pafan

To be fair, you shouldn't call someone out for deflecting. You were asked point blank what a player would have to say to make you question the coaching staff and you answered with a question. Why does it have to be exclusive? Could it possibly be that we have a few less-than-intelligent players and a few poor-fit players who have gotten frustrated because they just aren't meshing with what's required of them in this defense AND we have a coach who was given too much rope and it's causing issues behind the scenes/in the booth/on the sidelines? I think you're right in hounding the player aspect, but you're ignoring half the problem by doing so. To me, this is asymptomatic of the entire organization not being in a good spot.

The play (defensive) was broken because it was poorly designed.

Rex/Greg/Dennis/Danny have combined to form a mess of a coaching staff. This goes beyond injuries, players not fitting a scheme, players giving up, discord with Whaley, or any of the other valid/invalid issues on the field...

Wow, Woods could have seriously been hurt there.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been saying this for a long time. Buffalo has avoided the natural ebb-and-flow of the league thanks to continually finding bandaids that allow them to maintain a .500 record. I'm tired of seeing this franchise be just good enough to get 7, 8, or maybe 9 wins and yet have no realistic shot at hanging with quality playoff teams. Being just good enough to squeak in, just to end the drought, will be meaningless in the long run. Depends on who you ask. Some fans will say the Bills have rebuilt 17 times in the last 16 years.

Yeah! It sucks that we didn't draft that stud QB because we had Tyr... I mean, it sucks that we didn't pick up that stud FA QB because we had Tyr... Wait, I mean, it sucks that we left that stud backup QB sit on the bench because we had Tyr... Nobody's annointing Tyrod as the franchise savior. What he is is the best QB on this roster right now, and a guy that's going to go into next year as the starter if they don't draft a better QB or a better FA QB comes along. You can make that argument about every position on the team. This o-line and d-line need revamped, our linebacking and safety corp need revamped, we need depth all around, we need a kicker, we need a receiver to put opposite Sammy, we need to get disciplined, we need to fix whatever it is that's causing our special teams play to get carved up for yardage, we need an offensive identity... Tyrod's one of many, many issues on this team, yes, but he's far from being the biggest issue.

I had a long post written out but it comes down to this: we're stuck in an average rut, just spinning our wheels and throwing dirt everywhere. It's getting us nowhere. There are teams who, due to smart drafting, not going nuts with FAs, and a bit of luck when it comes to injuries, look at 7-9 or 8-8 as a down year. That's our peak for these past 15 years. We need to stop bringing in free agents who help us maintain a .500 record. We need to allow the natural ebb and flow of the game to bottom us out at 2-14 or 3-13 so that we can build a winner. While I'm at it, is it just me, or is it because I really don't pay as much attention to other teams, but does it seem like we're always battling the injury bug when other teams maybe only get bit once a decade?

Welcome to the club. I'm 35, so I had a good run with this team as a kid and then a downhill slide once I reached my teens. Being a fan of the Bills means that you own the feelings of anger, disappointment, confusion, joy, heartache, hope, frustration, and togetherness that comes with the territory, and it means that you care. A lot.

Thems fightin' words!

Pink Fountain in Depew.

Using your train of thought you should be complaining about having to give up a draft pick for every player the Bills drafted in their original positioning, then. It makes no sense. As to other posters comparing Sammy to the list of HOF wide recievers... Montana. Young. Manning. Pre-2013 Schaub. Stafford. Sammy's never had anyone even remotely close to those guys throwing to him.

I wasn't happy with the refs today. A few bad calls (protecting their punter but not ours, calling Hughes offside but not calling a delay of game, etc.) allowed the Colts to gain some momentum and stay in the game longer than they should have.

It's tough to hold the front office accountable when they really didn't have any even average options. This has been rehashed a thousand times but their options were Matt Moore (who I preferred over, but feel is equivalent to, Cassel), a bunch of retreads (Hoyer/Hill/Ponder/Schaub/Flynn), and Taylor's potential. They didn't pass over a sure-thing in the draft, no sure-thing was on the trading block, and even if they put a package together to grab Winston we'd be reading 500 doom & gloom threads right this very second seeing as how he just spent the better part of the day throwing balls at his receiver's feet.

We make the two hour drive, get to Ted's as soon as they open, have a hotdog & a Loganberry, then park & walk up to the gate just as it opens because we love spending pregame in Row 1. Sometimes you get to talk to Bills players, sometimes you get to insult the opponent, sometimes you get to chat with a coach or celebrity... Regardless, you get a good closeup of the team during warmups, and my wife and I absolutely look forward to it as part of our "gameday experience". One of these days we want to actually get onto the field before the game. That would be incredible.

If I'm going to a game: drive up early honking at other cars on the interstate that fly Bills flags and/or at people in cars wearing Bills jerseys. Go to Teds on Union right as they open for a footlong with onion, mustard, hot sauce and a pickle, a Loganberry shake and a small fry - or onion rings if I'm feeling particularly frisky. No need to eat at the stadium after that. Then it's time to spend an hour or so walking around Abbott watching the early morning drunks, then we'll spend an hour fighting the crowds inside the Bills store so that my wife can buy something overpriced, and finally we'll get in line just as the gates are opened. We have way too much fun standing in the first row and chatting with the Bills (if they're chatty that day) while they practice and/or heckling the other team. It's been that way for every game we've gone to, blue sky, rain or snow. If we're watching the game at home: drink beer, watch the first half, drink beer and make nachos, watch the second half, drink some more.