GaryPinC

Probably met with Stevie last week and let him know they were interested in resuming contract talks. Stevie said ok and probably referred Buddy to his agent and Buddy'll contact him shortly. Technically a dialogue right?

Thanks for posting this, great article. Doesn't seem like they gave him a large vote of confidence by giving him a 1 yr extension through 2012. Better than not, and if the Giants maintain their defensive dominance Fewell may get a more significant extension. Sounds like up until the Jets game they were considering dumping him after the season. What was most interesting to me was this line: "Before the Christmas Eve victory over the Jets, players lauded Fewell for simplifying things on the defense by eliminating on-field checks and audibles based on offensive formations" and the accompanying article: http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/back_to_the_basics_giants_defe.html I do believe this was George Edwards' problem as players were out of position or not reacting properly to where the play was going. I also felt that Fewell's defenses for the Bills had similar problems to Edwards' version (especially in the front 7). Certainly a lack of talent for the Bills doesn't help but I don't think it's that alone. There's got to be a balance between scheme complexity and being able to disguise what you're trying to do without confusing your own players. Wanny's run successful defenses so hopefully he realizes this balance and we can look forward to a better defense next year.

Have to agree, I was really impressed by Logan Thomas in that game also. Great throws, confidence running their O, playmaking ability, and seemed to make very intelligent decisions. He's a junior but was red-shirted his freshman year and was really impressive considering this was his first year as a college QB. Probably will stay in school and be a major prospect next year but if he decided to come out I think he'd be a great prospect to study under Fitz a year or 2.

Great post, just wanted to add that Peters also watched the Bills shell out stupid money to Dockery, Langston Walker, and Melvin Fowler then turn around and ignore their best linesman's request to be paid more appropriately. I don't like Peters much(and don't want him back) because of the way he handled the situation but even a higher character person would have been demoralized by this on-and-off the field incompetance.

Definitely looked a lot thicker. Who knows if they'll offer him anything. He had nothing positive to say about his meeting with Buddy, and given that we're talking about our starting LT, I think Buddy's lack of effort says it all. OTOH, we don't know his overall condition like the Bills' medical staff does. Maybe he's too big a risk. But if he leaves and goes on to have a good career somewhere else I'll be pretty angry at Buddy and Chan. Seems like a neverending theme with this organization.

I saw this interview and agree with you. Also, based on his body language and how he answered the questions about whether he'll be back he didn't sound optimistic. IMO Pears and Hairston have trouble handling speed rushers off the ends. I thought Bell was doing a better job this year but was injured too much to get a true idea of his ability. I don't know, this is a tough call but right now I think it's a mistake to let him walk even with his injury problems.

I just looked at your link again and there is a red ascending arrow next to "sacks". When I select the header "yds" it puts the red ascending there and ranks Denver #1. When I select "avg" it ranks Carolina #1. When I select "sacks" it ranks them descending so I click "sacks" again and it re-sorts with Buffalo #1 as per your original link. In this version: http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?seasonType=REG&offensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&d-447263-s=TOTAL_POINTS_GAME_AVG&tabSeq=2&season=2011&role=TM&Submit=Go&archive=false&conference=null&defensiveStatisticCategory=null&qualified=true the Bills are ranked #14 in points per game and total yards per game.

As I look over the data, Philly and Carolina are both better than us in rush avg yds and total yds (just to name two). It appears to me the ranking is solely based on quarterback sacks allowed because this is the only ascending column. Could be wrong though.

My thoughts exactly. It is interesting that they left his phone # unaltered in exhibit B just in case any ladies are thinking about it. You mean instead of stalking he tries coercion? Probably a little better but maybe he lets her off with a warning and gives her his phone # with a quick explain? As one who's been pulled over a number of times, sometimes those guys take forever running your license so he could have worked out this approach.

Thanks for all your points on a great discussion. I would like to add one subjective point from watching this team play this year. I think the overall defensive schemes were too complicated. Losing our veteran leadership, forcing guys out of their natural positions, and having too much marginal talent helped magnify the problem. Even though the defense could play ok in spots, what I realized really bothered me is the lack of situational awareness. I lost count of how many times the opposing RB ran right by one of our front seven who was looking the other way. Often there was no defensive flow to the ball. I think our guys were thinking too much or even unsure what they should be doing on certain plays. Don't get me wrong, we definitely need more talent with our LBs, but I think poor scheme had a significant impact on effectiveness. Hopefully Wanny can get the D on the same page and playing together, whatever scheme he decides on.

Really? I always considered him Jauron-esque in that he seemed to play strong defense, conservative offense and if the score's close take one or two chances to put OSU on top. JMO though.

I can't argue with bringing BILL Polian back as GM, but I would not want him and his GM son to come with him. I've got to wonder if Indy's dearth of talent is mostly because Bill trusted his son too much to evaluate and bring in the talent.

This. Chan always seemed to get a pained look on his face this year when questioned about Stevie's various antics and I just don't think he wants Stevie on his team. That really sucks because Stevie does have some talent and we need all the talent we can get.

Sorry to say, any organized society makes rules telling us how to live our lives (licenses, crimes, taxes, toxic chemicals, exposure limits in the workplace,etc). Society creates rules to preserve order and safety. Smoking is a health hazard to the smoker and anyone exposed to the smoke. I generally believe in "live and let live" and agree that the laws probably go a bit too far when they disallow even an outdoor "designated smoking area", but before these laws began being passed smokers never gave a damn who they affected with their smoking in public. These laws were not made to force smokers to give it up, they were made to correct inconsiderate public behavior by smokers. These laws "protect" me from having to either put up with toxic smoke or go ask the person to stop, which would probably result in an altercation since most smokers fail to distinguish their right to smoke from the right of nonsmokers not to be exposed to their toxic fumes. In Ohio, these proposed laws were voted on by the public in a general election and won easily. The majority voters dictated that the government put these rules in place. It's as democratic as it gets.

What are you talking about? Sitting here, I can put my head down, look at the ground, and my back is perpendicular to the ground. No way does head down mean parallel back, even on a tackle. Harrison dropped his head at the last second and leads with the crown of his helmet. Any coach that taught you to do that is just plain wrong. The main reason Harrison hasn't ended up like Everett is because his helmet strikes the other player around the top shoulder/head area. What the NFL needs to start doing is also fining Tomlin, def coord. and linebackers coach for not correcting this and thus enabling Harrison to continue.

I was referring to Leach's bloated ego and utter lack of personal responsibility for the TT situation . You will never hear me say that Leach can't coach at the college level, he's easily proved otherwise.

"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." -Winston Churchill

Agree completely. Some people learn best by getting thrown in the fire then circling back and filling in the blanks. Let's see if CJ is one of those people.

Keep in mind the system was not intended for life. I work with a young woman (27) who had her first child and was married at 19. Govt housing provided her with a clean, reasonably spacious 2 bedroom apartment when they would have otherwise had to scrape to afford a run-down studio in a crappy neighborhood. "The system" also provided formula, some diapers and food stamps for groceries. It enabled her husband to get his CDL and her to get into college and get her BS in biology. She's been working for over 4 years and they now own a modest home with 2 normal kids. They've been out of the system for about 6 years. She is not a liberal but will always be grateful for the system enabling them to get on their feet. It can work.

I was wondering when one of these big schools would come to their senses and offer Petersen a job. Anyhow, good luck Mike Leach and Wash State. Heard a bit of Leach on sports radio back in October and he was still blaming everyone else while playing the innocent victim. He's a good coach, I only hope he can deflate his ego enough to keep the job. Mike gets a chance to bring a marginal FBS program to relevance and restart his career, Wash State generates some excitement to help pay for their new stadium and get a good coach. Be interesting if Leach gets it right or he's back on the street selling a new book about Wash State conspiracies.

Any idea what's causing it? I know with a lot of stress I get a dull low back ache which will get worse with time. As far as chiropractors my only advice would be to only go if you're in pain and to someone who's highly recommended. Back in high school, my mom was having back pain, decided to use a chiropractor. Always adjusting her back at appointments and having her do it at home also. She kept having recurrences. I was playing football senior year and decided to do some of these at-home adjustments to keep my back "loose" and properly aligned as preventative. Quickly started having back pain from hits during practice/games. Stopped and had my mom stop also. Pains went away. At least for me, I think constantly keeping the spine "loose" makes it more vulnerable and then you can get into a catch-22. Which the chiropractors love.

No prob, I definitely agree there are multiple defining moments also. The first one for me was Chandler's TD against KC where we had first and goal inside the 5, botched some plays, a couple false starts and it's 3rd and goal outside the 10. Any past year it's a FG but when Fitzy tossed it down the seam for the TD I knew at that moment things would be different this year. Not saying they'll make the playoffs yet, but years like this where we find real hope and witness a talented team starting to come together are special in their own right. Go Bills!

I hear you and definitely agree with the perspective you're trying to convey here. But I agree with the majority that this is a huge game, please allow me to communicate this a different way... Given the AFC East and what the jets did to us last year this game is huge because it will be a defining moment for this Bills team and possibly the defining moment of the year for them. No matter what the Bills do it will be a defining moment. Time will tell if it's the most important one and how they respond to it. If they lose and go on a winning streak doesn't mean this game wasn't a defining moment. Normally I'm content to try and watch the game online as I have time. Not this one, I'm headed to the bar to watch it on tv. Can't miss it, if they win they're in the AFC East driver's seat. Wish I could be there, all of you lucky enough to have a spot at the Ralph make those of us who aren't proud. Go Bills!

Saw it directly mentioned in one of the news articles I read within the last week (Buffalo News I think). It surprised me because that was the first direct mention of the problem. Not sure what the surgical recovery time is but I hope Kyle isn't making the wrong choice just trying to tough it out.

Nothing like a good scare on Halloween! Seriously though, no one's going to be calling Fitz "Captain Checkdown" ever but he will rely on the short passes when that's all that's open. As you allude to, there's a huge difference in his decision-making compared to Trent's. Getting back to your point about the O-line, these guys block well as a unit and get great push on running plays most games. When you can see them rip gaping holes in the line for Fred or have a nice pocket around Fitz that is the ability of the line, not the scheme or game plan. I was always frustrated by the oline after we bought Dockery and Walker. Even during wins they never blocked well as a unit, what a waste of money. I do agree with shoretalk that time is the key ingredient. I do not think our line is the best in the NFL yet (see the Giants game), but most importantly we have a solid nucleus, an above average OL, and can selectively upgrade individual positions when we draft/find someone better.