Koufax

We will get worse by trading him in terms of roster talent and draft pick returns. It might be a case where we get better when cost is factored in like Levitre, but like him, getting an extension done early would have been so much better. Is there any reason we weren't aggressively going after both of them to an extension over a year ago? Did they have anything to prove, or were their demands already too high? I know that train has left the station, but I would like to know if our front office is trying to be proactive with the next time this happens, and lock up core players early rather than as they are in the free agent / franchise situation where costs rise. Taking on some of the risk for the player by deciding earlier I think would benefit our team and save dollars in the long run.

Agreed on the first part of EJ and Kolb being a good pair, and us falling to #3. Who do the Patriots start if Brady had a knee injury and Mallett was IR with a concussion? Falling to #3 means terrible football or an unexpected surprise, but not solid preparedness and front office strategy. On the second part, I disagree. The Vikings are certainly the better franchise in the last 10 years, and that matters, and a definite playoff contender and that matters a lot. But what matters most is the competitive landscape of EJ or Ponder. You aren't going to beat out EJ right now on this team. You might play your way into a controversy, but you aren't going to be handed the keys and have a team bail on its guy after a couple fill in wins. In Minnesota Ponder can be replaced in a heartbeat with a solid performance. So a better team with a better chance to become the starter and it isn't a question of a few dollars.

Their fast offense is viewed as the best way for them to move the chains and what they are building in. We need a little patience with it, and even more now that Thad Lewis is our new QB. That said, novelty and hurry should give us some advantages if we can tire their defense more than ours, and because we have two very good RBs we can do it with a running attack as well. I would love to see some fast paced wild cat too with Freddie taking the snaps and CJ in there as well, but I think that is doubtful. If we sit back and play traditional slow football, we will be out performed by a stronger Bengals team. I think our best chance to win this game and our best chance to improve as a team, is to stick with the plan and try to execute it with a practice squad QB.

Too many dollars might have changed his mind, but I think he likes his chances of beating out Ponder more than beating out Manuel, and I think he would have to be right. Ponder has been a weak link in a strong team, and if Freeman can be better and they win, then Freeman is the starter for a playoff team and lands on his feet. Neither half of that equation (beating the old starter or making the playoffs) fit in Buffalo. Freeman was definitely a better choice than Lewis if available. But of the options we had, I would probably agree after seeing Tuel fall flat that Lewis might be our best option. White and Dixon don't have enough of a talent advantage over Lewis to make up for the six weeks of practice advantage. I had hoped that Vince Young would have gotten an chance as a mobile veteran QB who was able to win games once upon a time. So we are stuck with this, once again rooting for a Manuel knee to heal so we don't have to deal with horrible results. But Brady did just score six points against the Bengals while getting sacked like crazy, so I have to think that Lewis is a reverse lock to dominate this game.

I would take Kluwe just for the journalism aspect.

I don't know about tough situation. You have been preparing to play football, you get your chance. Go play football and show us what you can do. The good ones step up and make plays or at least look competent. Even Trent Edwards came in for Losman against New England and marched down the field for a TD. Sure he will perform better being prepared and with a long week of first team reps, but he showed a lot of negatives in general awareness of how to play football, not just in execution and being in sync. I HATED the play where he was tackled in bounds for a loss near the sideline inside of two minutes. He does understand that he can just throw the ball out of bounds past the line of scrimmage and things are better for his team, right? I was tremendously disappointed in his football performance. I think he is a guy who can make some of the throws, and maybe blossom, but is a long way from being able to help win or even not lose a football game in the NFL. Before the concussion I was a fan of Kolb as the backup, and skeptical on why Tuel was anything more than practice squad for now.

I think we also could be competing with the 4-0 Chiefs given that they are in Peyton Manning's division and likely a 9-7 to 10-6 team. Even without a crystal ball I am definitely rooting for Fitz on Sunday.

I recently did a study, and one thing all playoff teams had in common: they all managed to get a third win at some point after their first two! So after getting #2 against the Super Bowl champs (everyone had that penciled in as a W before the season, right?), I hope we get #3 out of the way as soon as possible because the sooner that happens we can start working on #4. I think we are a realistically a 7-9 team right now, and injuries, schedule, and the way the ball bounces can swing that several games. The fact that we weathered some tough injuries and a big holdout at 2-2 is a positive, and I think our schedule is set up for us to exceed expectations and play above our level, especially if our injury luck turns and we get key guys back faster than we lose to new injuries. What matters most to this team is winning any football games we can, and being in the playoff hunt deep into the final weeks.

One bad game by a rookie QB plus a mangled secondary leading to a one score loss, and we are blaming the scheme. I don't know if I really love the hurry up. It was fun when Kelly was running it, and would have been more fun if we forced a punt anytime in that 10 minute super bowl drive. But I think it is intriguing. It blows up on you a little more when the offense struggles, and I would expect it will also take some time for our defense to adjust to being on the field more as a result. But I don't think the evidence against it based on defensive performance through three games, or the idea we should have milked the clock against New England, etc holds much water. We need to execute better on both sides of the ball, not throw out our scheme as a failure three games in. Right now I'm hoping to get to 2-2 and start a drive towards the playoffs, but I also know that if EJ were polished enough to string together 16 solid rookie season games, he probably would have gone #1 overall, and we are going to deal with some growing pains. I'm very eager to see where the current coaching staff and current schemes lead us, and think that pulling the plug after three weeks is completely silly.

Our current LG is worse than Levitre. We can all agree to that. We would all have preferred to keep him, and if there was an opportunity to do so at less than the Titans paid, then that would be a missed opportunity. All that said, I do not want Levitre or Dockery (lol) back at unreasonable OG money. Just like I don't want Byrd for HOFer money. Bad contracts make our team worse in other areas, and I hope our front office avoids bad contracts year after year. Guard is clearly one of the most replaceable positions, and one where the difference from solid to great makes less of a difference than the difference from solid to great at another position. I don't know if we have a solid guard right now, and I would like that position to get better. But we are talking about allocating finite resources, and not paying huge dollars to a guard seems like a wise decision, even if he is obviously better than the next guy up.

While I am disappointed to not have Byrd and Gilmore on the field, the reality is we don't know his physical state. He has one strike against him for skipping some of camp, although that was his right just like the Bills had the right to franchise him. Each player handles injuries, devotion to their teammates differently, and regardless of the player, being franchised certainly adds some variables to consider that playing under a normal contract does not. If he were 100% and pretending, or if he were holding out officially, then those would both be very disappointing things. If he happens to be hurt more seriously, he is in a situation where playing at less than 100% might be of limited benefit to the team, but could clearly work against his interests. I can't wait to see him out there soon, I hope the contract ploy doesn't cause him to contribute less to our team than he could, and I still hope he signs an extension with us after the season.

Embarrassing rookie game by EJ. I don't get all the early touch lobs on deeper balls and unwatchable lasers on the short ones. Turn the page and get better. Bad game by o-line and horrible by secondary. The result is a division game lost that was gift wrapped for us with the turnovers and penalties.

I don't like the call, but I love the catch and I love the result. I think it was too soon, and your point expectation going for two is less than kicking so you only do it if you think something in the matchup makes it greater than 50% likely or if you need the two (late in the game).

He was already playing the goon card a play before on his good tackle acting like he just won the Super Bowl. Execute one play at a time and don't try to be a thug.

There are a lot of positives and it is a great place to live if you: 1) Do not rely on the local economy and job market (all NFL players pass this one) 2) You can tolerate / enjoy the weather (many people really do after spending some time there) Respectfully submitted from Sunny San Diego, since I fail on #1 and #2.

Everyone else has said it, but I want to pile on. We were NOT trying to run out the clock, and weren't in a position to. We were trying to get first downs and points. Our best chance of getting first downs and points is the hurry up. Maybe if they had picked up a few first downs, neared field goal range, and were faced with a DIFFERENT CLOCK MANAGEMENT SITUATION it would have been good to burn the clock. But I am definitely in full understanding and agreement of our offense. We made some penalty mistakes, costly turnovers, and probably were one third down defensive stop or one third down conversion away from winning an important divisional game. Losing sucks, but I don't think it has anything to do with clock management, and New England had plenty of time to spare moving down field. Keeping the ball for more plays and yards, getting more points, or stopping them were our options to win at the end, not stalling for a few more seconds.

As a diehard lifelong Bills fan, I still get confused when people feel slighted by the national media. For a long long time we have done nothing to warrant any respect. We don't need any national respect to get where we need to be. Let's be the under the radar underdog between now and when we clinch our next playoff spot (we will clearly get attention for breaking the streak whenever that happens). The Patriots have done EVERYTHING to earn national respect and coverage. I look forward to focusing on Ws covered in the local media, and knowing the national attention will trail our achievement, not lead it. Edit: And please realize that most of us know more about the Bills and spend more time following them than the national media spends covering their 32nd most interesting assignment.

Statistically and logically deferring is the choice. Plus playing your home opener and having the start of the game excitement, one defensive stop with a loud crowd can really get things moving in the momentum category, and one three and out doesn't take the wind out of your sails. I'm hoping for a flashback to Takeo Spikes first game after his injury to start the 2006 season. If Brady scores a touchdown it is expected, and doesn't really ruin the day, but any sort of stop or turnover can really energize the whole start of the game.

Isn't Probable just about the highest he can be listed when on the injury report? He isn't Questionable, Doubtful, or Out. I'm pretty sure that it is a requirement and they don't have a "Hell Yes He's Playing" option to check.

I like having a great free safety, and hope he devotes himself to performing at his very best for his next 16-19 games as a Buffalo Bill, and worries about the rest after the season. That said, I think he is more likely to be a selfish franchise tag cry baby (come down where you might, it is part of the CBA and a lot of dollars to complain about), and as such I expect he will consider not playing or not perform and a very high level. He is under contract and in uniform, so whatever he does week to week reflects on him as a player and a teammate, and he is writing his own story by how he goes about it. In terms of the Polamalu comparisons, I think Byrd is an excellent center fielder but has much less of an impact around the line of scrimmage than TP, and that significantly undermines his overall value. He is a very very good player, should be paid as such, and I hope somehow the situation avoids blowing up.

I don't think Gilmore hurts us quite as much against the Patriots as it will other teams with stronger #1 target receivers. We don't have 5 Gilmores and Brady will consistently find one of his five receiving options if given time, and won't force to the top receiver if covered. While having your best corner in there clearly helps the overall defensive scheme, we will win or lose this game based on our ability to pressure Brady, and put up points to respond to his. Winning 24-21 instead of losing 34-17 is my hope. I don't think we have a huge blowout and I don't think we fail to find the end zone ourselves. As for SJ, I think he is fun, and won't affect the preparation of the Patriots at all. And they don't have anybody who can cover him...even Revis can't. So it will be more a question of if we can get him the ball when he gets open, or get the ball to a secondary option if they give him extra attention.

I don't think a QB even #1 can be the same level of bust as any other position, simply because (while unfortunate when it is you) there is an expected 50% bust factor in general, and that is understood and accepted because the payoff of a top QB is so high. But when you take a LT or a LB or DE, or a skill player in the top 10, you are really expecting that player to have a floor of "good useful player for 5+ seasons" and a reasonable expectation of "great player for 7+ seasons". I don't think Maybin can be considered, as big of a bust as he was, because he wasn't even a top 10 pick. I think Curry is the type that really fits, and there probably are a few other examples like that.

It will be EJ on Sunday 95% and we know that and the Pats know that. They won't prepare differently for the two very much, and aren't dynamic mastermind defense. Rather than trickery and tactics (although I am fine with them making it a gametime decision), they should just try to execute offensively one play at a time, and win the game.

My prediction: EJ plays. New England was 25th in total defense last year Brady never struggles because of DB play, but only when the line gets pressure on him. We will be rushing Carrington, Mario, Dareus, and Kyle. We can run the ball pretty well. We are playing at home. Bellichick picks apart against teams he knows and has a clear gameplan for. He doesn't do as well with surprises (beaten by the Wildcat, etc). In the last 12 years of games against the Pats (lots and lots of losses) we are 2-22 with a lot of blowouts of huge proportions, although we were outscored by 11.5 or more points exactly half of the time, and kept it closer than that the other 12 times. I don't think there is any smart money on this line, but my pretend money is on the Bills to cover.

Vince Young and Tim Tebow unable to hold clipboards in the NFL. I think that says enough about the differences between the college game and the NFL.