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shouldn't charges have been laid for a misrepresentation of facts? because from my vantage point, for much of that night, it didn't really resemble much of a football game, eh? jw

Roger Goodell has never said any such thing. he has said negotiating a new lease with Erie County is a priority. he has said fan's continued support of the Bills is a priority. i'm sure he's probably sent something by priority mail. but he's never uttered what you suggest he has publicly. ever. jw

even if i had questions about other members of the media, i wouldn't air them here. as for your other point, Graham hasn't caught everything when he gets open. Hagan has had his ups and then downs, though he seems to be ahead of everyone else in contending for a third or fourth spot. not sold on Jones just yet, because he's failed to prove anything once the regular season begins. and Jones has had his inconsistencies in camp. and the issue goes beyond drops, as Gailey noted. he was surprised to see how much ground many of the secondary receivers have to gain in order to be at the level of understanding the offense and getting on the same page with Fitzpatrick as Johnson and Nelson are. we do generally agree on this point, though i'm suggesting that, amidst all the happy talk favoring the bills these days, there are concerns present. and this is one of them. jw

defense always has something to do with it, but some of the drops were drops. and some of the routes run were bad. and the concerns coach Chan Gailey raised were real about the inconsistency displayed by the group of receivers behind Stevie Johnson and David Nelson. as noted in another thread, this was a concern going into training camp, and has remained so. it bears watching. jw i beg to differ. you accused members of the media of not watching practice and then writing stuff "to prove their (sic) right," while suggesting that you might have a more "objective" eye. i take issue because i am a member of the media. whether or not your referenced me specifically is inconsequential because i, in fact, wrote a story raising questions about the drops and the relative inconsistency displayed by the group of receivers behind Johnson and Nelson. so, it's logical to assume, i am among the members fo the media that are trying to stir up concern where there should be none, and without watching practice. again, your observations are welcome. as are reports from all fans on this site. but making a generalized all-sweeping statement that what you see might be more objective than the media's, well, that's where we differ. i wouldn't make that claim about anyone else, because i don't see everything. and there are times when, yes, i do miss some practices due to other obligations. and we all see things with a different eye. i never accused you of being wrong in your observations of practice, though i do believe that there should be a concern about the depth of the receiving corps because there's no guarantee against injuries. and what might happen, and who will be capably ready to step in if Johnson and/or Nelson can't play. jw

i did what now? that's a little curious, because if you were attempting to keep track of what members fo the media, including myself, were and were not watching practice, how ever did you have time to see what was happening on the field? as for your contention that the "dropsies" were being made mostly by guys that either won't make the team or not have a big role, well, that's another thing, too, if you're suggesting Donald Jones won't have a big role, or Derek Hagan won't either. and as i did point out in a story, what of the pass that hit Jones off the back of the helmet, because Jones failed to turn around. you didn't happen to be taking media attendance at that point, were you? i take no issue with your camp report. providing your insight is fine. and all perspectives are appreciated. the problem i have is when you attempt to explain what my job is, and how i go about doing it. jw

that was part of it, combined with a porous D that made it difficult for the offense to keep up, and not having Fred Jackson were all contributing factors. that said, some of Fitzpatrick's interceptions were on him, too. he had to be better. and no, the sky isn't falling folks. just trying to take a shade off the rosy color. the Bills have a good receiving corps at the top of the list, with Stevie Johnson, David Nelson, Scott Chandler and, it looks like C.J. Spiller will play a bigger role in the attack. the question is how good are the guys behind them, especially if those top ranks are depleted by injuries? jw

the trouble isn't entirely the drops, though that's a symptom. the concern is how far behind, sometimes, the backup receivers are in understanding the nuances of the offense. as Gailey had said, and something i didn't put into the story (though i paraphrased it when noting no one had "stepped up" in the second graf), is how far ahead Johnson and Nelson are in being on the same page with Fitzpatrick. and the concern is how far some of these other receivers have to go to get there. the one real example i cited was how Donald Jones failed to realize he was the hot receiver and not look back for the ball, only to have Fitzpatrick's pass bounce off the back of his helmet. that's not a drop, that's something more. Hagan was having a great camp, and then struggled the past two days. Graham has potential, and is a good driven kid, but the jury's still out on how much he can contribute as a rookie, especially early in the season. as noted, this was a conern, remains a concern, and one that still bears watching. funny thing is, i've been going on several radio shows apologizing for my optimism in regards to the Bills chances this season, for a team that's not made the playoffs in 13 years. and i think it's important on my end to maintain perspective, write positive stories when i see them, and raise questions when warranted, which is why i thought it important to write this piece. Gailey's comments merely confirmed the way i was heading already. jw

that's my piece, and this has been a concern. not just Saturday, but Friday as well. and it was a concern also going into camp. i'm not saying it can't be fixed, but some perspective is needed, i think, after all the happy talk -- some if it coming from me. though this team looks capable of 10 wins, there are still questions that need to be answered. and without Johnson and Nelson, i question at this point who is capable of filling those roles, because no one as of yet has shown the consistency to do so. yes, i realize it's Aug. 5. but last Aug. 5 or so, Buddy Nix was questioning the lack of experienced depth on his team, and look what happened. i'm not saying the sky is falling, but having an umbrella never hurts. jw add: and i think Chan's unhappiness is merited. expectations are higher, so the expectations in practice must be higher. i think that's his overall message to everyone here.

i'm always partial to the replacements. but stfu works, too. jw

Naaman is all that Fitzpatrick said he's been. Good kid, and consistently makes plays out there in practice. but, and i think you might have saw this coming, i'm not entirely sure if he makes this team. he's on the bubble at best, and i was just talking about this on the sideline after Roosevelt made a good catch at practice today. he's behind Stevie Johnson, David Nelson, Donald Jones, T.J. Graham and Derek Hagan and Brad Smith. that leaves potentially one spot open if the Bills elect to keep seven receivers (including Brad Smith), which at this moment leaves it a competition between in what as I see as currently being this order, Marcus Easley, Roosevelt and David Clowney. jw

sorry, people already know who i am so this would merely be an exercise in closing the barn door with the horses gone. beerball.

The Replacements: "Can't Hardly Wait," (so many versions of song) likely followed by "Bastards of Young." Drive-By Truckers: "Ghost to Most," likely followed by either "Space City" or "George Jones Talkin Cell Phone Blues." Rolling Stones: "Tumbling Dice." very likely Marshall Crenshaw: "Someday, Someway." and most definitely, Steve Earle's "Galway Girl." also in that mix is The Clash's "Clampdown" or "Death or Glory," as well as most everything off of Elvis Costello's "My Aim is True" album, particularly "Alison." I pretty much wore that record out when it first came out, as I did with The Pretenders' first album, particularly "Up the Neck," "Tattooed Love Boys" and "Brass in Pocket." this is just off the top of my head. jw

yep, yet another flaw. useless on special teams, too. jw

right. of the 434 points the Bills allowed last year, which was the second most in team history, 78 came directly off Fitzpatrick's 23 interceptions. so that's about a field-goal per turnover. there's no doubt the three interceptions in the 30-23 loss to Miami were costly. Bills were already down 28-7 to Dallas when Fitz threw his first pick, so what's exactly your point here? the Bills allowed 27.1 points a game last season. take away the 78 points and they allowed 22 points a game last year. three-plus touchdowns is still a lot, so i'm not entirely sure where you're headed here, though i'm sure you'll find a way to come up with some "yeah, but ..." retort. so, picking up where i left off in getting you up to speed on the basics of football. now where was i? oh yes, kickoffs. now the team that wins the coin toss (i mentioned that earlier) gets to decide whether it will receive the kickoff. the team losing the coin toss, gets to decide in which direction it will kick. so, after a commercial break, 11 players line up at one end of the field, and a collection of 11 players line up facing them in an assortment of positions, with the fastest players way, way in the back near the end zone. that's right e-n-d z-o-n-e. that's where the goal posts are, and where teams usually paint their name or logo. jw

right, the offense didn't need to score. i hate to ask, but is it possible you don't understand the basic concepts of how this game is played? if so, let me start, ok, you've got 11 guys on the field on defense and offense, but before they take the field, first they have the national anthem, then comes the coin flip, and most times players from each team shake hands, and then they run off to their respective sidelines ... keeping up with me so far, or should i slow down. and then comes the kickoff. that's right k-i-c-k-o-f-f. ... jw

now who's cherry-picking. defense was below average. it was second against the pass, but that was only because no one had to pass against them, because they were 30th against the run. i might have had a chance to run 100 yards on them. he could've have been cut. they could've won 10 games that year? that team was an utter disaster from start to finish. it had no direction, no cohesion, no coaching. the best thing that happened is when Perry Fewell took over and finally provided some vision. geez. look, you don't like the guy. and i'm not here to convince you not to. type in all-caps all you want, but don't pretend you're providing anything objective in the form of making a case here. when the team wins, it's everything but Fitzpatrick, and when the team loses it's on Fitzpatrick. man, get a grip. like it was Fitzpatrick's fault Stevie Johnson dropped the ball in the end zone against the Steelers. it was his fault Stevie Johnson missed that catch over the middle against the Jets. it was anybody but Fitzpatrick who deserves credit for the two comeback wins. bull-oney. jw oh, and thanks for linking the game-logs. somehow, i had nothing here to refer to, i was purely picking these things out of the air.

quit changing the topic. first you suggest we look at an entire 16 game season. well, i did. two of them. now you say it's something else. and yet Bledsoe, in 2002, finished 8-8 despite having a top-10 qb rating. what does that prove? and you keep going on and on about how he's had no team success. did you happen to look at the four teams he's been on over those four years? Fitzpatrick actually went 5-5 with the 2009 Bills in that dreadful year in which Jauron was fired, meaning he was the quarterback for all but one win that year. given what a trainwreck that team was, especially on offense after Langston Walker was cut and the OC fired, and Jauron still sticking to his desire to go with a no-huddle attack -- going 5-5 looks pretty good. of course, you won't think so. Fitzpatrick should've won 12, right? bull-oney. jw

ok, then. let's judge Fitzpatrick on each of his past two seasons. in 2010, he was the first Bills quarterback since Bledsoe in 2002 to throw for 23 touchdowns. And Fitzpatrick did it in three fewer games. last year, Fitzpatrick matched Bledsoe's production in 2002 with 24 touchdowns. yes, i'm aware that he also threw 23 interceptions last year, and i agree that's a concern. but since you've been so good in judging him on his flaws, let's put that aside. so, Fitzpatrick is the first Bills quarterback since Jim Kelly in 1994 and 95 to throw for more than 20 touchdowns in back to back seasons. Kelly threw 44 combined in those two years, and Fitzpatrick 47. also, in those two seasons, Kelly threw 30 interceptions, while Fitzpatrick combined for 38. also, let's look at a few other numbers, if Fitzpatrick deserves criticism for being inconsistent, then perhaps he deserves a little kudos for running an offense that produced 5,624 yards -- the most by a Bills team since 1992. and it's an offense that scored 372 points and finished 14th in the league, the most points and its best ranking since 2002. that's not bad, and at the very least it's not as dreadful as you are attempting to twist it to be. i call bull-oney on you. jw

"doomed" to 9 wins? wow. i think some Bills fans, players and coaches and management would've enjoyed being "doomed" a lot more over the past 12 seasons -- except 2004, when they hit the doom mark right on the button. doomed. funny. jw with all due respect to your numbers here, did you happen to check out how porous and banged up the defense was during those two years. and in regards to your anybody but Fitz suggestion, i'm guessing you would prefer Trent Edwards never lost the starting job in the first place? or perhaps, Kelly Holcomb would be your solution, eh? jw

i think you meant you "couldn't" give two s__ts about Fitz's wonderlic, because saying "you could" means that you actually do give two s__ts about it, which i think kind of contradicts what i think might be your point here. but then you're all for "dumbing down" things, so i'm quite confused as to whether you could give two s__ts or not, and how intimidating this wonderlic just might be. jw

there is a very large ASSOCIATED PRESS tag right under the headline, which might be a bit of a giveaway ... that said, each of our subscribers rightfully has the choice on whether to include bylines, or format the stories in any way they choose. so long as the AP's credited, that's fine with me. jw

ummmm, that might well be on the TSN site, but ... jw

yep, this was something that we, at the AP, have been working on for a little while. like all AP Polls, i have no involvement in it. these are all national folks who are involved, and it looks like we've got a pretty good bunch. and as always, the poll is good for discussion. if you ask me, i'd probably have the Bills at between 17-19 currently because they haven't proven anything yet. should be curious how this all works out. jw ps: it's supposed to come out every Tuesday.

fair enough, but in the big picture i'd be careful what you wish for because with the changing media landscape in Buffalo and the recent deals struck, i wonder if there's at least one fewer objective voice capable of viewing the Bills with a truly critical eye. jw

Gilmore told me he has one speed whether it's in practice or in games. i am curious to see how far officials will let a rookie go, because Gilmore has shown he's not afraid of contact or using his hands in holding up receivers coming off the line. he had to be reminded by coaches about bringing players to the ground during the first-two non-contact sessions. then again, i think it might be easier to reign in a player than to ask him to ramp it up. one thing's for sure, he has been impressive. can't seem to remember how Nate Clements did in his first rookie camp, but i'll say that Gilmore has been one of the more impressive, mature and complete rookies the Bills have had in camp for quite some time. jw