Sisyphean Bills

And, that is the problem. Donahoe was an example of "highly centralized decision making," shall we say. When he was being escorted out of the building, there may have been a huge sense of "Whew!" as everyone exhaled and the snake's head was removed, but rumblings of "a rudderless ship" started with Mike Mularkey's resignation and continue to pick up steam and now resonate strongly with the fans. While I can understand Wilson's point of view, I don't believe it is fair to the fans that he has decided to just go into a shell and surrender because he made a bad decision on Donahoe. Honestly, not being able to identify anyone (other than Levy) in the business that he can trust to help him run his own business and put a better product on the field is concerning at the very least.

Not a strong point, as Owens is a player. The Bills have to make the minimum salary cap somehow.

Yep. All the whiny fans crying and drumming their heels on the floor that the Bills are receiving valid criticism from all quarters is getting old.

You play the way you practice.

It may not make much difference in some cases, that is true. On the other hand, it does eliminate an opportunity for bidirectional communication between the players on the field between plays and the Bills have a number of new faces and players playing new positions. I wonder how long it will take Ernie to crack the Bills code.

Jerry Sullivan's quote of a comedian...

You may be correct. I don't count every game against a weak sister as an automatic 'W' though. We lost some of those games last year and we don't look any better so far.

Littmann has had a very long relationship with Wilson and it extends beyond the Buffalo Bills.

I have never claimed he wasn't a very conservative coach, so you are preaching to the preacher. His strategy oozes his mantra, "It is tough to win in the NFL." He has said it point blank many times, that one just hopes to hang in there, stay close, and have a chance to make a kick at the end of the game. As I've said many times before, this is the strategy of mediocrity because it is minimal risk. That is not to say that taking wild gambles is preferable. But, the approach of eliminating risk is entirely passive and reactionary to what others are doing to you. What I'd like to see in Buffalo is a leader (or group) with a vision and a plan for success and a willingness to take the risks to surmount the obstacles, build a sustainable organization, and, yes, risk having success. Excelling tactically is part of that, by enabling flexible systems, showing some productive creativity, and adapting to the players and situations on hand and not forcing square pegs through round holes. Nope. I think he has done as well as he is capable of doing. I have written repeatedly that he is a mediocre coach at best that produces mediocre results. I don't buy the nonsense that he always has no talent (or far less than everyone else) or that he will someday, if we wait long enough, become an instant Hall of Famer. This is an insignificant point. Rod Marinelli is a great person and is very highly respected around the NFL. He also happens to be the only head coach in the modern era NFL to preside over a winless season for a non-expansion team. They had 7 wins against the second weakest schedule last year. The schedule is tougher and the offensive line is in worse shape and, if the pre-season is any indication, nothing has changed from the 2-8 slide last year. 7 or 8 wins this year would be an astonishing feat. That is realism.

Good. Maybe she can tell you about it while she's helping you with your reading comprehension.

I know. I actually watch football.

What does the Broncos QB situation or Brandon Marshall have to do with Jay Cutler playing well for the Bears? Absolutely nothing. Rent a clue.

Newsflash: the Broncos have a new coaching staff and new players this year. "If that tells you anything."

But, they failed to read the coverages to him.

He's looking pretty damn good tonight, actually.

WTF is "uber-tactical"? Do you mean like running it 3 times into the pile to set up a long field goal attempt that sails wide? Or going into a prevent and letting the other team marching it down the sidelines in the last 2 minutes? The tactical blundering loses as many close games as the team may win = mediocrity.

The irony is that even when the Bills do something right, they find a way to screw it up. You have to have tackles that can keep the edge rushers off of your QB, and the Bills, after deciding they didn't want Jason Peters, went out and did jack squat. They had 2 1st round picks and froze like a squirrel in the road. They used one of those on a C that they moved to G. That after they had targeted a C/G as their priority in free agency. They even bragged about how they didn't need to change their draft board at all because they had a feeling they had the players already on the team, ready to fill the void. Langston Walker isn't even a good RT and his switch to LT has been very rough. Player evaluation is not exactly a strong suit here.

9) Punt. "We kicked it well."

Does anyone else recall an interview with then rookie Trent Edwards where he said something to the effect that he was going along for the ride as an NFL QB and he'd play a few years but had a lot of other interests and plans for his future?

Maybe TO's toe injury is just part of the master deception. Belichick probably forgot about him by now, right? In the post-game interview, Edwards did not seem like he lacked confidence.

What would the offense do? Play Madden in the locker room?

I blame both. Trentative apparently has no long ball. The coaches have coached him to take the underneath stuff. And, we can throw in the front office for going with a make shift, slapped together with bubble gum and shoe polish OL.

Well, we are told that there are no communication issues in the new no-huddle.

I wonder if the same "it's only preseason" excuse will sound hollow after the Lions game.

Kugler was a huge upgrade, though.