BillsVet

I was being sarcastic, sorry there. I just see so many excuses and was anticipating what some will offer when the game is over.

It's a rebuilding year anyway, the QB is rusty, the QB is a rookie, it's windy, they played hard, PIT is better than their record suggest, BUF was playing on the road in a tough venue, etc. What's the narrative going to be after this one about why the Bills couldn't win?

Twice now where Stevie makes a nice play and a Steeler DB is hurt. Possibly nothing more than a coincidence, but odd.

Now I know why Marrone told Hackett to shut his trap in (EDIT: training camp). He knew they weren't going to be the wide open offense people thought would be coming. That, and Spiller wasn't going to be getting 20 carries per, which is something Gailey told us Spiller wasn't capable of doing.

Is Hackett rusty today as well? I know PIT is playing the pass here, but I feel like Steve Fairchild is still calling plays like the last game Buffalo played in Pittsburgh.

True. But accuracy is something you've either got or don't. The difference is Manuel has a stronger arm but as of right now about the same touch on his throws.

To a certain degree, but he lacks touch on his passes. His accuracy leaves much to be desired at this point.

It's one thing if Peyton Manning goes down for Denver because that means their season is done. The Bills aren't faced with that predicament if Manuel goes down and should be able to play someone at this point in Manuel's career who is relatively close to his level of play. SIgning Kolb was a huge risk given his injury history and IMO the root cause to the QB issues. The Bills couldn't have known both Manuel and Kolb would be hurt in the pre-season, but Kolb's durability issues in his career made that a greater possibility than other options. And it's this which has forced them into scrambling to find a guy who can play. Call it 20/20 hindsight or whatever. When the team had time to plan, their risk hurt them.

Agree completely. Their management of the QB position this off season is akin to someone flailing about in her dark for a light switch. If they can't plan ahead at QB, and yes they've had injuries, it's hard to believe they'll build an entire team that reaches the playoffs.

Lowered expectations. Ironically this win for Kansas City means they'll finish above .500, representing a minimum +7 in wins from 2012. I don't understand why some cannot see that the decisions made in the off season have more benefits or consequences than what the average fan sees on game day. The Bills are mediocre because their front office botches too many decisions. They make some good ones, but not enough to forge a winning team.

It's hard to believe under any circumstances that a NFL team would ever be in a position to start a rookie UDFA in a regular season game. I wonder if it's any team in the past 25 years has been forced into this situation.

It's amazing we're at this point debating the merits of starting a rookie UDFA (Tuel) versus a street free agent (Flynn) to replace a guy on his 4th team in 4 years (Lewis). Injuries happen and the Bills have been very unlucky. In light of that, I don't understand why they decided to sign Kevin Kolb who hasn't made it through a complete season in 6 NFL years. That's a risk a more forward thinking organization wouldn't take, especially considering they might start a rookie QB.

Tuel goes 24-28 for 362 yards, 3 TD's and 0 INT's. And da Bills beat the Chiefs 44 to -7. Marrone will find a way to make the Chiefs go into the negative. Seriously, he's a rookie UDFA with a marginal arm playing against a top defense on pace to challenge the single season sack record. He'll be lucky to throw for 125 yards behind that sieve of an offensive line. But apparently some superfans think otherwise.

As much as analytics is about in-game decisions, it's more geared toward personnel and building a team. The odds one guy like Buddy Nix making enough good draft picks a la the 1980s-1990s are not high in 2013. The Bills know this, "retired" Nix, and promoted what we can only hope is a more forward looking GM who'll embrace statistical analysis in personnel evaluation. The only exception to this rule is when you've got a Ted Thompson or Jerry Reese as your GM and even then I'll bet they augment their opinions with analytical research.

Good to hire someone to run the department. Surprised it didn't happen sooner given that the team president announced they would do it 10 months ago.

Pro Bowl/All-Pro players the team develops tend not to sign here when they want market rate. Is that the player or the team? Some believe the team isn't at fault and others see the team as the obstacle.

For all the talk about the 2013 draft class, if the 2009 version is an example, the Bills aren't really devoted to re-signing their own like they say they are. Let's hope Manuel, Alonso, and Woods are all excellent players, but I'm not sure the team can keep a nucleus together given those self-imposed salary restrictions.

Has Parker out-maneuvered any NFL team twice in 4 years? Just wondering. I thought this team was supposed to be rebuilding and it's hard to justify trading an asset when you're 20M beneath the cap with no significant player due a contract extension until 2015.

Perhaps that's why Clemson used him much the same way Gailey did: getting about 20 touches per. In Spiller's senior season after James Davis left, he had 216 carries. One of the, albeit minor, issues with CJS was that he got nicked up frequently. They may need to revert to using him the way (!) Gailey used him. As you said, put him in space and complement him with a more durable option. Thing is, if you're using the 9th overall pick in the draft on a RB, you want a guy who is more than a specialist type back.

New ownership. Four rebuild attempts in 13 years illustrate there's a deeper issue than just personnel, play-calling, HC's, or even GM's.

Former Practice Squad QB on his 4th team backed up by a rookie UDFA. Only in Buffalo.

Hackett needs to be sent to a D-III school for re-training on the read option.

My bad. I thought the point in professional sports was to win games, not merely hoping for and talking about it.

Thanks KRC. Excellent. I enjoyed reading the article on Tingelhoff, a player I had not known of previously who played for several years and didn't miss any games at center.

That's ironic, considering that many in this thread ignore W-L record. Predictably, they defend the lack of on-field success by citing a concept not quantifiable (more team talent) while scapegoating the previous staff. To quote Bill Parcells, "you are what your record says you are."