Fan in Chicago

If you rate TH as a 1 and WM as a 1.2 (in terms of ability and potential) then WM at 80% fit (1.2 x .8 = 0.96) is better than TH at 90% (1 x 0.9 = 0.9). Aren't you glad I am an engineer ?

Just to dwell on the little guy a bit longer - it is not about rushes only but also about scrambling and stepping away from pressure. But I agree - the stat by itself is surprising. My point again is that - if we have a crown jewel OL, receiver, RB and general supporting cast, we don't need a QB with a powerful arm. Just about any above-average QB will do. In the absence of one or many of the crown jewels, you are better off with a scrambling and pressure sensing QB. Am I stating something that is way too obvious to be mentioned ?

And therein lies the rub. My opinion is that a good QB makes the OL and team look better. here we have to 'max protect', 'give him the weapons', 'give him time to sit and throw', 'get may recievers that can get open' etc. Planning for this takes away a lot of flexibility the O coaches need. We are babying him and really trying to make him look good. Who cares ? I would rather have an above-average QB that can cope with some of the lines faults and make everything look better. {dare I say this ?} That was where Flutie was good - he could do things even with a weak arm that compensated for the faults of the O-Line. That is where Favre is a God - he cannons the ball between defenders even if the receiver is not 'open'. So sometimes he gets intercepted but most of the time he makes the receivers look good.

we are so pathetic ! Happy that we may win because key players on the opposition are injured.

Actually, I think we really are doome.d. We are 0-4 which means no wins ! What other definition of doom is there in the NFL ? So I wish we stop using this overblown font to make fun of posters that imply the season has gone down the tubes. Wake up - it has. We are one of the worst teams in the league and yes, the season is doom.ed. So there !

Last year, we were screaming for giving the running game a chance and that we were passing too much. This time we have a balance on the number of plays both ways. So which will it be ? I think we continue with emphasis on the running game but when passing, go for the big plays and not the Tom Brady-ish dinking and dunking. That will be the best balance right now. Plus we really have to see if w can make better use of the TEs and test out Euhus to see if he is the Metzelaars type of TE that we have been missing.

I disagree. Every player has one or two bad games and he admitted he played badly yesterday. We cannot chase overall good players away for just a few mistakes. Look at how we are adjusting after the loss of P Price, A Winfield. It took us one full season to find a replacement to Price (Evans) and this season we are missing Winfield. I think we keep Jennings, who overall is an above average player. We need to find a new center, replace Mike Williams and get a good TE (is Euhus good ?).

If that guarantees us winning a ring, it may not be an entirely unpleasant thought.

No. I think we go 3-8 and play JP for the last five.

- Asking for a change does not make me a marginal fan - Wanting a rookie QB does not imply throwing the season away. We are not exacting charting an unabated path to the playoffs with oru approach right now. - What do we want done this season anyway ? Do you think we will win 10 of the next 13 games, assuming a 10-6 record is required to even think of the playoffs ? - One Coy Wire is not going to change anything. Neither is one QB change. We need to make changes whenever we see consistently sloppy play.

Is that you Tom Donahoe ?

Yep !! I hear big Ben Rothlesberger (sp?) is doing pretty well in Pittsburgh. How many years of experience does he have under hsi belt ?

Agree 100%. He has scored a touchdown in each game - NOBODY ELSE HAS as single one !! I hope EM retires a Bill. We gain more by keeping him here than by chasing him out.

Umm.. I am sorry, but 'learn' what by sitting ? - Watching a disastrous offense ? - Watching a QB who cannot scramble ? (this is not DB bashing). JP can scramble and can learn nothing from watching DB. - Watch how other teams get blitz-happy against us ? He can only learn to avoid if he is in the middle of the action. We will have to win 10 of the last 13 to make the playoffs. With the Pats and Jets in our division, we can almost kiss Playoffs goodbye for this year. Might as well use this year to put JP in as soon as possible so he learns on the job this year and we do well next year. Else we are setting ourselves up for a build job next year as well. I am so sick of this 'wait till next year' philosophy that I now know how perennial loser teams like the Cardinals must be feeling. We are a sucky team. The past two years have been particularly bad for us fans.

I hope Matthews STARTS and confuses the genius BB.

MM should pull a surprise and put Matthews in as a starter on game day. That will confuse the heck out of BB who would have spent a majority of the two weeks fine tuning his plan against DB.

I too have been a DB supporter. But I am on the verge of going over to the other side. A good QB makes everyone around better - he does not need "a great supporting cast" to make the offense run well. If you have a great supporting case, Shane Matthews will be adequate. I need to actually see a game or two before deciding if DB has lost it forever.

BJs for $39.99 ? Good deal or not depends on who is giving them

My tooth was really rotten and even after several numbing shots, all I remember was intense pain for as long as he was grinding and drillnig away. Sorry to have to tell you that. Sounds to me that a broken tooth will cause considerably less misery.

Look - I don't care about the positives if we continue to lose. At some point you have to realize your potential if there is any. Potential is useless if you don't perform and deliver.

At the risk of sounding cliched ... Smash mouth football has a much better chance of winning championships than airing it out. But I do agree that we need to get Evans more involved and test the opposition's weaknesses. No harm in having a constant threat of a 60+ bomb every few plays.

You summarized my thoughts very well. While I will root for the team, I agree with Foxboro Mike that there is no tangible advantages we can point to. It is a fair guess that: - NE will blitz up the middle - Brady will continue with his dinking and dunking - We will do a fair job against the run - We will probably run well till we get into NE 30 after which we can neither advance nor kick a field goal. If we ever get close to sniffing distance of the 30, BB will bring his big guns to stall us there. Basically we will lose and I predict the score to be 23-6.

That was good. If I wasn't so damn depressed, I would laugh.

NOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't punch it in from the 1 ???????????