folz

Howdy Neighbors! I'm in Carroll Gardens. Where in the Netherlands do you live? I spent a summer in Well (and Venlo) and traveled around the country quite a bit. Spent part of another summer near Eindhoven. Been back two other times. Was there during the 2004 European Championship. Very Exciting! Love the Netherlands!

Representing for Brooklyn, New York! Originally from Rochester. Crazy thing is we have more Steelers' fans at my job (in Manhattan) than Jets or Giants.

Chris Clemons (8th year out of Georgia) mans the other side for Seattle. Last season he had 51 tackles, 11 sacks, and 3 FF. (Also had 11 sacks in 2010.)

The Seahawks have just resigned DE Red Bryant to a 5 year $35 million dollar contract. Earlier Chris Brown posted that 3 other teams were in the hunt/interested in Mario...2 being Chicago and Seattle. It has already been reported that the Bears are out of the sweepstakes...could this mean Seattle has given up as well? Seems we are getting closer! http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7682923/2012-nfl-free-agency-seattle-seahawks-re-sign-red-bryant-five-years-35m-sources-say Sorry if this should have been posted in one of the Mario threads. Feel free to merge it Mods.

I love what is happening this week (Stevie, Chandler) and signing Morrison back is great. Morrison played 5 years in Oakland and then signed as a FA with the Jags and had a bad season there/didn't fit in, whatever (ergo his comment to Stevie about the grass not always being greener)...and kind of what happened to Florence also moving from SD to JAX for the big contract...but what it sounds like many have forgotten are that Morrison's numbers in Oakland were stellar. In 5 years in Oakland, his tackle totals were: 116, 127, 120, 135, 133. That's a boatload of tackles. He just turned 30 this month. I don't think the 2 down years in Jax and Buff are about him slowing down, but more about change and circumstances. His averages in Oakland (per year) were 126 tackles, 1 sack, 3.5 passes defended, 1.5 INTs, 1.2 FFs. If we get that Kirk Morrison this year, we got a steal. Keep it up Buddy!

I think the key is when he said they need to get to a point where Buddy comes in at 9 AM and says this is what we need to do and can leave at 5 PM and leave things in Doug's hands. Buddy isn't getting any younger, so traveling the entire college circuit or pulling long days or all nighters probably won't work in the long run. So Whaley is being groomed to basically be in complete tandem with Buddy and take the more time consuming tasks and traveling that are easier for a younger man. Be Buddy's eyes and ears and maybe eventually take over completely when Buddy is ready to retire. I like that Whaley is humble and knows that there is still a lot for him to learn. GM has to be a pretty complicated job. But at the same time, he is one of the up and coming execs in the league and I am glad that we have him. Taking over the college scouting (while keeping his Asst GM title and also overseeing pro personal) is just another step in his process of learning the job fully. It isn't a demotion as others suggested.

Signing Stevie is a must in my opinion. And I'm still excited about Easley (provided he's healthy), but what killed us last year was not having backup plans when things didn't go best case scenario, like Merriman being injured again, no one to push Donald Jones, no backup center, etc. We need to have at least a plan B for as many spots as possible next season. Let's hope Easley becomes a player, but let's not count on it. We counted on too many things to go our way last year and in the end, they didn't. So, I agree with Johnny H, once Stevie officially resigns, we should target a mid-tier FA WR and draft at least one WR. The coaches need options if someone gets injured or to change things if someone isn't working out and not just be stuck with it.

Screw the Jets! I was talking to a co-worker who is a New England fan today and found myself saying, "Yeah, maybe we just don't match up well with the Jets." Later I thought about what Chan would say to his team after a game like that or before the next matchup with the Jets and he sure as hell wouldn't tell them we just don't match up well with that team. He would say "They didn't beat us, we beat ourselves" and then "Expect to Win, gentleman!" The Jets were coming off of a bye and a crazy, but good defensive coach had an extra week to watch film and prepare. Fitz didn't look like his normal self, maybe the ribs and finger injuries bothered him. We could all give a ton of reasons (or excuses) for the loss. But it doesn't matter. Our team played flat, awful. Every team can have a bad day, it doesn't mean the team is now terrible. Or that the Jets are unstoppable. The crazy thing is that for as bad as the Bills played, they were still in that game late into the 2nd half. But, after the game, it was like that old doubt, that "and here's where it all goes downhill" feeling was trying to take over again...but it's time to exorcise those demons once and for all and Expect to Win. These are your new and improved Buffalo Bills. We once rallied around Marvisms, "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us." Time to rally around a Chanism and "Expect to Win". We know these guys too well now...they aren't going to give up. Chan will have a plan and our guys will play their guts out. Let's not let the Jets, who we WILL beat the next time around, make us question our team...they're offense doesn't scare me one bit and I'm sure Chan will figure out a way to attack their defense next time around. The tide is still turning and the crest of the wave is this upcoming 3 game win streak on the road. "Dallas is a deadman....Miami dead...Jets dead...Nedemeier..." Go Bills! P.S. Sorry for the unbridled enthusiasm/optimism. Gameday must be getting nearer and last week's loss fading.

I'll bite...in a positive way: Cudos to Curtis! Yes, it's Gailey's offense and Gailey calls the plays, but Modkins has been his right hand man for years now. Gailey brought Modkins with him from Dallas to Georgia Tech to Kansas City to Buffalo as RBs/DBs coach and now offensive coordinator. The guy obviously has the running game working well and brings a lot of value to Chan's offense. He is at least Chan's sounding board for offensive schemes and I would guess he brings a lot to the table in that department as well for Chan to have brought him everywhere he goes. Ok, the guy doesn't have the traditional responsibilities of an offensive coordinator, but he isn't a joke. I bet if you asked Chan, he could tell you how important Modkins is to the team, so he deserves his credit like everyone else. Good on ya Curtis...and no I'm not his mother.

1. Didn't Brady and Vick both have 4 Int games against us just this year? Even great QBs have bad days. 2. People bring up the hall of fame QBs (Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers?). How many teams at any given time have a HOF QB (maybe 3 or 4). That leaves 28-29 teams without a QB like that. We've been looking to get another one since Kelly retired in '96. People act like it is easy to go out a get a future HOFer. It's not. 3. The Bills have said they we're going to draft Newton if Carolina didn't (even though I was against the idea at the time---guess I was wrong). 4. Fitzpatrick has brought more hope, fun, and exciting play of any QB in Buffalo since Flutie and before that Kelly. Does he have his weaknesses? Sure. But his strengths outweigh his weaknesses on most days, he's a great leader who has his team behind him, the team is winning games, they're fun to watch, and when they're down they're not necessarily out anymore. 5. We were playing with a backup rookie left tackle in only his second game, and then when he went out we had our guard playing left tackle and his back-up in at guard against one of the best pass rushing defenses in the league. 6. Our WR core was depleted from injuries. 7. The defense was without Kyle Williams and Shawne Merriman and didn't do their part in shutting the Giants down to make the picks not hurt us. 8. We were playing a team that just got embarrassed at home last week back at their house (on the road for us). I'm disappointed in the loss too and I'm really not trying to make excuses for it; I'm just saying its not time to panic and abandon ship on anyone. Despite Fitz's (and the defense's) bad day, we only lost by 3 on the road to a decent team. I mean, what is the point of calling for a Franchise (especially when you really mean HOF type) QB when it isn't easy to find one and the FO obviously wouldn't pass one up if the opportunity arose. Until that day...I am so glad that Fitz is our QB and I'm behind him 100%. Keep some perspective, give the guy a break, and keep rooting for him.

Of course I have no proof, but I really think Cowher wanted the Bills job but just couldn't take it due to his wife's illness (as the Dr. stated) and then he recommended Chan and has been in the Bills corner ever since. Can't hate on Cowher...we should be thanking him instead. And Chan is the man. We finally have a coach who creates game plans around his team's strengths and the other team's weaknesses, rather than forcing some "philosophy or technique" on every game (as if every game were the same). Listen to all of the players comments from last week, they were saying things like "the coaches knew this would work, we saw them doing this, we knew we could be successful doing this, we added this just for this week because we thought they would be vulnerable to it." We finally have a coach who can make adjustments and is good at game management (see the end of the Patriots and Eagles games). We finally have a coach who plays to win, rather than playing not to lose. A guy who is all about hard work, accountability, TEAM, etc. A guy who gets the most out of his players, has his whole team prepared (see Roosevelt and Hairston most recently), is a straight shooter, and someone who the players like and will fight for. After a long drought, we've finally got ourselves a real football coach boys.

Kelly, I was just about to post the same thing: AFC East Team W L T Pct PF PA NetPts TD Home Buffalo Bills 4 1 0 .800 164 120 44 20 3-0 New England Patriots 4 1 0 .800 165 119 46 20 2-0

I think Dan hit it on the head. I really felt the same way, that they were going to go for it, which is what actually made Philly jump. They were going to hard count a few times to see if they could get them to jump and if they didn't (knowing Philly would be in freeze mode), surprise them by actually hiking the ball and running the QB sneak. I really think that's what would have happened had Philly not jumped.

Not to pile on on Leodis, but I noticed on quite a few Eagles running plays that the wide receivers were handling him quite easily on their down field blocks. There were at least three times that a running play was coming right at him and the WR knocked him on the ground, successfully pushed him away from the play, etc. Gotta get tougher against the run Leodis. And I like Reggie Corner, but boy did he look slow covering the slot today. He seemed to be consistently running behind the offensive player by about 3 or 4 steps (granted, the Eagles have a lot of speed on their team).. But all in all a great team victory today to hold on for the win. It's crazy that WR and CB both went from positions of strength to severely lacking depth due to injuries.

Point taken...should have said accuracy/completion percentage (meaning both). His completion percentage is up 7.1% thus far from last year, some didn't think he could improve that much. And I think his accuracy has been great too. How many times are his passes behind the receiver, or sailing too high over the middle, etc. Very rarely. He's hitting guys in the hands or the numbers, putting it out in front of them so they can run after the catch.

Honestly, I'm not trying to rub it in to those on the opposite side of the off-season Fitz accuracy debate (I'm glad we're all on this ride together, it's been a long time coming for all of us), but those discussions crossed my mind as I looked at Fitz's stats (especially the people who were so sure that Fitz could never better his, at the time, career 58%). Sure it's only 3 games so far, but Fitz is completing 64.9% of his passes (and that's with a bunch of drops too---Jones, Martin, Smith, that I can remember). Go Fitzaccurate!

That field goal going through and Moorman jumping onto Lindell's shoulders (two guys that have been here for a lot of those loses to the Pats) So many great plays, but three that stood out for me because they totally changed the momentum of the game: 1. The David Nelson catch down the left sideline where he lost his helmet and came up yelling, pumping up the crowd. 2. The George Wilson pick (stopping the Pats when it looked like another easy TD coming) 3. The Scott interception (same reason as #2) Post-game: 1. Freddy Jackson and another Bill (didn't see who it was) running up and down the field with the Bills flags waving. 2. Fitz and Freddy pushing and shoving each other screaming. 3. David Nelson jumping into the stands where the chefs sit and celebrating with the crowd. 4. Nelson's post game tweet "That was for YOU Buffalo. You deserve it." Pre-game: I read somewhere that before the game, Jim Kelly was standing near the tunnel waving the Bills flag... wish I was there to see that.

That's awesome! So glad teams passed him over in the draft and he chose Buffalo over NE as an UDFA. Gotta love this kid! Keep it up David!

After Mangini gives the Bills 40% chance to win, Rob Parker responds: "0% chance (the Bills will win)...NO WAY NO HOW!" Eat some crow Rob Parker (whoever you are)

Apparently, not only is Kyle Williams a defensive stud, but he miraculously caught a touchdown pass in week 2 against the Cowboys, a game he wasn't even playing in. I wonder if he walks on water too? Forget the Pro Bowl, just enshrine the guy in the Hall of Fame now! http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasyfootball/story/15617525/week-3-start-em-and-sit-em Wide receiver Start 'Em Santana Moss (at DAL): In five games with Grossman as his starting quarterback, Moss has 33 catches for 368 yards and three touchdowns. Included in those outings is last year at Dallas when Moss had eight catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys secondary remains a work in progress, and they have allowed two touchdowns to wide receivers this year with Plaxico Burress in Week 1 and Kyle Williams last week. Moss might not score this week, but he's averaging seven catches for 74 yards with Grossman. He's almost a lock for at least seven Fantasy points in a standard league. [if you click "Kyle Williams" in the article on the site, it is linked to our Kyle---not the young SF receiver]

Nice catch Kzoo...sweet play by Wood. Nice to see our guys being the aggressors.

Outside of Brady, who never seems to throw picks, a lot of the best QBs have been high risk/high reward guys... look at Kelly, Favre, etc. they might throw 2 or 3 picks in a game, but you also knew they could bring their team back to win the game. Compare that to a Trent Edwards or Rob Johnson...whose interception percentage was spectacular, but if the team got down was there any chance they would lead a big comeback? My heart was definitely in my throat on a few of those passes (TD to Chandler, near INT in endzone that Jones swatted away), but this offense is starting to have that 90s Bills swagger, where you never count them out and that's due to Fitz taking those risks. I'll take that any day over a guy who's afraid to let it fly, so we go three and out more often than not.

I almost posted about Fit's "girl scream" after I first heard it on mic'd up last night (lol)... But, ya know what, it just makes me love him that much more...Levitre said it best... "sounds like a little kid on the playground"...he's having fun (and playing great). When did it ever look like Trent was having fun? What a breath of fresh air. Scream all you want Fitz!

In the WGR article about Drayton Florence this morning (http://wgr550.com/Bills-Florence-has-no-regrets/10744503) the writer says: "According to some at One Bills Drive morale is the lowest it's been there in years. Employees mope around hoping things will finally get better. " I know morale is low at Two Bills Drive right now, but really? Morale is the lowest it's been in years at One Bills Drive? Employees moping around? I'm thinking this is just a reporter talking out of his ass based on Florence's tweets, or whatever. That's a pretty bold statement if he's just guessing or just taking one person's word for it. What do you guys think? Could One Bills Drive be as down as Two Bills Drive right now? I hope not. But how is this guy to judge the morale of an entire organization? Of course even if it were, a good showing tonight could change that. Go Bills!

I agree with the OP and "Loyal" I wrote a fairly long post about this (with the quotes from Gailey) in the other Lee Evans thread if you care to read it... http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/132896-evans-traded-to-baltimore/page__st__440