San Jose Bills Fan

I give up. Why?

Yeah some of the arguments against the two being redundant are simply semantics. Why couldn't they make Vince Young the backup QB as well as a 3rd down QB much like Randall Cunningham was in his first few years? Get rid of Smith, Thiggy becomes your 3rd string/scout team QB. Then give all practice reps to Young. He can learn the base offense every day and also learn a few "3rd down package" plays (code for Wildcat) along the way. Then you have a supremely talented guy being utilized as a weapon. The thing about Brad Smith is that he's yet to prove that he's really, truly proficient at anything. He's not returning kicks anymore, he'd play wide receiver only in a pinch… and he's probably not as good a QB as Vince Young. I could see keeping Brad Smith if he was demonstratively superior in an area or two… but he's not. Why use Brad Smith in a Wildcat if you can use VY as an occasional 3rd-down QB? He could do everything Smith could do AND MORE.

I wonder if she was brought in from reffing Australian Rules Football.

Great post, Johnny. In another topic I said that as a youth, I never got "stupid drunk" to the point of being obnoxious and offensive to others… and I stand by that statement. However I will say it's a damn good thing I didn't run into a ton of money when I was in my 20s because I'm pretty sure I'd have none of it left today. And in fact, Vince Young has sued a former financial advisor and the case is still in the courts. Not saying that he hasn't mismanaged his money but not saying that he has. Because we don't really know.

What are you talking about? Kelly who?

It's not only intelligence of course but also things like maturity, common sense, cultural mores, upbringing, etc. I'm not for more laws but I am for better laws. I don't subscribe to the dogma that all laws are bad or that government becomes like "Communism" or "Big Brother" every time they enact a law or some kind of legislation. I don't believe those things because I'm not a moron and I don't have my opinions force fed into me by media outlets. But I digress. As Just in Atlanta stated, the difference between the way Europeans and Americans indoctrinate their youth is a very interesting difference in cultures. As Shoretalk starts to suggest, there is something to the "taboo-izing" of certain behaviors which seem to make young people want to revolt in an extreme way. I like No Saints mention of the Louisiana law which allows young people to drink in the presence of their parents, just as I like the laws in many states which allow youngsters below legal driving age to operate a tractor or farm machine during harvest time. Basically it would be great to live in a smarter culture which values common sense and wisdom instead of lawyers and insurance companies when making policy.

I'll make the counterpoint as in spite of my optimism, I have some concerns. On Thursday night, the Bills offense continued a disturbing trend established last year in the second half of the season. Back then of course, Fitz had bruised ribs, Fred Jackson had been placed on IR, Eric Wood and D Bell had gone down with injury, the O-line was playing musical chairs trying to find the right configuration to put the best 5 out there, and Lee Evans had been traded, Donald Jones, Roscoe Parrish placed on IR, and Scott Chandler missed a few games. There was ample legit reasons for the demise of the offense last year. The disturbingly familiar part of Thursday Night's performance was the continued obstinance in using a spread, timing offense which requires the defense to cover the receivers for only 2 seconds on each play. The agonizing repetition is snap/blitz/quick throw/incomplete pass/punt with the offense in an empty set tempting the defense to blitz, the defense doing so, and the passing offense unable to capitalize on the expected mismatches… the play ending on a rushed throw. Now obviously every NFL team needs to be proficient in its passing sub-packages and certainly the Bills need to brush up in this area so I was not so much disturbed by the practice of drilling this personnel group for 16 straight plays as I was the relative ineffectiveness of those 16 plays. Regardless of the drops (six seems high btw) and the nullified TD and the missed calls against the D (there were 2), the first offense did not seem like a well-oiled machine.

I think you're over-generalizing just a bit. This thread is an interesting juxtaposition with The Rev's one on drunken behavior at the stadium. One question certainly is whether younger people are less able to handle drinking and more prone to getting "stupid drunk," or whether that delineation has more to do with the individuals than the age of the individuals.

The thing about Dalton is that he's like the Super Fitz. He's not an elite talent by any means but he is more talented than Fitz physically and he has many of the same mental attributes. He makes good decisions and does so quickly. He's very bright and he's a very accurate thrower. Not bad for the 35th overall pick. And the Bills coaching staff actually coached Dalton in the Senior Bowl. As for Cordy Glenn, I was one of the top 1-2 lobbyists for drafting him… in the first round. I was very high on Glenn when MANY guys were calling him a guard or a right tackle. It's early yet but I have zero doubts about Glenn.

Actually we took cornerback Aaron Williams last year, one pick ahead of Andy Dalton. I'm a bit worried about Williams and definitely didn't appreciate him whiffing on that tackle last night, turning what should have been a two-yard gain into a 9-yard gain. I could actually see Ron Brooks supplanting Williams as a starting cornerback on this team in fairly short order… one month's time maybe. Brooks is a natural ball athlete which is one of the things you want from your corners. Dalton meanwhile had an excellent rookies season and looked very sharp against the Jets tonight. So there's one answer to your question… and it could be a draft decision that we grow to rue.

I'm not panicking! Are you panicking? Who's panicking? I'm not panicking!

Different class of fan? That's an oxymoron. Got drunk. Never acted like an !@#$ at the expense of others. Always had my wits about me enough to try not offending others. I think it's called having respect. In my limited experience (4 other NFL stadiums), fans at the Ralph are the most drunk and unruly. I wish it weren't my experience but it is. Yeah, it is. It's also a bad reflection on the way some of these kids were raised.

A good story and a good deed. Good job! p.s.-funny how we all get emotional when we see the unis for the first time every year. It's almost ridiculous how emotionally invested most of us are in this team. Probably unhealthy but almost none of us would have it any other way. (btw, was she pretty?)

Has anyone told Crayonz? He'll be shocked, to say the least.

What'd you and Vince do after the game? Did he help you out with your stomach pain?

Such audacity. Reminds me of that movie "Catch me if you can"

Anyways, there were a group of posters here who felt that Moats wouldn't make the team this year as he "didn't fit the defense." In that context it's interesting to hear Moats comment about playing in the 4-3: “I feel like with my skill set and body size it’s a better fit for me,” he said of the 4-3. “The alignment is different, and what they're asking me to do is different. When you're in a 3-4 you're rushing and a lot of time you have to hold up against those big tackles. With a 4-3 you're off the ball and you're able to use your quickness more. I've been used to taking on those guys from close to the line, and now I have a running start.”

Thanks, NoSaint. I'm starting to remember that. Some guys make excuses… others (ribs) don't.

I really disagree with you guys. I've known plenty of guys with pro aspirations who were committed down to every fibre in their bodies… and didn't make it because of any number of reasons NOT having to do with effort. I have zero respect for any trolls.

Totally agree, John. I would add that Freddy is all about team goals and I seriously doubt that he'd have a problem with a reduced workload in the regular season with the expectation that the team make the playoffs.

Count me in the group who'd love for the Bills to do "the honors." Alphadawg, I never heard that it was an illness which caused Maybin to lose weight and I'm as much an addict of Bills/NFL news as anyone. Do you have a link? Here's one salient feature to Maybin's NFL career: He sucked at special teams. What does that say about the guy?

http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/148499-morrison-v-moats/

So to turn down the volume on the media circus which is Jets Camp, the team makes the strategic decision to cut a backup player with a celebrity girlfriend. That'll dial things down a bit.

I miss the good old days…

I don't get it…