ColdBlueNorth

My reply to this is simple and I am not sure why I bothered, but I was bored so... Teams do not go out of their way to find that elite Right Tackle. Most speed rushers rush from the left side of the line because that is "normally" the quarterbacks blind spot unless he is a south paw - think of where we lined up our best pass rushers (when we had pass rushers to speak of - Smith, Schobel...). That strategy of blind-side hits lends itself to more occasions of causing the QB to fumble or misfire on passes. Of course offenses will often try to help a LT by using a tight end or running back to assist in pass protection and defenses counter by moving their best pass rushers around or by using stunts and twists. That is why the Left Tackle position requires a more athletic tackle or faster player than the right side, and most teams will pay a premium to fill that spot either devoting a high draft pick or by going after a proven commodity via free agency. Buffalo had success taking a freakishly athletic TE (considering his 300+ ;pound frame) named Jason Peters and converting him to LT. I think that Bell also has a tremendous amount of upside - and we have not scratched the surface yet with him. He just needs to get a bit stronger and we need to remember that this is only his first full year playing (last year was a wash with the injury and the coaching). Generally you will see teams take someone who is not athletic enough to play LT and move him to RT or they will move a guard out to play that position. Most teams like to put bigger, stronger maulers on that side of the line to run behind. For one thing they are simply much easier to find. Run blocking does not require the lateral ability that pass blocking does. I am not saying that you cannot have really good linemen on the right side, I will always remember Howard "the House" Ballard who manned that position during our Superbowl years. He was huge and strong with a big wing-span, but he could be beaten on the outside by just about anyone with decent speed. The draft will always be a crap shoot. When Buffalo took Mike Williams 4th overall in 2002 and the Vikings took McKinney with the 7th pick of that same draft, Mike was so slow and heavy that he could only play RT and we eventually had to jettison him because he just couldn't get down to a reasonable playing weight. Although McKinnie is still starting in this league, Viking fans still B word about him because he is wildly inconsistent, often injured, and has never quite lived up to expectations surrounding his high draft status. I guess what I am saying is that if you are fortunate enough to find a player who shows potential and upside in his first full year of play at the LT position, it would be wise to be a bit patient with that player's development. There are no sure things when it comes to the draft.

Agreed (with the sarcasm that is) I see flashes of what Spiller can bring when healthy. Freddy is very nearly at that magical 30 yr mark that tends to be the beginning of the end for most running backs. Running backs get a lot of wear and tear and the good ones seem to catch the injury bug right around 30 and then it is pretty much downhill from there. I don't wish anything negative on Fred Jackson - he represents everything I like about the game, but I do recognize the reality of having to have a plan B when your number 1 running back is 29 years old.

I see those "move him to RT" posts too - baffling. You take a guy who is athletic, moves well in space, appears to have the potential to be able to handle the outside speed rush, and has been groomed for playing LT and move him to RT (where you normally need a slightly slower and more easy to come by mauler) and then bring in a rookie to start at LT. It is thinking like that, that keeps our offensive line from ever coming together. I am all for picking up someone to provide some depth and to potentially groom for more work down the road, but that is a different discussion.

I saw that play and I thought he could have tried to make a play for it. That being said, Lee was not the problem yesterday - losing both of our centers and getting completely man-handled off the snap were two of the big issues, having Leodis pull his usual brain-farts comes in as a strong third, coming in fourth was giving up another 200+ yards rushing to an opposing team. I am not sure if Whitner could have slowed up on his hit on T-Jack, but that personal foul hurt as well. I never understand the focus on our receivers when the only way a Bills QB can hit them is if he can throw from his back. Gailey pretty much summed it up in his post press conference although he resisted throwing Leodis McKnucklehead under the bus.

I was originally down on Fitz for having problems with the snap, but after hearing about Hang and Urbik going down it makes a lot more sense. I guess Fat Pat is still making us pay for letting him walk.

Fitz made one really bad read where he didn't see the linebacker drop into a zone and threw the pick. I was more concerned with the fumbled snaps. He was hurried a lot yesterday, but when he had a little time he made good reads and throws. The throw he made to Evans along the left sideline was an unbelievably accurate throw under pressure. I think Fitz still has some upside that we have yet to see if we can get our line and backs to protect better. Jackson and I think Corey the fullback did a decent job on chipping Allen, but the Vikings moved him around a lot and he still caused a lot of problems. The receiver screen to Spiller seemed like a dead play - every time Gailey lined Spiller up as a receiver on the inside the Vikes had their best coverage linebacker right up there with him expecting the pass. Tried it on both sides - fail.

I was at the game and yes he should be benched for a game or two. He honestly plays like he is in his own little world - coughed up one kickoff and then drops another but is lucky to have it bounce back into his hands. Horrible. Fitz didn't have the best day either fumbling two snaps and losing one of them on a go-ahead touchdown.

Stupid and Excited? If being able to get excited after years of watching crappy non-competitive Bills games is stupid. Count me in. Going to the next game with a friend whose a Vikings fan - he's driving and says he is going to leave me there if we spank them. That's another exciting thing. Can't tell you how long its been since fans of other teams AND other teams themselves were actually worried about losing to the Bills. Yes, that same lowly team of "over-matched" players that have nothing to play for other than pride. Considering the prevalent attitude of many professional sports players and organizations, how cool is it that we can cheer on a bunch of players who are actually worth the effort? Bump!

I wholeheartedly agree with the middle ground approach of moderation. But it is more fun to take an extreme position on either side

I can't argue with you on how fans "spin or slant" the truth - that's what we do, but with Harrison the argument has more to do with his documented history of questionably dangerous helmet hits. When taken as a whole, one can make the argument that he needs to change his technique a bit. You can still be violent and de-cleat a guy without leading or aiming first with your helmet. As to Ward's calling out the hypocrisy of the NFL? Ummm duh, of course they are hypocrites. They are a profit-driven business that on one hand markets itself as the beer-guzzling, sexy-cheerleader ogling, manly, violent, physical sport that we love.... while yet trying to portray themselves as caring and philanthropic. It's all about ensuring that their positive marketing campaign caters to the most people. Think of them as the tobacco industry of profession sports in America before all the lawsuits.

"Motor" or "Turbo" Everyone always labels him as a "high motor" guy, like he doesn't have or is playing above his natural SKILLZ. Kind of gets on my nerves. He's a bad-a$$ football player - period.

The Bills seem to be able to produce points on the field when needed with the weapons they have. Spiller still hasn't materialized yet, though I believe he can be a dynamic player and Gailey will find a way to unleash him once Spiller matures a bit more reading his blocks, picking up blitzes, and learning the offense better. It also helps that are line is getting a bit better at run-blocking. I do not see us going after WR when we have Easley waiting in the wings who I thought was a steal last year and did not disappoint me in training camp. WR is such a crap shoot - look at Stevie who we picked up in the 7th... it is a bit early, but he may be the real deal as an impact NFL receiver. This year the draft is deep in DL and LB talent. The Bills would be foolish not to load up on what we need most - beasts in the trenches that can stop the run and put the fear of God in opposing QBs. More 3 and outs would give Fitz and our offense more opportunities for plays and a better defensive front would definitely generate more turnovers giving us shots with a shorter field. As it stands now too many teams run the ball down our throats, hold a time of possession edge, and keep our offense off the field.

They said helmet to chest and that Fitz was in a defenseless position. Truth is, it happened so fast that I thought the top of Harrison's helmet connected with Fitz's chin. I am surprised he wasn't knocked out cold. Either way, I saw the hit on Brees by Harrison, and the way he speared the Brown's receiver helmet to helmet when the receiver was already on the ground... the dude needs to chill. You can play fast and physical, you just have to make an effort to move that helmet to the side - most other defensive players appear to be capable of making big hits cleanly why not Harrison?

The fact is the Harrison has a REALLY bad history of leading with his helmet as well as helmet to helmet hits. It is dangerous to other players and to himself, but he is too much of a der-t-der to get it. Just search for Harrison highlight videos and you will understand better why the league is supposedly making an "example" out of him. He is a player that plays tough and gets to the ball quickly, but I have no doubt he could be just as effective without leading with the crown of his helmet as he often does.

I can't disagree with your logic, and considering the Maybin and Spiller picks the Bills brass may want to move in a more sure-fire direction with what may be the highest draft pick this team could see in a while (here's hoping). That, and Buddy's a SEC guy and Chan left the ACC before this kid hit the scene. I have honestly not been more excited about a Bills draft since 85-86, and I love the thought that the Bills are not painted into a corner whereby they "have" to take a shot at a rookie QB. The stats for QBs taken in the first round and actually succeeding in the NFL just aren't there. If Fitz continues to blossom in Gailey's system and our running game gets on track this will be a very difficult team to match up against offensively. We just need a complimentary defense to go along with the rest of the package.

Damn, you are correct - that was a big oops and I will man up and admit it. The SEC has the winning tradition. And true, the ACC has some weak teams that get consistently beat up (Wake Forest and Virginia come to mind), but what conference doesn't? They also have some very tough teams as well in Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Georgia Tech (although Georgia Tech did much better with Chan at the helm than now). It would have been nice to get more film on this kid this year, but he did go from a 2 sack 22 solo tackle freshman year to an 11 sack 35 solo tackle year in 09. Bottom line I still think he is a player - we will see what team agrees on draft day. I like that article though, I had not read anywhere else about his denials regarding the "gifts from agents".... that gives me a bit more to think about than what I think he brings physically to the field. I am not overly concerned with the sack totals - against poor teams he dominated, against better opponents he got a "mere" 19 tackles and they kept him away from the QB.

I like Harrison's physical play, but he does need to learn how to avoid leading with his helmet. Harrison likes to leave his feet so he needs to learn that in those situations it is easy to turn a solid hit on a QB into a spearing situation. You really do not need to aim for the head to take someone's head off. You aim high on the chest, lead with your helmet, and follow through to the ground. The helmet will come up and crack the guy under the chin strap every time. If it was an occasional thing with Harrison it would be considered incidental, but he is now "known" for getting his helmet up there when hitting QB's and the league is trying to protect those guys a bit more than in the past from concussions. Look what happened when Adrian knocked the IQ's and skillz right out of Trent's head. I think that boy is still concussed.

I will go on record here and now to say that Quinn is not a one-year wonder like Maybin. If he and two other Tarheels had not accepted 5k worth of gifts from an agent he would be right up there on the draft boards. The kids broke the rules - they have to sit out this year period, so I am not making excuses for a poor decision. That being said, everything else I have read about the kid does not lead me to believe that he is a problem child. He made a mistake, is paying for it now, and if he opts for the draft I think the Bills would be fortunate to get him where he would be for us. I am not going to argue conference strength because it does fluxuate, but I will say that the SEC is not generally considered a week conference, has been to the most bowl games and has the most bowl wins of any conference. Quinn projects well as an OLB that can put a hand on the ground and rush the passer as well. He has all the intangibles that you cannot teach, he has strength (comes from a star wrestling background), he can use his hands well to shed blockers, he has textbook extension to make a tackle or strip a ball, he has freakish speed for his size (broke a UNC record with a documented 4.38 in the 40). If he is in this coming draft he will not drop to the second round. A team that does its homework will pick this kid up. That is not to say that I do not like the premier Defensive Tackles in the draft, I just think they are deep enough to grab one in the second - the same could be said of LB, but I would not be unhappy with a Quinn pick in the first. Personally, I believe that he is the anti-Maybin

I give Stevie a pass... he is still pretty young and has a bit of maturing to do, but he has all the tools and I believe that he will eventually learn to bring them to the big games with more consistency. It takes time for young players to adjust to success when and if it ever comes their way. This is also a very critical time for him to either let it all go to his head, or keep it real and continue to work on his profession. If he doesn't the Bills have some really promising talent waiting in the wings with Marcus Easley, Donald Jones, David Nelson, and Naaman Roosevelt. Nothing is a given in the NFL, a player has to prepare and be focused. Mr. Johnson will just need to learn from this and be mentally prepared to do better next time out. Perhaps Stevie was thinking about his YAC before actually catching the ball, good athletes think about what they are doing wrong and find a way to get back to what works for them. I believe Stevie will find a way - Lee needs to step up his game too. If the Bills are ever going to get to the next level our receivers have GOT to catch the ball whenever Fitz gets it there. Teams like the Steelers work hard at stopping the run and they tend to single up on receivers. We finally appear to have a QB who can get the ball out to more than his dump-off option and now the Bills have to prove they can hurt teams through the air. They do that and they will be able get both Jackson and Spiller on track. They are close.

It's different - that "woman" would have driven most men to drink or worse and as you said the charges were quickly dropped. It's not like Ray Lewis - where some dude outside an Atlanta night club sprouts spontaneous knife wounds and dies and only Ray and his crew were present, but no one was found guilty...how does that work? Ray is a tremendous athlete even though he is heading towards the twilight of his career and he could help this team too, but I would feel a bit more like we were selling our collective souls to win.... I like to think there are still great athletes out there who have not or will not let success turn them into complete morons... You are seeing a bit more of a back-lash against those types of players in the league - ala the Vikes flushing that turd Moss and most teams that did their homework passing on him.

I am surprised at how well Fitz is doing - we were told that Chan had a history of turning around QBs, but after the Trent debacle I was a bit skeptical. Here we are though mid-season putting up good offensive numbers - numbers, that if we had even an average defense, would be enough for us to win games. I think we take the best d-linemen available (unless at our position there is a consensus all-pro linebacker available). What I don't want to hear is "potential" or "upside". After that go defense line or linebacker again. After that shore up our O-Line After that - special teams players or the next best QB depending on how Brohm and the "other guy" look in camp. Just my OHO

We need some attitude on defense, but this is the kind of attitude I would want protecting my blindside if I was QB of the Bills. It is also the attitude we just don't have on this team - yet.

I agree John. I don't like that they did not figure it out early on, but my guess is that Trent is just one of those guys who looks really good in practice, scrimmage, and preseason, but folds like a lawn chair when the games are for real. His indecision and fear of putting the ball up even when there was only enough time for one more passing play just boggled the mind. For the longest time this team seemed to be ok with players that don't perform. There are too many guys on this squad just cashing checks. Perhaps this sends a message that they need to start earning their pay or get cut. There is enough dead wood on this team, and there was no use in keeping/using a roster spot on a guy who clearly has lost it as a QB for this team. Move on, free up a spot, and bring up someone else who has not had the chances Trent has had.

Thanks for Sharing... our d-line looked like school girls out there - no push, np pressure, and knocked back on their collective weak rears more often than not. That video says it all the Pats O-Line standing with our D laying at their feet. How do you fix guys who just play weak?? Sigh...X2

Gailey has his work cut out for him. The O-Line was piss-poor as usual - both the interior line opening up holes and creating a pocket that wasn't in Edward's lap and the tackles were pretty horrific. Edwards on the other hand when given time always got a case of the "happy feet" and would roll to his right for some ugly results. He just does not see the whole field, because there always seems to be a WR running free that he doesn't even try to connect with if there is any pressure whatsoever. If the opposing team lays back in a zone he can find his receivers. Doesn't seem like it would be too hard to game-plan a "D" for the way he consistently reacts to pressure. If we are stuck with Edwards, Gailey may want to figure out a few ways to move the pocket around - designed roll-outs, etc... but those work better if you actually have some kind of running game to respect allowing us use some play-action. The comments that came out of the offensive players was that it was missed assignments, fixable, etc.. blah blah blah. I dunno. What I saw was men out-muscling boys. How do you fix guys who consistently get pushed back into our running backs and QB? More Spinach?