Bill from NYC

That is correct Promo. And he gets his body in the position he needs to be in to make throws. Fitz is super coordinated, and actually a very good runner as well imo.

It was a matter of time. And, this points to the utter absurdity of using a football team's first pick of a draft on a small gadget player. This won't change. If a team is stupid enough to waste picks in this manner, consequences will be paid. And btw, this doesn't apply to Brad Smith. He isn't a runt, and I don't care about his stats as long as he keeps getting us key first downs. We got him at a bargain price and imo, if he stays healthy he will win us at least 1 football game this season. The kid can play!

Fitz deserves a ton of credit as well. I remember being at a home opener against Denver, absolutely knowing that Losman couldn't complete a winning td pass at the end of the game. On Sunday, I actually had faith in Fitz that he could do something to win. I liken him to a modern day Flutie, except that he is bigger, better, and much easier to like. But yes, Chan's calls did turn out right and the beauty is that (imo), Chan's best atribute as a coach is the fact that he is a teacher. He may not sound like one, but my hunch is that he is an intellectual type, and is able to get players to buy into his system. Cowher did say this about him after we signed him. Can you only imagine the momentum if we could somehow win this football game on Sunday?

In these 2 games there were at least 3 crucial plays on which Chan went the opposite direction from what I wanted to do. Results? We won 2 games. When Jauron was coach, I was almost always right when I disagreed with him on crucial plays and for that matter, the idiotic draft picks of the Levy/Jauron era. Only a Bills fan can even begin to understand this unlikely scenario. It really is great to have competent people in charge for a change.

I reserve the right to respectfully disagree.

Again, different people react in different ways to the lack of success of our team. and we all probably have too much invested in this. Once, after a horrible loss, I was reading an exchange by "Pass the Pipe" and "Tortured Soul." The names alone brought a smile to my face! Sadly, I felt their pain. That said, one has to be happy right now. I don't know if the Chiefs and the Raiders both suck. I don't care if catching breaks helped us win on Sunday. It doesn't matter. I didn't expect an awful lot from the defense until 4-6 weeks into the season. We are relying on rookies to contribute, a tough task. Well, Dareus looks great, and lots of players are making plays. The defense is bigger, stronger and will get better. If the offense can do the same next year, we can be a playoff team. Expectations such as this are more reasonable than 12-4. In the meantime, we CAN beat NE. They are better than us but perhaps we can catch a few lucky breaks. Or, maybe they will take us lightly. Or maybe we will just kick their ass. It sure would be great and make us all happy but again, we all probably have way too much invested in this, and we all have employed different methods of coping. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Davin Joseph and Mathias Kiwanuka as well, not to mention an extra second rounder, and the second round was loaded with players we needed. Yes, we drafted worse players in round (Maybin), but I have long made the contention that Whitner was the dumbest pick I ever saw. http://www.drafthistory.com/years/2006.html PS: It was #8

I am probably regarded by many as something of a 'complainer," but these first 2 games were a lot of fun, to say the least. The rest of the season? I understand why the OP is pessimistic. There has been plenty of pain for Bills fans for a long time. That said, Gailey makes a very big difference imo. I view him as a teacher, an intellectual type of coach. And, the team is bigger and stronger, and Fitz is a perfect fit. They just aren't getting pushed around like the Levy/Jauron Bills. If they are good enough to finish at 8-8, they really might be a playoff team next year. They should probably go right back to Leigon Field and grab another solid, well coached player from Alabama.

This was a perfect post. Nobody at all is being critical of their play yesterday. Not even me. You are right. Fitz is just so smart, and I don't want to downplay his superb athleticism. He gets himself in position to make a play in the bat of an eyelash. But imo, many miss the point of the bold above. Assuming the Bills OL is now average, improvement would only mean a second or 2 of comfort for Fitz on passing attempts, but that is a tremendous amount of time. Fitz always reminded me a bit of Matt Hasselback. There are differences (Hasselback had a bit more arm strength, and Fitz is more coordinated and athletic imo), but I view their skill sets as about equal. Whern Hasselback made the superbowl, he had 2 future hall of fame blockers in front of him as I recal (Jones and Hutchinson). My point is that Fitz can do this too imo. I like him better than Romo and yes.....Sanchez. If they continue to build in front of him, Fitz will be that much better and I hope they waste no time extending his contract.

LOL No! Not until they are rock solid up front. And, I remind you that Leodis was a #11.

Did you see the way he pursues? He made a sideline tackle upfield! I watched him as close as I could and he never appeared to be winded or tired. Watch what happens if we get people like this on the offensive front.

1) Here is the bottom line.....there are no better fans than us. It isn't close. Make no mistake, people know this. Fans from other teams look at us and know what we go through. There were fans laughing today when the situation looked grim. But tell me, how f&^%$&*g great was it to wind up on top against a team with some talent and a smug coach? These people stopped laughing. 2) Sorry to say this, but the Raiders were running succesfully against Merriman. There is no point in denying this. That said, I think that he is going to be a dominant LB on this football team. How great is that? 3) Very disappointing play by McKelvin on the first play of the second quarter when the receiver just took the football from him. At some point, the Levy/Jauron cancer (and yes, I am calling McKelvin a Buffalo Bills cancer) will be chopped off. 4) Go ahead.....compare Poz to Barnett. There is no logical comparison. Wow, this man can play football! I would take him on my football team any day of the week. 5) Here is the thing about my man Dareus.....The kid bit on a couple of screens. I understand this. He is a rookie and this is to be expected. My point is that without him, we would hve been slaughtered. I love the way this kid plays football. PLEASE forget the stats. 6)The TD run by Fred Jackson was about as nice a run as I have ever seen by a Buffalo Bills football player not named OJ. 7) I am going to make a statement. D. Nelson is going to be a great receiver. I like his potential more than that of Stevie Johnson, or at least as much. 8) I will do it. Props go out to Spiller. He went down WAY too easy more than once, but he played well today. 9) I will also concede that Bell played well today. So did Levitre. They were quite the pair. Even when Fitz threw the pick, they played their positions played well. That bad pass was all on Fitz. 10) Speaking of Fitz, consider me of the opinion that here is no qb better suited for this particular football team right now. This man can play football, and I really appreciate this. 11) I want to say more bad things about McKelvin, but I'm not going to ruin a beautiful day of being a fan of the Buffalo Bills football team. 12) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry my friend. The above doesn't mean much imo. One must take into account many other factors, such as the overall quality of a draft, and the availability of players of need to a particular team. This, and even trade down offers come into play. The Bills were said to have spurned an extra second and fourth round pick, and I believe this. Levy admitted on SIRIUS that he was offered more than a second rounder to trade down. Here is my mathmatatical formula for the Whitner pick: It sucked, and helped to ruin this team for years. Hopefully we are climbing out of the hole.

Good point. I suspect that a lot of fans could never really accept him.

I couldn't agree more. As a Bills fan, it is easy to spot someone with talent, but without the ability to perform. RJ and Losman had everything a qb could possibly need in terms of talent. Both of them had a MUCH better arm than Fitz, and were even faster runners. Trust me, there are posters on this board who still believe that Losman is a good QB. Fitz however is a better qb than both of them combined. Bledsoe, before the injury, was twice as good as Romo ever thought about being. That said, his comments were quite uncalled for.

Their pass rush is good primarily because they have done very well drafting defensive ends. This year, they took a first round corner who is injured. Last season they had a huge lead against the Eagles, and promptly blew the game with the Levy/Jauron/Fewell "play not to lose" mentality. It was a very important game and ruined their season. Fewell is another guy who, like Jauron, should limit his coaching to defensive backs, or whatever his specialty may be. My money says that both of them will be fired within a year or 2.

Fewell, his disciple, is looking pretty horrible on the Giants as well. Nice work Marv!

I call that the Levy/Jauron Era. After all, good ol' Marv hired Jauron. And I don't know if it was the "low point," but the angriest I have ever been was in 06 when they drafted Whitner. The next 3 picks were also about as dumb as it gets. And this is not 20-20 hindsight. I was furious, and this draft is still hurting the Bills. Hopefully, we are climbing out of this hole now.

I remember a play (think they were playing Tampa) where RJ got hit way after he released. A player would get ejected and fined for doing that today. Marcus Spriggs was standing right there. He didn't go after the defender or even help RJ up as he lay there bleeding. If Lori was around she would remember that game. I think we lost a slew of players, some for their entire career.

Nice stuff Rich. It was a very unusal game for the Bills. Gailey deserves a ton of credit for knowing when to be conservative and when to be daring. Pretty much everything he called seemed to work. This was a game where stats meant little. For instance, Brad Smith made key first downs. Dareus and Kelsay didn't show up big on paper, but there was constant pressure. And remember, Gailey actually removed many starters, which I thought was an extremely smart move. Guys like Batten and the rookie running back need some reps. The stat that mattered most (besides the score) was T.O.P. We dominated the clock. It was a thing of beauty. As a Bills Fan it is always hard to know what to expect, but I sure am happy now, and think/hope that we can put away the Raiders and be 2-0.

Posters do come and go for various reasons. I get this. Badolbilz is a special case imo. I know him well, and state openly that he knows more about football than any person I have ever met. My friends and I would write down questions and run them by him at tailgates every year. Seriously, if you ask him for a guard who would last until round 4, he knows. It's almost surreal. And, he isn't smug; he is totally unimposing. Just a great guy. The mods here are as good as it gets. They do the work and maintain this site. They do a great job and we owe them, and of course SDS. I mean this. This site is SO good that I am fully convinced that media figures borrow from us. I have seen it. In any event Badol, if you are lurking, please tell us what you think of Batten and the rookie RB. These guys could make us a lot deeper.

Welcome to TBD!

And you are one cool m.f.

I am sorry that you feel this way. Actually, I think it is great that we have a forum in which we can exchange differing views. Both of us have valid reasons for our opinions. Neither of us pulled them from you know where. Imo Spiller was a wasted draft selection. I don't think that we were in a position to use a #9 on a situational player. And he MIGHT improve and contribute to this team. This would be ideal John. Otoh, if yesterday showed us anything, it that getting bigger and stronger worked. And it was a pleasure to see. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you read my post? And, if you think that the Bills were in a position to draft a situational running back at #9 despite other glaring needs, we simply disagree on how to build a football team. And I see nothing wrong with 2 posters having 2 differing opinions. What's the problem?