Bill from NYC

My complaints about the draft is that the way we have drafted, year after year, has not produced wins. But this probably belongs in another thread.

Yes, Dareus and KW really did make things rough for Tannehill. Dareus was doubled on a majority of plays and stll held the middle, and KW played his penetrating game. WRT the open receivers, McKelvin is not a very good corner. Gilmore? I guess I will stay with the party line that he is just a rookie, but I want to see more production given where he was drafted.

1) A great poster on this board who isn't around these days constantly made the case that DT was the most important position on the defense. Not sure if I agree, but his words rang true last night. Dareus was in game shape, and along with Kyle Williams, disrupted the Miami offense all night. Carrington also blocked a pass. 2) His excellent first half notwithstanding, that pick by Byrd was a thing of beauty. He was fully extended and just made that pass his. 3) The punt to the one yard line was an instrumental play in this game. Big time kudos to Powell. 4) Speaking of key plays, my money says that if Wood didn't recover Jones' fumble, we would have found a way to lose this game. Imo, plays such as these are indicative of just how hard a player works to win a football game. Well, Wood hustled and went down for the football, and I for one sincerely appreciate big time effort such as this. 5) OK, so the win was less than inspirational, but check it out.....going into the season, didn't we expect wins such as this? Other than San Jose Bills Fan, not too many of us were sure of what we had at LT. Fitz is Fitz, and there were issues at WR. We knew this, but they DID spend a fortune on the defense. In other words, I'll take it, blowout or not. 6) Speaking of Fitz, he scared me all night. His stats were actually not so bad, and he had a clutch first down run, but he was once again forcing throws. But, we won!!!!! After Kelly, none of our QBs had a whole hell of a lot of wins in games that they started. To put this in perspective, Edwards had more than Losman. At this point I will take the W. 7) Life may be sweeter for this, I don't know Feels like it might be alright While Lady Lullaby sings plainly for you, Love still, rings true Midnight on a carousel ride, Reaching for the gold ring, Down inside Never could reach, It just slips away, But I try. 8) OK, it's fun time. Yep, time to discuss the play of our DEs. Mario had one sack, consistent pressure, and held his side quite well vs. the run. Too bad Moore had that facemask, because he too played well. MERRIMAN? Hello? On one play, he had not one, but TWO brutal hits on Long, an all pro. Is it possible that he is actually back in shape, ready to produce? Because if he is, the Bills DL is going to be awfully dificult to throw against. It's one of those things that looks too good to be true. Fingers crossed. 9) Well, Spiller stepped up today, and handled his increased number of snaps quite well. Once again, he also blocked when called upon, and held onto the football. He paid the price too. Much of that yardage came after contact. 10) Gailey's play calling continues to astound me at times. Late in the 2nd quarter, he went with a naked backfield on 3rd and 1. Why? I thought it was 2 down territory. 11) I know that the outcome of this game disappointed the "lose out and draft early" crowd. And while I understand, count me as one who is down with winning football games, however ugly. We have to get a quarterback no matter where we draft. Tannehill, a #8, might be good, and while I need to see much more of him to rate him, I wasn't very impressed. Sanchez went 6th as I recall, and isn't all that. Yeah, I would rather win football games and hope for the best. 12) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The truth is, your position is now extremely hard to dispute, given the rule changes. Tell me if you will, was Schaub trded before or after the rule changes? He is easily a top 10 qb. EASILY. Before the rule changes, he might not have survived. Chris Chandler (remember him?) would have led teams to the superbowl (well, he did this once) if he was protected the way qbs are today.Players now are fined huge money for illegal hits on the qb. And, they are no longer allowed to blast receivers over the middle, evn on incompletions. You still need to block for these guys, and now we can. If the OL stays together, it will probably get even better. And we can run successfully, which will always matter, especially in Buffalo. But the bottom line is that today, there is little chance of real success without a top 10, or perhaps top 12 qb. The 49ers might be an exception, but this is only one example. The rule changes have impacted the game just that much.

I want more from Dareus. He really did look like he was sucking wind midway through the second quarter. And they substituted for him quite a bit. On one of the long runs up the middle, Spencer Johnson was in, and he over-pursued. We drafted Dareus to prevent this stuff. He did make a play or 2 in the second half but my expectations are much higher for a #3 overall pick. Wrt Glenn, he is a rookie. I'm not worried about him. He hasn't even been a LT for a long time and is still learning. But his potential is limitless.

1) On the TD catch by Gronkowski late in the 2nd half, he was being covered by Kyle Moore. We need to take a closer look at this. Gronkowski, like him or hate him, might wind up in the Hall of Fame. He might even wind up as the best TE ever. Wanny had him covered by a defensive end. Consider this post a call for the NY State Troopers to escort Wanny out of the state of NY. He just won't stop with this insame scheme, and should be fired this second. He should have been fired weeks ago. 2) Donald Jones was amazing today. I saw two fully extended catches. If the Bills had a legit burner, Stevie, and now Jones, would reach amazing heights. Yes, I know about the qb issues all too well, but these guys can play. 3) Is anyone waiting for me to blast Spiller? Here ya go.....he was flat out amazing today imo. Much of the yardage he gained was on his own. And, he had the football sense to get out of bounds when he had too. Want more? With 11:40 left in the 4th qtr., he threw an amazing block which allowed Fitz to complete a pass. He caught passes and ran very well. He gave it all he had, and I was 100% impressed by both his production, and even more important, his effort. 4) Glenn had a rough outing. He's just a kid, and coming off an injury, but he allowed sacks and had some very ill-timed penalties. But, I think that he is a player, or at least will be one. 5) Lets shift to corners, shall we? McKelvin wasn't all that, but he was actually better than A. Williams. As many problems as the corners had, I think that they were actually not as bad as they would have been with Williams on the field. Gilmore? Sorry, I am not so impressed. 6) "Walk out of any doorway, feel your way, feel your way, like the day before. Maybe you'll find direction, Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you. What do you want me to do, to watch for you while you are sleeping? The please don't be surprised, when you find, Me dreaming too." 7) Poor Fitz. He really had a great game, until that last pass. He btw had all the time he needed, and there was no reason to force that throw. 8) Darues? He looks to be out of shape. He was out of gas by the middle of the 2nd quarter. He helped out on the one sack, but he, imo, played a horrible game. 9) 14 penalties for 148 yards points to a team that lacks coaching and discipline. There is no other direction to look. 10) I was lucky enough to watch the game today with some of the greatest people on earth. I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that my fellow Bills fans on this board were also as lucky. 11) We need a linebacker on this football team other than Barnett. I always was a fan of his, but he cannot cover Wes Welker. This is what he had to do several times. I can't stress enough how poorly this defense is coached. 12) Sure, the season is over, but in a weird way, I feel as if we accomplished something today. Is this insane? If I was one who wagered, I would bet on us to destroy Miami. Even if Dareus is shot (not sure he is), Carrington was trying hard today. Kyle Williams gave it his all as well. Mario at least played the run well. And the offense was as good as we would have a right to expect. In any event, I accept the fact this particular comment might not make sense. But I'm hanging in there because I really do love this football team, and being a Bills fan. This will never, ever change. And I extend my thatks to all of you for staying with this team, and yes, indulging my posts. 13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost every qb can throw 50 or 60 yards with no problem. What matters most (imo) is what the ball is doing for the last 5 yards. On his deep throws, especially the 52 yarder, the receivers have to slow down to make the catch. He missed out on TDs because he couldn't hit the receiver in stride.

Not to overly defend Nix, but Urbik and Hairston are, "good." And I'm in the minority here, but imo a healthy Pears is at the very least an adequate RT. As for Dareus, Bills fans are depressed enough. Let's not eliminate the possibility that he can return to form. I am a HUGE Bama fan, and have been one for many decades. McCarron is a nice kid, but count me as one who is officially off the McCarron bandwagon. I don't think that he has enough of an arm, which is a shame, because he does have everything else.

Thanks so much!!! I didn't do so bad, but a few of my friends got hit very hard. What we now need is gasoline, and I can't understand the delay.

You nailed it. The truth is that Bell looked good when compared to Greg Jerman, an aging John Fina, etc. And, people hated Peters for how he held out, and were happy to see him go despite how good he was. Bell, whie agile, was weak. He did, as I recall, 9 reps with 225 at the combines. Corners do this amount. And btw I never believed his listed weight. He was small, and constantly injured. But on our team, he was better than anyone we had (other than peters) for a decade or more. We were too busy drafting RBs and DBs in round 1o take a LT or QB, except for the horror show that was JP Losman.

Great! Sounds like a plan.

Thanks. The rule changes handed receivers the middle of the field. DBs such as Atkinson, Tatum, Lott, and many other used to destroy receivers for going over the middle. Was Tatum even penalized when he paralyzed Stingley? When Peyton Manning "carried" the colts to superbowls, those teams were, imo, mediocre. HE was great. A running back does not seem to be able to do this today. This was the point that I failed to articulate clearly. And btw, I do not back down from my stance that drafting rbs and/of dbs in the top 10 is a good idea.

I will never apologize for having opinions about the Bills. I love this team, and I am, at all times, a very proud Bills fan. That said, my comments about Spiller, "carrying a team" obviously came off wrong. I am sorry for this. The truth is, he is playing extremely well. More truth is that I didn't expect this, given the fact that great RBs usually don't take much time to develop. They are gifted. They can run, and the really great ones have instincts as well. Look at Yeldon at Alabama if you will. This kid, if he doesn't get hurt, looks like he will enter the NFL as a superstar. Spiller took some time, but that's ok at this point. In any event, Spiller is playing beyond my expectations, and I praise him for this. Taking it a step further, he is blocking, and clutching the football with both arms (btw, so is McKelvin on returns). This is huge. I support him, and will not try to justify the "carry a team" comment, other than to state that a RB might not be able to do ths in our new league. One last comment.....the title of my post is NOT, "Expert, Beyond Dispute Opinions." No, I sit with a pen and notebook, and try to catch special plays. I focus most on line play. Btw, the hardest thing to catch, for wehatever reason, is the play of the right guard. I welcome disagreement, always have. Most of us here probably have WAY too much invested in this team. Place me high on that list. But I, along with you, am here to stay in terms of dreaming of things going right for our franchise. And often, emotion enters into my "thoughts," making them sometimes less clear. But one more time, I really am sorry to have not been clear enough, and to have been mis-interpreted. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He may very well be our best player at this point. He's certainly our best skill player, and I too would like to see him get more touches. But as another poster added, there are few players in the league other than great qbs who can actually carry a team. Years ago, rbs such as Earl Canpbell, John Riggins, OJ, and many others were "carrying" teams. Today, the teams with the best rbs aren't necessarily winning. Again, I have been praising Spiller most of the season,. and noted his fantastic move on the screen. I am sorry that my OP was misleading. Spiller was NOT, in any way, to blame for this loss. His game has totally improved, to the point where he is a consistent threat, and his blocking even improved. I guess the "carry a team" remark was better served for a different thread.

He was bad today no doubt. Overall, he is an OK player, but the Bills do need another TE. We have neglected this position for way too long.

Dude, you would be well served to stay away from my threads, no? I understand how little you have to offer, I will help you get started. Try to come up with an original thought, and couple it with some sort of humor and/or personality. If this is too tough for you to comprehend, I'm really sorry, but I did try.

Ralph spent approx. 140 million dollars on DEs. Even though Kelsay wasn't one of them, these guys need to be going after qbs, NOT covering receivers, or even fbs. That is why we have so many 1st and 2nd round dbs on the team, no?

I fully agree. Am I not spelling it out correctly? That said, I would still rather see FJ or even the FB get the carry on 3rd and 1.

What is your agenda? Do you think that Spiller will ever carry this team? How about other, better rbs such as Adrian Peterson? Those days are gone. I have praised Spiller more often than not this season. He is playing well. But he will never carry this football team. If you disagree, please enlighten us. Never mind.....I am thinking that you have oh so little to add.

The game has changed. QBs are able to carry teams more than rbs. And even back in the old days, how many small rbs were able to carry their team?

1) Dareus is breaking my heart. He is. He had a play or 2 today, but overall he was rather pedestrian. It can go either way. He can shake the sophmore blues, or he can be a defensive Mike Williams. Our history doesn't paint a pretty picture and it really does suck. I had very high hopes for this kid. 2) Let's talk about Gilmore, shall we? I for one think that he sucked today. Sure, he made a play or 2. And yes I know, he was trying to cover a great receiver. I get it. But so far, he is just another under-achieving, wasted pick on a defensive back. He will probably wind up being better overall than Whitner. Is everybody happy? I am an inch away from calling him a complete waste of a pick. 3) Spiller made an off the charts move on the screen pass early in the 2nd quarter. Seriously. He isn't ready to carry the team. He never will be. But he really has talent. 4) Someone help me out.....why call a wildcat AFTER a timeout? Isn't the purpose of a wildcat play to confuse your opponent? And, wtf was the point of a wildcat to Spiller? Brad Smith wasn't doing so bad, was he? 5) OK....this is f----d up......When Aaron Williams got hurt, I found myself to be in the situation of Chief fans when Cassel went down. Here is the end result.....I didn't want the kid to be seriously injured. Not even a bit. But I was actually glad to see him out of the game. He is one of the worst players that I have ever had the displeasure to watch. He completely sucks, and does not belong on an NFL roster. McKelvin? Rogers? They suck too in terms of playng corner, but AW is worse. You tell me.....did I take the high road? 6) I watched Cordy Glenn as much as I could for the entire game. Mixed reviews. In our first series of downs, he actually held off his opponent by extending his left arm. This would seem impossible. But overall, he had a not so great day. I understand this; he was playing against a great Wade Phillps defense, and he is a rookie. But his showing today overall was not good. Sorry. 7) Did you see Kelsay in pass coverage midway in the 3rd quarter? Wanny won't stop this insanity. He just won't, and he should be fired tonight. 8) Broken heart don't feel so bad, You ain't got half of what you thought you had. Rock your baby to and fro, Not too fast and not too slow, And I say row, Jimmy, row Gonna get there, I don't know Seems a common, way to go Get down and row, row, row, row, row 9) You want to know what this team needs? It needs two people. Bill Polian and Wade Phillips. It wouldn't matter is Ralph was 194 years old. Polian could build a winner. And Wade is a defensive genius. There is no disputing this imo. 10) Fitz wasn't so bad today. Levitre and Wood didn't play so well, nor did Urbik. And he still made some nice throws. This is not a call for him to lead us to the promised land. But to be fair, he did all he could. 11) The defense got fooled by the play action left time after time. There is no excuse fior this. Wanny should have been fired weeks ago, but tonight would be ok too. 12) Hang in there folks. There is nothing good in sight, but we are who we are, and we will not abandon this team. We can't. 13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely John. And to irk you just a bit more, I heard Levy on Sirius right after the draft say that he had numerous trade down offers, and some were offering more than a 2nd round pick.

A good rule of thumb is when Cutler and Donte Whitner are available, you select Cutler (or perpaps 20 other players that were available in that great draft).

Buddy was 100% right to reassure him. Fitz has limitations, this is nothing new. But he is a seemingly good guy. We don't want him to give up, and he could. He is financially set for life, and a graduate of Harvard. What Buddy needs to do is look in the mirror. In his first draft, he selected a running back at #9, and a bunch of disasters. This, with extra picks in rounds 6 and 7. And before anybody jumps down my throat and tells me that Spiller is now playing very well, I AGREE. But we need to win games. In his second draft, he took a DT at #3, one who, imo, will be a good player. He was last year. And to his credit, he STOLE an OT (Hairston) in round 4. But, Buddy didn't want Mallett or Dalton in rounds 2 and 3.. He wanted a corner who sucks, and a very questionable MLB. In this draft, Buddy had an extra 7th, and an extra 4th, which btw he used on Hairston (25th selection of round 4). With the 3rd pick of round 4, Buddy took Searcy. In all, not a great draft when you pick 3rd. Last years draft is too early to rate, but it looks as if he stole another OT in round 2. Gilmore at #10? We shall see. The above is just the draft. The biggest blunder imo was Wanny. He looks like a Jauron wannabee. Kyle Williams in coverage? Who's next? Dareus? Nix could have, once and for all, purged the weak, timid, losing Levy/Jauron philosophy on defense. Instead, he made it worse by bringing in Wanny. So yes, it really is OK for Buddy to appease Fitz just a bit. Buddy created this mess more than Fitz.

OK, my friend. Now, allow me to take YOU to task if you will..... Notice the bolded? As you surely recall, I wanted the Bills to trade down and select Hightower, who NE traded UP to draft. Instead, we drafted a corner in the top 10. You, as I remember, liked this pick. Our secondary boasts 2 early first rounders, and two very early second rounders. How's it looking these days? As per the ownership, I agree, and always have. Count me as one who thinks that 2006 was the last straw. TD had messed up. He had drafted a fat RT with a chronic ankle injury at #4 (Williams), and traded up for a 1st round qb who couldn't play (Losman). How did we right the ship in 2006? By bringing in 2 incompetent football men (Levy/Jauron) who nobody else wanted. Forget about not drafting Ngata. Seriously, that entire draft was absolutely stacked. Our first 4 picks consisted of 3 DBs who ranged from OK to garbage, and a DT who sucked. And we traded away an early 3rd round pick to accomplish this. The above is ALL on Ralph. This season, Ralph actually dug DEEP into his pocket and again, Nix used a top 10 pick on a player who was popular here in April, all to play defense. So what happened? Jauron Part Deux. Kyle Williams is alone in coverage, standing still 15 yards downfield on 3rd and 9. A penetrating DT, trying to cover the middle. Yeah, OK. And it's been posted that Kelsay too is out on coverage. Great! Couple the above with bizarre clock management before the half, week after week, odds plays at inopportune times, etc. Much of this is the fault of the coaching staff, or so I see it.