MDH

So nobody else is annoyed at Spiller for running out of bounds instead of putting his shoulder down and fighting for the first down?

Why do people keep throwing this quote out there like it's some horrible thing? Tom Brady has said the EXACT same thing this year. I'm pretty sure all players and coaches would agree. http://proplayerinsiders.com/brady-says-its-hard-to-win-in-the-nfl/

I don't know what I'd do if the Bills moved. I've never lived in Buffalo and have only visited when going to Bills games and have no connection to the city whatsoever. I became a fan to counter my brother (seems like I did that a lot growing up.) My brother picked the Pittsburgh Steelers as his favorite team about halfway through the 1977 season. The Steelers were had won two SBs at that point and I told my brother that it was easy to pick a winner to root for and that I was going to pick a team and stick with them just because. I looked in the newspaper and found the team with the worst record in the league at the time - the Buffalo Bills. That's the team I chose. I told him I was going to root for them no matter what, even though they were horrible. I live and die by them during the NFL season and I love none of my sports teams as much as the Bills. They're a part of my identity. I've stuck with them ever since while my brother has moved from liking the Steelers, to the Raiders, to the Colts. Changing teams doesn't make any sense to me. I've moved quite a bit but it never even occurred to me to root for the local team (which would be the Jets or Giants atm). So would I change teams if they moved to another city? I don't know, it seems like I'd be quitting on them somehow and that's the whole reason I picked them to begin with - to pick a team and stick with them no matter what. At the same time the team I picked was the Buffalo Bills, I'm not sure they'd have the same meaning to me if they were somewhere else. Let's hope I don't have to find out what I'd do.

It's tough to rate some of these guys in just those categories. Just starting on a team that does well doesn't make a guy "above average." I guarantee you if Alex Smith were drafted by the Bills he'd be sitting on that "bust" list. A good team around him has helped him come around to what I'd call average. It's the same place I'd put Pennington. I'd say a guy like D Carr would be "below average" if he were drafted in the 20s but as the #1 overall pick - bust. Also, I think you're trying to rate guys too early. I wouldn't include anybody from the last two drafts on that list just yet as you're just guessing particularly in regards to this year's class. Anyway, my point is that this is a difficult exercise to get consensus on but I appreciate the time and effort you put into this and it's a good topic for discussion.

The guy is already on pace to get 8 sacks. 10 sacks isn't really the determining factor whether a DE has had a successful season or not. I'm not going to judge a season based on 10 plays. What I want to see are more games like the Cardinals game in terms of pass rush where even if he wasn't getting sacks he was a disruption to the QB on plenty of plays.

While the average NFL Salary is $1.9 million the median is "only" $700k - so Maybin's not too far from the middle of the pack. This is based on 2011 salaries though. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_06/b4214058615722.htm

It's not just Maybin, it's the entire Jets D who is talking about Bush because they're pissed at Bush's comments after Revis went down with an injury.

Like I said, who's the p*ssy? So you paid money. You've never done anything in your life at the level he does it, with the violence that he encounters...but you paid money! You sound like my wife complaining about a pair of high heel shoes she bought but didn't like once she left the store. And, for the record, I'm not fine with a lack of effort by any player. But that statement and saying somebody is a p*ssy aren't the same thing. Perhaps if you didn't speak in hyperbole in order to get attention you could make your point better.

I love all these posts calling him a wuss. The guy plays defensive line in the NFL. A position where he makes violent contact with 300lb+ men 50+ times a game while all you guys sit on your couch criticizing people who actually go out and lay it on the line. Yeah, he's the one with the gaping vagina.

I watch less. Before I had a son I'd watch pretty much all the college and pro games I could - I'd sit in front of the TV watching football all weekend. In the 8 years since my son's been born I'll watch all the Bills games and many the late games but I can't justify ignoring my family while I watch the 4pm game or any college ball except for the occasional primetime game. My priorities have changed and I can say I'm happier for it.

I'm guessing lots of students who were thinking of going into this field in Italy suddenly changed majors.

The resurrection of the Flutie/RJ debate in the "Flutie turns 50 years old" thread made me realize that some people think that a team wins or loses solely based on the QB. The QB's performance doesn't matter, how effective the offense is at putting points on the board doesn't matter, how good/bad a defense is doesn't matter. Some people think it's all the QB. If a QB helps the offense produce 13 points while the D holds the opponent to 10 points the QB "just knows how to win." If the QB leads the offense to 34 points but the D allows 35 the QB "sucks and is the reason the team lost." It's mind boggling how some people look at the game of football. Sure, we all know the QB is the most important position but to hear some of you talk it's the ONLY position. I'm not sure why anybody else lines up and plays.

Did he take responsibility for his 50 years on this Earth or is he blaming someone else?

Are people really trying to compare Newton to Brady, Brees and Rogers? Really? Yeah, it's the same thing, keep telling yourselves that. Not being enamored by a 2nd year pro who is struggling mightily both on and off the field is the same as people not wanting QBs who have Super Bowl wins and MVP awards....uh huh. Nobody fails to recognize that. What people realize is that it comes with the territory of being the #1 pick in the draft. The team you're going to sucks and you're going to have to deal with losing for a few seasons. You want the cash and the prestige of being the #1 pick you have to learn to deal with the pressures that come with it.

In 2010 when Edwards was DC before Wannstedt arrived the Bills ranked 24th in yards (361.6 per) and 28th in points allowed (26.6) In 2011 with Wannstedt "helping" the Edwards led D ranked 26th in yards (371.1 per) and 30th in points allowed (27.1) In 2012 with Wannstedt taking over the reigns the D ranks 32nd in yards (424.1 per) and 31st in points allowed (32.4) So basically Edwards was better off without Wannstedt and without the influx of draft picks and FAs the Bills have acquired in the past 2 years. Beware of the "how much worse can it be" attitude because as these numbers show, it can always get worse.

Poor Wade, the guy went 10-6, 11-5 and 8-8 and was fired from the Bills . Made the playoffs twice and never had a losing record. Talk about a raw deal. I remember everybody screaming for his head - be careful what you wish for. In the 11 full seasons since he's been gone the Bills have equalled or bettered Wade's worst record (8-8) two times. Yet people still remember him as a bad coach. Guess he should have put on that headset...

I wouldn't. Vince Young had all the talent in the world and his downfall began with temper tantrums because he had no idea how to deal with losing and still be a team leader through it all. We're starting to see some of that same behavior from Cam. How players deal with the pressures of the NFL goes a long way in determining how much success they have. How do they deal with the grind? How do they deal with losing - do the lash out or take responsibility? How do they deal with criticism? Do they put the effort in off the field that they should or instead go out with friends? Guys with that much talent are so used to everything being easy and the moment it stops being easy a lot of them falter. Cam might still turn out to be an amazing QB for a decade but only if he gets himself in line. If he continues down the path he's on this year he won't have the success he could/should.

I was in the same boat as you about 4 years ago (at the age of 35). I used to drink 5-6 sodas (the 20oz kind) a day. Hell, I'd have a Mountain Dew for breakfast. When I hit the 200lb mark I decided to make a change. I got rid of all soda and started drinking only water (and carbonated water - which I love) with the exception of a night out drinking a few times a month. I did this and started exercising 5 times a week (3 days of weights, 2 days cardio) for about 45 min. Without changing my diet too much (other than the sodas) I lost 40lbs in under a year and have kept it off to this day. So stick with it, only good things can happen. Once you get into a routine it becomes much easier than you'd think starting out. I don't miss the sodas at all now and when I crave something to drink it's usually Pelegrino. You train your body what to crave, it just takes a little time. Good luck!

Shanahan record with the Skins is one game better than Gaily's with the Bills (if I'm not mistaken - which I might be.) And let's hold off on anointing RG3 the next QB of the skins for a decade. After one year everybody thought Vince Young was going to be amazing (he won rookie of the year.) Same thing with Cam Newton and things are starting to go south for him. RG3 looks fantastic thus far but let's see what happens.

I'm guessing this thread gets ignored or you get blasted - I'm not sure which. I'll play along though. As you mentioned, FJ and Spiller are both guys worthy of having an offense built around them. Stevie Johnson has had his best year so far. Not statistically but the guy gets open consistently against good DBs. I have yet to see a DB who can consistently cover him. With an a QB who could regularly get him the ball he would post big numbers (I used to say the same thing about Moulds - man if that guy had a decent QB he'd heading to Canton.) Also as you mentioned, the OL has done an incredible job considering the injuries there. On D there isn't much nice to say. Byrd makes big plays with strips and INTs but he also makes quite a few bad plays. I won't get on him too much about the bad plays since he appears to be our only playmaker on D. Kyle Williams is a stud and appears to be the only DL who shows up on a regular basis. Gilmore is doing a fine job though I'm not sure if that's because teams target Aaron Williams mercilessly or because Gilmore is actually doing a fine job. In looking over my positives for the D I noticed I had quite a few negatives about people in there too. Sorry, but that's the best I can do when talking about this D.

The most alarming thing from that article was this: 30% of the city is below the poverty line?!?!?

I read your post and was primarily responding to this portion of it: I guess I should have quoted that portion. As my post states he did exactly what you're wanting here. He built the game plan around them, got them 35 touches and put up 34 points because of it.

It's fine to criticize his opinion, just have a logical rebuttal and not the idiotic stance that poster had. If that poster had Crayonz track record I would have found it funny it was so ridiculous.

You may have a point but I'm not sure it was the wrong call, just the wrong read and horrible throw (though I'm still not sure it was a horrible throw, it looks like he was trying to throw a back shoulder pass to Jones and there was a miscommunication ) If the Bills run the ball on 3rd and 7 with 3 minutes left and don't get the first down people are screaming that Chan isn't trying to "put the nail in the coffin" and is giving the Titans 3 minutes to score against a D that has been horrible all day long. I'm not confident the D would have stopped them from scoring had the Bills punted there. Hell, they scored with a minute left on the clock, an extra 35 yards in field position may not have stopped them. And if that happened people would be exploding asking why Gaily ran the ball instead of trying to get the first down.