Koufax

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.

Will we realize that if CJ is never in to block that whenever the opposition sees 28 on the field they will all crash the box and not give him space? We need him running a few more routes out of the backfield at least if he can't be in for blitz pickup. However I am loving this game so far.

Does Andrew Luck fall to #32?

Cool season through two plays.

In other news Deion Sanders predicted the team getting the best play from the cornerbacks would come out on top, and Steve Young indicated the team with the better quarterback would win, and Jerome Bettis announced that whoever stopped the run would win. Michael Irvin added that if Stevie Johnson has more yards than Bowe the Bills will win. I do like Sapp being a fan of Kyle and Dareus, but most of the ex-player talking heads over focus on their old position, and Sapp appears to be doing that about our improved D-Line. I agree with his conclusion and think we win this game, but I don't know that I consider his analysis to be very comprehensive.

Remember when Brady went down in week 1 and it looked like the season was over? Manning is more valuable and the rest of the Colts less talented, but Kerry Collins also was the QB of a 13-3 team three seasons ago. I think they will play out the season even if Manning can't make it, and they will not get a chance to draft Luck.

Please remember that most of the paid NFL guys like Peter King don't follow the NFL 32 times more closely than hardcore Bills fans do, but probably somewhere around 10 times more closely. With 32 teams for them to follow and about 20 of them way more important than the Bills (read: any of the teams who might get an NBC game Peter King writes about or a decent playoff shot), the math clears with him spending a lot less time following the Bills than we do. While I like whenever we get respect like his 8-8 prediction rather than Clayton thinking we will be in line for Luck, neither of those guys really brings much to the table in terms of Bills analysis. I think we are realistically a 7-9 team this year. It is very easy for a 7-9 team to finish 5-11 if things go wrong or 9-7 if things go well. It takes a whole lot of good for a 7-9 team to go 10-6, and it takes a whole lot of bad for a 7-9 team to finish 4-12. So I think we are a 7-9 team that I am rooting for to overachieve by a few wins.

A couple quick observations: 1) It was fun when we weren't a football afterthought. 2) Man, those were big shoulder pads back then. 3) Keith McKeller's jersey spacing makes him seem like MC Hammer's long lost brother MC Keller. 4) In that game Kelly threw so many times flat footed and just flipping the ball to the open guy, but very accurate the whole time.

I agree, I think his OLB time is really just being a DE in a 3.5-3.5 when we aren't quite in 4-3 mode but pretty much are. Fun to see the flexibility, and I am glad that Moats got some ILB time since he is a backup, but I think despite height, etc., his best position is clearly OLB and when he is on the field, I hope it is more often in that position.

Oh wait! I know I know I know! Maybe he should play sports he is good at playing and not base it n his physique! Football does not appear to be one he is good at. If he can find a 4-3 team that isn't very good and be a situational speed rusher, maybe he could get better over time, but finding good football players instead of good combine pieces is probably a better strategy.

QB: I think Fitz being the man for the first time ever helps. That is offset a little by the lockout and lack of OTAs, but not going into a season waiting for Trent to fail seems like a big stride forward if he can stay healthy. OL: This is where I disagree with most around here. I think this unit will be improved this year, and I judge based on last year's 4-4 finish more than the pre season shuffle. #1) I think Wood being healthy and at center is a huge improvement for this team. Remember where he was this time last year, just coming off the huge injury and not practicing regularly. #2) Same with Bell. He had a rough day in Denver, but he is a year older, and instead of coming off a huge injury, he is coming off a 16 game season where he continued to improve. #3) Cornell Green is not playing for our team. I would love to see Hairston unseat Pears, but either way our RT performance will be better. I think this unit exceeds expectations. It will still take adding some new talent before this unit is good, but I very strongly think we will be better than last year. TE: One new body, a very low bar to raise, I see this being a little better. RB: Fred is still a low mileage old guy, and Spiller will contribute a lot more. Marshawn is gone, but so is the three back confusion. If Fred is as good, and Spiller is better, this unit would be better right? WR: A great unknown, but considering we only got half a year out of Roscoe last year, if he stays healthy that is easy to be improved. Stevie is young and getting better and developing chemistry with Fred, so I would expect him to be better. Easley is not the receiver Lee was, decoy or otherwise, so that is likely to be a step back, but not as major as some think. I think the unit is somewhere around no change, but possibly a little worse. Add Spiller to the mix and you have a big wildcard since I think he will be on the field together with Freddie more than we expect. So I expect a little more out of the offense, that played pretty well last year. Not an 11-5 offense, but I think they will do their part to us being an 8-8 team. I will leave defense alone mostly, but I am excited about Dareus, Merriman, Carrington, A. Williams, and Barnett contributing more at their respective spots, and don't see any spots where I think we are weaker.

"But apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order ... what HAVE the Romans done for us?" I get your point, but name dropping Bruce and Vick superstar #1 overall picks right away on the top of your list struck me as funny.

Thigpen is better than Brown right now, and is a no brainer to be our #2 with Levi to the PS. We are talking about someone who knows Chan's offense and put up 18TD-12INT with 2600Yds in his one opportunity to be the starter. In the event Fitz gets hurt I would rather have that than hoping Levi can make a few plays in his first ever action. Jasper is also a PS guy and his too far away from being a contributor even if he gets there. I would be shocked if someone makes him a 53 man roster guy considering he isn't ready to play, and doesn't have a lot of special teams value.

Awesome sarcasm or , I am not quite sure which. If the former, I applaud you. If the latter, I fear for your long term wellbeing. But since we all know that all teams have their deadline at the exact same second today, with no advantages one team from another, we can digress about time zones. I'm always amazed how Newfoundland and India among others have half hour offsets from others, which is funny especially for India, considering that level of precision, yet there is only one time zone for the whole country. And it is amazing that eastern Poland to the furthest western beaches of Spain is in the same time zone. Really big difference in what a 7am commute to work is like, and definitely a factor in why the Spanish eat dinner so late (because it really isn't late solar time, it is just late on the clock). Also interesting that China has only one time zone. Fortunately most of our junk is made in the east, otherwise think of the poor guys in the west who would have to check in for their 6am to midnight slave labor shift three or four hours before the sun rises. Okay, back to the Bills, I don't think we get any shocking cuts today, and I think Levi goes to the PS while Thigpen remains the #2.