San Jose Bills Fan

Hmmm…. reading the two posts, one could definitely be accused of "arrogant preachiness." And also rudeness. But by all means, continue with your humble opinions.

Uh… did you watch the Jets game?

That's what makes Joe Gibbs' record in Super Bowls (3-1) so impressive. Gibbs won those Super Bowls with 3 different QBs… none of whom were great (Theismann, Rypien, and Doug Williams) . Gibbs also has a .621 winning percentage… .708 in the post season.

You have no real reason not to give Spiller the benefit of the doubt. Essentially you're questioning the pain threshold (manliness) of a slender guy who excelled in college and is an emerging star running back in the NFL. I'm gonna give Spiller the benefit of the doubt.

I get that the secondary hasn't played that great but I think they can only get better. Gilmore: A rookie who should steadily improve. Aaron Williams: A second-year player who should steadily improve. George Wilson: Veteran, stabilizing force. Jairus Byrd: Young veteran. Very solid vs run and pass. Terrence McGee: Slowly regaining his health. Leodis McKelvin: Unfortunately, Leodis is who he is. I was hoping for improvement this year but haven't really seen any. But see last point below. Justin Rogers: Second-year player who showed well as a rookie and has played well in limited snaps this season as he recovers from injury. D'Norris Searcy: Second-year player who is getting increased snaps each week and seems to be improving rapidly after a good rookie season. Last point: This is a slightly new defense with a new coordinator and it stands to reason that the entire unit will get more cohesive and effective as the season progresses.

Well as I've theorized previously, I think the Bills have sandbagged a bit leading up to this game and will stunt and show some new things this week. So I believe that you're absolutely correct. Wade Phillips had great (albeit brief) success lining Mario up at linebacker, on the left and right side, and bringing him inside as well. Hopefully Wanny can at least hold a candle to Phillips and show some effective creativity.

I just read that in the last 5 games of last year and the first 3 games of this year, KC's Justin Houston has 9.5 sacks.

Aside from the addition of Mario Williams, part of the increase in sacks has been the return to health of 2010 sack leader Kyle Williams, the continuing development of 2011 sack leader Marcell Dareus, and the addition of Mark Anderson. Williams has never been considered a great pass rusher… he's been considered an excellent all-around defensive end. The Bills overpaid to get Williams as a way to solidify the roster and establish credibility amongst players/fans/media. I have no problem with the signing as the salary cap floor and revenues will continue to increase. While I don't view Williams as an elite player, he's a good addition and by the time he rides off into the sunset, there will be many defensive players who are paid more. Acquiring Williams was a good move and the cost was simply the cost of trying to be competitive.

That's true only to the point where the runners are used conventionally. I think the trend to a multi-back system has more to do with not putting all your eggs in one basket, running back durability issues, the ability to present different looks, and other considerations than it does money… you're not really saving much money when you have more people playing prominent roles on the team. And your point ignores the fact that there are some players who are huge difference makers and provide a major threat when they are on the field… players who the opposing defense actually have to game plan around. Spiller is one of these. Darren McFadden, Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Maurice Jones-Drew, Reggie Bush are others. These guys are home run hitters who fundamentally change the way the defense plays. As quality as guys like Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Benjarvus Green-Ellis are, they are not players which opposing teams have to spend much time worrying about. While better than average, they are ultimately "just another running back" from a strategic standpoint. p.s.- Look how much money Carolina has tied up in DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, and Mike Tolbert. Three very good backs and arguably not a difference maker among them.

I hadn't noticed, Joe. And I really don't care. My observation is that neither side is backing down.

This is a troubling thought indeed. Thank goodness we don't have to worry about Bryan Hoyer anymore.

If you like D-linemen, then Aldon Smith (#7) and JJ Watt (#11) would also have been great selections. But neither was ranked as highly as Dareus. The thing about great DBs though is that they are always a threat to take it to the house. For instance, I'd bet there's very few linemen that people would take over Ed Reed if they could re-do the 2002 draft. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_NFL_Draft Peterson has the possibility of being an Ed Reed kind of player. I wonder if you polled NFL GMs whether they would take Ed Reed or Julius Peppers.

Yet another thread which turns into a Fitz moratorium… amazing. If you took our group bird watching, a Fitz debate would break out.

I trust Fred and the organization to make the right decision.

Well the lockout basically failed. The NFL's hard line approach didn't work. Their attempt to show that NFL officials grow on trees was disproven. Thus the two sides were able to come to a fair agreement with both sides compromising… something that should have happened long ago. Sometimes it takes one side (in this case the officials) having the leverage for a labor dispute to resolve. And as I suggested, the new agreement is moving towards the establishment of a two-tier solution with regards to the future of the defined benefits.

Just curious, who did you want the Bills to pick when they picked Spiller? Well now we're onto something. BTW, did you know Erik Pears gets more pancake blocks per dollar than Eric Wood? Next question: How many NFL GMs would rather have any or all of the other three players than CJ Spiller… at their current levels of compensation? hint: The answer is NONE.

This list is more like apples to fender washers. You mention the 2009 base salary and lack of receiving yards… in addition you have to consider draft position and number of years in the league. On top of all that, Chris Johnson is the highest-paid running back in the league now and Ray Rice is right up there with him, both having signed huge new contracts. Jerome Harrison is out of the league. That list really has very little relevance. Spiller should be compared to his draft classmates… Ryan Mathews and Jahvid Best. Also Dexter McCluster. Also I don't agree with your assumptions for his career yardage and the idea of what his "efficiency" right now is also pointless. So Donte Whitner was drafted around the same slot, has a lot more starts and many tackles. Would you say then that Whitner was a better draft pick than Spiller?

I thought about it. But Clubber Lang is actually asked what his prediction for the fight is… not his forecast for the weather.

Again, as far as the regular officials calling Sunday's Cheatriots***- Bills game, in the two games last year, the Bills had a total of 14 penalties for 122 yards while the Cheatriots*** had 12 penalties for 170 yards. It seems like a bunch of folk here are real paranoid about the Bills getting screwed by the officials when we play this weekend. But I don't think there's much basis to it. If anything, Bob Kraft, as one of the most influential owners was probably very much for locking out the officials while Ralph Wilson is no longer involved in league affairs… so this would favor the Bills. But if y'all wanna be paranoid…

By reading the comments on the officiating, I have a much better idea of who actually understands what they're seeing when they watch a football game and who doesn't. As far as the regular officials calling Sunday's Cheatriots***- Bills game, in the two games last year, the Bills had a total of 14 penalties for 122 yards while the Cheatriots*** had 12 penalties for 170 yards. If you understood how the media works, you'd know that they will be more than eager to highlight the shortcomings of the regular officials. That said, this episode of the worst officiating in NFL history is behind us now so there will be fewer epically blown calls to highlight. Yes. The scrutiny will be at least the same but the officiating will be much better. He has time to organize testing and training between his workouts? That dude is amazing.

Also, the officials were not striking… they were locked out.

Good stuff, fellas.

Yep. The ugly and stupid mob mentality for which my beloved hometown is unfortunately expert at. But why should Roscoe (who never said anything bad, never did anything bad, and only tried his best while here… even giving a fond farewell to us) be allowed to go quietly with class? This town basically ran Michael Peca, Dominik Hasek, Doug Flutie and many other athletes out of town based on not much more than pettiness, small-mindedness, and jealousy. I love my home of 35 years but there's a high level of ignorance in Buffalo.

Leech mentality? It's called collective bargaining. Two sides negotiate. It appears that you're more angry about the business of business than the two parties who are actually involved are. This is a labor negotiation. You should try to leave your own bitterness and unhappiness out of the equation. Your last sentence is probably your best work to date. However it's pretty hard taking away benefits that have already been granted in previous CBAs. For the record, I'm not against two-tier solutions to problems like this.

Exactly. That's what directional punting is.