Lothar

Their line is underrated if you ask me. Allowed just 30 sacks - I know Trestman changed the offense to get the ball out of Cutler's hands quick but according to Marrone, the reason we really didn't send all out blitzes at the Bears is they did well against blitzing fronts last year. Forte is a stud but continuity and consistency from the Bears front is definitely a part of their running game's success.

Schwartz deliberately played guys off and forced Chicago to make lots of short throws with the idea that Cutler would eventually make mistakes. If you watched Marrone's PC, he said that watching film from last year, teams that blitzed did not have much luck against the Bears. This game should be different. I expect to see a page taken out of Pettine's defense on Sunday - lots of Robey and corner blitzes if we aren't getting enough pressure with the front 4.

Point taken. But our OL is definitely better than it was too, especially on the edges. And bigger. If you're counting on your defense to disrupt our offense more than the other way around, especially in Buffalo, I think you may be in for a surprise.

Also as Yolo pointed out in the shout box: Wake had 1 tackle and 1 QB Hit in the 1st meeting last year. Mario had 3 TFL, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits. In the 2nd game, Wake had 3 tackles, 0 sacks and 0 QB hits.Mario had 1 TFL, 1 sack and 1 QB hit. Now tell me again who should be more worried?

That's a reasonable expectation from a Dolphin backer. Starks and Odrick are good. Better than Kyle and Dareus? No. Wake and Vernon are probably equal to Williams and Hughes. Whose lines are really better? And the mismatches between your d-line and our o-line are almost identical when switched. Playing at home also gives that fractional advantage for the offense. If this game were in Miami, I'd maybe think differently. I still say that surprise 5-2 look and the heat were the main reasons for the Pats* collapse. The Bills are gonna have to chip and give Seantrel a little help all day even if he's a better tackle than James. But then conversely, James will be going up against Hughes and not Ninkovich so the Dolphins will need to help him as well. I also think our back 7 is definitely deeper and more talented than yours. The one advantage you have may have is at QB but the problem Tannehill has had with accuracy is not completely solved by Lazor's offense either. And our secondary is better than the Pats* ... or yours. Not surprisingly, because I'm a Bills fan, I think our offense will wear down your defense. We'll see whose week 1 performance was closer to a mirage.

Good point about Nigel being back. I think that takes away the tight end mismatch. Also, I really like Robey's blitzes - he just seems to hide behind the line and and suddenly pop up into the backfield. I look for him to have a disruptive day in both coverage and rushing.

I didn't get to watch the Bills game live out here on the west coast but I did just watch the coaches film on nfl rewind of both the Bills and Dolphins games. Here's what stood out to me. 1. Our offenses are more than just a little similar. Lots of misdirection to try and freeze the linebackers, a somewhat inconsistent, but hopefully improving QB at the helm mixed with taking a couple sporadic shots downfield. Cordy =Albert, I don't care who has the bigger name and Seantrel's at least as good as their rookie right tackle. Their guards may be a little better right now but Woody's better than their backup. 2. Defensively, Wake and Vernon played havoc with the Pats* o-line. Soldier looked lost in the second half trying to keep Wake contained. Again, I see Mario and Hughes as very similar to what the Dolphins have on D. The difference in the lines is we have penetrating DTs in Kyle and Dareus and their inside guys are solid but not nearly as explosive. While I was impressed with the Dolphins performance in the second half, I think some of their success can be explained by (a) the heat just wore down the interior of the Pats* defense - I mean Wilfork was getting pushed around by the backup center, kinda ridiculous like, and (b) pretty much every successful play the Pats* had in the second half was called back by a penalty, a blow to the head by Chandler Jones after a 3rd down incompletion deep in their own zone, a holding call after Vereen took it for 25 yards down the sideline, an offensive pass interference wiping out a 20 yard gain as Brady had them driving for the lead (I was just shocked they called it even if it was obvious), just to name a few. What also seemed abundantly clear to me was that Gronk is just a shell of his old self at the moment, still a tough SOB but running and cutting as though his feet were in molasses. Edelman was their only real threat. Either the Miami DBs have gotten immensely better or Lafell and the other wideouts are pretty much incompetent. I'm not sure which is more true at the moment. I think we just flat out have better receivers than New England so that gives me a lot of hope that with a week to prepare for the 5-2 front, if we can get any blocking at all, we should be more successful. The pressure made Brady gun shy and all his intermediate to deep throws in the second half were off target. I'm willing to give some of that credit to Miami but playing at home in 95 degree heat accounted for a good chunk of the Pats* ineptitude in the second half. The biggest difference to me in New England now is that they're missing their best run-stopper and conveniently enough, he will be the difference against Knoshon Moreno when we meet on Sunday. To be honest, I was more worried about the Dolphins before I watched the tape than after. The game might even be close but if EJ takes care of the ball, and in front of a raucous home crowd celebrating the news of the past week, I have a hard time figuring out how we lose this game. I know the pundits think Miami is 3 points better than us, largely based on how inept we looked in the preseason (and oh yes, our past history) but the fact that our offenses look so similar means it'll come down to defense and a couple big plays. Spiller and Jackson and Watkins and Woods vs Moreno and Miller and Wallace and Clay. I like our chances Especially at home.

It's just too bad they didn't bring Colin Brown in ... The New York Jets worked out several free agents Tuesday, including two veteran guards -- Doug Legursky (most recently of the Buffalo Bills) and Jeff Baca (Minnesota Vikings). Legursky, a five-year vet, started 11 games last season for the Bills. Baca was a sixth-round pick of the Vikings in 2013.

Murph said they pretty much played zone all game long, which is partly why Chicago got all those short completions on us.

I am so glad we didn't pick Ebron. The reports out of Detroit have not been good with regard to his hands - and that's the same thing I read in scouting reports - how often he dropped the ball is high for a supposed elite tight end. In retrospect Shazier might have been the best pick.

Glad we get some tape on this - that's a good D-line they have. Also, it shows Philbin and company prepped for adjustments, something I think the AFCE coaches have been lacking in when trying to come with alternate plans to defeat the Pats*. I was watching the game and the in the 2nd half, Brady was just shaking his head on the sideline looking at the pictures, like how had no idea how to beat that D. Also noticed that Gronk looked kinda big and slow for this first game. And what's REALLY impressive about the Dolphins' use of the 5-2 is they saved it for 2nd half, blind siding Belichick & Brady. 2 game plans 22 minutes ago OmarKelly Omar Kelly And you'll be pleased to know Cameron Wake's first sack came in the new 5-2 look, which was installed last week BEFORE LBer injuries.

JamesWalkerNFL James Walker #Dolphins HC Joe Philbin said LB Dannell Ellerbe will be on IR and the team will sign Kelvin Sheppard. Wow. Dolphins stymied the Pats O despite question marks at linebacker. This should be interesting.

I get that a lot of the season rides on EJ but his claim that we'll be worse than last year seems far-fetched since most pundits think we have a pretty solid set of starters. The late reaction to nab Orton I view as a positive based on last year's backups not progressing throughout training camp. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-season-predictions-bottom-eight-teams/ Best-Case Scenario: Orton takes over for Manuel after learning the playbook and plays like a perfectly average starting quarterback, while Watkins and C.J. Spiller form a pair of devastating big-play specialists. Schwartz gets enough out of the pass rush for Buffalo to go 9-7 and produce its first winning season since 2004. Worst-Case Scenario: The defense collapses after losing two stars, and the Bills spend the entire season going back and forth between a disappointing Manuel and an uninterested Orton while Watkins struggles through a series of nagging injuries. Buffalo eventually hands Cleveland the first overall pick in the 2015 draft. I'm willing to see how we do through game 11. If we're not in positive territory (at least 6-5 in terms of wins), then we're probably extending our playoff-less streak with the gauntlet of teams we finish against. But if EJ somehow raises his game to an Alex Smith level, I can definitely see us riding that momentum to a playoff spot. That said, I don't expect we'll do real well against Chicago. It's strength against strength (Bears pass O vs Buff pass D) and weakness against weakness (our offense against their defense) and somehow even in a nearly best case scenario, I see the home team winning a close one. But I've been wrong plenty of times. We just have to hold serve in our division and steal a couple roadies in conference.

Ha ha - you said they do show prep ... not unless it's watching cat videos.

And there you go. It's because he'd be a good mentor.

It was supposed to be "block from behind" but it was still a bad call.

Jordan Palmer just lost Bears' backup job to Clausen. And just got released. Could he be a vet who helps EJ, especially against our week 1 opponent?

Personally, I don't think drafting another mid round qb is a panacea to the problems we see. I would have liked to see a vet brought in though. I'm guessing they thought their current backups would show progress from a "not horrible" performance last year (given conditions) but that's definitely a mark against them. I'm thinking Whaley's on the phone or scanning the waiver wire even now to get someone remotely competent as a backup. And for better or worse, they drafted EJ as a project qb so they're responsible for the progress he makes. I just hope it's quick enough or we'll be starting over. Again.

Oh jeez, give it up, dude! We get it. You're a great seer who was able to divine the team's collapse from an incident at training camp. It's not your opinion people find offensive, it's the incessant gloating over a mostly innocuous dust up after the longest training camp in recent memory. Who knows? By the end of the season, we may look back at events from this week as the catalyst for a playoff season. Who knows? Not I. Nor you.

How can you possibly say that? He juggled 2 rookies and a 2nd year 3rd stringer at the most important position on the team. He dealt with injuries to both top backs and didn't have a functional left guard the whole season. Personally, I think Hackett did a decent job given the situation and not trying to put too much on the inexperienced QBs. EJ appears to be progressing decently thru the offseason and preseason to me and if that continues, our O should be in the middle of the league rankings. If not, well, it could be a lost season - but I actually feel better about the toughness and makeup of this team than those of the last decade. Admittedly, we haven't made the playoffs in the last 14 years ...

Oh come on, a Bears fan comes in here and makes some respectful points about fanbases and their optimism and we get all defensive. Let's not get carried away by our own team's promise just yet. I like our chances but could very well see their offense overwhelm us - especially with a new scheme and missing Bradham.

I think Peterson is over rated by many on this board. He's a great athlete, but he gets burned as often as he makes plays. The difference between him and the truly elite like Revis, Talib, and yes, Sherman, is that they do shut down the opposing best receiver. Peterson is just as likely to give up a big play by overreacting to a setup move. Check the stats. He's NOT a shutdown corner. He does make some spectacular plays but good QBs are not afraid to go after him, maybe one of the reasons he sees more passes come his way than the truly elite. The one advantage he offers is his ability in the return game. I'd venture in 3 years, Gilmore will be closer to Revis than Peterson.

Interesting discussion between Dameshek and Jeremiah - essentially stating what we all know - that "you compare rosters across the league and the Bills look favorable on 21 of 22 positions". Also they've seen that we've got some rook wideout who might turn out ok. http://davedameshek.nfl.com/2014/07/28/ddfp-278-daniel-jeremiah-michael-fabiano/ To summarize the 7 minutes of discussion (it's the first segment of the podcast), if the ground game gets going and EJ can throw more than just quick slants, they like our chances.

"The Bills are building something. It’s not all the way there, and it tends to hurt losing players such asJairus Byrd and coaches such as Mike Pettine, but I believe this is a playoff-caliber roster. If — and it’s a big if — Manuel steps up. The system is there. They’ll run up-tempo again, maybe even faster than they were in early 2013, and another year at that pace can help Manuel. They have three running backs capable of handling/sharing the load now with Bryce Brown in the mix. Sammy Watkins makes the receivers so much more dangerous. No great tight end, but I think the O-line is respectable, with a few questions (left guard and right tackle might be weak spots). The defense is a strong unit that finished No. 9 in yards allowed last season. The defensive line has the makings of a very good unit again. The linebackers are strong, and Kiko Alonso could be a huge producer with his move to the “Will.” The secondary lacks anything resembling star power but is a lot cast with solid football players — a younger, slightly stronger version of what the Panthers had on the back end last season, let’s say." http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/shutdown-corner-s-overrated-and-underrated--2014-afc-story-lines-172451729.html Nothing new here ... but people are noticing the quality of the roster. And it's all about EJ's development this season.

I'll play along. How 'bout "Sa(y)- w(h)at?!!" after each jaw dropping play