The Big Cat

Ring-a-ding-ding.

Jesus. Marrone don't play.

Firstly, the "season" started last spring, and they entered it with a guy named Kevin Kolb. By the time he was injured (midway through training camp) there were NO AVAILABLE QB's. Unless you know something we don't know. But Kolb was the insurance plan, that's why we signed him...BEFORE THE DRAFT. May be you can suggest someone who was available in the third week of August that should have been on our (or any) NFL Roster in June?

Seriously? I know he wasn't with us that long (to no fault of ANYONE'S) but this selective memory (or lackthereof) when it comes to Kevin Kolb keeps getting more and more astonishing.

I just combed through the twitter feeds of Chris Brown and the Buffalo Bills to prove you wrong...by golly, I think you're right. Wow. Just goes to show you what consistency in messaging will do. I've had 6-8 weeks ingrained in my mind this whole time! Of course, we all know what the national media narrative will be IF he comes back for KC: Originally slated to be out 6-8 weeks, EJ Manuel rushing back against a sack happy Chiefs defense, Neck Wad what do you think? Well the Bills are desperate, of course. And there's no question this is the wrong thing to do. They're not going to the playoffs this year, why risk the health of their up and coming quarterback? The prognosis was 6-8 weeks, and obviously Doug Marrone is starting to feel some heat there in Buffalo to keep his job. You have to question this decision by the Bills coaching staff, and if I'm EJ Manuel, I'm questioning whose interest they're really watching out for. Thanks, Neck Wad. We'll be back in a moment, and when we return, more analysis of our top story: Should the Falcons bring in Tebow to help right the ship? We say yes. Don't go anywhere.

If they can steal one of these last two games before the midway point...and with Graham potentially out for the Saints game...

Don't go blowing smoke, bro. I can't handle the anticipation! Don't get my hopes up!

If Giovani Bernard wasn't 4'7", it probably doesn't get called.

I know these guys aren't paid to be popular, but is it safe to say Brady is the least liked player among his peers?

These range from painful to downright bad. http://deadspin.com/awkward-local-commercials-with-athletes-ranked-1443996835 The top video with Lemieux from 1984 is questionable, at best.

Oh, please. You don't actually think that's a viable retort, do you? Comparing the impact of a QB to a DE? Really?

Except in my [potentially inaccurate] recollection of the events, he didn't.

Well, that doesn't work for me.

I'm no Moorman fan. But WHOA what a first kick back. He looked mighty proud of himself. And well he should. But more importantly: Across all sports, very few things drive me crazier than an official from the other side of the playing surface over-ruling the call made just inches from his colleague's face. In this case, the man standing RIGHT next to the pylon made the right call...then got over turned. It was rightly reviewed, and rightly over turned. My question is why? Why do other officials do this? What gives them the right? How is it that the guy standing there and his team mates don't have the authority to say buzz off to the person who didn't have the vantage point? Why did this even have to go to the booth? Is it a hierarchy thing? A seniority thing? A rules-of-the-game thing? If it's the latter, why do we have a guy standing right next to the pylon in the first place!? This happened to a lesser extent later in the game when the guy standing behind KW called him for the "face mask." But it wasn't nearly as egregious.

Both Harbaugh and Reid are coaching a former first OVERALL pick. Tell me again about when either of those teams cut HALF of the week 17 players going into their first years.

So did the interference on Goodwin. So did the 64 yard screen play. So did Lewis' fumble. So did the 34 yard end around. C'mon, really? I liked the fourth down play call...on SECOND down. Second or first down was the opportunity for a naked boot or a PA. Not fourth.

I think we're getting closer and closer to statistical relevance here. So, at a glance, here is a comparison of the most frequent yards gained: 2012 3 (13.26%) 2 (11.05%) 1 (9.39%) 4 (9.39%) 0 (8.29%) 2013 2 (16.3%) 3 (13.04%) 0 (12.5%) 1 (11.4%) 5 (9.78%) In 2013, the defense has given up 3 yards or fewer on 60.87% of carries compared to 48.07% in 2012. That's a BIG difference.

I should add: I don't put our losses on the coaching...at all. Evidently CJ Spiller needs 20 games to learn a new offense. Our defense is missing one or two key pieces. Our offensive line is in serious need of a LG. And we have a rookie QB who's learning on the job. Expecting to win would be insanely naive. But...there were SO many elements of yesterday's loss that just screamed SAME OLE BILLS. I know that's a dumb thing to say. We have a new guy with a hand on the tiller, new coaches and a roster that's been half-gutted since last season. But MAN, there were some frustrating moments yesterday.

Look, I'd love to share your optimism. But you just countered with: see the other guys got blown out more often! That's like saying: at least both legs aren't broken!

You know...we lost a lot of close games with Jauron. Then, in Gailey's first year we lost a lot of close games en route to 0-8. And now, in 2013, we've been in every game, including one where we had 5 interceptions. So, I'm having a really hard time seeing a shot of Marrone on the sideline and deciding "now we're good." I believe that if EJ runs the !@#$ out of bounds, we're 4-2 right now, with wins over both Ohio teams. But, we're not. We're 2-4. I see a defense that gives up big plays, can't get off the field on 4 and 15, can't generate pressure, and can't force turnovers when we need them. Was that line taken from any season 2006-2011? Because it sure feels like it.

If my a-hole team mate was constantly throwing a fit and screaming at me when things don't go his way, I'd also probably be a little slow to butter-up when he decides to be cheery again.

Do you like me yet?

And as I've already stated in this thread: he was the only reason we were in that game to begin with. It was a damn track meet, and we clawed back to take the lead you're referring to (it was our first of the game).

Yesch. You might be on to schomething.