how the overall offense is performing, how the ball is being spread around and be content that we are doing the right things. We need Evans and Johnson together continue the success through the air.

As I love movies a lot, I find it difficult to comprehend going several years without watching one. But more power to you if your life has better ways to keep you occupied. Carry on ...

But if they did, would u go to church every 5 years ? But seriously man, you really do need to catch a show once in a while. I am sure there is some genre, some director or some movie that you will find enjoyable. Seems like you have shut out one avenue of relaxation completely out.

I suppose we need to give Edwards some more time considering he is a rookie DC. And the mid season adjustment was a good indication of the willingness to change if things aren't working (e.g. atrocious run D in the first few games). Again, it will be interesting to see what the FO does if the D shows continued improvement but a top flight proven (ex) DC becomes available.

1. I am not convinced yet about Edwards adequacy as a DC. Yesterday's performance of the D was good but then again I will like it tested against a more consistent O than the Bengals'. In the vein of constantly looking to upgrade talent, will the FO be willing to dump Edwards if Wade Phillips, Marvin Lewis or John Fox become available ? 2. Too early to get rid of him. Maybe he is sliding but he is so far proven himself in the Ralph and also in clutch situations. Lets give him the rest of the season esp now that the weather is turning. 3. Agree. Except for Evans, the entire crop is a bunch of 'nobodys' (shudder). Talk about maximizing talent !! 4. Agree. Fitzy has brought excitement back to the O. Granted Gailey may have a lot to do with the O success but the players are doing well. Having said that, if a stud QB is available in the next draft we take him. The pressure to start him soon will be off and he can learn in the next 1-2 years behind Fitzy. But the strategy for the next draft becomes a bit simpler as the pressure to take a QB is reduced and we can go BPA (as long as we don't carry it too far) 12. Always

You do ? I actually think his commentary is very observant, knowledgeable and incisive. rarely is he wrong or totally off the mark. And to the OP - I watched most of yesterday's game and I recall him saying the Giants need to pressure and hit him to slow him down but nothing much beyond that. Again, I did not watch every minute of the game.