cale

What John said... ICE, how did sitting and watching not help Pennington, McNair etc etc Even R-berger is a complete rookie and doing well. But he has a lot of help from the *rest* of the team. As long as his supporting cast holds up, JP will be fine when his time comes. As DB is proving it to be, as long as everyone does their part, this team will still be in it. The biggest factor in JP's development is not going to be whether he plays now or later. Is how Sam Wyche's health holds up and how focussed JP is. Charles

Guys, again - there is a bigger picture here...I hate what happened last night as much as the next guy - but again it's apples and oranges... To me, our woes started when we canned Wade and then Butler - I know, I know he got us in cap jail blah, blah, blah - but the one thing they knew how to do was draft and coach (the exception being the last Butler draft). The Steelers organization has benefited from continuity. They've been in the same system for years. We on the other hand have a new staff, system on offense. That's particularly Donahoe's fault IMHO, the Williams hiring set the franchise back 2 decades. He and Donahoe not just didn't have the goods but he sucked the heart right out of the organization, players etc. I believe it all began when Donahoe started treating players like disposable tissue. I just don't see most of the newer guys putting it on the line like the Wade/Butler. The only players who seem to care are some guys on defense and a couple of guys on offense. There's just no heart and guts in our personnel anymore. I believe Mularkey will turn that around - but it ain't happening this year, perhaps not even next. It takes time to build these things but just overnight to tear it down. To prove the point, see how the Steelers stood up for one of their own against Cleveland yesterday. That hasn't happened to any significant degree in Buffalo. I see a bit of that starting to happen on defense but definitely right now, on offense anyway, it's just 11 individuals running around clueless. The team simply doesn't exist. We all want a quick fix for what's happening. But the problem is systemic not ALL on one individual. I don't believe we have coherent strategy to get there. So I think we need a new strategist. C

Yes, yes - I'm all for on the job training. No one is gonna get better just watching film. But if you're tackles are turnstiles and are not getting it done...I'm all for lumps but to get tattoed into the turf before your confidence is built, then you'll just have a candidate for the happy farm... I really, really think we just need a vet who won't lose the game for us. Per Dilfer. ICE's point on the kid not being prepared last nite is well taken. I'm not forming an opinion solely on Losman's performance last night. I just feel the important pieces of this offense are still a work in progress, the moment things don't go his way, Losman is gonna panic and shoot himself in the foot. I just think Matthews will maybe not panic as much and just make better decisions. So far as we're still in it, however remotely, than I think we have the luxury of letting JP take more time to heal and get his head on straight. Hence the vote for Matthews. C

I don't know if I agree with "Start JP" as much as "Bench Bledsoe." So who the f*** cares if the kid has to wait a couple of games to start...I just don't want him getting killed before he is mentally or physically ready. Every fan in the NFL now has Roethlisberger-itis. And rightly so...the kid is a heady player. But Losman is not R-berg. Losman might be better, he might be not as good. But R-berg is just one piece in a bigger picture. That Pitt O-line is one of the most dominant lines I 've seen in recent memory and Bettis is playing possessed. The tendency for any rookie is wanting to do too much anyway. I feel putting him in there will be detrimental to his development. We have a perfectly serviceable backup, play him until the O-line gels a bit more and can tell their ass from a hole in the ground. I realize last night's defeat was emotional and embarrassing, but it's time the coaching staff (and us) take a step back and clinically evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and put together a sensible plan going forward. Starting JP next week will IMHO not be sensible. There just isn't enough justification to do so. C

You Da Man, ICE! Way to go...

Your problem is that you're flying Delta...I hate them. They used to be one of the better airlines and now they suck. We used to be Delta FFers now we consider them the Anti-Christ. The jets themselves are not bad - Canadair types. Doesn't Continental fly from CIN to BUF? I'd also checkout AA. Charles

No, it's not. Mike Williams and McKinney were the chic picks for the O-line in that draft. I can't fault TD for that pick. However, I do think they could have done better background research on MW. That'd just due diligence. MW's lack of productivity is mostly on Williams, IMHO. I feel TD did the best he could have under the circumstances. McGahee, I maintain, was still a risky pick. I also suppose it also depends on what you think is a good return on investment(ROI) with that pick. It still remains to be seen if the knee holds up to a rigorous NFL season and really...a career. It's nice to watch Willis - don't get me wrong. But I guess as they say - it's better to be lucky than smart...TD wasn't smart, just lucky with the McGahee pick. Charles

Now, now admit to what? I admit he's a good to great player and I still think it was a dumb ass pick. Why? Because it was a risky proposition at best and not a gamble a team that needed sure thing picks to rebuild. As good as Willis is, I still say the team would be better off with one solid pick or trade with that pick in one of these categories: 1) O-line (Guard or Center) 2) Defensive end 3) Possibly a speed WR (or even a DB) But now I that Willis is here and playing, I am gonna enjoy Donahue's "mistake." God knows he hasn't done much of anything else except sell luxury boxes. Charles

I am a Bledsoe supporter - but alas I think the time has come for JP. I don't think DB's ints were all his fault yesterday. WRs dropped balls and generally did not show up but JP has played behind stevestojan lines his whole college career. At least he has practice running... Charles

he'll catch on somewhere else...Titans,maybe? Charles

My 2 cents... In retrospect, I think Donahoe is damaged goods. Some folks here think that Bledsoe is damaged goods because of the number of sacks he's taken etc. But I really think the Cowher power struggle in Pittsburgh ruined him. Trying to draft/evaluate players is just one part of the equation. IMHO, he's got a 25-30% success rate at best in that dept. But the other part of the equation is that you have to hire a strong willed coach to get players to perform. Well, guess what - strong willed coaches are gonna butt heads with strong willed GMs. I think he decided that when he got here that there was going to be a definite hierachy with him at the top. Marv Levy-Bill Polian and the Belichik-Pioli(Pioli is a Belichik's son-in-law) relationships were/are anomalies. In today's NFL, the GMs are almost always subservient to the coaches role. I get the feeling that at One Bills Drive, it's the other way around. I also think that's part of the reason we haven't had any winning teams in a while. Charles

I was the one of the folks ripping him from the end of last season till last week. This last game I think was his best in a Bills uniform, possibly as a Pro. Emphasis on the pro as in professional. I thought he played lights out. But smart. Charles

You know - if the single most element for success in today's NFL is mobility, than I say let's ship Drew to China. But right now, without an O-line, I still maintain Drew gives us our best chance to win. Crazy? Maybe. Right now the coaches are not adjusting our game plans to give our best players a chance. I had an epiphany with that quote from Ralph in today's reports. We simply are not a smash mouth type team right now. If anything, we're a down the field/short possesion team. Similar to the K-Gun era - except we had a genius of an OC. At the beginning of each series the O-line has to be convinced to protect for 3-4 plays so that Drew can throw standing up. That also means less opportunity for f-ups by everyone concerned. That long ball to Evans for a TD energized everyone on the team. I mean I actually saw Sam Adams making plays. Psychologically or functionally - that did something for the team. I'm not saying pass on 3rd and inches but it's time to take the shackles off and let Drew be a gun slinger again. I think he can make better decisions and better throws if they just give him an average of 3-4 seconds. I think our base personnel on offense should be: Bledsoe Moulds Evans Euhus/Shaw/Aiken Campbell/Neufeld McGahee/Henry I think if Euhus is used wisely he can be a surprise element in our O. They won't know if he's blocking or catching. I think it's sad how underutilized our TEs are right now. They could be such a big factor. Especially since Drew has to unload so quick. I don't think Losman should start until our season is lost. I realize everybody is enamored with Rothlesberger's success right now. But he is the exception to the rule. I also don't want JP out there getting killed before this line has gelled. Charles

Hi PIA This defense is one dimensional at best. Our pass D simply sucks. Posey made a play yesterday. I thought Fletcher played his best game ever in a Bills uni. But really this unit is inconsistent. If I was an opposition Off. Coord. I'd run a negative yards running play on 1st down. Take a knee on second down. And throw a 3rd down conversion for 1st. That's how bad our pass D is. It stems from a lack of pressure up front and right now a really young secondary. But even before with Milloy in here, we were experiencing the same symptoms. Again, I think the biggest off season non-move (and I blame Donahoe for this) is not getting a vet DE to help out on obvious passing downs. No, Gildon wasn't it...Somebody like a Chad Bratzke is better than the young, improving but generally ineffective pass rushers we have. I think we would have at least 2 games in the "W" column, if we had better pass rushers. Charles

Herm Edwards just gave Mike Mularkey an important coaching tool... Cut Down on Dumb Penalties

Yes, props to McGahee. I was one of the guys who ripped him when he was all grumpy that he wasn't going to start this season. Nice to see he's maturing. Now, let's see if somebody can knock some sense to Fletcher. Charles

Well, here goes...I'm originally from Malaysia. I came to the US to go to school at RIT. I am prett avid Bills fan. But really I am a nut-soid Manchester United fanatic. Have loved the club since I was 11. Anyways, Sunday afternoons I just had to go do something else or take a nap (not very well) because my 3 other roommates all fought over which team they'd watch on TV. 2 Giants vs. 1 Bills fan. Pretty ugly. As far as I was concerned, football wasn't really a "sport." Guys ran into each other - stood around for 10 mins and then ran into each other again. Borrrriing! But during this time, one of my closest buddies, who grew up in Hamburg, NY would just get distraught to the point of sillines and I tried to understand what was going on. I got to know the players, the rules, the passion plus I have to say knowing that the coach was a Harvard grad and that at least one player (James Lofton) could string words together into sentences really helped. I remember seeing the Bills v Browns playoff game at my buddy's house. That was exciting. Two years later the Bills played the Giants in the SB. I remember seeing a kick sail wide right - I didn't really know what that meant and didn't care. But the year leading up to the 1st Comboys SB I really got into it. Maybe because at that point I had graduated from college and had some free time. Whatever the reason I became a fan. Plus I loved how the folks in WNY really loved the team. At times it seemed like the only thing everybody up there could agree on. However, I think the event that really cemented me into Bills fandom and heartbreak, was that I was at the Bills/Jax game when Doug Flutie ran the ball in on the busted/naked bootleg play. I still think we screwed up royally by letting him go post-Kelly. Regardless of the innuendoes/rumors about his awful locker room influence. All I know is Moulds, Bruce and Van Pelt *loved* him. If that's bad influence on a team, we should have more of it... Anyways, now I live in Nashville and folks wonder why I don't just drop the lovable losers and root for the home team Titans. Never, in a million years never, especially after Home Run Throwup. Plus Bud "Can't Let My Hair Go" Adams is a royal jerk. Not to mention Nashville whored itself for a greedy owner who broke the hearts of Oilers fans. I just fell in love with the resiliency and persistence of the 90s Bills. I liked to think I have some of those qualities and loyalty is really, really important to me. Now, if we could only string a few wins together... Charles

When Dona-slow was hired, I remember him saying something to the effect of not ever putting a coach on a pedestal. I wonder if that's why he never hired someone with experience. I like Mularkey - a lot - but I can't help feeling like an experienced coach would have us further along this season. Even Coughlin - as nuts as he is. On the other hand - a rookie coach like Mora Jr. is doing wonders in Atlanta. I don't know - just venting. Charles

John Though DB had his share of miscues today - all the reviews say Henry (and possibly the coaching staff) f'd up on that 4th and 3. Also, notice in the last 1:30, Harrison kept coming thru the same hole in a blitz and it seemed like no one even cared or noticed? Wassup with dat? I realize the temptation is to put JP in there for mobility etc. But behind this line, he'll just reinjure his fibula and we'll have to cart JP into a psych ward mumbling "Where did *HE* come from?" If we need to put some other QB in there - and I understand but disagree with the rationale - then I think it should be Matthews. Only if and when this O-line plays with pride (as they seemed to do in the 1st two quarters), do we risk our long term investment. Not until... Charles

I'm sure the popular cry is gonna be to bench the QB - but IMHO Bledsoe played really well under the circumstances. Ty Law and a NFL Network special talked about something called "situational football coaching" in NE. This is where the coaches practice possible game changing scenarios. That's part of the reason Bardy looks calm and collected passing from his own goal line. Our coaching staff hasn't done a good enough job of putting players in those situations and teaching how to respond. The problem right now is systemic. It's not one or two players making mental mistakes. It's almost everyone on the team. Even the vets. It's compounded by the coaching unable to get it into the players heads and avoid 100 penalty yards a game. It's bad when the HC can't get in the face of the DC and tell them to hold the other team at 3rd and a thousand. It's bad when the DC can't get in the face of a vet player and tell him to stop being a dumbass. The penalty mistakes occur when the players have a "Oh stevestojan" moment. This in turn indicates that they are not prepared to play that particular situation. I wasn't aware that we lost Jennings and Teague today. I still think the O-line could use more talent but right now they are just not being coached very well. I think based on the first two quarters of play they are a very serviceable unit. They just need to be put in positions to succeed. The problem is fixable - but I have a sick feeling that the coaches don't know how to yet... Charles

Fletcher is way overrated. I don't know why everyone talks about him like the second coming of Daryll Talley. The guy is a moron. And it seems like no one of the coaching or playing staff can get in his face to set him right. Charles

I think if you want to beat this D, you just take a knee on first down, get a sack or tackle behind the LOS for about 10 yards. Then convert your third and very long for a first down or TD pass. The official stats seem to bear this out. Charles

"What if the Hokey-Pokey is *really* what it's all about?"

I like Bledsoe and I think with the right O-line (and D-line) for that matter, we're a playoff team. But right now, he is not the right QB for this team. Someone needs to light a fire under the collective asses on the offense. Just no passion. A little fear that there be hell to pay if they screw up would get everybody's concentration up a few notches. Sigh...I really have no idea if they'll win or lose next at NE. Used to be that every time we had the ball I expected us to score. Now everytime we get the ball I expect some kind of screw up. Charles

Well that's the thing that perplexes me - why aren't they catching more passes. We have basically a scan and dump offense. Why not dump to a TE who can get some serious RAC yards. I mean our TEs are relatively athletic. I also support the sign Byron Chamberlain movement. Couldn't be any worse and certainly could be had for a vet minimum. C