[Ellison in the middle, Nic Harris at OLB]

I am not excited about Ellison in the middle, he is too small. Can Palmer play the middle?

 

Dang, I almost forgot about Ashlee Palmer! I really like him also, big, fast, and hits HARD.

But we all know Dick would not put one, let alone TWO rookies (Palmer and Harris) into the lineup....would he?!!

I'm still surprised we saw as much Maybin and J. Byrd as we did...

[Ellison in the middle, Nic Harris at OLB]

They're going with Buggs for now, but they are discussing other options.

I like this, Ellison seems smart enough to play the middle. I know he's a whipping boy for Bills fan, but I think

he's been pretty good this year. He's already had a couple huge 4th down stops in the pre-season and Pats game.

Of course, the main reason I like this, is getting Harris on the field! I know he's gonna make rookie mistakes, but the

dude is a freakin beast! I watched him allot in college, and he is a HARD-Hitting playmaker. Your thoughts...

[Mc Kelvin = Harmon]

I flashbacked to the Dallas game immediately...I knew it was over

THe only thing that will make me feel better is a BLOWOUT against the Bucs, if we go out

there and barely win or God forbid...lose the game, it's gonna get really dark in Bills land....

[It's that time of year again]

Watch 2 hours of NFL countdown...

Start to get a minor headache from the nervous energy...

By halftime, full blown headache and sore throat, chest starting to hurt

End of game, depression, exhaustion, heart actually physically hurts, crying

Hours after the game, ignore the losing culture, look for positives, repeat cycle for next week...

[Alex Van Pelt & Co]

Special teams were awful -- or certainly not up to the standards we've come to expect. Allowed long kick returns, two fumbles, penalty on punt return -- lone bright spots were Moorman's punt inside the 10 and Lindell's clutch FG in the 3rd.

 

They were bad in the pre-season also, this is starting to concern me...

[Lost in all the hoopla......Berman picked the Pats*!!!&#33]

I was too ticked off about the game to post this sooner, but were any of you shocked to see Berman bail on the Bills?

 

To make it worse, he did it to pick the Pats*.....yuck!

 

He should have just declined to pick the game.

 

Instead, he decided to be just another Pats* ball-washer....disgusting.

 

Even the other guys on set were giving him a hard time about it.

 

I was very dissappointed in him, but in light of all the promotion of the Bills he has done over the years, its OK to give him a pass on this one..........right?

 

Even Boomer has lost the faith...

[The Owens factor]

I noticed both pats outside linebackers covering the slant all night. They were standing in a zone preventing quick slants to either Lee or TO, with the mike LB covering the deep middle. They tried to apply pressure with four defensive linemen and that is why the screen passes worked perfect against that defense.

The outside LB on either side were the only target an OL had to get their hands on and for the most part they were to far from the LOS to make a positive play.

 

And they kept insisting with it, live or die against short passes and screens, which I thought it was odd coming from Bellichick, because we all know he likes to mix thing up a lot in the course of a game.

 

As Kelly the Dog said the presence of Owens made the life easier for the O in general.

 

It will be interesting to see what kind of defense we will face from now on. Will teams gamble a little and give one on one coverage to either Lee and TO, or will they give the Bills the underneath stuff and dare us to be patient and drive the lenght of the field to score points.

 

If wee more defenses like we did monday night, it's imperative that we use Nelson a lot in the seam, exploit that middle of the field, much like Watson and Brady did to us. I like the match-up of Nelson against a LB.

If Lee or TO see single coverage we have to exploit that until the defense can stop it.

 

I'm optimistic that both AVP and Trent will see that and react accordingly.

 

I agree, I live in Dallas and everybody is laughing at T.O. cause he only had 2 catches, they just don't get it.

I don't EVER remember seeing the middle of the field that OPEN due to the coverage being rolled for T.O. !!

Maybe the cowboys didn't need him, but we sure as hell do. My only complaint, is I would have liked them to try him

a little more on the slants, but maybe that will come...

[Levitre AND Wood AND Bell]

Added to the excellent play of the OL was great downfield blocking by OWENS. Any screen or 2nd level run depends on good blocking downfield. TO was a monster with that. And Nelson was good too.

 

All in all -- they finally seem to know what they are doing upfront. I credit VAN PELT and better talent.

 

They are ONE playmakere away on defense from benig a contender (need an impact LB).

 

I noticed T.O. blocking a few times very effectively, very nice!!

I just hope he can be satisfied not getting his huge numbers and helping THE TEAM.

I know he only had 2 catches, but man did he OPEN UP THE FIELD or what? Just his prescence alone made a huge difference!

[Can the real fans step up?]

Dear god -

 

Most of you "fans" are pathetic. Just face it the Bills played a good game last night. Going into it most people including a ton of Bills "fans" thought they were going to get blown out 45-0, 36-3, 28-0, etc., etc. They didn't. If it wasn't for not being aggressive on Defense in the last few minutes and the fumble, they would have won.

 

Stop bitching and moaning about who's fault it is and just be F'ing happy that they played a GREAT game. Now, I know most of you even when they win will still complain because of the caliber of team played or how they won, or what starter on an opposing team may have been hurt.. whatever. All I have to say to that is STFU!!

 

Be a damn fan for once and cheer this team on. Not just when they are winning but ALL of the time. We don't need bandwagon jumpers, we need real fans... the REAL 12th Man.

 

I'm with ya! I feel waaaaaaay better about this team now than I did before the Pats game....I actually have hope again.

Dare I say we finish......7-9 ;-)

UNLESS, this new ATHLETIC and FAST O-line gels quickly....then I say 9-7 and a WILDCARD!! WOOT!! GO BILLS!

[When Fred Jackson scored on the screen.....]

I damn near ran through a wall. Literally. And this morning my wife asked what the hell I was hollering about as apparently I woke her up from 2500+ sqft and a half a floor away.

 

When Jackson scored my 12 year old son who weighs about 120lbs jumped into my arms and I carried

him around the living room hootin and hollerin like we just won the Superbowl!! Looking back at it now I can't help

but smile...I shoulda known the Bills would break my heart again....

[I'm not sure about you guys, but watching Fred Jackson last night]

On one of Jackson's either pitch or screen to the left side, probably in the second quarter,

I observed at least three, possibly four linemen 10 yards out in front of him steamrolling

people, that my friends, does not happen with our old line.

Me likey!

 

BUMP!! I actually got goose-bumps watching this! Big, Fast, Athletic lineman pulling and crushing people.

I'm still crushed that we lost in another painful collapse, but dammit...we may just have a great O-line in the making!!!!!

[Now That The Head Is Clear]

I don't consider it a moral victory. I consider it a great thing that we actually have an o line, a QB and a coordinator. There is a big difference in how a fan perceives the game and how a player perceives the game. I would NEVER want a player to consider this a good loss. As a fan, thank God this team is not as bad as everyone was predicting. I have seen far too many heartbreaking losses to ruin my day again...just won't do it

 

You can either get busy living or get busy dying. I will get busy living for a great tailgate on Sunday!

 

Amen brutha! I'm with ya!! Feel way better about the season today than I did 24 hours ago!!!!

[Why not Nick Harris at MLB?]

If Poz is gonna be out for awhile, I would love to see them try Nick Harris at MLB. We know he has the speed, range and instincts - the guy loves to run sideline to sideline and hit. In terms of size, here is the comparison per bb.com:

 

Harris: 6-2 232

Poz: 6-1 238

Buggs: 5-10 223

 

Size is not the issue. It makes a lot of sense to me, thoughts?

 

YES PLEASE! They need to get Harris on the field period! This guy is a hitter!!!

[Enough Whining....Who Watched the Oline?]

They got out there on screens and held blocks. None of the guys from last year can run like that. They played with balls.

 

I agree, It was STRANGE seeing big fast athletic lineman pulling and running out on those screens...I LIKEY!!!!

[Do u think Trent will actually throw it deep?]

You cant throw deep if the opposing defense is blitzing. Damn near impossible, especially with an inexperienced OL.

 

You have to throw deep to STOP them from blitzing...I think we've seen what happens when we don't throw deep...we get

our butts kicked...short zones and 8 in the da box...burn em deep and they'll back their asses off....guarantee it....keep both TE's in if you have to, max protect and throw deep to Lee and T.O.

[Urlacher Done for Season]

Didn't see it posted yet, but ESPN is reporting Urlacher is having surgery and is out for the season.

 

Wow!! That sucks for da Bears....ouch....

[Do u think Trent will actually throw it deep?]

i think we will see the bills go balls deep in new england all night long.....

 

i also think fred jackson is going to ram it down the pats* throat all night.

 

Man, I hope you're right!! It's soooooo overdue!!

[Do u think Trent will actually throw it deep?]

Running game and passing game obviously feed off each other. Let's hope TE going long and connecting will keep the Patsies defense on their heels opening up the running game for Jackson.

 

GO BILLS F' THE PATRIOTS

 

The main thing is attack those bastards! I HATED the way we went into foxborough last year, played like a bunch

of wussies with our tails tucked behind our legs! We were freaking 5-2 at the time and they had no Brady!! I blame that mostly on Jauron and his conservative BS! That's what (I hope) is great about him being on the Hot-Seat, he now is almost being FORCED to attack or he's gone! Of course, all he's done so far is TALK about attacking, let's see if he actually does it...I don't mind them losing if they at least play aggresive...That's how they almost beat them in Jauron's debut as Bills coach, ever since that game he's coached "not to lose" against the Pats.....

[Do u think Trent will actually throw it deep?]

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.

 

That's the problem, he won't have 5 seconds, but Lee and T.O. are both fast enough that he can just drop back and launch a rainbow (maybe 3 seconds) and those guys can run under it. I just think Belicheat is gonna flood the short zones and put eight guys in the box because Trent has become captain checkdown. Hell, it doesn't even have to be a bomb, even a deep seam route to the TE Nelson would be great....I do see you're point though, if Trent gets plastered early, it's over....

[Do u think Trent will actually throw it deep?]

I think they should call the deep ball early and give no options to Trent. It's just step back and throw long. If the receiver is double covered throw it away long. If the receiver is single covered throw a jump ball. And to make it simple , pick a receiver prior to the snap and go to him regardless.

 

I agree 100%!! There will be zero time to read the D, as I'm sure Belicheat will be blitzing his ass off...

God please let AVP be smart enough to call this! I'm really curious to see if the problem was really Turk or

just Trent being afraid to take the risk, no more excuses for Trent....put up or shut up time for him...

[Regardless of the Outcome Today]

With TB, NO and Cleveland at home and the Dolphins on the road, what do you think the chances are that the Bills are 3 and 2 after their first 5? I'd say it's like this:

 

5-0................. <1%

4-1................. 12%

3-2................. 43%

2-3................. 33%

1-4................. 9%

0-5................. 4%

 

We'll know more by 10 PM tonight but if they are at 2 or 3 wins after 5 games, they are still in it with a chance to be getting better throughout the rest of the season.

 

All depends on how this green offensive line looks tonight, if they perform reasonably well...I say 3-2 is possible,

if they look like the train-wreck that everybody is predicting, I say 1-4 and Dick's out the door (or close to it).....

[Do u think Trent will actually throw it deep?]

This is vital to me...we have to loosen them up or we are dead.

The key thing to me is, Trent needs to just drop back and let it fly deep to Owens or Lee.

He cannot and will not have time to sit back there and read the D.

This is what JP used to do with Lee Evans, just drop back and chunk it (mainly beacuse he COULDN'T read the D)...but it

worked for allot of long bombs!! I hope Van Pelt calls the deep ball...we have to set the tone and BE AGGRESSIVE! Like Dicky said when he fired Turk! Your thoughts....

[(7-9 x 3) AND 'TO' and still 'no respect ' around the]

early monday night the bills have little respect.

 

At the end of the night they will either leave with no respect -they get their butts handed to them-or they will win and go with a ton of respect and a lot of people on this board (ESPECIALLY ME) will have to admit they were wrong.

 

I wouldn't mind at all having to admit I was wrong. However I doubt if that is going to happen.

 

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be wrong....but reality finally set in with me late last year that Dick Jauron will

never be a winner and we are doomed until he leaves....again, I would LOVE to be wrong....

[Things are making a lot of sense now.......]

The no huddle offense was crappy because Walker was too fat??

 

ah, yeah. That's it. All better now.

 

We're gonna get killed.......

[(7-9 x 3) AND 'TO' and still 'no respect ' around the]

WTF... This team is getting zero respect. Maybe they should just not even show up on MNF. All the experts are saying 'Last place, no chance, crazy leadership'

 

They are NOT that bad of team and always play competitive. Now add TO and a little more emotion this year and let's see what happens.

 

They all have heard more than enough to get motivated.

 

If we beat the Pats for the first time in SIX YEARS, then we might get a little...until then...the critics ring true....