Koufax

As I say often, if you think there is any reason that Clayton knows as much about our team as most of us who follow them closely you are mistaken. NFL guys don't usually spend 32 times as much time on football as we do. And the bottom teams get very little attention and analysis. 40 hour split evenly is 1:15 per team. Think the team that hasn't made the playoffs in a decade gets the full hour and a quarter? Anybody here spend an hour and a quarter a week paying attention to this team? Anybody here realize before the season that Bell and Wood were coming off a fully healthy off season after performing pretty well coming off injuries? Leveitre was really good? Wood was moving to a position that he was better suited for, and we were obviously going to be better at RT with Green gone? And that the whole crew was on the upside of their young careers, playing together behind a returning QB, and very likely to be much stronger than people would otherwise expect? I know I did and I'm sure a bunch of you guys understood that, and I know nobody in the national media got that. Just one example of many. After some playoff appearances that might change, but for now Clayton and pals are always going to be the weathermen reporting whether it rained yesterday, but not having a clue as whether it will rain tomorrow. Go Bills.

Against who? Never heard of him. Is that the guy drafted after lights out Maybin a few years back?

Yeah, they used to beat up on us and dominate the AFC when they had that Marino guy who will never be half the QB Luck already is. But jokes aside, I was rooting for them and hope they find a 2-14 to Indy's 1-15 so they have a pathetic season without a silver lining. If one of those wins is against the Jets or Pats, even better.

I would love to have had Quinn and Miller on our team, but had Dareus higher than either with our #3 pick, and neither were around when we picked Aaron Williams. Dareus is playing well now, and will continue to be a huge part of our defense for years. I am very happy with our pick.

I read somewhere we need LT and QB were what we needed, and we haven't drafted those, so we should probably finally get one of those. Rather than 90% D, I would settle for 100% BPA and keep injecting talent into this roster. When we have choice of similar talent players I'm definitely on the pass rush aspect, but the draft is a long time from now.

Trent Edwards says hi. Chan can make any QB better and is great working with what he has, but the reality is that Fitz is a talented decision maker and an accurate thrower to a degree we did not expect. That is not all on Chan, and I am excited to have Fitz be our starting QB for the near future. Over the next few years we can see when a groom for the future QB falls in our laps, and if a franchise QB shows at any point, but especially later in this contract, we can pick him without forcing the issue. A Rogers or Rothlesberger or Brees or someone similar since I don't see us picking top 10 any time soon, or a Dalton/Mallett/Claussen type with a lower pick.

We go 8-2 and the Chargers (also 4-2 right now) go 4-6? As a San Diego based Bills fan, I don't see either of those as very likely, but would love the #5 seed. But each week I am rooting against Cincinnati, Oakland, the Jets, as well as Baltimore and/or Pittsburgh (even though I think those two will both make it). One game at a time and I'm still rooting for us to take the division, but I think most realistically Cincinnati and Oakland fall off a little, and we are battling the Jets for a wild card spot. I think the most important game of our season is next weekend against the Jets in Buffalo. The rest can fall into place relatively simply, but losing at home to the Jets would put our backs against the wall, while beating them will put us in great shape.

Brady's years are numbered, even if he is close to his peak. And I seem to remember Miami having a decent QB we faced 8 times in the regular seasons of our four super bowl years. But yes, I hope he doesn't land in south Florida, and was upset with the Tebow rally increasing the likelihood of that result.

When he touches the ball he does good things, and is improving and getting more involved. He has been targeted 11 times and has 11 completions. He has a 7.1 YPC when handed the ball. Freddie is playing like an MVP, so touches will be somewhat limited, but he is getting treated like Maybin when he isn't playing like that. I have to think his blocking and understanding of the game are improving in practice and he will be able to be in the backfield without it being known he is getting the ball. I would not trade him for a late second rounder.

Sure, but you do know that Leaf was a certified head case while at Washington State right? (I lived there at the time and the local media covered it pretty well). And you did see the completion percentages in their last two years in college: Leaf: 52% and 55% Luck: 70% and 73% A lot can happen, and I really hope he doesn't land with the Dolphins, but the comparisons are much more fitting to Manning and not Leaf. He is so fundamentally different than Leaf in terms of personality (Leaf's downfall) and accuracy that if he does turn in to a bust, it will be for completely different reasons than that. Tim Couch (66% and 72%) would be the much better parallel. If he fails it would be much more likely to be in a Tim Couch way.

I think this is a big overpay by the Raiders, but at the same time, if they feel they are in shape to make the playoffs with him and not make it without him, that is a big franchise moment. It clearly is an overpay that will have some ramifications in a couple years in a pro-Bengals anti-Raiders way. But why is nobody talking about the big news here! While a competitor for one for one of the two wild card spots just got better, our Strength of Victory tie breaker likely got a little boost too! Not against the Patriots who also beat them, but could be important against the Jets who are suddenly just one game behind us

How high did we make it in 2008? I know that if the season ended today we would have home field advantage through the playoffs, but we also have won some nail biters, given up some big yardage and points, and haven't yet passed our 2010 win total. I enjoy some of the national media attention, but I we still have a ways to go to earn the real respect. Getting to the bye week at 5-1 is the next step, which starts to look pretty good with two Miami games and Denver still on the schedule.

So my question (and not finding a better thread to post it in) is who had on their "we will go 11-5!" or "no way we do better than 4-12" game by game breakdown befoer the season had us beating the Patriots and losing to the Bengals? Nobody. I'm excited to watch these next five you mention one at a time, with first up the Eagles and trying to find a way to beat them. I will take a 3-1 first quarter of the season, but playing good football and getting better each week so we can win games is what is is still all about.

Yeah, if only we could have a fumble forcing pass rushing machine like Aaron Maybin. Patience with Merriman, although I do agree that our pass rush is our most worrisome aspect of this team and something that needs to change for us to succeed.

With all the Spiller hate, I'm still not sure who people would have wanted. I don't see the Ngata or Orakpo here. Assuming we weren't going to use the magic crystal ball and revisionist history, which one of the next 10 picks is so clearly a better choice? Which of these guys should really have been a top 10 pick? 10 Jaguars Tyson Alualu DE 11 49ers Anthony Davis OT 12 Chargers Ryan Mathews RB 13 Eagles Brandon Graham DE 14 Seahawks Earl Thomas SS 15 Giants Jason Pierre-Paul DE 16 Titans Derrick Morgan DE 17 49ers Mike Iupati OG 18 Steelers Maurkice Pouncey C 19 Falcons Sean Weatherspoon LB In the redrafts I've seen only Alualu and Pouney are top 15 picks. I don't think Spiller should be CONVERTED to a WR, but I would like to see him line up there more often. We are enjoying a very special time for Freddie, but Spiller has a lot of potential to help this team a lot, and I don't think people will hate this pick by the time his rookie contract expires.

He did say that about the Bills, but I don't believe it was before a game against the Bills, but in a general interview about the AFC East if I am not mistaken. Prior to games he talks about the other team's strengths always, making them out to be a great opponent both to avoid bulletin board material and to to avoid his dominant team from losing concentration.

I think we are slightly ahead of my preseason assessment, but I stated that I think we are a 7-9 team, and 7-9 teams can get on a roll or get some bounces and finish 9-7, or they can have things go wrong and get some injuries and finish 5-11, and anywhere in between. I think 10-6 or 4-12 would be a shock, but I sure am rooting for the double digit win shock. I think we are much better than the 2008 season you will see so many differences in character from the QB to the Head Coach on down, that it would take a lot for this team to fall flat on its face after already winning one of the toss up games on Sunday. I put us right now at 9-7 (two games above my projection), because we have one toss up game finishing in our favor, and because I think we have enough momentum to outperform by another game. So I'm hoping we find another win with a luck bounce or an injury to an key opponent, etc to get to 10-6 and if we somehow win number 10 before the final week, I will root for us to way outperform our realistic range.

I have nothing to add. I just really wanted to see your post again with the word touchdown bolded, because you wrote it five times in a row in connection with the Bills offense.

Just for clarification for those who took the test before the 1994 changes, a 1580 after 1994 is not like a 1580 before, but it is still nice to have the smartest guy in the league on our team.

The best way to beat Brady is to get pressure with just four (not the three the Chargers are doing at the moment), and take away the middle. He is still going to put up some points, so make sure you score and run Freddie to keep him off the field as much as possible. It is fun going in to the game as a 2-0 team with an excited home crowd. You never know in the NFL, and Brady can have an off day and we can end our losing streak to them, but it will be different. I wouldn't mind seeing some minor injuries against the Chargers and have them banged up, but I never wish a serious injury on anybody, including Marsha.

Who was 7-1 on the road? Oakland won in San Diego (same time zone), against a terrible Broncos team with a late start, and at KC the final week of the season when KC had already clinched (but didn't rest the starters).

There seems to be some confusion about Sunday's win that the Raiders fans did not watch, so I thought I would post some quick details about the #1 rushing team from last year. They did not run the ball in the 3rd quarter, and the 4th quarter was garbage time. Here are all of the runs in the first half as well as passes to running backs: 1-10-KC 28 (11:37) 25-J.Charles left end pushed ob at KC 32 for 4 yards (31-J.Byrd). 2-10-KC 20 (8:08) 25-J.Charles up the middle to KC 23 for 3 yards (50-N.Barnett). 3-7-KC 23 (7:40) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 7-M.Cassel pass short left to 25-J.Charles to KC 17 for -6 yards (31-J.Byrd). 1-10-KC 14 (6:09) 25-J.Charles left tackle to KC 18 for 4 yards (56-S.Merriman). 1-10-KC 20 (:55) 25-J.Charles left end pushed ob at KC 42 for 22 yards (43-B.Scott). 1-10-KC 42 (:26) (Shotgun) 25-J.Charles up the middle to KC 42 for no gain (90-C.Kelsay). 2-10-KC 42 (15:00) (Shotgun) 7-M.Cassel pass short right to 22-D.McCluster to KC 48 for 6 yards (50-N.Barnett). 1-10-BUF 37 (13:51) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 20-T.Jones up the middle to BUF 36 for 1 yard (99-M.Dareus). 1-10-BUF 21 (12:53) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 25-J.Charles right guard to BUF 19 for 2 yards (37-G.Wilson). 1-10-KC 18 (6:37) 25-J.Charles right end to KC 21 for 3 yards (37-G.Wilson). FUMBLES (37-G.Wilson), RECOVERED by BUF-21-L.McKelvin at KC 21 2-10-KC 19 (5:28) (Shotgun) 22-D.McCluster up the middle to KC 21 for 2 yards (99-M.Dareus). 3-8-KC 21 (4:58) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 7-M.Cassel pass short left to 25-J.Charles to KC 30 for 9 yards (23-A.Williams). 1-10-KC 30 (4:27) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 7-M.Cassel pass short middle to 25-J.Charles to KC 31 for 1 yard (43-B.Scott). 2-9-KC 31 (3:56) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 22-D.McCluster left tackle ran ob at BUF 46 for 23 yards (29-D.Florence). 1-10-BUF 46 (3:28) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 20-T.Jones up the middle to BUF 44 for 2 yards (37-G.Wilson). 2-8-BUF 44 (2:55) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 25-J.Charles up the middle to BUF 30 for 14 yards (31-J.Byrd). They had three big runs (22,23, and 14 yards), and on the rest of their runs they did not get more than 4 yards. So their running game was: 4,3,4,22,0,1,1,3(Fumble),2,23,2,14. Not a perfect day by the Bills, but pretty impressive overall. Their passing game added 4 catches for 10 total yards. I would like to have those bigger runs back, but clearly KC had major problems running on the Bills until they gave up and were playing from behind. By comparison against the Broncos the Raiders had first half runs of 9,4,5,2,20,11,4,0,-3,0,2,6,3,20,0, so not all that different (4 big, a couple middle, and the rest short) against a weaker Broncos team. So there are our apples to apples details of what each team did in the first half last week. Doesn't have much to do with Sunday's game, but hopefully it clarifies the understanding of what the Chiefs were able to do against our defense.

Stopping the run is key, and Dareus gets to go after his first game ball as they pound it out on the ground. Campbell will get some scrambles and we have to make sure that they are five yard gains with containment and not 20 up the sideline. I'm not impressed with their passing game, and if we can get a lead it will make a big difference. The penalties for them are part of their football culture and we can count on. I think they are weaker than last year (especially pass defense, so a good setup for Fitz). Last year on the road they got crushed by Tennessee, lost to Arizona, lost to the Texans, lost to the 49ers, crushed a terrible Denver team, got crushed by the Steelers, lost to Jacksonville, beat the Chargers, and then beat the Chiefs after the Chiefs had clinched the division. So their road wins when they had a stronger team were: beating a terrible Denver team. beating the Chargers after an hour flight in the same time zone, and winning the last weekend of the season against a Chiefs team resting players before the playoffs. Not exactly an impressive showing, and the short week and travel I think will definitely play to our advantage. If we play a good game we will be 2-0 and should be favored going in. But this will be a bigger test for our O-Line and our run defense, two of our big question marks that we are feeling good about after week 1, but have a long way to go to prove that we are that good.

Yes, I am glad the Bills turned the page, and now I hope we can turn the page. We have a good 53 to root for regardless of what McGahee said about the nightlife or other things in the past.

I'm pretty sure I was going to say 41-7, but then ran out of time and couldn't post. Senator is 18 wins away from having his signature be as money as his game prediction. I think the Raiders at home give us a good chance of getting to 2-0, then we can worry about those final 17 games.