Do your see a pattern here?

[Bleed Bills Blue]

We're actually getting better with each game this preseason. How many agonizing years have we heard "We need to go back, watch the tape and learn from our mistakes", only to have to endure the same grinding mediocrity the following week? This ship hasn't been fully righted yet, but at least it's not sailing in circles any longer.

 

Bring on the opening day ROUT !!

[Pilsner]

We're actually getting better with each game this preseason. How many agonizing years have we heard "We need to go back, watch the tape and learn from our mistakes", only to have to endure the same grinding mediocrity the following week? This ship hasn't been fully righted yet, but at least it's not sailing in circles any longer.

 

Bring on the opening day ROUT !!

 

Even though this is preseason this just feels so damn good to see how we put up points so fast. It's been so long since we had a decent offense. Our O is still so inexperienced all I can see is progress and an upward trend from here. We have a long way to go but it just feels damn good that maybe we finally hit rock bottom and for now on we're on our way back up. And what a joyous ride this could be

[Meathead]

simmer down john boy

 

every preseason, without fail, all across the nation, football fans either book their sb plane tickets or cry into their wheaties

 

and for what? for nuthin

 

cuz after decades of watching the nfl i have learned on thing: preseason means nothing

 

oh fans will come in here and offer all kinds of rationalizations why this time it means something. dont listen. it means nothing

 

no. thing. nah. ting. nada. zilch. zippo. antidisestablishmentarianism

 

you may now return to your regularly scheduled gushing

[NishP]

simmer down john boy

 

every preseason, without fail, all across the nation, football fans either book their sb plane tickets or cry into their wheaties

 

and for what? for nuthin

 

cuz after decades of watching the nfl i have learned on thing: preseason means nothing

 

oh fans will come in here and offer all kinds of rationalizations why this time it means something. dont listen. it means nothing

 

no. thing. nah. ting. nada. zilch. zippo. antidisestablishmentarianism

 

you may now return to your regularly scheduled gushing

 

Your a F'in meathead, lloll. Let these people be excited becuz i am, i havent seen the bills put up points in years, im excited. GOOOOOO BILLS

 

BTW progress is a slow process,

[bowery4]

yeah last years preseason meant nothing, just ask our O line and the offensive coordinator that got fired after it.

[mpl6876]

simmer down john boy

 

every preseason, without fail, all across the nation, football fans either book their sb plane tickets or cry into their wheaties

 

and for what? for nuthin

 

cuz after decades of watching the nfl i have learned on thing: preseason means nothing

 

oh fans will come in here and offer all kinds of rationalizations why this time it means something. dont listen. it means nothing

 

no. thing. nah. ting. nada. zilch. zippo. antidisestablishmentarianism

 

you may now return to your regularly scheduled gushing

 

I have to disagree with you. As some of you may recall, I was quite upset with the proformance of our team against Washington. Many of you thought I overracted and prehaps I did. That is a whole different issue. I simply bring this up to stay consistent with my thinking. I said this preseason is important to the Bills. It does mean something. My feelings haven't changed. We are a young team, rebuilding, and learning how to win and play with confidence. This preseason can help us play with confidence, build a winning attitude, start believing in one another, believing in the coaches and their philosphy, attitude, and schemes. We are not the Bill's of the 90's where preseason wasn't that important. That team had winners and vets who already knew how to win. With all due respect, I cannot agree with your post.

Edited August 29, 2010 by mpl6876

[Dorkington]

I don't think anyone is saying "OMG Superbowl", we're just *encouraged* by what we are seeing vs what we have seen in the past. There is a grey area between the blacks and whites, after all.

Edited August 29, 2010 by Dorkington

[Hapless Bills Fan]

simmer down john boy

every preseason, without fail, all across the nation, football fans either book their sb plane tickets or cry into their wheaties

and for what? for nuthin

cuz after decades of watching the nfl i have learned on thing: preseason means nothing

oh fans will come in here and offer all kinds of rationalizations why this time it means something. dont listen. it means nothing

no. thing. nah. ting. nada. zilch. zippo. antidisestablishmentarianism

you may now return to your regularly scheduled gushing

 

Hmmmm, don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

Are you trying to insinuate or imply that preseason doesn't mean anything? *g*

 

I think preseason usually means something, but what it means isn't as simple as looking at the W and L because of the starters playing limited time.

That may be what you're saying? For example, it clearly means nothing that the Bills won easily last night

When Palmer and the first string O were playing 1st Q, the Bengals roared unimpeded down the field and their punter was observed collecting cobwebs.

If that O stayed in, I hope we would have made adjustments on D (I think we did), but it's a cinch to think the score would have differed.

 

So the "something" the preseason means last night to Cincy is their starting O appears to be in full working order and their backup Q is competent.

The "something" the preseason means to our D is -- where did the pass coverage go? We used to have some, last year?

Either coverages were being blown all over the field, or the coaches need to return to the chalkboard for better schemes.

Give the DL better cleats so they can follow the receivers or something or at least take away their "twitter" accounts.

Let's just say "Mr Freeze" got thawed.

 

Last year the preseason to us meant our OL sucked and couldn't adjust, and our O was impotent - I would say that conclusion was proven correct, wouldn't you?

This year the preseason indications are that our OL/playcalling can make adjustments and it appears possible we will field a competent NFL-caliber offense.

This is good news that Bills games may have a >50% chance of at least being fun to watch again.

 

Our run D also looked promising for improvement. I liked Andra Davis when he was in.

 

Anyway, I can't agree that preseason means nothing.

Preseason W and L on the other hand, got to agree they don't mean much.

[PromoTheRobot]

You can't have it both ways. Either pre-season means something or it doesn't. The last few years we looked awful in pre-season and guess what? We sucked in the regular season too. This year our offense is starting to look like something. So now that's supposed to mean nothing because it's only pre-season?

 

PTR

[Vinny4sum]

simmer down john boy

 

every preseason, without fail, all across the nation, football fans either book their sb plane tickets or cry into their wheaties

 

and for what? for nuthin

 

cuz after decades of watching the nfl i have learned on thing: preseason means nothing

 

oh fans will come in here and offer all kinds of rationalizations why this time it means something. dont listen. it means nothing

 

no. thing. nah. ting. nada. zilch. zippo. antidisestablishmentarianism

 

you may now return to your regularly scheduled gushing

I agree preseason means nothing, except for the 3rd game, which is a dress rehearsal. Still not using real bullets, but eams like to do well in this game.

 

I watched all 4 teams in the AFC East play this weekend and unless the Jets, Pats* and Phins are hiding talent, they are limited in talent. That doesn't mean a good gameplan or poor execution can't impact a game, but we seem to be closing the gap.

 

My humble opinion is the 3 other teams in our division are overrated.

[silvermike]

Wins and losses don't matter in the preseason. We all know that it doesn't matter if your 3rd string QB gives up four interceptions and blows your starters' 17-3 lead. But they're running real plays, against players who are trying to make plays. If Trent Edwards can thread the needle in a preseason game, it means he's got the skill. CJ Spiller really is that fast. Etc, etc. I'm not saying we could beat the Bengals 35-20 in real life, but it does mean that we're at least a little better than a team that couldn't score a TD against them.

[BillsFanInLV]

I have to disagree with you. As some of you may recall, I was quite upset with the proformance of our team against Washington. Many of you thought I overracted and prehaps I did. That is a whole different issue. I simply bring this up to stay consistent with my thinking. I said this preseason is important to the Bills. It does mean something. My feelings haven't changed. We are a young team, rebuilding, and learning how to win and play with confidence. This preseason can help us play with confidence, build a winning attitude, start believing in one another, believing in the coaches and their philosphy, attitude, and schemes. We are not the Bill's of the 90's where preseason wasn't that important. That team had winners and vets who already knew how to win. With all due respect, I cannot agree with your post.

 

Nice Post Mpl

[polish lover]

Detroit went 4-0 in the preseason the year they went 0-16 in the regular season. The scoreboard doesn't mean much in the preseason. The Bills lost most of their preseason games during the Marv Levy era and went to 4 super bowls. That being said, what is meaningful about preseason is individual player performance. Andra davis looked like one of the few bright spots on the defense. Maybin still has a way to go but was actually seen in the backfield pressuring the QB so he seems to be improving. Edwards looked sharp, but more importantly, so did Fitzpatrick. (its important because Edwards has yet to make it through a season without injury in College or the NFL). I think they both looked good because 1. The line was actually giving them some time to throw the ball 2. Spiller was driving the Bengals defense crazy which resulted in more open receivers/play action opportunities etc 3. Chan Gailey is a really good play caller 4. Roscoe Parrish can get separation from any defender on the field. All that aside, I am concerned what will happen in a full game of starters. Can this line hold up against some of the nasty Defenses we will be facing in the regular season for a whole 4 quarters? Can the offense score enough points to make up for the many points this defense is likely to allow? Can the special teams get its act together? a lot remains to be seen.

[BuffaloBill]

I would agree that the offense is getting better but the defense still needs significant work. The Bills offense is still far too unproven to get into shootouts with teams. I believe the D will come along but it has a ways to go. LB'ing may be the weakest unit on this team - even worse than the o-line.

[Guest dog14787]

I agree preseason means nothing, except for the 3rd game, which is a dress rehearsal. Still not using real bullets, but eams like to do well in this game.

 

I watched all 4 teams in the AFC East play this weekend and unless the Jets, Pats* and Phins are hiding talent, they are limited in talent. That doesn't mean a good gameplan or poor execution can't impact a game, but we seem to be closing the gap.

 

My humble opinion is the 3 other teams in our division are overrated.

 

 

I'm not sure you could over rate the Patriots, the Pats always have a very talented veteran lineup year in and year out with just enough youth sprinkled in to keep them invigorated. Tom Brady is one of the best QB's that's ever played the game and their accomplishments over the last decade of play speaks volumes.

 

I'm not crazy about the Pats , but I do respect them and coming from a die hard Bills fan, lord knows they've earned it,

 

With that being said, I Billieve this is the year we finally start turning the tide and we beat the Patriots,

 

I Billieve...

[Meathead]

year after year, decade after decade, you see all this **** happen in preseason, people get all worked up one way or another, and impressions are formed

 

then the real games start and after just a few games you realize once again that preseason is a total and complete facade that tells you nothing other than who made the team and who got injured

 

i wish there was a thread timer where you could make it pop to the top on a certain day. i would choose oct 4, the monday after game 4, then come back here and read all the accolades about how mh totally nailed it once again

 

dont hate me cuz im pwngful

 

bwahahahaaaa see yall on oct 4!

[Lurker]

Bring on the opening day ROUT !!

Edited August 29, 2010 by Lurker

[Guest dog14787]

year after year, decade after decade, you see all this **** happen in preseason, people get all worked up one way or another, and impressions are formed

 

then the real games start and after just a few games you realize once again that preseason is a total and complete facade that tells you nothing other than who made the team and who got injured

 

i wish there was a thread timer where you could make it pop to the top on a certain day. i would choose oct 4, the monday after game 4, then come back here and read all the accolades about how mh totally nailed it once again

 

dont hate me cuz im pwngful

 

bwahahahaaaa see yall on oct 4!

 

We don't just hope to win now, we expect to win...

[Kelly the Dog]

You can't have it both ways. Either pre-season means something or it doesn't. The last few years we looked awful in pre-season and guess what? We sucked in the regular season too. This year our offense is starting to look like something. So now that's supposed to mean nothing because it's only pre-season?

 

PTR

Yes.

 

I am very encouraged by what I see out of the team in pre-season but it means nothing. If it meant something, you should be terribly worried because our first string defense is going to be the worst defense in the history of the league. They have been abused mercilessly in all three games with the lone exception being a diving INT return and a couple three and outs over three games. They're on schedule for giving up over 50 points a game. So we'll lose a lot of 50-42 games.

 

But the pre-season really doesn't mean anything. The defense is very likely not going to be as bad in the regular season once they get settled. The offense may or may not be as efficient as it has been in the last two (two of the three TD drives yesterday were against mostly back-ups). The ST likely won't be nearly as bad as they have shown.

 

I'm excited about Gailey, about the offense, about the team and the upcoming season. I even have a smattering of confidence in Trent. But the pre-season still doesn't mean anything. About the only thing we know for sure is that CJ Spiller is really fast and has great cutback ability and vision.

[hammie65]

If the pre-season doesn't mean anything or matter then why do we have four pre-season games (or any)? I agree, you can't gauge a teams' regular season by what happens in pre-season but player evaluations, decisions on who to cut and who to keep, time for O and D units to work side by side and get used to each other, limited but important scheming and adjustment decision making processes being tested and tried, and many other little things that count are what matter in pre-season. it's up to all coaching staffs to put it all together come regular season and win games. Either they do or they don't for all 32 teams.

 

Please don't jump all over people for getting excited about their team after so many years of disappointment if there is really something there to get excited about, which I believe there is. As many other posters have said, we may not have a winning record or make the playoffs this year but I think we've turned the corner in a big way with the signing of C.J. and the new coaching staff and this team has real heart. I do miss both Bobby April and Perry Fewell but hope for good things from their replacements. All just IMHO

 

Go Bills!!