All_Pro_Bills

As a home underdog (Steelers -2), win or lose, this game is going to tell us a lot about this Bills team. Are they going to come out prepared and fighting or flat and unmotivated? Is Rex, the self-proclaimed defensive genius, going to finally show us a great defensive game plan against a good offense or are the Steelers going to march the ball up and down the field at will? Can Tyrod overcome accuracy and 'read' problems to the point needed to carry the offense against a defense that will likely try to take away the run and dare him to beat them through the air? It all comes down to a single elimination Thunder Dome type 2 teams enter, 1 team leaves, game on Sunday. Win and a plausible chance of making the playoffs is still alive. Lose and they're out absent some remote mathematical possibility.

I think the Bills biggest issue during the playoff drought, outside of having sub-standard QB play for forever, is being stuck in the AFC East during the Tom Brady era. In the last 10 seasons they're 2-18 with an * alongside both wins. One was a meaningless last game of the season and the end of the Marrone era and the other was this season against a nicked up 3rd string QB. It means fighting for a wildcard berth with 11 other teams every season and as close to 2 guaranteed loses as it gets every year which translates to a 2 game lead in the wildcard chase for every team outside the division. That means going 10-4 in the remainder of the schedule just to get a shot at a playoff berth. As far as getting the organization turned around I'd like to know first what Terry Pegula's plan is here. Does anyone here know what he really thinks? Does he believe the team is moving in the right direction, that he has the right people in place? Because if he does maybe that's step one? The owner has got to realize his organization as staffed and strategized is not going to get the job done.

To me the fact that there are women willing to attend such a "party" that will agree to the terms and conditions of a contract for doing so is the amazing thing and the overlooked topic here. Is it a lack of self-respect, the pursuit of $$$$, desire for some level of 'fame', or all?

I think Coughlin would be an interesting possibility and someone Pegula has spoken to already. Like Lombardi said, winning isn't everything, its the only thing. Look at the disparity between the Patriots approach and the Bills regime here what sticks out to me is action speaks louder than words. We have a bunch of big-mouth buffoons who consistently come up short with all kinds of excuses vs. the guys that keep the talk to a minimum and come to work and get the job done. Excuses and explanations are for losers. The killer instinct to me is pulling through when the games on the line, at the moment of truth. Jordan hitting a jump shot as the clock winds down, the Blackhawks getting a power play chance late and winning the game, Brady leading a scoring drive when they need it. The best all-time match-ups in sports are those when two opponents with this instinct tangle like Frazier vs. Ali. When I watch the Bills I don't get the 'feel' that any of these things will happen. And they usually don't unless the other team is an inferior opponent or a team that suffers from the same mistakes and shortcomings. Its so sad this team has gone absolutely nowhere for so long making bad choice after bad choice season after season when the solution seems so obvious except to the people that can make it happen.

I agree and apologize since this isn't a Sabres board but the jury is still out on the benefits of tanking. Last I checked this team was still in last place with a lot of trouble putting the puck in the net. The Eichel and Reinhardt picks were easy. His trades outside of netting O'Reilly not so great. He's given up roster players, some prospects and a lot of draft choices. He had 3 1st rounders and pissed away two of them this past draft. The trade for Lehner, a 3rd string goalie that Ottawa did not want to retain, for a 1st rounder just terrible. Psyck for Kolikov, a likely expensive free agent this off-season a poor exchange in my view. Bogosian I like but he is only good for maybe 50 games a season. And Kane? What can I say? That said, hope they get the injured 'D' back soon and make a run. And the Bills... if they lose to Cleveland then Rex is gone..

The Bills Safeties have been dreadful both physically and mentally in their play. But if your corners are playing one-on-one on the outside most of the time I'm not clear what the scheme has to do with it. Either you beat your man or he beats you. That's not scheme. That's either you have the ability to cover a receiver one-on-one or you don't.

The most plausible scenario would be the Bills winning 4 straight to go 10-6 while Denver loses 3 of 4 (Oak, KC, NE) and the teams in-between lose a couple each. I too doubt the Bills will beat the Steelers absent some unexpected circumstances. And I can't see everything going our way all of a sudden. But one week at a time here, right?

The Raiders have a Thursday night matchup against KC 12/8. Maybe they look past the Bills here and come out flat? Looking for any edge we can get in a game I expect them to lose.

And here it's here. The annual Thanksgiving tradition of turkey, family and friends, and ever optimistic Bills watching the scoreboard for help. History suggests you're wasting your time week after week going through all the combinations and which team needs to win and which team needs to lose.

You asked the right questions for sure. Who? it's easy for us to identify positions of weakness and I do it too. But that means all I am is a critic. I comment on problems without providing specific solutions. So when we say the Bills need a franchise QB who do people have in mind? Do we believe Tony Romo might be expendable in Dallas this off-season and for a reasonable price the Bills should make a play for him? Maybe, I don't know how much Tony has left in the tank, if he would be open to coming to the Bills, or how good fit he would be with the team. What about other QB free agents. None of the QB's that might hit the market look like upgrades to me. And the draft? I haven't seen much consistency out of the 'top' rated QB's I've watched. Maybe somebody emerges out of the combine? So yeah, who do we have in mind for a QB upgrade?

Safety, Right Tackle, NT, WR

Darby played well last year but something is wrong there. Undisclosed nagging injury? Trouble at home maybe? But from what I see the Bills problem is simply that most of their DB's lack good coverage skills. Can you teach a guy to turn and look for the ball when its coming? Watch the receivers eyes for a clue. Or fall for an out or in fake then get burned deep? Or leave such big holes in the zone that receivers are standing alone with no defender within 10 yards? Learn and apply what the ref's will call for holding and illegal contract and what they won't call? Sorry, but you don't need some super-duper coach to figure this stuff out.

in retrospect maybe trading away two very good players in Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins weren't good decisions?

Yard clean up of leaves that have fallen off the trees and blown onto my lawn from down the street. Take the deck furniture down to the basement for winter.

That and Hillary's high unlikeable and low trust ratings..

Nothing. The racist argument is being used to distract and steer discussion away from the root of the story. In this case that Sherman is a douche bag thug who hit Carpenter with what looked like intent to injure. And ESPN doesn't have the balls to call it like it is at this point so maybe her comment hit a sore spot with the network.

The Bills lost because they failed to execute using the strength of their game. Good teams go to what they do best when the game is on the line. The Bills had a chance to win this game at the end. First and goal from the Seattle 10 with 1:01 left. A run for 3, QB sacked twice, and an incomplete pass. Game over. They failed to understand they controlled the outcome of the game, not the clock, not the Seahawks. They should have run the ball 4 straight plays which is the strength of their offense. Instead they attempted to win the game with 3 straight unsuccessful pass plays using the weakest element of their offense against a good secondary in tight to the goal line that gets away with a lot of contract.

Agree 100% with the OP. This is an annual ritual for Bills fans although for me most seasons I usually hold out hope until late November. This season I looked at the 4-4 record (1-4 in the conference), and the upcoming schedule then decided it was all over with the exception of some mathematical possibilities a few other optimistic posters are going to throw out here down the stretch. What's really amazing is how a franchise can be so consistently wrong about almost everything from the draft, to free agency, to the front office, and the coaching staff for so many years. Maybe I should give the Pegula's a pass here but they seem intent on carrying on the dysfunctional tradition of the Wilson years and they lost me when they hired Rex over what I thought were other more desirable candidates for the HC job. So now I look forward to the inevitable dismissal of the Head Coach and search for the next savior. One thing I expect, the person the consensus and board here think is the best guy for the job won't get hired.

Lately I've been DVR'ing the Bills game. This is the way for me from now on. Do some fall clean-up outside the house and come inside around 2:30 to start watching the game. Typically I catch up to real-time near 4 PM for a 1 PM game. Fast-forward through numerous commercials, injury timeouts, play reviews, halftime, useless interviews, etc. Commercial breaks look to be about 2 minutes each with a network show promo clueing me in that we'll be returning to the game each time. Do the same for Hockey where the commercial breaks are 1 1/2 minutes and I believe 17 minutes between periods.

To some extent I could assign these excuses to the Bills too. You have a QB that's generally scrambling for his life out there every week, a JV receiving group even when healthy, and a defense that never seems to make the big stop against a big opponent along with allowing too many big plays when the game is on the line. Not to say I don't agree you need a physically and mentally gifted QB but there are a lot of other things that need to happen around that guy to make it work.

Exactly. We all know what's coming. They create mismatches through formations/personnel and Brady is a master at identifying and executing on those situations. What do you need to do to beat it? Unless you have great players on defense at all 3 levels, which few teams do, I expect you'd need to successfully disguise your defense and coverage to send false signals to the their play callers and pre-snap switch into something else. Do you do have the players and the coaching smarts to pull it off? That's the big question.

From what I've seen of Tyrod, his ability to protect the football, avoid hits for losses and fumbles, and not throw interceptions is also his greatest weakness when it comes to the 4th quarter comeback scenario. Sometimes in these situations the QB needs to operate with a gambler's mentality and take some chances. That looks to me to be contrary to his mental make up to the game. And it doesn't seem to be something you can just turn on or turn off whenever you please.

A shot of him on the sidelines during the Rams game looked like he was completely out of shape for any sport except competitive eating. From that look I suspect he spent the 4 week suspension doing nothing..

Yes I believe we're living in a time when people believe the coyote gets hurt falling off the cliff when chasing the roadrunner.

Its no surprise what we're seeing out of Fitzpatrick. He's got heart and desire but along with that less than optimal physical skills for the QB position. But other than having a degree from Harvard I'm not getting the he's football smart thinking. He has extensive periods of recklessness with the football, sometimes at the most critical point in the game, and continues to make the same mistakes. What's so smart about that? Somebody with superior intelligence would analyze their performance, recognize their errors, and take the necessary actions to correct or reduce the problem. Not commit the same mistakes repeatedly.