Mike in Syracuse

Name for me the other starting RB's in the NFL that Jackson is clearly ahead of. He's average...nothing more, nothing less. While your at it, show me where ANYONE in the Bills organization said he's the #2 RB. Until Gailey says he's #2 everyone needs to relax.

A little perspective is in order here, people have their jobs taken away every day in the real world. People are promoted, demoted, suspended and fired. Most won't earn what Jackson does in their lifetime. Jackson wasn't fired and sent to the street with his stuff in a box. He's being a child! I work in sales and marketing. It's either eat or be eaten, there's no crying to the media We don't have the luxury of worrying where we're slotted. We either perform or look for a new job. There is no gray area................

I think it's fair to criticize Nix for not addressing this but I think they thought Bell was going to continue to develop and not regress. They did go after Clabo and the guy from Pittsburgh but they can't just make them sign. There's three possible outcomes : 1. This motivates Bell and he busts his ass to get his job back 2. Levitre actually turns out to be a decent tackle. 3. DOOM!

Do you really think there are other teams out there that think "holy crap, that Fred Jackson is an amazing running back, we HAVE to stop him". I think RB's are a dime a dozen and what Fred does is what's expected of any RB in the league. I get that he's a good team guy and that he's played hard for the Bills but lets not forget, this guy couldn't make another team and spent years playing in Europe. He's been a star here because we've had a series of 1st round disappointments. If Lynch wasn't such a inconsistent psychopath he'd still be here and still be the #1 guy. RB's are the most easily replaceable commodities in the NFL. Everyone's acting as if Jackson is Thurman 2.0 and he's not. He's good, but he's exceedingly average. Spiller has not lived up to his pick but he needs touches. Every time Spiller touches the ball he's got a chance to taking it to the endzone. The same thing was true of Parrish but he toiled in anonymity until Gailey figured out how to use him. If Fred's upset that he's not being handed the #1 title, then there's one thing he can do. Go out there and prove that he deserves it. Competition is what makes good football teams great. If Jackson is being pushed by Spiller it's going to make him even better. Crying to the media about being disrespected is childish. Gailey wanted to give Spiller carries with the 1st unit. Is he supposed to sit down with Fred over dinner and break the news to him? This is a !@#$ing football team, one that's underachieved for a decade, and we're worried about players getting their feelings hurt. Jackson needs to man up.

We've got more guards than we've got spots for? How is bringing in another guard going to help?

It's been widely reported that McKinnie is WAY overweight. How is a fat, slow McKinnie going to help?

Chronological age is not what I was referring to. I was referring to guys like Stinchcomb, Gaither, McKinnie et al. Oft injured is often worse than old. Still, no one else in the NFL is calling them either. That should tell you all you need to know.

This! If Fred Jackson is upset that he's not being anointed the #1 RB then make sure you go out there and earn it. Jackson is a good RB but he's hardly a threat to take it to the endzone on every carry. Spiller has that potential. Right now, Jackson is the more complete back and he shouldn't have to work too hard to prove it. The LAST think Jackson should have done is run crying to the media with his issue.

The fact that not a single other team, no matter how desperate, is calling this list of geriatric pro-bowlers.

So wait, you're saying......wait for it.....that he should have "checked down"?

LB blitzes are part of the base 3-4 package. What we didn't do is send anyone from the secondary on blitzes. Denver did on almost every snap.

I can't disagree with that. I don't understand how you could line up on the outside with a guy outside your right shoulder and just completely ignore him. It's times like that I wish Fitz would grab someone by the facemask and scream "WTF block someone"!

Because the average poster has no idea what they're looking at, doesn't understand what "base" means and wants to participate in the "OMG WE SUCK" screaming contest. Preseason games are for evaluating personnel. We have absolutely no idea what the coaches objectives are going into the game yet the fan base freaks when they don't see us absolutely dominating. I'm sure we could go out and waste time installing a full blown game plan but it's a pointless exercise. Gailey & Wanny wanted to see if they could get pressure on the QB with just 3 lineman. If they can, it completely changes what they can do in the regular season. That process is called a self assessment. He also wanted to see if our five lineman were able to block in a base package without a lot of additional schemes. Can we all just please relax and let the coaches do their job. If we don't win 8 games this season then you'll have something to B word about.

I bet Jasper would just maul people at Guard. You certainly aren't going to push him backwards into the qb.

Unless I'm mistaken, we're undefeated in 2011? Are we still 0-0? It's WAY to early to make any judgements.

To be fair, Hangartner was a FA acquisition from Carolina that was fairly well thought of. We also drafted a tackle at #4 a few years ago that should still be anchoring our line. Imagine a scenario if you will where Mike Williams puts directs his energy into being great and not eating and we spend the money to keep Jason Peters. I think Peters is one of those players that Nix would fight like hell to retain.

John, you should know by know that it's far more popular to be a lemming and keep parroting the same nonsense whether it bears any basis in reality or not. I completely agree with you on your assessment of Pears and Urbik. Urbik looks completely lost when he's out in space. I know they were playing base last night but that should simplify things rather than complicate them. I'm not sure how the whole Wood, Levitre, Hangartner, Rhinehart, Urbik scenario plays out but it's clear that Gailey wanted to get bigger but it's not having the desired result. Pound for pound I'd say Hang appears to be just as strong as Urbik and better in space. They'll review the film and I wouldn't be shocked to see a number of lineup changes this week.

They put that play in there to get it on film. They want other coaches to know that's a possibility. It forces the receiving team to think about the play. It was completely intentional.

PRE SEASON FOOTBALL That's the only thing you can determine from last nights game. That a glorified scrimmage was held.

If anyone listed or watched Gailey's post game press conference it tells you everything you need to know. Gailey specifically stated that they went base defense and base offense all evening to see what the guys are capable of doing. There was no plan, there was no attempt at deception, nothing. Denver on the other hand was sending an LB or CB blitz on almost every snap. That doesn't excuse poor play by our secondary or the inability of our front 4 to get to the QB but it does make Denver's job a lot easier. I'm going to make a prediction for you though, we're going to destroy Denver in the regular season. Mark it down.

So instead of drafting OL we should draft a QB? The one BIG positive from this game is that our run defense is looking stout in the middle.

I challenge you to a spear chucking contest Fretatta's ICE We've had lots of alternative topics for discussion!

I think Spiller suffered from a bit of "every play has to be a home run". He displayed very little patience last year and that's a huge negative for an RB. IMO, that was one of Thurman's greatest abilities. His tendency to ride the hip of his blocker until a seam opened was amazing.

That's what you call "vehemently defended the Maybin pick?" It's been a while since 8th grade English comprehension but I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything about Maybin in that post. My criticism is directed at Mayock and all the other draft "gurus". I could give a **** less about Maybin although I would have preferred that he didn't completely suck. Bottom line is no one knows how a player is going to turn out and everything is a giant guess until they get on the field. Unfortunately for us, Mayock was close in his estimation except he was off by one. If it makes you feel better to view me as a Maybin defender then I'm happy for you.

Uh...that would be a big fat NO. Nice try though, thanks for playing though. Considering some of the absurd crap you throw up here it is quite entertaining to see you call me out. I wish Lee the best, I hope he does well in Baltimore but I still believe he was a very one dimensional WR and doesn't fit our offense well.