MDH

Now that they're out of the playoffs I agree. Let it rip and tell the kid to not worry about making mistakes which right now appears to be what his problem is. Yeah, that might be one of the reasons he struggled yesterday. He had developed some chemistry with Woods. Without him in the lineup it looked like he'd look to SJ and if he was covered just dump it off.

This board would just bail on the new QB when he struggled 6 games into his rookie season.

The Bills have the personnel for a spread offense. Small, fast WRs and a small, fast RB who pretty much needs open space to be effective. The problem is they don't have a QB who can run the spread. So they line up in traditional formations and try to force a square peg through a round hole. They either need to spread things out a or they need to find new skill position players. It's obviously much easier to change the scheme, but I don't see that happening, particularly not while they're trying to protect their rook QB.

Gilmore was horrible yesterday, there's no other way to state it. He was behind his man most of the day and played soft which I dont' get because his strength is getting up in guys faces and jamming them at the line. He's not quick enough to stay with guys if he gives them a clean release and he did so yesterday time and time again. The Bills D line was also bad. They got pushed around, Mario peeked inside on more than one occasion and lost his edge contain and nobody looked like they came to play. Overall I'm just not impressed with the D. Yeah, sure, its' better than the putrid crap we've had to watch the past few seasons but that doesn't make it good. There is too much talent on that D to be average like they are. Everybody is laying into the offense (and I agree, they suck) but I cut them some slack because of the young QBs, young WRs and Colin Brown was manning a G spot for most of the season. But the D, I expect more from them and time and time again they fail to deliver. Yeah, I think he scores on that play too. I actually think he looked much faster on his runs yesterday that what we saw earlier in the season when I was far from impressed with him as a runner. It looks like his legs are feeling better, let's hope he uses them without putting himself in too much danger.

"Falling" implies that it's in the process of doing so. It fell a long time ago. I'm just hoping somebody picks it up and puts it back up where it belongs sometime in the near future.

I started rooting for the Bills in the late 70s when the Bills sucked. The Steelers were in the middle of winning their 4 Super Bowls and my brother had become a fan. Even as a little kid I thought that sucked. He wasn't from Pittsburgh (we were living in the LA area at the time) and he was only rooting for them because they won. So I asked him and my Grandfather who the worst team in the NFL was and they both said, "the Bills." I wasn't a football fan at the time (I was only 5-6) but I decided that the Bills would be the team I rooted for just to show my brother that the team didn't have to win to be a fan. Of course, now I'm stuck with this cursed franchise but there's no way I'm not going to abandon them because they lose when that's the very reason I started rooting for them. Sometimes you get what you ask for...

I just want to point out to people that perhaps they should move back from the ledge about Manuel. Who knows how good/bad he ends up but QBs have bad games all the time. Carolina put up 10 points and Newton wasn't good. 50% for 160 something yards. They won...thanks to the D. The Niners put up 9 points and Kaepernick was brutal. 50% passing for less than 100 yards. He's looked bad plenty this season. Luck, lots of passing yards but 3 INTs and his team put up 8 points (and this was at home.) Imagine that, young QBs are inconsistent and sometimes have horrendous games. I'm not sold on Manuel but I'm willing to give the kid a chance.

He plays like he can't figure out the D quickly enough (like all rookie QBs) and someone has hammered it into his head to not make mistakes that kill the team. So if the D sends pressure he looks at his first read and if he's covered he dumps it off. The coaching staff needs to start telling him to not worry about making mistakes and just go out there and play. The only thing worse than a guy who doesn't protect the ball is somebody who never takes any chances.

The only thing about the Bills that looked good yesterday were the unis. That combo is the best looking uni in the NFL IMO, unfortunately the Bills make it look bad with their putrid play.

When I saw SJ walk off the field yesterday my first thought was Ricky Watters infamous, "For what? For what?" comment years ago. I don't know if the facts back it up but my perception is that Stevie will gut it out if the Bills are in the game but if they're not it's off to the locker room.

You only take a guy that you think is "can't miss" because you can't take another guy who you like his potential then sit him on the bench while Manuel gets seasoned (or sit Manuel on the bench while the other guy gets seasoned.) You really have to pull the trigger on a guy you like and go with him until you know one way or the other because otherwise you're just playing musical chairs and NOBODY is getting the reps they need to improve. So if there's a "can't miss" type guy, pick him up. Otherwise trust your scouting from last year and stick with Manuel until you know. The bottom line is that just about everybody is over-reacting. It's one game. One game. If he had a spectacular game it'd still just be one game. Horrible games happen to everybody. What we need out of the QB position is consistent, good play and that only comes with reps. Despite everybody wanting know now, you just can't. Manuel's game yesterday was the worst we've seen him look so I'll chalk it up to being rusty. He looked uncomfortable with the speed of the game and rushed everything. That sounds like a young guy who is rusty to me. If that type of play continues on a regular basis it might be time to move on but until then I'll cut him some slack.

Yeah, that was a horrible throw but the D can't tackle the WR with the ball in the air.

McKelvin looking horrid today too. Hesitant on the last return despite having 14 yards of open space to run and muffs this one. Did anyone come to play?

Who punts down 14 on 4th and 5 from the 35 yard line? WTF? WTF!??!

Hey, wait till next year! I have patience with a rookie QB because it's part of the deal. But watching idiotic mistakes like the entire DL jumping offsides or this D with all their talent letting a Pittsburgh team run all over them - I have no patience for.

You can't run on every 3rd and 1 but what I don't understand is why Manuel isn't under center in that spot. It makes his footwork easier, he gets to see the D the entire time instead of having to look down for the ball and it gives the threat of the run.

Not even close. Great punt coverage yet again.

You don't want to hear it but that's the bottom line. I predicted in preseason that this board would be calling him a bust halfway through he season whenever he struggled because they lack the patience to watch a rookie learn the game. Who knows how he pans out but it's too early to make a decision right now.

Somebody needs to tell Marv that his toupee looks ridiculous. 70 year old men don't have solid brown hair.

Yeah, I'm in favor of a conservative offense until the QBs get more seasoning but you still have to mix things up and take your shots. I'm just hoping the Bills can pull a KC and get drubbed on the stat sheet but somehow walk out with a road victory. A turnover or two by the D is needed though, this offense is putrid.

I don't think we have to worry about that...

So much for the "easy" part of the schedule.

No sacks, fumbles or turnovers.

That was a good throw actually. Stevie got bumped at the last minute and took him off his route but the pass was right on target.

Man, Manuel has to start working on his footwork. He rarely gets his feet under him and squares his shoulders when he's not sitting in the pocket with zero pressure. The first sign of pressure and his footwork goes out the window.