tennesseeboy

i think we are still the favorites in this game. Washington has a new unproven qb, significant injuries and coming off a rather embarrassing loss. On the other hand the Jets seem to be getting it all together. Prediction:..relatively easy win against the skins, dogfight against the jets.

Definitely not good at all. Hope we have someone to come off the bench and surprise the hell out of us. Surprise the hell out of us favorably, that is.

The coach is not a fool. Carson will pass sparingly and the already run happy Raiders will be even more so in the Kansas City game. Watch the use of two tight ends and maybe a more frequent use of a blocking back to give CP some stability. There are a lot of things you can do to minimize reliance on CP for the first game to get him ready for his "week 2" when he has a lot more practice and playbook analysis under him.

I share your excitement. How long has it been since we've had a realistic chance at the playoffs? We do have some weaknesses, but we've either won or could have won every game so far. I think we are....as Marlon Brando (Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront) used to say..."a contendah!"

Pretty much a good report card. I think the safeties, Wilson and Bird, are exceptional. We should focus on the defense in the off season (and on signing the free agents)I think B to B+ is quite fair.

I wouldn't even mind if we edged out green bay to get the LAST pick in the first round....now how would be go about doing that?

Proof is in the pudding If they make the playoffs with him, its a good deal. The Drew Bledsoe deal would have been a great deal if he got us to the playoffs. Is a starting quarterback who will take your team to the next level worth Mike Williams and Erik Flowers and John McCargo? I kind of think so. Given where the Raiders were as a real contender for the division title, and given that Kyle Boller (a former first round pick?) was the back up, and given that their strength is by far an extremely strong running game, the move makes a lot of sense. The passing game plan will be modified and simplified, the running game will be put on supercharge and the Raiders will pick up as a contender. The alternative would be the old buffalo bills strategy I've heard from many on the board...curl up into a fetal position and talk about drafting Andrew Luck.

He was a crucial part of our greatest teams. It is a shame he died so young. RIP

nice read...Guess most of us were born into it. I was present at the creation as it were. My dad took me downtown in 1960 or 61 to see the parade of the first team to play, and I caught a little plastic football that some lineman threw to me. I went to my first game in the rockpile in 1965, and snuck in with my brother and friends on a number of occassions, being rather beaten by a Buffalo cop as I scaled a wall during a Buffalo/Houston game where a guy named Hagood Clark intercepted a foolishly thrown George Blanda pass. Saw Cookie Gilchrist, Elbert Dubenion, Wray Carlton, Kemp and LaMonica, Gogoak, Shaw, Warlick and all on offense, and Day, Sestak, McDole and Dunaway backed up by Tracy, Jacobs and Stratton, with Saimes, Byrd and Edgerson, and Charlie-Pork Chop-Warner- I had his number "22" my senior year of high school...had Cookie's 34 in my sophomore year- Cgeered the Bills while in Vietnam during a horrid year where they beat only the JETS or at least so I remember. The catch phrase in the squadron when we talked football was a loud "Dan Darragh!!!???" Went through the great Joe Ferguson and OJ years and thought it would never get better than that, but then came the great Kelly/Smith/Thomas/Reed years. Things really were wonderful. Anyway...I wasn't born into the Bills family, the Bills were born into mine!

I'm not seeing much in the Jets this year. It isn't a foregone conclusion you are going to beat any team twice in the same season, but it is much easier to beat the Jets than it will be to beat the Skins, and the win means a lot more in the divisional race. Washington is beatable, but I don't think I'd pack up and go home if they beat us. I'd be sorely disappointed to lose to BOTH Washington and the Jets neither of which are as good a team as the Bills. It won't be EASY to beat the Jets twice, but then it won't be EASY to beat Miami twice. We are definitely playing far better football week in and week out than both of them. I think for all of the rest of teams on our schedule not one team is considering us an easy win. For that reason I'm not putting any credence in the concept that losing to the Skins and Jets would be the end of the world. It would be two sub-par weeks and a matter of concern though.

two firsts? Wow I just don't see it. Palmer had better perform to justify a trade of that magnitude. Then again..its the raiders and they have the history of making something out of players not expected to do much. Plunkett, Hendricks, even LaMonica. Hey Raiders, surprise me again!

I don't know. The jets game is very important and it would be nice to beat Washington but I don't have Washington as a must win by any stretch of the imagination. I wouldn't like being 4-3, but that wouldn't be the end of the world for us. I see us winning the jets dolphin games and the broncos for a nine win season and winning one or two of the others to get a division title or at least into the playoffs. Washington is as good a pick as any for that elusive tenth or eleventh win, but not crucial. The last game against the Patsies is the one I'd think would be huge.

We have needs to address in the draft in the front seven, no question about it. Merriman is on his last year or two so I can imagine we'll get one of the best linebackers available in the draft. For this year we've got what we've got and after all we are 4-2. Our defense has given up more points than we would like, but it has been aggressive on turnovers and produced a lot of points on its own. I think the bye week should be one of innovation and getting tuned up, but not a week of tremendous change. Hopefully a time for williams and merriman to get better. The defense certainly has room for improvement, but I think whatever improvement there is will have to come from existing personnel.

I think we should easily win 5 more-a sweep of the Jets and Dolphins and a win over the Broncos. Those are five poor teams with real problems. That makes for my 9 win season that in my opinion we should have for Gailey and Nix to keep their job. With a little effort, good game day coaching, and a little luck I could see us winning one or even two of the other games. If one of the two happens to be the Patsies, I could even see us winning the division or getting a wild card berth. This is a funny game though. We might lose to the Jets or beat the Redskins and/or the Cowboys. I'm still saying we should have a nine win as a base expectation.

We might have gotten Von Miller, a great pas rusher, and probably would have if Denver had taken Dareus, the great defensive tackle who was the best defensive player available in the draft with Von a close second. Dareus is a godsend for the area where we were worst, run stopping. I don't see any great trade options at this point in the season that would help us. We will probably go with what we have and look at pass rushing linebackers in the draft at the end of the season.

not a bad call. If the ball had been properly thrown itwould have been a touchdown. NE was not expecting it because it was not the obvious call in the situation. As a Gailey naysayer from the outset, I'm more and more impressed with Gailey as the year progresses. Sometimes your calls hit, and sometimes they don't. Could Gailey have run the ball and eaten the clock? Maybe but remember you do have to get a first down to do that, and the Giants were going to put all of their resources into keeping you from getting the first down. You gotta mix it up to keep them honest. We're 4-2...I predicted and optimistic outcome for 3-3 by the bye week. We are on target for the nine wins I think we have a right to demand, and with some extra effort are in the hunt for a playoff spot, and in extremely fortunate circumstances might be playing NE at the end of the season for the Divisional title.

Think? I guess the one that grabbed my attention this summer was The Emperor of All Maladies, A biography of Cancer by Dr. Mukherjee. Interesting Buffalo connection with Dr. Faber and his work. Makes you think how even the best meaning government interference with research can have very negative consequences.

I think the long pass to nelson or roosevelt is not unexpected. We haven't gone long in a couple of weeks, Jones is out, and the Giants, assuming they have looked at film, will double down on stopping the run. I think this play is to be expected. I think a CJ punt return is kind of improbable in that he hasn't broken one yet, but if he gets the ball and gets a head of steam, he would be hard to stop. I think this might happen some time this year and would not be surprised if this were the week. Kind of an interesting question as we naturally would leave off the obvious, Fred Jackson getting a huge run. I think given our high turnover ratio the options about returning an interception or fumble might be a little too obvious. Yup..CJ punt return feels good as definitely not probably or expected but very very possible.

minor impact, but of the two Smith will have more in the combination of special teams, receiver and wildcat play. I think we will see more of that as the year progresses. I don't see Spiller really developing so far, but he will have some impact over the course of the year as a receiver and in limited play as a running back. We already have an impact player at running back, so maybe its not fair to hang that on Spiller, but if Spiller had shown he was good enough he would have been playing more. The real answer is that the impact players on offense are Fitz, Johnson and Jackson and (to my surprise and delight) the offensive line.

hmmm getting jacksonville, but that's okay I'm enjoying the ritual of watching the game from a booth at Beef O'Brady's with a few friends (who like me, but not necessarily the Bills). My girlfriends dad was a qb at Auburn and a lifelong coach and AD, and she was his favorite, leading to her always outguessing me as to which play should be called. Its always a nice thing to see the occassional real Bills fan and chat. If they ever do show a bills game here, I'll have to plan a neat bills party at home and gather the ten or twelve serious bills fans I know here.

Yeah yeah...but we're not playing the Lions. We're playing the F-ing NY Giants. They can't stop the run, and can't win. I gotta wonder about fans who argue not that we aren't as good as their team, but argue instead that we aren't as good as some other team. Makes you wonder what they think of their own "giants".

some billionare might buy the team and make a bad decision about moving it. In a recession building a fan base might be rather difficult. There are precedents of moves that have not worked, and I'm not hearing of any truly viable market. Certainly LA isn't going to be viable and that's the one we're hearing the most.

okay okay..I'm a homer but I think there is a strong case to be made for keeping the team in Buffalo. We have Western New York and Canada and cover a pretty major market. LA? two teams have failed there and there is no reason to presume the pro team would be successful. I'm not seeing any for sure market that would warrant giving up fifty years of building a loyal base. I suppose a lot of it will involve commitments regarding the stadium, rebuilt or new...but I am optimistic that Buffalo will in the final analysis be the best market for this team.

yeah..leave it to Ralph Wilson to put his own grandson into the starting lineup!

I was kind of expecting we would get Miller as Dareus would be the second pick. Dareus fills a critical need and will anchor the line for a long long time. We will probably be looking hard at linebackers in the upcoming draft given depth and age issues at that position.