MDH

For fans there's no way of us knowing if his talent will translate. He needs to sit in a film room with coaches and breakdown what he's seeing for them and where he should go with the ball. He obviously has the physical tools it's a matter if he has the football smarts. Also, how quickly can he process information and how is his accuracy when he doesn't have a stone wall of an offensive line in front of him to give him all day to throw? Personally, he reminds me of Daunte Culpepper but with a bit more speed and (at the college level) more accuracy.

I agree that giving up on them is stupid but to expect more from a top 10 pick at RB is not. The guy is getting paid a ton of money to help this team. He didn't accept a contract that pays him very little the first 3 years then jumps up in value once he "understands the pro game." Spiller isn't a bust but he deserves the criticism he gets at this point. Hopefully he'll turn into a superstar who defenses fear and have to gameplan around - we'll see.

It is less money. Baseball money is guaranteed, so he would have seen all of the cash from the Yankees contract and he knows that there's no way a team is giving him $20m a year when/if he signs another deal 5 years from now (when he's 38 years old.) The guy left $30m on the table to play where he wanted. And the OP is so far off base it's not even funny. How on earth do you know their decisions were made up right from the start? You don't, its a huge presumption on your part - particularly when Rangers management came out and said that Lee said he'd sign with them if they added another year. That doesn't sound like a guy who had his mind made up from the start. I'm guessing we just have some Yankee fans who are pissed that they didn't get their guy while the Sox have made huge strides this offseason.

My only problem with the O is the formations and play calling on 3rd and short. They frequently line up in the shotgun or with an empty backfield on 3rd and 4 or less and I just don't get it. Take advantage of the down and distance and at least make the D THINK you might run the ball.

I can't think of a single 1st round RB who struggled in their rookie season and turned it around to become a "special player." I'm sure there have been a few, I just can't think of any... RB is the easiest position to pick up and play well right off the bat and if you struggle its usually because you're not going to make the transition and be the player they thought you would be.

My main thought after the game (and during it): Why is this team never prepared to play when they step on the field? Even during the weeks when the game is close they get manhandled in the 1st halves of games - why? It reminds me of the Wade years when the team would have to get smacked in the mouth before they woke up - except those teams won more than it lost. There is simply no excuse for coming out flat every single week.

This is a game the Bills should win? A 2 win team going into the metrodome isn't a "should win" game. They certainly can win it and I have no doubt it will be competitive but I think you're getting ahead of yourself here. And since when are the Bills a "good team?" They're on the right track but they're a long way off from being considered good. And this team can not beat anyone - particularly on the road. Playing lots of close games doesn't mean that they can suddenly go into Foxborro and take out the Pats. I think you're vastly overestimating this Bills team. They've given us reason for hope but they haven't turned the corner yet and become respectable.

I'd call it arrogance.

Why do people keep talking about the 1st pick? The Bills don't even have the #2 pick atm. They've beaten both the Bengals and Lions who they're tied with at 2 wins - which puts the Bills at #4 right now. Given the way those teams are playing - and how the Bills are playing - I don't see the Bills moving up in the draft.

No matter how good a player is you'll never get consideration for defensive MVP when the D that player plays on is horrendous. The Bills D is one of the worst - if not THE worst - in the league. Nobody will mention Williams for MVP because of it, and rightly so.

Evans is having a bad year stat wise but even Stevie acknowledges that he's getting so open because teams roll coverage Evan's way because they fear the big play. Not taking anything away from Johnson, he's been fantastic but Evans has made his job quite a bit easier.

And he did. If he didn't want to have head to head contact he'd have lead with his shoulder instead of his head. You know, the way you're taught to tackle - lead with shoulder and wrap the guy up with your arms.

The lost man in yesterday's game - a guy nobody is mentioning - is Freddie Jackson. The guy is one of the best all around backs in the league. No, he's not anywhere near the best runner but take all his attributes and you've got a guy who never needs to leave the field. He's a solid runner with fantastic vision who has loads of patience in the run game. He's got good hands and knows where to find the soft spot underneath as an outlet and he he simply FANTASTIC at blitz pickup. One of the main reason's the Bills did well in pass protection yesterday was Freddie's instant identification of the Blitz and his ability to quickly get into position to pick up the extra man. He did it time and time again flawlessly. It was a thing of beauty. And like you I prefer McKelvin's kick returns to Spillers. McKelvin might not be quite as fast as Spiller but he has better vision and is decisive with a quick burst to get through the holes. McKelvin doesn't have to long return that Spiller has but he consistently has the offense set up outside the 30. I'm really not sure what role Spiller plays on this team. He's not even a good 3rd down back considering how fantastic Jackson is at picking up the blitz.

That's the thing with the passing game though, you're going to get dropped balls, you're going to get poorly thrown balls when a WR is wide open, you're going to get tipped balls for INTs - it's just what happens in the passing game. To expect these things not to happen is wishful thinking. It's highly unusual for a QB to put the ball up 40 times and not get at least one turnover - and when you are a mediocre team you can't overcome turnovers. I love the aggressive play calls (like going deep on 1st down from the 40) but he does need to even it out with a bit more balance. Jackson is a quality back and the Bills most reliable offensive player and the more times we get the ball in his hands the better.

Yeah, the facemask might have been in the chest but the crown of his helmet was in Fitz's face - that's going to get a penalty every time. Helmet to helmet (or in this case helmet to face) contact is no longer going to be allowed. It wasn't even a debatable call.

just a horrible timeout before the 2 minute warning. Sure, it saves you 3 seconds on the clock by calling it on the front side of the 2 min warning but it does 2 bad things for you: it gives the Steelers the option of throwing the ball (since the clock will stop no matter what) and it only gives you 2 timeouts if they get the 1st. Just a horrible call.

How can anybody who actually gets paid to write about the NFL conclude that one of the Bills major weaknesses is the secondary? Basically this team needs help everywhere on the D side of the ball EXCEPT the secondary - or does he think the Bills are the league's worst run D because the CBs don't crash the LoS and tackle the ballcarrier? This neglects the QB and OT spots as well. Yeah, a team would pass on a guy like Luck because they have a journeyman QB who has put together some solid stats but fails in crunch time.

Losman just refuses to quit, which is a positive attribute, not a negative. If only everybody had that kind of work ethic and determination. I hope all his hard work and dedication pays off for him. He was always a good guy and tried his hardest but just wasn't good enough while with the Bills. I wonder if the OP hopes for continued failure for anybody in life who dedicates themselves to something and continuously tries to improve to reach a goal?

The team is exactly as bad as their record shows. An 0-7 record doesn't mean they get blown out every game, it means they manage to find a way to lose every week. That is exactly what the Bills do.

Did Gaily not have access to the game tapes of Edwards?

That has something to do with the Bills D which is allowing offenses to score at a record setting pace. He currently ranks 10th in average (of those with at least 10 returns) which isn't bad, but isn't fantastic either.

I don't even think it was a boneheaded move. Half the Raven D had him stopped, then they lifted him up off the ground and held him there while Lewis ripped the ball free. How on earth does the whistle NOT blow there as forward progress had clearly be stopped?

Even if the Bills lose this game to go on the road against one of the best team's in the NFL and perform well is a good thing. And yeah, I have no faith they'll hold onto this lead. As I say this Whitner drops a pick.

WTF - where has THIS team been all year?

I do too, and if it was the Bills QB doing it everybody would love it and talk about his leadership and moxy. I hate the Pats as much as anybody but I don't hate Tom Brady - I'm envious that a rival has a QB like that and the Bills don't.