Fan in Chicago

Not to say I am a huge TD fan, but when he was fired, he exited the Bills with a 31-49 record (a 39% win percentage) and no playoffs. After him, we are 20-24 (45% win percentage) and strong signals of three non-playoff years. Are we better off ? On record we are but as far as hope and playoffs are concerned, we are still empty. I am not sure I am happier today than during the TD regime.

If we did beat those teams, we would be 8-4 and likely well on our way to the playoffs. In any case, I used those specific games only as examples. I stick by my point that we are underacheiving as a team.

I disagree. Somehow, seeing the games makes me believe there is enough talent to sport a better record than what we have now. We may be missing a couple of pieces to being a dominant team but certainly had enough to beat at least the Browns and 49ers.

I was born and brought up in Mumbai. Just got a note saying my aunts and uncles are fine over there. Note that the Taj is next to the sea and the terrorists reportedly came on small power boats and immediately entered/attacked that hotel. Mumbai is a big big city with a LOT of people (19 million). Security at all places and to all people is virtually impossible. having said that, I hope this incident wakes the government up to serious action. Looking back the last few years, the frequency of attacks has gone up. A major serial bombing in 1993 was the first (major) terrorist act there but recently there has been the attach on the Parliament building in New Delhi, bombings in Mumbai trains etc. It may be time to re-think what the government is (or is not) doing to head off and combat the terrorist organizations.

Point noted. However, I still think that Stroud's partner ain't too great. Sounds like an excuse but a good DL should have mostly above average players and perhaps a couple of play makers. An upgrade to the other DE spot should make a big difference. Our secondary is a good example with McKelvin showing promise as a game changer.

Done. Thanx.

Another article supporting bankruptcy instead of a bail-out. All concerns are addressed here (note the author is a professor of finance):

Earlier you proposed sending Schobel off in a 'package deal'. So let me get this straight - you are proposing we get rid of 3 of our current DEs ? Who do we fill those spots with ? I think we should keep Schobel as starter, Denney for depth and draft/acquire a premier DE.

The title of your thread was 'some interesting numbers' which implied you are pointing to stats and drawing comparisons. Hence, I called you out on that. I did not contest your points on running style etc.

Why trade Schobel ? He performs well but he is the only good DE on our team. We absolutely need a top-flight DE to complement him which will make AS much better.

So if I project Lynch's numbers for this year (which is the point you are making), we get Receptions 61 for 420 yards and 1033 yards rushing. The only thing I see similar is the number of receptions.

Perhaps I am naive, but I thought teams would be constantly tweaking defensive plans every week to counter-act any offensive planning of their opponent. If our coaches and/or Trent cannot succeed without first knowing what the opponents will be doing defensively, it points to their weakness. Even if this was not true, it didn't look like we were prepared to face 6-7 DBs in the back field which we have seen a few previous games. So either way these statements sound like BS excuses.

I guess a side point that the article is making is that a 7th round rookie appears to be ahead of the 2nd round rookie on the depth chart.

What I read into your statement is that he is playing better teams and hence not performing well compared to early in the season when his (late-game) successes came against mainly mediocre teams. Hence, what I wanted to say is that if he can play well against bad teams, he should have a great performance against a pass defense-challenged team. Ergo - as of now, he can't even play well against bad teams. (Whew !)

Didn't people fly United when it was in bankruptcy proceedings ? Agreed they are different businesses but I don't see why people will be scared of buying a vehicle from a company which is in Chapter 11 re-organization (and not Chapter 7 liquidation)

Agree and I posted this in another thread also. http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/ The 'lose millions of jobs' is a ridiculous scenario. Even though they are financially hurting, that manufacturing capacity cannot just disappear overnight as it will create a disastrous shortage of vehicles. Worst case, manufacturing will be scaled back over the coming few years to allow other auto makers to fill the quantity void. But, scaring people with a total shut down scenario is moronic - an insult to my intelligence to expect me to believe that.

Except it wasn't by design.

The Browns are a good team ?

I know you didn't direct this post at me but - My dissection of the article and its implication was not meant to imply my support for benching Trent. I am on the fence regarding your statement. Last year, Trent played well in the beginning and faded away during the last few games coinciding with the weather getting bad. Conventional wisdom was to stick with him and he will improve. So we said that the season is sunk anyway so why not give Trent some experience which will serve us well during this season. Well, he did appear to improve at the beginning of this year but has badly regressed. We seem to be in the same exact spot as we were at this time last year albeit a bit better on record. To stick my neck out a bit, I would start Trent against KC and if he still looks shell-shocked and confused in the first half then try putting in JP for the rest of that game (only).

Sure we can. "His teammates don't have the luxury of allowing him to work through his problems on the game field." Meaning - get someone in who will allow Trent to work through his mental funk off the field. Implication = play JP "Buffalo is entering do-or-die time. Their playoff hopes are already dim. They need a spark, and Edwards has shown no indication he's ready to provide one." Meaning - Trent will not provide that spark, so get someone in who can. Implication - play JP "Losman's name is met with shrieks throughout Western New York. He's maddening to watch, and there's a general perception in the weathered, blue-collar region that Losman has been a pouter since losing his job to Edwards." Meaning - fans hate to have to think about JP in there. Implication - nothing "To insert Losman now would be daring. He's an unrestricted free agent after this season and almost certain to split on an organization he feels jilted by." Meaning - putting in JP now would be bold and different from the conservative approach, he is gone anyway. Implication - nothing.

Remember this game ? http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxs...00611190htx.htm

It doesn't ? "His teammates don't have the luxury of allowing him to work through his problems on the game field. Buffalo is entering do-or-die time. Their playoff hopes are already dim. They need a spark, and Edwards has shown no indication he's ready to provide one." "The Bills are investing in Edwards as the quarterback of the future. But if they don't have him on a short leash against the Chiefs, then they're already working on 2009." Even if he didn't type those specific words, he is pretty much advocating exactly that.

Relevant interesting point-counterpoint in here: Few snippets (all quotes from these blogs) Against bail-out: GM was paying $5 billion per year in health benefits to retirees and current employees ... Bankruptcy would help GM and Ford become more competitive by abrogating significant parts of their labor contracts with the UAW... Bankruptcy may also force out the current management of GM and Ford. I do not believe the company is too big to go into a reorganization-which is what bankruptcy would involve. For bail-out: - they might be unable to attract the substantial post-bankruptcy loans that they would need to enable them to remain in business... - ...would cause bankruptcy to greatly exacerbate the nation's already dire economic condition. - The likely psychological impact of a bankruptcy of the U.S.-owned auto industry should not be underestimated -------------------------------- I am not sure where I stand on the issue. If government is propping up the banks, it is with the implicit hope that they will resume lending. So if the auto makers file Chapter 11, they should still be able to attract funding from these banks. I think the bogey is of '240,000' un-employed people. I have a tough time accepting that as the nation still needs the cars made by these companies. It is not that suddenly the Big-3 will close shop and walk away. Perhaps someone will buy them on the cheap and have then continue as a going concern.

Still losing.

I second that wholeheartedly.