dubs

True. However I don't think anyone is saying that Flutie was the second coming of Joe Montana. The point (a lighthearted one) that I was trying to make was he got royally screwed in 1999 by Wade/Ralph/whoever. I didn't happen to remember how bad RJ had played in that game. The years and emphasis on the forward lateral clouded that for me. In reality, Flutie likely doesn't make those same mistakes and we win that game.

I also just realized the spread on that game was Titans (-5). Imagine if you had some action on the Bills and instead of winning and covering, they lose and don't cover, in the span of about 5 seconds. I'd pretty much snap.

Hah. As I said, it's more tongue-in-cheek. What was really shocking was how bad of a game RJ had. It was decidedly EJesque. RJ…EJ…EJ…RJ….freaky.

Maybe after the season we should start a petition to have Wade Phillips apologize to Doug Flutie for benching him for Bon Jov…er..Rob Johnson.

I was looking around Pro-Football-Reference for some context of how historically bad the Bills last 13 years have been and finally came to the 1999 playoff game. I remember watching the game at the Harp in Boston, but didn't really recall how bad Rob Johnson played that game. I remember thinking that he put that team in a position to win and they actually should have won if not for the illegal forward pass. Anyway, it struck me as surprising at how bad of a game RJ had. Johnson was 10-22 for 131 yards. No TDs or INTs. He was also sacked 6 times that led directly to 12 points. First he was sacked and fumbled, Tennessee recovered on the Bills 29. Tenn kicked a FG. Then early in the 2nd quarter, RJ was sacked for a safety and on the ensuing free kick, Tennessee's Mason returned the kick 42 yards to the Bills 28. 5 plays later McNair scored on a one yard run. We all know what's happened since that game, it's been a complete nightmare and looks like its going to continue for the foreseeable future. This begs the question, did Flutie curse us? Just to be safe, I think the organizations needs to publicly apologize to him. I can't ever remember a situation where a QB started for a playoff team for the first 15 games, then gets told he's going to get a final week off to rest and gets benched in the playoff game. Sounds like Curse material. I know, this is really supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but mostly wanted to pass along what was a minor revelation to me.

Was just going to say the same thing. I think the point that our playoff drought is pathetic and unacceptable and historically bad is completely true. That being said, our chances each year since Brady came into the league is a lot lower. We are almost starting the year with a 2/12 chance to get the wild card (two wild card spots, 12 teams vying for those spots excluding the division winners). That's about a 17% chance per year to make the playoffs.

I was beaten as a child so it feels natural

You have way more patience that I do, and I commend you for that. Yesterday's game gave my confidence in this team a huge hit. It's not the losing and it's not the record. What really bothered me was EJ's performance. He's really the only hope for this team to make the playoffs by next season. If he doesn't develop the way the FO hopes, then it's going to be at least another 3 - 4 years before the playoffs. His footwork was so poor yesterday that I was shocked. If he went 15 - 35 with 150 yards and 2 ints, but was zipping the ball around and just missing guys, then I could live with that. What I saw yesterday was a guy with very little confidence in himself and very poor mechanics. This creates huge accuracy problems because he's placing the ball and short-arming passes. I think Gannon said it yesterday during the game and I totally agree, "EJ only throws to wide open receivers. In the NFL, guys are rarely wide-open and EJ needs to make throws that get them open." In other words, EJ needs more anticipation and more confidence. He's got the arm.

So true. For the first time all year, I am out of hope. Unless that is hope for the first pick in the draft. Chances for that increased greatly today.

Did Juron body snatch Marrone? That's loser mentality 101, punting from the opponents 36, down 14, with a 3-6 record

This is absolutely disgusting.

It's beyond frustrating to watch the dink and dunk offense. Throw the ball EJ!!!!! Jeez!

Eeej looking a little shaky. I hope it's just rust

That was a 10 point swing in our favor, HUGE. FG instead of INT returned for a TD. Big win.

He's learning!! Nice scramble. Very Roethesque

lucky on the PI there. Big pet peeve, throwing an out on 3rd down that's 2 yards short of the stick

Nice read by Byrd. Let's go EJ, punch it in here

+1

+1000 Great post. It's sad, but it's the twitterization of our culture. Throw out 140 characters and get over it. Next topic. What's Justin Bieber doing? You should also read his linked article to what happened with Dez and his take on that. It's provocative but really interesting. 68% out of wedlock rate! Wow.

His point is actually a very intelligent one. What he's saying is that he believes it's sad and self destructive that blacks in the locker room would rather identify with a tattooed up white thug than an intelligent, thoughtful, articulate black man. You may not agree with his point and that's fine, but you can't deny that he has a lot more perspective and experience commenting on this than most. I've read him for a long time and admire his provocative nature. I think he does an excellent job of cutting through complicated and inflammatory topics and getting to the heart of the matter.

I just read this article and my first thought was to post it here. Glad you did. It's an incredible article and I would encourage everyone to read it. It's very refreshing to see someone actually dig into what is really going on, as opposed to simply throwing out 140 characters and calling it a day. I really like Whitlock and was disappointed when he joined the Dark Side at ESPN, but as long as he keeps writing articles in the same insightful and courageous way, I'll be happy. I don't always agree with him, but certainly respect the fact that he says what he believe, is intelligent, and clearly thinks through issues rather than try to make his name through quantity. Good stuff.

Totally agree. I haven't tried FoxSports1 yet, but I would imagine the model is similar. Ex-ball players who have no business being on TV, try and create controversies and cater to the least common denominator, and really don't offer any insight or analysis that most regular fans couldn't figure out on their own. As far as predictions, until Buffalo starts becoming a regular winner, stuff like this will happen week in and week out. I always thought there HAS to be a market for a sports news channel that caters to people who don't want to hear the Trent Dilfer's of the world relate everything that happens in the NFL to their own careers (and all the other demerits we discussed).

ESPN has fallen so far from grace that I can't even watch anything on there unless it's an actual live sporting event. They have created a network that is dumbed down to the point that Twitter feeds have become news. The personalities on NFL game day are terrible, with very few exceptions. They are the TMZ of sports. That being said, I think this game is a toss up and can't really knock someone for thinking Pitt wins the game. Personally, I think Buffalo is a much better team and I would expect them to win this game, but this is all the ESPN personalities look at: 1) teams with similar records 2) Pitt is at home 3) It's Pitt vs. Buffalo

The TD pass, which was really nice, actually went 39 yards in the air. He threw the pass from the Bills 35 and MGoodwin caught it at the Chiefs 26. I wouldn't call inflating a statistic by almost 50%, facts. (for the mathematically challenged, going from 40 to 60 is a 50% increase). Speaking of 50%, I would bet that about 50% of the people on this board could throw a ball 39 yards.

There are some folks on here who saw a completely different performance that what I saw from Tuel. I agree with you, I can't imagine anyone wanting him right now, especially with all the QBs coming out of the draft next year. Maybe New England signs him to the PS so they can download the playbook from his brain. Luckily, I don't think he sees the field again for a couple years, barring another rash of injuries. You can be sure that next year Buffalo has a much better plan for the backup position (recognizing that it was a bit unusual what happened this year). Let's hope Eeej plays out the year and shows a lot of promise!! Go Bills!