Jerry Jabber

IMO, there were a lot of dropped balls and missed routes by the inexperienced/young receivers of the Pats. I don't expect that to happen in the next meeting. Also, check this out about how well the Bills do against the Pats in their second divisional matchup: http://www.buffaloru...iots-since-2000 "Now here’s where it gets ugly folks, the scores of the second divisional games against the Patriots: · NE 13 – BUF 10 (Bledsoe) · NE 12 –BUF 9 · NE 27 – BUF 17 · NE 31 – BUF 0 · NE 29 – BUF 6 · NE 35 – BUF 7 · NE 28 – BUF 6 · NE 56 – BUF 10 · NE 13 (Cassel) – BUF 0 · NE 17 – BUF 10 · NE 34 – BUF 3 · NE 49 – BUF 21 · NE 37 – BUF 31 To add it all up, the Patriots have outscored the Bills 381 – 130 (251 point difference) in the second divisional matchup since 2000. Take away the two games Brady did not play in against the Bills, the Patriots outscored the Bills 355 – 120 (235 point difference). In the 26 games played since 2000, the Patriots have outscored the Bills 728 – 372 (a 356 point difference). By looking at the scores, it’s painfully obvious that the Bills have played better against the Patriots in their first divisional matchup of the year. What also confirms that even further, is that the Bills are 3-10 against the Patriots in the first divisional matchup of the year, vice 0-13 in their second divisional matchup of the year. The last time the Bills beat the Patriots in their second divisional matchup of the year, was on December 26, 1999, when the Bills (led by Doug Flutie) defeated the Patriots (led by Drew Bledsoe) 13-10 in overtime." My point to all of this is as that I feel the Bills are not going to be this lucky against the Pats in the next matchup as the Pats were unusually sloppy on Sunday (I hope I'm wrong, but I'm all out of One Bills Drive Kool-aid).

I wasn't impressed with the starting D's performance against the Redskins in preseason (especially since they were playing against a 3rd & 4th string QB). If the Pats improve throughout the year and blowout the Bills in the next meeting, then we know my concerns are justified. As I already stated above, if the Bills defense keeps the team in the game, and we see steady improvement, then I will reconsider my position. You didn't read through all the posts...

If the Bills defense can keep the team in the game throughout the season, then I will change my opinion of them. But, if they get blown out in a few games, like they did last season by the Jets, Pats & Seahawks (meaning giving up over 40 and 50 points in a game) then we know my criticism of them was valid.

Some see it the way I did, while others see it differently...that's life.

:thumbsup:

Good post. I think EJ has potential and liked what I saw from him. I don't expect him to be RGIII or Andrew Luck right away, but it's possible the kid is the real deal. I agree with what you said about Dareus and Mario. If those two players can't get it done this year, then the Bills need to look into other options. Already did, just scroll through the posts...

If the Bills defense played against the 2012 Patriots, then I can see your point, but this Pats team is a shell of itself and I was not highly impressed like you were. I mentioned that Pats game because it was an absolute embarrassment, but apparently you think that's the only Bills game I've ever seen at Rich Stadium/The Ralph. I started watching the Bills when I was a kid when Chuck Knox was the head coach. Before I went in the Marines in 1996 I went to several games a year. Every time I came home on leave during football season, I made sure I got tickets to watch the Bills live. Before I was able to get Direct TV, I would either listen to the Bills games off NFL.com or go to sports bars to watch the games. So, after 13 miserable seasons, I'm not cutting this team anymore slack, giving them the benefit of the doubt or drinking the kool aid. I need to see results in the form of wins. I don't want to hear its a new team, new management, coaches, players, etc... It's one thing for a team to miss the playoffs for a few years, 5-6 years at an extreme, but 13 years is absolutely pathetic!!

Sorry man, as you can tell I'm one pissed off fan! I liked what I saw from Manuel. His TD passes were the best passes I've seen from a Bills QB in many years (nice tight spirals). Even though the score on the board was very close, I felt the Pats made a lot of mistakes that they normally don't make (many dropped balls, missed routes, etc...). I keep thinking back to when the Bills got beaten badly by the Pats and Seahawks last year. I do see that there is some improvement from last season, but I think the Bills could have gotten blown out of the water on defense as well if the Pats receivers didn't drop the amount of passes that they did.

I wish the Bills would have won the game.

The only stat that matters is the win. Brady is 21-2 against the Bills (and counting), while the constant rebuilding/recycling of the Bills continues. The Bills gave up 158 yards on the ground and their supposedly great D-line got gashed up the middle (again) for big gains.

First off, the Pats just weren't just without their #1 TE, Gronkowski, but also without their #2 WR, Dobson: http://profootballta...-dobson-to-out/ I already stated that neither Byrd or Gilmore play the slot, which is where Brady makes his bread & butter against the Bills (doing the dink & dunk). Both the Bills and Pats run an up-tempo offense, so there is going to be a ton of plays on both sides. I will admit the Bills defense yesterday was an improvement over last years defense against the Jets opening day, but they still have a lot of holes on the team. Seeing multiple runs up the middle for long yards IS a BIG concern. The bottom line is the Bills still lost the game. It's one thing if the defensive pressure led to more sacks, tipped balls, interceptions, etc... but the only interception was a case of butterfingers by the Pats TE. The fumble by the Pats RB was a fluke, but heads up play by Searcy to locate the ball and run it back for a TD. After 13 years of missing the playoffs, I'm done drinking the kool-aid. Question for ya...when the Bills got destroyed 56-10 at the Ralph in prime time back in 2007, were you watching the game from the comfort from your home or did you drive up from out of state, and pay money to watch that pathetic showing?! Why don't you read through all the pages before commenting... And who won the game? What's Brady's record against the Bills? How many rushing yards did the Bills give up?

I'm not too worried about Goodwin as the Bills are loaded at WR, but losing Brooks, considering the Bills are already thin at CB definitely hurts.

DT's are a concern considering the amount of runs for big yards up the middle. I saw Dareus get thrown on his azz yesterday. Mario did nothing. Jerry Hughes was noticeable allright...for 2 offsides penalties. Tom Brady continued to eat up the Bills with the dink and dunk stuff. Do I think the Bills defense improved so far from last year...yes, but they still have a long ways to go.

Were there improvements from last year...of course. Wannstedt ran a defense that was 20 years old and had no answers when it didn't work, but the Bills defense still has a lot of holes.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/fans-wear-hernandez-prison-garb-pats-game-article-1.1449309

Mad because they took your favorite TV show off the air?

Like the group of fans wearing orange prison jump suits with "Hernandez" "81" on the back.

:thumbsup: I agree. Some people on here are acting like "Yay, we got close to sacking Brady!!! We hit Brady after he threw the ball (even though the pass was still completed for a first down), we're getting better!!!" I can tell you're one of those that are acting like ""Yay, we got close to sacking Brady!!! We hit Brady after he threw the ball (even though the pass was still completed for a first down), we're getting better!!!" I'm sure you're taking yesterday's game as a moral victory since we only lost by 2 points compared to the first time we played the Pats last year and got destroyed 52-28.

Yes, the Bills were without Byrd and Gilmore. But, do either Byrd or Gilmore play the slot? Do you think either one of those guys would have stopped Amendola from the slot yesterday? Brady has always played the dink and dunk game against us and I hate to say it, but even with those two on the field, the result would have been the same.

One stat I wish the NFL would show is how many incompletions were due to the fault of the receiver. Did some QB pressure force some bad throws/early throws from Brady yesterday...of course. But how many incompletions were due to the Pats receivers? Next time the Bills play the Pats, Gronkowski most likely will be healthy, and the Pats WR's will have more experience with Brady, so the next meeting against the Pats could be a blowout win for the Pats. In the second divisional game against the Pats, the Pats have outscored the Bills 10 out of the last 13 times by a 381-130 margin (251 point difference).

Let's take a look at week 1 from last season: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012090902/2012/REG1/bills@jets#menu=highlights|contentId:0ap1000000060341&tab=analyze So the Bills didn't sack Sanchez at all in that game, so 2 sacks on Brady would be considered an improvement. But, let's look at the other stats: Sanchez threw for 266 yards (Brady threw for 288), last year the Jets had 118 yards rushing while the Pats had 158 yards rushing...so that's an improvement huh?! The run defense still sucks!!! Did you see how many long runs the Pats had up the middle against the Bills yesterday, or were you watching the game? Brady has always played the dink and dunk game against the Bills and the Bills were still unable to stop Brady from doing that. Getting close to Brady and knocking him down after he threw the ball doesn't mean a damn thing if the Pats are completing passes, moving the chains and scoring points.

I asked this before the start of the season, and I'll ask it again, if the DT's can't get it done up front this year, then should the Bills look at replacing them? Based on yesterday's performance, Kyle Williams had a sack and made a few tackles, Dareus knocked down a pass (which could have been an INT) as well as a few tackles (but was tossed on his butt by the Pats O-line). http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/161144-should-the-bills-get-new-dts-in-the-offseason/ Considering the Pats had their most success running the ball up the middle of the field, that falls on the DT's. Where I think the Bills run game improved from last year was on the edges, but where it is still horrible is up the middle.

I'm starting to agree as I saw him get thrown on his azz yesterday. The Bills got gashed (again) for big runs up the middle of the field.

Three of the Patriots' six longest plays were on rushes. Marrone noted after the game that the Bills held the Patriots to 4.5 yards per carry (compared to 4 yards per carry by the Bills), but if you subtract the 15 yards on seven carries from LeGarrette Blount -- he was in the game because of Stevan Ridley's unforced fumble -- then the statistics aren't as rosy. Ridley and Shane Vereen combined for 147 yards on 23 carries, a 6.4-yard average that was worse than the 5 yards per carry the Bills allowed last season. The Bills run D contributed to the loss in a big way IMO. Not much has changed from last season by the run D that I could see.

Same here.