MDH

So it's an unpopular opinion!

The Bills offense averages 6.15 yards on 1st down - good for 15th in the league. The Bills actually average more on 1st downs than the Saints, Patriots, Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins, and Titans. They're no powerhouse, but they're not horrible either. They're starting their 3rd string, practice string QB and both their RBs are hobbled by injury. They average less than a yard more per pass on 1st down than per run (most good teams average WAY more than that.) I don't see anything wrong with a run first, conservative approach. They have to protect these young QBs and limit their mistakes so the D can help them win games. The problem isn't their "predictability" on 1st down setting them up for long conversions. The problem is converting 3rd downs, even manageable ones. The problems on 3rd down are directly related to QB play which illustrates to me that they're correct in running more often than not on 1st down. Start throwing more on 1st downs and they're setting themselves up for MORE third and longs, not less.

Before they updated the stats with this week's game those numbers were all pretty much ranked in the middle of the NFL. One good game bumped them up and one bad game (like against NO) can bring them crashing down. I understand that people want this D to be "elite" but it's just not there yet. They have the talent at most spots and I have confidence in the scheme it's just going to take a little more time for everybody to understand what they're supposed to be doing without thinking about it and just reacting. The last 6 or so games should be very telling. Next year I expect this D to be a monster.

It's between Reid and Payton at this point with Reid the obvious frontrunner. How anybody can be mentioning Marrone is beyond me. Right or wrong they don't give the award for losing records but "keeping games close." The award is basically for the coach of the team with the biggest turnaround.

Yeah, when edited together into a 4 minute segment and the editor takes everything he said to the refs it sounds like that. But over the course of an entire game saying 4-5 things to the ref really isn't bad. Also, on theleg whip play that hump move was a thing of beauty. He got him off balance then tossed him aside like a child.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/drivestatsdef2011 Bills had a TO per drive of .158, good for 5th in the league in 2011. While that number is good they were horrible in virtually every other category.

The unsustainable argument doesn't hold, that's true. But it doesn't hold because what they're doing, in terms of turnovers, isn't that impressive. The Bills D ranks 15th in the league in turnovers per drive at .146. That's middle of the pack and certainly sustainable. Compare that to the league leader Chicago whose turnover per drive is .250 (1/4 of all drives against their D end in turnovers.) I'd say Chicago's number is unsustainable. The D this year is middle of the pack as opposed to the past few years of being abysmal.

They're too busy getting video of it so they can post it on Youtube.

I thought Dareus was the best player in the 2011 draft yet here we are 3 years later and he's nowhere near that good. He's better this year to be sure, but I don't think he'll ever be as good as I thought he was. I was ecstatic that the Bills got him at 3. I believed that when paired with K. Williams nobody would be able to run on the Bills. How I've been wrong. I can't decide if I was right or wrong about Reggie Bush. I thought he'd flop because all he did at USC was outrun the slower defenses to the corner and hit big runs. Until he learned to run between the tackles he'd be a bust. That proved to be true but I never thought he'd learn to do so. He has and he's turned into a good back because of it. This is the same thought I had about CJ Spiller. He proved me wrong last year because of the spread offense but when he has to work out of a traditional O he's reverted back to his old habits. The guys who do that are the ones who rely on talent and athleticism and not technique. Geno has looked good because he's improved his footwork a lot. He looks good in the pocket when he has time and doesn't rush his throws unnecessarily. He's been well coached by David Lee and Marty Mornhinweg. Granted, Geno panics under pressure some but he's still a rookie and that's normal. I didn't want Geno in Buffalo at all and perhaps he still falls on his face but for a rookie he looks confident and poised out there. Better than I thought. Let's see what happens when things don't go well for a few weeks though. One of the main concerns with him was his head and how he got too down when things went south and his game suffered because of it. That could still happen.

The KO coverage has actually been good. It's the punt coverage that's horrible.

If you let it go you might, one day, recover from your Skelton thread. But to keep it up like this is going to keep having it thrown back in your face. It's like you believe if you wish hard enough what you thought will come true. Try clicking your heels together too, that might work.

Bills D same as it ever was. Make all the threads you want how it's "better" than last years but it's still not very good. Still can't stop the run.

Bills fans are not the best in the NFL Thad isn't even good for a back up. The coming weeks will bear this out. The Bills D has been the weak link so far this season yet gets a pass because fans like aggressiveness. Byrd is one of the best safeties in the league. With a real QB Moulds would garner serious HoF consideration. It's not Hackett's fault that Spiller hasn't been effective this year. It's Spiller's.

I think part of the problem is people only consider the value of an RB as a runner and Fred isn't top 5 in that category...or top 10. If you put it all together though, blocking, receiving, leadership, then the discussion gets interesting. The guy does it all and does it all at a high level. Even splitting carries there aren't many RBs who are more valuable to their team than Freddie.

I liked it so much, I bought the company!

Duh, this is an easy one. What I like is good music by talented musicians. When others agree with me they also enjoy good music by talented musicians. When they disagree they like industry marketed crap and have no taste.

If he doesn't belong on an NFL roster then what the hell was he doing starting games? How do you go from starting to cut? If he was that bad (which he was) he had no business ever being on the field and the Bills should have found his replacement a month ago and he should have been riding the pine until Legursky got healthy.

So is Marrone... And a 3rd overall too.

Or a play fake to FJ and have Chandler slip out to the back of the end zone. If he's covered Thad can run it. Unlike other's I don't mind running it up the middle on the goal line. It works most of the time. But one of those three plays had to take advantage of the total sell out the Bengals were making to stop the middle run.

The Bills have had a lot of toss ups so far and they generally end up on the losing side of them. My guess is they'd be 3-3 with that schedule as they'd lose at Philly, at Tenn and to Dallas at home. Hell, I could see them losing to Oak at home as well.

How young are you? I used to never get hangovers, no matter how trashed I got. Then somewhere around 35-36 I started getting them when I drank hard liquor. Now I get them when I drink in excess no matter what it is.

True, but Moorman had a better game yesterday than Powell had all year long. Plenty of hang time, directed towards the sideline and deep. Let's hope he can consistently do it.

I don't get the Hackett bashing all year long. He's playing a conservative game to try and ease the young QB(s) into the NFL game and is putting up around 22 points per game in doing so. Pettine, however, gets a pass despite the fact that the defense ranks worse in the NFL both points and yards allowed. I swear people would rather lose aggressively than do well conservatively. And yeah, the D has had injuries but so has the O.

I find it interesting that you single out Gilmore. This D has so many issues and guys not pulling their weight yet you single out the guy who has a club on his arm and hasn't played a down of football in 2 months? A guy who, despite what you want to believe, played very well in the 2nd half of last year- particularly for a rookie. You might not like 1st round CBs but you can't be serious with jumping on him under these circumstances. You could jump on anybody else and it would make more sense. It makes it pretty obvious that you watch these things with your own agenda in mind.

This is a load of crap. The D didn't do their job. Their job isn't to simply keep points off the board, it's to get the team in a position to win the game. Letting them drive past mid-field and pin the O at the 6 yard line as FAR from doing their job. That is unacceptable in overtime. The fact that there are fans out there who consider that "holding" is amazing.