folz

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad...And there's no one anywhere who seems to know what to do about it. And there's no end to it...We know things are bad, worse than bad, they're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller. And all we say is 'please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms.' Well I'm not going to leave you alone, I want you to get mad. I don't want you to protest; I don't want you to riot; I don't want you to write to your congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write...all I know is that first you've got to get mad! You've got to say, I'm a human being goddamn it! My life has value! So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore! I want you to get up right now. Sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" -Network

To step away from the fire/save Hackett debate for a moment... Props to Boobie Dixon...he may not have had success running the ball, but Jeremy's All-22 showed me why Boobie will probably continue to get the majority of the snaps until Fred gets back. And it's not because Bryce missed that giant hole. It's because Anthony does all of the things that don't show up in the stats, as coaches are known to say, but are very important for success. You can see it in the videos on the All-22 review. A few examples: On the nice pass to Woods, Boobie runs hard out of the backfield, cuts to his left maybe 2 or 3 yards past the line of scrimmage (10 yards in front of Robert), and throws his hand up as if to say I'm open. The play isn't going to him and he knows it. But his actions draw the LB down to cover him, opening the front of the hole in the zone for Woods to slip into. And now there is no LB for Kyle to throw over. This was a nice play, with Sammy taking the top off the zone by running a fly pattern on the same side. On Woods' touchdown, a Jets LB is coming on the blitz. There is a big hole in the line, yet he inexplicably tries to go around one of his teammates (who is being well blocked) to the other side. He gets tangled up there, taking himself out of the play. Why would he do that, I thought. Then I watched the play again and you can see Boobie coming from the left of the screen, with a full head of steam for the hole. To me, at least, it looked like the LB wanted no part of Boobie. On the bomb to Sammy from their own goalpost, you can't see him finish his block, but you can see him throwing himself into the fray with the big bodies. Bryce will get his carries, no doubt, and I hope he does well for both the Bills and my fantasy team, but Boobie will probably continue to be out there more---more so for what he does without the football in his hands.

I was at the game today too, not far from the chicken winged, drag Bills fan. He was hilarious...every time the Bills scored he did high kicks for each point they had...he was probably the happiest man in the stadium when Carpenter missed that extra point and he only had to do 43 high kicks in a row, rather than 44. By the end, he looked winded, leaning on a railing in order to finish out his 43 kicks. Unfortunately no video, but I did take a quick pic of him during a down moment. (Apparently photo is too large to attach...not sure how else to post it)

Seriously... He says it will be tough for the Bills in the 2nd half of the season because they face only 2 teams with losing records. As if that is vastly different than the only 3 teams with losing records we faced in the first half of the season. He then says the Bills have no convincing wins except for the two convincing wins they do have. Yes, the team isn't there yet (as far as being a definite contender), but no mention that the D is one of the best in the league, etc. Just look at how bad their offense is and they've been lucky to win the games they've won.

I don't know if it's come together yet, but they could be on their way. I expected that this would be a team that got better as the year went on (whether it be the progression of EJ or now with Orton getting more comfortable with the playbook and receivers---and because it's still a young team). Now, of course, we have O-line issues we have to work on and that could be our downfall if it doesn't get worked out, but we also have better things too. Yes, in years past, this is a game we should win and would lose. But we now have depth. Last couple of years if we lose CJ and Fred...put an L in the loss column. Now we have Bryce and Boobie. Kyle W goes down for a couple of games and Charles and Winn come in and play well, etc. How many seasons in a row were we hit with the injuries and we didn't have a capable replacement (Justin Rodgers, et al.) and we'd lose a few games and be out of contention. We also have more competent QB play (than the triumvirate of EJ, Thad, and Tuel from last year---no knock on EJs potential to become a good QB in the future). And we can stop the run this year (Vikings game excluded). If we can take this game and go into the bye at 5-3, that will be huge for the overall confidence and belief of a young team. They'll have time to make some adjustments during the bye and maybe get on a roll after it. And the division is by no means out of reach. On the John Murphy show the other day, he kept saying that the Pats have a game on us and the tiebreaker. But if we beat the Pats in the second match-up, then there goes their game lead and their tiebreaker. So, we have to keep pace with the Pats in the meantime. If we're really thinking playoffs, then we need to be able to beat the Pats and get them of our backs. So, I think this game is very important. Take it and we can get on a roll and have the confidence to beat a Green Bay at home or the Pats in Foxboro later in the season. Lose and it's the same old Bills for another year. I'm nervous about the game as so many others because of recent history, but we should win this game from a talent/record perspective and something tells me this team is not the same old Bills (despite what happened in the Pats or Vikings game).

Watching EJ in week 3 against San Diego reminded me of when the Phantom Menace came out. I went to the first midnight show all excited and walked out, trying to convince myself that I liked it, it wasn't so bad. Only a week later (week 4 for EJ) having to admit to myself that it actually sucked. I like the kid, he's trying and putting in the effort, but it's just not there (at least not yet). After the last two weeks, I think there was really no choice but for Marrone to pull him. You're doing the rest of the team a disservice, as Marrone said, if you're not giving your team the best chance to win. I could accept EJ making some bad plays when under pressure with his receivers well covered. But he was missing wide open plays with no pressure on him. Sure Houston had a lot of early pressure and again when the Bills were playing catch up. But during a good chunk of the game, he had a decent pocket and his guys were getting open and he was missing them badly. There was no pressure on the pick 6, he just telegraphed it. It felt like his head wasn't in the game. We should have had a much larger lead early on and he was given every opportunity to make a comeback. Even if the comeback attempt was at least a good effort but fell short, a lot may have been forgiven, but like most of his passes on Sunday, it was not even close. If EJ is smart, he'll learn from guys like Freddie, Corey Graham, and even Orton that nothing is handed to you in the NFL, you have to earn it. So, if he works his butt off and doesn't give up, he'll get another shot somewhere down the road. If he doesn't, then he was never going to have the mental fortitude to be a true starting QB anyhow. So, I'll root for Kyle to make us a better football team now and I'll continue to root for EJ to keep progressing in the wings.

I put this game on the coaching staff. If almost every player has a bad day, then it's probably not the players, but the plan that didn't work (unless you're just playing a far superior team, which I don't think San Diego is... they're better than us right now, but not unbeatable). Yes, there were plays to be had that the players didn't execute and they're not forgiven for that, and EJ definitely did not look good today (made some big mistakes), but really, the coaches got out-coached by the San Diego staff. In the first half, SD knew exactly where to exploit. They knew we were going to key on Gates and they were ready for it, throwing a lot of swing passes and dump offs and because we were shading Gates, those 3 or 4 yard plays were gaining 10-12 yards. That, plus runs to the edges, helped neutralize our pass rush and D-Line. Preston Brown was a huge liability today in the intermediate passing game and that was another area that Rivers exploited often in the first half. Yet Buffalo left him in there, running 5 yards behind the guys he was supposed to be covering. (I don't blame the player, he's a rookie in his third game, left doing something he obviously isn't yet comfortable with or doesn't fit his skill set.) And how late in the game was it before Schwartz started sending extra pressure? Marrone played a conservative game again. Last week it worked, today it didn't. Not giving your team a chance to get points before the half is too conservative when you're being thoroughly outplayed. And they waited too long to give EJ a chance to open it up, when we clearly were going to have to start passing the ball to have a chance to win. It might not have helped, if EJ was just off today, but I'd rather go down swinging. Hacket, et al., need to figure out how to use CJ and Fred better...their rotation is often puzzling. And how about trying Boobie or Bryce on first downs if you're going to run up the gut every time. EJ is hooked on throwing balls high and letting his guys go after it, but the coaches have to get him to bring those balls down. He's overthrowing and going to get his receivers killed. And why didn't the Bills do the same thing with Sammy that SD did with Gates. Use Sammy as the decoy (after his big game last week) and set the game up to go through Woods, Chandler, and Williams on short, quick passes. The adjustments just came too late from the coaching staff today when the original game plan wasn't working. Having said all of that, this is a young team that is still growing (including the coaching staff). I always expected this team to get better as the year went on. So, being 2-1 against three good teams is not a bad start. We all probably just expected too much too soon after all the emotion of last week. They've just got to learn from this game and then put it behind them. I still Billeve!

Yes, that's EJ's house. A few months ago, flipping through the channels on the TV, I came across a "House Hunters" style show (probably on HGTV) and EJ was on it looking to buy a house in Buffalo (I think he rented last season). He had his parents with him and they saw three properties...a house in Orchard Park, a swank downtown apartment, and a townhouse or attached (row) house in Orchard Park, literally, almost next to the "Ralph". EJ said a number of times that the most important thing was being close to the stadium. But when they saw the swank downtown loft with high ceilings, exposed brick, lighting, decor...I mean it was the perfect bachelor pad, EJ and his mom were very impressed. They loved it. It seemed a no brainer. Yet EJ chose the attached house right near the stadium. It's nice...but just kind of an average looking house. I'm telling you, as if we didn't already know, this kid is all in. He's doing everything in his power to become the QB that we want him to be. His parents seemed really nice too and the kind of people that are making sure that EJ stays humble, makes the right decisions, works hard, etc. Good family.

Eric Wood's forearm of death! Beware all blitzing linebackers!

I was a little bored yesterday waiting for opening day, so I edited together a 2014 season "pump up" video in old-school, NFL-Films style. So, if you've got 12 minutes sometime before the game and want to get pumped up for the season, then take a look. Hope you enjoy! GO BILLS!

Great post Yolo... It's preseason, so they're giving everyone an opportunity to take the next step...maybe they're thinking that Hogan is more of a traditional slot guy than Woods, so he's going to get the chance to take that job. And if he ends up beating out Woods at the slot, doesn't that just mean he is better at that position...which is a good thing. Also, who knows how they are really planning on using Sammy. He's not just going to run fly patterns. There will be screens and plays over the middle, etc. Which could mean that at times Sammy would play slot and you could sit Hogan and play Woods outside. Plus, there will be plenty of times when they put 4 receivers out there and there are also injuries. So, you want to have multiple options for any formation. Which all means that there will still be plenty of balls for Robert (provided EJ and the O-line play well) whether he is first man in the slot or not. And he's too good not to have on the field, so he'll get his playing time wherever it is. If Hogan can capably handle the slot, that's good because then the offense has so many options with different personnel groupings. So, I wouldn't read too much into it yet. They know what Robert can do and he already has good chemistry with EJ. The other three need more time, experience, reps with EJ.

What he said! I too never understood the hatred for Stevie...I wish him nothing but good luck with his new team. He was a good Bill!

THANKS RALPH!

My thoughts and prayers are with you Jim!

Some posters act like it's easy to just go out and grab an elite TE in free agency...it isn't. There are 32 teams in the league and only a small handful of elite TEs (maybe 5-6 of them) and teams tend to hold on to those guys. Now, by no means with this post am I saying Scott is up there with the elite guys, but someone said (rather than compare him to past Bills TEs) compare him to his peers. OK In 2 of the last 3 years Chandler was top 10 in TDs (7th and 8th). He had a down year last year, but think of who was throwing the ball to him. Last year he was 13th in receptions and 12th in yards (despite the low TD total). The year before (2012) he was 14th in yards. Percentage of catches to targets for the last 3 years compared to some elite guys: Chandler caught 65% of the balls thrown to him in 2013, 58% in 2012, and 82% in 2011. Graham caught 58% of the balls thrown to him in 2013, 62% in 2012, and 66% in 2011. Gronk caught 59% in 2013, 69% in 2012, and 72% in 2011 And yes, his fumble in the Atlanta game was huge, but he averages 1.3 fumbles per season. So, let's put to rest the "he can't hang on to the ball myth." And let's not forget, for as good as those elite TEs actually are, some of them also have a certain advantage: Gronk, Hernandez (Brady) Graham (Brees) D. Clark, J. Thomas (Manning) A. Gates (Rivers) Witten (Romo) Chandler (Fitz, Manuel, Thad, Tuel) Tony G. is probably the only elite guy that has done it without stellar QB play (although Flynn over the last 2 years isn't too shabby) And then there is opportunity. While Chandler was targeted 81 times last year, Graham was targeted 142 times, Gonzales 120 times, Witten 111 times, J. Cameron 118 times, A. Gates 113 times. If Scott had 30 to 60 more targets, his numbers would be a lot better. Again, by no means am I saying he is or ever will be elite, like some of those guys, but over the last 3 years he has probably hovered around the 12th to 15th best TE in the league (by stats). And what if he had Brady or Manning throwing to him instead? He'd probably be higher than that. Everyone would love an elite TE, but how many of those 10 or so guys significantly better than Chandler were actually available to upgrade with for next season? If we didn't resign Chandler, our TE position would definitely have been worse next year. Every position on the team can't have an elite pro-bowler, no team can afford that, so don't knock those solid guys in the top half or third of their position, we need them. Anyhow...very happy to see most people are positive on this resigning. Glad to have you back Scott!

Small correction: “Et tu” (pronounced: a too, with a long a like in "day') means “And you” But I totally agree with your point. Obviously Marrone sees something in Hackett, but also understands that he is still young and learning, so he brought guys in who have experience to help Hackett progress. But that doesn’t diminish what Hackett brings to the table or that he isn’t still the head man, he just has some senior advisors now (like a President often has) to help him get better faster and to have someone to lean on when he needs some advice.

I still don't understand Bills fans (and I know that, surprisingly, there are a lot of them out there) who don't think Marv should be in the HOF. I really hope you/they read my entire post even though it is long. First of all, if it weren't for Marv (who was a former ST coach and focused a lot of practice time and know how to Special Teams) Tasker wouldn't have been the player he was. And as they always say, leadership starts at the top...if it is a major feat/accomplishment for a team to reach 4 Superbowls in a row, does the head man not get credit for that too? Any of his players will tell you that his talks and quotes from other great leaders, poetry, or just straight up Marvisms were totally motivating to the team. He was like Vince Lombardi in that sense (without the hardware of course). He helped build that family mentality and the perseverance that allowed that team to keep coming back and never give up. From most accounts, Marv was right in there in the planning of the K-Gun, but even if he had nothing to do with it concept-wise, he still made the decision to run it and run with it. He allowed his QB to call the plays. That was innovation. But, I know, it always comes down to the Superbowls though doesn't it? First of all, if Norwood's kick is two feet to the left he would have a ring. But, ok that didn't happen...yet, they lost by 1 point to two HOF coaches (in Parcells and Belicheck) and the NYG defensive game plan for that game is actually in the HOF...acknowledging that it was one of the greatest game plans ever...and still they only lost by 1 point. Superbowl XXVI, I still don't understand what happened against the Redskins, but once again the game was against another HOF coach. The 3rd and 4th Superbowls that team just willed themselves there...but they just weren't as good of a team at that point and lost to a bigger, better team with a coach who will also probably make the HOF. I mean Gibbs and Parcells are two of the greatest coaches ever. And let's not forget that just 5 weeks before that first Superbowl in week 15, the Bills beat that same Giants (Parcells/Belechick) team in the Meadowlands in a similarly hard-fought 17-13 win. So, it's not like he was out of his league (as some like to claim) being badly out coached. Against two HOF coaches that year, a 4 point win and a 1 point loss. The other excuse is that he was just lucky to have good players. What Lombardi, Gibbs, Parcells, Belechick, Shula, Landry, Knoll, Stramm, Walsh, etc. didn't have good players? Not only did he reach 4 Superbowls in the NFL, he also took his Montreal team to the CFL Grey Cup 3 times (out of only 5 years), winning two of them (with an entirely different team of course). Yes, he actually won two championships. I know the CFL doesn't count for the NFL HOF, but if you are saying he only won because of the players, his CFL wins say he could still win with different players. People may point to his unsuccessful run in Kansas City. He took over a horrible 2-12 team and they improved their record every year under Marv to a 9-7 record in his 4th year. His 5th and last year in KC was the strike of 1982 where half the season was cancelled and Marv was fired at the end of that year. The Chiefs, as an organization, were simply a mess at that time. Regarding that point, over the next 7 years (post Marv) the team only had 1 winning season (4 years after Marv was gone) and that stretch also included two 4 win seasons and two 6 win seasons. So, he didn't do that bad with what he had in KC. Marv had a 17-6 record against the winningest coach in NFL History (Shula) One of only 14 coaches to have more than 100 wins with one team One of only two coaches to appear in both a Superbowl and a Grey Cup (Bud Grant was the other) The only coach to guide his team to 4 Super Bowls in a row Even ESPN, who we hate, right? have him ranked as the 17th best NFL coach ever His 204 wins (NFL/CFL) ranks 7th all-time; when he retired he was the 10th winningest coach (NFL wins only) In a 9-year span, he had a record of 97-47, with 6 Division titles, 8 playoff appearances, and 4 AFC titles He was NFL Coach of the Year once and AFC Coach of the Year 3 times "Where would you rather be than right here, right now? "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us!" "Fight on, my men, Sir Andrew said. A little I'm hurt but not yet slain. I'll just lie down and bleed a while and then I'll rise and fight again." (from a Scottish ballad) Marv is and deserves to be a Hall of Famer...no question in my mind.

CONGRATULATIONS ANDRE!!!!!!!!!!! Should have been in before Carter and Irvin, but that doesn't matter now...he's a HOFer! Most deserving...no one went over the middle like Andre! The comeback game! 4 Super Bowls! There was never a question that he SHOULD be in! Congrats to Ray Guy also (also well deserved)...and as others have said, there was no way they could induct Tasker before Guy. Let the Tasker campaigning commence. Cheers Andre!

I'm not saying this is the case, but maybe (despite how bad Crossman was), they don't want to fire him until they know they can secure someone better. Crossman stinks, but he has a certain amount of experience, etc. So, you want to make sure the next guy will be a definite upgrade, rather than fire Crossman immediately and end up with someone worse. Hilliard was a young coach in a lesser position, they know they can do better there. I'm sure there are a ton of good WR coaches out there, but probably fewer really good ST coaches. So, maybe Crossman will still be let go, but only after they have a commitment from a better coach.

How many years did we complain about the front office, saying they were just spinning their wheels, because we would let good players go and then have to replace them while we already had other holes on the team. Now fans want to create new holes by trading some of our best players away? What would this team look like without Freddy, CJ, and Stevie? Oh right, we'll just draft 3 rookies who will out-produce these guys in their first year, no problem right? Do you know how bad a high-ankle sprain can be? It keeps some players out all year, that's what CJ has been running on all year. Stevie will have a whole offseason for he and EJ to get better acclimated, and Freddy is just a beast, injuries or not. We probably have fewer holes to fill this off-season than we've had in 10 years. Let's fill as many as we can, not create new ones.

"1/3 of abused children will eventually victimize their own children"

With one argument about Graham being "he drops passes" vs. "He's open but not getting the ball," I decided to look at receptions against targets for each receiver on the team: T. J. Graham 18 (recs) 46 (targets) = 39% (success) M. Goodwin 16 30 = 53% S. Johnson 52 100 = 52% R. Woods 36 75 = 48% This season T.J. is only completing 39% of the plays thrown to him while the other 3 are all hovering around 50% Of course, this doesn't take into account the QB's throw, but over enough throws, you would think each receiver gets his share of good and bad throws. And again to compare Graham and Goodwin, T.J. with 16 more targets has exactly 2 recs and 11 yards more than Goodwin (and yet 2 fewer TDs). Goodwin should be getting more time and targets than Graham going forward and I think we'll start seeing that these last two games and on into next year. And Marquise can fly btw (just look at my avatar).

I have no doubt that Russ has done a lot of good things for this franchise, at least marketing-wise, etc. to keep us viable in such a small market. But an organization will always put the PR spin onto certain issues for certain reasons. I remember the organization talking about how expanding the Bills market/brand to Rochester was huge (after moving camp to St. John Fisher). Yet I grew up in Rochester in the 70s and 80s (years before Russ) and everyone was already a Bills fan (outside of those couple of friends who didn't want to be like everyone else, and so they became Dolphins fans). I went to tons of games at Rich Stadium and I-90 was bumper to bumper traffic from Buffalo to Rochester after the games...all Bills fans. So, I was a little dubious when they patted themselves on the back for gaining Rochester as part of the Bills market...it already was. But, as much as I hate losing a game to Toronto each year, if it keeps the Bills in the region, by bringing in the Canadian fans, I guess we can't really complain about it.

Sacks: Bills 37 (11 games) KC 36 (10 games) Ravens 34 (10 games) Bengals 34 (11 games) Seahawks 33 (11 games) Pats, NO, Rams 32 (10 games) So, if KC gets 2 sacks (possible) or Ravens get 4 sacks (less likely) we would fall to #2 Bengals and Seahawks have not had their byes yet either and I don't see the Pats, NO, or Rams getting 6 sacks in a game. So after our Bye, we'll still most likely be #1 or #2. INTS Bills 16 (11 games) Seahawks 16 (11 gms) Cards 14 (10 gms) Panthers 14 (10 gms) Bears 14 (10 gms) Broncos 13 (10 gms) Dolphins 13 (10 gms) Eagles 13 (11 gms) So, we only fall off the perch if the Cards, Panthers, or Bears have 3 INTs this Sunday or Broncos or Dolphins get 4 INTs this Sunday.

When I was young, QBs came into the league and sat for 2 or 3 years before they ever saw the field (except for rare occasions). I know it's a different league now, but I just don't understand people's impatience with rookies of any position. A rookie comes in and if he's not a pro bowler by mid-season of his rookie year, fans now are ready to label him a bust and get rid of him. For every Andrew Luck or Kiko Alonso, who play well right off the bat, there are dozens of guys who don't play well or don't see the field their rookie year, but eventually go on to have productive careers. Some guys need more time, especially in positions like OL or QB where there is a lot to learn and get acclimated to. Yes, EJ looked bad after coming back from the injury, but what are you people expecting? The kid has played a total of 6 games in between two knee injuries. I don't know if he's our QB of the future or not yet, but to write him off already is just stupidity.