roy875

On NFL Network news. Plus minus on losing him. Strong on ST, but I thought he could do more at WR. Another body to replace. So which round do we go WR? Early rounds would be a suprise, but anything is possible.

They would be a sweet 3rd down change of pace/receiving back coupled with a bigger RB. Especially Slanton. He is a game breaker. I don't know who that bigger back might be right now though. A-train is marginal, and in the draft, I have concerns with Bush's leg, and Hunt's speed. Not sure if the other guys are it either. I'm sure manangement must look ahead to some extent, but I'd prefer to draft 1 guy who might have it all instead of patching it up with an incomplete player hoping to add that extra dimension next year. I miss TT's overall abitlity to play every down, block, and catch. Pittman seems the closest this year to that type of player, and I think he runs hard. He doesn't seem to showboat at all. Just like TT. I don't see much a difference between him and Lynch, except when they are projected to be taken, and Pittman seems more put together as a person, and a better fit for our team. Ideally we will have peterson fall to us, and then take our 15min to decide if we take him, or reap a bounty of picks for our spot. Personally, I'd love it if this happened. If it meant an extra 1-2 first day picks----I think we would have to give him up as much as I'd hate to. He has outstanding speed, but not sure how well he will translate to the NFL. Looking at Reggie Bush---he is a great weapon, but not nearly like he was in college, and certainly has better moves, and maybe speed, than peterson. I know they are different players, but they are similar. I'm not sold AP is as much of "lock" as everyone else I guess. imagine 6 picks in the top 100 (if someone gave us 2nd and 3rd to move up for AP). We could get 2 LB's, CB, TE, RB(A.Pittman) and a WR on the 1st day. ALL would be filling a need and big contributors if chosen properly.

True, Slaton and Rice are pretty good. Jones is on arkansas with Mcfadden right? He's good also. Don't know Hart. Maybe I am stupid, but I like A. Pittman this year as much as some of the higher ranked guys (except Peterson). I'd like to see us upgrade with Pittman this year, and if he is not the answer go after another RB next year if the crop is as deep as it seems. Who knows, maybe F. Jackson will be a beast for us?

Who do you consider to be the high prospects next year? I know D. Mcfadden is awesome from watching a couple games, but what other guys should I know about? Curious, not challenging you.....

Funny, I always thought Brady benefited from great protection..... Maybe his pecker is too small for a snug fit. Do you think his 5 OL were in the room with him like in the commercials? Seriously, I would think someone in his position would be a little more careful to protect himself from future problems with kids and baby mommas.

I think with the extra pick we are now able to go after a RB with one of our first 3 picks. Anyone except peterson is possible. please don't trade up, we need many players, not 1 or 2 to compete. If we can get an LB or CB in FA the first 3 pick should be best avail talent between RB/DT and either LB or CB whichever we can't get in FA Dillon as a power 2nd back would be ideal as far as i am concerned. He seems to run much harder than Willis, and would have a huge chip on his shoulder to play NE. He WILL pick up a 3rd and 2 no doubt with our line. With how our draft went last year, the late picks may translate into a contributor as well. I would be impressed with our negotiating skills, and 70% happy to see willis go. I don't know how long we can wait for him to be the RB he can be. If he played to his potential (see any Jets game) even half the time, these discussions would be moot. But 2/16 games isn't enough......The other 30% sadness is mostly from respect for potential, and how devastating the injury he came back from was. If he doesn't want to be here we don't need him. Next year we'd probably lose him and get nothing, to get 2 picks would be freaking brilliant work by Marv.

I like the idea on 3rd and 4 (or less) of evans, PP, RP spread out and Reed in the backfield. I have more faith in reed picking up a few tough yards than willis. We haven't seen too much of that, but they did use it a few times at the end of the year with success. He could be the dynamic 3rd down option we have been missing. Throw in a decent 2 TE set, and we would have alot of options on O.......

I haven't seen alot of tape on the guy, but watching his fluidity, balance, and speed around the corner on a few highlights.......looks just like #78. Anybody who's seen more film agree/disagree?

I think that trading down into the 20s, even the low 20s would bring us at least a 2nd, perhaps more. If a must have guy is not avail at 12 (whoever the braintrust decides that is) You can't go wrong with trading down. The draft is so hit or miss, I feel like the more picks the better opportunity to get talent, and more ability to fill holes. We have SEVERAL need areas. This is why I was pissed on priciple to gave up picks last year. I feel like the 1st round is more hit/miss than the 2nd (but have no data to back that up) There is less pressure to draft a player at certain positions in the 2nd round on, if he's good get him.....ie. "You can't draft a guard/fullback/TE etc in the 1st round" So either you reach for a position or player in the 1st. Hypothetically, I'd prefer 2 2nd round picks to 1 1st rounder.

During the last drive I think Kelly and TT ran 3 times each, and we never stopped the clock with an incomplete or out of bounds pass until the spike before the kick. Alot of time was lost there, but the Giants were playing 2 DL and 9 back in coverage!!! We took our TO after TT had a 20 yard run to the giants 45 on 3rd and 1 with 45 seconds left. They were gassed at that moment, and if we kept pounding insead of taking the TO things may have worked out better. Also with 20 seconds left we ran for 7 to the 30, that was our last play. We may have been able to do better with a few passes, but with 9 in coverage who knows....... I can't help but wonder how many SB's we would have gotten to if we had won that one. Maybe none. I would trade 1 SB victory for our "second place dynasty" any day. I remain proud of our team accolmplishing that however, and do not think it will happen again any time soon. I was actually anxious watching that game last night. TT was awesome----he was much faster than I remember, and hard to bring down. Bennett looked great also, as did our O-line. Oh well.

Too bad the Pats were guessing pass... Can't sleep I'm so bummed out.

The funny part is I thought I had a novel idea to share. Dough!

For continuityand team spirit sake I prefer to keep Nate if he wants to stay BUT..... I think head 2 head Samuel may be better in coverage than Nate, better hands and more picks lately, I think he is younger, and we would be stealing him from the Pats (double bonus) It is worth a thought, and haven't seen it mentioned.

Nothing is 100% in football. All of the plays have calculated risks, and there is an element of guess work. In order to make the great call you need to have the sack to face the consequences if a call doesn't work. Even the mighty Belichik said that running on 3rd and 10 (for 5 yards) at the 30 on their 2nd to last drive "seemed like the right call at that time". Maybe they would have gotten the 1st with a pass, or maybe if it was incomplete or a sack, they would've missed the field goal had it been 5-10 yards longer. He took the conservative play for improving his odds to take the lead 34-31. But BB also went for those 2 4th downs in the 1st which were huge at that time. If you have the sack to take the risk, you can improve the odds of your team winning. The key is when/how to take those risks. I remember Meathead taking all kinds of crazy risks at odd times that never worked----idiot. BB they usually work, and are at the right times----he's a great coach. The colts tried to run for a 3rd and 5 and settled for a FG around the middle of the 4th to tie at 31 I think----was that a bad call??? I don't think so. The pats were just ready for that one. At the goal line they weren't. 50/50. This was a phenomenal game with back and forth big calls starting in the middle 3rd quarter. One play could have swung the whole thing either way. I am elated that NE lost, and for Mannings sake a chance to get people to STFU and let him be the great player he is.

I actually found myself switching to root for the Pats around the 4th quarter because I was so disgusted with the stupidity and thuggery of the Chargers. They completely shat the bed, and would have won easily if they ran LT more. Between D. Jackson on seattle who drops 2/game minimum, and the SD receivers especially the 6'5" jackass (fletcher?) I saw more balls dropping than at the playboy mansion. I expected more mistakes from Rivers, but he was very composed, and actually impressive. His Pick was a superb play by Colvin (and that should have been a 15 yard facemask in my opinion) They didn't deserve to win, and they didn't deserve my support. (I was also watching with 2 Pats fans...) I thought the refs were involved in a lot of key plays, but they actually got them right. They could've called a lot more holding on the pats against Merriman, but that is true any week. They actually missed a few that should've gone for the Pats. Maybe SD is the new darling of the refs. I am now resigned to accepting another Pats SB win, unless NO can pull it out. By the way----did anyone see the M. Harrison "catch" and fumble saturday??? It was even reviewed and they upheld it. Bizarre. The have consistantly called that incomplete all year except for that one.....They correctly called 2 incomplete in tonights game.

Henry vs. McGahee-----They both will want to dominate badly. I think Henry can hurt us, but McGahee, if healthy, will match him. Young vs. Losman-----Not as direct a conflict, but 2 young QB's who want to prove they belong. Young makes me nervous, I think he will hurt us a few times, esp. running on 3rd down. JP is really looking good this past month though. 2 of the hotter teams, both opportunistic, both winning some odd, ugly games. Playoffs in the balance for both. Bitchin. I like our chances. If we get in could we win??? Not many in the league are playing better that we are for the last 7 weeks. I hate be optimistic and dissapointed, but there always seems to be one team......Maybe it's our turn.

Living away, I didn't appreciate the effect of the sabres. Makes sense. Winning cures all. This just seems like the right time to be behind this team, and I hope it is a brief lull in attendance/interest.......

I live in SC, (from Roch) and am curious about why we seem to be unable to sell out lately...???? I don't think anyone has discussed the specific reasons why here. Has another team even had 1 blackout yet? This is a dismal performance for such a rabid fanbase, and I am suprised and worried about what this may mean. 1. I recognize the area is depressed, small etc. but I don't think that has changed substantially in the past 5-10 (or 30) years. (please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not living there....) 2. The team has been poor for a good bit (generous southernism) However, the football product seems significantly improved----we are playing competitive, exciting, and 4/6 wins. We lost by a slim margin to 2 of the best in the league. I have been begging for a team like this for years. 3. Tickets too expensive?? Cheapest in the NFL 4. Must be the Buffalo weather??? Perfectly docile for the past several games. 5. Bad match-ups??? freaking MIAMI is coming to town for an elimination-type game. 6. Stadium too big? Large relative to the market pop., but 9,000 less seats than in the 90's. We seemed to sell out more often with some shite teams in recent past. What else is there?---- tailgating, traffic, fights, beer prices, parking----all relatively similar I would think. The timing of it is bizarre. We have a young team on the rise learning how to win. I think there is alot of young talent on the field, and I hope they will be something everyone can proudly cheer for soon. Winning really does cure all. Go Bills. Stay in Buffalo. I was thrilled to take my family to the Jags game (birthday present for my dad), and it was probably the best game I've been to since the early 90's. I felt the enthusiasm flowing. lets keep it going!

washed up Willis is when his "U" teamate Vilma puts some hurt on him. He may just ruin his knee.......again. I wish willis could play against your pathetic D every week. You haven't come close to stopping him yet. Losman is much better now than he was last game. You'll see unless you get Jesey girls hairspray in your eyes Even Parrish could whup Jerricho "herpified" Crotchery Pennigton will be lucky to walk away from this game after the "white snow bank" of Schobel, kelsay, Denney, Anderson and williams cashes in on him.

Sorry----that was a confused way to put it... OL is a coveted position, and in FA often you don't get much value for the cap hit. I dont like risking a big contract for OL in FA, and unfortunately for the browns/bentley they got burned. He was definitely one of the 2 "hottest" Olinemen last year. IF you do have the sack to go oline, I think you go big $ instead of 2nd tier like we have in recent memory

Before the season most of us would agree that we were a below average team. I think now we are average, or slightly above average. That is progress. We have beat teams we were supposed to, and capable of beating the elite teams with a perfect performance. We have not done that yet, but are making progress. If I knew how the chargers, bears and ravens were going to do this year i would have guessed 5-6 wins, SO REALISTICALLY WE ARE RIGHT ABOUT WHERE WE SOULD BE. I wanted to see the following things from this team this year: 1. Heart----The players believe in each other, and all phases have stepped up at times to win us a few games we easily could have lost. Some of our losses could have gone either way. We play HARD now, which I have not seen in several years, and when we get more talent this will put us over the hump of mediocrity. Right now heart is making up for a serious lack of dominant players---as in NONE 2. Coaching---For the first time in a while we make 1/2time adjustments. Need to work on game/time management, but we are limited by overall inexperience and lack of a dominant player we can depend on. It is hard to call an aggressive plan when we don't have the horses to do it. I think the staff is handling the team well, and bringing them along slowly in a fashion that will pay off in the next few years. 3. Lines----some improvement made, we need much more. Our focus needs to be to continue to bolster the lines so we can impart our will on other teams. I put the oline slightly ahead of the D in this area at this point. We can NOT run and stop the run, and until we do, we will not win more than 8 games in a season. Hargrove looks to be a solid addition if only for his enthusiasm, and the shifts in the oline will continue to improve for the rest of the year as they play together. 4. QB----I wanted to see if JP would start leading this team. He has, but he needs more help. Imagine how things would be if he had talent like LT and Gates to throw to? He is a likeable guy, and seems to have a grasp of what he is doing now. I see a much more confident player and leader on the field now, and he says the right things. It is clear that with more help, he can be our QB. The last few weeks with him moving around in the pocket he is MUCH better, as are his decisions and reads. 5. Rookies---Really doing well overall. Whitner dissapoints a little. I was hoping he'd be the next Dawkins, Ed Reed, or Bob Sanders. He needs to be more physical and maybe he will be. Mcargo we'll see. Probably could have done better with our 2 picks we traded instead of him I think. Good production overall from the lower rounds---they carry this draft year at this point. With so many rooks esp. on D you had to know there would be problems. Overall the safeties are good and in time possibly great. Dissapointments: 1. RB---I don't know about willis. He is too variable. With better blocking I think he could be a dominant back, but right now with our line, he is not fast enough to get away, or determined enoguh to bull through the hordes of defenders waiting to tackle him in the hole. I would love to see him split time with a back like Washington (Rook from FSU on the jets, jones-drew, or Norwood on the falcons) These guys can run without much of a hole and create plays. In a perfect world we could have a big north/south back like Jacobs----but they need holes to run through, and we don't have those yet. I'll wait and see after the oline gets better. 2. TE---I hoped for alot more from these guys. We need to get a dominant TE. Our offense would be so much better with gates, whitten etc 3. WR---average--need a big one. Overall---I am satisfied with this season. If we play well and win against the fins/jets This season will have been a success in my eyes, and I will be very excited about next year. Team goals---- Keep clements, fletcher, and TKO---they are this team, our chemistry and heart will be diminished without them. Free agents---??unless you go for the big ones these are mostly 2nd tier players looking for 1st tier contracts. Look how Bentley worked out for the browns....I wouldn't go oline but go big if you do, all these 2 rate guys (except fowler) have not improved our line over the past 10 years. Draft is likely better for oline. D line you can do well here, maybe a few backups and depth can be added, possibly a tall WR DT, OL in the early rounds. Big nasty ones. preferably from the SEC---they seem to know how to play right out of the draft. The OL is slightly less glaring of a need now than 4 weeks ago, but we are 1 injury away from being in tough shape. TE--wishful thinking but a gamebreaker would really help JP and the O RB--I would love a 3rd down shifty type back----but what we really need is SOMEONE WHO CAN PICK UP A FREAKING YARD ON 3RD AND 1. LB--insurance for TKO Enjoy the rest of the season, you'll be happier if you don't expect seasoned play from an up and coming team. Give us a few years, and we'll be in the playoffs making some noise again.

I have been reading posts on this site for several months to ease the offseason boredom, and up till now have really appreciated the banter and occasional insight, but have not been inspired to write. This string typifies the essence of being a fan. Ups, downs, and persevering hope, so here I go.... My story is similar---Grandfather lived in Buffalo and I remember him sitting expressionless and cursing the TV during the mid 80's. Somewhere around the 87 season I became a true fan at 12 years old, and was bitterly dissapointed in 88 losing to the Bengals. That is my first real memory, (stupid Icky Shuffle)---Then the TT, Kelly, Bruce, Reed, etc era really began (wasn't the D "The Buffalo meat locker"?) and the Bickering Bills, Super Bowls etc. I still remember getting yelled at for kicking a radiator (smart back then too....) in my parents house after THE MISS in XXV. Every game was a huge event with friends and family in our house----wings, nacho cheese, meatballs etc. I was always a little embarrased about my mother going apeshit all the time especially when I had girls over. College was tough to be a fan as the Cowpies stomped us....(could we have lost to 3 more irritating teams?) And the rest has been a swirl of apartments, houses, and occassionally supportive women, but ALWAYS on Sunday for gametime. Living in SC now, Direct TV is like magic---I can watch some retarded amount of games displayed on a ridiculous number of pixels every weekend. But only 16 (19 would be nice) really matter and I don't even care that they charge an inflated amount. I'm a fan, and they are my team. I have high hopes for every year, and this is no exception. 10-6