JESSEFEFFER

OK. That is an insane amount of money to throw at a color commentator. Here's how CBS should respond: Let Romo go and make a play for Fitz to replace Romo. Fitz is smarter, funnier, knows/has worked with more people throughout all levels of NFL franchises and probably has established more good will than most any other player currently in the league. His limitations in talent and "fearless, swimming in the cesspool" style of play should offer him plenty of perspective on NFL matters big and small, whether on the field or off. He probably knows more coaches, has been a teammate to more players and is on a first name basis with more NFL media professionals than anyone else. He has played in 5 of the 8 NFL divisions with 3 stints in the AFC East and 2 in the AFC South.

There were some days at New Era where punt catching was obviously a difficult thing. He made it look easy. i don't know what that chart shows but Andre handled most all the tough balls in bad weather and without much space so easily that it's easy to dismiss his contribution. But someone in that job who can't handle tough circumstances and we would all notice the muffs and/or balls that are not caught and are allowed to bounce and roll for 10 or 15 more yards.

Ravens game had bad drops by Knox, Beasley and Singletary. Generally, offenses struggled in an open air stadium located in the Great Lakes region during November and December weather conditions. Reputations credit the Bills D and blame Josh's accuracy.

Football Zebras had a game blog that celebrated the call made on the EZ non touchback as a common sense ruling and the penalty on Ford as legit as have you. I see Ford with his hands low, almost coming to a stop, the defender actually initiating the contact to Ford's upper arm as he is turned to face him and then Ford pushing with his hands extended. No forcible contact to the head, no blindside hit from the side, no force involved that is a threat to injure. This was no where near a "decleater" and the defender's "54" was facing him. This was a block that amounted to a push with the defender taking two steps back. Where is the common sense applied in this case? Not forcible = no injury threat = no call = no fine. Initiate with the head, shoulder or forearm and forcible are necessary parts to make the call and issue the fine and are standards not not met, imo.

Punting near midfield a relatively high percentage of the time would account for most all those stats. I wonder if it's actually the case. Seven touchbacks may not be bad normalized to those that were successfully downed inside the 10 or 20.

I've seen that penalty called when the receiver made the catch. Tre White on Adam Theilen last year for one.

Forcible = risking injury. Not even close to that threshold. I've seen legal screens in basketball that involved more force. In the video posted that the league prepared every hit was a "decleater." That seems to be their intent for forcible not the bump Cody gave.

I like Duke and what he could add to the offense but this was a drop. Maybe others have said so but I haven't read the entire thread yet. The elbow hook did not occur until after the ball was not secured on the first catch attempt. The hook prevented Duke from making a second attempt to secure it. So, bobble = no catch = drop, in my opinion. The other one on the sideline that some want to call a drop to me was a clear pbu. High ball above his head and in his hands ripped out by db's hand.

The receiving corp was remarkably healthy all year (as was the team as a whole) which is not normal. Otherwise, Duke would have played more, imo. I like what he brings to the table, his attitude seems properly adjusted, and, as he fights to establish a legitimate career in the NFL, I will continue to want him to show well. Seeing what people can achieve after it appears that they lost their best shot at their dream is one of the best storylines in sports.

Tre White had time to point to the play clock at .00 before the snap. Almost needed to come across the neutral zone at 0.00 to force them to make the call. It was not close. They gave Josh a TO after the playclock had run out but that was a 1st and 20 situation not 3rd and 18 in OT. Bills D dropped too deep on that play and reacted very slow to the underneath pass.

Delay of game not called.

Passing and kicking games suffer in windy conditions. There were 4 such games at home this year. It's tough to quantify the effects wind/weather have on those stats you cite but I think it explains much of the difference. I do not remember any tough weather conditions on the road.

Just saying that should create a more humble persona, I think. Makes sense to me.

Tracking a ball over one's shoulder and adjusting to it is not easy. Beasley had one hit him in the helmet in Jets1 and one through his hands vs Ravens. It seems to not be his thing. Brown is good at it I think. Zay was poor and Foster not so much either. I think Duke has shown to be pretty good at it in a few game settings and in some of the practice highlights we have seen. The EZ post TD against the Titans is another strong route for Duke. It is tough for a DB to make a play on the ball around Duke's wider body.

Joe Marino--Locked on Bills Very good podcast. Has a good, professional broadcast voice, his family lived on Grand Island for a time before moving to NC, he is a Bills fan and he does draft evaluations for the The Draft Network which I find to be better than most.

I'll trust Joe Marino's take. He says it's not Duke over McKenzie or Foster. It's Duke over Kurt Coleman as the roster choice. Also, I have not heard/read any evaluation of Duke's run blocking post Jets game but I thought it was very good against the Titans. I prefer physical tenacity over finesse in most offensive situations. I'd think he could win most any matchup vs. a DB3.

Graded against the measure of all NFL QBs I'd say C+. Redzone, 4th quarter, improved ball security and clutch running ability elevate his grade beyond his raw passing stats which aren't so impressive. Measured against last year or the standard of 2nd year NFL starting QBs, he rates a solid B. Some nice playoff performances could take the final grade higher.

Tracking the ball over the shoulder and adjusting to it is not easy. Maybe JB is the only other wr any good at it.

Poorly done, imo. Crowd wasn't expecting it in the first quarter. They ran a video of him for the Walter Payton award shortly after and that got a bigger response but many fans tune out the Jumbotron during times out. Not in the 1st quarter. Fans were not dialed in for it to happen then, imo.

I basically remember who or what I fault when things go poorly. For some reason that's what sticks with me.

Details long forgotten by me. Woodford leaving via the means he did hurt. The fact that there was not an at the replacement for him made the hurt linger.

Ha! I took to long to type my answer but at least we agreed on the o-line point. As to Jeff Wright, he may have been among the Bills best defenders in Super Bowl XXV. Conlan had a great game too but neither was involved in that Mark Ingram 3rd and 13 play that killed their chance to end that first Giants drive of the 3rd quarter.

Off hand I would say that John Butler tried to keep the team intact as best he could for one last run. By that time age, free agency salary cap crap and such meant that the end was approaching in some inevitable way. It was jsut a matter of when. One big issue that I remember was the decline of the o-line. The Bills lost both tackles (Wohlford and Ballard) to free agency, Wohlford in 93 to some shady contract language that prevented the Bills from matching which has since been made illegal. Ballard was replaced by Jerry Crafts who I likened to a bank vault door swiveling on a hinge. The Bills got caught without a decent replacement for Ballard, and Crafts was the weak link of that line who was huge by the standards of 25 years ago but was remarkably slow footed, imo.

I think what was described rings true. During the open part of practice, the Bills were working on some fake punts and Fairburn reported on it. Coach confronted him and went sort of McDeranged, got in his grill and accused him of not being "on the team" mixed in with some profanities. Fairburn never reported on the exchange because good reporters never want to become part of the story. This was mixed with the preGiant game postings around the AdPro facility about Shurmur's low bar assessment of Josh Allen. These were left in places where the press had easy access and McD seemed to be uncomfortable even talking about it after the reporting. My take is that McD is that details kind of guy that the Pegulas wanted their next HC to be. The thing about people like him is that they think every little detail is important because they believe some small, unforeseen detail can be what gets them beat. It's the "for want of a nail a kingdom was lost" mindset that defines the style of many successful leaders. We know Rex is not that type of leader and we know how his Bills teams lost some critical games which left most of us wanting an anti Rex HC. If all of this is as presented, I think Sean was out of line in how he handled it, given that it was in the open part of practice and Fairburn was just doing his job, imo. He could have made it clear where he thinks the line is without the physical intimidation part but I doubt he would see it that way. Again, he would see it as some small detail that could get his team beat and that he needed to forcefully address it with crystal clear intent. I think the Bills are in good hands but would not be surprised if such things happen again. Thinking of Belichick's staff (+ son) watching the Bills pregame warmup.

Imo, his completion % is more the result of "stuff" and less the cause of "stuff." I think the Bills offense would function well in Houston. It would almost be a treat for them to play in a climate controlled domed stadium much like it was for them in Dallas.