Fan in Chicago

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.

Thats all I need to know. Get him, Russ. Signed, DJ

I am glad to see that DJ actively reads TBD and heeds our advice: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/articl...3/909030342/tbd " ...Jauron feels it's more important to avoid risking potential injury, and to concentrate on watching the reserves play "

Look at it this way, getting some good backups will eliminate an excuse for DJ if Trent were to get injured or performs miserably.

Given the QB situation as it stands right now, I would take the risk of giving them a 5th rounder. I know all it will do is give us two #2s (Fitz, Tarvaris) but so be it. I rather have a double back-up given Trent's struggles since the second half of last season and his history of injury. Also, we don't know for sure if the Vikings are asking for a 5th rounder. As I don't see a bidding war for his services, I am sure we can get the deal done for an even lower pick.

Is he better than Hamdan ? Probably yes as Tarvaris has starter experience. If it is a cheap deal (i.e. low draft pick), I would get him and let the coaches decide who among Fitz & Jackson is the # 2.

Pros of getting Marshall & trading Reed+Parrish: - Big weapon on offense - Makes Bills WR corps one of the best in the league, if not THE best Cons: - History of immature behavior - Will split time with 2 top WRs (TO, Evans) so individual value diminished + possibility of making all three unhappy - TE inconsistency may not get full value of having him in the O - We lose Reed, a proven slot receiver. Who replaces him ? - We lose Parrish, a proven returner. Who replaces his production ? Balancing all the above points, I think we do not make the trade as proposed. Maybe for a 2nd or 3rd rounder next year may compensate for the first 3 'cons' above.

Thanx for stopping by and contributing your profound prognostication to this board

Confidence in Nic Harris ? Expecting a LB to be cut from another team? Moving Maybin to LB ?

And under 'Five Guys I hope rebound': Dick Jauron "He must win, and he must win now. Say a prayer for him. He deserves a lot better. "

If we win, then the Lions will not have gameplanned for us and would have played a vanilla D and O. In short, we would still suck.

I have stated this in another thread but - My beef with the no huddle is that I am not convinced we have the multi-skilled personnel to pull it off successfully. Can our OL pass as well as run block well, do we have a real pass catching & blocking TE, can the RBs help pick up the blitz and be a receiving threat, can TE read coverages correctly and make all required throws ? Too many questions to answer before we commit to the no huddle. Else we risk falling behind quickly with a gassed D. And looking like a$$es in the process

With double TEs, we can: - go empty backfield giving us 3 WRs. If they double one of our WRs, one of the TEs will be open - Have Jackson in the backfield giving us 2 WRs, 2 TEs and 1 RB as pass catching options. If they drop coverage, we can run on them

We can lose confidence early on in the game if we play the high risk strategy. If initially we come out with 4 WR sets without adequate extra protection, TE may get pummeled or may fumble/throw an interception. NE* will make sure they will then take full advantage of that situation and not take their boots off our fallen necks. OTOH, if we go max protect and then attempt to take a few minor risks we can see where our OL stacks up in protection. As the game goes along we can then tune our O to be more or less conservative depending on the early outcomes. I am not saying not to be aggressive early, but don't risk too much. We do not want the Pats* to gain a psychological advantage in addition to the coaching advantages they already possess.

Not my thread, but can we keep the negativity out of this one ? There are plenty of other threads for that. Let us, for the moment, think about what strategies can be tried and discuss the pros/cons of them. I don't think Simon intended to debate how the game will unfold but rather what the Bills can do to be successful against the Pats*.

With so many new personnel in our O, coaches on both sides of the sideline will be probing to find out what we really have. To that extent, early blitzes from their side can be expected - the upside is that they can rattle TE early if successful and if not successful, they may not have a huge downside as we haven't shown the propensity to take advantage of the mis matches down the field. Regarding TO, I think there will be opportunities no matter which way the Pats* decide to roll their coverage - TO or Evans' side. Again, whether we are capable of taking advantage is another matter i.e. will Reed get separation ? can Jackson find an opening in the flat ?

I think we will also do a lot of double TE sets till we do (or don't) gain confidence in the OL's ability. We may also come out passing a lot and involving Evans while using TO as a decoy May blitz a lot initially while challenging their WRs to beat our DBs. I do not expect a lot of trick plays in the beginning. The key is to get a jump on the score before the Pats* adjust. To state the obvious, it will all depend on how our key personnel perform - especially Edwards and the OL.

Was there a couple of months back during a cruise. We did not have enough time to explore but did go to the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio and Paradise beach. I would have liked to go to the ruins in Tulum for which you have to take a ferry from Playa del Carmen and a bus/taxi from there. Also go to Aktun Chen caverns. You don't need too many guided tours. You can bargain with and get a cab to take you around. The cab drivers in Cozumel speak English. Also, don't shop in the touristy areas as they gouge you. Find the smaller shops in mid-town and take your time browsing and haggling.

"Gandhi"

What about bags over heads ?

.. or sucker fans ? (like me who signs up for the Sunday Ticket even before knowing how this team is likely to look in pre-season)