Fan in Chicago

That Sheppard penalty was typical ticky-tack in favor of the Pats*. Kept the drive alive when it should have died. Revis vs Moss is a treat

With one game done, we should be in the bottom half of the league. Then consider the strength of the opponent, road game/home game and how close the game was. With all these criteria, the Bills, Bears and Bengals barely lost. So I give the Bills a 17 ranking, the Bears an 18 and Bengals a 29. Bills over the Bears as I am a Bills fan and Bengals a 29 'cos it looked like a nice number for them.

Nice

After reading your expletive-filled tirade, goob is too generous by half.

You missed Mitchell ? It is very evident yesterday that Buggs is no good. Options: (1) Suggested in another thread - perhaps it may be good to immediately start training Maybin for a LB spot. Ofcourse that leaves the DE spot lacking depth esp depending on the extent of Kelsay's injury. (2) Start breaking in Nic Harris (3) Search desperately for an unsigned LB (4) Trade for a LB either for a player now or a pick next year

Why would Oakland trade for a RB when they have McFadden ?

First thought in my mind was 'no way' but then it struck me that this is a valid argument. Jackson played very well yesterday though I am not sure about Omon yet. We can still sign a street RB for depth. But, if we get a stud LB or OT, I agree we go for it. Don't think we are that desperate for DT help.

Forgive me for being skeptical of these sources but if true, Simon will lose his house . http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?showtopic=95908 We will ofcourse never know as the coaches will cover for McK. Be that as it may, I think the right call would have been to get the ball out and take a knee at the 2:00 mark. But most of all - protect the damn ball. I feel bad for Poz. Also, we really need him. I think depending on the Kelsay injury, a serious thought must go into moving Maybin to LB for the season if there is no viable LB help available.

I know your post is not directed at me, but I am reveling at the sight of the slinking Bears fans in my office today. Somehow none want to acknowledge that the NFL season has started and yet these are the same who thinly disguise their glee at every Bills loss. (let me enjoy at 1 day, tomorrow may be different )

Considering the Steelers are next on tap, we won't have to wait too long to find out. Chicago does have the advantage of being at home for that game and their D looked good - which should ensure an adequate cardio workout for Big Ben. IMHO, the Steelers still will win. Some Chicago media coverage: A Blog "A three-and-out to start, an interception on the next series -- no, son, you were brought in here because that’s what the past 10 guys did. . . ." Another article "The more Cutler yelled, the more frustrated of a tone he set. By the time Cutler had thrown his third pick in the first half, it was obvious the guy talking too much was trying too hard." Some wishful thinking here: "His final line (17-for-36, 277 yards, TD, 4 INT) isn't going to be a trend. Nothing in his past would suggest this is anything more than an aberration." In short, many people here are getting Rex Grossman flashbacks

I am not sure about going deep early. We don't know how our line is going to hold up. If, say, for the first play we send all our speedsters deep and Trent wants to heave it, there has to be assurance that the protection will hold up for 5 seconds to allow the separation. Else, one of two things can happen - Trent gets plastered or gets intercepted. Either of those situations will immediately put Trent to go into a shell for the entire game, given his already fragile confidence level. So, I think there need to be a lot of mixing up of passes vs run where the passes are medium/short type. Once we start getting success in these passes, then we can take the risk of bombing away. So, I think we need to be aggressive but not in the throw deep department - more in the pass-run balance area.

Yea, I did watch the game last night. He sucked.

[/b But then again, Cutler should have known it is not Marshall out there.

You buy into that excuse ? The QB should know what the limitations of his WR corps are. That last INT was a high risk throw to an inexperienced receiver. He should not have attempted that throw at all. Granted not all four were entirely his fault but then again there were other stupid throws that should have been picked off. So, in all he deserves having 4 INTs on his record and the major reason why the Bears lost this game.

Hey, I actually like that. Do you get the credit for that ?

Strangely, the Lions are probably thinking the same about the Bills.

I predict a closer game than anticipated but we still lose. Pats* 24 Bills 17 Fearless prediction # 2: Pats* go with the no huddle in their opening drive and try to confuse the heck out of Fewell. With everyone amped up about the Bill's no-huddle, the Pats* doing the same will be BB attempting to gain a psychological advantage early on (as if he needs any).

I am confused - hadn't Bell already replaced Walker as starter at LT ? So essentially at worst, we kicked our RT to the curb - which is only slightly worse. I think a more legitimate question would have been why the coaches waited so long to realize that Bell may be better at LT than Walker. Perhaps two pre-season games may have been enough ? Again, I think the outrage and nervousness stems from both events happening (canning of Schonert & release of LW) in such rapid fashion and so late into the pre-season. My concerns are slightly different than wondering what we will miss by getting rid of LW: - How adequate will AVP be as an OC ? How much time will he need to get his offense clicking ? Is he truly an OC or just a pass play caller ? Finally, when do we know if he has the chops to cut it as a coordinator ? - What do we do about the lack of depth on the OL ?

Considering the current turmoil within the Bills, it won't be much of a statement.

If this was just a money move, in that LW was making too much money to play RT, couldn't his contract have been re-structured ? Or was the FO giving LW a chance to test the waters and sign him back if he didn't get any offers ? If this was not a money move, then perhaps there is a plan to bring in Runyan or trade for someone ? In either case, things will become clear in the next few days. I certainly hope the answer is not 'none of the above' as then we are woefully low on depth.

On a limerick roll are we ?

Reading Sully's notes, it just seems like he has taken this opportunity to do a blanket bashing of the Bills. While I agree the O looked like a mess in the pre-season, I think there are several bright spots. We cannot ignore them. e.g. Rush D looked good, Maybin made some plays despite missing a majority of TC, our secondary looks good. Bad offensive line ? How can you make a judgment of that so early ? He could have called it inexperienced and unproven, but bad ? I think our ST and D are good enough for the playoffs. The biggest question was and still is, about the O. Better late than never with the firing of Schonert. I rather go through the pains now than either have this happen half way or not at all till the season ended.

I agree with you to an extent. Previously, I was in the no-way-Jose camp regarding Marty. In the last few years we experimented with ex-coordinators as our HC. As that didn't work out, we got an ex-HCs, albeit a loser. Given our track record since the late 90s, I don't think we can afford to try any coordinator as our next HC. That leaves current or retired HCs. Of them, I think Cowher is over rated and Gruden is an idiot. That leaves Shanny and Marty, who I would take in that order. Was Shanny a winner because of Elway only? I am not sure, but his track record is certainly enviable. His style is to build an O based on the run - which will suit us just fine. I kinda veered off there - what I started off intending to say is that I have lowered expectations to the point where even Marty sounds acceptable. And Deano, as an aside, Steely Dan was terrific last night in Chicago playing Royal Scam.

Welcome to the board. A couple of quick suggestions: (1) Use the search function for related topics - plenty of discussion about Cowher (2) Spell Cowher correctly

Yeah got the Bills text which was cryptic as usual - Fitz to start at QB and Rhodes as RB.